Photo, above: James Foley of Rochester, N.H., a freelance contributor for GlobalPost, in Benghazi, Libya; today, he was slowly beheaded by ISIS in Iraq.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Co-hosts:  Gordon Chang, Forbes.com & Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show. 

Hour One

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Scott Harold, Rand Corporation, in re: There are 500 to 600 British citizens with ISIS; the Syrian city of Rakka, there's a kidnapping ring run by British citizens, locally called "The Beatles."   Also there were US Special Forces op in Syria recently to rescue Foley; it failed.   Meanwhile, Beijing and Moscow link mil & ec cooperation for the Twenty-first Century – Eurasia for the rest of this century.  Note new Chinese incursion into Ladakh, at least 25 km just as everyone was talking about China and India starting to work together.  [Hah.]  Russia unable to sell to Europe because of the NATO sanctions, it had to turn to Beijing and take a major haircut – probably lose money.  Also, Moscow is the primary arms supplier to India, while China is India's main threat.  . . . The 1950s relations between China and Beijing were ideological; now, it's more opportunistic opposition to the US plus [tentative economic alliances].  GC: A united China and Russia; worrisome to the US.  . . .  Look what Russia did to Ukraine and Georgia – used exceptionally brutal force to liquidate oppo in Chechnya; . ..  .

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 1, Block B: Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, in re: The religious population of DPRK used to be 24%, now is 0.07%.   Pyongyang objected to the visit of the Pope and popped off with rockets.  This added to South Korea's prestige as a civilized and advanced country, which North Korea tries to sabotage.  Whenever scholars speak of the North's appalling human right record, or the South hosts a prominent person, the North grows apoplectic.  There were 50,000 Roman Catholic families before the Kim family brutality took over; since the regime punishes three generations of guilty religious families, there are few

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Hotel Mars, episode N.   Chris Carberry, executive director, Explore Mars, Inc., in re: ExploreMars project ExoLance. Curiosity and Oppy. A 2020 mission. Explore Mars, Inc., is crowdfunding right now. ExoLance was conceived in 2013 when people realized that the current Mars Rovers weren't looking for life on Mars; need penetrator probes to look one to three feet subsurface - bunker-busting technology.  Need proof of concept plus knowing that we wouldn’t damage any of the workings.  Novel approach will add no mass to the mission – MSL carried ballast that it actually had to shed on landing; same with the 2020 Rover.  Tungsten bar drives into the Martian surface: "lab on chips" at the tip of the probe – we'll spend a year or two investigating payloads. We have impressive help on this.  We're looking for microbial cross-pollination between Earth and Mars or were there two Geneses?   If you donate as little as ten dollars – even one dollar – it’ll be a  huge help. We can send mission patches, signed books, invitation to watch a test, tour a cave with Dr Penny Boston (Mars cave analogues). There's strong public support for our research!   Have a look at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/exolance  - and donate a dollar or many. 

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 1, Block D:  Sadanand Dhume, AEI, in re: Modi Resets India-Pakistan Relations  A decision to cancel bilateral talks is a refinement, not a reversal, of New Delhi's approach to its neighbors.  Modi started his tenure in May with dramatic invitations to India's neighbors – the quintessential hawk showing dovish feathers; now he cancels talks with Pakistan as Modi saw Pakistan conferring with separatists: "You may either consult with separatists or confer with India."  Half of humanity was born after 1985.  What memory can it possibly have of Kashmir? Even though India claims all of Kashmir, in reality if the borders were frozen as is, India would be fairly happy.  It's the oldsters who keep the burning historical memory as it’s passed down by elders and exacerbated by TV.  If Pakistan g=can get over Bangladesh, can’t it get over Kashmir? Not really – it’s the original bone of contention in the mind of Pakistanis?  A small part of the Indian commentariat: have much less political salience in India than in the US.  The Congress Party is merely confused . . .  Muslims in India tend to side with India in this, but have a tense relationship with Modi. 

Hour Two

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 2, Block A: Julia Famularo of Project 2049, in re: Intermarriage in China: Han Chinese – 92% of the population - dominate (although "Han" isn’t monolithic) - and what's happening in Tibet is sinister. Since the 2008 riots, Beijing has referred to "ethnic harmony"  meaning here that the the govt encourages mixed marriages between Han (92%) and Tibetans (2%) – in order to eliminate Tibetans from existence.  HH the Dalai Lama speaks of cultural genocide;  this is in fact a version of racial obliteration. CCP cadres of "matchmakers" according to the Washington Post.  Intermarriage to wipe out Tibetans. 

China now has a law allowing it to arrest family members of self-immolators.  

Reminiscent of North Korea, where the government brutalizes three generations of anyone who opposes the regime.

