Photo, left: Cuba: stewardship of the waters
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 1, Block A: Liz Peek, Fiscal Times & Fox, in re: Hillary’s Unexpected Problem: Bill’s Political Baggage
Bill Clinton is a major headache for his wife … on the campaign trail. Not because he can be wooly-headed or off message on occasion, or because he reminds us of the endless Clinton vulgarities – the . . .
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 1, Block B:  Mona Charen, NRO, in re:  http://www.nationalreview.com/article/434071/donald-trump-bernie-sanders-hugo-chavez
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 1, Block C:  Dan Henninger, Wall Street Journal editorial board, in re:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-new-york-values-1460585572?mod=djemMER
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 1, Block D:  John Tamny, RealClearMarkets and Forbes.com, in re: Donald Trump's Lousy Policy Ideas May Spring from Too Much Reading
 
Hour Two
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 2, Block A: Michael E Vlahos, Global Security Studies program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Arts and Science; in re: Has the American Century closed and, if so, do we know it? Asia:  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-philippines-carter-idUSKCN0XC074?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday (April 14) that a contingent of American warplanes, airmen and commandos would remain at a former US military base in the Philippines after the conclusion of the Balikatan military exercises on Friday [April 15]. In a news briefing here, Mr Carter announced that the US would keep five A-10C Thunderbolt ground support aircraft, three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, and an MC-130H special operations aircraft, as well as some 200 airmen and their crew, at Clark air base, 100km north of the capital Manila, through the end of the month.  http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/us-defence-secretary-carter-announces-ramped-up-military-presence-in-philippines
Asia Minor:  . . . and up against the Black Sea Fleet.  Russia acted "in accordance with international rules" when its unarmed fighter jets had two close encounters with the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday.  Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov spoke to Russian state news agency Tass.
Initial reports indicate two encounters with the U.S. Navy-guided missile destroyer occurred Tuesday night in international waters.  One of the Russian jets flew within 75 feet of the U.S. ship's superstructure. The Cook "encountered multiple, aggressive flight maneuvers by Russian aircraft that were performed within close proximity of the ship," the U.S. European Command said in a statement. "We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight maneuvers," the statement said.
The ship, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, had a Polish helicopter on board as part of routine training, according to a U.S. official, leading to speculation that Russia was "sending a message to Poland." http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/14/europe/russia-defends-donald-cook-overflight/index.html
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 2, Block B:   Michael E Vlahos, Global Security Studies program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Arts and Science; in re: Has the American Century closed and, if so, do we know it?  . . .    The evilest slavers were the Dutch and the Brits, and then later the Americans.   . . .  Spain’s enduring legacy was not its vassal states within Europe but the entire Hispanophone culture of south America.   . . .
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 2, Block C:   Kenneth J. Feeley, International Center for Tropical Botany, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University & Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gable; in re:  Thermal trouble in the tropics.  Science  25 Mar 2016: Vol. 351, Issue 6280, pp. 1392-1393.  Early Victorian naturalists marveled at the profusion of diversity they encountered as they traveled from temperate to tropical latitudes. The inverse relationship between latitude and species richness that these naturalists first observed is now referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Various ecological and evolutionary explanations have been proposed for the latitudinal diversity gradient. Of these, perhaps none are more relevant to contemporary conservation issues than Janzen's hypothesis of latitudinal differences in species' climatic tolerances and thermal selectivity (1). On page 1437 of this issue, Chan et al. (2) advance Janzen's early theories by elucidating some of the potential selective pressures imposed by climate and climate variability. Timothy M. Perez, James T. Stroud,  Kenneth J. Feeley  http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6280/1392.full (1 of 2)
