Demagogue

TomPaine.com's daily "Newsworthy" page is an excellent source of leads to information that is often not reported nearly as widely as it should be. Often, the links are to major media outside the U.S., particularly in the U.K. You can sign up for daily e-mails.

Yesterday's installment was a particular gold mine of interesting stories, including one that has the potential to cause enough headaches for Tony Blair that it might just get some publicity in the U.S. (or at least among lefty U.S. bloggers). Yesterday's headlines:

Amnesty International: Iraq Could Be Getting Worse For Women
(Remember how the neocons suddenly discovered women's rights when it came time to invade Afghanistan? Reminds me of Eugene's Daily Darfur yesterday, which mentioned the African suckers who actually think, based on the invasion of Iraq, that Bush would come to their rescue from dictators and warlords if he only knew what was happening?)

Bush Fails To Close Gap With Europe
(You heard it here first! Well, maybe not, but we did write about it. Repeatedly.)

Oil Passes $51 A Barrel As Asia Ponders Dollar Support
(My kvetching last fall about the falling dollar and what would happen if the Asian central banks decided to stop feeding our debt habit? Another brilliant piece of Demagoguery.)

Bush Budget Leaves Children Hungry
(Are you really surprised?)

Justice Dept. Loses Bid To Classify Public Documents
(Ditto.)

And the one that has Tony Blair on the defensive again:
Britain Reveals Iraq War Ruled Illegal

That headline is misleading, if not downright wrong. But the underlying story is still quite explosive. If interested, you can read not only the linked article itself but also further coverage as well as original documents and transcripts linked to from the article. The article includes my candidate for quote of the day. It comes from the head of the British army, Gen. Sir Mike Jackson, who was concerned in the run-up to the war about whether it would be legal to attack Iraq:

"I spent a good deal of time recently in the Balkans making sure Milosevic was put behind bars," said Sir Mike. "I have no intention of ending up in the next cell to him in the Hague."

What is it with Michael Jacksons and jail these days?