The John Batchelor Show

Monday 27 January 2020

Air Date: 
January 27, 2020

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Thaddeus McCotter, American Greatness.
 
Hour One
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 1, Block A:  Bill Roggio (@BillRoggio), Long War Journal and FDD; in re:  Crash of E11-A in Ghazni; actually, an E-11A BACN (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node). The Taliban did not claim credit for downing the E-11A, as has been reported by some journalists in Afghanistan. The Taliban did, however, claim it “shot down” a helicopter in Helmand province today. The Taliban has left the door open that it may have shot down the E-11A. We’ve lost at least five highly-honored, highly-valued American airmen.
The photo/vid of the downed plane shows it crashed but not smithereened.  Afghan officials have stated that commandos are being sent to Deh Yak to secure the crash site.  With fuzzy information, this is definitely the fog of war.
Video: https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/01/u-s-air-force-communicat...
Taliban keep telling everyone: “We’re just talking with the US till they leave”— but the dips refuse to acknowledge that. It used to be called a “ceasefire,” now its just a “Reduction in violence.”  [Rubbish! How about, “I’ll reduce my spousal abuse to a reduction in violence”?]  The US is merely a obstacle to the Taliban’s taking almost-total control.  At present the Balkanization of Afghanistan.  Washington keeps blithering about “peace.”  The future is Taliban shooting females; hanging people; imposing its version of sharia; closing schools—these are already happening widely today across Afghanistan.
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 1, Block B:  Michael P Pregent (@MPPregent), Hudson Institute, in re:  Baghdad. DaqDuk: visiting Nasrallah in Lebanon. [Ali Mussa Daqduq (علي موسى دقدوق‎) is a senior Hezbollah leader and senior advisor to Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali.] DaqDuk is afraid now that he knows he’s a target; is hiding hither and yon. A slew of upper Iraqis are trying to blame ISIS or Baathist remnants for the rocket attack on the US embassy compound.  DaqDuq is keeping all the militia leaders & Nasrallah from killing each other.  Mohandas had primacy over Iraqi operations, but with him gone, you see sporadic attacks around Iraq.   The revenge attack was PGMs, which missed US bases on purpose to signal that Iran wanted to de-escalate.  Fort Apache, with John Wayne and Henry Fonda: the Green Zone foes act much like Native Americans, except, “That’s not Apaches, sir; if they were Apaches, you wouldn't see them.”
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 1, Block C: Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, in re: The Wuhan coronavirus doesn't kill as many as SARS does, but it’s transmissiblity is greater. The SCMP (Communist-owned) says:  this outbreak will cost 4% of the national GDP. Each ill person will infect 2.8 to 3.6 people.  Forty thousand families came together to celebrate Spring Festival, then the Hubei government sponsored a huge festival—clearly, the governments were not at al being honest.  Top govt guys are blaming each other to create fall guys and climb over their politically-dead bodies.  Check the scene this coming autumn, when it all boils over. The vast rumor now is that the pathogen source wasn’t the wet market but was 20 mi south in a military lab.  The accuracy doesn’t matter; what people think, does.  Meanwhile, the national government is trying to say that the whole thing is the fault of the United States.  Patient zero’s time of appearance is repeatedly backed up to a previous month.  In the US, so far only five identified cases, but everyone is much concerned about China’s [mendacity].   Spring Festival is extended to 6 February; the country will be in lockdown for a nice long time. 
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 1, Block D: Michael Yon (@Michael_Yon), Hong Kong reporter, in re: Wuhan coronavirus.  Mainlanders are in effect invading Hong Kong to fill up hospitals.  One of the immigrati0n controls is deep inside HK. A young man in a Yankees cap throws  firebomb (with a good fastball) in protest of Carrie Lam after the govt announced it would turn the housing complex into a sort of hospital annex, which the neighbors emphatically reject.  
Watch out for agents provocateurs.     Sometimes we catch them as we follow videos and in one of them see the agents getting in to a police vehicle.  The HK population is merely getting angrier at Carrie Lam as she lets countless Mainlanders in to get coronavirus treatment (for free) and so fill HK hospitals.  The CCP is no longer providing both security and prosperity [the deal was: “We’ll make you richer if you stay silent about our tyrannical methods.” That sub rosa agreement is drawing nigh. 
 
