Thursday 13 October 2016
Photo, left: Bobby Dylan, Nobelist in literature, 2016
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video. Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents.
Hour One
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Mona Charen, NRO, in re: The GOP is tearing itself apart in a civil war: Paul Ryan, most powerful Republican and intellectual leader, said, “Go your own way.” Deb Fisher endorsed, unendorsed, re-endorsed Trump – made a total fool of herself. . . . Bitterness among Republicans. The great unanswered question: assuming that Trump loses, what will he do on the day after the election? Trumpits are not the majority of the Party but they’re fierce.
Republican civil war, Trump vs Everybody & Ryan too.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/440875/who-trump?target=author&tid=...
Electon of 1800 – Jefferson vs Burr, two Democrats opposing each other. “Anyone who knows me knows that these words do not reflect who I am,” Donald Trump declared in his “apology” video last night. More likely, the exact opposite is the truth. I don’t know the man personally, but like the rest of you, I’ve been obliged to study him for the past year and more, and it’s safe to say that most people have the impression that this is exactly who he is, and who he has always been. I’m not sure why the Earth is opening up under him now and not a hundred other times in the past 16 months, but it’s a long, long, overdue reckoning. It is tragic for the country that this likely means a Clinton victory. But as between a Clinton and Trump presidency, the former is probably less devastating to the things we treasure than the latter. Alexander Hamilton called Aaron Burr an “unprincipled voluptuary” in 1800 and wrote that he’d prefer to see his ideological foe Thomas Jefferson prevail. “Mr. Burr loves nothing but himself,” Hamilton wrote, “thinks of nothing but his own aggrandizement–and will be content with nothing short of permanent power in his own hands. No compact, that he should make with any passion in his breast except Ambition, could be relied upon . . .” If Trump were president, Republicans and conservatives would be forever tainted by every irresponsible, cruel, or stupid thing he said or did. Besides, if we’re going to have liberalism for another four years, let it wear the proper Democrat label. It’s pathetic to see people calling upon this contemptible fraud, bully, and egotist to withdraw for the sake of his party and his country. If he gave a whit for either, he would have been gone long ago. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/440875/who-trump?target=author&tid=...
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 1, Block B: Edward Hayes, Esq., Daily Beast &criminal defense attorney par excellence, and attorney to Robert DeNiro; in re: “. . . this bozo; mutt . . . this is somebody we want for president? I don’t think so. . . “ The Trump act right now is in trouble, but New York has known about him for decades. “He’s a problem.” DeNiro is very community-minded, a very good father, and I respect him, and he keeps in good shape—he can hurt you. When you have a one-party system such as we have in New York now, it goes ’way to the left, more than I’m comfortable with. I still think there’s a big, hidden Trump vote; British tabs claim there’s a tap, but it's a rumor. NYPD? Staten Island? Upper East Side? . . . She left those Americans in Benghazi to die – how deeply horrible. Two awful choices. — and that’s a New York Democrat!
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 1, Block C: Kori Schake, Hoover; and the editor, with Jim Mattis, of Warriors and Civilians: American Views of Our Military. She is a signatory of several letters deeming her party’s presidential candidate unfit for office; in re: Middle East; Iran, Yemen, counterbattery fire; Egypt in mil exercises with Russians. Aleppo under siege – Russians mean to crush Aleppo by winter. First, people give Clinton much too much credit for being willing to use mil force more than Obama does. What she’s said in debates is discouraging. Second, the cavalcade of horrors: the results of Obama’s strategy – US refuses to get involved in long-term Middle Eastern projects or support our friends; and ceding all to Russia A big mess for he next president. Trump sounds pretty much inline with Obama’s policy. Trump not a tough guy? He sees the Iraq war as a disaster, doesn't see the 2006 surge as having made a difference, doesn't object to Obama’s having walked away from the 2006 success; doesn't understand the difference between al Qaeda and ISIS; doesn't understand that it’s by supporting our allies that we can push back the tide of violence; doesn't think that [deep] Russian involvement is of any concern; that we can get along with Iran – he’s worse than Obama
Secy Clinton is a bit more diplomatically capable than Obama; I hope that her views n Saudis have grown. That will matter a lot in solving regional problems. Compare Iran and Syria, who’re poisoning the region. So much of the natl security establishment has [abjured] Trump. . . . The other element: not clear that he’d take good advice even if he got it. Her little speech mid-debate: “We’ll protect our allies” was hugely reassuring to Japan and other allies, incl South Koreans and more. . . . I’m optimistic: American political attitudes are much ore sensible than those of the pols. 58% of Sanders’s voters favor the TPP. The majority of Trump supporters favor keeping US bases in Japan and South Korea – we’ve chosen candidates who, we know, are speaking nonsense.
