Photo, left: Iron Dome, Israel vs Hamas, 2014.
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Co-hosts; Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal editorial board & host of OpinionJournal.com.  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents.
 
Hour One
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 1, Block A: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal editorial board & host of OpinionJournal.com; in re:   Rome has been sacked six times In 2,000 year and the antiquities still stand. In Nineveh, ISIS is bulldozing some of the most precious artefacts of human history.  Had the US left 15,000 troops in Iraq there would be no ISIS.  What it’s trying to do is wipe out our memory of human history in a part of the world that largely gave birth to Western and some Eastern civilization.  In Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast, Roman columns have been used for subsequent building; they once had faces on them but the faces were chipped off by Muslims a thousand yeas ago.  Here in the XXI Century, they're destroying . . .   The Syrian capital of _______ abad.  Eric mentioned that the museum of Baghdad has just reopened, holding many treasures; ISIS intends to destroy that.   Prof Macy at Yale: Rumi Khan, the cooperating witness against Raj Rajaratnam, insider trading – the definition of which shifts swiftly over months and years. The Feds keep the rules vague and incomprehensible in order to be able to prosecute whom they wish.  . . .  Dems now propose a new set of insider-trading rules; tug-of-war between the judiciary and Congress. . . .  Discussion on the larger utility of insider-trading rules; Mary Kissel holds that it's a victimless crime and the regulations should be effaced.  "Arbitrary use of govt powers against our citizens."   [especially persons visibly from the Subcontinent].
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 1, Block B:  Edward W Hayes, criminal defense attorney par excellence, in re:  "Danny Boy," sung by Dylan McCartney, Irish tenor (first stanza).  ". . . from glen to glen and down the mountainside; the summer's gone and all the roses falling; 'tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide."  Ferguson police-shootings; Eric Holder still pressing on against Ferguson establishment; Mary's cousin has just given birth to a baby, Kevin.
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 1, Block C: Lara M Brown, George Washington University, political analyst, in re: Hillary Rodham Clinton vs Democrats.  Brouhaha of Mrs Clinton's emails.  Where's the server?  Westchester? Mr Clinton's office in Manhattan, or Mrs Clinton's residence in Washington or her New York office?  Who had access to the server(s)?  The Russian hacker Goosifer suggested other eyes were on her server.  Mr Gowdy expands his Benghazi investigation into email.  Tens of thousands of emails obliterated as soon as the problems start to surface.  Progressive Dems are flummoxed. Hillary Clinton president till January 2025.  Dems will push for her candidacy – maybe not happily.  Were there another adequate candidate, maybe not. They put all their eggs in one basket, let HRC keep the "inevitable" story alive. Weak bench. Its said that the president gutted the Democratic Party with his progressivism.  Normal during a presidency: GOP also had this.  Mrs Clinton was introduced at the UN as "the future president of the United States."  There's not even a Clinton campaign at present. The scandal lingers. The usual explanation used to be "tempest in a teapot" or "right-wing conspiracy."   At the AP suit takes hold, a drip-drip of continuing scandal: 1. email; 2. Clinton Foundation taking money from foreign govts; 3. the double-dipping if HRC's pals at State and taking money from corporations.   Some of the Clinton problems originally sent the Democrats to Barack Obama.   Mrs Clinton's strength is identity politics; this hangs like a shadow over it – document search has nothing to do with policy, or gender gap.  Dems will fight viciously for the team, irrespective of scandals.  Might abandon her if in the polling she can’t stay competitive in the head-to-heads. 
- What's the risk of flying with one big engine (HRC) on a two-winged aircraft (DNC)?
- What happens to the Democratic Progressives in an HRC administration?
- Does the RNC work better with HRC than the DNC??
- Jackie Kucinish's sharp piece: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/11/hillary-s-totally-lame-...
