The John Batchelor Show

Friday, 21 December 2018

Air Date: 
December 21, 2018

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Photo: ROJAVA - Asayish members in Kobanî. The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (DFNS), formerly and still commonly known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northern Syria.  Source: http://www.dengiamerika.com/a/3760091.html, by Voice of America
Permissions: This media unit is in the public domain in the United States because it solely consists of material created and provided by Voice of America, the official external broadcasting service of the federal government of the United States.
 
Hour One
SCALA.com, the American Business Report
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 1, Block A:  Dan Henninger, Wall Street Journal; in re: Stock market down another 414 points today; the Fed increases; US withdrawal from Syria and resignation of Gen Mattis. In the wake of the Syria announcement Jim Mattis felt obliged to resign immediately (“You deserve a Secretary of Defense more aligned with your views”). Joint Chiefs and others were not informed that he’d take this step. This abrupt move has probably done some political damage to himself.  Trump’s approval is 93% among GOP women (some of them, “only somewhat”). If the economy begins to slip six months from now, some of his widespread support may dwindle. And another 77% are concerned about health care; and Bernie Sanders came out at 28% approval.
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 1, Block B: Tony Badran FDD, in re: Syria. The cost basically cmes down to real estate; if Assad and Hezb take it, that’ll help them, and create an overland route for Iran to reach the Med.
But the other costs; Shi’ite militias in Iraq and Lebanon: US policies have empowered the IRGC in Iran. Hezbollah is [back-up] to IRGC – US emphasis on counterterrorism has blinded us to geopolitics.. . .  What has been the mission of the American contingent in Syria?  Anti-ISIS, with some wishing to morph that into anti-Iran.  Confusion. Israelis have noticed this (Amitdror).  We shouldn't treat the troops in Syria as a last line of defense; the US can do a lot to target the Iranian pipeline; what’s been missing is the posture.
If US air operations continue?  If it stops, that opens the air space to Russians and Syrians. But we're still deployed next door in Iraqi Kurdistan, and in Jordan, and even in Turkey.
The matter of American assets in Syria is not what’s at stake right now. The president spoke of this withdrawal in April.  He said he same thing about Afghanistan – but not yet about Iraq. Counterterrorism as a policy sine 9/11 is tied into a lot of notions about state-building in the Middle East – and the president is very opposed to that.
SCALA.com, the American Business Report
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 1, Block C: Chris Riegel, Scala.com, in re:  . . . That line leads to market segmentation. Chinese have taken a different path: bldg. Llewellen chips that live in your refrigerator, and are working their way up in taking larger and larger segments of the market.
Qualcomm, Huawei,  ZTE.  China is taking the low- and middle-ends of the market.  The chip in the console of your car or your thermostat, you probably wouldn't know the names. Chinese are betting extremely heavily on AI and the surveillance state, There are 28 dominant languages in China.
Huawei is suspect not only by the Five Eyes, but also by their bankers. Google/Facebook/Amazon are all in collaboration/competition.  . . .  In a true free trade environment, the wolves cull the weak sheep from the pack. Does Europe complain about IS confrontation?  Not really – mostly Brexit plus their other problems.
Chinese will play a very, very smart game: some of the best capitalists in hthe world.  Because of the immense wealth being built there, not adversarial, but China could be an excellent client, vastly to the benefit of the US with the right cautions and caveats built in.
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 1, Block D: Jeff Bliss, Pacific Watch, in re: Traffic in LA and SoCal is horrific. Getting around he LA basin area can take hours when you thought it’d take minutes.  Could be a tire-change, a high-speed chase, or anything. Elon Musk proposes to drill tunnels under LA, load car on “sleds,” and move cars and people around at 100-plus mph.
Gee, how long will it take to wait in line to get into the tunnel?
Mayor Garcetti is considering a run for the presidency in 2020. LA encampments of extremely rough-looking people. Makeshift tent cities are beyond imaginable.   Every freeway underpass, railroad sidings, everywhere. Friend of mine owns a building in downtown LA,; every morning have to push people out of the doorways; and homeless break in during the weekends and camp.
Merchants and block associations are starting to push back. Activist groups are defending the violence and squalor. Unlike the densely-packed Manhattan, we have more open areas, beaches, and easier camping.  “People-experiencing.”
 
Hour Two
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 2, Block A:  Michael Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re: The United States as a nation in radical transformation, from republic to empire.  The incipient, or perhaps current, phase of the American civil war.  The approximately half of the population that sees America as a citti on a hill: a nation of virtue and a sanctuary to the world. No longer; now become conqueror of the world. (1 of 2)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 2, Block B:  Michael Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re: The United States as a nation in radical transformation, from republic to empire.  The incipient, or perhaps current, phase of the American civil war.  The approximately half of the population that sees America as a citti on a hill: a nation of virtue and a sanctuary to the world. No longer; now become conqueror of the world. (2 of 2)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 2, Block C:  Richard Epstein, Chicago law, NYU Law, Hoover; in re:  The public taking of 19+ acres in south Chicago for the Obama library. (1 of 2)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 2, Block D: Richard Epstein, Chicago law, NYU Law, Hoover; in re:  The public taking of 19+ acres in south Chicago for the Obama library. (2 of 2)
 
Hour Three
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 3, Block A: Gregory R Copley, author, Sovereignty in the 21st Century and the Crisis for Identity, Cultures, Nation-States, and Civilizations; Defense & Foreign Affairs; International Strategic Studies Association; in re:
Sovereignty in the 21st Century describes a world already at war with itself. It is a world in which urban globalists fear and despise regional nationalists, and vice-versa. It is a time when the concept of the nation-state sovereignty incarnate has slipped from the minds of many. The populations of the mega-cities have as they have in different ways in the past assumed that they alone represented the state . The response to this has been a voter revolt in many areas of the world and the sudden re-appearance of the schisms between cities and regions. Nationalism has become, for many in the cities, a pejorative term, but an expression of hope for revival of many in the regions. But what do we know of the issues which are really at stake in this changing century? Can we adequately describe the meaning of sovereignty of individuals as well as states or the fundamental differences between republics and constitutional monarchies; between empires and suzerainties? Yet all these issues will determine whether we will live in calm and prosperity, or chaos and fear. This may be the most remarkable book yet by Gregory Copley.  (1 of 4)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 3, Block B: Gregory R Copley, author, Sovereignty in the 21st Century and the Crisis for Identity, Cultures, Nation-States, and Civilizations: This may be the most remarkable book yet by Gregory Copley. (2 of 4) 
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 3, Block C:  Gregory R Copley, author, Sovereignty in the 21st Century and the Crisis for Identity, Cultures, Nation-States, and Civilizations: This may be the most remarkable book yet by Gregory Copley.  (3 of 4)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 3, Block D:  Gregory R Copley, author, Sovereignty in the 21st Century and the Crisis for Identity, Cultures, Nation-States, and Civilizations: This may be the most remarkable book yet by Gregory Copley.  (4 of 4)
 
Hour Four
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 4, Block A: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com, in re: Space.  (1 of 2)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 4, Block B: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com, in re: Space.  (2 of 2)
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 4, Block C:  Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel), military and aviation correspondent, The Drive; in re:
Friday 21 December 2018 / Hour 4, Block D:  Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel), military and aviation correspondent, The Drive; in re:
..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..