Photo: Concorde
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Behnam ben Taleblu, FDD Senior Iran Analyst; David Livingston, The Space Show.
 
 
Hour One
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 1, Block A:  Cliff May, FDD, in re: today’s UN vote against the US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.  “Remember that most ambassadors in the GA represent despotic regimes.” In 1975 the UN voted that “Zionism is racism,” which Daniel Patrick Moynihan called  _______.  We call them developing nations to be polite – but they are not.    . . . The UN is in failure; a prime example is the Human Rights Council – which it is not. The US can help different countries, but can't solve all.  . . .  Do we make the Europeans pay a penalty for being so, let’s say, “shy”?    Zarif is very clever, has excellent English, speaks fluent liberal.   Pres Obama made a huge error in thinking he could appease. Iran  This is a threat we must address, with Saudis, Emiratis and Israelis [in the same boat]. 
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 1, Block B:  Behnam ben Taleblu, in re: The Iran Deal began Jan ’16 and ends in Jan ’18.    Delay mechanism; we delay at our peril.  Project Cassandra: DEA/DoJ investigation into drug-running worldwide incl the US. David Asher.    Butchery in Syria. Missile-fires in provocation, no response.  DOD photos are online of missile that Iran disassembled and shipped overland to Houthis [in Yemen].  Poke-poke-poke and see how far you can go; Iran does this, and the US is not good at answering.
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 1, Block C: Jerry Hendrix, USN [ret] & CNAS, in re: The ability to deploy the US Navy [is what keep us safe].  To deploy additional assets to the Western Pacific; why?  Combination of many issues – hardening of fake Chinese islands; air conditioning they keep there; moving out and around Japanese islands and interfering with Japanese fishing fleets. A greater geostrategic competition there. A Great Power Competition.  We have allies in South Korea, around the region, incl Australia.  US natl security strategy treats Russia and China as pure competitors; . . . The past lead-from-behind strategy failed; there are those who are seeking to defeat us.  They're uncomfortable with the freedom we enjoy. The accommodating Moon Jae-in.  . . . Exercises interfere with fleet schedules.  My wife and I saw Darkest Hour last night, on Churchill. I was struck by the notion of appeasement. If South Korea’s leadership won't let us fully protect our and his forces, we need to have a serious discussion with Moon about alliances.  . . . The 355-ship Navy?  “Different horses for different courses” – Iran is on a shallow-draft water.  With a 355-ship Navy, wd want to have [suitable craft]; “We never want to get into a fair fight.”  Relative balance ‘twixt capacity (no. of ships) and capabilities.  . .  US doesn't currently have the manpower.  –True, but we have a lot of personnel on shore duty; can train and deploy them to the sea. We have blue and gold teams . . .  We’re watching the electronic spectrum to see if here are indications of an impending attack.  Jacksonian impulse with the US: you can poke us only so long; we’ll ignore you and ignore you, but if you do it too much, we can go instantly from low end to high end and burn with a white hot anger. Shocking to our enemies, incl Osama bin Laden; and historically.
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 1, Block D:   Behnam ben Taleblu, in re:  Mohammed bin Salman (MBS’s) strike against corruption n the Saudi Kingdom correlates with  an attempt to [neutralize ] his rivals.  Online vid:  produced by friends of MBS? Portraying his as a hero to launch first rockets then landing craft then planes to defeat not only Iran but Qasem Soleimani, himself.  THs is virtual escalation and foolish in light of Iranian nationalism.  Response to Iranian vid w Soleimani on Iran’s defeating US craft in the Persian Gulf?  
Iran is testing the capability and resolve of the new Saudi regime. Who’s most vulnerable?  Ayatollah Khamenei.  What happens if an Iranian missile is given to a nonstate actor and it lands on civilians in Riyadh?
 
