Thursday 2 October 2014
Photo, above: Geep-sea hydrothermal vents. See Hour 4, Block D, Sid Perkins, Science magazine, plumes of methane bubbles found along the East Coast
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Hour One
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Francis Rose, Federal News Radio. Larry Johnson, NoQuarter; in re: Is there a Jonah in Washington? Shinseki, Lerner, Petraeus, Holder, Secy Clinton, Julia Pierson, and a dozen others in this Administration; and disorder globally, incl no electricity in Libya, and massive liberty demos in Hong Kong. Chaos in government, both in natl security and domestically. DOD, CIA, State: all alarmed by the chaos and apathy. Extremely wobbly situation. Ike had heart problems, was hospitalize; who was pulling the levers of power then? Feels similar now. Who's the captain of this chip and who's the Jonah?
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 1, Block B: David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Senior Congressional correspondent, in re: Kansas politics.
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Lionel, Esq, LionelMedia.com, in re: Where's the left? There is none. The very notion of a left-right divide is fictive, ersatz. Esp in international affairs. Not only is there no antiwar left; there isn’t even a cause that has to do with freedom, a true casus belli. It’s about oil, water, destabilization of the Middle East, asset-stripping hyena predators. We’re run by NATO. There's no government. Not just Obama – it's Bush, Clinton, and whoever is the next president. These people who chained themselves to fences weren't just antiwar – they were anti- BOGUS war. John McCain is kowtowing to and palling around with Ibrahim Caliph ___ Baghdadi. We have a slumgullion of groups. McCain looks you in the eye and says, "I'm meeting . . . whoever the enemy is" – with Prince Turki al Faisal about beheadings – in Saudi! . . . . No coherence any more. What does ISIS have to do with us? Nothing – where is the protest against an incoherent presentation? (Lionel does.) Mass movements could gain a lot by advancing this cause [in this matter]. Insipid left. . . . I talk with Michael TOmasky, and extremely articulate [representative] of the left . . . A progressive would want to be published in The Nation and speak on MSNBC. have to swear there's an anthropogenic cause of global warming and hold that the Koch brothers are Satan. Oct 5, 1959, the Washington protest . . . Swear allegiance that you’re not for anything; that you're against the right. Dana Milbank was not invited the WH on Sept 10 with progressive scribes Tomasky attended the WH on September 10 with other progressive pundits: "Hey, Congress – vote on the damn' war"
Lionel appearing at The Cutting Room, on 32 St betw Park & Madison, in Manhattan
Saturday, October 11 at 7 PM
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 1, Block D: David Feith, WSJ Hong Kong, in re: the protests: if this were to continue for weeks, and the students became more aggressive, would the public continue to support the protests? Police violence, were it to occur . . . thee protestors are the most disciplined, organized, peaceful protestors anyone has seen. They clean the streets, separate trash and recycle, have orerly relations with the authorities to stand their ground but helping to supply th e police with food. Playing music in the streets. Students who are on strike from school sit in circles doing their homework. One hears concerns that the Beijing regime will try to plant rabble-rousing provocateurs in the crowd. That could turn the public against the, Prognostication: could C Y Leung resign? Yes, since he's hugely unpopular; however, just pushing him overboard doesn’t satisfy the demand to have citizens' choose their own leader. It’s hard to push against Beijing. Violence would favor the regime.
Hour Two
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 2, Block A: David Makovsky, Washington Institute, in re: New peace talks? Netanyahu's Washington visit. Analysis of Bibi/Abbas at UN. Israel and Gaza compared to the Middle East and Yemen . . . Palestinians ask UN for November 2016 deadline for Israeli withdrawal from all ["occupied territory"?] since 1967. For Israel, the Gaza war dealt with Israel's security problems – airport shut down, plus maybe a thousand miles of tunnels under the border; hence, negotiations are a problem. US position is to bring the parties together, but leaderships are dubious. Each Arab nation has its own militant groups within its borders. The al Jazeera phenomenon with its detailing of casualties caused Arab govts to go wobbly. Syria fractured into unrecognizabiity. Abbas: If I don’t get my resolution I'll go to the ICC (but he could be in the docket there for human shields, et al.). Internationalizing the conflict at the Security Council and ICC can lead to a decade of wrangling, during which time people will suffer; probably counterproductive: at the end, these two peoples have to live next to each other. The key in diplomacy is to seize opportunity, breathe fresh life into a discussion.
