Photo, above: Unaccompanied Immigrant Children   The number of children coming unaccompanied to the United States in recent years has increased to historic numbers, and continues to rise. From an average of 7,000 - 8,000 arriving each year and entering U.S. custody, the number rose to nearly 14,000 in 2012 and to 23,500 in  2013, and there are no signs of abatement. Some government officials predict 54,000 children will enter in 2014. These children come from countries around the world, but the majority are from Mexico and Central America, in particular El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Some children come unaccompanied – without a parent or legal guardian – to the United States to escape persecution, severe abuse, abandonment, unsafe family environments, natural disasters, deep economic deprivation, and other violations of their human rights, including female genital cutting and forced marriage. Others come to reunite with family members they often have not seen in many years. Some children and adolescents are trafficked to the United States for sexual and labor exploitation. Their journeys may be as harrowing to the experiences they fled, often involving sexual violence or other abuses as they travel. Their challenges continue when they are apprehended by U.S. immigration authorities, taken into the custody of the federal government, and placed in deportation proceedings.

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Co-host: Thaddeus McCotter, WJR: The Great Voice of the Great Lakes

Hour One

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 1, Block A: Aaron Task, Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief, in re: Best US economic report in ages: "weak and anemic recovery" – but better than negative.  The stock market is happy ("doesn’t mean you'll be happy"). OK – enough good news. Now the bad news. China's state-owned banks no longer want to use US servers, thanks especially to Edward Snowdon.  "Communist Youth League" – recall that that's a vastly different kid of government over there. They see us as the hegemon and will be trying to tie us down.  Huge ethylene(?) factory, $90 billion – being built in Louisiana. Facebook, Google, IBM, Cisco, all having trouble  in China.

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 1, Block B:   Thomas Joscelyn, Long War Journal senior editor, in re: Five "Taliban" – the most dangerous Taliban leaders at Guantanamo. Mohammed Fasl: deputy minister of defense, wanted by UN for war crimes, ordered massacres, worked closely with . . . . Mullah Norullah Noori – murdered an America, wanted by UN for war crimes, is  a senior mil official. Mohammed Nabi Omari, senior Taliban financier, ran joint program with al Qaeda. Khairullah Khairkhwa worked with Mullah Omar, brokered an agreement between Taliban and Iran. Abdul Haq Wask – head of intell. There are core Taliban, and core allies of al Qaeda. These are the worst Taliban figures in Guantanamo, itching  to get back in the fight; jihadi rock stars.

Taliban says 'five senior leaders' have been 'liberated' from Guantanamo  The Taliban has released a statement on the prisoner exchange that freed Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The Taliban says that its five "prominent" leaders have been freed in exchange for an American soldier, and that it did not participate in direct negotiations with the US to complete the swap.

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 1, Block C:  John Bolton, AEI, in re: Doubling Down on a Muddled Foreign Policy The president has somehow managed to combine the worst features of isolationism and multilateralism. [more] Pres Obama's speech was extraordinarily confused, almost incoherent; in this sense it replicates his foreign policy.  He said to a thousand West Point graduates, "Just because you have a good hammer doesn’t mean every problem is a nail" – a direct insult to these young persons who've just spent four grueling years. President seems to think it a choice between isolationism and war – not what the 300 million Americans think. By the end of the speech he was back on climate change.  If I’d spent four hard years getting ready to serve my country and I heard hat speech, I’d be very discouraged.   . . .  Three years ago, Pres Obama said Assad had to go. he didn’t accomplish that, and US policy is worthless – "weakness and lack of attention"  - our adversaries have recalibrated.  . . .  The president did not act in Syria; does that explain why China is [attacking] Vietnam and provoking Japan?   . . .  Failure, decline, weakness. Black Sea basin: open civil war, casualties; Russia supply (or at least winking at) the infiltrators.  If we’ve traded five hardened Taliban leaders for someone who turns out to have been a deserter, I think the American reaction will be terrible. 

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 1, Block D:   Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: Accused of spying and setting up church, South Korean sentenced ...  North Korea's Supreme Court has sentenced a South Korean man to life of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the country, ... North Korea Sentences South Korean Missionary, Kim Jung-wook.  Hagel remarks "destablizing"  China reacts sharply to Hagel's criticisms of its 'destabilizing ...  Deflation kills economies, and China looks like it has entered a period of continuously sliding prices.  See this.   Deflation kills economies, and China looks like it has entered a period of continuously sliding prices.  See this.    Deflation kills economies, and China looks like it has entered a period of continuously sliding prices.  See this.

