JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 1, Block A: Jeff Bliss: @JCBliss, #PacificWatch, in re: Snowing on Manhattan Beach, a little southwest of LA, south of Santa Monica.  We had big enough snowdrifts to build snowmen.  Weird in southern California; people frolicking in the snow—for one day.  Gavin Newsom and recall: need 1.5 million verified signature to get it on the ballot; we’re only 100,000 signatures short for next month. Will he be able to fend off this fight to evict him from Sacramento. A lot of Republicans, independents, and Democrats are tired of the bad economy the hypocrisy of him at the French Laundry; the appalling loss of jobs.  Dems said it was from QAnon, which didn't work. Now, they’re saying, “Ô he’s good, leave him in.”  Kevin Faulkner, former mayor of San Diego, may be the replacement.  Disneyland: Great America park is reopening. Will others open soon?  They have to—we’ve lost $8 billion so far, and there’s a big push from the public at large. Indoor dining still forbidden.   People leaving for Texas: does Sacramento need money from Washington? Yes—pension funds, unfunded liabilities, worry about it daily.   Seattle sees the biggest drop in office space ever; surprise after the 125 days of violent demonstrations.  Eric Garcetti, LA mayor:  a congratulatory birthday tweet went out, which was heaped with public ridicule.
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 1, Block B: Francis Rose,@FRoseDC,  Host of @GovMattersTV @ ABC7News & WJLA 24/7 News. Washington D.C., in re:  Upgrading the digital universe of the last sixty years of govt.  Joe Stenaka, deputy chief info security ofcr and chief privacy ofcr, VA.
The VA has many problems; it appears that Dennis McDonnough will be Secy of Veterans’s Affairs, and he’ll make security a top priority.  Solar Winds wasn’t a major issue for the VA, but all valuable data get ping’ed all the time. VA is evaluating its crown jewels. Veterans’s benefits and health administration: the privacy issue is PII; but then there’s trouble with people who ought to be there having trouble getting in. Huge electronic health-care subsystem being introduced, that’ll be shared with DoD and Coast Guard.  Solar Winds lurked inside for a log time; response to it is still continuing.  We don't know what we don't know. Mike Hettinger and Rich Beutel, two consultants to the govt. The govt is looking for old programmers, to manage the old—archaic—systems.  Some IRS systems are still running on Hollerith cards.  So far, $80 million in projects.   Biden administration is proposing to provide $5 billion more; how do you utilize 100x?  Is here an end date?  No timelineis the goal: you're constantly iterating and improving.
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 1, Block C: Henry Miller, @HenryIMiller @PacificResearch Institute; HenryMillerMD.org, Pacific Research Institute [HenryMillerMD.org], in re: Virus and vaccine. Israeli vaccinations are moving along quickly and very well; far leads the world in percentage vaccinated. After 12 days the rate of infections began to drop, and that only after the first dose. Caveat: the dominant virus in Israel is the original strain, before the several new variants (UK, Brazil, South Africa).  First shot confers 80% of those vaccinated: resistance to infection; jumps to 95% after the second dose. Herd immunity:  how many needed to protect the whole population?  Maybe 70%.  Could increase.
Bad news: South African study—half those tested show reinfection. Brazil has a horror story: Manaus is overwhelmed by the Brazilian variant, they've run out of oxygen, and people are dying of asphyxiation.   They had 70% vaccinated, but the new variant [has created new problems?]. Number of viruses ambient in the world.  More mutants with every RNA replication.
Now is Northern Hemisphere flu season. People are carefully washing and masking; but chewing gum (nonsugar)?  Stimulates saliva production, and saliva  has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Also can mitigate symptoms of depression, “has consistently positive effects on mood.”
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 1, Block D: Gregory Zuckerman,  @GZuckerman, Wall Street Journal Special Writer, in re:  Anu Bajaj Guha (Anubhav Guha), a 24-year-old grad student in mechanical engineering at MIT. Has been on student income till he decided to put $500 into the stock market.  One of GameStop’s biggest winners; put in $4k, lost half, then found subReddit; put $500 at $20 a share for GameStop. Bought options. From $500 to $203,000; 40,582%. In climbing from $60 to $400 (he gets a $36,00 annual stipend), he buys 7 lbs of chicken thighs every Sunday, cooks it up with rice and some frozen vegetables—that’s all he eats all week long. Recall that there’s a tax bill coming. 
A hedge fund made $700 million.  He may be tempted to go back in; it’s not just the money but the community. People are looking for companionship, purpose.  . . . I don’t know anyone who still uses a Blackberry. 
 
