The Middle Ages are making a political comeback
There has been an awful lot of "getting medieval' in the world recently. The "12-day war' between Israel and Iran was all about the most modern weapons of mass destruction humanity has devised. Yet it was frequently discussed in a language that is more resonant of the Middle Ages than the scientific laboratory.
Consider Donald Trump's "rage tweet' in reply to the Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ("stupid AOC') and her suggestion that the president should be impeached for authorizing the bombing of Iran without congressional approval. Or Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who gets called "the mouse.' Former U.S. President Joe Biden is "Sleepy Joe.' Sen. Chuck Schumer is "Cryin' Chuck' or "Our Great Palestinian Senator.'
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Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Trump will reveal ‘AI Action Plan' shaped by his Silicon Valley supporters
President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) By The Associated Press An artificial intelligence agenda formed on the podcasts of Silicon Valley billionaires is now being set into U.S. policy as President Donald Trump leans on the ideas of the tech figures who backed his election campaign. Trump plans on Wednesday to reveal an 'AI Action Plan' he ordered after revoking President Joe Biden's signature AI guardrails. The plan and related executive orders are expected to include some familiar tech lobby pitches: accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings that are needed to form and run AI products, according to a person briefed on Wednesday's event who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It might also include some of the AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year. Here's the latest: The tech industry has pushed for easier permitting to get huge data centers connected to power and water — even if it means consumers losing drinking water and paying higher energy bills. On Tuesday, 95 groups including labor unions, parent groups, environmental justice organizations and privacy advocates signed a resolution opposing Trump's embrace of industry-driven AI policy and calling for a 'People's AI Action Plan' that would 'deliver first and foremost for the American people.' Amba Kak, co-executive director of the AI Now Institute, which helped lead the effort, said the coalition expects Trump's plan to come 'straight from Big Tech's mouth.' 'Every time we say, 'What about our jobs, our air, water, our children?' they're going to say, 'But what about China?'' she said Tuesday. She said Americans should reject the White House's argument that artificial intelligence is overregulated, and fight to preserve 'baseline protections for the public.' Sacks, a former PayPal executive and now Trump's top AI adviser, has been criticizing 'woke AI' for more than a year, fueled by Google's February 2024 rollout of an AI image generator that, when asked to show an American Founding Father, created pictures of Black, Asian and Native American men. Google quickly fixed its tool, but the 'Black George Washington' moment remained a parable for the problem of AI's perceived political bias, taken up by X owner Elon Musk, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Vice President JD Vance and Republican lawmakers. 'The AI's incapable of giving you accurate answers because it's been so programmed with diversity and inclusion,' Sacks said at the time. Elon Musk's xAI, pitched as an alternative to 'woke AI' companies, had to scramble this month to remove posts made by its Grok chatbot that made antisemitic comments and praised Adolf Hitler. The All-In Podcast is a business and technology show hosted by four tech investors and entrepreneurs including Trump's AI czar, David Sacks. The plan and related executive orders to be announced late Wednesday afternoon are expected to include some familiar tech lobby pitches — including accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings needed to run AI products, according to a person briefed on Wednesday's event who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It might also include some of the AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year. ▶ Read more on Trump's Artificial Intelligence plan Global shares rallied on Wednesday, with Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index gaining 3.5% after Japan and the U.S. announced a deal on Trump's tariffs. The tariff agreement as announced calls for a 15% U.S. import duty on goods from Japan, apart from certain products such as steel and aluminum that are subject to much higher tariffs. That's down from the 25% Trump had said would kick in on Aug. 1 if a deal was not reached. 'This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,' Trump posted on Truth Social, noting that Japan was also investing 'at my direction' $550 billion into the U.S. He said Japan would 'open' its economy to American autos and rice. Trump announced the U.S. will place a 19% tax on goods from Indonesia and the Philippines. A senior Trump official said Indonesia will charge no tariffs on 99% of its trade with the United States and drop its nontariff barriers on U.S. goods. Trump said the U.S. won't pay any tariffs in the Philippines, but they will pay 19%. 'President Trump has signed two trade deals this week with the Philippines and Japan which is likely to keep market sentiment propped up despite deals with the likes of the EU and South Korea remaining elusive, for now at least,' Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at Kohle Capital Markets, said in a report. House Speaker Mike Johnson rebuffed pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early on Wednesday for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote. 'There's no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they're already doing,' Johnson said at his last weekly news conference. The speaker's stance did little to alleviate the intra-party turmoil unfolding on Capitol Hill as many of Trump's supporters demand that the administration meet its promises to publicly release a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Under pressure from right-wing online influencers, as well as voters back home, rank-and-file Republicans are demanding House intervention. 'The public's not going to let this die, and rightfully so,' said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican. The president told congressional Republicans at a Tuesday night dinner that European Union officials will be in town Wednesday for the talks. 'We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,' Trump said after announcing a trade framework with Japan. The president sent a letter this month threatening the 27 EU member states with 30% tariffs to be imposed starting Aug. 1. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
US pushes talks with other partners after Japan deal
With his tariff deadline approaching on August 1, US President Donald Trump is stepping up pressure on other trading partners to build momentum for talks. This comes after he announced a "massive" deal with Japan on Tuesday. Trump posted on social media on Wednesday that the agreement was reached because of "Tariff Power." He said Japan agreed to open its markets "for the first time ever." A photo posted by a White House official shows the negotiations on Tuesday. Trump is holding a board with the words "Japan Invest America." The figure "400 billion dollars" has been crossed out, and new numbers have been written in by hand. Trump later said Japan will invest 550 billion dollars in the US. The White House said Japan has agreed to buy 100 Boeing aircraft and increase defense spending with US firms. It also said Japan will boost purchases of US rice by 75 percent and that it will buy 8 billion dollars of agricultural and other goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg TV that Tokyo was "ready to deal" and proposed a "very innovative solution." He described the Japanese side as "tough negotiators" but said Trump is "tougher." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned other trading partners about dealing with the president. She said: "He will only lower tariff rates if a country agrees to open their market to American made products. If not, they will continue to face tariffs and pay a steep price to do business in the United States of America." South Korea is one of the countries still trying to cut a deal. Negotiators will hold talks with Bessent later this week. Discussions with China are expected to take place early next week in Stockholm.
