Thursday 12 November 2020

Air Date:

November 12, 2020

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Colleagues: Sebastian Gorka, America First radio and Fox; and Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents

Hour One
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 1, Block A: Mary O’Grady: @MaryAnastasiaOG; WSJ editorial board; The Americas column; in re: Human capital – plumbers, electricians, builders, professionals – have all fled Venezuela. Socialism as we see in in the 21s Century is a ace to the bottom: Kamala Harris said, “Equitable treatment means that we all wind up the same place”—exactly what most humans, let alone Americans, don’t want.   He way Democrats have handled foreign policy during Obama/Biden for eight years, Biden doesn’t seem to have a clue about policy n Latin America, but during those eight years, strategy to Venezuela was all talking, which played into the hands of Chavez/Maduro. With the productive members of society gone, the disaster could last for a generation of more—unless a government came in that cleaned up the politics and returned to drilling for oil, of which there’s a great deal underground there.
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 1, Block B: Paul Gregory: @PaulR_Gregory, @HooverInst, and TheHill; in re: “Vladimir Putin is mortal.” Russian Federation anent the retirement of senior politicians: unusual perks.   2001 federal laws provide a very soft landing for Putin. The passage of his immunity law is automatic; relates to succession to Yeltsin, which was worked out between the Yeltsin family and the FSB, provided Yeltsin and his family with immunity. Now, senator for life: if you’re in ether upper or lower House of parliament you have immunity—but Putin will have immunity for life “for service to the motherland.” After the disastrous constitutional amendment, from which Putin is still recovering . . .    Who will be the guarantor of this agreement? Putin will have to choose someone who’ll stay alive—probably the next president, perhaps with an intell background. We have yet another rumor that Putin is in bad health. Medvedev has no intell history and is a lawyer; is not the successor.
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 1, Block C: Conrad Black, @ConradMBlack, publisher, littérateur, biographer, commentator; the National Post; in re: For things to move, it’ll have to be the ballot-harvesting matter. Georgia is 16 electoral votes. The court will examine; whatever is, is. Trump is trailing by 5,000 out of millions; similar in Arizona. A Democratic Congressman thinks Putin is running the White House. All the false claims are falling away. Trump’s policies have essentially been ratified; he wasn’t because of the unique campaign against him for four years by the large media and the Democratic party. That disgraceful arrangement with Iran to give them ten years to become a major military power. The limo liberals who deluged Biden with money will not be supporting serious efforts to raise their taxes. Biden has about two years to accomplish anything— the 2022 elections—and has to get McConnell to go along with him.
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 1, Block D: Veronique de Rugy, @veroderugy, Mercatus Center, in re: McConnell may now be willing to compromise with Pelosi in a way that he wasn’t with Trump. Spending: not chosen, in order to reduce debt—but don't hold your breath on this. Taxes: Biden spoke of raising taxes on the rich, and punishing taxes on Silicon Valley. Biden wants to raise taxes by $4 trillion, but had an $11 trillion spending plan. Biden’s chief of staff told Hillary not to [get rid of] PPP. Volcano-scale of debt. Japan is our longest ally after Israel. The Quad.

Hour Two
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 2, Block A:  Sebastian Gorka, @SebGorka, America First radio, in re: BBC asked Biden, What do you think of the English-Irish [dispute]? Biden: “BBC? I’m Irish.” Let's start with: there is currently no president-elect. There’s certainly nothing named Office of President-Elect.
BoJo is in trouble right now; his chief strategist is resigning or being fired. Another shutdown. When President Obama met the Queen, e gave her an iPhone with recordings of his speeches, and shipped the bust of Churchill from the Oval Office to London. Then Obama lectured the Brits: “If you accept Brexit, you’ll have to get to the back of the queue.”   Bahrain, UAE, Sudan: must be that the Saudis favor this, but Biden is said to look askance at Saudis.   Recall the pallets of cash shipped to the mullahs.
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 2, Block B:  Sebastian Gorka, @SebGorka, America First radio, in re:
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 2, Block C:  Monica Crowley, TreasurySpox & @MonicaCrowley @USTreasury ; Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Treasury; in re:
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 2, Block D: John Tamny, @johntamny, RealClearPolitics, in re:

