Map, left:  See Hour Two, Block C, on the growing Russia-Chinese alliance, if not exactly amity.  Look at how enormous are their adjacent landmasses, mostly along the Amur River. As they join forces in some matters, including military and new economic alliances, to get out from under the suzerainty of Western organizations and requirements, their power will be greater than anything the United States can proffer. Europe, seeing the Asian equivalent of the Strong Horse and knowing well that keeping warm in winter demands good relations with Russia, accedes to Makinder and turns away from the currently-toothless US.
Wikipedia: The Geographical Pivot of History, sometimes simply as The Pivot of History, is a geostrategic theory, also known as Heartland Theory. "The Geographical Pivot of History" was an article submitted by Halford John Mackinder in 1904 to the Royal Geographical Society that advanced his Heartland Theory. In this article, Mackinder extended the scope of geopolitical analysis to encompass the entire globe.
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Larry Kudlow, CNBC senior advisor; & Cumulus Media radio
 
Hour One
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 1, Block A: Robert Costa, The Washington Post, and political analyst for NBC & MSNBC; in re: 2015 in review, and the Republican candidates.  Lindsey Graham suspends his presidential campaign  The South Carolina senator never cracked 1 percent in primary polls.    In Ohio, Portman tries to shield himself from Trump shrapnel  The senator’s reelection strategy in a swing state offers a possible path for the GOP if Trump is the nominee. Cruz, Trump, Lindsay Graham.  Bombing. NSA. "Carpet-bombing ISIS"  LK: Carpet-bombing is utterly wrong to defeat ISIS.
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 1, Block C: Steve Moore, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, Heritage Foundation, in re: The Fed will raise 25 bps for the next twelve quarters – but their calculation is based on the wrong indices, assuming incoming inflation.  Were it not for low oil prices, we'd be really close to recession right now.  Low oil prices have put $100-150 bil in the hands of consumers.  . . . Two trillion of excess reserves sitting at the New York Fed  -- is giving a higher reward for a risk-free investment! . . . The whole Obama policy is "political crap," to quite someone else.  Mrs Clinton will continue – and she wants a 40% cap gains tax but can't understand why businesses won't invest.  Summary of 2016:  a giant gap between what the GOP is talking about in investment and Mrs Clinton's redistribution. Also, profits were flat for two years and now are falling,  Be pretty cautious going in to the new year. ; What still scares the Federal Reserve  Current Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen just raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. By all accounts, the rate hike last week ... ;  Markets Don't Believe the Federal Reserve  If you "believe" the rally that followed last Wednesday's Federal Reserve rate hike, then you have to believe that the market was relieved by America's first monetary tightening in nine years. In a perverse way, the market seemed applaud the Fed ... ; Rates Are Going Up. What Could Go Wrong?  As the Federal Reserve embarks on a new chapter in monetary policy, having raised rates on Dec. 16 for the first time in nearly a decade, policy makers are acutely aware of the risks posed by either possibility. “Raising rates the first time may have ...
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 1, Block D: Larry Kudlow, in re: Iran deal and the Democrats. They're trying not to talk about foreign policy, Iran, and Pres Obama.  The GOP should jump in now.   Soon $100 to 150 bil will be released to Iran in a few weeks – this is terrible news.  We are not winning the war vs ISIS.  A gigantic issue. Pres Obama speaks as though it's just a little beef in a faraway place. He in effect simply votes "present." Is this an advantage to all Republican candidates?  https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/12/22/senate-democrats-buyers-remorse-yet-on-iran/?postshare=7291450799915219&tid=ss_tw
 