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 2, Block D:  Kenneth J. Feeley, International Center for Tropical Botany, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University & Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gable; in re:  Thermal trouble in the tropics.  Science  25 Mar 2016: Vol. 351, Issue 6280, pp. 1392-1393.  Early Victorian naturalists marveled at the profusion of diversity they encountered as they traveled from temperate to tropical latitudes. The inverse relationship between latitude and species richness that these naturalists first observed is now referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Various ecological and evolutionary explanations have been proposed for the latitudinal diversity gradient. Of these, perhaps none are more relevant to contemporary conservation issues than Janzen's hypothesis of latitudinal differences in species' climatic tolerances and thermal selectivity (1). On page 1437 of this issue, Chan et al. (2) advance Janzen's early theories by elucidating some of the potential selective pressures imposed by climate and climate variability. Timothy M. Perez, James T. Stroud,  Kenneth J. Feeley  http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6280/1392.full (2 of 2)
 
Hour Three
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 3, Block A:  Joe Roman, University of Vermont, in re:  Reboot Gitmo for U.S.-Cuba research diplomacy  (by  Joe Roman, James Kraska)   Science  18 Mar 2016: Vol. 351, Issue 6279, pp. 1258-1260.     Cuba has about 5000 km of coastline, including coral reefs, mangrove wetlands, seagrass beds, and tropical wet forests. Long stretches of coast remain undeveloped, with relatively high levels of fish biomass and marine biodiversity in marine parks that are unparalleled in the Caribbean. But on the eve of President Obama's visit to Cuba, we must consider if normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, with anticipated expansion of coastal development and return of industrial agriculture, might reverse Cuba's advances in ecological conservation. We propose an approach to protect Cuba's coastal ecosystems and enhance conservation and ecological research throughout the Caribbean. The United States should deliver on President Obama's recent plan to close the military prison at U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay and repurpose the facilities into a state-of-the-art marine research institution and peace park, a conservation zone to help resolve conflicts between the two countries. This model, designed to attract both sides, could unite Cuba and the United States in joint management, rather than serve as a wedge between them, while helping meet the challenges of climate change, mass extinction, and declining coral reefs.  (1 of 2)
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 3, Block B:   Joe Roman, University of Vermont, in re:  Reboot Gitmo for U.S.-Cuba research diplomacy  (by  Joe Roman, James Kraska)   Science  18 Mar 2016: Vol. 351, Issue 6279, pp. 1258-1260.     Cuba has about 5000 km of coastline, including coral reefs, mangrove wetlands, seagrass beds, and tropical wet forests. Long stretches of coast remain undeveloped, with relatively high levels of fish biomass and marine biodiversity in marine parks that are unparalleled in the Caribbean. But on the eve of President Obama's visit to Cuba, we must consider if normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, with anticipated expansion of coastal development and return of industrial agriculture, might reverse Cuba's advances in ecological conservation. We propose an approach to protect Cuba's coastal ecosystems and enhance conservation and ecological research throughout the Caribbean. The United States should deliver on President Obama's recent plan to close the military prison at U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay and repurpose the facilities into a state-of-the-art marine research institution and peace park, a conservation zone to help resolve conflicts between the two countries. This model, designed to attract both sides, could unite Cuba and the United States in joint management, rather than serve as a wedge between them, while helping meet the challenges of climate change, mass extinction, and declining coral reefs. (2 of 2)
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 3, Block C:  Dr Boris Volodarsky, Research Fellow and Advisor on International Intelligence and Security Issues, London School of Economics and Political Science*; in re: Bill Browder: the Kremlin threatened to kill me | World news ....   Bill Browder: the Kremlin threatened to kill me. The former banker claims Vladimir Putin runs Russia like a crime syndicate. He should know: ....  (1 of 2)  *http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2010/08/201081710309576887.html ;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aLfF9sqSIo
Friday  15 April 2016  / Hour 3, Block D:   Dr Boris Volodarsky, Research Fellow and Advisor on International Intelligence and Security Issues, London School of Economics and Political Science*; in re: Postering: Russia's Newest Form of Protest  The words "Browder and intelligence agencies" were also buried within ... and Kremlin critic William Browder, whose lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, ...  (2 of 2)  *http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2010/08/201081710309576887.html ;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aLfF9sqSIo