Hour Three
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 3, Block A: Philippe Etienne, @Ph_Etienne, @franceintheus, ambassador of the Republic of France to Washington, and Malcolm Hoenlein, @conf_of_pres, Conference of Presidents, in re: European terrorist attacks; Turkey; Eastern Med.The fight again terrorist threat. Priority is to prevent future attacks; checking propagation of terrorist msgs on social media. Deradicalization programs: each country needs to learn from all the others. Without security there is no freedom. Of course, freedom of speech is very important; at the same time, messages that lead to murder . . . ISIS: lost territory in Iraq and Syria, but they're still there. Need to know how they evolved. Erdogan? Our Ministers have condemned insults to another leader of a natural country; we recalled out ambassador for a time. Discussed Turkey in the European Union. We want good cooperation with Turkey, our neighbor.
Philippe Etienne is the Ambassador of France to the United States. He previously held numerous posts within the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and most recently served as the Diplomatic Adviser to President Macron (2017-2019).
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 3, Block B: Ilan Berman, @ilanberman, US-Iran Policy. China Middle-East Pivot. Iran, Latin America. Arce inauguration: has Iran advanced its case significantly in Venezuela and Bolivia? Authoritarianism in Latin America; return of anti-Americanism. Russia, China, Iran all paying attention. Iran to sell Venezuela long-range missiles? JCPOA concluded in 2015. If Biden chooses to return to exactly that: it’ll expire in toto before the end of the first Biden term. At very least, provisions need to be broadened and revised. Depends on whom he selects for SecDef and State.   Trump could reinstate sanctions that Biden couldn’t easily retract. Iran says it’s not prepared to return to the negotiating table as Biden wants.
Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC. An expert on regional security in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Russian Federation, he is the recent author of The Fight for Iran: Opposition Politics, Protest, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Nation, Rowman & Littlefield.

Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 3, Block C: Amb. Floreta Faber (@FloretaFaber), and Malcolm Hoenlein, @conf_of_pres, Conference of Presidents, in re: IHRA, Balkans Forum Against Anti-Semitism, Kristallnacht 82nd Anniversary, visit to Israel. All positive for Albania and Israel, as Albania is the first Moslem country to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. We have a special history of connecting with Jewish people. We have multiple religions and all respect and live together. Albanian parliament officially adopted the definition. Anti-Semitism is a threat to our own [civilization]. In 1943, Albanians refused to turn over Jews to the Nazis, saved many from the Holocaust. At beginning of war, about 200 Jews in Albania; by the end, 2,000—all saved. Albanian code of honor: when you open your doors to a guest, you’ll defend him with your own life. Last year, the ambassador visited Israel on a diplomatic mission; now we have direct air flights in the summer.
Mrs. Floreta Faber is the Albanian ambassador to the United States.

Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 3, Block D:  Malcolm Hoenlein, @conf_of_pres, Conference of Presidents, in re: Iran: cyberwarfare. Great concern: IAEA reports that Iran has 12 times the amount of nuclear material permitted under the JCPOA, can produce two or three nuclear weapons. Have doubled amt since August. Also, have a new secret site. Engaging in very sophisticated cyberwarfare; have attacked Israel, including infrastructure sites. Active in South America, providing weapons. Iran is under tremendous domestic pressure. Demands reparations from Biden. Bahrain prime minister has now changed after decades; Bahrain is part the Abraham Accords. The king of Bahrain named the crown prince as the new PM. Thousands of people from Arab countries sent messages to Israel; their accounts get 100 million views very month.
Dutch Protestant church acknowledges failure during WWII: now, “Anti-Semitism is a sin against God.” Churches during the war did not resist Nazis to help Jews. A full mea culpa. Dutch parliament has now refused the UN Security Council constant condemnations of Israel. Saeb Erekat, dying with the virus, sought medical attention in Jerusalem after preventing Palestinians from doing the same. He has now left us.

Hour Four
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 4, Block A: Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils, by Lydia Pyne
An irresistible journey of discovery, science, history, and myth making, told through the lives and afterlives of seven famous human ancestors
Over the last century, the search for human ancestors has spanned four continents and resulted in the discovery of hundreds of fossils. While most of these discoveries live quietly in museum collections, there are a few that have become world-renowned celebrity personas—ambassadors of science that speak to public audiences. In Seven Skeletons, historian of science Lydia Pyne explores how seven such famous fossils of our ancestors have the social cachet they enjoy today.
Drawing from archives, museums, and interviews, Pyne builds a cultural history for each celebrity fossil—from its discovery to its afterlife in museum exhibits to its legacy in popular culture. These seven include the three-foot tall “hobbit” from Flores, the Neanderthal of La Chapelle, the Taung Child, the Piltdown Man hoax, Peking Man, Australopithecus sediba, and Lucy—each embraced and celebrated by generations, and vivid examples of how discoveries of how our ancestors have been received, remembered, and immortalized.
With wit and insight, Pyne brings to life each fossil and how it is described, put on display, and shared among scientific communities and the broader public. This fascinating, endlessly entertaining book puts the impact of paleoanthropology into new context, a reminder of how our past as a species continues to affect, in astounding ways, our present culture and imagination.
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 4, Block B:  Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils, by Lydia Pyne
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 4, Block C:  Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils, by Lydia Pyne
Thursday 12 November 2020 / Hour 4, Block D:  Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Human Fossils, by Lydia Pyne
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