Photo, left: Plus ça change. Turkish soldiers and local people of Dersim region. The women and children in this picture were executed shortly after the picture was taken.
The Dersim massacre was a massacre of Zaza people by the Turkish government in the Dersim region of eastern Turkey, which includes parts of Tunceli Province, Elazığ Province, and Bingöl Province. The massacre occurred after a rebellion led by Seyid Riza against the Turkification policies of the Turkish government. As a result of the Turkish military campaign against the rebellion, thousands of Alevi Zazas died and many others were internally displaced due to the conflict.
. . .  In 1937, around 25,000 troops were deployed to quell the rebellion. This task was substantially completed by the summer and the leaders of the rebellion, including tribal leader Sayiid Riza, were hanged. However, remnants of the rebel forces continued to resist and the number of troops in the region was doubled. The area was also bombed from the air. Plus ça change.  The rebels continued to resist until the region was pacified in October 1938. According to Osman Pamukoğlu, a general in Turkish Army in the 1990s, Atatürk had given the operational order himself.  . . . Nuri Dersimi claimed that the Turkish air force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938. According to Dersimi, many tribesmen were shot dead after surrendering, and women and children were locked into haysheds which were then set on fire. According to McDowall, 40,000 people were killed.  According to Kurdish Diaspora sources, over 70,000 people were killed.
On November 23, 2011, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave an apology for the Dersim operation, describing it as "one of the most tragic events of our recent history". Yet today, and for weeks, Erdoğan has been bombing Kurdish civilians, both within and without Turkish national borders, and turning homes, schools and hospitals into craters.  
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Larry Kudlow, CNBC senior advisor; & Cumulus Media radio
 
Hour One
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 1, Block A:  James Pethokoukis, AEI; in re:  This has been a pro-regulatory administration; the president makes fun of business. Ergo, no risk-taking. That matters.  Mr Trump argues that the Fed dare not raise rates because the Democratic liberal Yellin is in cahoots with the president because if rates are raised, the whole bubble will blow up, and the Dems would lose the 2016 election.  Is Mr Trump crafty or uninformed? He probably believes this – that's his impression, The Fed is basically independent, it doesn't jump for the president.  raisin rates will strengthen the dollar, which is generally a good thing. Lower corporate tax rates and so stimulate investment then raise rates to follow the economy. AEI event on November 17: are we in a new-normal great stagnation, or in something . . . accelerate; or maybe a third: Silicon Valley is white-hot.  . . .  ISM report today: around 50.  Predict 1.9% in Q4 after 1.5% in Q3.  . . . At a certain point, you gotta stand back and ask, Is my position wrong? Inflation hawks and fed-haters have got the story wrong for nine years.
Extraordinary claims should require extraordinary evidence, and I doubt Donald Trump has any for this one. From CNBC:   Donald Trump on Tuesday accused the Federal Reserve of keeping interest rates low at the request of President Barack Obama. The GOP presidential hopeful, speaking at a news conference, also called Fed Chair Janet Yellen “highly political.” Asked whether the Fed should raise rates, Trump said it should but would not for “political reasons.” “They are not raising them because Obama has asked them not to raise them,” the billionaire developer said. “In my opinion, he wants to get out of office, because we’re in a bubble — when those rates are raised, a lot of bad things are going to happen.”
On the other hand, there is real reason to think the Fed should stand pat. As economist Mike Darda recently noted, “Commencing a tightening process from the ZLB on short rates with 1) slowing nominal growth; 2) inflation below target; 3) expected inflation below target consistent levels; and 4) lingering credit stress seems like a strategy with considerable downside risk.”
Indeed, many of the folks calling for higher rates have been against monetary easing from the get go, along with an unhealthy dollop of inflation obsession. Between Ted Cruz calling for a gold-linked monetary policy and this … Wait, I almost forget about Rick Perry’s hot take on Ben Bernanke from a few years ago.
https://ww.aei.org/publication/trump-and-yellen-truther-ism/  ; https://www.aei.org/events/the-great-american-stagnation-or-acceleration/
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 1, Block B: James Pethokoukis, AEI; in re: Gov Grantholm pours money into a battery firm, massive loss. Chinese warlord enters, buys it at pennies on the dollar, now it's making money. Let the marketplace decide!   Mr Obama doesn't trust the market.   ACA is really stunting growth and jobs with its high cost structure et al. Even Sen Schumer acknowledged, "Instead of Obamacare, we should have pursued growth measures."  Trump and Yellen truther-ism https://www.aei.org/publication/trump-and-yellen-truther-ism/  .
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 1, Block C:  Bill Whalen, Hoover, in re: Using the four most recent national polls, Chris Christie, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal and George Pataki would not qualify for the 9 PM event but would all qualify for the 6 PM forum. Recommendations:  Start with C-SPAN, with the most personality-free interviewers.   (The RNC is sort of at war with all the candidates, but holds all the cards short of controlling the room temp.)   Candidates want more control over the moderators, which won't come to pass.  At least, a pledge of no gotch'a questions. (Ten candidates is unwieldy. Could raise the bar to, say, 5%, or arbitrarily have three debates instead of two.  If you can't get to 5% in a year of electioneering, then you're not going anywhere.)  Is the word "debate" misleading" Everyone makes statement all evening long – no contest of wills, since we know in advance what they'll say.  True; "candidates's forum" is the better term. . . . Is the GOP getting growth message out? Boulder debate was suppose to . . . Meet on Tuesday the tenth in Milwaukee.  All presidents elected in their forties won on aspirational campaigns. Will Rubio have the same core qualities? Main question: who's best-qualified to sit across form Vl Putin?   http://www.forbes.com/sites/billwhalen/2015/10/31/here-are-four-ways-tha...
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 1, Block D: Larry Kudlow, in re:  dare we ever hope that the candidates will speak plainly on economics and the Fed?  Jeb Bush coined 4% growth; has a good tax-reform plan, health-care plan -  get to it! Do they know that the debate isn't about their fights, it's about us? Dunno.  Limited govt, lower taxes, deregulation sound dollar: Reagan had four or five bullet points and kept repeating them.  Carly Fiorina had no specific economic plan at all.   . .  I don't vote for personalities.  For 15 years we've grown at less than 2% a year. Pretty dismal.  Just tell me what you intend to do in your first hundred days.  And add one issue: need to connect to he middle class and well-paying jobs!  http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/10/27/fox-businesswsj-debate-will-fea...
 
