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JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Steve Moore, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, The Heritage Foundation, and author, Fuelling Freeedom.  Rita Cosby, WABC chief political analyst. David Livingston, The Space Show.
Hour One
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 1, Block A:  Steve Moore and Rita Cosby, in re: NJ just now called for Mrs Clinton in the Democratic primary. She seems to have won 59-41%; has won in every NJ county so far. Dems: primaries in six states in toto – Bernie ahead in these.   The behemoth, California: polls close two hours hence.  Rep Bill Pascrell, a Clinton supporter, created a great ground game in NJ.  Bernie finally gave up on NJ, went to concentrate on California.  All counted, she very likely has won the Democratic primary. Were she to lose California?   She doesn’t seem to need the superdelegates; Cali is within a half a percentage point. 
California voted by mail for weeks (closed on 31 May).  Last day to trgister was 23 May.  Gavin Newsom said early mail-ins were going to Clinton – overwhelming. But in the last 45 days, almost half a million new voters have registered in California, many of them young people.  Imagin that Bernie wins California, and even that she’s later indicted. Is there any path wereby Bernie could be the nominee?  Oh yes!  As could Joe Biden.  The FBI primary: she cannot run for office even if she has a misdemeanor!
History:  First woman American citizen of a major party in the US to be nominated for the presidency.
It's day to day with the Democrats; hour to hour with the Republicans.
Whoever is the next president, we’ll have to live with a disappointing jobs number.
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 1, Block B:    Steve Moore and Rita Cosby, in re: Last Friday’s jbs number were disappointing, to put it mildly. Does Mrs Clinton have an energy policy to correct this?  First of all. Mrs Clinton was a big loser. We're growing at 2%, heading down to 1%. A bad economy dooms Hillary.   NJ: first concern was economy second was terrorism  Same in Cali .  That last Friday jobs report ambushed everyone.  Energy: battleground states incl PA and OH, both energy providers.  She’s been radicalized by Bernie – came out vs fracking, vs coal.   Ohio has been revived by the fracking revolution.  A big Democratic funder is the green movement and she’s had Sanders on her tail.  Next on her schedule: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and __ .  If it hadn't been for the sale oil and gas boom, Obama probably wouldn't have been re-elected. 
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 1, Block C:  James Taranto, Best of the Web, and WSJ editorial, in re:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-wins-the-media-primary-1465322924
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 1, Block D:   Hotel Mars, episode n.  David Livingston, and Doug Messier, Parabolic Arc; in re: XCOR lays off employees to focus on engine development  XCOR Lynx XCOR Aerospace is putting work on the Lynx suborbital spaceplane on hold as it devotes its resources to a new rocket engine for ...
The XCOR Lynx Spaceplane Might Be Down for the Count  XCOR (founded in 1999 by three colleagues; “XCOR Aerospace and the Lynx in suborbital flight”) lays off employees working on Lynx, focusses on dvpt.  Half the company laid off (25 people). Hiring; Firefly Space Systems. Board of directors suggested acquriring someone for business improvement.  Two founders moved to open a new firm working on agile production. Guests/ticketholders who put down cash for a ride? Some concerned abiut their deposit.  The money may not be in escrow, so it may nnot be refunded.  Microgravity research (on Lynx?). Develop an engine for ULA?  . . . New rocket called Vulcan . . . Aerojet Rocketdyne.  Methane thrusters.  Mach-3 space plane to go up 100km and come down again.
 
Hour Two
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 2, Block A:  Stephen F. Cohen, Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies/History/Politics at NYU and Princeton; also Board of American Committee for East-West Accord (eastwestaccord.com); in re:  Anakonda16 kicks off in Poland.  NATO general: If we're going to fight together we must train together.  (Photo: Jedną z form zacieśniania współpracy w ramach struktur NATO są tzw. detachmenty, czyli szkolenia międzynarodowe w Polsce. W ubiegłym roku w tej formie ...)
War Warning on the Russian Frontier.  The general said Russia was needed in the international community; however, this was impossible at the moment due to the country's "sole respect for power."  He emphasised that about 7,000 Russian troops were stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two territories viewed by the international community as Georgian regions occupied by Russia.
In Hodges' words, about 20,000 Russian troops are currently present in the Crimean peninsula occupied by Russia, and about 20 Ukrainian soldiers were killed last week during clashes with Moscow-supported separatists in Eastern Ukraine regardless of ceasefire agreements. 
"This is a serious challenge; this is not an academic exercise and the only way we keep it from becoming a real crisis is if we stick together, the Alliance stick together and demonstrate that we are committed," the US general noted. He added that Lithuania had been precisely meeting the commitments assumed during the last NATO Summit in Wales by not only boosting defense spending but also by organising exercises and developing its Armed Forces.
