Monday 11 July 2016
Photo, left:
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Thaddeus McCotter, WJR, The Great Voice of the Great Lakes
Hour One
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor & FDD, and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal senior editor & FDD, in re:
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block B: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor & FDD, and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal senior editor & FDD, in re:
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block C: Gordon G. Chang, Daily Beast & Forbes.com, in re: China’s 9-Dash Line and its Cow’s Tongue:
The nine-dash line, previously the "11-dash line", refers to the demarcation line used initially by the government of the Republic of China (ROC / Taiwan) with the help of the United States legal office, and subsequently also by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), for their claims of the major part of the South China Sea. The contested area in the South China Sea includes the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands, and various other areas including the Pratas Islands, the Macclesfield Bankand the Scarborough Shoal. The claim encompasses the area of Chinese land reclamation known as the "great wall of sand".
An early map showing a U-shaped eleven-dash line was published in the then-Republic of China on 1 December 1947. Two of the dashes in the Gulf of Tonkin were later removed at the behest of Chinese Premier Chou En-lai, reducing the total to nine. Subsequent editions added a dash to the other end of the line, extending it into the East China Sea.
Despite having made the vague claim public in 1947, China has not (as of 2015) filed a formal and specifically defined claim to the area within the dashes. The People's Republic of China added a tenth-dash line to the east of Taiwan island in 2013 as a part of its official sovereignty claim to the disputed territories in the South China Sea.
China has a history of claiming rights from treaties and ignoring obligations. We certainly must not be signing China up to any more treaties.
In 1898, the US grabbed Cuba; took Gitmo indefinitely. In 1903, took part of Colombia and made the Canal Zone. In 1926 the US installed a toady govt in Guatemala. China points out that the US has taken over the Caribbean for over a century. How does the Asian region see this? Not: each nation considers itself sovereign, and further the US does not take this sort of action today.
China says, Let's go back to the Dark Ages; whereas the only way we can have peace is to move forward. Worst-case scenario with China? Accidental attacks and World War III.
The Hague decision? Probably against China.
China’s currency: has been buying dollars to drive down its RMB.
The Obama Adm doesn't want to respond to China’s aggressive expansion, but it may decide to anyway in view of the exigencies. Hague Court decision will come down in the middle of the North American night. People in China are not sleeping well.
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Too many times in the past, the international community has allowed Beijing to cherry-pick, to obtain the benefits of agreements it signed while ignoring the obligations it did not like. And rarely did other parties impose meaningful costs on Beijing for such blatant disregard of commitments. Because countries shied away from holding China accountable, Beijing now feels it can ignore the upcoming South China Sea ruling with impunity.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/china-vs-philippines-whats-stake-the-verdict-the-hague-looms-16918
Oil, Gas, Fish: Indonesia's Arsenal in South China Sea Dispute China claims sovereignty over almost all the South China Sea, demarcated on maps by a ...
Philippines v. China: Q. and A. on South China Sea Court Case
South China Sea row: No consensus on verdict expected Beijing, after more than a year of supporting its currency, is now driving its value down. Chinese officials look absolutely determined to drive away friends and help enemies at a crucial moment: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2016/07/10/extremely-bad-news-from-china-forex-reserves-rise-in-june/#8da370c16d54
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 1, Block D: Brett Arends, Marketwatch, in re: Theresa May set to be UK PM after Andrea Leadsom quits In a speech earlier on Monday setting out her leadership campaign platform, Mrs May - who rejected the argument that the next leader and prime minister had to have been someone on the winning side of the EU referendum - said: "Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a success of it."
In her brief statement in Westminster, Mrs Leadsom - who was a leading light of the Brexit campaign - said a nine-week leadership campaign at such a "critical time" for the UK would be "highly undesirable".
A source close to the energy minister told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg "the abuse has been too great" for Mrs Leadsom during the contest.
Mrs Leadsom had apologised to Mrs May on Monday after suggesting in a weekend newspaper interview that being a mother made her a better candidate for the job.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-36763208
Hour Two
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block A: David M Drucker, Senior Congressional correspondent, Washington Examiner, from Cleveland; and John Fund, NRO, in re: . . . VP rules: 1. Do no harm; 2. Satisfy the “heartbeat way” requirement. Of the three likely decisions, Gen Flynn? Gingrich – bright and energetic, but better as chief of staff in the WH; there’s an intelligence gap with Trump and they’re both in their seventies.
Mike Pence: was a talkshow host; would be very acceptable if not embraced by social conservatives; is a Russell Kirk conservative. Can convey that his is not a position he’s angled for – he supported Cruz after having been asked to. Grass roots and TeaPartiers would like him.
NeverTrump or StopTrump: . . . Priebus didn’t go to a Trump fundraiser this week; Trump needs only to make another gaffe, a VP choice that misses the mark, and a poll showing that even after Hilary fuss that leaves him behind her. With these three, delegates would get nervous about the undertow Trump might bring on the rest of the ticket.
