Left: The Shahada flag commonly used by al-Qaeda, the parent organization of Khorasan. The writing has the shahadas, or two declarations of Muslim faith: “There is no god but God. Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Hour One
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 1, Block A: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor & FDD, and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal & FDD, in re: war-fighting , in Kunduz in NE Afghanistan Last week, Taliban pulled back –left the city center, then rejected claims of abuse under its control of hr city. Had come under heavy fore from US and allies, so withdrew slightly, but still control most of the surroundings.  Amnesty Intl have documented mass rapes, gang rapes, horrific scenes – targeting women for special attacks, esp any prominent woman in the city, Shows how disgusting and vicious Taliban are. Mix of Tajiks, Pashtuns, everybody, but esp from northern Pakistan, and Central Asians.  East Turkestan Islamic Party, Tajiks, others.
Our map on website understates reality; a lot of other areas in Afgh are Taliban-controlled, but foucssing on the south: a belt from Farah to northern Kandahar, and Ghazni.  Provincial capitals are all just south of Taliban-controlled line, expect action soon, In the Northwest, in several provinces.  Look for Taliban to take control of provincial capitals; also, Kunduz, Badakhshan, et al.   Executions of policemen, confirmed in Farah Province; not yet clear about reprisals against civilians. Media reporting is drying up. 
Syria:  Sanafi al-Nasr, Al Q leader groomed for leadership, a third cousin of Osama bin Ladin; his kunya (alias) means "cultivator of victory"- was a senior strategist, with plans for multiple theaters.   Killed in an air strike, probably by US.   Was leading the Khorasan group, also devising strategies for al Nusrah in war vs Assad regime. 
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 1, Block B: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor & FDD, and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal & FDD, in re: Stalingrad in the desert: the Iraqi army and the Shiite militias claiming that they've retaken significant parts of the Baiji oil refinery. Ira q can't think of retaking Mosul without Baiji. Note Iranian-backed militias that have killed hundred of Americans, kidnapped and killed five Americans, released in 2009 [by this Administration]; militias and Iran are increasing influence in Iraq.  Mohandas, close to Iran's Quds Force: disgusting that the US is supporting terrorist groups that are  directly  responsible for killing American troops.  One character beheads Sunnis.  Al Nusrah threatening Russia: to unleash Chechen jihadists, calling for retaliatory killing in Russia.   Baghdadi and Jilani still lethal enemies.  Iraqi Forces and Shiite Militias Retake Oil Refinery from ISIS 
Khorasan group  - traditionally Iran, Pakistan, Central Asia; in competition with al Q and Taliban.  Drone an B1 strikes kill leaders.
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 1, Block C: Gordon Chang, Forbes.com; in re: cyberattack on US companies for info which Chinese companies then use to their own commercial advantage. White House had to know that the 25 Sept accord would ever be implemented by the US.  The Blair-Huntsman report: US loses as much intellectual property that it earns from what we export- roughly 380 billion.  The cost that the US needs to impose on Beijing is much more substantial than the Obama Administration chooses or than most American s can imagine.   Freedom of navigation: 12 nautical miles.   The US has prospered for centuries from global freedom of navigation – we're a seafaring nation, we depend on the global commons. Chinese economy on a downward trajectory – claimed 6.9% growth, electricity use was up about 1%. Export: for he three most of last quarter, down 8% in July, then 13% in August, then 24% last month!  Losing one-fifth of its exports.  Links wiA exercising aggression, as China is under pressure to show strength; Party legitimacy currently depends on nationalism since it's economic capability now is disastrous. When the regime can't deliver on either liberty or prosperity, it turns to aggressive nationalism.
Truth is that China's economic growth is between 2-4%. By now, major Western economists say the govt figures are "mendacious."  Will watch their economy sink below the 0% line.  IMF lowered global forecast to __ and then [too late] blamed China. 