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 2, Block B: Olli Heinonen, JFK Harvard Belfer Center, in re: Nuclear negotiations. NIAC, said to be a front organization for Iran: . . . If you have a hammer, you think you can solve everything as a nail; if you have a nuclear problem, think you can solve it nuclearly. "I give something, you give something, then we have a deal" . . . The mere disconnection of the pipes [in Iran] is not the solution. How we really see the Iranian nuclear program in the future: what meets Iran's real needs with energy and medical isotopes? . . . a complicated thing; keep in mind the basic question: what needs are there in Iran for uranium enrichment? in a country that has no domestic uranium? "Transparency" is an easy word; transparency has to be somehow legally binding – otherwise, if it was voluntary and you hit a snag, it [blows up]. Need to be very formal, and need rules of the game. Reactivating Parchin? PMD: Iran has to explain what these programs were, what purpose? In the spirit of the NPT? Any chance of a deal on Nov 24? Well, maybe by early of the 25th.
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 2, Block C: Mohamed M. Tawfik, Ambassador of Egypt to the US, in re: Egypt, Sinai, Libya, Peace Process. Pres al Sisi at the UN for the first time was welcomed warmly, both publicly and in private conferences. US –Egytian relations: veery successful, and a good opportunity for him to get his message across to many Americans and to hear their interests. Pres al Sisi speaks extremely lucidly and is a strategic thinker. Libya: the situation there is very serious. recent election there, led to a new parliament – important that it be allowed to do its job (it’s endorsed a new govt) and to take control of the govt. Extremists won less than 10% of the votes so are resorting to violence, It’s a rich country with an excellent geographic location and a great people; let the people have their say. Need stability. We'll do all we can to help. Toby Wilkerson took the trip down the Nile from Elephantine Island to Cairo – tourists have not returned after the earlier unrest. Tourism is increasing: Egypt is a safe and stavle place; unique for its extraordinary antiquity. We have at least a quarter of all the antiquities on Earth. Best way t see is on the Nile. Napoleon invaded Egypt about 200 years ago, took his army south, approached Luxor. When they entered the Temple of Karnak, the entire army came to a standstill and were silent. Then the whole army started applauding, Had seen something they'd never even dreamt of. . . . It took centuries [millennia] for these different antiquities to be built; spectacular. The meeting between Presidents al Sisi and Obama was constructive. Eight agreements were signed, all in the economic field, basically covering about $278 million. On the military side, we’re entering a phase in our region in which we have forces extremely destructivelv, evil, must be confronted No one country can solve this; we must all work together. The fact that we have forces that have trained together and use the same eqpt is [helpful]. We must deal with these groups both by fore and by ideology: explaining to young people that this is not in fact Islam, Also they must have jobs.
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 2, Block D: Clifford D. May, president, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, in re: the Islamic State is attacking across several countries; Iran is operating combat units [a division? also IRGC] in Kurdistan against eh Islamic State because the latter is putting pressure on Assad. We shd have given Kurds weapons a long time ago; Iran's fighting in there is a bad thing. The much-negotiated del with Iran will lead to either a bad deal, or no deal as it’s extended, Iran is confident that it’s winning and I think they're right. AL Q and ISS aren’t enemies, they’re rivals Al Q sees that ISIS is hogging the spotlight, but Iran is comfortable to have us be shocked by beheadings and hold the notion that Iran is a stabilizing power. Iran has collaborated with al Q in the past; Hizballah is Iran's foreign legion; it called he shots in Baghdad and now in Yemen. Iran wants to be the hegemon, the colossus, the ruler of the region. This is only a step: Khomeini intended to be the Lenin to bring down the West. What the US does have is enemies whom we must not allow to become stronger, nuclear-armed. If Iran get [nukes], the world is a much more dangerous place.