Hour Two
Tuesday 3 November 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:
Thursday conference, The Crisis in US-Russia Relations, from Ukraine to Syria: Is Congress Overlooking Its Causes and Potential Solutions? The Ukrainian crisis represents a low in U.S.-Russian relations not seen since the fall of the Soviet Union—and the recent Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war is only making things worse. American and Russian jets flying bombing missions in close proximity to one another raises the possibility of a military accident between two nuclear-armed powers.  As the New York Times warns, the complicated and shifting landscape of alliances leaves us “edging closer to an all-out proxy war between the United States and Russia.”
The majority of Americans never lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 or the darkest decades of the Cold War—they have led lives without the looming specter of nuclear war.  But the areas of conflict between our nations are growing: the conflict in Ukraine, the expansion of NATO, Russia’s involvement in Syria, and other lesser issues are driving a new wedge between the U.S. and Russia.
While most would agree that conflict between the United States and Russia benefits no one, the likelihood of such conflict, as well as the serious consequences it could bring, are not being adequately discussed on Capitol Hill.  In the interest of fostering more robust debate on U.S.-Russia relations, Rep. Conyers will convene an informal hearing featuring four eminent American experts on the subject.  All four are members of the Board of the recently re-founded American Committee for East-West Accord (http://eastwestaccord.com) a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose purpose is to promote public discussion and debate about the state of U.S. and Russian relations.
 
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 2, Block B: 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:
https://www.rt.com/shows/worlds-apart-oksana-boyko/320364-stalin-dramatic-past-russia/YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHJg1_bOZ0s ; http://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/453885621/gen-philip-breedlove-on-how-nato-should-deal-with-russia  ;  http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/11/russia-sends-troops-to-nato-borders/
 
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 2, Block C: 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: US to send special forces to Syria, truce sought after peace talks ; http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/10/31/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-idUKKCN0SO1SU20151031 ; Syria peace talks begin in Vienna with Iran and Saudi Arabia ... ; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3296384/All-major-actors-sat-table-time-Syria-peace-talks-begin-Vienna-bid-bring-foreign-powers-backing-rival-groups.html
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 2, Block D: 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:
 
