Wednesday 10 February 2021
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Colleagues: Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, and Thaddeus McCotter, American Greatness magazine
Hour One
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 1, Block A: Bill Whalen: @Hooverwhalen, @HooverInst,Area 45 blog, in re: The Magic Kingdom for the troubled Golden State, Gov Gavin Newsom is under pressure because of the recall petition. April 29 will be 100 days of the Biden presidency: Biden promised to have schools reopened by then, but teachers aren’t in a hurry, They all want to be inoculated first, also, “only so long as the school is covid-free.” Mayor Bree said schools won’t be open this year. Newsom won’t pressure teachers because he’s a wholly-owned subsidiary of the teachers union. Things are so rough in California that they might actually elect a businessperson—maybe Bob Iger, who ran Disney. Rolling blackouts, Disneyland. Hackers have ripped off billions from the state. Voters are angry. https://www.hoover.org/research/iger-sanction
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 1, Block B: Will Rinehart, @WillRinehart, Utah State University Center for Growth and Opportunity, in re: Zuckerberg/Facebook/Groups fail.
The events in Washington; starting in 2016, FB was blamed for false information on Donald Trump. Axios: it's hesitating in growth; not growing commensurately with its earnings forecast. Why? A serious trust problem: people don't trust FB or twitter. FB pitches, Zuckerberg in front of a big screen; Groups: allow people to connect on a wide variety of issues, sort of private chat rooms. More limitations to come on them.
Reddit: Star Wars Armada. Discussion boards. Some supported Donald Trump; FB doesn’t want that, political conversations, any more. WSJ wrote of some Albanians pretending marketing, actually practicing larceny. FB is now working with law enforcement. How profound a threat is this to FB’s business plan? Not known. Center for Growth and Opportunity
https://www.axios.com/facebook-booming-business-sinking-reputation-b7035f9d-0b8d-40e0-a98e-7fe0ff677362.html
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 1, Block C: Brandon Weichert, @WeTheBrandon, author, Winning Space, How America Remains a Superpower;andGordon Chang, @GordonGChang, Daily Beast, in re: Who believes the WHO in Wuhan? We don’t yet know the origin, so it's inappropriate for anyone in the WHO to say if it did or did not originate in a wet market or lab. So far, after all this time, there’s still been no honest investigation into the Wuhan lab—after over a year. Mike Pompeo: “We pulled out to the WHO for good reasons: it's corrupt, and is politically pro-China.” And all the original samples have been removed. What audience does the PRC hope to persuade? Seven.point four billion people. “If you don't see the cleverness in CCP actions, you're not looking hard enough.” All the original source material has been so badly tampered-with and removed; the WH people were finally allowed in in a limited fashion. Forensically, unlikely we’ll ever know the original source—so we won’t understand it, or how it mutates. Or how to fight it.
The WHO spent 3-1/2 hour looking. Gen Chen Wei had already completely cleaned it. For the least decade, China has been buying into UN intl organizations—many—to persuade them to become more Chinese in outlook. The WHO’s report says hat China can keep misbehaving as long a it keeps pouring money into organizations.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/10/asia/who-china-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 1, Block D: Alan Tonelson, @AlanTonelson, @USBIC1, U.S. Business and Industry Council Educational Foundation,and Gordon Chang, @GordonGChang, Daily Beast, in re: Trump Trade Deal with the PRC falls short.
. . . China is not a market-driven economy: could easily have decided to make the agreed purchases. They knew the virus was coming. By Jan 15, . . . Let’s acknowledge that China simply does not honor its trade agreement. Right now, high tariffs on $360 bil of Chinese goods entering the US. Biden has powerful tools at its disposal if it chooses to see them. Does contract law exist in China? It exists, but there’s no enforcement; pols look at the matters in advance and instruct the court what to do. The CCP has confidence in law: they use it against you. In good faith? No.
No such thing as rule of law in Chinese politics or court or business. The imperative is to create leverage and force them to accede or suffer. Why does Biden have to spend so much time reviewing Trump policies? Suggests that they don’t know what do to.
Pursuing any deal with China is a loser. Climate, trade, healthcare: Biden really wants deals with China. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/22/china-failed-to-buy-agreed-amounts-of-us-goods-in-phase-one-trade-deal-data.html
Hour Two
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 2, Block A: John Catsimatidis, @JCats2013, @CatsRoundtable, Red Apple Media & Cats Roundtable radio, in re: Keystone XL Pipeline: Trumka of AFL/CIO, and Joe Manchin, both endorse it. What’s Biden doing? Saudi and Arab nations all win, and the US loses. Prices up: to $60 Bbl today – so food, gasoline and airlines all cost more. Poor people pay more for everything so this is, in effect, a tax. It leads to inflation. The administration made this mistake so early on? The oil will come in anyway, by truck, train, ship. Extra expense will hurt many states and their citizens. Why are New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California—none open for business? WABC poll: are you safe going into the subways? 80% said no. DeBlasio is not helping. Cuomo will allow restaurants to open on Friday, Lunar New Year (“to please Asians”). Every city and state should have the ability to recall.
“Over the next 30 days. a good chance that Biden will reverse his Keystone pipeline decision.” John Catsimatidis.
