The John Batchelor Show :: Schedules: July 2010 Archives

Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August 2010

By John Batchelor on July 29, 2010 3:14 AM | No Comments

Saturday 31 July 2010

California wildfires. Credit: csmonitor.com

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Saturday 905P (605P Pacific Time): Debra Saunders, sfgate.com, and Carla Marinucci, sfgate.com, in re: immigration, Arizona law, influence on California politics

Saturday 920P (620P Pacific Time): Jon Decker, Reuters, in re: immigration

Saturday 935P (635P Pacific Time): Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: Korea

Saturday 950P (650P Pacific Time): Adam Housely, Fox, in re: Southern California fires

Saturday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): Ann Marlowe, Forbes.com, in re: Afghanistan Petraeus; Taliban's combing through WikiLeaks to find names of persons and villagers whom it'll soon behead

Saturday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): Tunku Varadarajan, Daily Beast, in re: WikiLeaks and the future of journalism http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-28/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-is-a-criminal/

Saturday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Larry Johnson, NoQuarter blog, in re: Afghan countertinsurgency, WikiLeaks, what it means in the field

Saturday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Bob Zimmerman, author, in re: commercial space. Congress, budgets; Japanese excitement at their space developments; China in space. NASA, Constellation. US dependence on Russia in space. Soyuz capsules have cameras for military purposes.

Little Hayabusa, the brave and able Japanese space probe that reached an asteroid and recovered the first-ever sample from a minor planet.

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Saturday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Wesley Smith, Discovery Institute, in re: bioethics; assisted suicide in US, Netherlands, Belgium

Saturday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Peter Hartlaub, SF Chronicle, in re: film industry; this year's poor selection of movies; Inception; 3D movies; the future of film

Saturday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Tom Henriksen, Hoover Institution, in re: counterterrorism in Afghanistan; WikiLeaks, and indirect approach toward de-nuclearization

Saturday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Dan Caldwell, Pepperdine University, in re: nuclear weapons policy issues

Saturday/Sun 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Joe Astroth, AutoDesk, in re: STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)

Saturday/Sun 1220A: (920 Pacific Time): Lou Ann Hammond, DrivingtheNation.com, in re: electric vehicles, San Jose plug-in conference: Tesla, Chevy Volt (range-extender, can run on gas), Nissan Leaf (100% electric), Prius, Cruise, electric vehicle; ALTe (range extender of fleet vehicles; firm founded by former Tesla employees), plugless power. US spends $300mil/day on foreign oil.

Saturday/Sun 1235A: (935P Pacific Time): Gordon Chang, in re: China's arrogation of South China Sea; Sec Clinton's remarkable and commendable policy shift.

see: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20100731p2g00m0in040000c.html

Saturday/Sun 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy sailors are seen on the deck of a missile frigate. Credit: Bangkok Post

China held a large-scale military exercise in the South China Sea that coincided with drills in the Sea of Japan by the United States and South Korea, the largest exercise of its kind since the founding of the Chinese military. Numerous warships, submarines, and combat aircraft in live fire exercises. The exercises were overseen by senior military leaders, including the army's chief of staff, Chen Bing-de.

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Sunday 1 August 2010

1 August 1291: founding of the Swiss Confederation

Credit: Tom Toles, Washington Post

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Sunday 905P Eastern Time: Jim Mc Tague, Barron's, and Paul Vigna, Dow Jones, in re: the cooling/recession/depression/pause. The suddenly resuscitated Greenspan. Public employees' holding on to their jobs while others have more trouble doing so.

Sunday 920P Eastern Time: continued. Citi's unintentional $41bil lie; suspension of mark-to-market. Downward pressure on housing; foreclosure pipeline; Fan/Fred. Greenspan and his pronouncement on the rich. FHA making "lowdown" loans to persons who probably can't afford to buy a house. Watch interest rates, bond rates, Treasurys - these tell a very different story from the stock market.

Sunday 935P Eastern Time: Sidney Schanberg, author, conviction of Doit for Cambodian genocide following fall of Phnom Penh. See also, Enemies of the People, film.

