October 31, 2004
Where to Put the Pollution We Make
The Brits are getting more and more vocal about global warming and trying to do something about it (US must act over climate says Queen). The plan currently being pushed in the UK ( and more quietly in the US)...
Bin Laden Speaks and Bush Crows
The Bush camp is apparently ecstatic that bin Laden timed his tape (see partial transcript at end of this post) so well: "We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything...
October 30, 2004
Osama's Endorsement
By: John Chuckman [John's pieces appear in Counterpunch, Online Journal, Yellow Times, Media Monitors, Scoop, and many other sites. This was sent as a guest submission to Uncommon Thought. John Chuckman can be reached at JChuckman@mediamonitors.org It has been a...
Track 'em Down and Kill 'em
I am alarmed by what I am hearing across the political spectrum about dealing with terrorists. It started with Bush and his "dead or alive" poster. Now from conservatives, to liberals, to Kerry, I hear "kill ... kill ... kill."...
October 29, 2004
New Florida Vote Scandal
By: Greg Palast at Writings of Greg Palast. Reprinted with permission. A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American...
Scared ... Christian?
Since fear is working so well nationally, Evangelical Christians are jumping on board with haunted houses with bleeding Jesuses and frights from "Hell." Yeah, I thought this was strange too - Faith Through Fright. I must add that I know...
Unsecured Munitions and Other Oddities
The headline reads U.S. left ammo site unguarded (or try this link). As I sat down to read yet another convoluted piece about the Al Qaqaa munitions, I stopped short. No this wasn't about Al QaQaa, this was about a...
October 28, 2004
I'm Sure You Will Feel Safer After Reading This
Stephanie Cox is the owner of a small toy store (Pufferbelly) in St. Helens, Oregon. She was surprised when she received a call from Homeland Security saying they were coming to talk to her. When she asked what they wanted,...
A Little Help From My Friends
Uncommon Thought is experiencing an increase in visits from NIPR.mil (See below for info about NIPR). Thus far today, they have visited the site at 10:26 am, 12:30pm, and 2:57pm. They also dropped by two times yesterday. I suspect this...
New Species of Humans Discovered - This is Not A Hoax
Archeologists in Indonesia have discovered a new species of humans (now extinct). Homo floresiensis was about 3 feet tall at adulthood, was a tool maker, and could have still been present as recently as 6, 000 years ago. This totally...
October 27, 2004
Iraq: The Numbers Just Don't Add Up
Al Jazeera reports that Iraq plans to decrease its subsidies. Under Saddam Hussein (and continuing at this point) oil, electricity and food were all subsidized by the government. Iraqi's are used to living under this system, and one has to...
War Profits - In Brief
Well, the US may be in massive debt, and folks may be struggling, but some profits deserve to be noted: Boeing Posts 78 Percent Higher Profit, Raises 2004 Estimate: Aerospace giant Boeing Co. reported a 78 percent jump in third-quarter...
Planning on a Miracle?
I just want to throw this out for discussion. I am getting increasingly concerned that there is an expectation that a miracle will happen when Kerry becomes President. I am hearing more and more frequently, a sentiment that all problems...
October 26, 2004
380 Tons of Missing High Grade Explosives?
Well the spin is on about the 380 tons of high grade explosives. This is truly and evolving story. According to one of the reports yesterday (Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq, NYT, emphases mine): The huge...
October 24, 2004
An Act of Betrayal: The Rape of 1st LT Jennifer Dyer
By: Jack Dalton Jack Daltion is a disabled Vietnam veteran and freelance writer that lives in Portland, Oregon and can be contacted thru his web site at http://www.ommp.org. His email address is jack_dalton@ommp.org On August 8th 1st LT Jennifer Dyer...
Writing that Erases Itself
If you want to read an article that alarms then tries to put you to sleep again, try this one from CNNMoney - The real oil shock. Traders are geared up for $70 a barrel, but some analysts say prices...
Missiles and Shell Casings Are Not The Only Use For Depleted Uranium
This falls into the MUST READ category. 10/22/04 Bollyn, American Free Press, Depleted Uranium Released During Canadian Plane Crash - Little-Known Use of DU in Commercial Jets Exposed. Yes indeed, depleted uranium is being used as counter-weight material in commercial...