Republican Foreign Policy after Trump Donald Trump's supporters are genuinely questioning America's role in the world. Republicans owe them persuasive answers on their own terms.
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 1, Block D: Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; in re: The Republican Party was born out of a real civil war; then the Bull Moose; then the Reagan-Ford conflict, But this feels different. In 1859 after John Brown, the Senate posted assign: “Check your guns at the door.”
Same language east and west now; tripartite; circular firing squad. I see guys without teeth, pump installers, farmers: all pro-Trump. They don’t care what Trump will do —the borders are open, the elite siphon off all the money; these voters would rather lose with Trump than win with Romney.
My academic associates are all “Never Trump.” The animus is with these guys. The Republican is lower-middle class; these are loud, sanctimonious, annoying to others. There’s a class element; this cannot be bridged.
Why is there not a civil war among the Dems? They're social justice warriors, think their ends justify means. They define morality by cosmic issues, whereas the GOP defines morality by personal conduct.
Do GOP [elites] have more affinity with the NASCAR crowd or with the establishment? Answer: they'd rather hang out with the Dems of the same class. When I argue with the elites, they always speak of how great open borders are
Hour Two
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 2, Block A: Clifford D. May is the founder and President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; in re: Christians in Syria. Syria is on fire – the siege of Aleppo is not solvable; the aggression of the Iranian mercenaries. A large & broken culture of 21 million. Some of he wounded Syrians are fleeing to Israel for medical help; Major efforts to treat everyone who arrives irrespective of the refugee’s ideology; then return them home, despite antipathy by some Syrians to Israel’s help in any form. The UN has not been trusted by Syrian Christians. Camps in northern Jordan: ISIS infiltrators, criminal gangs. Largest Syrian minority is Christians. Christians, Yazidis, some Shias, are being exterminated; mass genocide. Qatari foreign minister complains that the intl community is not stepping up (who’s the intl community here?). Arab League: a few members are taking a few refugees, but most are not. OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) has 56 members, most of whom are doing naught.
US is outsourcing help. . . . Those in Congress who are focused: We’ve taken 10,000 refugees, very few of whom are Christians. Since we've recognized that genocide is occurring, the victims of genocide shd be the first group we take in. . . . Israelis quietly moving to protect the Druze across the border, providing advice and self-protection weapons. A meeting in DC on Friday: what options are open to the US when it declines to “increase involvement”? I’m dubious, What shd be done: ”We will admit those fleeing from genocide first.” These peoples are likely to be exterminated for all time!
· http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/may-clifford-d-coming-to-america/
· http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/world/middleeast/russia-and-united-states-to-host-new-diplomatic-meeting-on-syria.html?_r=0
· http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-options-exclusiv-idUSKCN12D2B2?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social
Clifford D. May is the founder and President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. In August, Mr. May was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIFR), an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission that makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress in order to advance the pivotal right of religious freedom around the world and integrate religious freedom into America’s foreign policy. A veteran news reporter, foreign correspondent and editor (at The New York Times and other publications), he has covered stories around the world, including from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Turkey, Sudan, Ethiopia, China, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, Mexico and Russia. In 2006 he was appointed an advisor to the Iraq Study Group (Baker-Hamilton Commission) of the United States Institute of Peace. He also received a two-year appointment (2007-2009) to the bipartisan Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion, reporting to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In 2008, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the entity responsible for all US government and government sponsored, non-military, international broadcasting. He also served as the Communications Director for the Republican National Committee during the historic 2000 cycle.
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 2, Block B: Dr. David Andrew Weinberg, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; in re: Houthis & Saudi Arabia. Sanaa; hundreds dead. Houthis fire anti-ship missiles: built by China, sold to Iran and shot by Houthis (Iranian proxies). After the Saudi airstrike on a leadership wedding this weekend, Iran calls for retaliation against the US. Iran doesn’t always have command and control , but via IRGC and Hizbullah have provided training and weaponry to Houthis insurgents for years; cd never have taken over the northern half od Yemen otherwise ’Twas a high-value target of Houthi commanders; however, large numbers of civilians in the building, as well. Human Rights Watch: a potential war crime. A recurring problem in fighting an asymmetric war.
A cycle of escalating violence; White House trying to keep some kind of lid on this, but . . . Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike on the Emirati ship earlier this month, then tried to withdraw. When this first began, we often discussed this n the John Batchelor Show; now it's the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Back then, the US and Saudis dropped the ball; trying to catch up now.
. . . An Arleigh-Burke class destroyer. The Houthis thought, “Let's shoot at it and get lucky” – that’s how close we came!
