The John Batchelor Show

Monday 17 December 2018

Air Date: 
December 17, 2018

Engraving with etching:  The Philistines Place the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of Dagon  (I Samuel). Artist:  Battista Franco Veneziano  (1510–1561); circa 1540 *
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Thaddeus McCotter, WJR, the Great Voice of the Great Lakes
 
Hour One
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 1, Block A: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal and FDD; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: . . .
Islamic State issues statement on Strasbourg attack after shooter killed  December 13, 2018. The Islamic State's Amaq News Agency released a short message claiming that the terrorist responsible for attacking the Strasbourg Christmas market was a "soldier" of the so-called caliphate. The message was disseminated online hours after Chérif Chekatt, who has been identified as the assailant, was shot dead by French police. Thus far, the Islamic State hasn't provided any corroborating details.
Taliban overruns district in Farah after Afghan forces flee December 12th, 2018 | admin@longwarjournal.org | @billroggio ;  The Taliban waltzed in and took control of the district of Shib Koh in the western province of Farah today after Afghan security forces stationed there fled. Farah remains one of Afghanistan’s most troubled provinces since security there deteriorated quickly when US forces withdrew in 2013.
Civilians living in Shib Koh said that the Taliban took control of the district center after Afghan forces “retreated,” Pajhwok Afghan News reported. An Afghan police spokesman denied the government lost control of the district, but Afghan security officials are known to downplay Taliban successes, as they did when the Taliban overran Farah City last May.
The Taliban, in a statement released on Voice of Jihad, also said it seized control of the “Shib Koh district administration center, police head quarter [sic] and all other installations.”
The district center “was under tight siege of Mujahideen” for a long period of time before it was overrun, the Taliban claimed.
Shib Koh has changed hands between the government and the Taliban several times over the past four years. The Taliban last overran the district center on Oct. 17, 2017. Afghan forces reportedly retook the center shortly after Taliban fighters looted and torched the government buildings.
Reports from Afghanistan describe the district as “insecure” and state the Taliban routinely attack military and police outposts. The Department of Defense has assessed the district as government controlled, but FDD’s Long War Journal has maintained the district was contested up until today.
Shib Koh is one of four among Farah’s 11 districts controlled by the Taliban. Six more are contested, while only one is government controlled, according to an ongoing study by FDD’s Long War Journal.
The Taliban have launched attacks on Afghan security forces on a near-daily basis. Just this weekend, the Taliban killed 12 policemen and wounded eight more after overrunning an outpost in the province. The district of Pashtun Kot has been blockaded by the Taliban for months, and Afghan civilians there are beginning to starve.
Farah is by no means an outlier when it comes to poor security. Many other provinces, including Helmand, Ghazni, and Kunduz, have the vast majority of their districts contested or controlled by the Taliban.
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 1, Block B: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal and FDD; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: . . .
Islamic State issues statement on Strasbourg attack after shooter killed  December 13, 2018. The Islamic State's Amaq News Agency released a short message claiming that the terrorist responsible for attacking the Strasbourg Christmas market was a "soldier" of the so-called caliphate. The message was disseminated online hours after Chérif Chekatt, who has been identified as the assailant, was shot dead by French police. Thus far, the Islamic State hasn't provided any corroborating details.
Taliban overruns district in Farah after Afghan forces flee December 12th, 2018 | admin@longwarjournal.org | @billroggio ;  The Taliban waltzed in and took control of the district of Shib Koh in the western province of Farah today after Afghan security forces stationed there fled. Farah remains one of Afghanistan’s most troubled provinces since security there deteriorated quickly when US forces withdrew in 2013.
Civilians living in Shib Koh said that the Taliban took control of the district center after Afghan forces “retreated,” Pajhwok Afghan News reported. An Afghan police spokesman denied the government lost control of the district, but Afghan security officials are known to downplay Taliban successes, as they did when the Taliban overran Farah City last May.
The Taliban, in a statement released on Voice of Jihad, also said it seized control of the “Shib Koh district administration center, police head quarter [sic] and all other installations.”
The district center “was under tight siege of Mujahideen” for a long period of time before it was overrun, the Taliban claimed.
Shib Koh has changed hands between the government and the Taliban several times over the past four years. The Taliban last overran the district center on Oct. 17, 2017. Afghan forces reportedly retook the center shortly after Taliban fighters looted and torched the government buildings.
Reports from Afghanistan describe the district as “insecure” and state the Taliban routinely attack military and police outposts. The Department of Defense has assessed the district as government controlled, but FDD’s Long War Journal has maintained the district was contested up until today.
Shib Koh is one of four among Farah’s 11 districts controlled by the Taliban. Six more are contested, while only one is government controlled, according to an ongoing study by FDD’s Long War Journal..
The Taliban have launched attacks on Afghan security forces on a near-daily basis. Just this weekend, the Taliban killed 12 policemen and wounded eight more after overrunning an outpost in the province. The district of Pashtun Kot has been blockaded by the Taliban for months, and Afghan civilians there are beginning to starve.
Farah is by no means an outlier when it comes to poor security. Many other provinces, including Helmand, Ghazni, and Kunduz, have the vast majority of their districts contested or controlled by the Taliban.
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 1, Block C: Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, in re: I read the Economist and the FT (along with the Wall Street Journal); over these last months both are unhappy with Xi Jinping.  Formerly, they condemned Trump for [ham-handedness]; now they see that the Chinese business model is piracy. See: Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point. This has all been known for years.  Its economy is probably growing at 1.7%.   The official National Statistics Bureau has ordered its staff not to publish the data. The November numbers shocked people.
The Fourth Plenum is a specialized meeting of the Central Committee, usually every five yeas. The plenum was supposed to have been held but hasn’t; perhaps Xi doesn't have enough support to get what he wants.   . . . SOEs (state-owned enterprises) have been forcing their way into private enterprise boards, which is where the money is. Private co’s cannot resist.  SOEs are notorious for losing money, and their strangulation of small firms cannot be reversed. They’re not just nationalizing; they're Sovietizing. 
A lot of Chinese people are fervent believers in the state; they think capitalism needs to yield to the first stage of socialism. Those driving the bus are those like Xi, who think it's a good idea for the state to take over. This is a thug regime. This is worldwide attack on capitalism and democracy at the same time.  Clearly, the Soviet version of socialism doesn’t work.
As for the ninety-day peace in tariffs discussions, note that a deal is very unlikely.
Congress and Huawei: both sides of the aisle agree that Chinese commercial predation must be stopped. Kindly note that this pressure began with Pres Trump.
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 1, Block D: Alan Tonelson, independent consultant blogging at RealityChek (@AlanTonelson) ; in re:  The SOE’s being crushed. AP reported today that some of the US college sportswear is coming in through a North Carolina firm from the Uyghur concentration camps where the Chinese Communist Party has established forced labor.
US multinational mfrs are adjusting to the growing likelihood that their China-centric supply chains need to be reworked. AP reporters traced he c garments by phone calls to middle med back to a Uyghur concentration camp.  Importing materials made by forced labor is flatly illegal in the US.
What we keep h earing from corp execs is that they can handle 10% tariffs; at 25%, need to shift supply chain. Tariffs on $200 bil will go up from 10 to 25%.
Amazon: this kind of detailed, accurate labelling needs to appear throughout the entire American economy. Recall that workers in China have never had any kind of any rights.
 