Right now, Mike Pence has the inside track, will campaign with Trump tomorrow in Indiana. If Pence says no . . . or if Trump seems so mercurial . . . The main question is political: if you run as Trump’s VP will the GOP see you as doing it f/b/o the party or for your own aggrandizement?
Trump Considering Retired General for Veep “After weeks of focusing on a group of current and former elected officials in his search for a running mate, Donald Trump is increasingly intrigued by the idea of tapping retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn in order to project strength and know-how on national security, according to four people familiar with the vetting process,” the Washington Post reports.
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block B: David M Drucker, Senior Congressional correspondent, Washington Examiner, from Cleveland; and John Fund, NRO, in re: Bernie Sanders’s endorsing Clinton in New Hampshire is good for her; to the degree that he holds sway there it’s significant for her. Because of Louisiana and Dallas and Minnesota, and the president and VP going here, has Sanders lost the limelight? The biggest favor he could do for Clinton he did earlier when he agreed that the email was not important; had he pursued that, he would have been closer to her in delegate count. As it is, he’s now an asterisk. Nonetheless, she’s a mess in so may ways; the Dems are thankful that they've been delivered Trump as an opponent. Recall the Daily News ope-ed: Sanders never was ready for prime time, appealed to people disaffected with the establishment. In a close race, a half-point is a really big deal – they’re both so bad they’re competitive.
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 2, Block C: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: IRGC founder says: Iran will wipe Saudi Arabia off the map leaving no trace. Israel has a peace accord that’s been an anchor of regional peace for 40 years: with Egypt. PM Sisi and PM Netanyahu; Egypt has more relations with other contries now than at any time since its founding. The cornerstone was relations w Egypt, esp with el Sisi. Drones in Sinai. Visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister to Israel and press conference: discussed the situaition on the ground; Netanyahu welcomed Sisi’s efforts to intermediate with the Palestinian Authority. The two watched the Eurofinals together, discussed security and Gaza, which is of increasing concern. ISIS is now directly to Hamas. Last week Egypt cancelled a long-planned, high-level delegation from Hamas, believing that Hamas’s assurances are bogus. El Sisi believes that Hamas has taken IS fighters into hospitals and guarded them, is seeking to make Gaza and Sinai into an Islamic caliphate.
African countries have felt a bit ignored; but Israel has had delegations in many counties for medicine, agriculture, et al. Many African countries broke diplomatic relations, but now are reinstituting them, esp Tanzania. Seventy Israeli businessmen went to Africa with relevant technologies. Africa is very afraid of Iran and feel directly threatened. Water reclamation. desalinization, et al., will increase ties and outreach.
IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) founder says: Iran will wipe Saudi Arabia off the map leaving no trace. The IRGC is dominant in Iranian economics and politics; the original founder and commander: There will be no trace of Saudi Arabia left on Earth. Prince Turki al Faisal attended a mtg of Mujahedeen al-Kalkh in Paris and pledged support. Cited the split over Syria and Yemen. Compare IRGC’s role in govt with the SS vs the Wehrmacht? More than that: the shadow govt, power base, infrastructure. Involved deeply in Syria and Iraq; now they advertise their military losses and put pictures in the paper in order to gain support. Very hardline. They use Instagram to distribute names and praise (other social media are banned). Concern about IRCC involvement in missile testing. We hear some comparable language in . . . Iran wants to neutralize or gain control of the Two Mosques; Iran actually demanded that the Saudis give up control of them. Global caliphate: one wants Wahhabist, the other wants a Persian empire. Use recruits from Afghanistan, Yemen, South America, put them in the front lines to die. Even some IRGC commanders have been killed. Defeat in Syria would constitute a major loss in hegemony and prestige- will fight to everybody’s last man to hold control. Rafiq Hariri was assassinated on 14 Feb 2005; the UN set up a court in The Hague to investigate. An odd ruling today: “cannot try in absentia the head of Hezbollah [Badreddin, may have been killed this year], but will continue with the trial for four others.” UNESCO World Heritage Council is meeting in Turkey: their last vote ended 3,000 years of history by removing Christian and Jewish names, using only Moslem names! Rachel’s Tomb. Cave of the Patriarchs, many Christian places – UNESCO are now voting that the Old City walls are in danger. We look to Ban Kyi-Moon and member states, esp France, which said it was a mistake to vote that way originally; they now will face a test of their blasphemous deed. Their children will hold them to account for their being unable to visit sites from their most ancient cultural and religious traditions. Ban Kyi-Moon and Iran: “Iran is called upon not to test missiles for eight years – that doesn’t count for much.” Mullah? Salami says: “There are high-power missiles emplaced around the Middle East so Israel’s existence is imminently to cease.” This is a death threat against a member of the UN. Iran is charging citizens to avoid conscription. In 1979 its GDP was 30% greater than Turkey’s; now is half of it.
