Thursday 28 September 2017
Photo: Kabul Airport 2011
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents
Hour One
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 1, Block A: James Bolt & Peter Gregory, The Young IPA Podcast (Institute for Public Affairs), Melbourne, Australia, in re: Drugs problems in Australia: young people who get high-paying jobs in small communities wind up with a high salary and nowhere to spend it, so start buying meth.
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 1, Block B: James Bolt & Peter Gregory, The Young IPA Podcast (Institute for Public Affairs), Melbourne, Australia, in re: The only developed country with less-efficient workplace production than Australia is France. We’re 110 out of 137, behind Botswana. So many regulations. Further, as soon as a sector starts bringing n a lot of money, the govt taxes it, thus in fact damaging the economy.
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 1, Block C: Max Holland, Washington Decoded, an online newsletter, in re: Mark Felt “the White Rat” in the FBI, martinet and bearer of tales to Hoover, is prepared to take over the FBI at Hoover’s death, but Nixon apptd an interim director, Pat Gray, who didn't achieve the favor of remaining Hooverites. Then occurs Watergate. Felt decided to leak info on it and have the White House blame Gray for the leaks. Demeaning Pat Gray. Another candidate for directorship was Sullivan; White Rat leaked about him, also. Meanwhile, Woodward and Bernstein don't care for Max Holland’s book or the Hollywood movie (Max Felt, the Man Who Brought Down the White House) from it, which is abt to be shown nati0nally. Toward the end of Felt’s life (dying from dementia), Woodward visited. . . . Ruckelshaus said, “Watch out for Mark Felt! He’s the leaker.” Woodward swore never to reveal that Deep Throat was Felt, which he honored in the newspaper series. However, when he published the book two years later, he revealed every secret matter except Felt’s actual name. Felt was incensed. Woodward is far from being the honorable journo he presents himself as,
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 1, Block D: Mary Kissel, in re: Different tax rates for smallish businesses, S-Corps, from large public corps, which are taxed twice: once at tax time and again when they distribute to their shareholders. US in a global economy – American farmers sell internationally, and tech firms sell to China. When taxes go above 20%, not as much bang for your buck.
Hour Two
THE EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN, SPONSORED BY THE ISRAELI NATIONAL AIRLINES
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 2, Block A: Benjamin Weinthal, FDD, in re: Germany. Iranian relations. German elections: the new, nationalist and rightist AFD party (Alternative fur Deutschland) did surprisingly well. The 96,000 Jews in Germany are openly afraid. . . . Extreme left, which supports Hamas, also did well. Germany nationalist, insular. Opposes the European project, EU currency, etc. . . . Germans are most committed to diplomacy to solve all intl disagreements at all levels; and do not grasp the flaws of the JCPOA.
· http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/What-does-todays-German-election-mean-for-Israel-505767
· http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Analysis-Is-Germanys-pro-Iran-deal-diplomatic-offensive-a-threat-to-Israels-security-411528
· http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/benjamin-weinthal-exclusive-iranian-nuclear-smuggling-ring-sent-to-top-german-court/
· https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11065/germany-merkel-pyrrhic-victory
Benjamin Weinthal is a research Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. A widely published journalist based in Berlin, he serves as FDD's eyes and ears in Europe. Benjamin’s investigative reporting has uncovered valuable information on Iran’s energy links to European firms, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah’s terror-finance operations in Europe. He has also examined the growth of the Islamic State in Europe, growing anti-Semitism on the Continent, and neo-Nazism.
THE EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN, SPONSORED BY THE ISRAELI NATIONAL AIRLINES
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 2, Block B: Dr. Shahriar Ahy, Unity for Democracy in Iran, in re: Iranian perspective on Kurds.
· http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/is-the-kurdish-referendum-mission-accomplished-for-barzani
· http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/irans-military-options-against-kurdish-independence
· http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/what-is-at-stake-in-iraqi-kurdish-vote-for-independence
Shahriar is an Iranian opposition figure and a co-founder of UDI (Unity for Democracy in Iran). He is an organizer of leading conferences bringing together key opposition personalities from across the Iranian political spectrum.
Dr. Shahriar Ahy, co-founder of Unity for Democracy in Iran, is an MIT-educated Iranian politician and opposition figure. In the months before the 1979 Iranian revolution, he was an informal liaison between the Shah and the White House; after the Shah died in exile in 1980, Ahy remained close to his son, Reza Pahlavi. In early 2004, Ahy, who had been running a multinational media company from Saudi Arabia, left his job to work as Pahlavi's political strategist. Ahy remains an outspoken liberal democratic voice of the opposition and an expert on media management.
