The John Batchelor Show

Monday 27 October 2014

Air Date: 
October 27, 2014

Photo, above: Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi (Arabic: محمد البوعزيزي ; 29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides. His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.

The success of the Tunisian protests inspired protests in several other Arab countries, plus several non-Arab countries. The protests included several men who emulated Bouazizi's act of self-immolation, in an attempt to bring an end to their own autocratic governments. Those men and Bouazizi were hailed by Arab commentators as "heroic martyrs of a new Middle Eastern revolution".

In 2011, Bouazizi was posthumously awarded the Sakharov Prize jointly along with four others for his and their contributions to "historic changes in the Arab world". The Tunisian government honored him with a postage stamp. The Times of the United Kingdom named Bouazizi as "Person of 2011".

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 1, Block A: Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, & Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD, in re:   Iraqi forces, Kurds claim success against Islamic State near Baghdad and Mosul  Jurf al Sakhar in northern Babil and Zumar in northern Ninewa have changed hands several times over the past few months. . . .  House-to-house fighting; Iraqi forces are awful at counterinsurgency. 

Jihadist training camps proliferate in Iraq and Syria  More than 30 training camps have been established by the Islamic State, al Qaeda, and allied jihadist groups in both Iraq and Syria since 2012.                                                       

---Al Nusrah camp just north of Amman, in Jordan. Have identified 39 camps since 2012. Being bombed according to no recognizable pattern – like reading tea leaves.  Only visible pattern is that these camps are spread across Iraq and Syria.

Analysis: Al Qaeda's 'Resurgence' focuses on Indian Subcontinent   Al Qaeda released its new English-language, online magazine "Resurgence" earlier this week. At 117 pages, the magazine covers a number of themes, but it focuses on the Indian Subcontinent more than any other region.

Taliban control 3 districts in Afghan provinces of Wardak and Kunduz  One of the districts was the location of the shoot down of a US helicopter that resulted in the deaths of 31 special operations personnel, including 17 US Navy SEALs, in 2011.

State Department adds Osama bin Laden's doctor to terrorist designation list Ramzi Mawafi was added to the US government's list of specially designated global terrorists today. Mawafi has been publicly identified as the emir of al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, which serves as a platform for funneling al Qaeda's assistance to allied jihadist groups. (1 of 2)

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 1, Block B: Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, & Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD  . . .  3 AQAP fighters reported killed in US drone strike  The strike took place in Baydah, where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is battling Shiite Houthi rebels for control of the central province.

How this worked in a practical sense was that the US drone strikes killed al Qaeda groups that were opposing Iranian-supported fighters, the Houthis. That is, US drones directly supported Iran.    (2 of 2)

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 1, Block C: Michael Taube,  National Review, in re: "How Will Canada Respond?" It will remain the “True North, strong and free.”  It has been a difficult week for Canada. Two shocking incidents within 48 hours have rattled my country’s reputation for being a safe and peaceful place to live. For the first time ever, we are all now on high alert when it comes to security issues and homegrown terrorism.

To think, this all started on Monday morning when Martin Couture-Rouleau drove his car into two Canadian soldiers in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The 25-year-old killed one soldier, Patrice Vincent, while the other remains in the hospital. The local police caught up with Mr. Couture-Rouleau after a high-speed chase and shot the assailant down. The incident was puzzling. Why did this young man run over two soldiers who fight for our freedom, liberty, democracy, and way of life? Was he drunk, high on drugs, or “other”? Well, it turned out to be “other” — but in a way few Canadians would have ever imagined.  [more]

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 1, Block D:  Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: South China Morning Post/SCMP: "Ebola virus will hit China" Chinese workers in Africa; eventually the disease will migrate to China, which has poor medical care. Fortunately, most Chinese investment is in East Africa, but o Chine is dvpg enormous infrastructure – roads, ports, everything – to facilitate transport of natural resources, Beijing works closely with appalling tyrants, incl Sudan and Somalia, which has damaged China's reputation worldwide.  China has long-term contracts; however, its domestic economy is heading south and so won't need raw materials in the same quantities; same for iron ore from Australia.  Protests: students were going to hold an election on choosing leaders, but many refused to vote  C Y Leung regularly does things that anger people; his approval rating is at al all-time low He's been unpopular since the beginning  had to leave a meeting through a back door – and now it's worse.  China executed 2,400 people in 2013 – a high multiple of anywhere else on Earth.  Absent a rule of law in China, many are just executed on the spot.  / Consumption mfrg, services – all in bad shape in China. "Grew 7.3%" – not; nowhere near.  Ali Baba carries no inventory; is a consumton-based company depending on Chinese wppe buying things, but eventually they can’t outrun the sagging economy; look at Unilever as the harbiner.

