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Foreign Policy

‘The Severity Is Much Greater Than China Is Reporting’

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The Chinese government is reporting more than 1,000 deaths related to coronavirus but China expert Gordon Chang says it’s clear from how officials are reacting with mass quarantines and other tactics that the problem is much worse than reported.

“The severity is much greater than China is officially reporting,” said Chang. “There are stories that Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, is cremating hundreds of bodies a day. That doesn’t fit very easily with a death toll of a thousand.”

But why what does China have to gain by lying about the severity? Chang says it’s all about control.

“Xi Xinping, the Chinese ruler, is much more interested in controlling the narrative than he is in ending the epidemic,” said Chang.

Chang discusses the impact that the mass quarantines are having on the Chinese economy and what the U.S. posture should be as this plays out.

In addition, Chang reacts to the news that the U.S. is indicting four Chinese military officials for the massive 2017 Equifax hack that compromised the information of more than 145 million people.

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Mayor Pete Faces the Heat, China Charged with Equifax Hack, Biden’s Nonstop Blunders

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Prepare for another busy political week by starting with Monday’s Three Martini Lunch. Join Jim and Greg as they enjoy watching Pete Buttigieg flail for an answer after ABC’s Linsey Davis calls him out for black people being four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites while Buttigieg was mayor of South Bend. They also hammer the Chinese government after the Justice Department indicts four Chinese military figures for the 2017 Equifax hack that compromised the information of more than 145 million people. And they react to more bizarre statements from Joe Biden over this past weekend and wonder whether his campaign is just stumbling right now or whether it’s on the brink of imploding.

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Wolf vs. Mazie, Another Top Terrorist Dead, Walsh Prepared to Back Bernie

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Wrap up this crazy, eventful week with the Friday Three Martini Lunch. Jim and Greg start with a quick cheer for the January jobs report before moving on to the three main discussions of the day. First, they get a kick out of Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that President Trump wasn’t really acquitted and Blitzer pointing out in detail that, in fact,  Trump really was found not guilty. They also celebrate the intelligence and military precision that combined to target and kill Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. And Jim unleashes a devastating rant against now former Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh, who has now flip-flopped to the point where he vows to vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination, even if it’s an avowed socialist.

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Mitch Gets Back to Business, Media Suddenly Love Mitt, Iowa’s Still Not Done

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Another wild day in a very busy week! So grab a stool and join Jim and Greg as they break down the latest headlines. First, they get a kick out of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately following up the impeachment trial by filing cloture on five more judicial nominees. They also feel like wretching as mainstream media figures who savaged Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign suddenly extol him as a man of faith and principle because he voted the way they wanted him to. But they also spend time highlighting figures on the right who were way over the top in their condemnation of Romney. And they try to make sense out of the latest scraps of conflicting information coming from Democrats in Iowa while also looking ahead to New Hampshire.

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Brexit Day, Dems Cry Foul on Witnesses, Delaney’s Odd Departure

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The weekend is almost here! Kick it off right with the Friday Three Martini Lunch. Join Jim and Greg as they celebrate the United Kingdom finally exiting the European Union Friday. They also discuss the latest impeachment news and how Democratic senators have already decided that Trump won’t really be acquitted unless they get to call new witnesses at the trial. They’re left scratching their heads as Democrat John Delaney ends a two-and-a-half year presidential campaign just three days before people finally start voting. And in a Super Bowl pitting the 49’ers and the Chiefs, Jim still finds a way to root against the Patriots.

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Former Commerce Secretary Barbara Franklin Talks Trade Deals

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It’s been a busy stretch for highly touted trade deals. The Trump administration already completed new trade agreements with Japan and South Korea.

Last week, the Senate followed the House of Representatives in approving the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, also known as USMCA, which President Trump signed on Wednesday. In addition, President Trump also signed phase one of a new trade framework with China.

But how good is USMCA? What are the biggest changes compared to the North American Free Trade Agreement? Why is this a big win for the auto industry? And what impact will the new environmental rules have?

Former Commerce Secretary Barbara Franklin played a key role in negotiating and advancing the North American Free Trade agreement in the 1990’s. She explains why it was right to renegotiate and why she thinks the USMCA is an improvement in most cases.

Franklin also sizes up phase one of the China trade deal and what U.S. priorities ought to be in the remainder of the talks.

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Undecided Dems, Bankrolling China’s Aggression, Scott Prepping for 2024?

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Big votes are coming soon on impeachment and in Iowa. Join Jim and Greg as they dive into reports suggesting three Senate Democrats are torn between convicting and acquitting President Trump. But will any of them actually buck their party? They also shudder at reports that the head of the Harvard chemistry department took taxpayer-funded research grants, only to pass his discoveries along to the Chinese for a very handsome sum of money – and he’s not alone. And while Jim generally gives high marks to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, he is exasperated to see Scott launching ads in Iowa which most analysts see as a thinly veiled preview of a 2024 White House bid.

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Dems Suddenly Fear Bernie, Bogus Bolton Takes, CNN Mocks Trump Voters

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Jim is back and shares the highly entertaining albeit frustrating tale of the high-maintenance passenger on his return trip from California.  After detailing that saga, Jim and Greg are immensely entertained by national Democrats realizing only now what a train wreck of a nominee Bernie Sanders would be and scrambling to make sure he’s not the nominee.  They also weigh in on the latest political and media reaction to John Bolton allegedly confirming a quid pro quo with Ukraine, and while they admit there are grounds for debating Bolton’s tactics in recent months, the accusations he was never a conservative are ludicrous. And they unload on CNN, Don Lemon, and former Republican strategist Rick Wilson for their sneering mockery of Trump voters.

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Toensing: Bolton’s Revelation Irrelevant

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Washington is abuzz with the news that former National Security Adviser John Bolton plans to state in his upcoming book that President Trump ordered him not to release military aid to Ukraine until it agreed to conduct the investigations he requested into the 2016 campaign.

But while some in the nation’s capital say this amounts to a smoking gun of a quid pro quo, former Justice Department official and former federal prosecutor Victoria Toensing says the revelations doesn’t matter at all.

“It matters NOT AT ALL what @realDonaldTrump told John Bolton. We do not prosecute people for thoughts or words. Only for conduct. Ukraine got aid but did not announce investigation. Nothing wrong there. #maga2020,” tweeted Toensing.

In this podcast, Toensing explains why she believes threatening to withhold foreign aid is standard practice in dealing with foreign nations and she does not believe President Trump did anything out of the ordinary.

Toensing also shares why she believes this saga had nothing to do with 2020 and everything to do with 2016.

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Bolton’s Big Moment, Do Endorsements Matter? D.C Yawns at Impeachment

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Chad Benson, host of “The Chad Benson Show,” fills in for Jim, who will be back on Tuesday.  Today, Chad explains what the loss of Kobe Bryant means to the people of southern California before he and Greg dive into three crazy martinis.  First, they react to the news that former National Security Adviser John Bolton apparently wrote in his forthcoming book that President Trump ordered him to hold off on releasing military aid to Ukraine until Ukraine launched the investigations he wanted.  Is this a major wrinkle in the impeachment saga, a book-selling gimmick, or something in between?  They also discuss the Des Moines Register endorsing Elizabeth Warren and the Union Leader in New Hampshire backing Amy Klobuchar and ask whether endorsements really matter anymore. While on the topic they also explore whether Warren still has a chance or whether her campaign is out of gas but media insist on propping her up. Finally, they get a kick out of a Fox 5 poll in Washington, showing the nation’s capital is either bored by the impeachment trial or just not interested in it.

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