The John Batchelor Show

Friday 20 May 2016

Air Date: 
May 20, 2016

Photo, left:  In the matter of Brexit, how long ago did Britain detach (physically) from the European mainland?  In the matter of nostalgia for yore, here’s a picture of remnants of an ancient woodland at Hightown. This ancient tree stump is part of a submerged forest and could be as much as 5,000 years old. Evidence has been found of human activity in this area dating back to around that time.
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Jim McTague, Barron’s Washington, in re: The Fed distorts the economy w low interest rates; the number of million-dollar houses has just doubled.  If the Fed raises interest rates, we might see a huge number of housing failures; also, many people bought a new car because of the low rates, leading to more auto mfrg, which also would collapse absent the artificially low interest rates. Result is growth under 2% GDP.   . . . The reason GOP economists think Trump is nuts is that they say it's too late for the US to grow its way out of structural weakness; we have to have a tax increase?   A tax cut puts money in people’s pockets and lets them spend; but we have so much debt that it's changed het psychology of the consumer it may not have an effect. How about a corporate tax cut?  I think we should do away with the corporate income tax, which would make us the most attractive place on Earth for people to establish businesses – we have a robust economy and a rule of law that’s the envy of the whole world Problem is, it takes about a decade for these things to set on place. Short-term, there’s nothing in the firehouse that’ll help us in the short term. That’s why people see a recession in 2017.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/dollar-pares-gains-against-yen-euro-on-fed-minutes-1432149552  ;  http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-existing-home-sales-rose-in-april-1463753517   ; http://www.wsj.com/articles/population-surge-in-cities-eases-as-jobs-shift-and-suburbs-call-1463630461   ;   http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/05/20/foreign-born-workers-account-for-rising-share-of-u-s-labor-force/
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 1, Block B:  Tim  Higgins, Bloomberg, in re:  Campaign data collection.   http://buswk.co/Clinton
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 1, Block C:  David Grimm, Science magazine, in re:  How do you retire a 5-ton whale? That's a question some advocates and scientists have been asking themselves in the wake of SeaWorld's historic decision in March to stop breeding the 29 orcas in its care. Now, a new organization of about three dozen scientists, marine veterinarians, and engineers called the Whale Sanctuary Project has begun developing plans for an orca sanctuary, including coves and small groups of islands that could be cordoned off. But critics say that placing an orca that has spent its entire life in a sterile, concrete tank into an ocean filled with creatures and conditions it has never encountered before could be dangerous not just for the whale, but for the previously whale-free ecosystem. Plus, the costs are mammoth—perhaps tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.  http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6286/641
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 1, Block D:  Henry I Miller, M.D., Hoover & Forbes.com, in re: "Errors, Bias and Conflicts of Interest Make UN Agency Contender for Worst Regulator Ever" — the IARC (Intl Assn for Research in Cancer) – compete for title of worst ever; main competitor is the US.   Issues monographs on carcinogenicity, Of course, they think that almost everything has carcinogenicity – coffee, cell phones, thousands of products and activities.  Of all they’ve ever reviewed, exactly one – one – thing is labelled as noncarcinogenic. They label according to hazard: the ability to cause harm some how, any how; whereas risk is the likelihood, based also on exposure.   Note that RoundUp (glycosate?), a herbicide against weeds . . .  Among the criticisms of IARC is that it doesn’t actually use scientific method,  . . . Focus on three flawed studies out of the 800 done. Two used too few subjects for the stats to be usable; the third was another outlier in that it was contradicted by a large study by the same author.   Flagrant conflicts of interest (incl NRDC) and one author was an employee of the Environmental Defense Fund.  Even the EPA cant repudiate its previous research and conclusions; in Europe, however, a major study concluded that it was not carcinogenic.   http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2016/05/18/bias-hidden-agendas-and-conflicts-of-interest-make-un-agency-contender-for-worst-regulator-ever/#1e0076d6609a
Hour Two
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 2, Block A:  Michael E Vlahos, Global Security Studies program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Arts and Science; in re: “There will be a long-term mission in Libya,” Dunford predicted, adding that NATO will want a request from the new government in order to get involved.  A small number of U.S. Special Operations troops have been deployed to the Libyan cities of Misrata and Benghazi to assess who could be partners for U.S. forces since late last  year, U.S. officials acknowledge. Dunford declined to comment on their operations Thursday, but said the United States is looking for ways to make “a unique contribution” to the effort.
The advising mission could be complicated by not only security concerns, but political ones. Sarraj’s government has not yet been accepted by either existing rival government in Libya, the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) and the elected House of Representatives in the eastern part of the country. He also appears to be counting on support from militias in Misrata and forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a Libyan military officer who launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamist links in 2014. The Misratans and Hifter’s troops have been known to square off against each other in armed clashes. (1 of 2)   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/19/top-general-agreement-to-send-u-s-troops-to-libya-could-be-reached-any-day/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_checkpoint-libya-820pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 2, Block B: Michael E Vlahos, Global Security Studies program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Arts and Science; in re: “There will be a long-term mission in Libya,” Dunford predicted, adding that NATO will want a request from the new government in order to get involved.  . . .  (2 of 2)   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/19/top-general-agreement-to-send-u-s-troops-to-libya-could-be-reached-any-day/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_checkpoint-libya-820pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 2, Block C:   Gene Marks, Washington Post, in re:   Home Depot raises forecasts after strong start to the year  http://news.yahoo.com/home-depot-raises-forecasts-strong-start-131046632--finance.html
Manufacturing Employment Rose in April after Following Sharp Declines in February and March http://www.shopfloor.org/2016/05/manufacturing-employment-rose-in-april-after-following-sharp-declines-in-february-and-march
U.S. Industrial Production Jumped in April http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-industrial-production-rebounded-in-april-1463491138?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f
Obamacare causes red ink at state's largest insurers http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/health-care/2016/05/obamacare-causes-red-ink-at-states-largest.html?ana=RSS%26s=article_search
3 states are down to one Obamacare insurer. What if they fall to zero? http://www.vox.com/2016/5/16/11673558/obamacare-marketplace-competition
Obama Administration Finalizes Rules on Company Wellness Programs http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2016/05/17/408765.htm
Why the new crowdfunding rules aren't as great as they seem https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2016/05/16/gene-marks-why-new-crowdfunding-rules-wont-help-those-who-need-it-most/
Meet the 14-Year-Old Entrepreneur Who Turned Down $30 Million Buyout Offer for His Startup http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/meet-the-14-year-old-entrepreneur-that-turned-down-30-million-buyout-offer-for-his-startup/
This Eyewear Startup Was Turned Away by 10 Factories. Two Years Later, Its Frames Will Be in 500 Stores.  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275946
How I Lost 13 Percent of My Customers and Increased My Revenue http://www.forbes.com/sites/mattrissell/2016/05/18/how-i-lost-13-percent-of-my-customers-and-increased-my-revenue/
A former Google engineer lands $20 million for his internet-of-things startup http://www.recode.net/2016/5/18/11696820/google-engineer-internet-of-things-afero-samsung
Twitter plans to change how much you can say in 140 characters | Recode Daily: May 17, 2016 http://www.recode.net/2016/5/17/11688804/recode-daily-twitter-limit-140
Uber Unveils Testing of Self-driving Car  http://industryweek.com/technology/uber-unveils-testing-self-driving-car
Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time in the US  http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/19/11711714/chromebooks-outsold-macs-us-idc-figures  (2 of 2)
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 2, Block D:   Gene Marks, Washington Post, in re: News of small businesses (2 of 2)
 