China's retail sales are falling fast, with implications for the country's most-famous business.    Alibaba, You're Next: Unilever's China Sales Plunge 20%    On Thursday, Unilever announced that its China sales in the just-completed quarter fell “around 20%.”  The company blamed the “sharp market slow-down in China,” which “led to trade de-stocking across the distribution channels.”  The country was responsible for knocking off a percentage point of sales growth and forcing the company to miss expectations for the period.  Chinese consumer sales appear to be falling, so Unilever’s competitors, both domestic and foreign, are bound to be hit in subsequent quarters.  As a result of country-wide problems, Alibaba’s core business is in jeopardy, although the effects will not show up until next year, in all probability.

Some think Unilever problems in China are peculiar to that company, a view you will hear in Cincinnati.  Unilever competitor Proctor & Gamble had a much better quarter.  Although the company didn’t break out its China numbers in its Q1 2015 results released Friday, CFO Jon Moeller during the earnings call said “market growth was up about 6%” in the just-completed quarter in that country. Moeller said de-stocking in China wasn’t a problem for his company.  If so, P&G, the world’s largest household products maker, looks like an exception.  Other manufacturers have been  . . . Anne Stevenson-Yang of J Capital Research in Beijing . . .   [more]

Hour Two

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 2, Block A:  John Fund, National Review Online, & David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Senior Congressional correspondent, in re: We may not know till after the election how much the ebola issue affected it. Looks as though it won’t go away – the virus can last for a long time on surfaces.  US electoral politics.

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 2, Block B: John Fund, National Review Online, & David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Senior Congressional correspondent, in re: US electoral politics.

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 2, Block C:  Eric Trager, Washington Institute, in re: Mohamed Bouazizi – vegetables vendor viciously harassed by Tunisian police; young man committed suicide by self-immolation; chief of state fled under political pressure as street demonstrations expanded across the Arab world, leading eventually to what became called the Arab Spring. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119960/egypts-counter-revolution-youth

MIDDLE EAST  Mubarak Nostalgia is the Winning Strategy in Egyptian Politics Right Now

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 2, Block D:  Claudia Rosett, FDD & Forbes.com, in re:  North Korea has a miniaturized warhead it can put on missiles, says the general.  "Oh, we can work it out," says the State Department . . . State thinks we have no memory.  The repellant "charm offensive" : UN recommended referring DPRK to the Intl Court, which alarmed the regime. Still have Council on Foreign Relations speakers saying,  We can just be nicer and more flexible and the regime will come around.

DoD - Scaparotti press conference on N Korea Commander, U.S. Forces Korea, General Curtis Scaparrotti and Rear Admiral John Kirby, Press Secretary

Presenter: Department of Defense Press. Briefing by General Scaparrotti in the Pentagon Briefing Room / October 24, 2014

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY: Good morning, everybody.

Today, we're very proud and very happy to welcome into the briefing room General Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. forces in Korea. You know the general very well.

The general is wrapping up a very big week in Washington. He attended yesterday's security consultative with our South Korean allies, and you were here yesterday, you say what came out of that good productive meeting.

The general's got a few comments for opening statements. And then we'll start taking question. We got about 30 minutes. I'll be moderating, so when I call on you, please identify yourself and who you're with before you ask your question. Thanks.

