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JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Thaddeus McCotter, WJR, the Great Voice of the Great Lakes
 
Hour One
Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 1, Block A: Tom Joscelyn, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; & Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: Extremely organized Sri Lankan mass murder of Christians on Easter.  After the white-supremacist murders in New Zealand, ISIS said, We can attack infidels any time; whereas al Qaeda said, Do not attack churches.  Cf.: The Bali attack in 2002.
     Recall also the huge Mumbai attack   This one was highly sophisticated – multiple attacks coordinated within forty minutes.  Unlikely that this was the work of a tiny local group that claimed responsibility.
   Henceforth, expect such events in Africa, for example, wherever least expected.  Also, large intl jihadist groups are roving for small subsidiaries worldwide. One jihadist in Sri Lanka exploded himself while in a hotel food line in order to drive everyone out into where the real danger was.  This was complex, required a great deal of professional planning.
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Sri Lankan authorities said an international terror group likely supported an obscure local Islamist group in carrying out a series of bombings that killed at least 290 people on Easter Sunday, weeks after the government had received warnings from the U.S. and India about a possible attack. ---WSJ
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Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 1, Block B: Tom Joscelyn, Long War Journal and FDD; and Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD; in re: Doha Taliban negotiations. Taliban stomped out in order to control the pace of the discussions; has shown who controls then. Khalilzad claims there’s an agreement by which Taliban will prevent other terrorist groups from entering Afghanistan.  [Good luck on that. –ed]   It does assert that it’ll never negotiate with the Afghan govt.   / Photos of four young men, masked, in connected with an attack in Kabul (?).  ISIS in Afgh rejects the authority of Taliban; claims that it, itself, is the only legitimate Islamic organization. 
Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 1, Block C: Gordon Chang, Daily Beast, in re: Chinese IP theft in massive volumes. See: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cancer-center-moves-against-scientists-over-data-security-concerns-11555951343?mod=article_inline
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. . .  In a letter last summer to more than 10,000 research entities, the NIH urged them to discern whether any recipients of federal grant money had properly reported their affiliations with foreign governments or entities. In recent Senate testimony, Dr. Collins said the NIH was concerned about China and other countries potentially benefiting from their relationships with scientists who get grants from the agency.  . . .
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Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 1, Block D: Benham Ben Taleblu, FDD in re:  Oil sanctions – Greece, Italy and Taiwan have ceased buying Iranian oil. Turkey, however, depends on it. India struggles, with its economy being dependent on the oil. Trump Adm turns rhetoric into action. No more significant reduction exemption waivers. US using economic + political power to encourage allies and frenemies to stop buying Iranian oil, thereby reducing its hard currency income and driving it back to the negotiating table.  . . .  US and Kuwait have light, sweet oil that can offset Iranian oil.
    China: yes, we should worry. 
 
Hour Two
Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 2, Block A:  David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, in New Hampshire and on an airplane?;  & John Fund, NRO, in re:  Bernie Sanders is leading comfortably; Mr Biden is second; Mayor Pete Buttigieg (of South Bend, Indiana) has skyrocketed to third place.  . . .  His gains come at cost to Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.
Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 2, Block B:  John Fund, NRO, & David M Drucker, Washington Examiner, in re:
Monday 22 April 2019/ Hour 2, Block C: Jonathan Schanzer, FDD, in re: In the past twenty years we've hardened mil, govt, and to some extent bz targets, so now jihadists attack soft targets, of which churches are clearly an easy one.  Sri Lanka: multiple simultaneous attacks around the island; Natl Tawheed Jamaat, local crew, is much too small to have done all this. Backer/leader is probably ISIS.  Suicide vests, synchronized IEDs, show that professionals are involved.  . . .  The cutthroats always will be able to find soft targets.  If we further harden our targets, our allies abroad will suffer. If they harden their targets, then yet others will suffer.  Question: will we see new organizations following the precepts of ISIS or al Qaeda?  Future metastases are likely; scary.
       Sri Lanka shut down parts of the Internet. China and Iran do this constantly. Invoking a natl emergency to shut down Internet is a dangerous deed.
     Currently, too much US naval-gazing as the country is rent by internal politics.  We probably won't heed the dire warning of Sri Lanka.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 2, Block D: Josh Rogin, Washington Post, Bloomberg, in re:  Iranian oil exports down to 1 million Bbls/day.  Starting March 2, the US will sanction any country in the world buying Iranian oil.  Therefore, a huge amt of it has been taken off the mkt.  Iran can no longer deliver oil to Syria, and Hizbollah travels with a tin cup.  . .  . Can Iran close the Strait of Hormuz? Unlikely to do this since it’d cause a war.  . . . Turkey needs Iranian oil; does it have an offset?  . .  . Dunno how Erdogan will play this. Trump Adm is betting that if push comes to shove he'll have to comply. 
 
Hour Three
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 3, Block A:  Sam Willis, In the Hour of Victory.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 3, Block B:  Sam Willis, In the Hour of Victory.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 3, Block C:  Sam Willis, In the Hour of Victory.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 3, Block D:  Sam Willis, In the Hour of Victory.
 
Hour Four
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 4, Block A:  Andrew C McCarthy, Fox News, in re: William Barr, target of the Democrats, the new left.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 4, Block B:  Andrew C McCarthy, Fox News, in re: William Barr.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 4, Block C:  Richard Epstein, Chicago law, NYU law, Hover, in re:  The law.
Monday 22 April 2019 / Hour 4, Block D:  Richard Epstein, Chicago law, NYU law, Hover, in re:  The law.
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