Hour Three
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 3, Block A:  Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs; in re:  The State Opening of the British Parliament on May 18, 2016, seemed to start the serious political debate about a potential British withdrawal from the European Union. Polls appeared to show, by mid-May 2016, that British voters were moving in favor of committing the United Kingdom to remaining within the European Union (EU) when the issue came to a referendum on June 23, 2016. The debate about Brexit (British exit from the EU), however,
had resonated in parts of Continental Europe, and former French Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy called it an opportunity to re-imagine the Union.  In an interview with Le Monde on May 17, 2016, he noted: “The debate on Brexit is an opportunity to refound Europe. On many of their criticisms, the British are right.”
Throughout the Brexit campaign, however, many UK politicians and economists have spoken as though it was a proven truth that a British withdrawal from the European Union would automatically damage the standing of the euro and sterling as currencies, and would relegate the United Kingdom to strategic insignificance and endemic insecurity. But the linkages are not necessarily there to make those beliefs into truth, much less reality.
No coherent analysis has been laid out to articulate the cases for or against Brexit, leaving voters to weigh unsubstantiated claims and fears outlined by proponents for either side of the argument.
The British Government’s program, outlined in the Queen’s Speech to the Opening of Parliament on May 18, 2016, played down the question of the referendum, mentioning it only in passing, but it was clear that this was the major hurdle for the continuation of the leadership of Prime Minister David Cameron, who initially had called the referendum, but had then staked his credibility by throwing the government behind the “stay” campaign. The Prime Minister also committed some £9-million of government funding to a mailing campaign to voters, warning of the dangers of Brexit. He may also have encouraged US Pres. Barack Obama to speak against Brexit during the president’s visit to the UK in May 2016.
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 3, Block B:   Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs (2 of 2)
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 3, Block C:  Nina Bernstein, New York Times, in re:  Unearthing the Secrets of New York’s Mass Graves  Over a million people are buried in a potter’s field on Hart Island. A Times investigation uncovered some of their stories and the failings of the system that put them there.   http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/15/nyregion/new-york-mass-graves-hart-island.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news  (1 of 2)
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 3, Block D:   Nina Bernstein, New York Times, in re:  Unearthing the Secrets of New York’s Mass Graves  (2 of 2)
 
Hour Four
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 4, Block A:  Patrick Tucker, DefenseOne, in re:  http://www.defenseone.com/management/2016/05/threat-russian-missiles-rise-norad-looks-future/128297/?oref=d-river ; http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2016/05/pentagon-increase-base-security/128299/?oref=d-river ; http://www.govexec.com/defense/2016/05/pentagon-shakes-silicon-valley-outreach/128245/?oref=d-river ( of 2)
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 4, Block B:  Patrick Tucker, DefenseOne, in re:  http://www.defenseone.com/management/2016/05/threat-russian-missiles-rise-norad-looks-future/128297/?oref=d-river ; http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2016/05/pentagon-increase-base-security/128299/?oref=d-river ; http://www.govexec.com/defense/2016/05/pentagon-shakes-silicon-valley-outreach/128245/?oref=d-river ( of 2)
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 4, Block C: Hotel Mars, episode n, with David Livingston, The Space Show; and Anatoly Zak, Russian Space Web & author, Russia in Space, The Past Explained, the Future Explored, in re:  
Friday  20 May 2016 / Hour 4, Block D:   Ken Croswell, New Scientist, in re: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2088114-cannibal-stars-explode-violently-as-predicted-by-darwins-son/
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