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 1, Block D: Ian Rowe, CEO, PublicPrep.org, in re:  Have founded New York City schools in Lower East Side and in South Bronx; an all-boys school in South Bronx; and more and more schools.  . . .  Dedicated science teachers – and our girls love science and excel.  Compared to other schools for girls: their interest in science diminishes over time; when girls are encouraged, they shine in science and math. It all starts with expectations, which permeate almost every aspect of their lives. We hire outstanding people, develop them; if they don’t keep up, we let them go and bring in highly motivated teachers. About the Ultimate Pi race:  on Roosevelt Island; on 3.14.15 (first five digits of π - 3.14159265359). 
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Celebrate-Pi-Day-with-Girls-Prep-Ultimate-Pi-Day-5K/295436811
For the third consecutive year, 97% or more of fourth grade scholars at Girls Prep Lower East Side Elementary School passed the New York State Science Exam, placing the all-girls school in the top 10 per cent of all New York City public schools. Founded in 2005 as the first all-girls public charter school in NYC, the Girls Prep student population is 95% African-American and Latina, and nearly 90% qualify for free or reduced price lunch.
"Girls Prep is unique in that it provides science instruction five days a week from faculty members exclusively focused on teaching the wonders of science," said Ian Rowe, CEO of Public Prep. “By providing a strong foundation in science beginning in elementary school, we help instill in our girls an early love of science which will ultimately help bridge the gender and race gap in STEM fields.”Girls Prep scholars will celebrate their continued accomplishments in science on a day hallowed in mathematical and scientific circles, Ultimate Pi Day, by hosting the “Girls Prep Ultimate Pi Day 5K.” The 3.14 mile race will take place on the upcoming Ultimate Pi Day, Saturday, March 14, 2015, at 9:26:53 AM, (the first 10 digits of Pi) on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
Girls Prep is hosting the race to raise awareness of its continued commitment to building the next generation of female Scientists, Technologists, Engineers and Mathematicians. The race will also be a key source of fundraising for the school’s STEM education programming.  Girls Prep provides STEM opportunities for students beyond the classroom, such as a partnership with Cornell University offering summer classes in physics and science fiction writing, and recent “Hackathon” organized by Barclays Capital Women in Technology, where scholars developed working apps.  The Girls Prep Ultimate Pi Day 5K event will also include a kids race for children age nine and under, as well as opportunities to participate in science experiments onsite. To register for the 5K race and kids run and find more information (including sponsorship opportunities) for this once-in-a-century event, visit www.publicprep.org/ultimatepiday.
Hour Two
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 2, Block A: Neri Zilber, visiting scholar at The Washington Institute; in re: Gaza coming out of the war, framework for reconstruction, intended to bring the Palestinian Authority back into Gaza Strip – intl community needed a legal actor to use the money pledge in c=Cairo. There's been little reconstruction in Gaza –not from Israeli issues for anything outside; rather because of intra-Palestinian politics.  A poll showed that Gazans blame Hamas, not Israel, for the war.   Gazans maintain a brutal control over Gazans and punish any shred of dissent.  . . . Some movements of militants form Gaza into Sinai, under al Q or ISIS.  The Al Q affiliates in Sinai pledges d allegiance to ISIS.  Highly worrying  Hamas shifting from long-range missiles 9stopped by Iron Dome) to short-range missiles that aren’t intercepted. These are made inside Gaza.  And "long-range mortars" – casualties along the border; can’t be intercepted by Iron Dome.  Attack tunnels:  Hamas' s priority is rebuilding them. 
