Photo, left: Sukhoi -  Su-24M of the Russian Air Force in May 2009.  See this video*: A Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber videotapes interception by Royal Air Force Typhoons and French Mirages. The words Наш эксклюзив in the upper left of the frame mean "our exclusive."   Further: what it's like for a NATO jet to get intercepted by a Russian fighter.
* http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/this-is-what-its-like-to-get-intercepte...
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Hour One
Friday 18 September / Hour 1, Block A: Jim McTague, Barron's and author, Crapshoot Investing, in re:   Reports on factory activity and home sales will offer key clues about how well the economy fared in August amid financial-market turmoil and growing concerns about a slowdown in China. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will give more insight into the central bank’s thinking on interest rates. Read More »
Friday 18 September / Hour 1, Block B: Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, in re: NYPD and free-speech rights.
Q: “What sort of training did you receive concerning the First Amendment?”
 
A: “That was probably back in the academy. I don’t remember.”
 
Q.: “What does the First Amendment mean in your police work?”
 
A.: “I don’t — I don’t know.”
 
Q: “And do you recall what training at the academy you received that concerned First Amendment activity?”
 
A.: “No, I really don’t, no.”
 
That was Lt. Jack Konstantinidis, now retired after 23 years on the job, testifying under oath last year about the months he spent policing Occupy Wall Street as the platoon commander for the 1st Precinct.
Friday 18 September / Hour 1, Block C:  Tunku Varadarajan, Hoover & Politico, in re: travelling to Kiev to meet Mohammad Zahoor, a minigarch in Ukraine, married (second wife) to a Ukrainian pop star, Kamaliya (dressed in gold) and resident in a London manor.  Orchids. Owns between $500 mil to $1 bil; richest expat in Ukraine; born in Karachi. Engineer with thesis on a steel mill – which he later bought.  Back to Pakistan with Russian wife; disrespected by the fearful ISI, so returned to Moscow in the thick of perestroika. Now, twin daughters; speaks half a dozen languages. Bought the Kiev Post – a good paper, Anglophone, reliable. [more]
Friday 18 September / Hour 1, Block D: Sarah Westwood, Washington Examiner, in re: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/state-dept.-requests-deleted-clinton-emails-from-fbi/article/2572380
Hour Two
Friday 18 September / Hour 2, Block A:  Michael E Vlahos, Naval War College, in re: The overland traffic is emerging as an alternative as the perils of sea passage rise. More than 70 people died trying to cross to Greece by sea in September—the deadliest month in two years, according to the International Organization for Migration. 
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister, Numan Kurtulmus, said Friday that Turkey wouldn’t open its borders with Greece and Bulgaria to migrants. Most travelers don’t have valid passports or visas, he said. If European nations committed to accepting any number of refugees currently trying to go west from Turkey, the deputy prime minister added, Ankara would provide planes to fly them to their new host country. http://www.wsj.com/articles/refugees-seek-new-land-routes-to-europe-across-turkey-1442588583 (1 of 2)
Friday 18 September / Hour 2, Block B: Michael E Vlahos, Naval War College, in re: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/world/finger-pointing-but-few-answers-... Either way, it underscored White House sensitivities about the widening Syrian catastrophe. With more than 200,000 killed in the civil war, a wave of refugees flooding into Europe, and Russia now flying in arms and troops, the president finds himself with a geopolitical and humanitarian mess that will most likely not be settled before he leaves office in 16 months.
Mr. Obama has long considered Syria a quagmire that defies American solutions, and aides are hoping to keep him from being held responsible for something that, they argue, he never really had the power to fix. But with images of drowned children and Russian tanks, the president has come under increasing fire from multiple directions.
The Russians accuse him of making the crisis worse by opposing the autocratic government of President Bashar al-Assad in its fight against terrorists like the Islamic State, also called ISIS or ISIL. Republicans accuse him of passivity and fecklessness, of sitting back while the conflict spread across the region.
But there is no consensus among critics about what should be done. During back-to-back presidential debates on Wednesday night, Republican candidates were divided between those advocating more American involvement and those suggesting stepping back and letting the Syrians fight it out themselves. (2 of 2)
Friday 18 September / Hour 2, Block C:   Ann Gibbons, Science Magazine, in re: Cave was lasting home to Denisovans ; Archaeology
Siberian cave was home to generations of mysterious ancient humans ; Archaeology: DNA from Neandertal relative may shake up human family tree (1 of 2)
Friday 18 September / Hour 2, Block D: Ann Gibbons, Science Magazine, in re: New human species discovered (2 of 2)
Hour Three
Friday 18 September / Hour 3, Block A:  Ira Boudway, Bloomberg Businessweek, in re: HOW HIGH TIMES MAGAZINE BECAME THE YANKEES OF NEW YORK MEDIA SOFTBALL - The slugging stoners of the weed magazine High Times are defending champions of the New York Media Softball League, and they're blazing toward another title. How did High Times create a softball dynasty? http://buswk.co/HighTimes38
Friday 18 September / Hour 3, Block B:  Bud Weinstein, Southern Methodist University and Houston Chronicle, in re: http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Weinstein-Environment-rules-should-be-based-on-6506700.php
Friday 18 September / Hour 3, Block C: Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, Program Scientist, Mars Curiosity, in re: Curiosity Names New Rover Project Scientist, Ashwin Vasavade, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Read More Crystal-Rich Rock 'Mojave' Is Next Mars Drill Target   This week, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is preparing to drill its second sample of Mount Sharp. An upgraded version of its onboard software is ready for installation next week.
Friday 18 September / Hour 3, Block D: Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, Program Scientist, Mars Curiosity, in re: Mars Panorama from Curiosity Shows Petrified Sand Dunes  The next rock target to be drilled by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover may be sandstone that was deposited by wind, unlike previous rock targets deposited by water.  Read More
Hour Four
Friday 18 September / Hour 4, Block A:  Tyler Rogoway, Foxtrotalpha, in re: Russia Is Pouring Cargo into Syria, Including Heavy Armor ;A Fantastic Behind-the-Scenes Look at the RAF's Quick Reaction Alert Crew (1 of 2)
Friday 18 September / Hour 4, Block B: Tyler Rogoway, Foxtrotalpha, in re: Lockheed Unveils Concept Art for U-2 Spyplane Replacement, the Unmanned TR-X.  Not a Big Surprise: The Marines' F-35 Operational Test Was Far from Operational (2 of 2)
Friday 18 September / Hour 4, Block C: Nicholas St Fleur, NYT, in re: Study Finds Snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada to Be Lowest in 500 Years. The report suggests droughts in the state may become more common as precipitation on the Sierra Nevada Mountains reduces because of global warming.
Friday 18 September / Hour 4, Block D:   Kirk Johnson, NYT, in re: Frantic Evacuation in California Left Animals to Face Wildfire Alone   The suddenness of the Valley Fire’s surge in Northern California last weekend forced thousands of evacuating residents to leave their animals, both pets and livestock, behind.
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