Hour Two
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 2, Block A:  Devin Nunes, @DevinNunes, CA-22, Countdown to Socialism,in re:   Michael Anton, a brilliant member of Pres Trump’s security policy.   Bien:  “Ten per cent for the Big Guy.” China is now exporting entire business structures: ought of energy, finance and ports in Europe; now the String of Pearls, bases at chokepoints across he globe and saber-rattling at Taiwan. How will Kerry get Xi to do anything for him? US media devise fantasy-land, fake narratives and put it out to the Americans.  When Kerry walks out of the room, Chinese and others will laugh.
Biden starts his administration by alienating our closest and largest trading partner, Canada, which has lost even ore than the 11,000 jobs the US is losing because of he cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline.  All the left care about is having the desired narrative pumped into Americans’s iPhones.
Birdwatch suppression: where they’ll put everyone who’s been censored by twitter. Thousands have been booted off and many, like me, don't want to be on twitter.
PODCAST:  https://devinnunes.podbean.com
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 2, Block B:  Devin Nunes, @DevinNunes, CA-22, Countdown to Socialism,in re:    John Yoo has identified  . . . They want to build a narrative saying that the GOP is responsible for everything gone wrong.—riots, mobs, barbed wire: It’s surreal. We have to go through metal detectors to get on the House floor—the Republicans have guns and might shoot us. Half the members are sitting at home eating popcorn. A wall around the entire Capitol.  A freak show; it's wrong. They have the FBI going thorough people’s banking records—and there’s not a drop of evidence that any of this is appropriate. The decay of America. 
PODCAST:  https://devinnunes.podbean.com
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 2, Block C: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com; in re: Recurring Slope Linnae (RSLs): seasonal flows on warm Martian slopes.  Thought to be salty water flows occurring during the warmest months on Mars, or alternatively, dry grains that "flow" downslope of at least 27 degrees.
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 2, Block D:  Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com; in re: Bezos “steps down” [up].  Blue Origin is slow. His mascot is a tortoise “Proceed aggressively slowly,” or some such. He’s also attending to WaPo, and environmental projects. Maybe he’ll straighten out Blue Origins. Starlink won $886 billion to build its Starlnk constellation, Competitors are whining that that’s unfair. Starlink has proven it doesn't need funding, and he others [haven’t earned it]. Expect bribes called donations. 
Take China very, very seriously: developing manned and unmanned planetary programs lunar base on the Moon, Plan is written u p and public. Russia opposes the Artemis Accords.
 
Hour Three
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 3, Block A:  Michael E Vlahos: @JHUWorldCrisis; Johns Hopkins; in re:
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 3, Block B:  Michael E Vlahos: @JHUWorldCrisis; Johns Hopkins; in re:
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 3, Block C:  Veronique de Rugy, @veroderugy, @Mercatus ;Mercatus Center, in re:
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 3, Block D:  Dan Henninger: @DanHenninger, @WSJOpinion; editorial board and Wonder Land column; in re:
 
Hour Four
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 4, Block A:  Nobody's Normal,by Roy Richard Grinker
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 4, Block B: Nobody's Normal,by Roy Richard Grinker 
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 4, Block C: Nobody's Normal,by Roy Richard Grinker 
Friday 5 February 2021  / Hour 4, Block D:  Nobody's Normal,by Roy Richard Grinker 
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