· https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-strike-strains-ties-saudi-arabias-us-ally-204813239.html
· http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/patrick-megahan-iranian-backed-houthis-fire-a-shot-at-the-us-navy/
· http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/missile-attacks-on-the-uss-mason-principles-to-guide-a-u.s.-response
· http://www.wsj.com/articles/iranian-cause-and-effect-1476227690
David Andrew Weinberg is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he covers the six Gulf monarchies (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman). His research in this area focuses particularly on energy, terrorist finance, regional security, and human rights. A large part of his research also pertains to the Gulf states’ foreign policies toward such flashpoints as Syria and Iraq. Dr. Weinberg previously served as a Democratic Professional Staff Member at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he advised the chairman on Middle Eastern politics and U.S. policy toward the region. He also provided research support to staff at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff during the George W. Bush administration.
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 2, Block C: Ambassador Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations; in re: UNESCO resolution. New Secretary-General. One-year anniversary as Ambassador. First, a new SG, António Guterres of Portugal. UNESCO can erase 2,000 years of Christian history and 4,000 years of Jewish history; France and Argentina didn’t oppose the insane resolution, just abstained. “. . . Firmly deplores the continuous storming of al Aqsa by Israeli extremists” and “the Western Wall is the al Barack Plaza.” What?? These are Martian. That statement is completely disproven buy massive archaeology. We must demand explanation from our US colleagues. Last year I spoke with my French colleagues, how can you support such a resolution?? That generated a bit of change – last year they supported the resolution, whereas this year merely abstained. German and Holland opposed it.
I’m paid by Israeli people to be worried; I’m worried. . . . New SG assumes off ice at he beginning of 2017; the end of 2016 will be crucial for Israel. Representatives of Christian countries concerned about the eradication of millennia of documented history? NO – they don't; rad the resolution; and alternate support from Israel to Muslim countries.
Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Netherlands, the US, ___ , voted against the UNESCO resolution. . . . Expect no honesty from France or UNESCO. Last summer I travelled in Israel with 11 ambassadors, showed how Israel does its best to support refugees in medical help. Tomorrow there’ll be another debate is SC about Judea and Samaria. Unfortunately, Peace Now and other [self-descrbed] Jewish groups will speak. It’s easier to condemn Jews than deal with ISIS.
· http://www.timesofisrael.com/unesco-backs-resolution-ignoring-jewish-link-to-temple-mount/
· http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israeli-un-ambassador-danny-danon-welcomes-new-un-secy-gen-guterres/2016/10/06/
· http://www.timesofisrael.com/a-year-on-the-job-danny-danon-says-hes-part-of-running-the-show-at-un/
Ambassador Danny Danon became Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations in October 2015.Danny Danon was born in Israel in 1971. He completed his IDF service with the rank of Lieutenant and served as Overall Commander of the Marva volunteer program. Danon holds a B.A. in International Relations, F.I.U. (Magna Cum Laude), an M.A. Public Policy and Public Administration from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Law School. He is married and the father of three. He served among others as Chairman of World Likud, Member of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors, Member of the Zionist Executive of W.Z.O. and Chairman of the World Betar Executive.
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 2, Block D: Malcolm Hoenlein, in re: Al Aqsa Mosque, Arabs active in illegal destruction, destroyed this formidable archaeological site; Israelis recovered 18,000 ___ [tons? cubic meters?] of debris. Arafat’s effort to deny the history of the site. You wash through each small amount of dirt, find tiny remnants, experts take them and reassemble into magnificent mosaics; show the significance of each piece and from which period it came. Second Temple. I never was al Barack’s wall. Substantiate Judeo-Christian history. To say it’s exclusively an Islamic site is such an affront and wholly unnecessary.
A new capital is being built in Egypt -- Cairo is massively overcrowded and real estate prices are skyrocketing, Have put $20 bil + $15 bil in financing from China to build a new capital in the desert east of the Nile.
Joint Med mil exercise from 15 to 26 October with Egyptians and Russians. This is because of he absence f he West. A public message about relations with Russia.
Wounded arrivals from Syria: every kind of person – many travel for long distances and their hospitals have been bombed and doctors killed, and medicine unavailable except what Israel sends in. Some have infections, wounds form bombings; Israel knows that the healed may one day return to fight Israel but no one is asked fro his religion. All are fully treated at no charge.
Now the US embassy is closed n Sanaa because of al Qaeda threats. The prize is the straits, the Bab-el-Mandab. Iran has clearly claimed it; Egypt will not countenance that.
Hour Three
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 3, Block A: Dan Henninger, WSJ editorial board, in re: . . . By the way, is Trump a republican? http://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-party-of-one-1476313703?tesla=y
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 3, Block B: Allan H Meltzer, Hoover, in re: The Fed. http://www.hoover.org/profiles/allan-h-meltzer
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 3, Block C: Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz. Sean Wilentz discovered Bob Dylan’s music as a teenager growing up in Greenwich Village. Now, almost half a century later, he revisits Dylan’s work with the skills of an eminent American historian as well as the passion of a fan.
