Wednesday 6 May 2015
Photo, left: RIMPAC 2014.
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, & Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show.
Hour One
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block A: Rick Fisher, Senior Fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, in re: China and Russia's intention to hold naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea in May. China reveals new 40k ton amphibious assault ship, and if Iran joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organization there may be exercises near the Straits of Hormuz. China may expect Russia's navy to help China during a Taiwan crisis [i.e., when China decides it's time to take over Taiwan]. GC: China is working toward having a naval base in Namibia's Walvis Bay, which could put its forces in striking distance of the US East Coast. Namibia and Argentina are also two developing nodes for Earth-based control of China's space assets. China is a growing force in Antarctica, as seen by its commitment to build a second $300 mil icebreaker; Russia has dozens, US has only one. RF: China seeks the region's resources, but it is also an ideal location to influence Polar Orbit satellites. JB: Senator John McCain has asked the White House to disinvite China to RIMPAC – the US-led major multinational exercise in Asia. When China was there last year, it also sent an unwelcome spy ship: an electronic surveillance ship that lurked outside the borders of the exercise. You'd think the people at Honolulu would understand this; however, they're following orders from the White House. JB counts ships: 355 for the U.S., 126 for Japan. China and Russia so far cannot match these numbers, but have strengths in submarines and land-based aircraft; further, a decade hence it will be a much different balance. India is very interested in the South China Sea; that could be where East Asia determines its future.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/30/us-china-russia-military-idUSKBN0NL16F20150430
http://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-making-moves-in-antarctica-2015-5
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block B: Charles Burton, professor, Brock University, in re: . . . hope that Canada will take the lead in monitoring the Sino-British agreement that led to the transfer of Hong Kong to China. China's control over HK sovereignty is supposed to be limited. The gist of my testimony was that Canada must readjust its policy toward China in light of China's crackdown on students, civil protests, freedom of the press, democracy, civil society. Canadian policy has three aspects: prosperous trade; protect our security; project Canadian values in our foreign relations with China. The last one clearly has failed; we need to be more vocal and engage in constructive action. "Peaceful rise" didn’t work." Yes, our govt is focussed; head of Canadian secret service notes that there are Canadians who are responding above all to Chinese govt interests. We've had serious problems with cyberespionage. Martin Lee, leading HK democracy leader, plus a student leader, gave testimony: with great integrity Mr Lee described expectations at the time of transfer: 50 years of no change and that HK people could govern themselves, and move toward "one country two systems" – clearly not working. Our Liberal Party sought to discredit Mr Lee, incorrectly. China sent an unprecedented letter to interfere in the Canadian process. Son of Pierre Trudeau had a lot of affection for Fidel Castro and Chairman Mao; Canadian firms support the Liberal Party financially and other ways. About half a million HK Chinese in Canada, and 300K Canadians in HK. Recent immigrants to China are sympathetic to Beijing.
On testimony: I'll be a witness to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development currently engaged in a study on "The Situation in Hong Kong." I am the first one following Martin Lee, who met with the Committee last month. The Ambassador of China wrote a letter objecting to the Foreign Affairs Committee engaging on this matter (http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.2987964) :
"Hong Kong's political development falls entirely within China's domestic affairs. The Chinese side resolutely opposes any foreign governments, institutions and individuals to interfere in Hong Kong affairs. In consideration of the sensitive and complicated situation in Hong Kong, we hope that the Canadian side will not hold such a hearing, not intervene in Hong Kong's internal affairs in any form, so as not to send wrong signals to the outside world and cause any disturbance to China-Canada relations."
I do not think that my statement to the Committee and responses to their questions will go over well with the Chinese Embassy here or, for that matter, with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. But I am grateful for the opportunity to make [the statement] in our Parliament.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block C: Jeff Faust, Space News and Space Review, in re: Blue Origin mission: open up space flight for civilians. Starting with Blue Shepherd in West Texas – went 90 km high, capsule parachuted back to Earth. Small descent problem, but did pretty good. More test flights soon. At a recent D.C. mtg, an FAA official said they'd do a test flight in the next few weeks; check FAA restricted air space publication to see a restriction above the West Tx land till the day of the flight, a few hours' drive from El Paso. Will passengers be able to float around weightless at zero gravity? Dunno. . . . BE4, United Launch Alliance: Vulcan.
