January 22, 2008
The Fighter Pilot and the Princess In America's Presidential Election
By John Chuckman The fighter pilot of this story is, of course, John McCain, but the princess is not Hillary Clinton as some readers might have guessed. The princess in the story is Britain's late Princess Diana....
July 14, 2007
How Terror Has Lost Its Meaning
By John Chuckman Why does terror dominate our headlines and the attention of our governments going on six years after 9/11? The answer cannot be what George Bush says that it is: it is not the fault of people who...
June 29, 2007
The London Car-Bomb and the Need for Intelligent Skepticism
By John Chuckman We should all exercise a healthy skepticism regarding the story of the car-bomb just found in London. There are powerful reasons for this. The grant of an appeal to the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. There...
June 25, 2007
China's New Weapons
By John Chuckman This is an excerpt from "What's It All About? The Decline of the American Empire by John Chuckman published by Constable & Robinson Ltd, London. Available from Indigo Books, Canada. In military matters, China has taken America...
May 10, 2007
The Likely Historical Significance of the War in Iraq
By: John Chuckman Names like Haditha, Fallujah, Samarra, and Abu Ghraib are likely destined to become, at least in the Muslim world, iconic symbols for America's bloody adventure in Iraq. This will not so much represent the deliberate selecting of...
April 24, 2007
Politicians Making Fools of Us All - Ethanol
By: John Chuckman Ethanol has always been a poor choice as a fuel, but the scientific and economic considerations behind that statement don't stop politicians from claiming otherwise....
November 9, 2006
As I Lay Dying
By: John Chuckman Sadly, little coming from America's politics can fire my enthusiasm. During my lifetime, America has busied itself with the task of burying liberalism, reminding one of October's frenetic squirrels hunting and burying acorns....
October 21, 2006
Israel, Palestine, and Canada
By: John Chuckman Canada's Thirty-Percent Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, just made a speech at a B'nai Brith banquet. Normally, there would be nothing notable in this, but his words this time reinforced controversial statements he made while Israel savagely bombed...
October 12, 2006
North Korea's Bomb
By: John Chuckman You might think from all the political noise that something extraordinary happened when North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion. But let's put the test, apparently a small-yield, inefficient device, into some perspective....
October 7, 2006
A Subtle Kind of Fascism
By: John Chuckman The word fascism is used a lot, often pejoratively. The image that immediately comes to mind is Mussolini in a steel helmet, hands on hips, head tipped back, jaw thrust out. It is an image that influenced...
September 22, 2006
America Has Just Lost Two More Wars
By: John Chuckman For a country which takes excessive pride in flags, uniforms, and marching bands and spends more than the rest of the planet combined on its military, the record of America's forces since World War II is depressing....
September 16, 2006
Decline of the American Empire
By: John Chuckman The rise now of China, Japan, Europe, and others - India, Korea, and to some extent Russia and Brazil - means the United States must be relatively diminished on the world stage, much as an only child...
July 9, 2006
Afghanistan is No One's War
By: John Chuckman A summary of events leading to the invasion of Afghanistan is helpful. Following 9/11, the Taleban government said it would extradite Osama bin Laden if the U.S. could produce evidence against him. This is the approach taken...
April 29, 2006
Oh Say Can You See Xenophobia In The Land Of Immigrants
BY: John Chuckman "One of the important things here is that we not lose our national soul," George Bush Was George Bush speaking of some truly shattering event in American affairs? Perhaps the imprisonment and torture of thousands of innocent...
April 23, 2006
America's Gulag
BY: John Chuckman Often small things provide the most disturbing evidence for world-changing events, as when naturalists observe the quiet disappearance of some little known species. The CIA's firing of senior officer Mary O. McCarthy is a political event of...
April 2, 2006
America's Brutal Tactics
BY: John Chuckman Naturally enough, few details of what American troops do in Iraq and Afghanistan reach the nation's television screens, the main source of news for most Americans. American television takes the approach of the New York Times when...
March 26, 2006
Sorry Mr. Prime Minister, Afghanistan Is Not Your War
BY: John Chuckman Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he has trouble understanding Canadians who feel ardently that their country's soldiers should not be involved in Afghanistan. Toronto Globe and Mail Afghanistan is not our war, Mr. Prime Minister. We are...
