The John Batchelor Show

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Air Date: 
November 21, 2012

Picture, above: The Blue Jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. Blue Jay fathers are not, in fact, blue; the feather barbs are shaped to reflect blue in the spectrum: it’s called "structurally blue." (See: the 9:50 and 12:50 segments,  below.)

Structural coloration is involved in the production of blue colors, iridescence, most ultraviolet reflectance and in the enhancement of pigmentary colors; structural iridescence has been reported in fossil feathers dating back 40 million years.

A typical vaned feather features a main shaft, called the rachis. Fused to the rachis are a series of branches, or barbs; the barbs themselves are also branched and form the barbules.

The β-keratins in feathers, beaks and claws — and the claws, scales and shells of reptiles — are composed of protein strands hydrogen-bonded into β-pleated sheets, which are then further twisted and crosslinked by disulfide bridges into structures even tougher than the α-keratins of mammalian hair, horns and hoof.

The engraving above is a fine art giclée reproduction of the exquisite bird artwork of John James Audubon (1785–1851), Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. He painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North America in a form far superior to what had gone before. Audubon was born in Les Cayes, Haiti (then the colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean) on his father's sugar plantation.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Wednesday 905P Eastern Time: Anne Stevenson-Yang, co-founder and research director of J Capital Research based in Beijing, in re:  two cities that may be harbingers of (global) decline: Ordos, in Chinese-occupied Mongolia, a city built for 5 million inhabitants, although almost no one wanted to move there; and Bal-tou, a nearby city with history but almost no economic activity. The reality on the ground doesn’t look as good as the Beijing statisticians assert.  The central, provincial and local govts have poured money into real estate, evidently not to much good effect.  Local govts may not levy taxes, get to keep 25% of what Beijing extracts then have to share the funds with smaller entities (towns, villages). All have tried to bring in revenue by land dvpt, to an extent and degree that may never have been seen before on Earth. China borrowed from the future to fund activity that won’t generate revenue now.

Wednesday 920P Eastern Time: Charles Ortel, managing director of Newport Value Partners, in re: decline of _ : started 1998 with the expansion of broadband, but the big problem is vastly much too much debt. People could play the game of living off central-bank-issued currencies while the debt was low, but no longer  Now, it's reached places like China, probably India, certainly Brazil; we're in a gigantic global meltdown.  At some point, investors will divest [everything].   Few people have the time to dig in and really get grounded in the fundamentals [of investments].  They assume we can continue with 1.6%, but that will draw to an end.   China doesn’t really have the [resources] to ride out a major economic decline. There are many threats to all of these materialist, debt-based economies.  Could China put forward a Caesar? Yes, but could he withstand the surrounding vandals?   JB: "Gordon is Spengler.com"

Wednesday 935P Eastern Time: David M. Livingston, Space Show, and Alan Stern, planetary scientist,  in re: how could you not love a planet named Mars?  Main-sequence stars.  Look forward 10,00 and 50,00 years: HRH799B? No – Bronson Alpha and Bronson Delta. B-Alpha will hit the Earth and destroy it; B-Delta will come by and hop on it.  Uwingu.com – brainchild of Alan Stern, a new way to finance private exploration of space: name planets.  Over 160 billion planets exist. With everyone  here pitching in, we can name all planets within two years – any name they like. We want people to get engaged.  Go to uwingu.com and put in as many names as you want, or vote for ones already there. Grand fun.  The 99 cents per nomination goes actually to funding space exploration. Our only rules are can’t be pejorative, offensive, profane; otherwise, no limit.  We need everyone's help.  For now we're just creating a babybook of names; later, we'll start to attach specific names to specific places.  The Intl Astronomical Union for ten years haven’t figure out how to develop enough names; so we'll invite the people of the Earth to present the names.   [Proposal: Dragon Lady Chang]

Wednesday 950P Eastern Time:  Natalie Angier, NYT, in re:  Blue.  Almost half of the human race says its favorite color is blue. Reason seems to be: 1. For centuries, it was a rare color; in the Eastern Med, indigo was a great favorite. 2. Lascaux and cave paintings in Pyrenees have no blue because its t from the earth. Got lots of blue only when we began to mine lapis lazuli. 3. Study: when someone sitting next to a blue (not yellow or red) partition, he reported feeling calmer. Children in hospitals prefer nurses to wear blue uniforms. Not considered attractive in foods.