THE EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN, SPONSORED BY THE ISRAELI NATIONAL AIRLINES
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 2, Block C: Michael Rubin, in re: Kurds
· http://www.aei.org/publication/israels-benjamin-netanyahu-is-playing-a-cynical-game-on-the-kurdish-referendum/
· http://www.aei.org/press/will-iraqi-kurds-become-independent-aeis-michael-rubin-explains-todays-historic-vote/
· http://www.aei.org/publication/approach-kurdistan-with-realism-not-romanticism/
· http://www.aei.org/publication/iranian-leaders-are-quietly-panicking-over-the-kurdish-referendum/
· http://www.aei.org/publication/referendum-is-an-attempt-to-avert-attention-from-economic-crisis-researcher-tells-kurdpress/
· http://www.aei.org/publication/will-the-kurdish-referendum-be-followed-by-christian-and-yezidi-referenda/
Michael Rubin is a former Pentagon official whose major research areas are the Middle East, Turkey, Iran and diplomacy. Rubin instructs senior military officers deploying to the Middle East and Afghanistan on regional politics, and teaches classes regarding Iran, terrorism, and Arab politics on board deploying U.S. aircraft carriers. Rubin has lived in post-revolution Iran, THE EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN, SPONSORED BY THE ISRAELI NATIONAL AIRLINES
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 2, Block D: Yaya Fanusie, FDD, in re: Financial assessment of Hezbollah. With “Syrians,” whose ancestors were from Lebanon and are called Syrian throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean, Hezbollah launders hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of drugs annually, moves them to North America and Europe for sale. It also receives around $1 billion per year, most from Iran. That’s not part of Iranian formal budget; Supreme Leader has access to parastatal organizations that generate cash.
· http://www.defenddemocracy.org/content/uploads/documents/CSIF_TFBB_Hezbollah.pdf
Yaya J. Fanusie is the director of analysis for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance (CSIF). Yaya spent seven years as both an economic and counterterrorism analyst in the CIA, where he regularly briefed White House-level policy makers, U.S. military personnel, and federal law enforcement. In 2008, he personally briefed President George W. Bush on terrorism threats, and in 2009, he spent three months in Afghanistan providing analytic support to senior military officials. After government service, Yaya worked with a small consulting firm where he led a team of analysts working on a multi-billion-dollar recovery effort involving a global corruption ring. Most recently, he has operated his own consulting practice training firms specializing in strategic analysis and business due-diligence.
Hour Three
THE EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN, SPONSORED BY THE ISRAELI NATIONAL AIRLINES
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 3, Block A: Malcolm Hoenlein, in re: There are 199,99 people living outside the Green line; one well-known good soul and two security guards were just killed by a Palestinian, whose family will now receive substantial sums of money every month from the Palestinian Authority. This is a direct result of decades of PA training of small children and teaching of the entire propaganda that killing a Jew makes you a martyr and will entitle you to a great deal of money. PA now has managed to be accepted as a member of Interpol even though it’s not, never has been in all of human history, a state. PA gives away major sums to killers yet is $1 billion in debt.
“. . . Conference charged UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, with abusing his authority by communicating directly with companies to inform them they are on a “blacklist” of firms doing business in or with Israeli businesses in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The grossly discriminatory “blacklist” was compiled through an undisclosed process overseen by the High Commissioner and his staff, pursuant to a blatantly anti-Israel resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in March 2016.”
* A. Interpol Votes to Admit Palestine as Full Member . (Guardian-UK) - Interpol has voted to admit Palestine as a full member, dealing a diplomatic blow to Israel which lobbied against Palestinian admission. In a secret vote of the international police organization's members in China, Palestinian membership was approved by 75 to 24, with 34 abstentions - exceeding the two-thirds requirement of yes to no votes. Israel opposes all moves by Palestine to join international bodies, arguing that it is not a state.
B. Interpol voted Wednesday to include Palestine as a member state, in a new boost to Palestinian efforts for international recognition and influence amid long-stalled negotiations with Israel for full statehood.
