“Crosstalk,” RT, October 8, 2015, (23 minutes)
Elizabeth Murray & Ray speak on Intelligence/Policy at Lutherkirche, Cologne
According to the pastor, the only other time he sees so many people in the church is on Christmas Eve. The turnout was a tribute to the many Activisten/Justice & Peace people, who promoted the multi-city tour of Germany by Elizabeth and Ray. Attendance was quite good in all the cities.
The presentation was Elizabeth’s and Ray’s Schwanengesang; the title given for that evening was the “Role of Intelligence in Foreign Policy,” and they took an empirical, case-study-type approach. It seemed to work well.
short version (highlights): 13 minutes
full version: 1 hour 17 minutes
Ray speaks at Sept. 30 protest against drones before Air National Guard base in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Pilots” at the base are slated to take part in the arm-chair, video-game-like, remote control, computer-screen, cowardly, “bug-splat” killing of faraway folks whom they are told might be, or might become, or might be thinking of becoming “terrorists.” (7 minutes)
Ray quotes from a 1961 Thomas Merton poem, “Chant to Be Used in Processions Around a Site with Furnaces.” It is actually an anti-poem spoken by the Commandant of a Nazi death camp who, after proceeding matter-of-factly through his daily routine of genocide, concludes with this admonition:
“Do not think yourselves better because you burn up friends and enemies with long-range missiles without ever seeing what you have done.”
Ray on significance of Russian military involvement in Syria
RT interviews Ray via Skype from airport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
October 1, 2015 (8 minutes)
Sputnik interviewed Ray via email on Sept. 30, while Ray was in Des Moines, regarding Syria, Russia, and U.S. policy.
The interview took place a couple of hours before John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Obama and Putin, after their meeting on Sept. 28, had instructed the two top diplomats to work things out.
Kerry and Lavrov emphasized that their instructions include the urgent task of establishing communication between top U.S. and Russian military leaders for “de-confliction” (as in, making sure that U.S. and Russian aircraft don’t run into each other while attacking ISIL in Syria).
If sane minds prevail, and if Obama can face down the Israel lobby – as he did on the Iran nuclear weapons deal – a broader anti-USIS “coalition” (not “led by the U.S.”) may be in the offing.
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151001/1027823898/Washington-Stance-on-Assad-Role-in-Syria.html
Should US Ally with Al Qaeda in Syria?
Robert Parry addresses this seemingly odd but active question.
October 1, 2015
Snowden to Iowa City audience: ‘What are we going to do about it?’
Edward Snowden, who leaked details of U.S. surveillance programs, spoke to the Englert crowd via videoconference from Russia
By Vanessa Miller, The Gazette (includes short video)
September 28, 2015 | 10:23 pm
Snowden Video Conferences Into Iowa City
Mon, Sep 28 2015, 07:31 PM IOWA CITY, IA (CBS2/FOX28) – Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley urge citizens to demand the truth.
Whistleblower Tour Coming To Iowa
(itinerary)
By Ed Flaherty, September 14, 2015
FBI Whistleblower Coleen Rowley and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern will launch their weeklong barnstorming speaking tour on September 24 in Dubuque. The tour, dubbed “The Truth Shall Make You Free,” is sponsored by the three Iowa chapters of Veterans for Peace and thirty-one other organizations. The itinerary includes nine cities and seven institutions of higher learning.