Ahead of the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the three Baltic States seek deployment of an international Allied battalion of about 1,000 soldiers in each of their territories. NATO's Military Committee has given a green light to stationing of the units in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. http://www.baltictimes.com/us_general_in_vilnius__central__eastern_europe_needs_actual__not_symbolic_deterrence/#  (1 of 4)
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 2, Block B:  Stephen F. Cohen, Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies/History/Politics at NYU and Princeton; also Board of American Committee for East-West Accord (eastwestaccord.com); in re: http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/events/upcoming-events/detail/sustaining-natos-strength-and-deterrence  (2 of 4)
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 2, Block C:  Stephen F. Cohen, Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies/History/Politics at NYU and Princeton; also Board of American Committee for East-West Accord (eastwestaccord.com).  Obama Slams Door in Putin's Face, Refuses to Discuss "Very Dangerous" Missile Defense System awselb.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-0…
Reality Check: Germany Looks to Ease Russian Sanctions: https://t.co/4Qroe8A4jy   http://russia-insider.com/en/trump-card-hillarys-warmongering/ri147
War Party festivities this week:   http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/events/upcoming-events/detail/sustaining-natos-strength-and-deterrence
A conversation with: Ben Hodges, Commanding General, US Army Europe; Juozas Olekas, Minister of National Defense, Republic of Lithuania; Margarita Šešelgytė, Studies Director, Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University; Damon Wilson, Executive Vice President, Programs and Strategy, Atlantic Council;  Former Senior Director, European Affairs, National Security Council; Barry Pavel, Vice President, Arnold Kanter Chair, and Director, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, Atlantic Council;  Former Senior Director, Defense Policy and Strategy, National Security Council.
The Saker, etc., warning letter about nuclear war is paramount.   Also the Atlantic Council Meeting of today, the war party agreeing to continue the war-drumming.  Hillary Clinton Foreign Policy in re: Eurasia.  The measure of accidental war footing as of Summer 2016.
Part 1: The warning collective letter and what it means.
Part 2. The Atlantic Council confab and what it means to be staged in Vilnius, as the NATO confab in July will be staged in Warsaw -- both front line capitols not eh Russia frontier.
The Clinton freeing policy as distinct from Trump incoherence (I was for Iraq and Libya before I was against them and then for Libya again, etc.).   Accidental war footing, summer 2016; return to the Cold War chicken/readiness exercises of the 1950s-60s.  (3 of 4)
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 2, Block D: Stephen F. Cohen, Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies/History/Politics at NYU and Princeton; also Board of American Committee for East-West Accord (eastwestaccord.com); in re: Sergei Lavrov: on natl talk-show TV. Russians are debating what the NATO build-up on its borders means.  One side says it’s posturing, don't worry, The other side: “This is the scent of war coming and we need to be prepared.” If so, is Putin doing enough?  Lavrov has press conference – he’s a competent professional and exceedingly close to Putin — with his ambassadors in the auditorium. One ambassador stands up and accuses Lavrov of not having done enough when the US impelled Ukraine to have a coup, overthrew a government that was replaced by thugs. “The Americans have a theory of intervention they call ‘humanitarianism.’” We have a theory of sovereignty.”  “What should we have done, sent in troops?”  “Yes, of course."  “I disagree – do you want war between Russia and Ukraine?” “I don't think that’s what would have occurred.”  This is critical: a big segment of Russia opposes what it sees as Russian passivism – the Russian war party.   (4 of 4)
Hour Three
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 3, Block A:   Rita Cosby, Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video; and Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle, in re: California and other primaries. HRC presumptive nomination. Exit polls in California for Harris/Sanchez.  The Trump/Curiel turmoil.
Mrs Clinton becomes the likely Democratic nominee for president.  Her acceptance speech ran about half an hour, covered a lot of ground, pointed put that her mother was born on June 4, 1919, the day that Congress debated allowing women to vote.  Exit polls:  California, a blue state, is Clinton; 57% of women go for Clinton, but among African-Americans she’s won 2-1/2-to-1 over Sanders.  Bernie doing well with poor people and 18-to-34-year-olds.    Clinton won days before with the absentee vote (usu older folks; and reliable voters); but younger voters are, in fact, turning out.  Sanders has pulled Clinton to the left; we’ll see in Philadelphia. The usual bromides from Hilary Clinton and an effort to galvanize the Obama coalition to stand together; yet she’s not a compelling speaker. If the GOP had a stronger candidate she’d be beatable.  What about the Cali vote – for Bernie or against Hillary? Does that translate into for Trump?