Who Has the Rest of the Flu Vaccine Contract?
Ever since the news broke about the loss of half of the flu vaccine because of bacterial contamination at Chiron's plant in the UK, I've been wondering who the other producer is. Well, in the way these things work out,...
Pay Off or Pay It Forward?
Well, Bush got most of his wish list of corporate tax reform, and signed a nifty $136 (+) Billion tax reform package. Forbes calls it "the most sweeping rewrite of corporate tax law in nearly two decades. One has to...
October 23, 2004
The Government You Deserve
By: John Chuckman [John's pieces appear in Counterpunch, Online Journal, Yellow Times, Media Monitors, Scoop, and many other sites. This was sent as a guest submission to Uncommon Thought. John Chuckman can be reached at JChuckman@mediamonitors.org It has been said...
October 22, 2004
Oregon Voters Who Care About the Environment
I am posting the following from Kevin Mieras and Jeremy Rogers Measure 34 needs your help! Dress up like a salmon and show your support, volunteer to distribute literature, or just send an email to your friends! The time is...
Brothers' Keepers - Part II
By Mathew Maavak [Mr. Maavak can be reached at mathew@maavak.net. Or visit his site Panoptic World] I had to make the decision to destroy more life, so we continue to destroy life – George W. Bush during the second Presidential...
And We Go Down, Down Down, to the Ring of Fire
I'm not sure why that old Johnny Cash song jumped to mind, but somehow it seems fitting to the 2004 release of the Living Planet Report (pdf file). Looking at the report and this AP article on it - Consumption...
October 21, 2004
Humans Have Same Number of Genes as Pufferfish
How can it be that humans, seen by some as the apotheosis of creation, have the same number of genes (as the fish)? Human Gene Total Falls Below 25,000. While this news in and of itself is not news (the...
October 20, 2004
Too Good to Miss
Just got to pass this one along. Six cousins of the dear President say that "Blood is thinner than oil"and urge support of Kerry at Bush Relatives for Kerry. "Bush Relatives for Kerry" grew out of a series of conversations...
Brothers' Keepers - Part I
By Mathew Maavak [Mr. Maavak can be reached at mathew@maavak.net. Or visit his site Panoptic World] I had to make the decision to destroy more life, so we continue to destroy life – George W. Bush during the second Presidential...
October 19, 2004
Lying to Your Face
There are innumerable examples of how things are said that seem to say one thing, but actually say something totally different. I am sure that it is assumed that people just don't see the discrepancies. I would like to point...
October 18, 2004
Troops Refuse Mission
I'm sure you have all heard by now that the 19 members of the 343 Quartermaster Company - an Army Reserve unit in Iraq, refused to deliver fuel. This was not a simple refusal to obey orders, and the unit's...
October 17, 2004
No Draft? The Use of Mercenary Forces
Both John Kerry and George Bush have now publicly stated that they will not institute a draft. While that is a relief to many, it totally avoids the reason for a draft - US troops are over-extended. They both say...
October 15, 2004
US Politics Is Not the Only Thing That Is Weird
The environment (and the creatures in it) are also exhibiting bizarre changes. The environment (and related issues) are not making front page news in the front pages of US corporate media. There are lots of things going on but the...
October 14, 2004
What did that mean?
I watched the debate last night and after a ragged start it did pick up. Being in education, particularly at a community college, it was interesting to here Bush's take on our role - training the workforce of the 21st...
October 13, 2004
The Final Debate
Well tonight is the final debate scheduled for the 2004 Presidential election. Paul Krugman had an editorial yesterday Checking the Facts, in Advance which bears reading. While it is aimed at the Bush campaign rhetoric, the facts apply to either...
October 12, 2004
Immigrant Rights On Trial
There are three cases regarding the status of immigrants in relationship to basic rights. Each of these cases is interesting in their own right, but should raise concerns to all of us. The first case tests the limits of federal...
October 11, 2004
A Question for America: What Would Be Too Much?
By: Jack Dalton Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran and freelance writer that lives in Portland, Oregon and can be contacted thru his web site at http://www.ommp.org. His email address is jack_dalton@ommp.org "All men having power ought to be...