Hour Three

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 3, Block A:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:   more than 30 Egyptian soldiers at a Gaza checkpoint were slaughtered in a planned terrorist attack – probably done by Hamas; done with stolen Israeli explosives  (extremely grave).  Pres Sisi must be deeply displeased with the massacre of his soldiers in Sinai.  A watershed event: the Palestinian terrorists enmeshed themselves within the population used Bedouin to move their goods, got resupply from Sudan across the Egyptian border One clash with Israeli soldiers smuggling drugs out of Gaza.  Also, events in northern Sinai: al Arish (3 killed)) and a massive car bomb tat killed 18 soldiers; when rescuers arrived, ten more killed.  Came from Gaza to carry out the attack.  Will create a 1.5 – 3 k buffer zone (will close off Rafa, the village that's half in Gaza and half in Sinai, for three months, which suggests that al Sisi has serious operations in mind). Also, indirect talks Egypt-Hamas and Israel; these are suspended.  Pres al Sisi speaking on state TV at soldiers's funerals - a grim-looking group. This is a test for al Sisi; he'll do what he has to in order to end this madness. All eyes are on Cairo; Riyadh, Gulfies, Teheran, Moscow: all watching. Egyptians have committed billions to buying arms from Russia, are enraged at USA.  "Abbas has called an emergency UN mtg" – he'll be lucky if they send a car for him; he's 80, is not elected, grooms no successor, has associated himself with PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad).  He intends to go to the UN Security C9uncil to get Jordan to back him – which no one wants to do, incl Jordan.  When he's turned down, he’ll eventually go to the Intl Criminal Court – which will then be turned against him. 

Also killed were two soldiers who were smuggling. The question of successor to Abbas.  Temple Mount. Nazi social security payments.

Egyptian reports claim gunmen who killed 30 troops were trained in Gaza Bombers entered Sinai through tunnels from Hamas territory, used stolen Israeli weaponry, Cairo officials say. Gunmen who killed more than 30 Egyptian soldiers at a Sinai checkpoint this weekend were trained in the Gaza Strip and used stolen Israeli explosives and equipment, officials in Cairo told local media on Monday. The Sinai is Hades.

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 3, Block B:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:  Sinai: after the massacre of Egyptian soldiers, watch Sinai. Temple Mount was attacked by Roman soldiers from 66 to 70AD,.  Up there is the Blue Mosque; next to it are al Aqsa and others.  Now Ground Zero between Palestinian PM and Israeli authorities.   Rami Hamdallah is agitating, probably to take over from Abbas, by appealing that to Moslems saying that Jews and Christians are trying to take over a Muslim holy pace, Qatar is helping. ISIS caliphate says that its global seat will be Jerusalem.  Women are smuggling fireworks in under their robes; used to attack. Desecration of ancient cemeteries – all provocations: to provoke a conflict and empower some faction against another faction. A Hamas member ran a car next to a light rail station, killed and infant and an Ecuadorian woman – to establish Hamas sovereignty. 

Nidaa Tounes (80 or more of the 270 parliamentary seats) is the secular party that's winning in Tunisia over the Ennahda Islamist party (70 seats).   Expelled Nazis have been paid Social Security payments for years – governmental complicity – the height of immorality (s0me Congressmen heard about this on the John Batchelor Show and then called Malcolm) – how did this happen? How can it be said that no one knew about it? The Sinai is Hades.

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 3, Block C:    Natalie Angier, NYT, in re: Our Understanding of Giraffes Does Not Measure Up  – the mouth and tongue are like a pair of hands: both the tongue and lips are prehensile, so he can delicately eat acacia leaves and avoid thorns.  He clears out a lot of underbrush and unneeded foliage so other fauna can migrate.  from sub-Saharan Africa to Niger and then south: the population has declined to 80,000. They’re hunted for bush meat and because they're considered to be a danger to crops. They can clear out a garden in a few hours.  They're as graceful an animal as you can imagine – "I don’t want to live in a world without giraffes."   They can run only for short distances, with its leg can kick forward as well as backward and can break a lion's jaw. The heart is not large compared to body mass so it doesn’t pump out enough blood to allow running over a long distance. Ergo, they're camouflaged.  Because they’re so tall, a signal from foot to brain takes a while – a rough road could cause them to trip! Males grow a sort of unicorn antlers to attract females; look like snail tentacles, but in the center of his forehead h grows a protrusion, shows that he's an elder bull. 

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 3, Block D:   Michael Astrue, Weekly Standard, in re: -- the personal data in the cloud held by CACI: a whole lot more than you’d expect: records of phone calls that people have with HHS. The Health Care Apology Tour  In its cynical public relations campaign just before the launch of HealthCare.gov a year ago, HHS came up with a clever way of reassuring Americans that they should not hesitate to hand their sensitive data over to a new bureaucracy in shambles. The prelaunch rhetorical trick was to focus on one small part of HealthCare.gov—what HHS calls the “data hub”—and claim that it does not “retain or store Personally Identifiable Information.”

