Above: The Vostochny Cosmodrome (Russian: Космодром Восточный Kosmodrom Vostochny "Eastern Spaceport") is a planned Russian spaceport, to be located at 51 degrees north in the Amur Oblast, in the Russian Far East and Outer Manchuria. It is intended to reduce Russia's dependency on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which is located in Kazakhstan. Construction began in January 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2018.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

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

Hour One

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Anne Stevenson Yang, J Capital Research, & author, China Alone: The Emergence from, and Potential Return to Isolation, in re: The 7.5% growth target for this year is the same as for last year: Beijing will rely in investment rather than economic growth.  Anne Stevenson- Current batch of leaders are most concerned with tighter control. HSBC's analysis of export mfrg: showing weakness. All the leadership actually does is invest; doesn’t analyze what's really going on.    Like digging a pit and filling it in again.  The mfrg number – forward export contracts are very weak now, so they’ll shovel more loans to mfrg. Harder do control on the export side. Ukraine? China is very concerned – fear of being in the position that Moscow has been put in.

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 1, Block B: Evan Ellis, professor at National Defense University, in re:  China is in Latin American for four reasons: for resources; for food to support its people; for new markets – products and services, incl telecoms and mining; and fourth, China is looking for technology. China is nervous: was when Chavez died, but Maduro consolidated; but now, with Venezuelan protests, China is nervous again.  Two kinds of friction: although both Dems and GOP have said they don't see China in Cold War terms, and Monroe Doctrine doesn't much apply, there are frictions with local govts, and protests from environmentalists, with companies on terms; with petroleum fields overrun, and Chinese communities under fire in Surinam, Buenos Aires, elsewhere.  Chinese govt will guarantee some contracts. Falklands: Argentina will acknowledge Chinese claims on South China Sea islands if China acknowledges Argentina's claim on the Falklands/Malvinas! Argentina's position was officially recognized by the South American Forum. 

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Hotel Mars, episode n.  Anatoly Zak, Russia in Space, in re: Convinced that Ukraine will have no effect on joint Russian-US space program? No. [Alls sorts of things can go wrong.] As long as this crisis doesn't escalate further, the program will be OK.  JB: One thing that always happens is that it escalates.  AZ:   Hard for me to imagine that  supplier wd cut its own source of income and prestige.  DL:  Risk for collateral damage? AZ: factory in Dniperpavlovsk is in Eastern Ukraine.   JB:  Will move mfr to Amur River in the Far East.  Cosmodrome at risk near China? AZ: Strategic Russian space agency doc says, We'll demonstrate to China that we're serious abt dvpt of this region and working with China. For Russia, manned space prestige is much more about prestige than economic dvpt – a sort of Olympics that go on forever.   ITAR-Tass: "United Rocket and Space Corp has been registered" tweet. Consolidating Russian space industry in post-Cold War envt; create one conglomerate to have accounting, R&D, mfrg, under one roof; streamlining. 

Here's why the Ukraine crisis won't affect Russia, US space collaboration

CNN International ‎- 4 hours ago 
And there's no need to worry, NASA says. "We do not expect the current Russia-Ukraine situation to have any impact on our civil space ...   Russia Crisis Raises Space Station Questions   NASA Says Relations with Russia Unscathed by Earthly Concerns

Thanks to its reliance on Russia, NASA is once again confronted with the nightmare of a diplomatic roadblock in a project originally made possible by diplomacy: the U.S.-Russian partnership in space exploration. And if Russia's confrontation with Ukraine and the West turns into the worst diplomatic crisis of our generation, as feared, it could have equally profound and disturbing consequences for space exploration.

This month's comings and goings at the International Space Station highlight the interdependence of the U.S. and Russian space efforts: Next week, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins is due to return from the space station aboard a Russian capsule, alongside two Russian cosmonauts. A couple of weeks after that, NASA's Steven Swanson is to ride another Russian Soyuz craft up to the station, again in the company of two Russians.

Under the current arrangement, NASA astronauts cannot get to and from the station without Russian help, due to the retirement of the space shuttle fleet. The ticket price for each astronaut is $70 million, payable to the Russians.

The United States and Russia are not just "joined at the hip" on the space station. Numerous other rocket projects rely on either Russian or Ukrainian space hardware and services. Even U.S. national security satellites are powered into orbit on an American rocket with a Russian-built rocket engine. What if the Soyuz spacecraft suddenly became unavailable for use by American astronauts, contract or no contract? Would it be . . .

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 1, Block D: Matt Schiavenza, The Atlantic, in re: China’s Uighur Terror Attack   Masked attackers stabbed over 160 people at a train station over the weekend in Kunming—and Beijing... MORE Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, 1,000 mi from Urumchi; Kunming is a friendly city, used as a base by tourists as they explore; train station is crowded.  Borders Burma, Laos.  Chinese govt says the attackers were Uyghur – but these people may have been non-Chinese who smuggled themselves in for the attack.  We truly don’t know.  Using knives on a large scale:  hard for private citizens to obtain a gun – heavily restrictive laws – and Uyghurs use knives traditionally, but these long, dagger-like knives may not be Uyghur.  Chinese have a well-developed surveillance system of public and many nonpublic spaces.  This event was at nighttime, all the attackers were dressed in black and moved quickly.  Police shot four of the assailants dead.    This looks like a departure: large-scale terrorist attack to achieve intl attention.  Many incidences of Uyghur-Han violence over the years.

