Great Book: "The Doomsday Machine Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner" By: Daniel Ellsberg

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-doomsday-machine-9781608196746/ 
From the legendary whistle-blower who revealed the Pentagon Papers, an eyewitness exposé of the dangers of America's Top Secret, seventy-year-long nuclear policy that continues to this day.

Here, for the first time, former high-level defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg reveals his shocking firsthand account of America's nuclear program in the 1960s. From the remotest air bases in the Pacific Command, where he discovered that the authority to initiate use of nuclear weapons was widely delegated, to the secret plans for general nuclear war under Eisenhower, which, if executed, would cause the near-extinction of humanity, Ellsberg shows that the legacy of this most dangerous arms buildup in the history of civilization--and its proposed renewal under the Trump administration--threatens our very survival. No other insider with high-level access has written so candidly of the nuclear strategy of the late Eisenhower and early Kennedy years, and nothing has fundamentally changed since that era.

Framed as a memoir--a chronicle of madness in which Ellsberg acknowledges participating--this gripping exposé reads like a thriller and offers feasible steps we can take to dismantle the existing "doomsday machine" and avoid nuclear catastrophe, returning Ellsberg to his role as whistle-blower. The Doomsday Machine is thus a real-life Dr. Strangelove story and an ultimately hopeful--and powerfully important--book about not just our country, but the future of the world.

Protest Marches at the White House against the War in Iraq by George Bush the Father. I was on TV... on LSD...

During the Gulf War I went to many protest marches at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House. We played the drums in order to annoy George the Father and disturb his sleep. One day we all walked to the Lincoln Memorial. I had taken an acid trip with my next door neighbors the night before and during the protest I was still tripping. The parade permit was for a certain time period and it expired while I was there. Many people sat down in the middle of the street... to make a point... the protesters that were in the street got arrested and were hauled away in busses to jail. Those of us who were on the sidewalk were not arrested. I was faced with a choice... to stand in the street or stay on the sidewalk... LSD makes events and decisions much more significant. The police were dressed in Stormtrooper outfits and Big Black Boots... Like the Blue Meanies in Yellow Submarine... Anyway, I selected to NOT get arrested... Many sat down in the street... but not me. I stand by that decision today. Daniel Ellsberg DID get arrested.

When we were in front of the White House I was interviewed by the TV News. A couple of days later another neighbor of mine said that she saw me "Make a Jackass of Myself" on TV. I told her thank you, because if you thought I was a Jackass, I was doing the right thing...

On another day I played the drums with some Buddhist Monks. They were playing paddle drums in a very odd rhythm. I asked them why they played that odd rhythm and they said it focused the attention... They had to focus so they would be able to play it and THAT freed the mind to go into a meditative trance...

I also met Dick Gregory walking down the street in DC during those protests. I noticed that all the other people on the street were looking at this Old Black Man... Heads were turning... I Said: "I feel like something is terribly wrong in this country, but I'm not sure what." He said. "Thank You for your Opinion." In retrospect, I didn't say the most brilliant thing but... that's what I said.

We were the minority of people in the country... Most people thought that war was a good idea. Iraq had invaded Kuwait...

Years later a different War in Iraq was waged by George Bush the Son. That was a total disaster and eventually lead to Obama being Elected President... He promised to end the War. I went to MANY anti-war protests in Eureka about that War.

Read more of my AutoBiography at:
http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

Great Book: "The Most Dangerous Man in America" Biography of Timothy Leary by Bill Minutaglio. LSD GURU...

Leary promoted the use of LSD as a learning tool... Famous Quote- "Think for Yourself and Question Authority" and "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out"

Another Great Book: "The Doomsday Machine" by Daniel Ellsberg. He also was called "The Most Dangerous Man in America" on a TV biography show... [CNN]

David Enrich book "The Spider Network" about a British Bank fraud... Banker gets caught manipulating LIBOR Numbers is convicted and spends time incarcerated.