Photo:
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Thaddeus McCotter, WJR, the Great Voice of the Great Lakes; Gordon Chang, Daily Beast and Forbes,com.
 
Hour One
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 1, Block A: Tom Joscelyn, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; & Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: Core facilitation pipeline:  Al Qaeda’s comms dept in Iran, Middle East, Turkey, to Southeast Asia.  Last week US State Dept certified that the pipeline exists in Iran with permission of the government there.    It's part of a formal agreement between Teheran mullahs and al Qaeda; some of the text was in bin Laden’s docs in Abbotabad.  This existed a decade ago and continues unto today. See LongWarJournal.   . . .
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 1, Block B: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal and FDD; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re:  Syria: how many Hezbollah fighters are active in the Syrian battlefront?  US estimates maybe 7,000 there, having transferred many from Iraq and Lebanon.  Operational tempo is currently low, but “could bust out any time.”  ISIS did cut a deal with al Q front groups.  Somalia: Shebaab has regained ground. The African Union mission in Somalia is failing, its troops are being killed; Shebaab maintain a safe haven in the south. “Lapse in counterterrorism operation” State says.    . . .
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 1, Block C: Gordon Chang, Daily Beast and Forbes,com, in re:  Two Chinese J-10s intercepted US propeller plane, flew under it and then suddenly in front of it by several hundred feet, over international waters in the East China Sea. Similar matter sixteen years ago.  Interception instructed by Chinese leadership.   . . .  Repsol (Spanish) warned by Chinese.  . . . Widow:     . . .   Jung Nan Hai, leadership compound next to Forbidden City.
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 1, Block D: Lee Sung-Yoon, Fletcher School, Tufts University, in re: Hope that this ban—forbidding US citizens to go to North Korea—will galvanize the US community. US rarely restricts freedom of movement of its citizens; no favorable results so far from American visitors to DPRK. Best we've seen is Dennis Rodman’s telling us that Kim had a baby girl and telling us her name.  We don't want DPRK to be able to kidnap more Americans, and, further, every penny spent there goes directly into the paws to the regime, which uses funds to build nukes and missiles.  China much enjoys its great influence over DPRK and its pull with US. China will never move unless the US inflicts huge financial losses on Chinese banks with real sanctions with teeth. US needs to stop Chinese banks from laundering illicit funds through the US system.  So much American “Please please” to North Korea and China.
 
Hour Two
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 2, Block A:  David M Drucker, CNN and Washington Examiner, and John Fund, NRO, in re:  Sen McCain, directly out of Mayo Clinic for treatment of an aggressive brain cancer, will be in Washington next week to vote on 1. Having a vote (Motion to Proceed), then, 2. the repeal/reform Obamacare.  Then Medicaid expansion.     . . . Murkowsky, Capito, ___, and Mike Lee all oppose the repeal/reform bill in whatever its current form is.   If Priebus leaves. Anthony Scaramucci looks like a fair candidate to replace him. 
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 2, Block B:  David M Drucker, CNN and Washington Examiner, and John Fund, NRO, in re:  Anthony Scaramucci, the just-appointed WH communications director. Jeff Sessions is the most loyal fellow in Washington. However he recused himself from the Russian investigation, which much upset Pres Trump, who wants an AG utterly loyal to him. Were Sessions to resign, chatter would be that Pres Trump is going after Mueller.    Recall Harry Truman’s Secretary of State switch.
EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 2, Block C:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:   Temple Mount. Murder of family in Jewish settlement where a young Arab dressed himself as a conservative Jew, entered a family home on Friday night and stabbed to death three members of a family. / Found huge array of weapons in Al Aqsa on Temple Mount.  In an effort to provide real security for Muslims, Jews, Christians and all other visitors, Israel set up metal detectors. Sanctimonious outcry caused Israel to withdraw them.  / Then a fellow entered Israeli embassy in Oman and stabbed ambassador and a security guard.  /  Question: the entire culture of martyrdom of hatred in the name of God, has become an end unto itself. Indoctrinate young people to hate; UNESCO has played its part.  A human rights court in Europe (Belgium) ruled that hate speech is not protected:     Also in Austria: ending unchecked incitement and hate-mongering.  / The killer of the father and children is dead; his family will receive payments for ever. Total payment for some killers is $153 million per year; total  over all of Palestinian Authority payment to mass murderers is is $300 million-plus.  Taylor Force Act is still making its way through Congress. Upcoming Congressional intention to reduce US funding by the amt that PA pays to terrorists.   / Abbas fighting for his political life, sees Mohammed Dahlan re-emerging.  / As metal detectors go away, Israel probably will install higher-tech eqpt.    . . . US State Dept is complimenting Abbas for “containing incitement” — when his imams preach mass-murder every Friday??
EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 2, Block D:  Indiana Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: The Indian Schindler, who rescued 1,000 Polish children in 1942.   A kind-hearted maharaja in Gujarat accepted Polish children. Jewish and Christian, the Jamshahid took in a thousand children who’d been housed in a camp in Siberia(?)  An Indian-Polish film will recount the maharaja’s heroism. 
Discovered cache of bones dating from Ottoman Empire, perhaps during Napoleon’s invasion.  Note that Napoleon intended to establish a Jewish sate (this is well-documented).  After conquering Egypt, 2,000 Mamluks died, and his ships were sunk by Brits as he was fighting Ottomans, crossed the Nile, set out toward Palestine, ghastly march across Sinai; went to Jaffa.    Police compound in Jaffa, Ottoman archway. Found buttons, bones, coins from 1856
 