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 1, Block D: Jon Hilsenrath, WSJ, in re: seasonally adjusted ales rate . . . will the Fed increase the rate? It depends on American consumer – who may be buckling a bit. "Operatic" is a propos concerning the Fed – a lot of confusion coming from the central bank, which has talked all year about raising rate but the economy isn't cooperating. Lots of in-fighting within the Fed. Comes down to inflation; the UE rate is 5% [Sure. In a pig's eye.—ed].  We could be going down the Japanese road.  No dynamism. Yellin has no magic screen/crystal ball. Data don't support an interest hike. Why aren't the forecasts playing out as expected? Exchange between Yellin and two of the Governors: eventually we shd see inflation pressure – but the governors say no relation between the unemployment rate and inflation! According to the [unusual] federal mode of measurement [involving part-time and drop-out workers], "if every American was unemployed long enough, we'd eventually have an unemployment rate of zero." Car sales are booming [oops – up 1.8%] partly due to low interest rates; consumption boom there has helped Detroit.  Irony of WSJ reporter comparing US to Japan – since the Journal endorsed TARP, which was significantly responsible for this mess.
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 2, Block A: John Fund, NRO & David Drucker, Senior Congressional correspondent, Washington Examiner; in re: WaPo accidentally posted* a story that Biden is running – announced his candidacy, then was swiftly removed, but the Republican National Committee has blasted it intergalactically.   Mrs Clinton's ratings have plunged and Mr Biden has a chance.  "Assessing the landscape"  for a run. Regret, she's not a good candidate. The accidental filing will go down in history.  . . . Historically, Biden's record is weak in some ways, so even though Mrs C is a horrible candidate, Biden's record is not sterling in foreign policy or economics. He's likeable and authentic, but gaffe-prone. At 73, you're unlikely to change.
* Vice President Biden plans to enter the contest for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, ending months of speculation about his  . . .
WaPo accidentally publishes Biden candidacy story, abruptly yanks report says Biden ready, paper: ‘This file was inadvertently published’
Biden to launch a presidential campaign
Washington Post / Paul Kane / October 19, 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-to-launch-a-presidential-c...
Vice President Biden plans to enter the contest for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, ending months of speculation about his intentions and delivering a jolt to an already unpredictable contest, according to XXX sources familiar with his decision.
Biden, who has been publicly grieving since the death of his eldest son on May 30, began telling associates on XX of his intention to launch a late-breaking campaign that will pit him against a pair of Democrats who have been well ahead of his decision-making process, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
A formal announcement could come within the next week, just in time to allow the vice president to appear at a critical party event Oct. 24 in Iowa. The three-way race among Democrats sets up a debate over which candidate is the rightful heir to President Obama’s legacy and whether the party needs a sharp break — as Sanders contends — from the policies of both Obama and former president Bill Clinton.
Biden’s entry into the contest comes after several months of declining popularity for Hillary Clinton, during which she has been dogged by an FBI investigation of the security of the private e-mail server she used during her time as Obama’s secretary of state. The controversy helped prompt a . . .
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Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 2, Block B: John Fund, NRO & David Drucker, Senior Congressional correspondent, Washington Examiner; in re:  Mrs Cinton's legal matter: FBI investigation is thorough; same crew that forced John Deutsch into retirement; also Gen Petraeus had to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. A very serious natl security breach, Many people were long ago convinced that Bill Clinton was also a natl security disaster.  CIA assets exposed, North Korean info exposed, gross negligence – all serious.   Trey Gowdy's life made miserable by GOP gaffes, but Mrs Clinton's laughing at he server matter is at the very least a question of competence. Undercuts her biggest selling points: competency and judgment.  . . . "Waiting for Joe Biden" – does his entry change everything for the GOP, too?  Jeb Ush will be happier; will scramble GOP strategists who've been running against Clinton for years.  Makes Carly Fiorina potentially healing nominee;  and Uncle Joe from Scranton PA.
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 2, Block C: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents; in re: Pierre Trudeau's son Justin is PM-designate of Canada.  Meanwhile, a draft text at UNESCO to be voted on Wd inParis:  Affirm that the Barak Plaza is an integral part of al Aqsa Plaza.   What??  This is the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall, built by Herod, where Jews have prayed to their lost temple for thousands of years. UNESCO claims that this is not  a Jewish place but is related only to Mohammed's horse. ALSO,  where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried is called a mosque.  ALSO,  Joseph's tomb has been burned. Islam didn't even exist till long after the Western Wall was built; Islam is trying to take away Christian and Jewish heritage. Abbas knows that if you take away a people's past, it has no future there. Abbas even says that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre "is ours." Includes the tram/light railway. A whole slew of problems – condemning even the City of David excavations! Also condemns the Jerusalem mayor for carrying light arms under attack.   Abbas ahs now turned a political conflict into a religious conflict.