In principle, this forced marriage is the same as what the Chinese Communist Party is doing in Xinjiang to Uyghurs.  The Party highlights a Mongolian husband and a Han wife, for example.  A young Uyghur wife speaks of the tensions and struggles she faces. 

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 2, Block B: Nitin Gokhale, anchor at New Delhi Television and author of Beyond NJ 9842: The Saichen Saga, in re: Line of Actual Control is the actual border between India and China, came into use in the 1980s, no crossborder firing for 25 years.  Line of Control is _____.  This weekend, China intruded 25 km into Indian territory: India confronted the Chinese, prevented the from pitching tents, China retreated in less than 24 hours.  reason for incursion: India is stepping up its military presence in Ladakh, esp post-Modi;  new airforce installation, T-72 tanks, and 2,000 more troops' being stationed there China is wary iof his, obviously, and asks for a two-track policy were it acts friendly and still invades.   

China demands that India control its media.  Ha-ha.  Tomorrow, Beijing will complain that the wicked Gordon Chang spoke on Cumulus Media.

To Shanghai: please get in contact with us – it’s easy – but we like Nitin Gokhale a lot.

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 2, Block C:  Josh Rogin, Daily Beast, in re: The UK Jihadists Who Murdered Foley Days before Foley’s abduction in 2012, alleged members of a jihadi kidnapping network tied to ISIS slipped through Britain’s legal system, and may have sought new hostages in Syria.

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 2, Block D:  David J Feith, WSJ Hong Kong, in re: The Battle of Okinawa Rages On  All politics is local, even where the U.S. 'pivot' to Asia is concerned. This tropical island was the site of World War II's bloodiest Pacific battle, which lasted from April to June 1945 and left 12,500 U.S. servicemen dead. In the decades that followed, Okinawa became a hub of U.S. military operations in Korea and Vietnam and a bulwark against Soviet expansionism generally. Today, as the U.S. rebalances its military and foreign-policy resources toward East Asia—the so-called pivot—Okinawa is again at the heart of U.S. strategy.

Yet America's military bases here are especially vulnerable to local politics. The U.S. pivot could trip over Okinawans' demands to close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, the most important U.S. Marine airfield on their island.  Okinawans have complained for decades that the local U.S. military presence is an unfair burden on their people, economy and environment. Activists and politicians across the political spectrum—even many who praise the U.S. military's role in securing regional stability and prosperity, and who are clear-eyed about threats from China—protest that their prefecture is home to just 1% of Japan's territory but 75% of its U.S. military bases.

As Susumu Matayoshi, chief of the Okinawa government's executive office, tells me: "Our official view is that we need a U.S. military presence," but "the balance now is not correct." Hence the public dissatisfaction, even as official surveys find that 90% of locals are anxious about China. When Chinese ships and fighter jets encroach on the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, they are operating in the far western portion of Okinawa Prefecture.  Of the more than two dozen U.S. military facilities in Okinawa, Futenma Air Station attracts the most ire because . . .

Hour Three

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 3, Block A:  Monica Crowley, Fox, in re:  Rand Paul Gives War a Chance
 
When it comes to international affairs, Rand Paul is the new Ronald Reagan. At least, that's what the junior Kentucky senator's foreign policy . . .

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 3, Block B:  James Taranto, Wall Street Journal, in re: In Defense of Obama 
His Ferguson statement was judicious and wise. 


Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 3, Block C:  Clair McDougal, AlJazeeraAmerica, in re: Liberian officials said Sunday that they feared Ebola could soon spread through the capital's largest slum after residents raided a quarantine center for people with suspected infections, freeing patients and stealing items that include bloodstain sheets and mattresses.

The raid in the West Point slum of Monrovia occurred late Saturday and was led by residents angry that patients were brought from other parts of the capital to the holding center, said Tolbert Nyenswah, assistant health minister. It was not immediately clear how many patients had been at the center.

West Point residents went on a "looting spree," stealing items from the clinic that were likely infected, said a senior police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the press. The residents took mattresses, sheets and blankets that had bloodstains, which could spread the deadly virus.  According to Agence France-Presse, at least 17 patients infected with Ebola were unaccounted for after . . .

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 3, Block D:   Tim McGrath, Fast Ships author, in re: Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea

Hour Four

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 4, Block A: At the Crossroads Between Peace and War: The London Naval Conference of 1930 by John Maurer and Christopher M. Bell (1 of 4)

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 4, Block B: At the Crossroads Between Peace and War: The London Naval Conference of 1930 by John Maurer and Christopher M. Bell (2 of 4)

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 4, Block C: At the Crossroads Between Peace and War: The London Naval Conference of 1930 by John Maurer and Christopher M. Bell (3 of 4)

Wednesday  20 August  2014 / Hour 4, Block D: At the Crossroads Between Peace and War: The London Naval Conference of 1930 by John Maurer and Christopher M. Bell (4 of 4)