If you define the “data hub” narrowly—as just those electronic communications between agencies to verify specific data the way that the Social Security Administration verifies Social Security numbers for employers—it is arguably a true statement. However, Congress and the media regularly took that statement to apply to the entire federal exchange (unsuccessfully dubbed a “marketplace”), and HHS did not volunteer that it retains detailed personal information on applicants and callers to its toll-free number—whether or not they buy insurance through the federal exchange. HHS also did not volunteer the fact that it solicits personal data from states that chose not to participate in HealthCare.gov.

HHS established a system for storing Affordable Care Act data long before the launch of HealthCare.gov. In late 2011, HHS awarded a contract to a tiny company called IDL Solutions to provide data storage and analysis of data obtained from the public through the federal exchange. The six-year $59 million contract was huge—and probably overwhelming—for a company with less than $20 million in annual revenue, and, with that windfall in hand, IDL Solutions soon sold itself for “an undisclosed amount” to one of the largest Beltway contractors, CACI.

HHS calls the system that CACI now manages “MIDAS” (Multidimensional Insurance Data Analytics System). A senior CACI executive has publicly described MIDAS “as the central repository for health insurance coverage.”

While HHS has been secretive about MIDAS, this central repository contains more than just the names, addresses, incomes, and Social Security numbers of millions of Americans. It also includes data of great value to cybercriminals, such as telephone numbers and email addresses. Moreover, according to a publicly available draft document of the National Archives and Records Administration, MIDAS includes notes on conversations between teleservice employees and callers to HealthCare.gov’s toll-free number.

At least six subcontractors now help run MIDAS, and one of them, the American Institutes for Research (AIR), recently solicited Affordable Care Act data from states unconnected to HealthCare.gov so that it could 
do with those data whatever it is doing with the federal data. AIR’s requested data elements include: name, address, phone number, mailing address, citizenship status, age, gender, race, primary language, and a description of the health plan the person selected. What this solicitation means is that HHS and its contractors collect data on people who never contacted HHS and never gave permission for the federal government to access their data, much less share it widely among contractors and then store it permanently with one or more of those contractors.

Combine a massive amount of data stored in an unaudited contractor’s servers with an insecure website that stores data in other locations and you have a security breach waiting to happen—one that could damage millions of Americans. This summer HHS suffered an embarrassing breach of HealthCare.gov; it was not a sophisticated cyberattack by a foreign government or criminal enterprise—it was apparently garden-variety malicious software roaming the Internet that happened to wander into a haplessly managed peripheral section of HealthCare.gov.

As I and others predicted last year, this part of HealthCare.gov was easily penetrated, and its security systems were so deficient that it took months for HHS to recognize the penetration. The Government Accountability Office reported on September 16 that HHS had not “fully addressed security and privacy management weaknesses, including having incomplete security plans and privacy documentation, conducting incomplete security tests, and not establishing an alternate processing site to avoid major disruptions.” The GAO report also found that HHS had not followed Office of Management and Budget government-wide guidance for assessing the privacy risks of MIDAS. . . . [more]  HHS winds up having your passwords and a great deal of what’s normally considered secret personal data; and it's not even the government, it’s a private vendor.  This appears to be straightforwardly illegal; until there's an audit, ee can’t get to the heart of it.

Hour Four

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 4, Block A: Jim Robbins, NYT, in re:

Building an Ark for the Anthropocene  Scientists are trying to figure out which species to save, and how

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 4, Block B: Drew Magratten, NYT Retro Reports, in re:

video documentary explores the history of campaign finance reform. Ironically post-campaign-finance reform, it turns out that what was illegal in the Watergate era is now all legal. 

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 4, Block C: Sid Perkins, Science, in re: saber-toothed cats and how they might have fed. Paleontology: What do you get when you cross a dragon and a pelican?   BiologyModern forests hold signs of prehistoric apocalypse

Monday  27 October  2014  / Hour 4, Block D: Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast, in re:  How This Election Could Go to January  The polls say Republicans will likely eke out a small majority in the Senate this Election Day. But hold on: Factor in the runoffs, and things get weird real fast.