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 2, Block B: Michael Pregent, NDU lecturer & 2005-2006 embedded advisor with a Peshmerga battalion in Mosul; also DoD advisor on Iranian influence in Iraq's security and intelligence apparatus from 2006 to 2011; in re: Quds Force commander: Suleimani. The fog of war in Tikrit is complete. Said to have street fighting.   Op not just against ISIS (under guise of); instead, against any possible Sunni rival; will find past Baathist figures, name them as "collaborators,"  and kill them.  Suleimani initially actually went after Shia pilots and killed them as possible threats.  Once an area is cleared of ISIS, Suleimani leads a victory parade.  Pro tem the Shia Arabs and Iranians are working together, as Iran provided help when asked. US delayed so Iran could fill the vacuum.  US does cordon and surge ops.   They just use loudspeakers to bring out Sunni – those who come out are collaborators; those who don’t are enemies. Both are treated worse than ISIS does.  . . . The nuke deal has constrained US leverage; Iran has a two-year license to do anything it wants as Washington will do nothing.  . . . Mosul has to be cleared w Sunni buy-in.  Can; get the [tribals] to join US if the US is working with Iran.   Most of the Sunni population has left and headed north from Tikrit.  The Shia militias can clear an area but are not willing to hold it, establish the rule of law and allow Sunni back.   
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 2, Block C: Ali Alfoneh, senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; in re:  . . . in 1989, one of Khamenei's greatest opponents was Mossavei(?) who now does everything possible to make Mr Khamenei happy. – has enslaved himself.  IRGC wants . . .  incarnation of evil for the Revolutionary Guards: want to open the economy, but IRGC's internal economy would be threatened. No one knows the names of the sons and daughters of the Supreme Leader.  IRGC openly campaigned against Rafsanjani.  Rouhani: Rafsanjani is the mentor of Rouhani.  Sen Cotton's letter seen inside Iran: Khamenei has a good deal now, is happy where he is. Letter may not have much impact.  Verification protocol in years to come:  a nuclear deal is not the end of the process. The day after a deal is reached, more negotiations – hoe w to implement, etc: the art of the bazaar.  Mssrs Rouhani and Zarif will use all the rules in the book to get rid of factions. To lift the sanctions (from Congress) will go  to the Security Council (P5+1) to lift the original sanction resolutions and thereby lift the pressure off Iran without Congress. Fordow and Parchin:  maybe tactical compromises.  Succession in Iran.
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 2, Block D: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re:
Hour Three
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 3, Block A:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: . . .  have found 102 tunnels from Mexico into the  US  - seem to be many more there not yet discovered – apparently built by Hamas, being precisely the same models.   Hamas has been flying drones 50 km into Egypt to El Arish; Egypt has no antiaircraft capacity.  These drones are capable of carrying weapons, bombs.  Fatah (PA and West Bank)and Hamas are having a nasty fight thee days; al Sisi is not taking the firm stand he's authorized to. John Kerry in Cairo with Abdullah (Jordan); economic crisis in the PA, Abbas is threatening going to the ICC and that he may collapse the PA.  He keeps violating agreements; Israel has leverage only via money owed it for water and electricity.
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 3, Block B: Daniel Ayalon served as Deputy Foreign Minister and Israeli Ambassador to the United States, 2002 – 2006; in re: Israel elections on this coming Tuesday.  "Whom do you want as PM?" "Bibi" -  yet he trails in polls.  In fact, there's a campaign: rivals in a coalition. Not winner-takes-all but a power-sharing arrangement.  . . . Charges of strong interference in Israeli elections by Americans: we see US intervention in Israeli politics. "One big meshpucha [family]" says Netanyahu.   . . . Arab parties on one slate, could get up to 14 seats. A technical unity, nothing to bind hem together: Communists, Islamists [Moslem Brotherhood], and two others.  Note that it’s illegal to be MB in Egypt but not in ISrael. 
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 3, Block C: Daniel Henninger, WSJ, in re:
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 3, Block D:   Henry I Miller, M.D., Hoover & Forbes.com, in re:
Hour Four
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 4, Block A: Herbert Lin, Hoover, in re:
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 4, Block B: Mark Warshawsky, Mercatus Center,  in re:
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 4, Block C:  Ken Croswell, Science Magazine,  in re:    (1 of 2)
Thursday  12 March 2015/ Hour 4, Block D: Ken Croswell, Science Magazine,  in re:    (2 of 2)