Photo, above: hostile crowd begins to encircle US ambassador's car in Beijing. See Ai Weiwei's just-installed YouTube: screams of  "Down with Japanese nationalism! Pay us back our money! Down with US imperialism!"  

 

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

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

Wednesday 905P Eastern Time (605P Pacific Time): Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania, in re: the China-Japan territorial dispute.  Chinese sharp aggression – "Claim the Diaoyutai! Nuke Japan!" – offers an opportunity for serious war to break out unintended; many false calculations available; "Too much deterrent is always good."

Anti-Japan protesters hold portraits of the late Communist leader Mao Zedong, Chinese national flags, and a poster that reads: "Sept. 18, National Humiliation Day," while marching on a street outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Tuesday. Pic: AP.

Wednesday 920P Eastern Time (620P Pacific Time): John R. Bolton, AEI, reviews, Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad, by Melanie Kirkpatrick.    Out of the Gulag – this is a very important book, as it brings to American attention the "circle of Hell" that North Korea is. When North Koreans leave their terrifying home territory and escape into China, they risk huge danger of abuse – being kidnapped as sex slaves; all kinds of life-threatening events – so the safest thing they can do is immediately find a Christian, since it's almost only the Christian church that offers safety and protection.  Why isn’t China being held to account? Great nations are intimidated. If China refuses to uphold its humanitarian obligations, why would anyone think that China won’t steal intellectual property and abnegate all their signed agreement?  Why are we signing up to all these deals that China clearly won’t honor? The US, when it does ratify a treaty, takes it seriously and honors it. China does not; it extracts intl good will that comes from pretending to honor treaties.  NY Times in Beijing: US ambassador in a car has just been surrounded by protestors and harassed in an expression of Chinese nationalism. Maybe Amb Locke will send in a cable to Washington to wake people up. We're in a very dangerous period now, with Chinese belligerent claims in South China Sea and East China Sea. Don't underestimate Japanese nationalism, either. See Ai Weiwei's just-installed YouTube: screams of  "Down with Japanese nationalism! Pay us back our money! Down with US imperialism!"

US astronaut Mike Fossum, Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov landed at 0226 GMT, shortly before sunrise on the snowbound steppe of central Kazakhstan, NASA TV showed. Summer 2011.

Wednesday 935P Eastern Time (635P Pacific Time):  Dr David Livingston, the Space Show, and Taylor Dinerman, senior editor, Gatestone Institute, and authority on DOD space, in re:  manned space since the end of Shuttle. Soyuz launched for 60 years, and launches from the Caribbean. Decent module problem develops: Putin fires someone responsible for third-stage satellites, now sudden delay with descent module, the only way to leave ISS.  Russian space program has been slowly deteriorating over the last 20 years, esp the last five: losing top people, the best engineers and scientists who now are in their seventies and eighties. The younger people can't get paid; have other jobs available, many have emigrated to the West. All this creates constant reliability and quality-control problems. Still, the space program is part of Russia's national identity.  Russia wants to keep it going for hard currency and pride, but few Russians want to work in the program – it’s hard work, dangerous, and with poor conditions in Kazakhstan. It'll be five years before they come up with a human-rating program; given NASA and Federal acquisitions, it won’t be easy to solve. The Russians are not sharing technical information, and the US has no Plan B past sharing the descent module with Russia –  the only stairway to the ISS – and it's not necessarily working adequately.  Gasoline Alley, 2012

Wednesday 950P Eastern Time (650P Pacific Time): Fraser Howie, co-author of Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China's Extraordinary Rise, in re:  See Ai Weiwei's just-installed YouTube: screams of  "Down with Japanese nationalism! Pay us back our money! Down with US imperialism!"   When the Chinese economy collapses, they revert to nationalism Anti-Japanese, anti-American feelings, always bubbling under the surface.  Vitriolic engagement is not working, The past decades, Chinese-Japanese trade has trebled, but anti-Japanese pogroms occur when the central govt wants it.  In 2005, anti-Japanese protests that died down; but now the tone is much darker, and Japanese people in China are afraid for their lives, so are closing factories. Govt ramps up protests and thereby undermines its economy.  Govt playing a very dangerous game. Govt always has pretty good control, but at some point something unexpected will happen and it’ll go out of control. The "ugly American" charge is now being used at the American embassy. Straightforward propaganda vs the US.   This is the social safety valve in China, as they don’t have normal outlets; have to channel emotions into anti-foreign demonstrations. China is no longer seen as a stable link in the world trade chain.  The markets have downplayed this. Protests cannot take place without permission of the authorities.

