SANITY ON RUSSIA AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

On December 7, 2017 Ray moderated an event at the NPC in which Gilbert Doctorow addressed the wider, Russia-related issues in his new book, Does America Have a Future?  Gil is an American historian of Russia, whose academic and business credentials simply won’t quit — not to mention his accomplishments as an author, notably of Does Russia Have a Future (2015). Gil asked Ray not only to moderate but also to chime in at will. Ray found it difficult to avoid abusing the privilege; it all made for a lively Q&A.

 

Here is the video; the Q&A, begins at 1:05:10.

Rather than summarize his latest book, Doctorow expanded on its most salient themes, referring the audience to a lengthy review of the book’s contents by Alexander Mercouris in “The Duran.”

http://theduran.com/does-the-united-states-have-a-future-a-new-book-by-gilbert-doctorow-review/

 

The front-burner issues discussed in both collections of Doctorow’s essays, of course, are inextricably linked.  His latest work guides us through the tug of war between the U.S. and Russia, highlighting the existential risk of armed confrontation — a risk played down in Western media by blocking out news from original Russian sources.  Discussing the real risk of a nuclear exchange, Gil referred to Daniel Ellsberg’s new book The Doomsday Machine, which Ellsberg summarized last week in an excellent interview on “Democracy Now.”

https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/6/doomsday_machine_daniel_ellsberg_reveals_he

 

Doctorow, a graduate of Harvard College with a PhD from Columbia, has been “banned in Boston,” so to speak — and in Manhattan, as well.  Those who watch his NPC presentation and the relaxed but pointed Q&A will find it easy to understand why.