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/saunders/article/From-elephant-to-tortoise-a-GOP-manifesto-7966666.php
Also a follow-up blog on the bill to let felons vote in California jails. It would allow the infamous Stanford rapist sentenced to six months in county jail to vote. http://blog.sfgate.com/djsaunders/2016/06/07/sacramento-is-working-on-bill-to-allow-stanford-rapist-to-vote-in-jail/
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 3, Block B:   Rita Cosby, Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video; and Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle, in re:  A civil suit that has nothing to do with he nation’s future; Mr Trump’s odd speech. “Unfortunate that my comments have been misconstrued as an attack against Mexican-Americans.” Everyone is cringing; he hasn't understood that there’s a time to apologize.    Gingrich says, “He’s on a learning curve.”   He needed to discuss foreign policy but didn't.  Mrs Clinton says he’s “temperamentally unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.  Trump so far can't answer, just goes into full attack mode.  Recall that Ryan gave a half-hearted endorsement; even Rubio made a pleasant comment – but now everyone is backpedalling.  . . . Are there some Sanders voters who’ll vote for Trump? Sure — a few, but not many. . .  Ethnic slurs on the judge constituted a serious moment –damages the downballot races and himself, also.  Florida: Clinton ahead just one percentage pint. NJ.  Mrs Clinton is the nominee for the Democrats till she isn't – comets do hit.  Let the battle begin.
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 3, Block C:   Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack, in re: Astronauts enter BEAM module on ISS.   SpaceX first stage returns to port, with significant tilt.  SpaceX lobbies Texas for spaceport funds.  Musk to meet privately with Defense Secretary.  NASA gives Blue Origin contract for suborbital research.  Luxembourg to invest $200 million in space business.  Russia delays next Soyuz manned launch.  Sunspot cycle update, including a blank sun!  Hawaii turns down request to remove judge in TMT case.  NSF considers closing Aricebo.  LISA Pathfinder proves gravity wave technology.  (1 of 2)
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 3, Block D:  Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack, in re:  Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack, in re: Astronauts enter BEAM module on ISS.   SpaceX first stage returns to port, with significant tilt.  SpaceX lobbies Texas for spaceport funds.  Musk to meet privately with Defense Secretary.  NASA gives Blue Origin contract for suborbital research.  Luxembourg to invest $200 million in space business.  Russia delays next Soyuz manned launch.  Sunspot cycle update, including a blank sun!  Hawaii turns down request to remove judge in TMT case.  NSF considers closing Aricebo.  LISA Pathfinder proves gravity wave technology.  (2 of 2)
 
Hour Four
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 4, Block A:  Mary Anastasia O’Grady, Wall Street Journal, in re: The election in Peru.
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 4, Block B:  Mary Anastasia O’Grady, Wall Street Journal, in re: The FARC and Colombia – ghastly information.
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 4, Block C:   Mark McDonnell,  Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne; in re: Urban Ecology 2100 AD.: The ecological future of cities  Science  20 May 2016 [ 936-938] : Vol. 352, Issue 6288, pp. 936-938 ; DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf3630   (with Ian MacGregor-Fors) / https://audioboom.com/boos/4667958-urban-ecology-2100-ad-mark-mcconnell-royal-botanic-gardens-victoria-and-school-of-biosciences-university-of-melbourne.
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6288/936.full  The discipline of urban ecology arose in the 1990s, primarily motivated by a widespread interest in documenting the distribution and abundance of animals and plants in cities. Today, urban ecologists have greatly expanded their scope of study to include ecological and socioeconomic processes, urban management, planning, and design, with the goal of addressing issues of sustainability, environmental quality, and human well-being within cities and towns. As the global pace of urbanization continues to intensify, urban ecology provides the ecological and social data, as well as the principles, concepts and tools, to create livable cities. (1 of 2)
Tuesday  7 May 2016   / Hour 4, Block D:   Mark McDonnell,  Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne; in re: Urban Ecology 2100 AD.: The ecological future of cities  Science  20 May 2016 [ 936-938] : Vol. 352, Issue 6288, pp. 936-938 ; DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf3630   (with Ian MacGregor-Fors) / https://audioboom.com/boos/4667958-urban-ecology-2100-ad-mark-mcconnell-royal-botanic-gardens-victoria-and-school-of-biosciences-university-of-melbourne.
 
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6288/936.full  The discipline of urban ecology arose in the 1990s, primarily motivated by a widespread interest in documenting the distribution and abundance of animals and plants in cities. Today, urban ecologists have greatly expanded their scope of study to include ecological and socioeconomic processes, urban management, planning, and design, with the goal of addressing issues of sustainability, environmental quality, and human well-being within cities and towns. As the global pace of urbanization continues to intensify, urban ecology provides the ecological and social data, as well as the principles, concepts and tools, to create livable cities. (2  of 2)
 
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