With a political system so unashamedly skewed in favour of the rich at the expense of the majority of the American public, is it any wonder that Americans are increasingly looking for an alternative to the current political and economic status-quo?
There is a strong possibility that as neither Biden nor Sanders can unite their party’s supporters overall, it could in fact deliver their worst-case scenario and hand the current president another four years in office.
Much of the mainstream media are now in a state of panic and have moved into full-Bernie- attack-mode. The majority of media narratives, including fear mongering over the Senators health, bizarre comparisons with Donald Trump and reframing the democratic socialist as a nihilistic anti-capitalist, are largely recycled from 2016.
Among the rumours that appeared shortly after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, US Senator Tom Cotton’s ‘conspiracy theory’ goes too far.
With businesses across the country steadily returning to work and international financial authorities and institutions confident in the measures taken by State planners, China’s road to economic recovery appears well under way.
Though the current coronavirus outbreak has only been with us a matter of months, society’s response to it has followed a similar pattern to previous health emergencies, with rises in extreme discrimination twined with examples of real compassion.
Western nations often believe that they hold a monopoly over multilateralism and cooperation, but they do not. In fact, Asia is currently one of the most vibrant hot spots for multilateral cooperation, encompassing everything from trade to development, security to culture.
In addition to the rising tide of xenophobia, there is a sea of speculation and misinformation. Many columns in leading publications have sacrificed the most fundamental journalistic principle of reporting the truth in favour of spreading rumour and baseless speculation.
Mr Walsh didn’t visit Hubei Province, the centre of the epidemic, or even China. Rather he caught the coronavirus in a country which both Australia and the US have deemed safe to travel to. So, what is the point of travel bans on China?
Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, St John Moore, expressed the sentiment of much of the expat community when he said, “We are here to stay. We are not leaving.”
In this week’s addition, the team has focused on five claims being spread across the internet, including whether the virus was a leaked bio-weapon, the effectiveness of travel bans, potential vaccines and more.
Such cooperation and commitment as witnessed by China and the international community is reassuring. It underscores the fact that in our globalized world, the challenges we face are often global, and as such, require a global unified response.
