Mike Ferner

Newspapers on the other side of the world are calling it “the biggest U.S. cinema event of all time.” Critical acclaim has poured in from all corners for the BBC production They Shall Not Grow Old, a technical and emotional masterpiece on the First World War – the war Woodrow Wilson said would “make the … Continue reading “What War Films Never Show You”

A national veterans’ organization is weighing in on this year’s Emmy awards with a full-page ad in Variety, saying Ken Burns and Lynne Novick’s "Vietnam War" series does not deserve a "Best Documentary" award. Veterans For Peace (VFP), headquartered in St. Louis, with 175 chapters in the US and six overseas, will run the Variety … Continue reading “Veterans’ Group Says ‘No’ to Emmy for PBS Vietnam War Series”

On a Thanksgiving visit home two years ago to his family in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Jim Loney tried to explain to his father why he wanted to go to Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams. He told his Dad about a grade school chum, Rick, sent to Afghanistan with the Canadian Armed Forces, who narrowly … Continue reading “Not Even to Save Our Lives”

Ft. Benning, Ga. – Sitting in a Georgia motel Saturday night, Kathy Kelly talked through a bad phone connection and a worse head cold to recount the previous day’s activities, when she and 13 others were arrested at an airstrip outside Raleigh, N.C. The tiny Johnston County Airport is home to Aero Contractors Corp., a … Continue reading “CIA’s ‘Torture Taxi’ in the Spotlight”

In the "old days" of the U.S. peace movement, when many people focused on the threat of a global nuclear "exchange" an organization called Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) postulated what would happen if a major American city was actually blasted by an atomic bomb. The doctors described utterly horrific scenarios extending far beyond the … Continue reading “Waiting for the Outside World”

When a U.S. Marine company used downtown Toledo for "urban warfare" training Jan. 7-8, it provided an opportunity for activists to think and act beyond normal limits. With barely a week’s notice, an article in the local paper announced that a weapons company of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Reserves would spend a weekend running … Continue reading “Addressing the Persuadable Middle”

TOLEDO – The Canadian government, unhappy for many years with Washington’s belligerent foreign policy and fearful of its massive weapons stockpiles, decided last year to invade the U.S., seizing oil refineries and manufacturing plants, and establishing "regime change" to the delight of many of its neighbors to the south. Canadian officials decided that Toledo, home … Continue reading “Canada Wins Battle of Toledo”

BAGHDAD – What is the most common thing moms do? Take care of their kids? That’s what Susan Galleymore was doing when I met her. The uncommon thing was that she’d traveled halfway around the world, from San Francisco to Baghdad, to take care of her son. Nick is a U.S. Army Ranger, an occupation … Continue reading “An Uncommon Mom in Baghdad”

He trolled for teenagers in North Carolina high schools, barked orders at recruits in boot camp, and pulled charred civilian corpses out of cars in Iraq. Now Jimmy Massey is making good on his promise to tell the whole world what he learned as a Marine. For the first 10 years, Massey loved being in … Continue reading “Sign Here, Kid”

BOSTON – As military veterans wrangle over whom to support for president, one veterans’ organization has fired a shot across the bow of whoever will occupy the White House next year. Over 400 Veterans for Peace (VFP) members gathered last weekend in Boston for the organization’s annual convention, hearing from Daniel Ellsberg, historian Howard Zinn, … Continue reading “Veterans Demand End to Occupation”