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JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Co-hosts: Gordon Chang, Daily Beast.
In Azerbaijan: John Batchelor; Monica Crowley, senior correspondent at the Washington Times, and Fox News; Christopher Nixon Cox, nonresident Fellow at The Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University.
 
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Hour One
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block A:  Javanshir Feyziyev, Member of Parliament from Shaki, and member of the Committee on Foreign and Interparliamentary Relations;  Republic of Azerbaijan; in re: At the Christmas 1991 collapse of the USSR, unemployment was 100%; now, it's 4%.  How did you do it? We tried to bring in all possible know-how, and also learn from Europeans.  Azerbaijan oriented itself toward Europe; and now also toward East Asia, including China. . . . Benefits from energy resources.  We have relations with Asia and Western countries at the same time. Good relations with all. We have a [bridging] function. 
CNC: Azerbaijan always seems to be ahead of the curve – first Central Asian county to give women the vote [1918, from the age of eighteen] and we can now get a visa online. How will you stay ahead? 
JF: With idea technologies.  . . . This is a multicultural country; our people are open to travel anywhere.
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block B:  Leyla Abdullayeva, spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Azerbaijan; in re: . . . Azerbaijan is seen in Europe as a reliable partner; we see Europe as an important partner. Among our interests are creating good relations with all, and we have good, balanced relations [East and West].  Russia: our neighbor, and with historic ties, and an important trade partner with whom we have bilateral and trilateral relations.
Iran: also our neighbor.  Historically very close to Azerbaijan.  Thirty million Azerbaijanis live there; with the empire divided in 1838.   Good ties.  .. . How would you educate American leadership on Azerbaijan?  Everything – for Americans to know the reality on the ground, and  . . .
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block C:  Rashad Nabiyev, Chairman of Azercosmos, Republic of Azerbaijan; in re:  It's a joy to see a private-sector aerospace firm in Azerbaijan.  To whom do you sell? We have three satellites, two for comms and one for observation. Our market is in Africa and internationally. Also Netflix and other firms.  Much competition.  Markets are widely becoming more deregulated, so investors can lay down [cable ] throughout Africa.   We’re not private, we’re government-owned.  Twelve per cent of revenues from internal mkt.  Last year our revenues grew by 10%.  . . . The IoT is taking off. 
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 1, Block D:  Hikmet Hajiyev, Foreign Affairs Advisor to President Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan; in re:  The frozen Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, now twenty-seven years old.  . . . Some overseas Armenian lobbying groups are contributing to the conflict rather than working toward [harmony].
 
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Hour Two
Christopher Cox’s fortieth birthday!
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block A:  Charles Burton, Brock University; in re: Huawei and its Chinese governmental control.  Security and intelligence interests – responding in a massively irrational way. Undersea cable threat: China will divert data over these networks. Last year, it was doing so from both Canada and the US. . . . China’s tech ambitions are so massive: will dwarf what’s being discussed in the US. Huawei sells much more cheaply than do other firms in order to obtain global domination.  US will not share intell with Germany if it accepts Huawei in the way it intends.  Five Eyes are very much a risk.  Huawei steals everything it can from the US.
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block B:  Alan Tonelson, independent consultant who blogs at RealityChek; in re:  Koreas; the deal.  Need enforceable definitions and mechanisms to ensure that China [can no longer steal madly from the US]. Probably not possible. China’s best bet is to play for time; hope to avoid a Trump increase of the 10% tariffs to 25% by 1 March, now delayed. Cynical Chinese will promise anything.  The Chinese economy is probably contracting, giving Trump a lot of leverage.
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block C:  Monica Crowley and  Christopher Nixon Cox; in re:  US politics. The tyranny of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century socialism.  AOC at a Texas music festival.  “At what point does self-absorption become a threat to humanity?”  - Dan Henninger, WSJ.
AOC is 29, a classic millennial; serves in the House; has high aspirations. She strikes us as moronic, but dismissing her would be a real mistake. This is Barack Obama’s Democratic party, which he transformed to make Bernie Sanders and AOC possible. Want to impose a command economy from the top.  The revolution never ends.  . . . Demagoguery. AOC and her cronies destroyed [25,000] jobs and the families that would have been aggrandized by the jobs.
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 2, Block D:  Monica Crowley and Christopher Nixon Cox; in re:  US politics
 
 
((REPEAT OF FIRST TWO HOURS))
 
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Hour Three
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block A: 
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block B:  
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block C:  
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 3, Block D:  
 
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Hour Four
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 4, Block A: 
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 4, Block B: 
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 4, Block C:
Wednesday 13 March 2019 / Hour 4, Block D:  
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