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Cambodian genocide: skulls

Sunday 950P Eastern Time: Claudia Rosett, FDD, in re: Imam Faisal and his $100mil Córdoba Initiative Muslim cultural-center-cum-mosque near Ground Zero. The Córdoba Initiative apparently aims eventually to replicate the only historical caliphate in Europe, and to do so in North America. Its office is in a church-sponsored 501(c)3 building in Manhattan: "The Interchurch Center, a visible symbol of the oneness of many churches in Christ and reflective of the inspiring growth of ecumenism and inter-religious activity in the United States in the past century."

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Córdoba Caliphate

The Caliphate of Córdoba (خلافة قرطبة )

ruled the Iberian peninsula, al-Andalus, and North Africa from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous Great Mosque of Córdoba.

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Sunday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): John Fund, WSJ, and Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in re: Andrew Romanoff's Colorado campaign momentum (Romentum) vs Bennett.

Sunday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): continued. Rep Charlie Rangel and Rep Maxine Waters: trouble in the CBC

Sunday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Larry Johnson, NoQuarter blog, Jeff Biss, The Bliss Index, and John Avlon, CNN, in re: the 2.4% recovery; Rep Rangel; fewest housing starts in the US since WWII.

Sunday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): continued.

Sunday 1105P (805P Pacific Time):

Nick Gentle, Bloomberg Hong Kong, in re: Asia markets report. Markets all in green this morning. Earnings are up and China's manufacturing is down, which is actually good news for investors because it means the govt will probably lay off on further policies aimed at pegging back asset prices. Yen is down slightly, while the Aussie dollar is climbing. Oil, gold and copper all slightly ahead.

Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, and Hugo Restall, WSJ Asia, in re: Corrupt Chinese corporation bullies muckraking reporter; after tribulations, journo wins. Chinese leadership transition; the militarization of Chinese politics and policy. "Google Says China Remains Murky" - parallels the DPRK: generals and admirals compete by acting paranoid, ruthless and apocalyptic.

Sunday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Joseph Sternberg, WSJ, in re: "The Mixed Blessing of Chinese Cash; Just how 'smart' are state-owned companies as investors?" China's state-owned Anshan Iron and Steel Group is buying a 20% stake in an American company, spending $175 million to build new mills, including one in Amory, Miss. They'll produce rebar, the long steel bars used to reinforce concrete in bridges and buildings.

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A demographic chart for Amory, Mississippi, where Anshan will buy a major stake in a steel mill

Sunday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Robert Zimmerman, author, and David Livingstone, The Space Show, in re: malfunctions on the International Space Station.

Sunday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Robert Zimmerman, in re: ISS malfunction, Arctic robot completes its first dive. Spirit is declared all but dead on Mars. The non-face on Mars.

Sunday/Mon 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Julia Angwin WSJ, in re: website surveiilence of your computer use

Sunday/Mon 1220A: (920 Pacific Time): Dr. Danielle Ofri, NYT Well blog, in re: jobless healthcare stress

Sunday/Mon 1235A: (935P Pacific Time): Aaron Klein, author, in re: Israel and PA and Hamas, and Syria threats

Sunday/Mon 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

Friday 30 July 2010

By John Batchelor on July 29, 2010 3:12 AM | 1 Comment

Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island

See: Michael Vlahos on just-completed war games

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Friday 905P Eastern Time: Joseph Brusuelas, senior economist, Bloomberg, in re: today's down GNP number; the economy

Friday 920P Eastern Time: Devin Leonard, Bloomberg, in re: the new normal economy

Friday 935P Eastern Time: William McGurn, WSJ, in re: education, charter schools, and teacher quality; DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee

Friday 950P Eastern Time: Christian Parenti, The Nation, in re: electric vehicles and the federal government's buying power

Friday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): Sebastian Gorka, FDD, in re: Lockerbie imbroglio, tri-national governmental dissimulation. Pakistan. New guide to irregular warfare http://www.ndu.edu/press/lib/images/prism1-3/Prism_79-98_Marks_Gorka_Sharp.pdf

Friday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): continued

Friday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Rufus Phillips, author; Arif Rafiq, Pakistani Policy blog; Bill Roggio, Long War Journal, in re: Pakistan: Cameron's remarks in India; ISI's indignation at being told it can no longer play both sides of the war.