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 2, Block B: Bill McGurn, @wjmcgurn, @WSJOpinion,WSJ editorial page & Main Street column, in re: The remains of the 2020 election, and other changes. Are these changes making things better than the enmity we supported, or not? Not doing well to see impeachment every day. Do Democrats favor rancor? They don't think it’s rancor. A short-term view. Pols are changing rules every whipstitch—“rule-bending”— which is quite polarizing. Non-Democrats think the game has been rigged. That engenders the thought, “I’ll get even.” With a 505/50 Senate, this could reverse in 2022. We needn’t try to agree on policy; rather, we need to accomplish by legislation. You'd think Biden, a Senate member for decades, would know this. “Customs, traditions, habits: give it all the old heave-ho.” Henceforth, impeachment may become payback. A huge mistake. With today’s argument, they could impeach Trump a third time. Sure looks like a bill of attainder—to attaint, or stain, an individual. The Founders strongly rejected bills of attainder.
In September Biden spoke of forgiving student loans but was sceptical; now, he’s being pushed by his left.
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 2, Block C: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com; in re: Space X Starlink Constellation will IPO as soon as practicable; 2022? A lot of money. . . .
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 2, Block D: Robert Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com; in re: UAE launches Hope. China to ars. Mars’s water table is in fact an ice table. . . .
Hour Three
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 3, Block A: Andrew C McCarthy, @AndrewCMcCarthy, Ball of Collusion; and Thaddeus McCotter, @ThadMcCotter, American Greatness, in re: Mr Raskin opens the trial with a video. No chance of convicting Trump (can't get 17 GOP votes), so this is done to achieve political objectives, communicate that Trump supporters are neo-Nazi white supremacist villains. They want to divide Republicans for the next few cycles. Cruising toward a verdict on Monday or Tuesday. John Yoo said that an adequate defense would take weeks or months to prepare. He’s quite right, if this were a real trial. Instead, it’s political theater.
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 3, Block B: Andrew C McCarthy, @AndrewCMcCarthy, Ball of Collusion; and Thaddeus McCotter, @ThadMcCotter, American Greatness, in re:They called Trump the commander-in-chief of America. He was commander-in-chief of the military, not the country or population. He’s not king. They have no proof that Trump intended violence; was trying to stoke political pressure in counting electoral votes. The president works for us, not the other way around. . . . Their video left out all of Trump’s words saying that he expected the march to be peaceful.
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 3, Block C: Nury Turkel, @nuryturkel, co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and a commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Gordon Chang, @GordonGChang, Daily Beast, in re:
Gathering storm to boycott or move the Beijing Winter Olympics. The genocide of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. Our govt trades with a country actively committing genocide. The intl community needs to take account of this. Our civilization made this mistake once before: in 1936, the camps were already being built to kill ethnic minorities. If this doesn’t awaken the intl community I don’t know what will. Then another mistake; [awarding the Olympics ] to China. Recall the Olympics in Germany. China is vulnerable; there’s a year to go; China has threatened to sanction countries that boycott, showing that China is worried. Recall also that Olympic refsed to accept Apartheid South Africa. The young Uyghur who went to Europe to train, and on returning home immediately was thrown into a concentration camp. Companies and govts are not doing what they need to do; this situation is much, much bigger than it looks. The threat of sanctions must be [attended to]. Tibetans are gathering in Dharmsala on this.
Can we move the games? Possible—but how comfortable is the world in participating in this event when it rests in part on genocide. Could move the winter games to Mongolia. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9236073/China-threatens-sanctions-2022-Winter-Olympics-boycott-calls.html
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 3, Block D: Bhuchung Tsering, @bhuchungtsering, vice president of the International Campaign for Tibet; and Gordon Chang, @GordonGChang, Daily Beast, in re: Tibet is the model for the Uyghur concentration camps. So many people protested China’s retreatment of Tibet that China had to hire bullies to push people away as the Olympic torch was being run. In 2008, we were assured that giving Olympics to China would improve treatment of Tibetans. Quite the opposite: the whole country now looks like a prison. Tibet has been the model where China experimented with extreme social control; the leader of that has been transferred to Xinjiang to do the same there. Why would the IOC award he games to China? Based on what happened in Tibet after 2008, need to see if the spirit of the games has been upheld by China. Not. China increased its clampdown; Xi introduced the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism! Now demands that the whole religion be controlled by China, to the degree of appointing the Dalai Lama.
Monasteries have been closed; an essential Tibetan ritual at New Year. Most recent self-immolation was 2020; but China began to hurt the suicide’s entire family. There are protests in multiple countries against CCP brutality. “When you lie down with wolves, you do not get up.”
https://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/international/6948-i-want-to-urge-the-world-to-join-our-movement-and-boycott-the-upcoming-beijing-olympics-gonpo-dhondup
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/24/tibet.olympicgames2008
Hour Four
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 4, Block A: Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America, by T. J. Stiles
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 4, Block B: Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America,by T. J. Stiles
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 4, Block C: Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America,by T. J. Stiles
Wednesday 10 February 2021 / Hour 4, Block D: Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America,by T. J. Stiles