 

Wednesday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania, in re: Chinese Standing Committee, the inner-inner circle. The new establishment wants to keep things as they are today for the next ten years. "Looks more like imperial China than even imperial China did." Leadership are making money hand over fist. Rise of hard-liners, anti-reformers: an even bigger gap between the Chinese people and their governors. Major changes needed; ten years is a long time.   Disheartening and disappointing: slumping economy causes crisis f legitimacy which engenders a widespread crackdown which prevent growth and returns to a sagging economy,. "As a lifelong China specialist, I've never been more despondent . Is basically Mafia politics: an oppressive ruling class milking the people for money and sending it overseas."  "Back to the revolutions of 1904 and of 1949 – they were all about getting rid of economic despots – tens of millions of  deaths, many idealistic and sincere – and all that is gone.  The number-one ______ is a North Korean-trained economist [what??].  Seven seats on the Standing Committee; 25 on Politburo. In Medieval England, at least you knew who the king was. In China, it’s an 86-year-old guy who hasn't held a post since 2004. The political story was hat Americans had to stand in line to vote; people said, I;ve been waiting 2,000 years

Wednesday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): Robert Collins, author, “Marked for Life: Songbun, North Korea’s Social Classification System,” has lived and worked in South Korea three decades;  is a 37-year-veteran of the US Department of Defense, where he's analyzed North Korea and Northeast Asian security issues, in re: the regime has values it must observe: welfare of the Supreme leader; security of the regime, itself; funding the regime's expensive lifestyle.  One of its main objectives is its own survival; radical changes in the script cause far too much instability for a leader who's trying consolidate his power.  All has nothing to do with the welfare of the people.  Massive denial of human right and abuse of the population. Provocations are too advantageous for the regime; high tensions are a trademark for the policy of North Korea. Thinking the regime may change soon is wishful thinking. They need to continue business as usual; relations with Syria is bz as usual – North Korea makes a huge amount of money from the Assad regime. Relations date back to the Seventies; support both Assad pere and fils. Songbun is a caste system based on 15 August 1945 – whatever your ancestor was doing is how you're now classified in that group. If you were a peasant. you became higher class; if you were a shopkeeper or had any money, you were dropped into a subservient and sometimes tortured caste.  Supporting, wavering, and hostile classes. Privileges to the supporting, ruthlessly damaged the lives of everyone in the "hostile" class. Everyone at the age of 17 is selected to be a member of one caste or another.

Wednesday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Sid Perkins, Science magazine, in re: Plate tectonics. Indo-Australian plate.  Sunda plate.  Spinning counterclockwise; Indian subcontinent slowing down as it collides into Asia.  Ripping rocks apart. Quakes from magnitude 4 to magnitude 8.  Simulations: Accelerations and decelerations, frictional heat, in rocks.   Five-hundred-pound flywheel, 20 to 200 rpm; pop a clutch, get one stone grinding past another till friction brings it to a halt.

Wednesday 1050P (750P Pacific Time):  Joseph Sternberg, Asia WSJ, in re: Brewing up freer trade in Korea: Beer tariffs have started falling, but full market opening remains tricky.

Wednesday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Aaron Klein, WABC, in re: bus attack in Tel Aviv, Gaza ceasefire, the new powers of the Middle East. Hamas stops firing rockets and Israel will hold for now its air force operation in Gaza. Hamas has not stopped firing rocket.  Big winners are Hamas – internationally, they look smooth - and Morsi.

Wednesday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Aaron Klein, WABC Radio, in re: Morsi wins, Hamas wins, Israel stalemate.

