JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Colleague: Thaddeus McCotter, American Greatness
 
Hour One
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 1, Block A: Tom Joscelyn, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; & Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: The US-Taliban agreement:  US leaves, Taliban celebrates and mocks the US. Hundreds of fighters marching in daylight, flying the flag, no fear of reprisal; again and again. Afghan government has no control.   Kabuki theater.   Once the talks end, Taliban will retake large areas of the country, re-form the Islamic Emirate. This matters in context of the global jihad: Middle Eastern, West African, Southeast Asian, groups are watching and feeling triumphant.  Big boost to the jihad.
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 1, Block B: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal and FDD; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: Al Qaeda, Libya, Syria. 
In Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, fewer than 25,000 in all theatres; fewer than 30,o000 in all of Africa.  Jihadists have tens of thousands.   In northwestern Nigeria, attack: Shabaab hits hotel, military base with suicide assaults   https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/08/shabaab-hits-hotel-military-base-with-suicide-assaults.php   Chad, Niger.  “Staying entrenched in unwinnable conflicts . . .”   French are also trying to extricate themselves from la francophonie; local forces are woefully inadequate.
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 1, Block C: Alan Tonelson @AlanTonelson, U.S. Business and Industry Council Educational Foundation, and Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, in re: FT reports that China’s share of global exports falls [as US revises supply chains].  South China Morning Post: Drought and heavy rains . .  . fear of Chinese food prices, and of famine.  Chinese predatory trade policies have subtracted from global growth. Massive flooding, some area parched; ___worm disease; importing ag from around the world, thinking of establishing farms in other countries.   Chinese agriculture has long been inefficient, small-scale.  Noting like the American Midwest or Central Valley of California.
Bidcn wouldn’t make dramatic changes in US-China policy right away, but over time would shift from unilateral (Trump’s mode) to a global multilateral front against Chinese protectionism. Too many allies were hauling in too much money out of it to call China on its practices.  US bz notices that Chinese politics are volatile, will continue to look for alternative production sources.  Foxconn (Taiwan-owned) is starting to move.  Depends on how soon corona virus can be [brought under control]. 
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 1, Block D: Michael Yon, East Asia correspondent, and Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, in re:    Jimmy Lai, arrested this week, has pointed out that, “There’ll be no world peace till China [is, in effect cleaned up].  Mainlanders have kidnapped people in Hong Kong and Thailand.  During the arrest, Jimmy Lai was tranquil and dignified.  He could possibly be imprisoned for life. Hong Kongers are enraged.    People began buying Apple Daily (Lai’s publication) stock, and bought ever more copies of the paper on the street as a form of protest.
 
Hour Two
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 2, Block A:  David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, & John Fund, NRO, in re: Lower the low bar on the Virtual DNC.
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 2, Block B:   John Fund, NRO, & David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, in re:  That the USPS is slow is not news
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 2, Block C:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents @conf_of_pres, in re:    Full credit to the UAE, Israel, and the US (Jared Kushner, the US ambassador). There were two dozen meetings in Washington; full dipl relations, establishment of embassies, and the like.   The GCC Secretary-General condemned threats from Turkey and other source; most Arab countries have issued statements of welcome. Extraordinary silence from Europe.  Turkey, which has dipl relations with Israel, says it’ll break relations with the UAE.  Iran also is angry, but has critical ties with UAE.    Erdogan very negative (was left out of it).   Israel sided with Greece in the current dust-up, and France has sent warships to protect Greek interests.  Lebanon is a tragically failed state.  France led a fundraiser for € 250 million, but that’s not nearly enough to cover the costs of the multiple explosions.  Hezbollah is trying to buy houses from Christians. US seized a million Bbls of fuel from Iranian ships headed to Venezuela –both under sanctions. Iran sends oil to mid-sea, transfers to other ships to hide the origin.  Iran says, “Not our ships.”  Snap-back must be by September 18.  If UN doesn't act swiftly, will be disastrous. 
       DSA and BDS: New York chapter sent a survey to City Council candidates demanding that they pledge not to travel to Israel. Not Iran, or North Korea, or any wicked place; just Israel. 
       Arrow 2, part of a multi-tiered missile defense system: largest plane in the world, Russian-built, landed in Israel to carry trucks to the US.
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 2, Block D:  Indiana Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents @conf_of_pres, in re:   Ancient history in the region Harmony among all groups and religions in the Ninth Century.   Also: 586 BCE – you can date it by the magnetic [force] of the Earth.  Things heated to 900-plus degrees in a fire: the Babylonian burning of Jerusalem. Archaeomagnetism.  2 Kings, 25: dating it with a magnetic field. 
 