Hour Two
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 2, Block A:  Stephen F. Cohen is Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies/History/Politics at NYU and Princeton. He is also a member of the Board of the recently-formed American Committee for East-West Accord (eastwestaccord.com); in re: Russia says EU sanctions extension will encourage Kiev to violate Minsk ...   MOSCOW- Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that the European Union's decision to extend sanctions against Russia would encourage Kiev to violate the Minsk peace agreements over the Ukraine conflict, Interfax news agency ...
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 2, Block B: Stephen F. Cohen. Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies, Princeton; and Board of eastwestaccord.com; in re: “We’re not kicking it down the road at all,” said Kerry, seated next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference at the U.N. following the vote. But he continued, “We began to really come to the reality that this demand was in fact prolonging the war, creating greater agony and suffering, and not getting us anywhere but in a stalemate. And so it was important not to put this cart before the horse and require a determination about a penultimate issue before you begin to get to the table.” http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2015/12/us-syria-policy-shifts-assad-must-go-not-right-now/124689/
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 2, Block C: Stephen F. Cohen. Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies, Princeton; and Board of eastwestaccord.com; in re: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/19/russia-ready-increase-military-role-syria-vladimir-putin   “Its absurd to think that the Russians have come so far with this process only to throw Assad under the bus; it’s not going to happen.” Turkey's pro-Kurd leader Selahattin Demirtas to visit Moscow   Selahattin Demirtas will be the first high-profile Turkish political figure to visit Russia since the shooting down of a Russian jet last month led to ... Top Turkey Official Lets Slip a Stunning Threat to Putin-  “In Less Than 7 Days…"  Ever since Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet back in November, the two countries have been in a  war of rhetoric.
The Russians claim that Turkey is the country that profits most from instability in the Middle East. RT News, a government-funded Russian news organization, states that Turkish drug dealers process most of the world’s opium inside Turkey, and then the heroin is exported all over the world. RT News also claims that Turkey is benefiting from the purchase of ISIS oil, which it then sells on the black market. RT News also concluded that Turkey helped ISIS get chemical weapons that were routed through Turkey. http://www.westernjournalism.com/273082-2/
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 2, Block D: Stephen F. Cohen. Prof. Emeritus of Russian Studies, Princeton; and Board of eastwestaccord.com; in re: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-un-resolution-on-syria-is-shattered/2015/12/21/069c0f66-a803-11e5-9b92-dea7cd4b1a4d_story.html
 
Hour Three
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 3, Block A:  Dr Lara M Brown, George Washington University, and Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in re: Trump uses crude language to mock Clinton  Donald Trump attacks Hillary Clinton, using personal and vulgar language. ... restroom during a commercial break at the last Democratic debate and used crude language to ...  ;  Republican quandary: after Trump are Cruz and Rubio: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428855/ted-cruz-marco-rubio-republican-primary-fight; and the Democrats believe they can beat Cruz. but not Rubio....
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 3, Block B: Dr Lara M Brown, George Washington University, and Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in re:  Then there is Ryan, the Republican success of the year: the leader of the Party.   That other 2016 matchup — Paul Ryan vs. President Obama ...  President Obama and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) say they're going to try to play nice next year. They even plan to have dinner after ...   Paul Ryan Defends Compromise in Passing Spending Deal  Click here for link    With all great traditions comes a little chaos. Three 9-foot-long tables stretched half the length of Penn Brewery tavern; 2-year-old Elena Simonetti clapped her hands and swayed to the Bavarian Oompah band as her sister, Lucia, 5, dragged her mother, Kristin, and grandmother, Annette Simmons, to dance in front of the band.
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 3, Block C: Henry I. Miller, Hoover, via Forbes; in re: That Fishy Stench from the New York Times; & via Wall Street Journal: Stuck in a Regulatory Mash-Up
Tuesday  22 December 2015 / Hour 3, Block D: Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack, in re: Here's Why the SpaceX Rocket Landing Is Such a Big Deal It's much more difficult in real life — which is why SpaceX founder Elon Musk was so excited ...
 
Hour Four
Tuesday  22 December 2015  / Hour 4, Block A: War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation, by John Sedgwick, Part II of II (segment 1 of 4)
Tuesday  22 December 2015  / Hour 4, Block B: War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation, by John Sedgwick, Part II of II (segment 2 of 4)
Tuesday  22 December 2015  / Hour 4, Block C: War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation, by John Sedgwick, Part II of II (segment 3 of 4)
Tuesday  22 December 2015  / Hour 4, Block D: War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation, by John Sedgwick, Part II of II (segment 4 of 4)
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