Friday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): continued: Gul, Hekmatyar, WikiLeaks

Friday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Michael Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re: just-completed war games anent "the crisis of globalization."

Friday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): continued: disintegration in distant places can destabilize the world system and begin the collapse of established nations

Spratlys and Paracels in the South China Sea

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Friday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Matt Gertkin, Stratfor.com, in re: South China Sea islands dispute: China claims Spratlys and Paracels

Friday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Jennifer Saranow Schultz, NYT, in re: new rules for debt "relief" companies

Friday/Sat 1205A (905 Pacific Time): James Taranto, WSJ, in re: electoral college reform

Friday/Sat 1220A (920 Pacific Time): Nick Bunkley, NYT, in re: Chevy Volt

Friday/Sat 1235A (935P Pacific Time): David Freedmen, author, Wrong

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Wild tortoise pets, Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries

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Solar Magnetic Field and Summer Lights

A high-speed solar wind is currently buffeting the Earth

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Friday/Sat 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

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The scourge of Afghanistan, the death-dealing warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

"The Paris-based group Medecins Sans Frontieres reported that Hekmatyar's guerrillas hijacked a 96-horse caravan bringing aid into northern Afghanistan in 1987, stealing a year's supply of medicine and cash that was to be distributed to villagers to buy food with. French relief officials also asserted that Thierry Niquet, an aid coordinator bringing cash to Afghan villagers, was killed by one of Hekmatyar's commanders in 1986. It is thought that two American journalists traveling with Hekmatyar in 1987, Lee Shapiro and Jim Lindalos, were killed not by the Soviets, as Hekmatyar's men claimed, but during a firefight initiated by Hekmatyar's forces against another mujahideen group. In addition, there were frequent reports throughout the war of Hekmatyar's commanders negotiating and dealing with pro-Communist local militias in northern Afghanistan."

Thursday 29 July 2010

By John Batchelor on July 29, 2010 3:09 AM | No Comments

November 24, 2008: Citi accepts your tax payments en masse

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Co-host: Camilla Webster, Forbes contributor

Thursday 905P Eastern Time: Louise Story, NYT, in re: Citi hides, and lies to its investors about, $45bil on its balance sheet; takes taxpayers's money with a smile. Too big to fail - meaning, too big to be caught. Two fall-guys now pay fines, while SEC fines Citi, itself, $75mil (a pittance compared to the fraud) for "misleading" the regulators. (What regulators?) "Not charging [anyone] with intentional misconduct." Called "negligent fraud." Think how many banks pulled this. Open your wallet.

February 2010 website knee-slapper: "Citi has an obligation to our clients and our stakeholders - including the American public. It's an obligation to support the recovery of the U.S. economy, to reform our organization and to practice responsible finance. No one is more dedicated to these goals than our CEO, Vikram Pandit."

Thursday 920P Eastern Time: Paul Vigna, Dow Jones, in re: jobs and wages - not enough of either right now. Companies have cut expenses to the bone and have no intention of expanding; their investors also reject the possibility. "ECRI's Weekly Leading Index is a composite index key USA weekly economic series. The limited availability of weekly data constrains the number of variables in the composite index, but this has not hurt the WLI's predictive power. The weekly frequency of the WLI makes it a very timely gauge of the economy's direction. During the past 10 years, there was a correlation of 69% when the index grew 6 months paced with 2 quarters growth in U.S. GDP (i.e. 69% chance it leads the economy by 6 months)." 8:30A tomorrow, Friday: GDP.

Thursday 935P Eastern Time: Eric Schmitt, NYT, in re: WikiLeaks

Thursday 950P Eastern Time: Andy Barr, Politico, in re: immigration and Arizona Gov Jan Brewer.