And: A top US lawmaker said that Washington won't honor Palestinian warrants issued through Interpol. US, others won't honor Palestinian Interpol notices, top lawmaker says
In a comprehensive review, Aaron Klein lays out Six Reasons Interpol's Decision to Admit 'Palestine' Is Dangerous. These are:
1 - The terror-tied Palestinian Authority police will gain access to Interpol information about criminal activities. 2 - Hamas police may soon be part of the Palestinian Authority government that just joined Interpol. 3 - The PA can use Interpol to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
4 - In recognizing a nonexistent state, Interpol legitimized the fake Palestinian narrative of "Palestine." 5 - At least as far as the international policing agency is concerned, Interpol seemingly granted the Palestinians de facto sovereignty over Jerusalem and the West Bank. 6 - Interpol's actions serve as a diplomatic assault on the Jewish state and will further Palestinian i
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has been a consistent, staunch supporter of Israel, released the following statement condemning the Interpol General Assembly for accepting the Palestinian Authority as a member: "The Interpol General Assembly's decision is shameful and wrong. The Palestinians have been seeking membership and recognition in international bodies despite the reality there is no Palestinian state. This bid for membership is part of an effort to further the PA's diplomatic and legal warfare campaign to delegitimize Israel in international forums, and I am concerned that the PA will now try to take advantage of its membership by seeking illegitimate and unjustified Interpol actions against Israeli citizens. Senator Cruz's full statement can be read here: Sen. Cruz: 'By Permitting the Palestinians to Join, Interpol Has Undermined Its Own Credibility'
THE EL AL REPORT WITH MALCOLM HOENLEIN, SPONSORED BY THE ISRAELI NATIONAL AIRLINES
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 3, Block B: Chemi Peres, author, No Room for Small Dreams, Chairman of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, and managing general partner of Pitango Venture Capital, Israel’s leading VC group (full bio below); in re: Shimon, Chemi’s father, Peres died on 28 September 2016. Served for seventy years, was probably the last founder of Israel to survive. How to accomplish impossible goals. Built the Dimona nuclear facility, ran the Entebbe operation, and other remarkable deeds. Regrets? Yes, one: we should have dreamt more and bigger for Israel. His relationship with Rabin was contentious but important. When Bibi Netanyahu’s brother was killed at Entebbe, Shimon burst into tears; also when Rabin was assassinated. For all the rivalry between the two, they respected each other. Peres was the first in Israel to speak of nanotechnology! He was in fact a dove, looking all directions for peace.
· https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/world/middleeast/shimon-peres-imemoir-israel.html?_r=0
· http://fortune.com/2017/09/12/israel-startup-nation-shimon-peres-news/
· http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/12/last-book-death-shimon-peres-reflects-big-dreams/
· http://nypost.com/2017/09/09/what-my-dad-shimon-peres-taught-me-about-israel-and-the-world/
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 3, Block C: Amity Shlaes, president of Coolidge Foundation, and author of The Forgotten Man, in graphic-novel form. . . . During the crisis of the 1933 bank holiday, Democrats and Republicans “forgot there were two opposing parties” and worked closely together. Deposit insurance.
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 3, Block D: Amity Shlaes, president of Coolidge Foundation, and author of The Forgotten Man, in graphic-novel form.
Hour Four
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 4, Block A: Sebastian Gorka, chief strategist of MAGA Coalition, in re: Iran and Russia rearming Taliban. Trump now has to clean up 16 years of massive failure in Afghanistan. Why do we care: same as in October 2001: to make sure that territory never again will launch mass attacks in the US. Today we learn that the travels of a four-star general [Secy Kelly] to the (ironically named) Karzai Airport is leaked to the Taliban, which then attack with dozens of rockets. Probably sold by the Karzai govt to Taliban. The enemy is inside the gate. Appalling. Btw, the whole Karzai family has been a living RICO act. It will be cleaned up. The general paucity of US strategies in Afgh. Which days of the week the pallets of gold bullion were shipped to Karzai’s estate in the Gulf. “The disconnecting of the dots” – Tom Joscelyn – where previous administrations ignored the clear connections between Afgh, Iran, Russia, and other players. Is the objective to solve the Afgh govt? “What ‘federal government’ of Afghanistan??” Israelis say, “mowing lawn” – every few years go out and push against the hotheads; but in this instance, it's not the same: it's more “execute with extreme prejudice.” Russia will always do this – their MO as spoilers, or doing wet jobs; goal is to sow chaos. Iran, however, has a long-term strategic goal.
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 4, Block B: Sebastian Gorka, chief strategist of MAGA Coalition, in re: Libya. Airstrikes in the last days, southwest of Sirte. ISIS terrorists had fled to a training camp there. US hit. Recall that Russia said: Do not kill Qaddafi and turn the whole country into a headless monster, Which France and the US did. Toxic c0mbinatino of dilletantism and hubris. Spiralled into a Dantean inferno, is the primary source of the troubles our European allies have. Europe is faced with an existential threat of migrants’ coming from Libya, which is chaotic; and the Italian govt is making deals with local militia bosses and crime families in order to stem the flow. Good Lord. This happens t0 be a direct result of Obama policies. Iraq as a functioning nation has no short-term future. Loyalty never was focused on Baghdad, and loyalty never reposed in a central govt. ISIS is in retreat; Kurds have voted for independence, and Iraq threatens mil action, which Turkey already does.
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 4, Block C: Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War
Thursday 28 September 2017 / Hour 4, Block D: Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War