It’s been a rainy and cool May here on the coast, unlike in the prairies where 200 wild fires are ravaging communities and thousands of square kilometers of forests and grasslands. To the south, economic storms are being unleashed by a possessed and unhinged president, driven by greed, disinformation, nationalism and hubris. These are challenging times and we’re lucky to live where we are.

            ‘Have you ever heard of Peter Thiel?’ I asked Camp after we settled in our usual corner on the glassed-in veranda on the harbour.

            He professed his ignorance and for a change it was I who got to lecture him.

            ‘He is a German born billionaire but unlike Bezo, Musk and Zuckerberg he is not kowtowing to Trump. He is not the figurehead of a large corporation but he is above all the most dangerous of the tech billionaires. He is the central string-puller behind Trump’s first and second terms. 

‘How come I never hear of this guy if he’s that important?’ Camp said.

            ‘When Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, nobody took him seriously but Thiel immediately donated a million dollars to his campaign. He saw in Trump the best chance for radical change but only a trailblazer and a means to an end. Thiel’s plan is to overcome democracy and he is at the core of all the upheavals in the USA.’

            ‘That’s thirsty talk’, Camp said.