February 5, 2006
What Did Stephen Harper Actually Win?
BY: JOHN CHUCKMAN There has been a lot of noise about the victory of Stephen Harper, leader of Canada's new Conservative party, but just what did he win? Votes in the recent election for progressive parties - Liberals, New Democrats,...
January 21, 2006
God Bless Canada!
BY: JOHN CHUCKMAN I hadn't realized until recently that Stephen Harper was using "God Bless Canada!" as a tagline for his speeches. Some may think this a harmless, or even beneficent, expression for a politician to use, but for those...
December 24, 2005
And to All A Good Night - A Contemporary Christmas Tale
BY: JOHN CHUCKMAN It was only a matter of time before Santa Claus himself came under the Neanderthal-eyed scrutiny of American intelligence. After all, Santa's citizenship is unknown, and he crosses borders with no passport or other form of identification....
December 10, 2005
Torture and White Phosphorus
BY: JOHN CHUCKMAN "The captured terrorists of the 21st century do not fit easily into traditional systems of criminal or military justice, which were designed for different needs. We have to adapt." Condoleezza Rice I've previously charged Condoleezza Rice with...
December 3, 2005
Canada's Prince of Darkness, Michael Ignatieff
By: John Chuckman Or Thomas Friedman in Striped Trousers, Silk Stockings and Garters If Michael Ignatieff is anything, it's connected, and I do not mean just to the relatively small establishment of Canada, I mean connected to the shadowy godfathers...
October 30, 2005
Bushspeak: Dark and Garbled Words
By: John Chuckman The following quotes are from Bush's speech about the War on Terror, as given October 6, 2005, and largely repeated October 28. It was a speech especially dense with Bushspeak, a dialect which never means what it...
October 3, 2005
What the Gruesome Images Say
By: John Chuckman There is an Internet site that displays extraordinarily gruesome photographs taken by American soldiers in Iraq. Apparently, the owner of the site exchanges access to pornography for soldiers sending him their war pictures. Digital cameras and the...
September 8, 2005
Lessons From Hell
By: John Chuckman Amid death and destruction, Bush not as Nero, but as Caligula's Horse Incitatus If he is alive, Osama bin Laden surely is enjoying some hearty laughter. Nothing he could imagine, short of the virtually-impossible task of obtaining...
August 24, 2005
Why Pat Robertson Isn't Treated As A Terrorist
By: John Chuckman America's fundamentalist carnival includes many fascinating acts. Pay your money, and you can watch preachers weeping and screaming, dismissing whole segments of humanity as evil, threatening murder, shaking down congregations for extra donations to named-after-themselves projects, or...
August 19, 2005
Diary of A Madman
By: John Chuckman Excerpts from important new documents The following passages were assembled from shredded paper found in an American National Archives dumpster by the Iranian Ambassador. A team of the country's best rug craftsmen is said to be working...
July 30, 2005
The Dumbest Story Ever Written
By: John Chuckman Devoted to human freedom, you must embrace even the freedom to express stupidity. So I can happily report that a week ago at this writing Thomas Friedman struck a mighty blow for freedom with one of the...
July 25, 2005
Hitler's Shadow and the Coming Storm
By: John Chuckman Despite many differences, there are striking parallels between Bush's invasion of Iraq and Hitler's invasion of Russia, and understanding these parallels serves to warn of the coming storm Bush is calling down upon all of us....
July 2, 2005
Canada's Blessings, Including Gay Marriage
By: John Chuckman July 1 is Canada's national day, and although the country has its share of political problems, we have a great deal to celebrate. We are not at war in Iraq, killing and maiming for no reason. We...
June 21, 2005
All Bush, All The Time, For The Rest of Your life
By John Chuckman Uncommon Thought editor's note: The sponsors of this resolution are FOUR Democrats and ONE Republican. [The five Congressman are: Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) Sponsor, Howard Berman (D-Ca.), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Martin Olav Sabo (D-Mn), James Sensenbrenner (R-Ws)] I...
May 24, 2005
It Runs In The Family
By: John Chuckman Shouldn't Laura Know the Words of the Song Before Getting Up to Sing? John Chuckman "In the U.S., if there's a terrible report, people don't riot and kill other people. And you can't excuse what they did...