Hour Three
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 3, Block A: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: Pres Netanyahu on Jerusalem, et al.
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 3, Block B: Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, in re: At the UN, Abbas spoke of a "just peace," while Netanyahu spoke of a "historic compromise." The self-proclaimed president of the Palestinians state (and head of Fatah) showed determination to continue the Pal struggle and the armed struggle against Israel. He says all terrorist attacks vs Israel since 1965 we re conducted according to intl law – means that Abbas says that attacks on Israeli civilians are legitimate. Recall that Fatah announced a few weeks ago the return to armed struggle vs Israel, claimed more than 30 attacks in West Bank. Have many given up on Abbas as a serious possible partner in peace? . . Mahmoud Abbas needs the PA to suggest that he controls the West Bank and Gaza, is president of all Palestinian people. Giving up on Abbas poses the problem that there's no alternative. Abbas wants to destroy Israel. Since he's 89 years old, perhaps gravity will give up on Anbas.
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 3, Block C: Daniel Henninger, WSJ WONDER LAND, in re: Obama's Limitless Government
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 3, Block D: Gregory Copley, StrategicStudies director & author, UnCivilization, Defense & Foreign Affairs, in re: We see anti-nationalist pressure groups in, for example, the US, the UK, and Australia demanding simultaneously the end of nationalism but an increase in the power of the state. This uses democratic methodologies to usurp democratic spirit, so that the state may be manipulated to reward individuals who do not contribute to society.
This momentum threatens the viability of the society. Society will, as history shows, automatically reach a point of frustration and rebellion if the natural hierarchy is threatened. The question, then, is whether some of those threatened societies will reach the point of rebellion in the near future? Rome did, and flourished. Footnotes: Copley, Gregory R.: UnCivilization: Urban Geopolitics in a Time of Chaos. Alexandria, Virginia, 2012: the International Strategic Studies Association.
Hour Four
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 4, Block A: Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: There are currently two battles going on in the effort to destroy ISIS. The first is the military battle. ISIS is not just an occupier of territory, but a terrorist operation. It has slaughtered untold thousands of innocent persons and threatens to bring terror far outside the Middle East. Yet the American response, which I regard as woefully insufficient, has been to fight a prolonged war solely from the air, which may stem further advances, but cannot dislodge ISIS from its current strongholds. Then there is the constitutional battle at home. Does the President have the power to wage war on ISIS unilaterally, or must he go to Congress for the same kind of approval that George W. Bush received when he entered into combat over a decade ago in both Iraq and Afghanistan? (1 of 2)
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 4, Block B: Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: There are currently two battles going on in the effort to destroy ISIS. The first is the military battle. ISIS is not just an occupier of territory, but a terrorist operation. It has slaughtered untold thousands of innocent persons and threatens to bring terror far outside the Middle East. Yet the American response, which I regard as woefully insufficient, has been to fight a prolonged war solely from the air, which may stem further advances, but cannot dislodge ISIS from its current strongholds. Then there is the constitutional battle at home. Does the President have the power to wage war on ISIS unilaterally, or must he go to Congress for the same kind of approval that George W. Bush received when he entered into combat over a decade ago in both Iraq and Afghanistan? (2 of 2)
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 4, Block C: Jed Babbin, Washington Times, in re: How to play the ISIS card - Washington Times
Thursday 2 October 2014 / Hour 4, Block D: Sid Perkins, Science magazine, in re: plumes of methane bubbles found along the East Coast
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