Hour Two

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 2, Block A:  Stephen Yates, Chief Executive Officer of D.C. International Advisory and former advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney, in re:  . . .  sovereign issues in East Asia . . .  angry letters don’t deter a powerful nation from [expansion].  China prefers not to be painted with the same brush now applied to Russia – but it should be.  East China Sea is a construction – it's a body of water, Can China claim it because no one lives her?   Unh – treaties and surrender documents that in normal dipl discourse should get in the way, In Ukraine, it was promised security in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons.  Taiwan, et al., won't be encouraged by current events.  Old photo where [China] shook hands with Yanukovych a little while ago.  . . .  Destabilization of energy markets – China is deeply deeply dependent on energy  markets.  If the US decides it cannot do business with Putin, might do the same thing vis-a-vis Xi Jinping. 

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 2, Block B:  Michael Davis, professor at Hong Kong University Law School, in re: Occupy Central movement promises to clog up the streets of the central financial districts in Hong Kong if Beijing denies “universal suffrage,” that is, all voters being able to vote without any discrimination; and that people running for office will also not be discriminated against. It aims to keep voting equal. Occupy Central has some debate about when they will do this, maybe July. If what’s proposed is a kind of sham election, Beijing typically sends officials down here to lecture Hong Kong on what’s going to happen and if Hong Kong doesn’t approve it, we’ll have some kind of a problem. There's a five-month consultation going on until May so at the end of that the government’s position will crystallize. Up until then, people will be discussing what universal suffrage means. 

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 2, Block C: Nury Turkel, Esq., former president of Uyghur American Association, in re: China’s Uighur Terror Attack   Masked attackers stabbed over 160 people at a train station over the weekend in Kunming—and Beijing is blaming the violence on Uighurs from its restive Xinjiang province.  Kunming, in southwest China, is one of the country’s most pleasant provincial capitals, a sleepy city known for its sunny climate and rich horticultural life. But on Saturday night, it played host to a gruesome act of terror: At least ten masked individuals, dressed in black, entered the city’s main train station and began stabbing passengers with knives and daggers. Within minutes, the police arrived and killed four assailants and captured a fifth, while three others were captured Monday. So far, 29 victims have lost their lives in the incident, while over 140 have sustained injuries.

In a country where violent incidents have become more common, the Kunming attack was nevertheless a major shock. Terrorism is not unheard of in China—two years ago, a series of random knife attacks at elementary schools unnerved the nation—but few have involved such apparent coordination. And the choice of the train station—a crowded public space full of  . . .  [more]  What can Americans do? First, don’t believe Chinese propaganda on Uyghurs.  Second, use your democratic rights to lobby the US govt in favor of Uyghurs, their traditional values, their basic human rights.    Recall at the post-WWI conference as someone tried to get the attention of Clemenceau or Woodrow Wilson; he failed, and returned home: Ho Chi-minh. 

Notes of CLM: There are a lot of unknown unknowns on this attack. The Chinese government is calling this a terrorist attack. Even hypothetically if this was done by Uighr’s it shows the oppressive policy the Chinese government holds against Uighurs. The situation for the Uighurs is getting worse day by day. And even is this was done by Uighurs, I’d say China’s oppressive policy lead to it. Why are there no pictures? Why did this happen so far from home for the Uighurs? The government isn’t releasing anything. Most of the Uighurs describe their lives as if they are living in an open prison. Anything that shows them practicing their religion, following their rules or showing Uighur nationalism can get them in trouble with the law. Uighurs on the ground think that China’s government will be responding with the most extreme measures. This Kunming incident will make the Uighurs lives harder. This looks like cultural genocide because the Chinese are targeting the core of their values, spiritual life and traditional life. I would like to believe that the Chinese government will learn their lesson. It’s interesting, if you look at the Chinese government’s labeling of things, if something looks like terrorism they call it terroism immediately. The Uighurs have been scapegoat terrorists for the Chinese. They are trying to destroy the Uighur freedom movement around the world and inparticuarly in the United States. Whenever the Chinese government says something about Tiwan we question the government’s motive. Whenever they say something about the Uighurs we believe their propaganda. 

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 2, Block D: Joseph Sternberg, WSJ Asia editorial board, in re: There's a Fifth Avenue store: Uniqlo Co., a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. Doing well, want to expand in the US, considering buying J Crew.  Japanese demographics: a seriously ageing population.  As for Abe-nomics, how much can you do with this demographic?  Finland, Austria, Belgium and Japan are all money-making countries – earned more than they spent last year; repatriated more than the trade deficit. Uniqlo – Fast Retailing – makes its products in China.  Mfr in China, ship straight to the US to sell in a Japanese-branded stores, and the Japanese company takes profits back to Tokyo. 

