After U.S. President Donald Trump pitched a fit on Truth Social, the propaganda machine he’s created for himself to spill his bile, it appeared that he was ready to take his ball and go home. Trade talks with Canada were immediately halted when Trump caught wind of a digital services tax that would hit American tech companies. He said he would be ceasing any further discussion with Canada and that he, and he alone, would be informing Canada of the tariffs it would be paying to do business with the United States of America. The bill’s in the mail.

 

Not long after that bout of whinging, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would be rescinding the tax in an effort to return to its spot at the negotiating table with Trump. The situation is fluid and Trump has, as of press time, yet to officially respond, but the response to Carney on this has been mixed. Conservatives, of course, will see this as a weak leader retreating in the face of a bully. It’s hard not to feel that way and Canada is one to stand its ground in the face of unfair threats, but what this situation lays bare is just how difficult it is to navigate the choppy waters of a sociopath who just so happens to be the president. 

 

Trump is the true embodiment of a bully. The one who hits and hits and hits you, only to ask you who - exactly - do you think you are when you dare to hit back. And yet, the U.S. has become such a ubiquitous cog in the world machine that so many, both within the country and beyond, are forced to play ball; to make the trip to kiss the ring.

 

And while there will be critics, there is no real case study for what’s happening (though some have suggested that there is certainly a historic precedent for what’s happening) and the next four years (or beyond) will be a day-to-day challenge and doing the right thing on one day may mean doing something very different the next. – SL

In many ways, last weekend’s Glastonbury Festival was a political perfect storm of the way many are feeling right now about the state of the world. Whether it be international relations, free speech, a yearning for easy answers to ancient questions or the role of the media in 2025, it all played out in four days in a field in that sleepy English town.

 

Performers spanned the generations, with protestor emeritus Neil Young taking the same stage as Disney Channel alumnus Olivia Rodrigo, but it was the free-speech politics that took centre stage.

 

In the days leading up to the festival, the BBC stated that it would not be livestreaming a performance by Kneecap, an Irish-language rap group that has been outspoken in its advocacy for Irish reunification and, more to the point, a free Palestine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer opined that the performance would not be appropriate for the British festival, as this comes after a member of the trio was charged with terror-related offences stemming from a flag hung at a London concert late last year. And yet, the performance went ahead, raucous and defiant, as Irish and Palestinian flags waved through the crowd. 

 

And, while Kneecap was on the BBC’s radar, Bob Vylan wasn’t. The British rap duo shared similar sentiments on the middle-eastern conflict and led chants that are being called antisemitic. (British authorities are now investigating criminal charges over both sets.) The BBC - a government-funded broadcaster - is now in the position of having to reckon with broadcasting the performance, given the British government’s official position on the issue, as well as its historic role in creating it, all while facing the truth that many (at Glastonbury and around the world) agree with both musicians. Furthermore, many are questioning the broadcaster’s decision to not livestream Kneecap’s set. As a result, the evergreen debate of what the media chooses to report and why is back and the BBC’s motives are being questioned.

 

The performances, the sentiments, the government’s role in it all and where the media stands, all made the festival one that will, no doubt, have its place in history books years from now. – SL 

A federal judge in San Francisco has sided with Anthropic, a tech company backed by the likes of Amazon and Google, in the company’s use of books, without the authors’ or publishers’ permission, to train its artificial intelligence (AI) software. At once, the judge said the company made “fair use” of the books, but acknowledged that its copying and storing of more than seven million pirated books infringed copyrights.

 

This is yet another blow to the creators of the world. As the world has gone increasingly digital, those who create books, news, art, music and film and television have been cut off at the knees by a world that values what they create, while not seeing the need to compensate them fairly.

 

From streaming music, movies and television to free news and books, creative entities have capitulated, wanting to stay in front of people and, while doing so, giving more and more of themselves for free. And yet, this has created a world in which there is no value seen in what the creators have to do to, you know, create. Another sad day. – SL