Beginning with Dylan’s explosion onto the scene in 1961, Wilentz follows the emerging artist as he develops a body of work unique in America’s cultural history. Using his unprecedented access to studio tapes, recording notes, and rare photographs, he places Dylan’s music in the context of its time and offers a stunning critical appreciation of Dylan both as a songwriter and performer. https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Dylan-America-Sean-Wilentz/dp/0767931793/ref=la_B00MBT1WBE_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476404532&sr=1-6 (1 of 2)
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 3, Block D: Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz. https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Dylan-America-Sean-Wilentz/dp/0767931793/ref=la_B00MBT1WBE_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476404532&sr=1-6 ( 2 of 2)
Hour Four
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 4, Block A: Carl Zimmer, New York Times , in re: First arrivals of humans and early hominids. Lucy gets a CT scan! See: eLucy.org What was found: Lucy may have died from a fall. Showed the shoulder scan to an orthopedist: “That’s a compression fracture.” Seems to have fallen from a great height and died from the impact; in the absence of that geography, she seems to have fallen from a tree. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/science/lucy-hominid-fossils-fall.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmatter&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/09/science/hobbit-fossils-flores.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fmatter&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=collection (1 of 2)
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 4, Block B: Carl Zimmer, New York Times , in re: First arrivals of humans and early hominids. (2 of 2)
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 4, Block C: Toby Pennington, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with 63 co-authors, in re: Plant diversity patterns in neotropical dry forests and their conservation implications. Science 23 Sep 2016:
Vol. 353, Issue 6306, pp. 1383-1387
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf5080 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6306/1383 (1 of 2)
Seasonally dry tropical forests are distributed across Latin America and the Caribbean and are highly threatened, with less than 10% of their original extent remaining in many countries. Using 835 inventories covering 4660 species of woody plants, we show marked floristic turnover among inventories and regions, which may be higher than in other neotropical biomes, such as savanna. Such high floristic turnover indicates that numerous conservation areas across many countries will be needed to protect the full diversity of tropical dry forests. Our results provide a scientific framework within which national decision-makers can contextualize the floristic significance of their dry forest at a regional and continental scale. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a charity registered in Scotland (No SC007983)
Thursday 13 October 2016 / Hour 4, Block D: Toby Pennington, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with 63 co-authors, in re: Plant diversity patterns in neotropical dry forests and their conservation implications. Science 23 Sep 2016:
Vol. 353, Issue 6306, pp. 1383-1387
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf5080 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6306/1383 (2 of 2)
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According to the recent single origin hypothesis, the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb were probably witness to the earliest migrations of modern humans It is presumed that at this time, the oceans were much lower and the straits were much shallower or dry, allowing a series of emigrations along the southern coast of Asia.
U.S. Launches Strikes in Yemen after Missiles Fired at American Ships - Courtney Kube and Phil Helsel
The U.S. military launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against radar sites in Yemen Thursday following two incidents Sunday and Wednesday in which missiles were fired at the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason in international waters near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from rebel Houthi-controlled territory. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said, "These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships, and our freedom of navigation." (NBC News)
New Threat from ISIS: Exploding Drones - Michael S. Schmidt and Eric Schmitt
Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in northern Iraq last week shot down a small drone the size of a model airplane. As they were taking it apart, it blew up, killing two Kurdish fighters. In the last month, Islamic State has tried to use small drones to launch attacks at least two other times, prompting American commanders in Iraq to warn their forces to treat any type of small flying aircraft as a potential explosive device. American advisers say drones could be deployed against coalition forces in the battle in Mosul. (New York Times)
Arabs Riot in East Jerusalem on Yom Kippur - Daniel K. Eisenbud
Rioting broke out in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem in Isawiya, Jebl Mukaber and Silwan less than an hour after Judaism's holiest day - Yom Kippur - began on Tuesday evening. "Arabs living in these neighborhoods threw petrol bombs and rocks at officers who responded to a dangerous and life-threatening situation," said Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld on Wednesday night. "One resident in Silwan, who threw a petrol bomb at officers at close range, was injured critically and died." Despite the violence in east Jerusalem, Rosenfeld said thousands of Jews prayed at the Western Wall in the Old City without incident. (Jerusalem Post)
Iran Called the Greatest Threat to Israel - Shlomo Cesana
Israeli Construction Minister Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yoav Gallant sees Iran as the biggest threat facing Israel today. "Iran is working against us in five areas: in Gaza, by supporting Hamas and [other] terrorist organizations, mainly the Islamic Jihad; through Hizbullah and building Hizbullah up; in Judea and Samaria, by attempts to operate terrorist cells; through ongoing attempts to enlist Israeli Arabs who will take action against the nation; and through terrorist attacks abroad, which are carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hizbullah against Israeli and Jewish targets."
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