• “Do as I Say, Not as I Do!”

    “Do as I say, not as I do!” Perhaps in your innocent youth you heard a parent or older sibling mumble those words in your direction after you pointed out a mistake they made, an error on their part that fell below the standard you were told to observe? “Actions speak louder than words” and […]

  • What Happened to VFP and IVAW Member Scott Olsen at Occupy Oakland

    October 26, 2011 Brothers and Sisters I just got off the phone with VFP Chapter 69 member, Josh Shepherd, who was at 14th and Broadway in Oakland early this morning and witnessed much of what happened. Josh said that after receiving several text messages with news of the Oakland PD taking down tents and arresting […]

  • I Woke Up One Morning and the War Was Over

    America’s war in Iraq is over.  The last U.S. troops will leave by year’s end, “with their heads held high, proud of their success and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops.”  So sayeth President Obama. A “sham of a mockery of a sham” is what Groucho would call […]

  • “Justice Has Been Done”?

    “Justice has been done,” said President Obama. “Justice has been done.” “Justice has been done.” Justice has been done!?  Justice!?  Justice??  For the last ten years, we’ve been engaged in an exercise of justice?  That’s what you call what we’ve been doing? Are we supposed to take out a large magnifying glass and a delicate […]

  • Letter to Obama: “We Demand Our Bonus — Peace”

    December 3, 2010 Dear President Obama, A week ago, I wrote you on this same subject but since I’ve not yet received a reply either personal or automated, I felt I should try again. As president of Veterans For Peace (VFP), a national organization of military veterans, I want to convey to you our serious […]

  • President Obama’s Rebranded Occupation of Iraq

    Veterans for Peace president Mike Ferner responds to President Obama’s rebranded occupation of Iraq. A veteran’s perspective makes it clear that two major points must be made in response to President Obama’s announcement regarding combat troops leaving Iraq. First, there is no such thing as “non-combat troops.”  It is a contradiction in terms.  It is […]

  • Worth 1,000 Words after Memorial Day

    On Memorial Day this year, many veterans marched in local parades and remembered what it was like to be in the military.  A number of Veterans For Peace members saw this picture in the May 24 edition of the Juneau Empire and made the comments that follow it. Alaska Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Michael […]

  • Camp Hope Holds Obama to “Change” Pledge

    “Our community is expanding: MRZine viewers have increased in number, as have the readers of our editions published outside the United States and in languages other than English.  We sense a sharp increase in interest in our perspective and its history.   Many in our community have made use of the MR archive we put […]

  • “Let Us Shed Tears of Gratitude for This Moment of Grace.  It Will Be Brief.”

    My friend, Lucy Bohne, an English professor at a state college near Erie, Pennsylvania, wrote to her daughter today about Barack Obama’s victory.  Lucy did a fine job describing how many people feel the day after the Senator’s historic victory. “Thank you for calling last night.  It sounded like NYC had gone mad with joy! […]

  • It’s Our Turn Now: Resistance As If It Really Mattered

    Of all the people I interviewed for my book, Inside the Red Zone, the words of one have never left me. In a little farming village 50 miles north of Baghdad, I spoke with a local sheik who described his arrest and detention by the U.S. Army.  For two weeks, he and a dozen other […]

  • Tombstones Mark Anniversary of Another Infamous Date

    March 19, 2003: a date that will live in infamy.  Perhaps not in the minds of many of our fellow citizens, but surely to most people around the world.  On that date, U.S. military forces invaded Iraq. Almost a year later I was in a small farming village some miles north of Baghdad, accompanying members […]

  • Clinton Campaign Office Re-occupied by Peace Activists on Day of Iowa Voting: Action Caps Four Days of Iowa Primary Protests against War in Iraq

    Des Moines — Hours before voting begins in the nation’s first presidential poll, peace activists placed the Iraq war front and center again this afternoon as they occupied the Iowa headquarters of Senator Hillary Clinton for the second time since campaigning began last fall. Three Hillary Clinton campaign staff guard the entrance to her Des […]

  • Obama and Romney Iowa Campaign Offices Occupied by Peace Activists: Third Day of Nonviolent Resistance to Iraq Occupation during Iowa Presidential Primary

    Des Moines — Opponents of the occupation of Iraq today occupied the Iowa campaign headquarters of presidential candidates U.S. Senator Barak Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, waiting for a response to a letter requesting them to oppose any more spending for the war or occupation and foreswear an attack on Iran. Romney Office […]

  • Peace Activists Occupy Huckabee’s Iowa Campaign Office:Protesters Ask Former Baptist Minister, “Who Would Jesus Bomb?”

    “O there are times, we must confess To harboring a whim — we Like to picture old Karl Marx Sliding down our chimney” — Susie Day “Help fund the good fight.   By contributing to MR, you help reinforce the left and reclaim the future.” — Richard D. Vogel “To do my part, I just […]

  • They Met the Resistance

    On one of those beautiful, fall Sunday mornings that can make you feel all is right with the world, filmmakers Molly Bingham and Steve Connors discussed their new documentary about Iraqis fighting the U.S. occupation, Meeting Resistance, 84 minutes of unflinching wallop destined to unhinge the way millions of Americans see their country’s role in […]

  • I Will Salute No More Forever

    St. Louis — His government broke his heart but it could not break Air Force veteran Charles Powell’s spirit.  Fighting back tears, the 64 year-old vet stood tall and resolute in front of 400 of his comrades, describing in verse the final steps of a painful disillusionment. Each summer during the national convention of Veterans […]

  • Former Enemies Find New Way Forward

    St. Louis — A young man from Palestine and another from Israel riveted 400 U.S. military veterans to their seats last week in this city on the Mississippi River.  What captivated the audience was their recent decision to put down the guns they’d pointed at each other for years. The two members of Combatants for […]

  • If Not Now, When?

    Passing the grim marker of 3,000 U.S. troops killed in Iraq briefly focused Americans’ attention on the war.  But we live in a big country with lots of malls. To be sure, the death of 3,000 soldiers is tragic and sickening, yet we are a nation of over 300 million and most families have not […]

  • To the Choir: If They Vote for War, Occupy ‘Em!

    Annual Fundraising Appeal Friends of MRZine and Monthly Review! The continuing existence of MRZine and Monthly Review depends on the support of our readers.  Unlike many other publications, we make all new Monthly Review articles, as well as MRZine articles, available online, free of charge.  We do so without drawing any advertising money at all […]

  • Pick a Number

    To the congressional winners of Campaign 2006: as you savor your victory and prepare to take office in January, consider this bit of free advice on how to make those tough decisions you’ll soon face on the war: pick a number. It’s simple.  Pick a number.  Any number.  It doesn’t much matter which number, as […]