ACTIVISTS & HEROES

MK BHADRAKUMAR—The western media which is hostile toward Trump, have seized the opportunity to caricature him as an impulsive figure in a role reversal with Zelenskyy. In reality, though, Trump has been literally driven to this point by the Biden administration. 

The highly charged emotional reaction by the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen commiserating with President Zelensky speaks for itself: “Your dignity honours the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President.” Trump’s refusal to give Von der Leyen an appointment may partly explain her fury as a woman scorned. Truly, the ‘Collective West’ find themselves at a crossroads and do not know which road to take.

ED CURTIN—It is hard, I know, to hear an unbearable possibility: But suppose it were a performance, not just in the sense that Trump and Vance set Zelensky up, but as a coordinated reality TV show in which all the principal actors were performing from a script whose goal was the opposite of all the subsequent interpretations. A script that allowed for some improvisation, as comedians like Zelensky and reality TV stars like Trump are adept at. 

BT NEWS—China’s health care system has recently come to public consciousness in the U.S. with “TikTok Refugees” on Red Note comparing healthcare in the two countries.

On today’s China report, KJ is joined by Dr. Margaret Flowers and author Mimi Zhu, and the three discuss health care in China and contrast it with that of the U.S.’s privatized system.

Our understanding of China — and U.S.-China relations — has become a defining feature of all global politics. The China Report is a new show produced in collaboration with Pivot to Peace where every week, journalist Amanda Yee and political analyst KJ Noh will be helping you through all the propaganda with an independent view of the country we are taught to hate, but know so little about.

EDITOR—While the ratings keep going down, Hollywood, which has been a captive of the CIA and other narrative-controlling agencies for a long time, keeps pushing WOKE nonsense, going by the official “PC book”, [enforcing DEI rules, for example], ignoring the negative reactions of many people across the country. Meanwhile, tycoons like Jeff Bezos keep buying content libraries—like the James Bond franchise—while ignoring talent—writers, producers, actors, interested in more honest, socially grounded topics. In today’s Hollywood, Matt notes, there are two subjects that will command almost certain attention among the big money producers: the Holocaust and Slavery stories. Besides any “thriller” focused on the antics of US soldiers or CIA operatives (the good guys) fighting some brutal “terrorists” or guerrillas in some forlorn country.

PALESTINIAN CORRESPONDENT—What is certain, however, is that a more immediate issue is now at play—the Egyptian-Arab plan for Gaza’s reconstruction, an initiative that is being framed as an alternative to Trump’s “Riviera” proposal to displace Gazans. The key question is whether Trump will accept it.