SHOW

10-23-25

CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR

1882 BLACK SEA RUSSIAN FLEET

THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT A UKRAINE RESOLUTION...







FIRST HOUR



9-915

Delayed Budapest Summit and Ukraine Negotiation Sticking Points. Anatol Lieven discusses how negotiations between the US and Russia, including a planned Budapest meeting, are delayed despite some progress on security issues like Trump's position on Ukraine joining NATO. The major sticking point remains Russia's demand that Ukraine withdraw from the rest of the Donbas, which Ukrainian leaders deem politically impossible. While Russia has scaled back some territorial claims, a viable peace settlement likely necessitates a ceasefire along existing lines, coupled with lifting sanctions. Escalation risks remain high due to potential accidental military clashes.





915-930

Delayed Budapest Summit and Ukraine Negotiation Sticking Points. Anatol Lieven discusses how negotiations between the US and Russia, including a planned Budapest meeting, are delayed despite some progress on security issues like Trump's position on Ukraine joining NATO. The major sticking point remains Russia's demand that Ukraine withdraw from the rest of the Donbas, which Ukrainian leaders deem politically impossible. While Russia has scaled back some territorial claims, a viable peace settlement likely necessitates a ceasefire along existing lines, coupled with lifting sanctions. Escalation risks remain high due to potential accidental military clashes.





930-945

Trump Administration Sanctions Hit Russia's Oil Lifeline. Michael Bernstam discussed the Trump administration's politically significant sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, affecting 56% of Russian output. The sanctions caused world oil prices to jump temporarily and elicited an immediate angry response from Putin, who called it an "unfriendly act." The primary financial impact on Russia will be much deeper discounts demanded by buyers, significantly hurting the Russian budget. Europe is meanwhile nearing liberation from Russian energy dependence due to abundant US liquefied natural gas (LNG).





945-1000

UN Cyber Crime Treaty: Authoritarian Assault on Free Speech. Ivana Stradner discussed the controversial UN Cyber Crime Treaty, which she argues is an assault on international rule of law spearheaded by Russia and China. The treaty is feared because it enables digital authoritarianism, censorship, and surveillance by potentially forcing companies to grant government access to private data and share user information globally. The US should reject ratification and defer to the Budapest Convention, relying instead on powerful offensive and defensive cyber capabilities for deterrence.













SECOND HOUR



10-1015



Political Shifts and Security Crises Across Latin America. Professor Evan Ellis reported on a shifting Latin American landscape. Argentina's Milei navigates a key election after implementing painful economic cuts, backed by a new US currency swap deal. Bolivia's Luis Arce seeks warmer US ties while managing a severe economic crisis. Peru's president declared a state of emergency to address rampant insecurity and extortion in Lima. Concurrently, the US is escalating pressure on Venezuela's Maduro regime, primarily targeting the criminal Cartel de los Soles leadership.



1015-1030

Political Shifts and Security Crises Across Latin America. Professor Evan Ellis reported on a shifting Latin American landscape. Argentina's Milei navigates a key election after implementing painful economic cuts, backed by a new US currency swap deal. Bolivia's Luis Arce seeks warmer US ties while managing a severe economic crisis. Peru's president declared a state of emergency to address rampant insecurity and extortion in Lima. Concurrently, the US is escalating pressure on Venezuela's Maduro regime, primarily targeting the criminal Cartel de los Soles leadership.





1030-1045



Political Shifts and Security Crises Across Latin America. Professor Evan Ellis reported on a shifting Latin American landscape. Argentina's Milei navigates a key election after implementing painful economic cuts, backed by a new US currency swap deal. Bolivia's Luis Arce seeks warmer US ties while managing a severe economic crisis. Peru's president declared a state of emergency to address rampant insecurity and extortion in Lima. Concurrently, the US is escalating pressure on Venezuela's Maduro regime, primarily targeting the criminal Cartel de los Soles leadership.



