Ray McGovern

King’s Legacy Betrayed

By Margaret Kimberley, April 4, 2018

White Supremacy and Military Bases: a Short Talk by Ray on “The White Man’s Burden” — the bloody burden on people of color, and other “others” like the young Palestinian woman, Ahed Tamimi — that is.
https://raymcgovern.com/2018/01/18/white-supremacy-and-military-bases-a-short-talk-by-ray-on-the-white-mans-burden-the-bloody-burden-on-people-of-color-and-other-others-like-the-young-palestin/
January 14, 2018 (17 minutes)

https://disobedientmedia.com/2018/04/as-assange-remains-isolated-real-time-heroes-stand-in-solidarity-outside-embassy/
By Elizabeth Vos, April 3, 2018

Long-time activist and organizer Ciaron O’Reilly and others have been keeping vigil outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London ever since Julian Assange sought political asylum there more than seven years ago.  Elizabeth Vos, Editor-in-Chief of Disobedient Media, recently interviewed O’Reilly, who explained:

“In Catholic tradition “to vigil ” is to stay awake. Sometimes to danger as society slumbers. In this case in solidarity with someone under threat — Julian Assange.”

O’Reilly is a member of the Catholic Worker movement founded by Dorothy Day. He told Vos that he was mentored by non-violent, anti-war priests Daniel and Philip Berrigan and, on the eve of the first Gulf War, was jailed for 13 months for disabling a B52 Bomber at an Air Force Base in upstate New York. A decade later he and four others disabled a U.S. Navy aircraft at Shannon Airport before it could fly off to bomb Iraq. “We were charged with $2.5 million criminal damage and were put on trial three times in Dublin and found not guilty unanimously by an Irish jury.

“In 2010 I co-founded a Catholic Worker house for homeless refugees in London. Julian Assange was arrested in London in December 2010, and I attended his first and all other court appearances. Along with my godson, a SAS special forces veteran of the Iraq War, I got the gig of getting Julian in and out of court safely and securely.

O’Reilly described some of the loyal activists who regularly vigil outside the Ecuadorian embassy:

“The embassy solidarity vigil is primarily sustained by a Chilean woman who survived the Pinochet coup, an Irish activist, a Colombian who survived being shot by a death squad, another Colombian torture survivor, and a Greek activist.”

Elizabeth Vos’s entire article is worth a read.

By Elizabeth Vos, Editor-in-Chief at Disobedient Media
March 29, 2018
https://disobedientmedia.com/2018/03/special-report-silencing-of-assange-sparks-historic-ten-hour-online-vigil-to-reconnect-julian/

Right after it became known on March 28 that Ecuador had silenced Julian Assange by cutting off his Internet access, phone, and ability to have visitors at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, friends of Julian orchestrated an online conversation/vigil under the banner #ReconnectJulian, while supporters in London gathered in front of the embassy.

The live-streamed expression of solidarity stretched to over ten hours, and is embedded in Elizabeth Vos’s article. Ray welcomed being asked to take part and spent five of those hours as a panelist. The particular segment in which he was asked to talk about Julian in general and his current predicament runs from 2:49:30 to 3:55:55 (including Q & A).

By Ray McGovern, March 31, 2018

U.S. Establishment: Nixing Arms Control

Joe McGovern, Ray’s son and Webmeister of raymcgovern.com (which, btw, is SEARCHable – see the SEARCH widget just below the photos on the homepage), will be somewhat distracted over the next few days.  He is taking time out to get married.

We call your attention to the SEARCH functionality because many comments we receive reflect an unfortunate lack of awareness of it. Those of you who have been unaware may wish to take advantage of this week’s lower rate of postings to use the SEARCH widget.  You will find it helpful in digging more deeply into issues on the front — or back — burner, in which you may have particular interest.  And there are 12 years of postings eager to be noticed.

By Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
March 25, 2018

Trump Should Withdraw Haspel Nomination, Intel Vets Say

https://charlierose.com/videos/7621
August 20, 2004 (26 minutes)

The occasion was the debut of the full-length documentary “Uncovered: The War on Iraq,” produced and directed by Robert Greenwald during 2003-2004, in which many early VIPSers played more than just cameo roles.  “Uncovered” premiered in New York City in August 2004 and Robert asked Ray to accompany him to the various media events that had been arranged to promote the film.

While there we got word that former CIA Director James Woolsey wanted to debate Greenwald about the film on the Charlie Rose show.  Robert refused, offering me instead.  The half-hour with James Woolsey left Ray very grateful that he had left CIA before Woolsey arrived.

Woolsey comes up with “new evidence” supporting the yellowcake uranium fable and, when Ray mentions Israel, Woolsey plays the anti-semitic card.  Woolsey’s hair has not changed in the 14 years since, but Ray’s has, as he keeps trying to make some sense out of the things Woolsey and his crowd still say and do.

“Uncovered: The War on Iraq” may be worth digging out, in retrospect, on anniversary of the initial attack.  Yesterday, a friend happened to send Ray the link to the video of the Woolsey-McGovern debate, such as it was, with Charlie Rose letting Ray get a word in now and then.  Ray found Charlie an empty suit on this kind of issue — a very nice looking suit, to be sure, but empty.  And, of course, Ray did not know the half of it.

By Ray McGovern, March 19, 2018

Former CIA Chief Brennan Running Scared

(with demure former UN Ambassador Samantha Power giving new meaning to “Responsibility-To-Protect” — warning “it is not a good idea to piss off John Brennan”)