Thursday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): Tunku Vardarajan, Daily Beast, in re: Assange, WikiLeaks: "a brothel of self-promotion." "Amoral, contemptible."

Thursday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in re: How rust-belt Dems react to Rangel scandal ; antiwar left; WikiLeaks; President's hard-to-explain policies (13% believe they're affected by POTUS economic policies)

Thursday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Maj. Derrick Hernandez, in re: SIGACTS confirmation of WikiLeaks; 1-508 Parachute Infantry Regiment in Zabul Province, Afghanistan

Thursday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Maj. Derrick Hernandez with Ann Marlowe, Forbes.com, in re: WikiLeaks

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Julian Assange mensonge

Thursday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Bill Roggio, Long War Journal; Arif Rafiq, Pakistan Policy blog; Ann Marlowe, in re: WikiLeaks

Thursday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): continued

Thursday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): David Oclander, USA LTC USA TF 1 Fury, in re: Afghanistan

Thursday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Fiona Harvey, FT, in re: climate

Thursday/Fri 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Dan Henninger, WSJ, in re: tax policy; Washington bureaucrats and hierarchs drink in tax revenues as lifeblood.

Thursday/Fri 1220A (920 Pacific Time): David Drucker, Roll Call, in re: health care

Thursday/Fri 1235A (935P Pacific Time): Sean Carroll, NYT, in re: "The Ediacaran Period, from 635 to 542 million years ago, is the first new geological period to be named in more than a century." "The kinds of animals that paleontologists have been especially eager to identify in the Ediacaran are those with bilateral body symmetry, the feature characteristic of the majority of modern animal groups, including ourselves."

Thursday/Fri 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

By John Batchelor on July 28, 2010 8:20 PM | No Comments

Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia

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Co-hosts: Jeff Bliss, The Bliss Index, and Gordon Chang, Forbes.com

Wednesday 905P Eastern Time: Hugo Restall, WSJ Asia; Gordon Chang; Jeff Bliss, in re: Wan Wuyi, Xinhua director, languishes with bad back in England while his wife happens to be in England, but both are said not to be defecting.

Wednesday 920P Eastern Time: David Drucker, Roll Call; Gordon Chang; Jeff Bliss, in re: Democratic planning for midtems

Wednesday 935P Eastern Time: Hotel California: Devin Nunes (CA-21); Jeff Bliss; Carla Marinucci, SFChronicle.com, in re: Meg Whitman, Jerry Brown, other dramatis personae

Wednesday 950P Eastern Time: Hotel California, continued: California candidates' yacht report; Boxer and Fiorina under press discussion, while approval ratings are problematic (both hair poll and Senate poll).

Wednesday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): Gordon Chang, Jeff Bliss, in re: China's culpability for 1975 Khmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia; Phnom Penh conviction; North Korea; Beijing CCP supported Pol Pot in '80s and '90s. Redux the HsinHua director Wan Wu-yi's chiropractic problem, which is concomitant with a recent Mainland execution of an official accused of corruption.

Kim Jong Il's health failing; DPRK football team lost 9-0 in South Africa, has been recalled: whole team taken on stage and humiliated for eight hours. Coach expelled from the Party and sent to labor camp. Life expectancy of six months. US Sixth Fleet visits Korea.

Wednesday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): Joe White, WSJ, in re: driving electric car I-MIEV (Mitsubishi Motors)

Wednesday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Mary Kissel, WSJ Asia, in re: Australian elections. Also Julia Gillard's elegant earlobes (a specific sign of longevity in Chinese traditional medicine).

Wednesday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): continued: Cambodian killing fields. Malaysian capital flight. Thai king: not in public sight.

