The John Batchelor Show

Wednesday 22 April 2020

Air Date: 
April 23, 2020

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Colleagues:  Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, and David Livingston, The Space Show
 
Hour One
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 1, Block A: Richard Epstein, Chicago Law, NYU Law, and senior Fellow at Hoover; in re:
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 1, Block B: Richard Epstein, Chicago Law, NYU Law, and senior Fellow at Hoover; in re:
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 1, Block C: Michael Yon, Far East reporter, in re: Video and livestreaming of Hong Kong protests, for months.  Two teenage boys charge with wounding leading to death of a street vendor; Jimmy Lai and Martin Lee, two extremely distinguished persons were detained by the Hong Kong authorities.  The protest movement is obliged to consider shifting from protest to insurgency.  The anger among citizens is seething.  Police are not all locals; the force now includes many surreptitious Mainlanders.  The mood in HK has changed in the last ten days. Beijing is trying to end “One Country-Two Systems.” People are making a last stand for their home; that it’s do or die. With the virus, China has been a bad actor at least since last December; and the New York Times says that Chinese trolls are actively trying to stir up fear in the US.
      The CCP is at war with us. They see a moment of weakness in the US.  This is a totally criminal regime and it will do anything. Increased tempo of provocations.  Verbal assault on Kazakh sovereignty; ambassador’s derisive remarks in France. In WWII, people were asking, “Is it time to leave?”  Is there an escape route?  This is an excellent time to eave; things can change very quickly.  CCP could deploy troops, there could be brutal street fighting.
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 1, Block D: Commissioner Brendan Carr, FCC, in re: Communications and the virus. Huawei is planning for after the virus, on the entire globe except the US. In 2018 I proposed to the FCC ripping out all Chinese activity in US networks.  Right now the regime is disappearing its physicians who might speak on the origin of the virus. A national American reassessment of China now that 43,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus. Each piece of eqpt is coded in the field by CCP representatives; it’d be like having the US buy submarines from the Soviet Union.   Huawei advertised that a fabulous photo was taken by one of its phones; geeks found it was taken by a $3,000 camera; when confronted, China lied and said, Oh, we meant to say something different.  “The rot has completely permeated the CCP system.” Is the Trump Adm ready to take advantage of this argument?  Yes, definitely. Every single American household is feeling the brutality of the Chinese communist regime.  Huawei is an enemy force.
 
Hour Two
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 2, Block A:  John Catsimatidis, Red Apple Group, in re: The state of the city (New York) and the mayor’s new phone line on which we’re supposed to snitch on our neighbors who may not be wearing a mask or may be congregating in a park.  Will the NYPD set up a division to chase crooks, or chase bare-faced New Yorkers? This is the greatest police department of any city.  Trump wrote, The Art of the Deal; Cuomo should write, The Art of Relationship.  Cuomo has got almost everything he wants from the president. The desperately-needed tunnel from New Jersey to New York is declined because Jerry Nadler consistently complains about Trump, who has to approve the expenditure. . . .  High likelihood of human-to-human transmission. Tedros is oblivious to the damage his delay caused.  I think we should  hold the WHO offices responsible for the deaths of a hundred thousand people worldwide. Put Tedros up on charges in an international court. And we must not depend on China for our antibiotics!
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 2, Block B:  Bud Weinstein, SMU Energy, in re: Gasoline tax and electric vehicles. The Fed highway tax goes into a trust fund from which it’s doled out to states.  . . .
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 2, Block C:  Joseph Sternberg, WSJ editorial board, in re: London opens.  . . . The anti-lockdown movement ere n England isn’t quite as developed as it is in the US. Expect the fault lines between those who voted for Brexit – open quickly— and those who voted to stay in the EU—continue the lockdown.
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 2, Block D:  Joseph Sternberg, WSJ editorial board, in re: Europe opens. A walk in a London park.  I jog daily. Most people there are taking children out for a bit or cycling or doing yoga with no congregating.  You can tell it’s getting harder now that the weather is growing lovely.  No sunbathing.  Occasionally a weird little shortage at the supermarket.  People are starting to think of food security.
 
Hour Three
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 3, Block A:  Salena Zito,   @SalenaZito , in re: Philadelphia shoppers. Philly shipyard revives.
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 3, Block B:   Salena Zito,   @SalenaZito, in re: Back to work. Pittsburgh.
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 3, Block C:  Michael Auslin, Hoover, in re: Taiwan warned the WHO early on about the human-to-human transmission of the Wuhan flu.  WHO ignored this and went with Beijing’s line. Had the WHO not done this, the world would have been spared much of this nightmare. What drives the world community to avoid Taiwan’s participation?  First, it’s a hangover from the Nixon-era Cold War. Eke Carter. Also, as China has grown in power, it’s consistently worked to pressure nations and intl organizations to keep Taiwan out.   The world has been too beholden to Beijing.  We’re now reaching a point to reverse this: the Trump Adm, and the catastrophe of the virus.  As Taiwan is seen as a good global actor . . .   The abuse of Hong Kong. Taiwan has struggled under the abuse of the Mainland for decades, which has missiles pointed at Taiwan and calls it a Chinese province.  Beijing continues to aggress against and intimidate Taiwan.
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 3, Block D:  Michael Auslin, Hoover, in re: China and Taiwan.
 
Hour Four
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 4, Block A:  Tyler Rogoway, The Drive, in re: F22, a thoroughbred fighter;  and Area 51.Papoose Lake: nothing there!
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 4, Block B:  Tyler Rogoway, The Drive, in re: Contract for $84 mil to Boeing for . . .  instruction manuals.  For the most expensive aircraft ever built; only two ever made; $5,3 bil.  Air Force 1s are the most highly-defended aircraft in the world. The whole aircraft must be hardened against electromagnetic pulse (EMP).   Chinese sip with smoke: an amphibious carrier
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 4, Block C:  John Fund, NRO, in re: 
Wednesday 22 April 2020 / Hour 4, Block D: Mitch Kokai, Senior Political Analyst with the John Locke Foundation,  in re: CARES Act problems. Taking care of the CARES Act that creates State bloat.
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