The John Batchelor Show

Friday 8 January 2016

Air Date: 
January 08, 2016

Photo, left: 
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 1, Block A:  Jim McTague, Barron's, in re: Yet more evidence that manufacturing and oil sector weakness is not enough to depress the overall economy. Don’t fret over the zero hourly earnings number; it is due to a well-established calendar quirk, which depresses reported wages in months—like December—when the 15th (payday for people paid semi-monthly) falls outside the survey week. Expect a clear rebound in January.” –Ian Shepherdson, Pantheon Macroeconomics
“For the [Federal Open Market Committee], the unexpected 292,000 jobs added in December, and the upward revisions to October and November, will bolster their case for four rate hikes this year. Markets are desperate for good news, and now have it, but it comes with a caveat because better employment growth means the Fed will raise rates faster.” —Beth Ann Bovino, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service.
The decline in the ISM manufacturing index to 48.2 in December, from 48.6, leaves it at its lowest level since June 2009 and will add to concerns about a deterioration in global demand triggered by the data releases from China today. Although actual output continues to edge higher, the US manufacturing sector is dangerously close to recession and, given the dollar's continued appreciation, we don't anticipate any significant improvement until the second half of this year. Nevertheless, the rest of the economy is doing well and we still expect GDP growth to be around 2.5% this year.
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 1, Block B:  Dan Henninger, WSJ Editorial; in re: http://www.wsj.com/articles/revolt-of-the-politically-incorrect-1452125196  "Electable"  yes,  there's the search.
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 1, Block C: Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, in re: Half a million or so drags later, it's time to call it quits. Happy new year, and here's my last gasp of 2015: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/smoke-old-times-article-1.2481383 It’s time to say goodbye to my oldest, dearest companion, the one that’s been with me for much longer than my wife, let alone my kids. The one that was with me when I felt as new as the sunrise, when I felt as old as the Earth, when I was high as a lord looking down on my city, when I was as low as the sea washing up on it.  The one that’s been with me at home and on my way, when I lie down and when I rise up. With each coffee until I lie down again. That’s rarely more than 75 cents away or, at worst, $14 in Manhattan. That connects strangers. The few, the proud, the uncontrollably coughing. When you’re born, you know how to breathe and to cry. That’s about it. When you grow up, you learn to smoke. Or at least I did. And I’ve been doing it ever since. In homes and in diners, back when you could smoke in homes and diners. On the wall outside the high school where I got my education, such as it was.  . . .   (1 of 2)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 1, Block D: Harry Siegel, New York Daily News; in re: Albany; the rough-sandpaper acquaintance of Gov Cuomo ancd Mayor DeBlasio,  (2 of 2)
 
Hour Two
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 2, Block A: Gene Marks, Washington Post, in re: The Ugly     More signs of slowing economy? Business confidence index dips  http://www.bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2016/01/business_confidence_index_dips
Why is GE potentially leaving Connecticut and what impact will that have on the state's economy? GE Close to Kissing Connecticut & Gov. Malloy Goodbye http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2016/01/05/ge-close-to-kissing-connecticut-gov-malloy-goodbye/  @foxbusiness
The Bad     More big box competition hurting Main Street - Local Wine Sellers Push Back on Chain Effort  http://jacksonfreepress.com/news/2016/jan/06/local-wine-sellers-push-back-chain-effort/
Against the trend? Burbank City Council to consider pot business ban http://www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/news/tn-blr-burbank-city-council-to-consider-pot-business-ban-20160105-story.html
More powers for the IRS? IRS Gets New Powers to Revoke Passports  http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2016/01/05/irs-gets-new-powers-to-revoke-passports/
and the Good     Why These Entrepreneurs Are Most Productive Travelling http://www.inc.com/damon-brown/why-these-entrepreneurs-are-most-productive-traveling.html
Mobile Donations Up 45% in 2015 Giving Season [INFOGRAPHIC]   https://shar.es/16JZfx  via @blackbaud
A cool technology for restaurant owners   A Point of Sale Service for Restaurants, Raises $30M http://on.tcrn.ch/l/guH7
Good stuff for small businesses:  10 Awesome Apps that Will Increase Your Cash Flow http://www.inc.com/gene-marks/10-awesome-mobile-applications-that-will-increase-your-cash-flow.html
12 Brilliant Gadgets from CES  More gadgets from CES sure to please @jmbrandonbb http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/12-brilliant-gadgets-right-from-the-ces-2016-showfloor.html  via @Inc  (1 of 2)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 2, Block B: Gene Marks, Washington Post (2 of 2)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 2, Block C: Liz Peek, Fiscal Times, in re: President Obama’s new gun rules are so insignificant that even the NRA could find little to protest. What does that tell you?  After all the hype about Obama’s determination to boldly and unilaterally confront the plague of shootings in the U.S.,  the president settled for minor adjustments in how to define those required to register as arms dealers, and some common sense directives making more mental health records available to background checkers. The idea is to expand the number of buyers who have to be vetted and also to beef up the inquiries already performed under existing rules. Obama fans are doubtless let down that the president didn’t go further – prohibiting sales to those on the “no-fly” list or banning large capacity magazines, for instance. The anti-gun brigade will also be disappointed that the president didn’t require universal background checks and eliminate altogether the so-called “gun show” loophole. They shouldn’t be.  Related: Obama: Gun Control Won’t Happen During My Presidency
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 2, Block D: Ian King, VR, in re: CES: VIRTUAL REALITY'S REAL PROBLEM  VR technology is center stage at CES, but most people may not be able to use the hardware outside a showroom anytime soon. Some of the new headsets have serious hardware requirements
 