Hour Three
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block A: Harry Siegel, New York Daily News and daily Beast; in re: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/harry-siegel-broken-world-article-1.2704763
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block B: Gina Kolata, New York Times, in re: PUBLIC HEALTH A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are in Decline The leading killers — cancer, heart disease and stroke – are coming later in life in wealthy countries as people in general live longer in good health.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/upshot/a-medical-mystery-of-the-best-kind-major-diseases-are-in-decline.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block C: Patrick Tucker, Defense One, in re: . . . The advances that such programs yield — and the Pentagon’s 1033 program, which pushes military technology to local and state law-enforcement agencies — will make police robots useful, cheap, and ubiquitous, Bielat says.
“Just like you have a laptop in every squad car and cameras in every squad car, you would have a small robot, not an EOD robot, but a small robot in every squad car and maybe that thing has a taser device on it, or some other less-than-lethal capability,” he said. “And maybe that’s used to approach a motorist at night when a cop doesn’t want to go up and approach with their hand on their holster. Maybe the robot goes up instead.”
Police bots won’t necessarily be lethally armed, said Bielat, who is a major in the Marine Corps Reserves. The key consideration is what weapons would be appropriate. “Taking an M240 machine gun and attaching it to a robot may or may not make sense. That weapon was designed to be operated by two human beings and a bunch of other things. That may not be an appropriate thing to put on a robot platform, but that doesn’t mean that no weapon system would be appropriate. It just means you’re designing something that’s unique that takes advantage of the robot,” he said.
“A robot provides a variety of options. A robot adds time and distance to the equation. The operator can sit back and use two-way audio and say ‘drop your weapon.’ A robot can use less-than-lethal force. A Marine often can’t use a taser unless he’s willing to get shot. A robot could,” he said.
http://www.govexec.com/defense/2016/07/military-robotics-makers-see-future-armed-police-robots/129775/?oref=d-river
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/07/war-over-soon-be-outdated-army-intelligence-systems/129640/?oref=d-river
http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2016/06/us-military-cant-train-fend-worst-cyber-attacks-infrastructure-yet/129338/?oref=d-river
http://www.govexec.com/defense/2016/06/pentagon-developing-new-suite-tools-fight-lone-wolf-problem/129202/?oref=d-river
http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2016/06/what-joint-chiefs-email-hack-tells-us-about-dnc-breach/129108/?oref=d-river (1 of 2)
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 3, Block D: Patrick Tucker, Defense One, in re: . . . The advances that such programs yield — and the Pentagon’s 1033 program, which pushes military technology to local and state law-enforcement agencies — will make police robots useful, cheap, and ubiquitous, Bielat says. (2 of 2)
Hour Four
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block A: Mike Ives, NYT, in re: Kiribati [pronounced: kiri-bas], the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbertese: Ribaberiki Kiribati) A Remote Pacific Nation, Threatened by Rising Seas Climate change is threatening the livelihoods of the people of tiny Kiribati, and even the island nation’s existence. The government is making plans for the island’s demise.
he skeptics include the rural and less educated residents of the outer islands who doubt they could obtain the skills needed to survive overseas, and Christians who put more faith in God’s protection than in climate models. “According to their biblical belief, we’re not going to sink because God is the only person who decides the fate of any country,” said Rikamati Naare, the news editor at Radio Kiribati, the state-run broadcaster.
As President Tong became a climate-change celebrity, invited to speak at conferences around the world, opponents accused him of ignoring problems back home, such as high unemployment and infant mortality. They derided the Fiji purchase, for nearly $7 million, as a boondoggle; dismissed his “migration with dignity” as a contradiction in terms; and called his talk of rising sea levels alarmist and an affront to divine will.
Mr. Tong, having served three terms, was not allowed to run for re-election this year, but in March elections the opposition defeated his party. The new president, Taneti Maamau, said he planned to shift priorities.
“Most of our resources are now diverted to climate-change-related development, but in fact there are also bigger issues, like population, the health of the people, the education of the people,” he said during an interview at Parliament, which sits on reclaimed land at the edge of a turquoise lagoon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/world/asia/climate-change-kiribati.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront (1 of 2)
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block B: Mike Ives, NYT, in re: Kiribati [pronounced: kiri-bas], the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbertese: Ribaberiki Kiribati) A Remote Pacific Nation, Threatened by Rising Seas (2 of 2)
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block C: David Grinspoon, Library of Congress, in re: https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Human-Hands-Sapiens-Planet/dp/1455589128
http://www.businessinsider.com/pluto-might-be-hiding-a-vast-liquid-ocean...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/07/06/venus-not-earth-may-have-been-our-solar-systems-best-chance-at-life/#158b97ed764d
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/07/06/could-saturns-moon-titan-support-alien-life.html (1 of 2)
Monday 11 July 2016 / Hour 4, Block D: David Grinspoon, Library of Congress, in re: https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Human-Hands-Sapiens-Planet/dp/1455589128 (2 of 2)
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