The John Batchelor Show

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Air Date: 
July 27, 2016

Photo, left: 
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Co-hosts: Gordon Chang, Forbes.com & Daily Beast. Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show.
 
Hour One
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Charles Burton, Brock University, in re:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/discord-between-chinas-top-two-leaders-spills-into-the-open-1469134110
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dde0af68-4db2-11e6-88c5-db83e98a590a.html#axzz4FXLrgas0
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block B:  Alan Tonelson, independent economic policy analyst; blog: RealityChek, tweet: @AlanTonelson; in re:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/24/trump-threatens-to-pull-u-s-out-of-world-trade-organization/
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/289005-trump-suggests-leaving-wto-over-import-tax-proposal
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block C: Gina Kolata, NYT, in re: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/upshot/building-a-better-human-with-science-the-public-says-no-thanks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block D:  Greg Zuckerman, WSJ, and author, Rising Above; in re:  Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb, Ken Moelis & Ron Burkle are investing in this co started by infamous ex-con...Now you can, too.  http://www.wsj.com/articles/redemption-on-offer-as-disgraced-executive-sam-waksals-startup-readies-ipo-1469562708
 
Hour Two
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block A:  Rick Fisher, senior Fellow, International Assessment and Strategy Center, in re: China's media buzz surrounding a CCTV story that apparently reveals they have tested their new HQ-19, a near THAAD equivalent ABM. 
RF - Chinese media show footage of possible HQ-19 test (for Jane’s)
In a television report about China’s development of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) capabilities, Chinese state media revealed for the first time details of a test the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted of what appears to be an HQ-19 anti-missile system.
The release of the video footage by China Central Television (CCTV) on 24 July comes just a few days after Beijing failed to convince Seoul and Washington not to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defence system in South Korea. While the exact date and location of the test is unknown, Chinese newspaper People’s Daily Online reported the following day that the PLA had tested the HQ-19 system in 2010.
The CCTV report contained a vague profile of what may be the HQ-19. It shows an image of a ballistic missile similar to that described on Chinese online forums as being the HQ-19. The first such image emerged in January 2014 and a subsequent graphic of the missile featured in a 2015 academic article by PLA analyst Henri Kenhmann. 
If credible, this graphic indicates that the HQ-19 is a two-stage missile. Chinese sources also suggest that development of the HQ-19 began in the early 1990s under the aegis of the 863 Programme and that it may have been tested for the first time in 2003. 
The HQ-19 is reported to have a performance comparable to that of the US Army’s THAAD, but there had been no open-source reports indicating that it had been deployed by the PLA.   
The CCTV footage was part of a report on Chinese missile defence pioneer Brigadier General Chen Deming. The report focuses on Chen’s role in ABM development in the former General Armaments Department, now part of the Strategic Support Force. It mentioned his ABM work early in the past decade, his participation in the 11 January 2007 anti-satellite test, the 11 January 2010 mid-course ABM test, as well as a subsequent 27 January 2013 ABM test. 
The report also said the brigadier general is now deputy director of the prestigious 863 Programme for the development of defence technology. 
US government sources had claimed that the January 2010 ABM test employed the SC-19 interceptor, which is widely believed to be derived from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile. 
Comment   Chinese media reports about the HQ-19 system seem to reflect Beijing’s reaction to its failure to prevent Seoul and Washington from agreeing to deploy the US Army’s THAAD missile defence system in South Korea. 
Many local media reports make the linkage to the THAAD deployment and this press campaign is likely intended to communicate to the Chinese people that their leadership is also developing advanced missile defences. 
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block B:  Bruce Bechtol, Angelo State University and author, North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era, in re:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/22/north-korea-building-secret-ballistic-missile-submarine-base/
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block C:  Jodi Rudormen, NYT,  in re: Two Weeks of ISIS Massacre in March. Jodi Rudormen, @NYTimes. “…We didn’t know it was 247 when we started. In several cases, our reporters on the ground found victims that local officials had failed to count. We deployed 29 people around the world to collect their names, their photographs and the details of these lives that were cut short.
“In partnership with The Times’s data visualists, editors on the international desk created interactive interview forms to collate parallel information about each individual. We needed the basics: name, age, hometown, nationality, religion, job. We also asked if the victim knew anyone else killed in the same attack. How many immediate relatives did he leave behind? How many years of education had she completed? We left space for narrative details and asked contributors to provide any snapshots they could find.“It was arduous and intense. Chris Stein, a journalist in Nigeria, was prevented by a military checkpoint from getting to Ummarari, the village where Boko Haram blew apart a mosque on March 13, killing 30 people at prayer. Instead, working with a local fixer, he managed to cajole a steady stream of villagers to come to his hotel in Maiduguri….”  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/insider/terror-attacks-victims-reporti...
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block D:  Paul Gregory, Hoover, and author; in re: Trump's people on the platform committee have written out "lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine." I thought these things are supposed by be negotiated by the master negotiator Trump.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2016/07/18/trump-deferring-to-putin-deleted-gop-platforms-call-to-supply-ukraine-with-lethal-defensive-weapons/2/#4e7fb7867c96
 
Hour Three
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block A:  Monica Crowley, Fox, & Washington Times Online opinion editor; in re: Election poll: Donald Trump bounces into the lead ; Trump edges Clinton in latest Reuters poll (1 of 2)
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block B:  Monica Crowley, Fox, & Washington Times Online opinion editor  (2 of 2)
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block C:  Robert Zimmerman, behind the black, in re: On the Way to Balanced Rock.    To get a sense of scale, note that the approximate distances of Curiosity’s last two drives, indicated by the yellow dots, is approximately 80 feet.
It appears to me that they are searching for the best route through and between the mesas that can be seen in the distance to the southwest. The peak of Mount Sharp is to the south, so heading in that direction makes some sense. From what I can tell looking at the orbital image, the best route in that direction seems to take them through the gap that contains the balanced rock. though they may decide that all of this terrain is too rough, forcing them to send Curiosity around to the north and west. Heading to the east of the mesas appears to be a less appealing choice because it puts them too close to some sand dunes that they have been skirting.
If they do go through one of those gaps, however, the journey should get very, very interesting, with some very cool images along the way.   http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/curiositys-way-forward/  (1 of 2)
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block D:  Robert Zimmerman, behind the black, in re:  http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/curiositys-way-forward/  (2 of 2)
 
Hour Four
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block ALouisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas. Part I of II (segment 1 of 8)   An intimate portrait of Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams, who witnessed firsthand the greatest transformations of her time  
Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of the future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her, almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century. 
They lived in Prussia, Massachusetts, Washington, Russia, and England, at royal courts, on farms, in cities, and in the White House. Louisa saw more of Europe and America than nearly any other woman of her time. But wherever she lived, she was always pressing her nose against the glass, not quite sure whether she was looking in or out. The other members of the Adams family could take their identity for granted—they were Adamses; they were Americans—but she had to invent her own. The story of Louisa Catherine Adams is one of a woman who forged a sense of self. As the country her husband led found its place in the world, she found a voice. That voice resonates still. 
In this deeply felt biography, the talented journalist and historian Louisa Thomas finally gives Louisa Catherine Adams's full extraordinary life its due. An intimate portrait of a remarkable woman, a complicated marriage, and a pivotal historical moment, Louisa Thomas's biography is a masterful work from an elegant storyteller.
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block B: Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas. Part I of II; segment 2 of 8)
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block C:  Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas. Part I of II (segment 3 of 8
Wednesday   27 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block D: Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas. Part I of II (segment 4 of 8)