Oxford Chiropractic Clinic, picture f/b/o Wan Wuyi, the director of Xinhua who's languishing in England with a bad back, but who is not defecting, says Beijing

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Wednesday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Sadanand Dhume, author and WSJ.com, in re: WikiLeaks and implications. Pakistani army and ISI within it "like a parasite." Haqqani network supported by ISI. $18bil; unchallenged Pakistani perfidy.

vide: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703700904575390762564079940.html

Wednesday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Mark Schroder, Stratfor, in re: al Shabaab

Wednesday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Kari Lundgren, Bloomberg, in re: Arctic deepwater drilling in future

Wednesday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Neil MacFarquahar, NYT, in re: Iran on the Internet

Wednesday/Thurs 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Mike Spector, WSJ, in re: GM bankruptcy buildings

Wednesday/Thurs 1220A (920 Pacific Time): The Hon. Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of Mission for the Government of Southern Sudan to the United States, in re: Southern Sudan

Wednesday/Thurs 1235A (935P Pacific Time): Jeffrey Gettleman, NYT, in re: Somalia

Wednesday/Thurs 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

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Arctic deepwater drilling

Tuesday 27 July 2010

By John Batchelor on July 27, 2010 10:43 PM | No Comments

Putin on a hog trike (candy apple teal?) at a Harley factory in the Crimea

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Co-host: Larry Kudlow, CNBC

Tuesday 905P Eastern Time: Nicole Bullock, FT capital markets reporter, in re: states are out of money; stimulus didn't work

Tuesday 920P Eastern Time: David Drucker, Roll Call, in re: Republican tax plan

Tuesday 935P Eastern Time: Joe Brusuelas, Bloomberg, in re: economy

Tuesday 950P Eastern Time: Larry Kudlow, in re: politics

Tuesday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): LouAnn Hammond, Carlist.com, in re: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, the Alt-E

Tuesday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): Larry Kudlow, in re:

Tuesday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Bret Stephens, WSJ, in re: WikiLeaks

Tuesday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Julia Werdigier, NYT, in re: BP

Tuesday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Stephen Cohen, NYU, in re: Russia, Abkhazia, the Black Sea. Putin and Iran and sanctions. Putin "in sunglasses, black jeans and black fingerless gloves" at Harley factory in Sevastopol in the Crimea (for Baiker Rossii mirth, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkCmXbj6aq4).

Tuesday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): continued: Putin welcomes Russian spies. Lukashenko (Byelarus), peevish over his inability to shake down Russia for endless subsidies of oil and gas supply, works inaccurately to fend off being unhorsed by Moscow. Dines with fading recent, deposed tyrant of Kyrgyzstan.

Tuesday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Robert Zimmerman, author, in re: climate; asteroid may hit Earth in 2182; Kepler

Tuesday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Eric Schmitt, NYT, in re: WikiLeaks

Woodhenge, near Stonehenge.

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See also National Geographic photo: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/stonehenge/geiger-photography. "Nearby Amesbury set low-hanging clouds aglow, and the standing stones turn otherworldly beneath a burning sky. But their surfaces bear witness to homely labor: Topping the tallest stone, once part of a trilithon, is a tenon--half of a mortise-and-tenon joint borrowed from woodworking."

Tuesday/Wed 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Steve Moore, WSJ, in re: stimulus

Tuesday/Wed 1220A (920 Pacific Time): Ed Klump, Bloomberg, in re: Anadarko Energy and BP

Tuesday/Wed 1235A (935P Pacific Time): Peter Bogucki, Princeton University, in re: Stonehenge and the new Woodhenge; Stonehenge mysteries

Tuesday/Wed 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

Researchers speculate that a giant asteroid smashed into Earth 65 million years ago, creating the Chicxulub crater off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, as shown in this artist's conception. The asteroid 1999 RQ36 [anticipated to arrive in 2182] is smaller than the Chicxulub asteroid but could still cause widespread devastation if it were to hit Earth.