Hour Three
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 3, Block A:  Nick Cannon, comedian, rapper, and television host, and seminarian @NickCannon; and Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:  Exploring Nick Cannon’s visiting Jerusalem. Malcolm and I have become brothers from a different mother.  Judaism, Israel, and Jews in America turn out to be one story.  Israel is a new chapter.
    We have ’way more in common than in conflict.  As someone coming from a place of being a student – I hope to see Jerusalem first-hand.  Sometimes out of bad things, good things happen. Nick’s process of atonement for having unintentionally hurt an entire community. John Henrik Clarke.  France has given in to hatred, of Jews and also of Christians.
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 3, Block B:  Nick Cannon, comedian, rapper, and television host, and seminarian @NickCannon; and Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: The hatred of the twentieth century didn’t go away because America entered the war.  Nick:  Bari Weiss. I rad two books a week.  One of the actual acts of terrorism going on in America—it didn't much register – the Pennsylvania synagogue shooting.  Two years later, in my hometown of San Diego, a nineteen-year-old kid did the same thing.  I saw how hate speech becomes acts of terrorism.  I know that I had no malice, but if my words fuelled [hurt feelings], I need to clear that up, I wanted to be well informed. Truth to power. Bring us together in fighting . . . In Psalms, in the Abrahamic faith – Psalm 127. I experienced Shabbat with Malcolm and his family—amazing.  JB: Anti-Semitism is a warning bell. 
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 3, Block C:  Nick Cannon, comedian, rapper, and television host, and seminarian @NickCannon; and Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:   NC : The Shabbat dinner was amazing: sharing the Psalms, washing hands ceremonially. All moving.  JB: When you visit in Israel, you’ll see:  everything has a story.
MH: Nick is studying for a Ph.D.in theology at Howard.  NC: I come from a household of ministers and theologians. The language of theology around the house is almost like sports. . . .  I want to bring people together.  Ironically, what got me in trouble was what I was studying.  Hearing different perspectives; staying away from the topes, focus on truths.  MH: The City of David is transformative.  Where David built the old city of Jerusalem.  Just digging in a parking lot, we discovered a Second Temple village.  It comes to life. You can argue about theology, but you can't argue with a rock with a carving.  Golden bell found in a drainage ditch. What can we do?  NC:  Why do these tropes keep emerging? Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory, but when you can balance theory with facts. . . .  Kids fired up about change; want to be able to coexist, be equal.  We need to get away from the negativity. 
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 3, Block D:  Nick Cannon, comedian, rapper, and television host, and seminarian @NickCannon; and Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:  Discussing in context of the virus.  NC: My mother has quite an interesting heritage/background. She called me daily: “Why don't you tell people that you’re part Jewish?”  My great-great grandfather was a Sephardic rabbi. My grandmother was from Spain—in grammar school, I learned that we’re Jewish.  [After the hurtful words,]  I needed to correct myself. MH: The Abraham Accord signed between UAE and Israel reminds us that we’re all from the same tradition.   JB: In the tenth, eleventh, twelfth centuries in Spain, we all lived together easily, venerated book-learning. 
 
Hour Four
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 4, Block A:  City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, by Gerard Koeppel 
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 4, Block B:  City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, by Gerard Koeppel
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 4, Block C:  City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, by Gerard Koeppel
Monday 17 August 2020 / Hour 4, Block D:  City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, by Gerard Koeppel