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Japan Today
Trump likes renaming people, places and things. He's not the first to deploy that perk of power
By LAURIE KELLMAN FILE - President Donald Trump holds up a signed proclamation declaring Feb. 9 Gulf of America Day, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum watches aboard Air Force One as Trump travels from West Palm Beach, Fla. to New Orleans, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) History, it has been said, is written by the winners. President Donald Trump is working that lever of power — again. This time, he's insisting that Washington's NFL team change its name from the Commanders back to the Redskins, a name that was considered offensive to Native Americans. Predictably, to Trump's stated delight, an internet uproar ensued. It's a return to the president's favorite rebranding strategy, one well-used around the world and throughout history. Powers-that-be rename something — a body of water, a mountain in Alaska, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Mumbai, various places in Israel after 1948 — in line with 'current' political and cultural views. Using names to tell a leader's own version of the nation's story is a perk of power that Trump is far from the first to enjoy. A name, after all, defines identity and even reality because it is connected to the verb "to be,' says one brand strategist. 'A parent naming a child, a founder naming a company, a president naming a place ... in each example, we can see the relationship of power,' Shannon Murphy, who runs Nameistry, a naming agency that works with companies and entrepreneurs to develop brand identities, said in an email. 'Naming gives you control.' In Trump's case, reviving the debate over the Washington football team's name had the added effect of distraction. 'My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,' he wrote on his social media platform, adding a threat to derail the team's deal for a new stadium if it resisted. In fact, part of the reaction came from people noting that Trump's proposed renaming came as he struggled to move past a rebellion among his supporters over the administration's refusal to release much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation. Over about two weeks, Trump had cycled through many tactics — downplaying the issue, blaming others, scolding a reporter, insulting his own supporters, suing the Wall Street Journal and finally authorizing the Justice Department to try to unseal grand jury transcripts. Trump's demand that the NFL and the District of Columbia change the team's name back to a dictionary definition of a slur against Native Americans reignited a brawl in miniature over race, history and the American identity. Trump's reelection itself can be seen as a response to the nation's reckoning with its racial history after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. That year, Americans elected Democratic President Joe Biden, who championed diversity. During his term, Washington's football team became first the Washington Football Team, then the Commanders, at a widely estimated cost in the tens of millions of dollars. And in 2021, The Cleveland Indians became the Cleveland Guardians. In 2025, Trump has ordered a halt to diversity, equity and inclusion programs through the federal government, universities and schools, despite legal challenges. And he wants the Commanders' name changed back, though it's unclear if he has the authority to restrict the nearly $4 billion project. What's clear is that names carry great power where business, national identity, race, history and culture intersect. Trump has had great success for decades branding everything from buildings he named after himself to the Gulf between Mexico, Cuba and the United States to his political opponents and people he simply doesn't like. Exhibit A: Florida's governor, dubbed by Trump 'Meatball Ron' DeSantis, who challenged him for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. And Trump is not the first leader to use monikers and nicknames — branding, really — to try to define reality and the people who populate it. Naming was a key tool of colonization that modern-day countries are still trying to dislodge. 'Naming,' notes one expert, 'is never neutral.' 'To name is to collapse infinite complexity into a manageable symbol, and in that compression, whole worlds are won or lost,' linguist Norazha Paiman wrote last month on Medium. 'When the British renamed places throughout India or Africa, they weren't just updating maps," Paiman wrote. "They were restructuring the conceptual frameworks through which people could relate to their own territories." Trump's order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is perhaps the best-known result of Executive Order 14172, titled 'Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.' The renaming sent mapmakers, search engines and others into a flurry over whether to change the name. And it set off a legal dispute with The Associated Press over First Amendment freedoms that is still winding through the courts. The news outlet's access to events in the Oval Office and Air Force One was cut back starting in February after the AP said it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its copy, while noting Trump's wishes that it instead be renamed the Gulf of America. It's unclear if Trump's name will stick universally — or go the way of 'freedom fries," a brief attempt by some in the George W. Bush-era GOP to rebrand french fries after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But there's evidence that at least for business in some places, the 'Gulf of America' terminology has staying power. Chevron's earnings statements of late have referred to the Gulf of America, because 'that's the position of the U.S. government now,' CEO Mike Wirth said during a Jan. 31 call with investors. And along the Gulf Coast in Republican Louisiana, leaders of the state's seafood industry call the body of water the Gulf of America, in part, because putting that slogan on local products might help beat back the influx of foreign shrimp flooding American markets, the Louisiana Illuminator news outlet reported. The racial reckoning inspired by Floyd's killing rippled across the cultural landscape. Quaker retired the Aunt Jemima brand after it had been served up at America's breakfast tables for 131 years, saying it recognized that the character's origins were 'based on a racial stereotype.' Eskimo Pies became Edy's. The Grammy-winning country band Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A, saying they were regretful and embarrassed that their former moniker was associated with slavery. And Trump didn't start the fight over football. Democratic President Barack Obama, in fact, told The Associated Press in 2013 that he would 'think about changing' the name of the Washington Redskins if he owned the team. Trump soon after posted to Twitter: 'President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense.' Fast-forward to July 20, 2025, when Trump posted that the Washington Commanders should change their name back to the Redskins. 'Times," the president wrote, 'are different now.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