Hour Three
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 3, Block A:   Dr Lara M Brown, American University; Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; in re: “Historically, our presidential primaries are a revolving door of frontrunners; typically, their sustainability depends on how well they handle scrutiny by the press and voters. This race is no different, with the exception that it is occurring in the midst of a populist wave, a phenomenon that usually falls during a midterm rather than a presidential year. So the energy, optics and scrutiny are louder, more volatile — but the process remains intact. In short, we will give each candidate their moment in the sun, which might be longer or shorter depending on the individual, but the scrutiny remains the barometer by which Republicans will choose their nominee.  And despite what many say, this race is no lock for anyone. It is fluid, nimble, energetic and curious, all the things you want when determining your party's nominee.” CLICK HERE FOR LINK  ;  http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/lara-brown/2015/10/30/gop-undercard-debate-was-the-main-event
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 3, Block B: :   Dr Lara M Brown, American Uniersity; Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; in re:  With a little more than a year until Election Day 2016, Hillary Clinton has established herself ...  ; Just the ticket for the GOP: Cruz and Rubio.  What happens next is unknowable. But it's ever more plausible that the race will come down to these two Cuban Americans.
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 3, Block C: Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs GSIS, in re: Turkish  Elections Reinforce Move Toward Civil War, Rather than Stability Erdoğan Pushes the Massive Migratory Flow into Europe to Blackmail the EU into Pre-Election Support for His Party. 
The resounding win by the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party: AKP) in the November 1, 2015, parliamentary elections in Turkey relied heavily on the support given to Pres. Reçep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP because of his promise to resolve the strategic challenge to Western Europe caused by the influx of illegal migration from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan through Turkey, and from Libyan ports. But evidence is now mounting that the upsurge in the migratory wave was the result of deliberate efforts by Mr Erdoğan to facilitate and push the flow of migrants in order to blackmail and punish the EU into supporting him.
The election success gave Pres. Erdoğan the ability to call on Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to form a new, single-party Government in which the AKP would be able to continue its dominance. But rather than the stability which the AKP claimed that such a victory would give to Turkey — which was the reason why some European Union members gave public support to Erdoğan before the election — the win starts the process for a massive escalation in Turkey's ongoing civil war between the Islamists, the Kurds, and ‘Alevis.
Sources within the presidency indicate that Pres. Erdoğan now feels that he has a mandate to renew major security force attacks on the Kurdish separatists, who have already been the target of major air and ground force attacks in Kurdish areas. As well, Kurdish PKK [Kurdish Workers’ Party/Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan] sources indicated that the wait to see how the election would turn out is now over, and the season for the planned rise of “unrestricted warfare” against Turkish cities is now about to begin. In other words, the civil war in Turkey, which went into a lull briefly in the run-up to the elections, will now revive significantly.
See: “Break-up: The Medium-Term Prospect for Turkey, Saudi Arabia” in Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis, October 8, 2015, and “Russia Weighs In to Support Kurds (and ‘Alawites), but Kurds Remain Wary” in Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis, October 9, 2015.
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 3, Block D: Robert Zimmerman, behind the black, in re: Casini.
Hour Four
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 4, Block A:  Thomas Goltz, author and oil & gas historian, in re: Turkey Launches Airstrikes on Kurdish Militants in Northern Iraq http://www.wsj.com/articles/turkey-launches-airstrikes-on-kurdish-milita... ;  Recep Erdogan emboldened as Kurds ditch Selahattin Demirtas and Turks put safety first  http://www.politico.eu/article/erdogan-wins-turkey-parliament-ary-election-welcome-to-erdoganistan/  Welcome to Erdoğanistan. Asian Turkey is a long way from ‘Western’ Istanbul. SARIGAZI, Turkey — This place is difficult to find on the map. A “fringe” neighborhood of a mere 350,000 souls in Asian Istanbul, it is a mixture of middle-class folks who live in the rash of new gated communities that have sprung up around this greater city of some 17 million, and the extraordinarily ordinary settlements known as “gecekondus,” a word in Turkish that used to literally mean “built-at-night,” but which today just means “slum.”   While “slum” may sound harsh, places like Sarigazi on the fringes of Sultan City are not the Istanbul venues where international tourists venture, know about or want to know about. It is hard to get to, or perhaps better expressed, given the absence of road-signs, too easy to miss. More to the point, aside from the wild mixture of . . . http://www.politico.eu/article/erdogan-wins-turkey-parliament-ary-electi... (1 of 2)
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 4, Block B: Thomas Goltz, author and oil & gas historian, in re: Erdoğanistan and Turkey slaughtering Kurds. (2 of 2)
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 4, Block C:  Carl Zimmer,  NYT, in re: In Ancient DNA, Evidence of Plague Much Earlier than Previously Known - Bacteria can change history. In the 14th century, a microbe called Yersinia pestis caused an epidemic of plague known as the Black Death that killed off a third or more of the population of Europe. The long-term shortage of workers that followed helped bring about the end of feudalism. Historians and microbiologists alike have searched for decades for the origins of plague. Until now, the first clear evidence of Yersinia pestis infection was the Plague of Justinian in the 6th century, which severely weakened the Byzantine Empire. But in a new study, published on Thursday in the journal Cell, researchers report that the bacterium was infecting people as long as 5,000 years ago  . . .  [Photo: A human skull from the Yamnaya, a nomadic Bronze Age people from western Russia. Scientists theorize that plague epidemics may have enabled the Yamanaya and other groups of people to move into new territories.]  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/science/in-ancient-dna-evidence-of-plague-much-earlier-than-previously-known.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&smtyp=cur
Tuesday 3 November 2015   / Hour 4, Block D:   Kenneth Croswell, Science Magazine, in re: http://news.sciencemag.org/space/2015/10/dying-sun-caught-tearing-apart-its-own-asteroids .
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