Hour Two
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 2, Block A:  David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, & Jed Babbin, American Spectator, in re: According to Chris Matthews, there are 17 investigations of Trump and his coterie. Mathews offers: Rather than see your sons and daughter go to jail, take the Agnew method and resign. (Agnew had taken bribes in envelopes from contractors; the VP was cornered and resigned in exchange for pleading nolo contendere and not going to jail.) Matthews and his crew devoutly believe that Mueller has enough to indict, even though he doesn't seem to have much. The Dems’s whole case is aimed toward 2020.
. . .  You'd think the Dems would have a claim and then investigate?  They hope to, are flailing, don’t yet have it. Will get Trump’s tax returns, hotels, everything.  Reminds me of the Odd Couple: one throws linguini against the wall to see what sticks.
Any other these that Mrs Pelosi will make critical for her Congress??  I don’t think so; only investigate the president, plus maybe [some oddments].  I worry that the president will be so absorbed by all this that many important policy areas will fall by the wayside.
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 2, Block B:   Jed Babbin, American Spectator, in re:  Anticipating the 116th Congress in 2019.  Will the Dems pass a House Budget resolution?  Zero chance. It's hard work to assemble a credible, cogent resolution, needs detailed analysis; too much for them to bother with. Might come up with a shell for Ms Ocasio-Cortez, but they’re looking for notions to campaign on, not substantive resolutions.
Sanders and Biden are at the top of the presidential list.  It's ’way too early to tell what’ll happen; but there are credible contenders – Biden could conceivably beat Trump. We need to see where we are a year from now. Biden said today that a lot of people could beat Trump.   He was reluctant to run in 2016; has he recovered from the death of his son?
Do the Dems want someone fresh, new and exciting, or someone who can certainly beat Trump?   --New fresh faces are Cory Booker, Kamala Harris.  Not sure they can run a successful campaign – but people rise to the top so quickly these days.
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 2, Block C: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: Hamas in the West Bank:  it no longer limits itself to Gaza, and the failure of the UN security council to declare the Hamas for what it is has emboldened it and given it a new lease on life. Mashaal said on al Jazeera: Palestinians should prepare for guerilla warfare.
A fourth Hezbollah tunnel has been found; even UNIFIL confirmed that some crossed the border into Israel and violated UN resolutions.  Even Lebanese journos warns that Hezbollah in incapable of governing. Hezbollah is flying Russian flags right now to ward off Israeli attacks! Photos of what it's like inside the tunnels.  Half a million Palestinians celebrated Fatah’s anniversary; Hezbollah celebrated its anniversary with missiles on parade. 
Tupolev bombers in Caracas: five years ago, some on a secret airstrip; now, 2 TU-160s (ultrasonic, heavy bombers) placed strategically in Caracas, msg from Moscow in conjunction with Iran: if you fight the JCPOA sanctions, we’ll take the battle closer to you, the US.   This matter needs to be taken very seriously.
Iranians moving into Palestinian camps.
BDS is a problem on college campuses across the country. It’s usually a cover for anti-Jewish sentiments; ten chancellors in the University of California have reaffirmed their opposition to any economic boycott of Israel. Multiple violations of academic freedom. Taxpayer-supported institutions. Professors say that if they show themselves to be pro-Israel, they’re isolated and harassed.
Monday 17 December  2018 / Hour 2, Block D: Indiana Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: Kiryat Arim, now Church of the Covenant (between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, a sign to Abu Ghosh). I Samuel: In battle, Philistines took the Arc of the Covenant and put it in their god’s space; however, their idols’s hands fell off and the Philistines were attacked by a plague of hemorrhoids, so they returned the Arc.  Eight hundred BC?
 