Were this bizarre UNESCO resolution to pass, continuing normal archaeological work would turn into a violation, with penalties.  ISIS, Abbas  and UNESCO are on the same page with this resolution. Any Jewish presence would become illegal. Zahar (Hamas) calls for weapons and to kill all Jews. This is all part of a pre-determined program.
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 2, Block D: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents; in re: . . . The Obama Administration has ordered the US govt to prepare for swift lifting of sanctions against Iran. Meanwhile, Iran has just done a missile test against all requirements; is nowhere close to "If this is what he last ninety days look like, the next ten years re a disaster!" – Ed Royce.   Khamenei also makes this totally clear – we don't know what document the majlis saw and voted on, but he demands permanent lifting of sanctions right away, irrespective of Iranian compliance with agreements.
Hour Three
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 3, Block A: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video; in re: Dawn of the Living Dead Bank The GOP should at least reform the Ex-Im Bank if it can’t kill it.
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 3, Block B:   Ioannis Koskinas, Defense One, in re: Obama’s Two-Year Plan for Afghanistan Is Doomed Obama offered yet another short-term solution, but it’s time the US starts talking about a long-term troop agreement, just like we gave South Korea. "Afghanistan is the graveyard of bad clichés."
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 3, Block C:  Elias Groll, Foreign Policy, in re:  When Selfies Are a Tool of Intelligence From commercial satellite photos to Facebook posts, tracking Russia’s military intervention in Syria has never been easier for the world’s amateur and professional spies
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 3, Block D:   Paul Gregory, Hoover, in re: Russian websites are recruiting mercenaries to fight in Syria for a lot of money: 200,000 rubles ($3,220).
Hour Four
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 4, Block A: Richard A Epstein, Chicago Law, NYU Law, Hoover; in re: The topic of gender discrimination in the workplace is making headlines again thanks to two recent events. The first is the release of the report “Women in the Workplace 2015” by Sheryl Sandberg’s LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Co. Sandberg, writing in the Wall Street Journal, uses the report to conclude: “despite modest improvements since 2012, women remain underrepresented at every corporate level.” The second is the California Fair Pay Act, now awaiting Governor Jerry Brown’s signature. That bill would make it unlawful for employers to pay men and women different wages for “substantially similar work.” Both the report and the bill assume that something is deeply amiss in employment markets, which is leading to gender discrimination. But both are wrong . . .   (1 of 2)
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 4, Block B: Richard A Epstein, Chicago Law, NYU Law, Hoover; in re: The topic of gender discrimination in the workplace is making headlines again thanks to two recent events. The first is the release of the report “Women in the Workplace 2015” by Sheryl Sandberg’s LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Co. Sandberg, writing in the Wall Street Journal, uses the report to conclude: “despite modest improvements since 2012, women remain underrepresented at every corporate level.” The second is the California Fair Pay Act, now awaiting Governor Jerry Brown’s signature. That bill would make it unlawful for employers to pay men and women different wages for “substantially similar work.” Both the report and the bill assume that something is deeply amiss in employment markets, which is leading to gender discrimination. But both are wrong . . .   (2 of 2)
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 4, Block C:  Jerry Hendrix, Center for a New American Security, in re: Retreat from Range: The Rise and Fall of Carrier Aviation  Jerry Hendrix Reports Download the report (PDF)  Defense Strategies and Assessments Program Director Dr. Jerry Hendrix argues that aircraft carriers, at a cost over $13 billion apiece, risk becoming obsolete without a major shift in strategy. In particular, he argues carriers must switch to a mixed manned/unmanned airwing or risk becoming too vulnerable to counterattacks to put into battle.
Monday  19 October 2015 / Hour 4, Block D: Jerry Hendrix, Center for a New American Security, in re: Retreat from Range: The Rise and Fall of Carrier Aviation  Jerry Hendrix Reports Download the report (PDF) ;  Is It Time for the Navy to Reassess the Importance of the Aircraft Carrier?