; First test-flight of upcoming Blue Origin space tourism vehicle ... The New Shepard space vehicle blasts off on its first developmental test flight over Blue Origin's West Texas Launch Site. The crew capsule ... Jeff Bezos' space tourism company completes test flight
Kirkland company registers hot growth with contracts for SpaceX, Blue Origin, Orion At Kent-based Blue Origin, staffers have been utilizing Systima's products to test Blue Origin ...
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin helping push the limits of space tourism
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block D: Bret Stephens, WSJ editorial board; in re: From Buchenwald to Europe
Hour Two
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block A: Cleo Paskal, associate Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources at Chatham House and author of Global Warring: How Environmental, Economic, and Political Crises Will Redraw the World Map, in re: Modi's first year as prime minister. . . Arrested a guy who's been transferring Billions of dollars to Switzerland by hawallah; political, drugs, and terrorism funds all flow through the same pipeline, which each of the three senders then protects. The pols, crooks and terrorists all claim Modi is a Hindu nationalist fanatic. He's not only surrounded by criminality but in a highly volatile corner of the world. He's alarmed the no-show pols by showing up unannounced in their offices, so they have to go to work and keep their offices clean. Never seen before. Flashpoints. He went to the US and energized the diaspora, to Canada and Germany; is clear about what he wants to accomplish Aware that China is problematic, but India needs investment. His driving ambition is to brig the poorest Indians out of poverty.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block B: Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, in re: Gloria Steinem leads a march inside Norht Korea from Pyongyang to the DMZ, clearly with the approval of North Korea. We can laugh at Dennis Rodman, but daren't laugh at Gloria Steinem, who can cause a great deal of very unpleasant trouble for Korean people. Some members of Steinem's group have expressed sympathy for Kim-run DPRK. This is human-rights theater to divert attention from appalling human rights violations in North Korea:
"North Korean sponsored terrorism is a threat around the world, including inside the US. " Assassinations, kidnappings, executions, many after 2008. Extreme sexual violence against North Korean women, esp this ipregnatedby Chinese men, et al; need the march to start inside China and run to the North Korean border. Other conduct: threats against civilians and terrorist financing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/protest-at-north-koreas-border-with-china/2015/04/26/294e7860-e877-11e4-9767-6276fc9b0ada_story.html
http://www.hrnk.org/events/announcements-view.php?id=22
"Now comes word that a group of activists, led by feminist icon Gloria Steinem, will take action in an effort to change the status quo on the Korean Peninsula. Their purpose? To bring a formal end to the Korean War through the Women Cross DMZ peace march.
"A noble goal. After all, no people has suffered greater human rights abuses in recent decades than the North Koreans. The activists have announced plans to march next month from Pyongyang through the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and on to Seoul.
"Since the 1953 armistice, the DMZ has tragically divided an old and noble nation. Despite its name, the 160-mile-long, 2.5-mile-wide DMZ is among the world’s most heavily militarized borders. Stone-faced soldiers face each other across fields saturated with landmines. On the north side of the tightly patrolled cement barricades, most of North Korea’s million-strong ground forces are forward-deployed, ready to attack. To the south, 620,000 South Korean and 28,500 U.S. troops stand ready to repel any invasion.
"The activists’ crossing could only be undertaken with Pyongyang’s consent. But approval of a “peace march” is paradoxical for such a military-first regime. All that South Korea has seen coming across the land and maritime borders between the two in recent years has been bellicosity and bullets, including the March 2010 sinking of a navy ship that killed 46 South Korean sailors and the November 2010 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, which killed four. If Pyongyang truly is interested in a peace gesture, it might start by releasing hundreds of South Korean POWs, now in their 80s and 90s, who were never allowed to return to their loved ones after the armistice."