Hour Three
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 3, Block A:  Andrew C McCarthy, NRO; former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in re: A Trump pardon. Comey’s irregular conduct.  FBI is a component of DoJ; Comey needed approval from his superior before speaking publicly — which oughtn’t be done, anyway.  Counterintell investigation; Russia; privately, Comey was telling both Trump and Congressional leaders that Trump was not being investigated. This all led to much frustration and major misinformation, Not surprising that Comey was fired, albeit in a mishandling.  . . .  (1 of 2)
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 3, Block B: Andrew C McCarthy, NRO; former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; in re: A Trump pardon. (2 of 2)
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 3, Block C:   Terry Anderson, PERC Montana, and Hoover, in re: Blackfoot Nation.
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 3, Block D:  Anthony Ruggiero, FDD, in re: US bans travel to North Korea.  [Just figured that out?] Seems to be State that finally pulled up its socks.  Some will criticize this, esp tour companies.
Two arguments con:  very few Americans visit there and spend less than $2 million PA.  Other argument: the ban will limit people-to-people meetings
The overwhelming pro-ban argument is that DPRK kidnaps Americans and bargains for their return— if it doesn't kill them before returning them.  This is pretty expensive to the US, to put it mildly.
Sen Van Holland and Sen Toomey have a bill on DPRK and its Chinese sponsor. 
Bank of Dandong. [https://www.ft.com/content/5cc01814-5d48-11e7-9bc8-8055f264aa8b ]   . . . China will not allow DPRK to affect the Chinese economy; if necessary, would dump Norks in order to save its banking system from Treasury sanctions. 
 
Hour Four
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 4, Block A:  Jochen Hellbeck: Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich, by Christopher Tauchen and Jochen Hellbeck
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 4, Block B:  Jochen Hellbeck: Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich, by Christopher Tauchen and Jochen Hellbeck
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 4, Block C:   Lev Golinkin, author,  A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, in re: Ukrainians are now more than hitherto overtly anti-Jewish.  The end of the USSR brought an end t formal anti-Jewishness, bit the cultural undercurrent of nationalist anti-Jewishness, mostly from the western Ukrainian but also present in the eastern sections.  Kiev PM is Jewish but the speaker of the Rada is a cofounder of neo-Nazi groups, Key feature of the Rada is its silence in face of “I’m going to destroy the Jews” announcement. “I am completely against Jews; you are not Ukrainians.”  The Anti-Defamation League requested that the speaker be fired immediately but no such.  Poroshenko totally ignored that.  Ukrainians blame everyone but themselves; eke the Russians.  Russians often look down on Ukrainians
Europeans are unhappy with sanctions. Kiev continually asks for more sanctions on Russia; these are causing a spilt between Europe and he US. The EU is furious over sanctions; only Ukraine and the Baltics want sanctions, while all the other countries do not.  Nordstream pipeline.  Kiev has decided to blame Ukrainian Crimeans for being a “Russian fifth column.”
Monday  24 July 2017 / Hour 4, Block D:  Josh Rogin, Washington Post, in re: Russian security.