Hour Two
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 2, Block A:  Terry Anderson, PERC in Bozeman, Montana State University, and Hoover Institution; in re: Native American Heritage Month, November 2017.    However treatment f Natives by our government over many years and centuries; and billions, maybe trillions, in energy resources  have been taken from them by the US govt. Twenty per cent of res households make less than $20,oooo a year.  In 1832, Justice Marshall declared that Indians are “wards of the State.”  A turning point in the history of relations between First Nations and our federal govt by declaring Indigenous Peoples to be incompetent; the feds began to control every aspect of Indian lives.  Property rights, jurisdiction over their own land? Control their own governance? No.  Any property rights are “held in trust” by the US govt.   All tribal lands are held in trust, so even the tribe as a whole has no control. The Dawes Act of 1887: to get the land out of Indian hands.  Effective.  Valuable land! When the govt took total control it destroyed Indian social structures and rendered persons unable ot restore control, Imagine if we declared any other group in the country to be incompetent!   Indians owned horses, maintained fishing rights, engaged in trade; the US theories are [fraudulent].  Indian country is unwell and poor.
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 2, Block B: Terry Anderson, PERC in Bozeman, Montana State University, and Hoover Institution; in re: Native Americans in the US.  Indian abused and starved.
Devolve authority back to local tribes to let them prosper as they have in the past; wrest authority away from the feds.   Indian Reorganization Act is a total disaster, needs to be ceased. Indian health care is beer turned over to local authorities can be die without Congressional action; the Indian Health Service has an abysmal record.  Hoover Inst: Reviving Indigenous Economies – some bands in Canada and Maori tribes in New Zealand. Tribes interested in going back to historical roots and structures.  On Dec 26 I’ll meet with the chairman of the Crow Tribe; she called and wanted to know more – what can we do by ourselves and for ourselves, from the bottom up? A young Navajo called me, he’s getting a degree in nanoscience, wants his tribe to bld on the ideas of Adam Smith and John Locke.   Crows sit on $27 billion in mineral assets, all locked up in the BIA bureaucracy! It’s not just the natural wealth – it's the human wealth. They're not allowed to live in the modern world. 
Unlocking the Wealth of Indian Nations,  by Terry L. Anderson and Ann M. Carlos.  Also: Christian Dippel (Contributor),‎ Dustin Frye (Contributor),‎ D. Bruce Johnsen (Contributor),‎ André Le Dressay (Contributor),‎ & 11 more  (Contributor),
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 2, Block C:  Dr Casey Halperin, Stanford; in re: impulsive behavior – drugs; abuse.  Mouse behavior; psychiatric disorders.  Stimulate a part of the brain, prevent mouse from eating a high-fat food.  How to bring this safely and wisely to humans? Wish to block only when necessary; used a device from epilepsy treatment.   Saw that when a human was anticipating something [much desired], we saw a biomarker, a sort of spark (powerful). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mouse biomarker has been present in humans, so far.  Our work is still preliminary. Severely obese people where bypass surgery has failed. Pathological gambling, sexual addictions; we need to study blocking mechanisms one step at a time.  OCD of gambling (Dostoevsky).  
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 3, Block D:  Henry Miller, Hoover, in re: Polly ______ is enraged that Dannon Organic yoghurt is revealed to have been made from milk from  cows that may have eaten GMO grain, which she avers is no longer natural; and thus the “organic” label is incorrect.  Good for trial lawyers. Consumers searching for authenticity; vide the paleolithic diet, and artisanal and craft foods. Unpasteurized milk too often leads to food poisoning.  Gluten-free water? Advertisement for GMO-free vodka. Humans are not rational.  I saw a dairy truck advertising its products as “Naturally sourced.” What? Genetic modification is a seamless continuum from most-ancient agriculture to today.   
 
Hour Three
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 3, Block A: Dr David Asher, FDD, in re:  Josh Meyer’s Politico article on Operation Cassandra (from Operation Titan, a tier-one investigation begun in 2007 in Colombian jungles; anent Pablo Escobar, also FARC). Obama Adm effort to quiet the investigation into drug trafficking with Lebanese overtone, connected to the Iraqi surge.  Hezbollah, FARC, Escobar, and Venezuelan and Iranian govts.   Murder of US Marines in Lebanon and other large-scale murders.  I was working as a contract advisor to intell community.  I ran into Operation Titan, became Project Cassandra, became Operation Cassandra. Run by Imad Mugniah, who orchestrated bombing of US embassies, personally killed our William Buckley of CIA ; most-wanted terrorist before ObL.  His organization was a criminal network in partnership with Chavez et al; continues today. Biggest narcoterrorism investigation in US history. (1 of 2)   https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 3, Block B: Dr David Asher, FDD, in re:  Josh Meyer’s Politico article on Operation Cassandra; humdinger. (2 of 2)   https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 3, Block C: Tyler Rogoway, The War Zone at TheDrive; in re:  Various incarnations of the wonderful F15, and multiple other aircraft, including drones and tilt-rotor craft. The trusty Blackhawk.
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 3, Block D:  Tyler Rogoway, The War Zone at TheDrive; in re: More aircraft. . . . the Tornado.  Failed? Deconfliction zone; SU25 & SU30 vs F22s.  C2; Russians are a bit more autonomous.  F22s fly at 55,000 feet; can swoop down superfast, have enough fuel to persist and stay there if needed.   Function as a sheriff in the Middle Eastern war zone.
 
Hour Four
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 4, Block A:  Mark Sundahl, Esq, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, in re: space law.  Space travel is changing a good deal: reusable rocket, fleets of rockets, space mining and efforts to regulate the “no-man’s land” between launch and return.  Both the FAA and the Dept of Commerce want to regulate the whole process.  The Outer Space Treaty Article VI.
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 4, Block B:  Mark Sundahl, Esq, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, in re: space law, the Outer Space Treaty.  Need regulatory clarity, not as much now, but definitely not too far in the future: were we to wait too long, that might give rise to hastily-constructed regs that could damage the industry and cause real problems for all of us. Today, FAA has almost zilch permission to enact regulations for safety in space unless there’s an accident, in which case it may regulate the activity that led to the accident.   Extant laws in US, Luxembourg, Japan.   Anticipate establishing a permanent human presence on a celestial body, perhaps the Moon or Mars.
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 4, Block C:  The Roof at the Bottom of the World: Discovering the Transantarctic Mountains, by Edmund Stump
Thursday 21 December 2017  / Hour 4, Block D:  The Roof at the Bottom of the World: Discovering the Transantarctic Mountains, by Edmund Stump