1045-1100

Political Shifts and Security Crises Across Latin America. Professor Evan Ellis reported on a shifting Latin American landscape. Argentina's Milei navigates a key election after implementing painful economic cuts, backed by a new US currency swap deal. Bolivia's Luis Arce seeks warmer US ties while managing a severe economic crisis. Peru's president declared a state of emergency to address rampant insecurity and extortion in Lima. Concurrently, the US is escalating pressure on Venezuela's Maduro regime, primarily targeting the criminal Cartel de los Soles leadership.



THIRD HOUR



1100-1115



Robert McNamara: From WWII Statistical Control to Kennedy's Star. Professor William Taubman detailed Robert McNamara's rise, beginning as a statistician in WWII advising General Curtis LeMay on firebombing techniques, a success McNamara later regretted as potentially criminal. After becoming president of Ford, he reluctantly joined JFK's administration as Secretary of Defense. McNamara's brilliance and efficiency led Kennedy to admire him as the cabinet's star, even considering him for vice president in 1964 and the presidential candidate in 1968.





1115-1130

Robert McNamara: From WWII Statistical Control to Kennedy's Star. Professor William Taubman detailed Robert McNamara's rise, beginning as a statistician in WWII advising General Curtis LeMay on firebombing techniques, a success McNamara later regretted as potentially criminal. After becoming president of Ford, he reluctantly joined JFK's administration as Secretary of Defense. McNamara's brilliance and efficiency led Kennedy to admire him as the cabinet's star, even considering him for vice president in 1964 and the presidential candidate in 1968.



1130-1145

Robert McNamara: From WWII Statistical Control to Kennedy's Star. Professor William Taubman detailed Robert McNamara's rise, beginning as a statistician in WWII advising General Curtis LeMay on firebombing techniques, a success McNamara later regretted as potentially criminal. After becoming president of Ford, he reluctantly joined JFK's administration as Secretary of Defense. McNamara's brilliance and efficiency led Kennedy to admire him as the cabinet's star, even considering him for vice president in 1964 and the presidential candidate in 1968.

1145-1200

Robert McNamara: From WWII Statistical Control to Kennedy's Star. Professor William Taubman detailed Robert McNamara's rise, beginning as a statistician in WWII advising General Curtis LeMay on firebombing techniques, a success McNamara later regretted as potentially criminal. After becoming president of Ford, he reluctantly joined JFK's administration as Secretary of Defense. McNamara's brilliance and efficiency led Kennedy to admire him as the cabinet's star, even considering him for vice president in 1964 and the presidential candidate in 1968.



FOURTH HOUR



12-1215





The AI Infrastructure Gold Rush and Europe's Absence. Chris Riegel discusses how the AI revolution is driving a feverish rush to build large data centers (one gigawatt or better), though energy access is a critical choke point that may cause conflict between commercial demand and normal consumers by summer 2026. This intense global competition, likened to a gold rush, is primarily a two-horse race between the US and China. Europe is largely sitting out the advanced AI development wave, which is considered a tactical mistake that may leave them reliant on American or Chinese technology.



1215-1230

       CBP Admits Fake Record Used to Jail Bolsonaro Advisor in Brazil. Mary Anastasia O'Grady discusses how US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) admitted an erroneous entry record was created and used by Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes to jail Felipe Martins, an advisor to former President Bolsonaro. De Moraes used the apparently fake I-94 document, which contained a misspelling and a canceled passport number, to hold Martins for 183 days to extract information about an alleged coup plot. The unprecedented CBP admission confirms a file violation and suggests ongoing malfeasance.







1230-1245



US Accelerates Moon Race Against China. Rick Fisher and David Livingston discuss how the US moon race is accelerating, driven by President Trump's demand to land on the moon by 2028 and concerns that China, using the Long March 10 booster, might get there by 2029. Interim NASA Director Sean Duffy reopened the lunar lander contract, previously held by SpaceX's Starship, to Blue Origin and potentially Lockheed Martin, seeking multiple pathways. The Chinese space program is viewed as a strategic maneuver aimed at distracting the US from other global conflicts.



1245-100 AM