Hour Three
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 3, Block A: Cliff May, FDD founder; in re:   The tragedy of he murder of a so-called journalist, Khashoggi by agents of MBS.  Is this part of a civil war, or only a US domestic spat?  It's both. 
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 3, Block B: Lou Ann Hammond, DrivingtheNation.com, in re:  Carlos Ghosn, until most recently CEO of Nissan and Renault, detained by Japanese authorities on possibly questionable grounds.  Nissan has in effect fired him; Renault (which owns 15% of the joint venture? and 43% of Nissan) has decided so far to keep him.
   Mitsubishi is a recent arrival at the alliance. Ghosn was asking for a complete merger among the three firms, at which point the Japanese viewed him with much disfavor. At some point, France and Renault need to decide how much they want to back Ghosn and how much to pursue the triple alliance. If the second, they’ll have to think of finding a replacement CEO. 
     Ghosn has residences around the world, including a $15 million mansion in Beirut—widely known of—which Nissan funded by sending money to a third corporation.
Nissan is the cash cow, is the most global, can get most of its technology from Mitsubishi and together. It’s Nissan who wins if they separate. Ghosn remains in custody, one month and counting, and at some point probably even Renault can't keep Ghosn
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 3, Block C: Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, in re:  _________ , legislator from Buffalo, New York, aggressively came on to a young staffer, who reported it, after which the legislator (married to a judge) offered the staffer a bribe to be silent.  Now he’s being investigated for bribery.
Vito Lopez, now deceased, carried on in the same way, treating female staff as though they were end tables.  He was buds with Shelly Silver, who’s now in hoosegow.
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 3, Block D:  John Tamny, Forbes.com, in re:  Facebook
 
Hour Four
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 4, Block A:  Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World at War, December 1941, by Stanley Weintraub (first)
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 4, Block B:  Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World at War, December 1941, by Stanley Weintraub (second)
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 4, Block C:  Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World at War, December 1941, by Stanley Weintraub  (third)
Monday 17 December  2018/ Hour 4, Block D:  Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World at War, December 1941, by Stanley Weintraub  (fourth)
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* Permissions:  Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917. This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons by as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.