October 10, 2004
Habits of the Fall From the Canary in the Mine
By: Donna Marsh O’Connor, Mother of Vanessa Lang Langer, WTC Tower II, 93rd floor I am posting this with permission, because it touched my heart, and because the message is so poignant and important. It was October of 2000. My...
Crumbling Rights
It is surprising but sad that an articles on the eroding democracy in Russia get corporate media coverage, but that the eroding democracy in the US gets so little. An example is Steve Gutterman's article in Newsday - Russians Accept...
Security or Just Criminalization under a Different Name?
By: Jack Dalton Jack Daltion is a disabled Vietnam veteran and freelance writer that lives in Portland, Oregon and can be contacted thru his web site at http://www.ommp.org. His email address is jack_dalton@ommp.org While attention is focused on the unmitigated...
October 9, 2004
To Your Health
You have probably heard that the US will come up at least 50% short of the flu vaccine needed (NYT, 10/06/04). This poses a critical threat to high risk populations, and could make this the most deadly flu season in...
The Second Presidential Debate
I don't know about you, but overall I was underwhelmed by the second presidential debate. Both candidates were repetitive, inaccurate, and avoided answering questions. I was disturbed enough by Kerry's lackluster performance that I sent off an email to the...
October 8, 2004
The Last Word
It's all over the news - The Iraq Survey Group (a CIA operation) has issued its final report on WMD presence and capability. You can access the Key Findings section at FindLaw pdf report link or the UTJ report link....
US - Israel - Palestine
What exactly is going on with the US, Israel, and Palestine? I'm watching the news reports and talk about spins and reversals, these stories almost put the campaign spin to shame. For example, is there a peace plan (road map)...
October 7, 2004
Bush, Republicans and No to Veterans
By: Jack Dalton Jack Daltion is a disabled Vietnam veteran and freelance writer that lives in Portland, Oregon and can be contacted thru his web site at http://www.ommp.org. His email address is jack_dalton@ommp.org Well, here we are again. Fiscal year...
October 6, 2004
VP Dabate
I'm just going to open this up for discussion. Last night Cheney and Edwards had their little moderated chat, and I must say I was not tremendously impressed by the performance of either one. You can check out the exaggerations...
October 5, 2004
Rumsfeld Addresses the CFR
Donald Rumsfeld went to talk to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, and in contradiction to last years bombasts about Hussein is quoted as saying "To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two"...
October 4, 2004
A Dog After My Heart
FINALLY, something on the lighter side. Meet Red, an adventuresome stray at the Battersea Dogs Home in South London, loves a good party. Each night he springs himself from his cage, and then selects a few of his friends to...
The Iraq Insurgency?
I would like to draw your attention to an interesting map of the Iraq "insurgency" at the Guardian Unlimited. This is an interesting map in at least two regards. First, it is from a private security company - not from...
Strange Victory
By: John Chuckman [John's pieces appear in Counterpunch, Online Journal, Yellow Times, Media Monitors, Scoop, and many other sites. This was sent as a guest submission to Uncommon Thought. John Chuckman can be reached at JChuckman@mediamonitors.org Nothing tells us more...
October 3, 2004
Bush, the Republican Party, and Eliminating Competition through �Strategic Initiatives�
By: Jack Dalton Jack Daltion is a disabled Vietnam veteran and freelance writer that lives in Portland, Oregon and can be contacted thru his web site at http://www.ommp.org. His email address is jack_dalton@ommp.org The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive,...
October 2, 2004
Critical Health Alerts
There have been three recent, and troubling tidbits in the news that directly effect the health of millions of people, and possibly the entire human population. I wanted to pass these along as a public service and to point to...
Opportunity Meets Competition - The US and China
In my lifetime China has held an array of conceptual niches. China has gone from potential communist threat, to the largest potential consumer market on the planet, to a favored partner with the US. Very soon the business possibilities of...
October 1, 2004
"Debate" Could Have Been Worse
In my opinion, the so-called "debate" could have been worse. There could have been many more lies and distortions (see FactCheck analysis). Personally, I thought that Bush was repetitious and made a few responses that I couldn't figure out how...