Vietnam have brought in fighter aircraft to circle the (illegal) Chinese oil rig.  Vietnam ready to go to The Hague, ICC, anent Law of the Sea; Chinese object.  China will never give up an inch; in the short term, Vietnam has only military action; in the long run, the entire region is turning against China. Secy Hagel called China "destabilizing"; Chinese spokesman has used crude, locker-room talk to reply.  Thaddeus: In fact, we in the US don’t have that problem.   Coming up on June 4 Tien An Men commemoration where hundreds, maybe  thousands, of Chinese people died; probably trying to deflect attention. Everyone at the Shangri-La meeting in Singapore opposed China – which was taken aback.  North Korea: people died in the Pyongyang collapse of 23-storey building.  Deflation in China: consumer pre went up but producer price index declined. Is Xi Jinping crude? Maybe not, but he's an aggressor, has planned many of China's aggressive moves. 

Hour Two

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 2, Block A:   David M Drucker, Washington Examiner Sr Congressional correspondent, in re: Four yParty; it's changed since 2010. TGM was the first Congressman to address the Tea Party; its spark was the Wall Street bailouts, then the political class/hacks.  They coalesce around candidates or issues, but do not work in an organized fashion.

Cochran, McDaniel Campaign in Mississippi Showdown   Facing the political challenge of a lifetime, six-term Sen. Thad Cochran campaigned with leading figures of Mississippi's Republican .  Neel Kashkari, Tim Donnelly Make Their Pitch in California Tim Donnelly supporters at a radio debate last month between California gubernatorial hopefuls Tim Donnelly and Neel Kashkari. . . .

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 2, Block B:   Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, in re: Widespread puzzlement over president's new rules for carbon emission.  Political complications. Document issued that no one on Hill or in press understands.  Clear that higher electricity prices coming up, being problematic for elections.  Seems whimsical, no clear course of action. Mike Pence of Indiana will run for president: he rejects the new rules, as do other governors, notably Gov Perry of Texas. 

New Carbon Rules the Next Step in Obama's War on Coal
The EPA's new rules are a thinly disguised effort to make coal power uneconomical.  Obama's big environmental move: Power plants to cut ...

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 2, Block C:   Darrell Issa (CA-48), Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House Committee on the Judiciary; in re: Neel Kashkari, once of the Bush administration, later becoming a voice opposing TARP and then in the private sector; opposed in race for California governorship by Mr Donnelly, who thinks it’s OK to say anything, any time, including racist and vituperative statements.

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 2, Block D: Jeremy Carl, Hoover, in re:  Opinion: What GOP can learn from Narendra ... - CNN.com  Learn from India: A candidate with hard conservative views focused on the economy and expanded party's base. 

Hour Three

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 3, Block A:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: Israeli ambassador rebukes US for backing PA unity Ron Dermer says Israel ‘deeply disappointed’ with State Department; Likud minister slams ‘American naivete’

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 3, Block B: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: French Jihadist arrested in shooting at Jewish museum in Brussels that killed 3   The suspect was busted in France on Friday during a customs inspection at a train and bus station in the port city of Marseille, an official with the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 3, Block C: Richard Cowan, Reuters, in re: Waves of immigrant minors present crisis for Obama, Congress. 

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 3, Block D:  Eli Lake, senior national security correspondent, Newsweek/Daily Beast, in re: US Pays High Price for Last Afghan POW
 In exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. has released five senior Taliban commanders from the Guantanamo Bay prison. They are considered some of the worst of the worst. Here is some of Josh's previous reporting on the story:

Why This P.O.W. Was Shown Alive
 The Obama administration is looking to exchange Guantanamo Bay detainees for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl as part of a broader effort to reconcile with the Taliban.

Hour Four

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 4, Block A: The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today by Thomas E. Ricks (1 of 4)

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 4, Block B: The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today by Thomas E. Ricks (2 of 4)

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 4, Block C: The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today by Thomas E. Ricks (3 of 4)

Monday  2 June  2014  / Hour 4, Block D: The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today by Thomas E. Ricks (4 of 4)

..  ..  ..