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block C: Steven L Herman, Southeast Asia Bureau Chief/Correspondent, Voice of America; in re: last heard from Steve when he was in Nepal, in a disaster, Photo of a woman lying on the ground, to be carried on a sling: her back was broken. A nightmare. A number of villages where every single structure in the community had been destroyed; a week after the earthquake had received zero aid yet. No food, water, aid workers. One remote community, a Singaporean med team had visited for 25 minutes, but a small baby with a broken leg was among those untreated. Or Red Cross dropped 90 tarps for 1,500 homeless families. Tremendous frustration by civil society about the govt shooting itself in the foot: bureaucracy continue as normal, requires that all donations go through the Prime Minister's disaster fund, illegal to contribute to NGOs. Aid taken away by govt officials who wanted to stay in charge, Kafka-esque procedures continue instead of the govt going on war footing. Catastrophic results on top of the disaster. Politics is a fractious and dirty business in Nepal. Long periods of civil war; South Asian professionals tend not to want to get their hands dirty in politics. Tremendous supplies entering at he airport – but warehouses filling up with supplies to be stolen and resold. In one village, aid supplies had been taken by well-off shopkeepers. Livestock still covered by earth and detritus. Foreign rescue teams were told after a week; Go home. We can handle this. Yike! Govt was afraid of intl and NGO presence. Civil society created ad hoc aid stations, organized supplies, trucks – afraid of her caravans being arrogated so she had villagers lining the roads to protect the seven vehicles. Airport with one damaged runway, can’t handle heavy planes. Air traffic control overwhelmed, no ground organization. Lucky that nothing worse has happened. A number of highly experienced NGOs – Mercy Corps, USAID, Catholic Relief Services, all really good; if the Nepali govt gets out of the way, can be cautiously optimistic.
http://www.voanews.com/content/nepal-government-faces-criticism-for-quak...
http://www.voanews.com/content/death-toll-rises-in-nepal/2744263.html
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block D: David Feith, WSJ, in re: Chen Guang-chen, blind human rights lawyer, campaigned for village women in China not to be abused, and he was much abused for that by the Chinese central government. Discrepancy between Mr Chen's recollections and Mrs Clinton's memory of his escape and arrival at US embassy in Beijing. Dramatic: he sought to stay in embassy or go to the US with his family. Initially he was treated well, then in two days, the embassy officials began to pressure Mr Chen to do what the Chinese govt wanted, and that this corresponded precisely when Mr Clinton got involved in the matter. Mrs Clinton said she did what Chen wanted "every step of the way" – not what Mr Chen recalls, at all. Were this to happen again today, would be up to the senior leadership of US govt. Note the jailed Nobelist and his wife, one imprisoned and the other under long-term house arrest. Chen has reached he US; ha he stayed, he would have been "at the mercy" of the govt – likely tortured, possibly dead, While he and his wife and children are in the US, his extended family has members who are known to be tortured because of Mr Chen's departure.
Hour Three
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block A: Monica Crowley, Fox, & Washington Times Online opinion editor; in re: Clinton Cash and Mrs Clinton's political fortunes. (1 of 2) http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2564063?slideout=1
Intervening in African corruption review:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton allegedly blocked a 2009 attempt by Congolese officials to remedy a mining contract that had been secured using bribery and other "questionable methods." The company in question, First Quantum Minerals, was founded by a Swedish investor that had ties to the Clintons dating back to their days in Arkansas.