May 22, 2005
A Breath of Fresh Air Sweeps Into Hell, But There's Still No Way Out
BY: John Chuckman Like a refreshing breeze blowing briefly over those damned to endure the hell created by America's government came the words of British M.P. George Galloway to an American Senate Committee. The man was simply magnificent. Tough, brave,...
May 6, 2005
The Peculiar State
BY: JOHN CHUCKMAN A lawyer gave a brief opinion piece on Canada's public radio, the CBC, in which he flatly said that criticism of Israel is a form of anti-Semitism. I guess we should be grateful that people in Canada...
May 4, 2005
Canada's Emerging Politics of Destruction
By: John Chuckman What would Pierre Trudeau say? He stopped the FLQ dead in its tracks only to have the nation's future now toyed with by selfish, angry children. This is a terrible time to force an election. I don't...
March 19, 2005
Nightmare Vision of North America
By: John Chuckman John Manley, prominent Liberal politician in Canada, has shown a stunning lack of judgment in chairing a private group proposing a new security-economic regime for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. One hopes the proposal is not...
March 7, 2005
The Creature Walks Among Us
By: John Chuckman "I beheld the wretch - the miserable monster whom I had created." Mary Shelley Doctor Frankenstein's frightful creature was assembled from the limbs of corpses collected in the dead of night. The Pentagon, with a steady supply...
February 24, 2005
A Season For Depressing Political Re-runs
By: John Chuckman Recent political events resemble nothing so much as re-runs of movies that should never have been released the first time. Bush has gone to Europe to "ease tensions" in the NATO alliance. Of course, those very tensions...
January 24, 2005
Freedom on Steroids
By: John Chuckman A writer at The Times counted 27 references to freedom in Bush's inaugural speech. The speech contained not one reference to his ugly war in Iraq, but for hundreds of thousands of Iraqis the only freedom established...
December 5, 2004
America's Imperial Wizard Visits Canada
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] We are getting stories...
November 14, 2004
God Bless America
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 "I know of no...
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 4, 2004
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...
September 1, 2004
9/11: The Day the World Ended, Three Years On
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 A lot can happen...
August 20, 2004
The Trouble With Electing Ceasar
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] America's campaign for Emperor...
July 6, 2004
A Deafening Silence of Meaning
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] Recently, John Kerry and...
July 2, 2004
Why Stephen Harper Lost
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] Reflections on an Interesting...
June 24, 2004
Americans' Right to Know
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] In...
June 14, 2004
These Colors Don't Run
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Given its...
June 9, 2004
Why the CIA Will Always be a Costly Flop
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] The resignation...
June 3, 2004
Insanity in America
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] It's always...
May 15, 2004
Sex, Lies, and Videotapes
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Among the...
May 6, 2004
The Thing with No Brain
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] I...
April 28, 2004
Seeking the Evil One
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Imagine...
April 16, 2004
EVIL DOES OFTEN TRIUMPH
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] It...
March 30, 2004
Condoleezza's Nonsense About Democracy
By Guest Author 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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or...
March 19, 2004
ZAPATERO!
By Guest Author 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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or...
February 27, 2004
An Enemy of the People
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Ralph...
February 18, 2004
Coming Soon: The Dirtiest Show on Earth!
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Crowds...
February 13, 2004
Anatomy of Terror
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Trying...
January 21, 2004
Does the American Election Matter?
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org] Presidential...
January 16, 2004
PRESIDENT FROM PODUNK DRILLING INC
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org.] Thinking...
January 6, 2004
SICK PUPPIES
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org.] The...
December 10, 2003
The Parable of Samarra
By guest author 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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or...
November 28, 2003
The Doomsday Machine
THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE By guest author 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...
November 16, 2003
Forty Years of Lies
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org.] Bertrand...
October 27, 2003
Banging Your Head into Walls
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 chuckman@counterpunch.org, chuckman@yellowtimes.org, or JChuckman@mediamonitors.org.] We've...
October 18, 2003
Several Steps Closer to Armageddan
By John Chuckman This is an interesting piece as it relates to It's a first, but not a good one - American's killed in Gaza that was posted here on 10/15/03. In provides more details in the US role in...
October 10, 2003
American Psycho
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, and I am pleased to publish it here. No, I did...