Credit: MSNBC

Monday 26 July 2010

By John Batchelor on July 27, 2010 12:51 PM | No Comments

The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange

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Monday 905P Eastern Time (605P Pacific Time): John Fund, WSJ, in re: WikiLeaks

Monday 920P Eastern Time (620P Pacific Time): Charles Pellegrino, author, in re: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Monday 935P Eastern Time (635P Pacific Time): David Drucker, Roll Call, in re: Sharron Angle and Harry Reid

Monday 950P Eastern Time (650P Pacific Time): Mary O'Grady, WSJ, in re: Chavez and FARC

Monday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor; Rufus Phillips, author; Arif Rafiq, Pakistan Policy blog, in re: War Logs via WikiLeaks

Monday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): continued

Monday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): continued

Monday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Bahukutumbi Raman, Inst for Topical Studies, Chennai, and Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: China's oppression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province by the Stalinist, Brezhnevian and Maoist method of demographic overwhelm: in this instance, by sending in and resettling tens of thousands and ultimately millions of Han Chinese. Less than 2 per cent of China's population is Muslim; it is badly treated by the unelected tyrants of Beijing. Xinjiang Province is properly the Republic of East Turkestan.

Monday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Mark Mazzetti, NYT, in re: War Logs, the WikiLeaks document dump. Hamid Gul very active in meetings with militants and planning attacks.

Monday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Nelson Schwartz, NYT, in re: economy

Monday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): David Livingston, Space.com, in re: free-enterprise space travel

Monday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Ann Marlowe, Hudson Institute and Weekly Standard, in re: ISI plans operations with Taliban

Monday/Tues 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Chuck Nash, Captain, US Army (ret), in re: Naval exercise with Republic of Korea in the East Sea [Sea of Japan], under the cloud of the DPRK threat to nuke both US and ROK vessels if anyone ventures into the Yellow Sea, despite the fact that it's international waters.

Monday/Tues 1220A (920 Pacific Time): Mark Schroeder, Stratfor, in re: Somalia

Monday/Tues 1235A (935P Pacific Time): Christine Harper, Bloomberg, in re: AIG and Goldman

Monday/Tues 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

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Somalia: camel's-milk project

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Somalia, Horn of Africa

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July 2010

By John Batchelor on July 24, 2010 1:41 PM | 1 Comment

SATURDAY 24 JULY 2010

Saturday 905P Eastern Time: Layover in Dubai - Hardcover (July 13, 2010) by Dan Fesperman. Layover in Dubai: a novel - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (July 13, 2010) by Dan Fesperman.

Saturday 920P Eastern Time: Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future- Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 8, 2010) by Stephen Kinzer.

Saturday 935P Eastern Time: The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 1, 2010) by William Rosen.

Saturday 950P Eastern Time: The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 1, 2010) by William Rosen, continued.

Saturday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): As Nora Jo Fades Away: Confessions of a Caregiver - Paperback (Apr. 1, 2010) by Lisa Cerasoli

Saturday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): As Nora Jo Fades Away: Confessions of a Caregiver - Paperback (Apr. 1, 2010) by Lisa Cerasoli, continued

Saturday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Beyond the Killing Fields: War Writings - Hardcover (Mar. 31, 2010) by Sydney Schanberg.

Saturday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Beyond the Killing Fields: War Writings - Hardcover (Mar. 31, 2010) by Sydney Schanberg, continued.

Saturday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Beyond the Killing Fields: War Writings - Hardcover (Mar. 31, 2010) by Sydney Schanberg, continued.

Saturday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Beyond the Killing Fields: War Writings - Hardcover (Mar. 31, 2010) by Sydney Schanberg, continued.

Saturday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 3, 2010) by Andrei S. Markovits and Lars Rensman

Saturday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 3, 2010) by Andrei S. Markovits and Lars Rensman, continued.

Saturday/Sun 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 3, 2010) by Andrei S. Markovits and Lars Rensman, continued.

Saturday/Sun 1220A: (920 Pacific Time): Gaming the World: How Sports Are Reshaping Global Politics and Culture - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 3, 2010) by Andrei S. Markovits and Lars Rensman, continued.

Saturday/Sun 1235A: (935P Pacific Time): Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront - Kindle Edition - Kindle Book (June 8, 2010) by Nathan Ward.