Jean-Raymond Boulle had encouraged Bill Clinton to invest in an Arkansas diamond mine when he was governor of the state. In 2012, Hillary Clinton's State Department restored First Quantum's business license and ensured it received $1.25 billion for its Congolese assets by pressuring the government there.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block B: Monica Crowley, Fox, & Washington Times Online opinion editor; in re: Clinton Cash and Mrs Clinton's political fortunes (2 of 2), and:
Bush, Walker, Rubio, Cruz, constitute the top tier in the GOP field. Second tier: Carly Fiorina . . . good. Dr Ben Carson is totally inspirational. Mike Huckabee is savvy, always had big support among evangelicals but he has competition this time. Iowa voters dislike Jeb Bush. More traction inNew Hampshire, but ought to invest more time in Iowa.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block C: Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: http://www.hoover.org/research/baltimores-real-police-problem In Baltimore, there are so many pathologies that [it's not useful to generalize]" (1 of 2)
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block D: Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: http://www.hoover.org/research/baltimores-real-police-problem (2 of 2)
Hour Four
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block A: James Taranto, Wall Street Journal, in re: 'The Terrorists Will Have Won' A post-9/11 fatuity takes on real meaning. Remember the post-9/11 cliché "If we [do X], the terrorists will have won"? X was some change in antiterror policy or practice that the speaker thought an affront to civil liberties—or, as it was often put, to "our most cherished values."
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block B: Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, in re:
Huge Discrepancy Between VA Words and Deeds – editorial: “What does it take to get fired at the VA?”
House Bill Would Give VA More Money than Ever; VA Falsely Says It's a 'Cut' “Pelosi’s perplexing claim that House bill would ‘cut’ VA medical care funds"
VA Gets Mad at Congress for Correcting VA’s False Statements: “Lawmaker lashes out at VA secretary’s ‘rampant lack of accountability' "
Fed Up with VA Stonewalling, HVAC Votes Unanimously to Subpoena VA: “House Panel Issues Subpoena in Philadelphia VA Probe”
Zero VA Employees Fired for Manipulating Wait Times: “Few People Lost Jobs with V.A. in Scandal"
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block C: Sarah Westwood, Washington Examiner, in re:
Top 10 Clinton conflicts of interest
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block D: Ken Croswell, Scientific American, in re: Ghostly galaxies appear in the Coma Cluster.
Photo, left:
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, & Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show.
Hour One
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block A: Rick Fisher, Senior Fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, in re: China and Russia's intention to hold naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea in May. China reveals new 40k ton amphibious assault ship, and if Iran joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organization there may be exercises near the Straits of Hormuz. China may expect Russia's navy to help China during a Taiwan crisis [i.e., when China decides it's time to take over Taiwan]. GC: China is working toward having a naval base in Namibia's Walvis Bay, which could put its forces in striking distance of the US East Coast. Namibia and Argentina are also two developing nodes for Earth-based control of China's space assets. China is a growing force in Antarctica, as seen by its commitment to build a second $300 mil icebreaker; Russia has dozens, US has only one. RF: China seeks the region's resources, but it is also an ideal location to influence Polar Orbit satellites. JB: Senator John McCain has asked the White House to disinvite China to RIMPAC – the US-led major multinational exercise in Asia. When China was there last year, it also sent an unwelcome spy ship: an electronic surveillance ship that lurked outside the borders of the exercise. You'd think the people at Honolulu would understand this; however, they're following orders from the White House. JB counts ships: 355 for the U.S., 126 for Japan. China and Russia so far cannot match these numbers, but have strengths in submarines and land-based aircraft; further, a decade hence it will be a much different balance. India is very interested in the South China Sea; that could be where East Asia determines its future.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/30/us-china-russia-military-idUSKBN0NL16F20150430
http://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-making-moves-in-antarctica-2015-5
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block B: Charles Burton, professor, Brock University, in re: . . . hope that Canada will take the lead in monitoring the Sino-British agreement that led to the transfer of Hong Kong to China. China's control over HK sovereignty is supposed to be limited. The gist of my testimony was that Canada must readjust its policy toward China in light of China's crackdown on students, civil protests, freedom of the press, democracy, civil society. Canadian policy has three aspects: prosperous trade; protect our security; project Canadian values in our foreign relations with China. The last one clearly has failed; we need to be more vocal and engage in constructive action. "Peaceful rise" didn’t work." Yes, our govt is focussed; head of Canadian secret service notes that there are Canadians who are responding above all to Chinese govt interests. We've had serious problems with cyberespionage. Martin Lee, leading HK democracy leader, plus a student leader, gave testimony: with great integrity Mr Lee described expectations at the time of transfer: 50 years of no change and that HK people could govern themselves, and move toward "one country two systems" – clearly not working. Our Liberal Party sought to discredit Mr Lee, incorrectly. China sent an unprecedented letter to interfere in the Canadian process. Son of Pierre Trudeau had a lot of affection for Fidel Castro and Chairman Mao; Canadian firms support the Liberal Party financially and other ways. About half a million HK Chinese in Canada, and 300K Canadians in HK. Recent immigrants to China are sympathetic to Beijing.
