Photo, above: The spiral minaret in Samarra, Iraq, now under siege by ISIS.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 1, Block A:  Toshi Yoshihara, in re:  Ten days ago, China _________.  Can China as a great power conduct itself in a manner fitting its position and according to international norms?  How high up was the order given?  Not by local commanders gone rogue.  Need to hold tactical and strategic commanders responsible.  In April2001, the EP3 event, does not now look like an accident.  When Pres Bush issued a non-apology, a moment of regret, China took it as a huge victory.  The US still conducts surveillance: China held our crew, stripped the  plane, and then succeeded in having the US pay money!  This is the way aggressors act. 1937, Nanjing: war crimes, massacre, the depredations of a whole people  Today, looks as though China is engaged in a comprehensive attack against Japan; in essence is attacking the American alliance system.  Now high-performance Chinese aircraft buzzing  _____

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 1, Block B: Cleo Paskal, associate Fellow at Chatham House in London, in re:  SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) – all  the regional leaders raced to accept Modi's invitation to attend his inauguration.  Xi will go to India before Modi goes to China.  Countries are finally able to start working toward regional cooperation. SAARC covers about one-sixth of the planet.  Australia and New Zealand have long viewed the Pacific as their backyard, have been strong in keeping others out, have mismanaged relations.  Provides an opening for China and India – Canberra told India to back off, but may not do so to Modi.  None of the SAARC countries wants to turn to China, but are doing so out of desperation.  Since India's liberation in 1948, India hasn’t operated in Southeast Asia; was still under colonialist mentality, but the young generation seems t be of a different mentality. 

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Hotel Mars, episode n. Douglas Messiier, parabolicarc.com, &   Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show, in re:   Virgin Galactic, a suborbital spaceship company, will send both civilians and scientific/tech missions.  . . .   Could have shaken the ship and pilots apart, so now dvpg a nylon engine. Nerve-wracking to make such a big change so late in the program.  Nitrous oxide, nylon, helium.  They want to do a small number of flights yet this year, then tak the ship down, put Richard Branson and his two children on, to launch the tourist program.  Concern that they'll push the preparations too fast.    FAAast: permission to put Bransons on?  First commercial flight cones after a launch license, which give permission to fly commercially. President of Virgin Galactic,  George Whiteside, will fly first to show it’s safe for Bransons,, then Branson will fly to assure the public.   Most of the funding comes from Abu Dhabi govt - $390 million –(EBAR?) and will stop funding it unless Branson flies this year. Virgin denies this, but good sources hold fast. The intl definition of space is 100 km/62 mi.  Rumor that a lot of key Virgin employees have been leaving, putting out resumes. The head of the engineering launch team left last year, took a few employees with him.  At 100 km, get 3 to 5 minutes of weightlessness; at 50 mi, less.  Have 700 contractual agreements to provide weightlessness to customers. This is not Apollo 7 – these are rich people who are not risk-takers in this respect  A+FAA has agreed to clear the airspace during the launch. 

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 1, Block D:  Abheek Bhhattacharya, WSJ in Hong Kog, in re:  the sentiment in fvor of Mr Modi was so high that billions of dollars enered the stick market, now is calming down, Modi has spoken of a large number of principles, time is arrived for him to start implementing  Can he make India one big Gujarat? There's still a bunch of things I India's federation of states militate against; need to get mining kickstarted again, and lots of market reform; controlled by provinces or curt. India's electricity s one big unknown.  Electricity is the foundation of any new mfrg, or even service economy, Ideally, a total overhaul (done by BJP until 2004), but now the other part needs total restructuring, Modi probably won’t do that. In electricity, it’s every state for itself right now. Some states can sign on to reforms, others fail to – could wind up with several different Indias. Most of the capital comes from banks; if not lent to power stations, no bull run.  Fortunately, in India (unlike China) it’s transparent; the bad part is that there's not all that much money.  Most of the banking system is state-owned.  Bringing in foreign capital dilutes the Indian govt.  "Buy the rumor, sell the fact."

Hour Two

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 2, Block A: Bruce Bechtol, author of North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era: A New International Security Dilemma, in re: . . . .North Korea seems to sense on limit on its behavior when it feels under attack. The office just established in Seoul scares them – applaud the UN for doing this, but we have to worry about the DPRK reaction.   Pyongyang called the UN department leader a homosexual and impugned his family – beyond believable.  Kim Jong-eun criticized the meteorological bureau for its predictions; complained that they weren't delivering ran.   Erratic character – a spoiled, pampered little boy brought back from Switzerland and told he'll be the next god-king; farther nuts even than his father.

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 2, Block B: Nitin Gokhale, anchor at New Delhi Television, in re: Wang Yi goes to India, rubs elbows with Narendra Modi at this swearing-in; the PM of the Tibetan govt-in-exile, Lobsang Sangye,  was invited, as well as the Taiwanese rep in Delhi; these have not gone unnoticed in Beijing, which filed a diplomatic note of protest.  China is afraid of Tibetans living in Dharamsala – In fact, China thinks that big parts of India actually belong to China! Note that invitations were issued by the BJP, not by the Indian govts proper.  Lobsang Sangye got a seat in the front, which surprised him a lot.    Telecast by govt TV.  Indian media for the most part ignored that signal.  Says that Modi will have his own foreign policy, Beijing be damned.  Wish Washington would take a leaf from India's book.  Another signal to China and Pakistan: will appoint a hawk, a hardliner, as security chief

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 2, Block C: Steve Herman, Southeast Asia Bureau Chief/Correspondent, Voice of America, in re: . . .  unclear what form of government will be Thailand's after the coup. 

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 2, Block D: 

Hour Three

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 3, Block A: Monica Crowley, Fox, re Eric Cantor, Lindsay Graham, Chris McDaniel, Tea Party.

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 3, Block B:  James Taranto, WSJ, re Eric Cantor, HRC.

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 3, Block C:  Bill Roggio, FDD, re ISIS blitzkrieg overwhelms Iraqi Army, sweeps on toward Baghdad.. ISIS takes control of Bayji, Tikrit in lightning southward advance

June 11, 2014  By BILL ROGGIO  Bayji, which hosts Iraq's largest oil refinery, and Tikrit, the provincial capital of Salahaddin, are the latest cities to fall to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham.

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 3, Block D:  Salena Zito, PTR, re Eric Cantor, incumbency, Mitch McConnell, Pennsylvanian governor's race.

Hour Four

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 4, Block A:  Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II by Arthur Herman

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 4, Block B:  Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II by Arthur Herman

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 4, Block C: Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II by Arthur Herman

Wednesday  11 June  2014 / Hour 4, Block D:  Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II by Arthur Herman