Wednesday 1005P Eastern  (705P Pacific Time): Peter Navarro, professor at UC Irvine and producer of the documentary, Death by China, in re:   See Ai Weiwei's just-installed YouTube: screams of  "Down with Japanese nationalism! Pay us back our money! Down with US imperialism!"  Historical antecedent: young, patriotic Chinese frustrated with their govt take to the streets vs foreigners – the Boxer Rebellion – and what started currently as anti-Japanese is now anti-American.   Reuters reports that the US has protested to the WTO Chinese automobile trade practices.   PN: Ch & J are the Hatfields and McCoys of Asia. Dispute seems to be over the Diaoyutai, but is in fact over oil and gas. Ch has h t same disputes wit Brunei, the Philippines, others. China says the South China Sea is "a Chinese lake."  US made a deal with Japan: if Japan didn’t re-arm, we'd protect it; hence the US is drawn by treaty into the conflict.   Obama and Clinton are unlikely to show any backbone; we'll lose support in Asia, and Japan will lose both face and power.  As I show the film and conduct town hall mtgs in Ohio, I learn that In Mansfield, a mile-long steel mill had half of it cut off and shipped to China, where it now competes with the US. A fellow whose job it was to ship jobs overseas said: It wasn't wages that cost us those jobs, it was tax advantages.  A young man who went to put a flag on his grandfather's grave told me in tears that he couldn't find an American flag not made in China.  JB:  Beijing Commerce Ministry now lectures the US on its trade practices and electoral efforts. PN: The woman runs the Obama campaign in Ohio: I told her Obama must be firm with China. We should have had these promises years ago.  Obama basically cannot campaign on branding China a currency manipulator because he's refused to do that for years, whereas Romney isn’t held back that way. Will Romney exploit his advantage?  GC:  The trade case is a slam-dunk in favor of the US, as China's subsidies are wholly illegal.

Wednesday 1020P Eastern (720P Pacific Time): Stephen Yates, CFO of D.C. International Advisory and former advisor to VP Dick Cheney, in re: Panetta urges China and Japan to be pleasant to each other. Meets with Xi Jinping, proclaims that Xi is in good health. Panetta has medical degree?   See: mob surrounding US ambassador's car.  Obama admin wants to avoid mentioning hat there's yet another foreign policy realm over which the US has no control.   Obama's SecDef is just showing weakness – all signs of profound weakness of US to China.  GC: Secy Clinton's last visit to China, campaign to vilify her. Why did she go, and why say those vapid things when she arrived?  SY: Maybe thinking that they could have some useful jawboning behind he scenes, I don't see why a grown-up powerful American official has to go to a shouting session with a less-powerful state.  The mob scene is exceeding troubling.  GC:  Under Mao, never even one anti-Japanese protest. Under two weak  leaders, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, encouragement of mob protests to attack the US ambassador. JB: Has the US said it'll have "flexibility" after the elections?  SY:

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) walks to his car upon his arrival at the Beijing International Airport on June 5, 2012. Putin arrived in China on June 5 for a three-day visit aimed at bolstering a crucial alliance.  — Photo by AFP, June 2012.

Wednesday 1035P Eastern  (735P Pacific Time): Michael Auslin, AEI, in re: Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has started to lay out his country’s vision for engagement in the Asia-Pacific-Russia’s own pivot. In my column in the Wall Street Journal Asia last week, I argued the U.S. and Russia’s shared anxieties about Asia may provide room for cooperation on a few select issues, if we handle these opportunities right.  JB: Chinese protestors are throwing things at Amb Locke. Putin? Does he gain from all this?  MA:  Putin has generally got a weakened position.   JB: US has a policy of accommodation to Beijing such as was conveyed in the unusual msg from Obama to the Kremlin?  MA: US has bent over backwards to ignore transgressions, with the result that China becomes more aggressive and belligerent.  The ms fro American is clear and China has understood it. GC: The nature of a regime matters, and you can’t have favorable relations with an authoritarian state.   MA: It’s probably the rising power that's even more critical. Status quo power like the US has to get along with a rising power like China o a re-rising power like Russia. Important: consequences for transgressions; we don't have the will to uphold our position and reassure our allies.  I wonder if the US need to declare a pivot is a sign that the US is in decline. he president and Secy of State have said this; we have to choose where to apply our resources for ht first time. Philippines, Japan. First, less jawjaw with China – they’re so used to our talking and not holding hem accountable; but they need us more than we need them, as their economy is more fragile.  We get naught from the diplomatic stuff; they need to see that it's not a free ride. We also can’t do capricious things like suddenly, three years late, sue them in the WTO.  China doesn't have the quality and training yet that we have; there are reasons we have our ships there: freedom of navigation. Learn in history that rising nations are very insecure about their position and , when pushed, step back.  Their number-one fear is what wd happen in the country if people grew restive – and the Communist Party has almost no internal support now.