On testimony: I'll be a witness to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development currently engaged in a study on "The Situation in Hong Kong." I am the first one following Martin Lee, who met with the Committee last month. The Ambassador of China wrote a letter objecting to the Foreign Affairs Committee engaging on this matter (http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.2987964) :
"Hong Kong's political development falls entirely within China's domestic affairs. The Chinese side resolutely opposes any foreign governments, institutions and individuals to interfere in Hong Kong affairs. In consideration of the sensitive and complicated situation in Hong Kong, we hope that the Canadian side will not hold such a hearing, not intervene in Hong Kong's internal affairs in any form, so as not to send wrong signals to the outside world and cause any disturbance to China-Canada relations."
I do not think that my statement to the Committee and responses to their questions will go over well with the Chinese Embassy here or, for that matter, with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. But I am grateful for the opportunity to make [the statement] in our Parliament.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block C: Jeff Faust, Space News and Space Review, in re: Blue Origin mission: open up space flight for civilians. Starting with Blue Shepherd in West Texas – went 90 km high, capsule parachuted back to Earth. Small descent problem, but did pretty good. More test flights soon. At a recent D.C. mtg, an FAA official said they'd do a test flight in the next few weeks; check FAA restricted air space publication to see a restriction above the West Tx land till the day of the flight, a few hours' drive from El Paso. Will passengers be able to float around weightless at zero gravity? Dunno. . . . BE4, United Launch Alliance: Vulcan.
; First test-flight of upcoming Blue Origin space tourism vehicle ... The New Shepard space vehicle blasts off on its first developmental test flight over Blue Origin's West Texas Launch Site. The crew capsule ... Jeff Bezos' space tourism company completes test flight
Kirkland company registers hot growth with contracts for SpaceX, Blue Origin, Orion At Kent-based Blue Origin, staffers have been utilizing Systima's products to test Blue Origin ...
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin helping push the limits of space tourism
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 1, Block D: Bret Stephens, WSJ editorial board; in re: From Buchenwald to Europe
Hour Two
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block A: Cleo Paskal, associate Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources at Chatham House and author of Global Warring: How Environmental, Economic, and Political Crises Will Redraw the World Map, in re: Modi's first year as prime minister. . . Arrested a guy who's been transferring Billions of dollars to Switzerland by hawallah; political, drugs, and terrorism funds all flow through the same pipeline, which each of the three senders then protects. The pols, crooks and terrorists all claim Modi is a Hindu nationalist fanatic. He's not only surrounded by criminality but in a highly volatile corner of the world. He's alarmed the no-show pols by showing up unannounced in their offices, so they have to go to work and keep their offices clean. Never seen before. Flashpoints. He went to the US and energized the diaspora, to Canada and Germany; is clear about what he wants to accomplish Aware that China is problematic, but India needs investment. His driving ambition is to brig the poorest Indians out of poverty.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block B: Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, in re: Gloria Steinem leads a march inside Norht Korea from Pyongyang to the DMZ, clearly with the approval of North Korea. We can laugh at Dennis Rodman, but daren't laugh at Gloria Steinem, who can cause a great deal of very unpleasant trouble for Korean people. Some members of Steinem's group have expressed sympathy for Kim-run DPRK. This is human-rights theater to divert attention from appalling human rights violations in North Korea:
"North Korean sponsored terrorism is a threat around the world, including inside the US. " Assassinations, kidnappings, executions, many after 2008. Extreme sexual violence against North Korean women, esp this ipregnatedby Chinese men, et al; need the march to start inside China and run to the North Korean border. Other conduct: threats against civilians and terrorist financing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/protest-at-north-koreas-border-with-china/2015/04/26/294e7860-e877-11e4-9767-6276fc9b0ada_story.html
http://www.hrnk.org/events/announcements-view.php?id=22
"Now comes word that a group of activists, led by feminist icon Gloria Steinem, will take action in an effort to change the status quo on the Korean Peninsula. Their purpose? To bring a formal end to the Korean War through the Women Cross DMZ peace march.