Hour Three
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 3, Block A: Michael E Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. (1 of 2)
 
                                       "The fey and faded notion that we just need to exercise our will.  
                                       "The world has moved past that."  --M E Vlahos
 
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 3, Block B: Michael E Vlahos, Johns Hopkins, in re: Saudi execution threatens to deepen Shia-Sunni divide - cnn.com  Many analysts believe the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr will deepen a divide between Sunni and Shia and worsen relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. (2 of 2)
 
 
    "Forget Sykes-Picot. It’s the Treaty of Sèvres That Explains the Modern Middle East." ---Foreign Policy magazine
     http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/10/sykes-picot-treaty-of-sevres-modern-turkey-middle-east-borders-turkey/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=Flashpoints
 
 
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 3, Block C:  Richard Epstein, Hoover, Chicago, NYU, in re:  On Monday, January 11, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which raises some long-standing issues about the status of public unions that have vexed the Court for at least 60 years. At issue in the case is the “agency shop agreement,” under which a union is entitled to collect from nonmembers fees that cover the cost of its collective bargaining expenses. In an ideal world, the Supreme Court would use Friedrichs to dismantle mandatory collective bargaining root and branch. But short of that, what the Court should do, and do unanimously, is set dissenting workers free from union domination by striking down all agency shop provisions.   http://www.hoover.org/research/end-agency-shop (1 of 2)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 3, Block D: Richard Epstein, Hoover, Chicago, NYU, in re:  On Monday, January 11, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which raises some long-standing issues about the status of public unions that have vexed the Court for at least 60 years. At issue in the case is the“agency shop agreement,” under which a union is entitled to collect from nonmembers fees that cover the cost of its collective bargaining expenses. In an ideal world, the Supreme Court would use Friedrichs to dismantle mandatory collective bargaining root and branch. But short of that, what the Court should do, and do unanimously, is set dissenting workers free from union domination by striking down all agency shop provisions.   http://www.hoover.org/research/end-agency-shop (2 of 2)
 
Hour Four
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 4, Block A: THE BALTIMORE SABOTAGE CELL: German Agents, American Traitors, and the U-boat Deutschland During World War I, by Dwight R. Messimer (1 of 4)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 4, Block B: THE BALTIMORE SABOTAGE CELL: German Agents, American Traitors, and the U-boat Deutschland During World War I, by Dwight R. Messimer (2 of 4)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 4, Block C: THE BALTIMORE SABOTAGE CELL: German Agents, American Traitors, and the U-boat Deutschland During World War I, by Dwight R. Messimer (3 of 4)
Friday  8 January 2016  / Hour 4, Block D: THE BALTIMORE SABOTAGE CELL: German Agents, American Traitors, and the U-boat Deutschland During World War I, by Dwight R. Messimer (4 of 4)
..  ..  ..