Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 247 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news.

We will begin with Trump demonstratively deteriorating mentally and physically as his war of choice

turns into a nightmare for him and the Republicans who are tied to him in a cult-like suicide

pact. Joining us to discuss the need for an intervention leading to a resignation, as happened

when LBJ was trapped in Vietnam and Nixon was trapped in Watergate, is Sidney

Blumenthal, the former assistant and senior advisor to President Bill Clinton, and senior

advisor to Hillary Clinton.

He's been a national staff reporter for the Washington Post, Washington editor and staff writer for the New Yorker,

and his books include the bestsellers, the Clinton Wars, the rise of the counter-establishment

and the permanent campaign. His latest book is All the Powers on Earth, the Political Life

of Abraham Lincoln, 1856 to 1860, and we will discuss his latest article at The Guardian.

Republicans would rather self-destruct than save themselves from Trump.

Then with Trump on his way to China, carrying a weak hand to meet with Xi, we'll speak with Michael Swain, a senior research fellow and former director of the Quincy Institute's East Asia Program and one of the most prominent American scholars of Chinese security studies.

Previously he worked for nearly 20 years as a senior fellow at the Canadian Dampment International Peace, specializing in Chinese

Defense and Foreign Policy, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian International Relations.

He also advises the U.S. government on Asian security issues, and his books include

remaining aligned on the challenges facing Taiwan and conflict and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region,

a strategic net assessment.

He has an article at Responsible Statecraft.

Taiwan is looming over this week's Trump and Xi summit.

Then finally we'll examine a little-known era of history unearthed by Molly Crabapple about the

1897 Jewish Labour Buns struggle for a secular internationalist society based on socialist ideals

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