Hour Three

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 3, Block A:  LouAnn Hammond, DrivingtheNation.com, in re:   Russia and the Ukraine are starting to seep into the Geneva Motor show discussions and there is concern about what will happen if this situation is not contained soon, if cooler heads do not prevail. European, American and Asian car makers are closely monitoring the “situation” in Ukraine.  According to the Association of European Business (AEB), in 2013 there were fewer than a quarter million cars registered in Ukraine, but there were 2.7 million cars sold in Russia in 2013.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’s (FCA) President, Sergio Marchionne was asked how the crisis in Ukraine would effect the car business, “There’s not a doubt in my mind that if the situation in Russia and Ukraine remains as tight as it is, or if it worsens, that it will dampen demand in Western Europe . We have seen this historically. I don’t think Western Europe is exempt from the consequence. My sincere hope is that, as it is for most people around the world, that somehow the political leadership involved in this will have the wisdom to resolve it and take it off the table.”  [more]

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 3, Block B: Kori Schake, Hoover and Politico; Natl Security Advisor on defense issues for Pres G W Bush; in re:  Obama the Narcissist

Far from exhibiting the flinty discipline that realists bring to foreign policy, the Obama administration seems to make choices based on the belief that American interests are best advanced simply by maximizing the president’s freedom of action—thus, the intervention in Libya but not Syria, shifting burdens to allies more vulnerable than we are and “leading from behind.” Laureling President Obama as a foreign policy realist ennobles his choices laughably, especially in light of the events transpiring in Ukraine, where the United States has violated pretty much every rule in the realist playbook.

Realists have principles of action that produce a predictable set of behaviors. And predictability matters in international relations. It matters that friends and enemies alike have some understanding of how a state will behave, because they are making choices about whether to help, hinder or remain neutral—and their choices significantly affect whether we can achieve our objectives, and at what cost. Such predictability especially matters for a great power, one on whose actions rests the sovereignty and prosperity of other countries. It produces what semblance of order exists in the international order.

The easiest way to refute the outrageously flattering characterization of Obama as a foreign policy realist is to simply list the tenets of that foreign policy approach he is violation of:

Rule #1: States act in their interests.

Rule #2: Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Rule #3: Get the big things right.

Rule #4: If you draw a red line, you have to enforce it.

Rule #5: Never wound a king.

Take Ukraine: A realist would have acknowledged Russia’s special interest nearby Crimea, consigning the people of Ukraine to their sad geographic fate. A smart realist would have at least gotten something in return for writing off the democratic aspirations of 46 million people—perhaps an airtight bargain to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program or throwing Bashir al-Assad overboard. A realist also would have . . . [more]

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 3, Block C:  Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution Defining Ideas, and Chicago Law, in re:   When Our Government Commits Fraud

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 3, Block D: Amos Guiora, University of Utah, in re: 
The Israeli military says its forces raided a ship in the Red Sea and seized dozens of advanced rockets from Iran destined for Palestinian ...

Israel intercepts 'Iranian weapons shipment' to Gaza

The transformation from traditional war between nation-states to conflict between nation-states and nonstate actors requires decision makers, policy analysts, military commanders, intelligence officials, and legislators to answer the question: is there a strategy for an unwinnable conflict? This question takes on particular urgency given the extraordinary number of conflict points that define the current state of international relations.  [more]

Israel intercepts 'Iranian weapons shipment' to Gaza   Israel said it intercepted a ship Wednesday carrying an Iranian shipment of advanced rockets bound for Palestinian militants, claiming it proved Tehran could not be trusted in international nuclear talks.  The announcement came hours after Israel said it struck two Hezbollah fighters as they tried to plant a bomb near the Syrian-Israeli frontier and just over a week after Israel reportedly bombed the Iran-backed group inside Lebanon for the first time since 2006.

Israel has long accused Iran and Syria of providing military aid to Hezbollah and to Palestinian militant groups, and the military spokesman's office tweeted that the ship was carrying weapons "capable of striking anywhere in Israel".  Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television channel quoted a military official in the Islamic republic as denying the Israeli report, calling it "totally without foundation".

Coinciding with a visit to the United States by its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel latched onto the weapons shipment to chide Western powers for negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear programme.   "While Iran is conducting these talks, smiling to the international community, it continues to arm terrorist groups, continues to perpetrate terrorism around the world," Netanyahu said in a statement.  The military said the Syrian-made weapons aboard the "Klos-C" were shipped overland to Iran and then onward towards Gaza by sea before being intercepted in the Red Sea between Sudan and Eritrea.  [more]

Hour Four

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 4, Block A: The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara (1 of 4)

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 4, Block B: The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara (2 of 4)

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 4, Block C: The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara (3 of 4)

Wednesday  5 March   2014 / Hour 4, Block D: The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara (4 of 4)

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Music

Hour 1:  Wrath of the Titans. Internationale. Thirteen Days.

Hour 2:  The Raid. iRobot. 

Hour 3:  V for Vendetta. I Am Legend.  Three Musketeers. 

Hour 4:  Broken Arrow.