Saturday/Sun 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt

Sunday 905P Eastern Time: Simon Constable, WSJ NewsHub; Aaron Task, Yahoo Finance; Paul Vigna. WSJ Markets Hub, in re: Geithner and the Euro banks

Sunday 920P Eastern Time: continued: Euro nonstressful stress tests, where seven failed, with no reference to sovereign defaults. "Momo guys" (those with momentum) have already factored in the saccharine news. However, banks's data were released publicly, so one can do one's own stress test (e.g., on one's Bloomberg terminal). Lack of liquidity, low volume, big shocks and - onward into August.

Sunday 935P Eastern Time: Tunku Varadarajan, Daily Beast, in re: Congressman Rangel

Sunday 950P Eastern Time: Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, in re: bazaari pushback against the Iranian regime

Sunday 1005P (705P Pacific Time): John Fund, WSJ, and Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in re: WikiLeaks posts War Logs: 92,000 documents on its website showing a decade of lies, deception, failures in the Afghan war. New York Times, UK Guardian newspaper and Der Spiegel given early access to docs.

Sunday 1020P (720P Pacific Time): continued: Shirlet Sherrod. As Stupak fades into history, how's the rest of his old bloc faring? Rep. Steve Driehaus (OH-1), Rep. Paul Kanjorski (PA-11), Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN-8), Rep. Joseph Donnelly (IN-2), Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9). Rep. Charlie Wilson (OH-6), Rep. Solomon Ortiz (TX-27), Rep. James Oberstar (MN-8)

Sunday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): John Avlon, CNN; Larry Johnson, No Quarter blog; Jeff Bliss, The Bliss Index, in re: Shirley Sherrod

Sunday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Nick Gentle, Bloomberg Hong Kong. Asia markets report. Asian markets in positive territory today. Looks like stress tests out of Europe buoying things. Japan's exporters up. China's banks falling on bad loans to local governments. Copper up. Oil down. Currencies pretty stable

Sunday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): John Avlon, CNN; Larry Johnson, No Quarter blog; Jeff Bliss, The Bliss Index, continued: Afghan War Logs

Sunday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, and Bruce Bechtol, U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College, in re: North Korea threatens to nuke US/ROK massive joint military exercise in the Sea of Japan

Sunday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): Bill Roggio, FDD, and Arif Rafiq, Pakistan Policy blog, in re: WikiLeaks War Logs document dump

Sunday 1135P (835P Pacific Time): Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: bazaari pushback against the Iranian regime, massive unemployment and inflation (30-40%) in Iran; IRGC granted control over military; Michael Hayden says that an attack on Iran may not be a bad idea. Turkish foreign minister shows compromise offer anent IAEA; also hosted Khaled Meshaal. The next flotilla: two blockade-runners from Lebanon were to have set sail, seem not to have. The Audacity of Hope, supported by Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, is to sail from the US to Gaza. Glitzy mall opens in Gaza; raises questions about oft-cited grinding poverty in Gaza. Fence that Egypt built to stop smuggling through the hundreds of tunnels under the Philadelphi [sic] Line has been breeched by Gazans. Hariri investigation: Hezbollah fights continuing the discussion of culpability. Eighty-plus per cent of Europeans favor strong sanctions against Iran; their government elites resist this.

Sunday 1150P (850P Pacific Time): Bob Zimmerman, author, in re: Comet hits Neptune, 200 years ago. The eternal plane story: the solar-powered unmanned plane. Russians say ISS is threatened by Chinese satellite debris. ISS twitter feed hacked with spam.

Sunday/Mon 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Nick Bunkley, NYT WheelsBlog, in re: Ford

Sunday/Mon 1220A: (920 Pacific Time): Claudia Rosett, FDD, in re: Iran has metastasized itself into membership in multiple UN agencies and activities

Sunday/Mon 1235A: (935P Pacific Time): John Authers: The Fearful Rise of Markets: Global Bubbles, Synchronized Meltdowns, and How To Prevent Them in the Future by John Authers and Mohamed A. El-Erian (Hardcover - Apr. 26, 2010)

Sunday/Mon 1250A (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt.

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SUNDAY 25 JULY 2010

Comet seems to have struck Neptune 200 years ago. Credit: http://www.physorg.com/news198509340.html

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