 

Wednesday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 During World War II by Jerome Preisler and Kenneth Sewell 1 of 2

Wednesday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 During World War II by Jerome Preisler and Kenneth Sewell 2 of 2

Wednesday/Thurs 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Anne Stevenson-Yang, co-founder and research director of J Capital Research based in Beijing, in re:  two cities that may be harbingers of (global) decline: Ordos, in Chinese-occupied Mongolia, a city built for 5 million inhabitants, although almost no one wanted to move there; and Bal-tou, a nearby city with history but almost no economic activity. The reality on the ground doesn’t look as good as the Beijing statisticians assert.  The central, provincial and local govts have poured money into real estate, evidently not to much good effect.  Local govts may not levy taxes, get to keep 25% of what Beijing extracts then have to share the funds with smaller entities (towns, villages). All have tried to bring in revenue by land dvpt, to an extent and degree that may never have been seen before on Earth. China borrowed from the future to fund activity that won’t generate revenue now.

Wednesday/Thurs  1220A (920 Pacific Time): Charles Ortel, managing director of Newport Value Partners, in re: decline of _ : started 1998 with the expansion of broadband, but the big problem is vastly much too much debt. People could play the game of living off central-bank-issued currencies while the debt was low, but no longer  Now, it's reached places like China, probably India, certainly Brazil; we're in a gigantic global meltdown.  At some point, investors will divest [everything].   Few people have the time to dig in and really get grounded in the fundamentals [of investments].  They assume we can continue with 1.6%, but that will draw to an end.   China doesn’t really have the [resources] to ride out a major economic decline. There are many threats to all of these materialist, debt-based economies.  Could China put forward a Caesar? Yes, but could he withstand the surrounding vandals?   JB: "Gordon is Spengler.com"

 

Charles Ortel, managing director of Newport Value Partners, in re: decline of _ : started 1998 with the expansion of broadband, but the big problem is he ethers vastly much too much debt. Could play game f living off central-bank-issued currencies while the debt was low; now, it's reached places like China, probably India, certainly Brazil; we're in a gigantic global meltdown.  At some point, investors will divest [everything].   Few people have the time to dig in and really get grounded in the fundamentals.  They assume we can continue with 1.6%, bit that will draw to an end.   China doesn’t really have the [resources] to ride out a major economic decline. There are many threats to all of these materialist, debt-based economies.  Could China put forward a Caesar? Yes, but could he withstand the surrounding vandals?   JB: "Gordon is Spengler.com"

Wednesday/Thurs  1235A (935P Pacific Time): David M. Livingston, Space Show, and Alan Stern, planetary scientist,  in re: how could you not love a planet named Mars?  Main-sequence stars.  Look forward 10,00 and 50,00 years: HRH799B? No – Bronson Alpha and Bronson Delta. B-Alpha will hit the Earth and destroy it; B-Delta will come by and hop on it.  Uwingu.com – brainchild of Alan Stern, a new way to finance private exploration of space: name planets.  Over 160 billion planets exist. With everyone  here pitching in, we can name all planets within two years – any name they like. We want people to get engaged.  Go to uwingu.com and put in as many names as you want, or vote for ones already there. Grand fun.  The 99 cents per nomination goes actually to funding space exploration. Our only rules are can’t be pejorative, offensive, profane; otherwise, no limit.  We need everyone's help.  For now we're just creating a babybook of names; later, we'll start to attach specific names to specific places.  The Intl Astronomical Union for ten years haven’t figure out how to develop enough names; so we'll invite the people of the Earth to present the names.   [Proposal: Dragon Lady Chang]

Wednesday/Thurs  1250A  (950P Pacific Time): Natalie Angier, NYT, in re:  Blue.  Almost half of the human race says its favorite color is blue. Reason seems to be: 1. For centuries, it was a rare color; in the Eastern Med, indigo was a great favorite. 2. Lascaux and cave paintings in Pyrenees have no blue because its t from the earth. Got lots of blue only when we began to mine lapis lazuli. 3. Study: when someone sitting next to a blue (not yellow or red) partition, he reported feeling calmer. Children in hospitals prefer nurses to wear blue uniforms. Not considered attractive in foods.

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Music (using New York City broadcast times)  

9:00 hour:     Crysis; Babylon; Avatar.

10:00 hour:    Babylon; The Expendables.

11:00 hour:    Green Zone; The Pacific. 

midnight hour:   Crysis; Babylon; Avatar.