"A noble goal. After all, no people has suffered greater human rights abuses in recent decades than the North Koreans. The activists have announced plans to march next month from Pyongyang through the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and on to Seoul.
"Since the 1953 armistice, the DMZ has tragically divided an old and noble nation. Despite its name, the 160-mile-long, 2.5-mile-wide DMZ is among the world’s most heavily militarized borders. Stone-faced soldiers face each other across fields saturated with landmines. On the north side of the tightly patrolled cement barricades, most of North Korea’s million-strong ground forces are forward-deployed, ready to attack. To the south, 620,000 South Korean and 28,500 U.S. troops stand ready to repel any invasion.
"The activists’ crossing could only be undertaken with Pyongyang’s consent. But approval of a “peace march” is paradoxical for such a military-first regime. All that South Korea has seen coming across the land and maritime borders between the two in recent years has been bellicosity and bullets, including the March 2010 sinking of a navy ship that killed 46 South Korean sailors and the November 2010 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, which killed four. If Pyongyang truly is interested in a peace gesture, it might start by releasing hundreds of South Korean POWs, now in their 80s and 90s, who were never allowed to return to their loved ones after the armistice."
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block C: Steven L Herman, Southeast Asia Bureau Chief/Correspondent, Voice of America; in re: last heard from Steve when he was in Nepal, in a disaster, Photo of a woman lying on the ground, to be carried on a sling: her back was broken. A nightmare. A number of villages where every single structure in the community had been destroyed; a week after the earthquake had received zero aid yet. No food, water, aid workers. One remote community, a Singaporean med team had visited for 25 minutes, but a small baby with a broken leg was among those untreated. Or Red Cross dropped 90 tarps for 1,500 homeless families. Tremendous frustration by civil society about the govt shooting itself in the foot: bureaucracy continue as normal, requires that all donations go through the Prime Minister's disaster fund, illegal to contribute to NGOs. Aid taken away by govt officials who wanted to stay in charge, Kafka-esque procedures continue instead of the govt going on war footing. Catastrophic results on top of the disaster. Politics is a fractious and dirty business in Nepal. Long periods of civil war; South Asian professionals tend not to want to get their hands dirty in politics. Tremendous supplies entering at he airport – but warehouses filling up with supplies to be stolen and resold. In one village, aid supplies had been taken by well-off shopkeepers. Livestock still covered by earth and detritus. Foreign rescue teams were told after a week; Go home. We can handle this. Yike! Govt was afraid of intl and NGO presence. Civil society created ad hoc aid stations, organized supplies, trucks – afraid of her caravans being arrogated so she had villagers lining the roads to protect the seven vehicles. Airport with one damaged runway, can’t handle heavy planes. Air traffic control overwhelmed, no ground organization. Lucky that nothing worse has happened. A number of highly experienced NGOs – Mercy Corps, USAID, Catholic Relief Services, all really good; if the Nepali govt gets out of the way, can be cautiously optimistic.
http://www.voanews.com/content/nepal-government-faces-criticism-for-quak...
