Photo:  Kelly Hall-Tompkins, classical musician.  On Wednesday 30 May at 254 West 54 St*, downstairs (red door), at 9:30 PM, Kelly will play the music of Fiddler on the Roof, in which she performed as soloist for many months.
* Feinstein's 54 Below; "Fiddler Expanding Tradition" Solo Show ; New York City.    See: Kelly Hall-Tompkins.com & 54Below.com
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council under US Pres Donald Trump.  Thaddeus McCotter, WJR, the Great Voice of the Great lakes
 
Hour One
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 1, Block A:.  Elizabeth Peek, Fiscal Times and Fox News, in France; in re:  Italy’s political chaos; the strong dollar; banks down 3%, with Morgan Stanley down 6%.  A 50 bp move in bonds. European banks not in great shape, adding to the concern.  Italy is the eighth-largest economy in the world, third-largest in Europe; ergo, it's not Greece.
EU demanding hat the Bank o England be as tough as it is – whereas the BoE has been much tougher; Brussels is so involved in the details that it's missed the big picture: never got rid of its nonperforming loans. The EU is struggling to resolve a lot of problems. Not an association of healthy economies; rather, of rich and poor countries.  Subsidizing Greece, Italy, and Spain, and the Germans become resentful.  . . . In the US, it’s not seasonal workers in short supply – it’s workers in general.  NYT: Govt is getting involved in rust belt employment: temporary problem will become permanent.   
Italian Tumult Spurs Global Stocks Selloff   Investors retreated from stocks following a turn toward political upheaval in Italy, with the Dow industrials dropping nearly 400 points and U.S. Treasury yields posting their largest daily decline in nearly two years. 
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 1, Block B:   Elizabeth Peek, Fiscal Times and Fox News, in Paris; in re:  Wilbur Ross en route to China. Haven't the Chinese read The Art of the Deal?  Dunno; someone should send them a copy.   . . .  The demands are clear, open bold; the discussion will go on for a while, not have a quick fix. The American bz community supports the Trump [MO] because they now see that they've been [gulled] in the past.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 1, Block C:   Larry Kudlow, in re: The euro has plunged against the dollar in the last few hours. Administration policy is just to keep a sharp eye on this. The center-right League Party is not going to leave the euro. Were they to do that, it’d be terrible for their banks, debt, everything. Matteo Salvini [Northern League; la Lega, or Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania] wants a flat tax for Italy.   
China said it wasn’t prepared for the US move, but of course it was.  Will China come forward with a satisfactory deal addressing, inter al, intellectual property theft?  Ownership: US companies are forced to go into joint ventures with Chinese firms, given 49%.  Then the 51% owner, the Chinese, can force the US firm transfer technology.  Beijing suggests it may be about to be offering 51% ownership. So far, they have not.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 1, Block D:   Kelly Hall-Tompkins, classical musician, in re: on Wednesday 30 May at 254 West 54 St*, downstairs (red door), at 9:30 PM , Kelly will play the music of Fiddler on the Roof, in which she performed as soloist for many months.
* Feinstein's 54 Below; "Fiddler Expanding Tradition" Solo Show ; New York City    See: Kelly Hall-Tompkins.com & 54Below.com
 
Hour Two
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 2, Block A:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin;  in re:   Russia: pariah state?  . . . New York Times ran an article in 2014 saying that Pres Obama had given up on trying to create a collegial foreign policy with Russia (“Obama’s malfeasant foreign policy” —  SFC); instead, would isolate and [demonize] Russia.  Thenceforth, the US media have vilified Russia and Putin, called them “fascist” and a passel of other adjectives. Warned Americans not to go to the Olympics in Sochi – as being dangerous, anti-gay, corrupt – even though it turned out splendidly.  The onslaught of  descriptions of perfidy is so continuous, even in the face of endless factual contradictions, that the whole operation seems to be at least partly organized. 
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 2, Block B:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin;  in re: Russia: pariah state?   Is it isolated?   How does it help anyone to claim that a great power is isolated?   Diplomacy is usu used to end strained relations, whereas here it's used to isolate.  Putin wanted to establish a Russian Davos in St Petersburg: St Petersburg International Economic Forum; massive attendance, and world leaders and heard of IMF. Macron thinking he’s De Gaulle; which is OK . . . Macron talking w Putin in judo analogies: “Let us play a cooperative game, as I want to rebuild the trust.”  NYT and WaPo reported improved relations between Russia and Europe.  Jon Huntsman, US ambassador, attended, although apparently no other US big shot did, nor many from the UK.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 2, Block C:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin;  in re:  . . . Macron sits on the Normandy 4, anent Minsk agreement.  Russia is he largest country territorially in the world, as well as being the most resource-rich.  Sit s between Europe and East Asia – how could you isolate that?  Note vast network of pipelines.  Provides 35 or 40% of Europe’s gas.  Note Russia’s ownintl organizations, not NATO, plus the Shanghai group. BRICS. Who are Russia’s allies  - certainly China and Iran.  Who are Russia’s semi-, quasi-allies: India, Germany.  Saudi Arabia, to bring up price of oil.  Azerbaijan, Armenia, the ’Stans. Turkey, which still is in NATO. Hungary an Czech Republic. Sanctions have to be reviewed every X months. If one member disagrees, they end – and if the new Italian govt says no, who ends up isolated is the US.  Putin is good at being Russia’s chief dipl. He meets regularly w leaders of China, India, and of significant countries.  Further, if he pulls this many strings, he inherently is not isolated.  Very odd.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 2, Block D:  Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; American Committee for East-West Accord; author: Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin; in re: [Russia]
 
Hour Three
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 3, Block A:  Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com, in re:  Multiple reports on commercial space and NASA.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 3, Block B:  Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com, in re: China’s brave development of cube sats to establish comms in advance of sending a craft to the far side of the Moon (which never before has been done). It’s thought that two polar places on the Moon, each the size of a hockey rink, have 24-hour sunlight all around the year; he who owns these places has permanent power via solar panels, and can sell it to neighbors for a princely sum.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 3, Block C:  Andrew C. McCarthy III, American columnist for National Review; served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in re: Was Stefan Halper a spy or a confidential informant?  A distinction without a difference?  Yes, that.   Carter Page.   Covert, govt-directed op.  For FISA, had to satisfy FISA court of probable cause of his engagement in activity that violated federal law. Repeat every ninety days. Why no criminal charges?  Who rand the op?  James Comey briefed the White House NSC in spring 2016; and Page-Strzock texts, the FBI wanted to know all they were doing; and Susan Rice’s file . . . discussion thereof w Pres Obama.
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 3, Block D:  Andrew C. McCarthy III, American columnist for National Review; served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in re: Russiagate. Summer 2016: 11 July . . .  Halper also met in Sept w Papadopoulos.  Mifsud. Zero evidence of malfeasance by Papadopoulos. 
 
Hour Four
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 4, Block A:  1956: The World in Revolt, by Simon Hall
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 4, Block B:  1956: The World in Revolt, by Simon Hall
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 4, Block C:  The Brazen Age: New York City and the American Empire: Politics, Art, and Bohemia, by David Reid
Tuesday 10 April 2018/ Hour 4, Block D:  The Brazen Age: New York City and the American Empire: Politics, Art, and Bohemia, by David Reid