Wednesday 1050P Eastern (750P Pacific Time): Joseph C. Sternberg, Editorial Page, The Wall Street Journal Asia, in re:  . . .   this is extremely dangerous for China, as Japan may decide to put their money elsewhere – maybe Nebraska.  See: WSJ Asia editorial page right now, Joseph Sternberg's editorial.

Wednesday 1105P  Eastern (805PPacific Time): The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea by Walter R. Borneman; 1 of 4

Wednesday 1120P Eastern (820P Pacific Time): The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea by Walter R. Borneman; 2 of 4

From early 1944 the Fast Carrier Force was known as 'Task Force 58'  when serving under Admiral Spruance's Fifth Fleet, and as 'Task Force 38' when organized as part of Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet.   (Third and Fifth Fleets in general consisted of the same vessels - only their command teams differed).  The nucleus of the Fast Carrier Force consisted of the large fleet carriers of the Essex Class, augmented by the two surviving pre-war carriers  -  Enterprise and Saratoga  -  and the light fleet carriers of the Independence Class.

Wednesday 1135P Eastern  (835P Pacific Time): The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea by Walter R. Borneman; 3 of 4

Wednesday 1150P Eastern  (850P Pacific Time): The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea by Walter R. Borneman; 4 of 4

Wednesday/Thurs 1205A  Eastern (905 Pacific Time): Seb Gorka, FDD, in re: the Moslem Brothers and the American people

Wednesday/Thurs  1220A Eastern (920 Pacific Time): Reza Kahlili, author, in re: Iran threatens US on video, more protests;  Catherine Ashton negotiates again with Iran on nukes; also, Damascus bombing

Wednesday/Thurs  1235A  Eastern (935P Pacific Time): Hotel Mars. Dr David Livingston, the Space Show, and Taylor Dinerman, senior editor, Gatestone Institute, and authority on DOD space, in re:  manned space since the end of Shuttle. Soyuz launched for 60 years, and launches from the Caribbean. Decent module problem develops: Putin fires someone responsible for third-stage satellites, now sudden delay with descent module, the only way to leave ISS.  Russian space program has been slowly deteriorating over the last 20 years, esp the last five: losing top people, the best engineers and scientists who now are in their seventies and eighties. The younger people can't get paid; have other jobs available, many have emigrated to the West. All this creates constant reliability and quality-control problems. Still, the space program is part of Russia's national identity.  Russia wants to keep it going for hard currency and pride, but few Russians want to work in the program – it’s hard work, dangerous, and with poor conditions in Kazakhstan. It'll be five years before they come up with a human-rating program; given NASA and Federal acquisitions, it won’t be easy to solve. The Russians are not sharing technical information, and the US has no Plan B past sharing the descent module with Russia –  the only stairway to the ISS – and it's not necessarily working adequately.  Gasoline Alley, 2012

"Japan should rein in its behaviour and stop any words and acts that undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Xi said in a meeting with visiting U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, according to Xinhua news agency.

Wednesday/Thurs  1250A  Eastern (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt. Paul Gregory, in re: in alternative universe: President McCain challenged by Senator Obama on the weak foreign policy.

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Music (using New York City broadcast times)  

9:00 hour:  Centurion; Thirteen Days; Battleship.   10:00 hour:  Battleship.    11:00 hour:   The Sentinel.   midnight hour:  Tears of the Sun; Thirteen Days.

 

 

THE I-400 Japanese submarines, the largest subs of World War II, were a 120m-long underwater aircraft carrier that carried 3 planes. They were designed to transport the bombers underwater for a surprise attack on the Panama Canal. Only three were built. They were scuttled by the Americans after the war when Russian demanded access to the subs.