Hour Two
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 2, Block A:  David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, & Jed Babbin, American Spectator, in re: “Bernie’s a socialist.”  “Yeah, whatever.” Bernie currently leads for the Democratic nomination, even as powerful Democrats warn voters, “Don't do this! It’ll make it easier for Trump to win.” All that does is increase his attractiveness to those voters.
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 2, Block B:  David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, in re:
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 2, Block C:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:  Commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 2, Block D:  Indiana Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: The only novel to emerge from Auschwitz.  An ancient jar.
 
Hour Three
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 3, Block A:  Andrew C McCarthy, Ball of Collusion, and Thaddeus McCotter, in re: No, I haven’t read a word of Bolton’s memoir, which had to be submitted at least to the NSC and vetted—in this instance, apparently by Alexander Vindman’s twin brother, Yevgeny.  No actual quotation may be made in advance of the review; but the New York Times got some sort of leak and has published it.
Thaddeus McCotter: We’ve seen the opinion of the leaker that this is what John Bolton wrote.
The Senate trial: witnesses?  The president’s defense attorneys have been going down the wrong road, when hi s best defense is: Nothing consequential happened. The bottom line is that Ukraine got its funding, didn’t have to do or announce any investigation. Nothing even mildly inappropriate occurred. Mount your defense on what’s strongest. 
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 3, Block B:  Andrew C McCarthy, Ball of Collusion, and Thaddeus McCotter, in re:  Who would be the witnesses?  Could have depositions outside of the full Senate trial. Or could kick the whole thing back to the House on the grounds that it’s inadequate; or assign this to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen Lindsay Graham of South Carolina. McConnell can [dare to] lose three or fewer Senators on any procedural vote; right now, he may have lost four.
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 3, Block C:  Gregory Copley, Defense and Foreign Affairs, in re:  Uzbekistan has a 21-15% poverty rate; President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a powerful four-hour speech in which addressed, inter al., the poverty level. He’s clearly paving the way for significant growth in the population. His speech addressed a whole range of problems and what the govt would do about them,
Year of dvpt of science, education, and digital growth.  Stress on learning several foreign languages.  Dept of health is invigorating pharmaceuticals mfrg.
Uzbekistan is growing into an independent and vibrant society, where, incidentally, Beijing will not control the Eurasian landmass (a goal of Washington).
Open borders – The five CA heads of govt in Nov agreed to have more or less visa-free travel among them.  Looking at electronic border crossings for truck; want to raise throughput by for or five  times over the next five years.
Open society – Transparent governance.    ___ 22 parliamentary elections were remarkably transparent in all ways, which built a huge amt of trust in the results.
Social justice -  A respected police force, et al.
Export - Ability to export south via Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 3, Block D:  Gregory Copley, Defense and Foreign Affairs, in re:  The SA economy is in collapse, having been plundered. A parastatal is a quango, a quasi-nongovernmental state organization, the big governmentally-controlled corporations that have been the largest employers; under the ANC, they've been a source of free money to politicians, now are bankrupt and heavily indebted.
South African Airways; and NECSA, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation,  (whose entire board has just resigned)  [and ESKOM].  Eswatini (former Swaziland), Lesotho, Kwazulu-Natal, Western Cape. Pres Ramaphosa is not making speeches of belt-tightening—he doesn't get it. He’s form a smaller tribe, come to power from the ANC’s urban base, given  hug amounts of money, is now a billionaire; has no power base among the African population; inherited a disaster from Pres Zuma. What he could have done to remediate the situation were not done.   European investment, and all others, have has more or less just stopped. SA is now isolated.
 
Hour Four
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 4, Block A:  Henry Miller, Pacific Research Institute, in re:  Wuhan coronavirus. Wuhan had a 7.8% growth rate in 2019; not likely for 2020.  SCMP (owned by Ali Baba, so publishes the Communist Party line) is now presuming a 4% diminution in GDP, possibly going to 5%.   Also: transmission rate said to be: 2.6 or 4.0 or 2.9.  CDC travel warning now covers all of China.
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 4, Block B:  Henry Miller, Pacific Research Institute, in re:  Wuhan coronavirus (2)
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 4, Block C:  Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle, by Thor Hanson
Monday 27 January 2020 / Hour 4, Block D:  Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle, by Thor Hanson