http://www.voanews.com/content/death-toll-rises-in-nepal/2744263.html
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 2, Block D: David Feith, WSJ, in re: Chen Guang-chen, blind human rights lawyer, campaigned for village women in China not to be abused, and he was much abused for that by the Chinese central government. Discrepancy between Mr Chen's recollections and Mrs Clinton's memory of his escape and arrival at US embassy in Beijing. Dramatic: he sought to stay in embassy or go to the US with his family. Initially he was treated well, then in two days, the embassy officials began to pressure Mr Chen to do what the Chinese govt wanted, and that this corresponded precisely when Mr Clinton got involved in the matter. Mrs Clinton said she did what Chen wanted "every step of the way" – not what Mr Chen recalls, at all. Were this to happen again today, would be up to the senior leadership of US govt. Note the jailed Nobelist and his wife, one imprisoned and the other under long-term house arrest. Chen has reached he US; ha he stayed, he would have been "at the mercy" of the govt – likely tortured, possibly dead, While he and his wife and children are in the US, his extended family has members who are known to be tortured because of Mr Chen's departure.
Hour Three
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block A: Monica Crowley, Fox, & Washington Times Online opinion editor; in re: Clinton Cash and Mrs Clinton's political fortunes. (1 of 2) http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2564063?slideout=1
Intervening in African corruption review:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton allegedly blocked a 2009 attempt by Congolese officials to remedy a mining contract that had been secured using bribery and other "questionable methods." The company in question, First Quantum Minerals, was founded by a Swedish investor that had ties to the Clintons dating back to their days in Arkansas.
Jean-Raymond Boulle had encouraged Bill Clinton to invest in an Arkansas diamond mine when he was governor of the state. In 2012, Hillary Clinton's State Department restored First Quantum's business license and ensured it received $1.25 billion for its Congolese assets by pressuring the government there.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block B: Monica Crowley, Fox, & Washington Times Online opinion editor; in re: Clinton Cash and Mrs Clinton's political fortunes (2 of 2), and:
Bush, Walker, Rubio, Cruz, constitute the top tier in the GOP field. Second tier: Carly Fiorina . . . good. Dr Ben Carson is totally inspirational. Mike Huckabee is savvy, always had big support among evangelicals but he has competition this time. Iowa voters dislike Jeb Bush. More traction inNew Hampshire, but ought to invest more time in Iowa.
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block C: Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: http://www.hoover.org/research/baltimores-real-police-problem In Baltimore, there are so many pathologies that [it's not useful to generalize]" (1 of 2)
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 3, Block D: Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: http://www.hoover.org/research/baltimores-real-police-problem (2 of 2)
Hour Four
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block A: James Taranto, Wall Street Journal, in re: 'The Terrorists Will Have Won' A post-9/11 fatuity takes on real meaning. Remember the post-9/11 cliché "If we [do X], the terrorists will have won"? X was some change in antiterror policy or practice that the speaker thought an affront to civil liberties—or, as it was often put, to "our most cherished values."
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block B: Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, in re:
Huge Discrepancy Between VA Words and Deeds – editorial: “What does it take to get fired at the VA?”
House Bill Would Give VA More Money than Ever; VA Falsely Says It's a 'Cut' “Pelosi’s perplexing claim that House bill would ‘cut’ VA medical care funds"
VA Gets Mad at Congress for Correcting VA’s False Statements: “Lawmaker lashes out at VA secretary’s ‘rampant lack of accountability' "
Fed Up with VA Stonewalling, HVAC Votes Unanimously to Subpoena VA: “House Panel Issues Subpoena in Philadelphia VA Probe”
Zero VA Employees Fired for Manipulating Wait Times: “Few People Lost Jobs with V.A. in Scandal"
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block C: Sarah Westwood, Washington Examiner, in re:
Top 10 Clinton conflicts of interest
Wednesday 6 May 2015 / Hour 4, Block D: Ken Croswell, Scientific American, in re: Ghostly galaxies appear in the Coma Cluster.
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