It was a specific vote to give Bush war powers that allowed him to invade Iraq

Agreed, but there is some question in the US as what constitutes " a declaration of war" pursuant to The 73 War Powers act.
This post comes to the conclusion that:

__The WPR…

The only hope with Iran is a significant revolt against the president by the US military

Ouch. Watch out what you hope for!
While Bushco may have a go at engineering a "Maine" or "Tonkin" (or Pearl Harbour, pick your conspiracy) type incident, Congress (and Senate) get to "declare war".…

A bit like a certain 'troubled' blog poster, who usually adopts a markedy measured tone here…

The Press Complaints Commission have launched their third investigation of Daily Telegraph political editor, Con Coughlin, in as many months, after a number of high level complaints about his latest ariticle on Iran

As noted in Steve Clement' Washington Note last month, Bolton's key claim to credibility now seems to come from the attention paid to his comments in…

We must attack Iran before it gets the bomb

even the Bush WhiteHouse has distanced itself somewhat from Bolton as an unsavoury wildcard....not the Telegraph though, who says, on the writer's blog: Bolton should not be dismissed as a 'neocon' nutcase

Even…

Don,do you actually bother reading The Telegraph?

Well, in the last month, yes. I read all the British press. Head and shoulders above the rest was the Financial Times.

Craig, I am sure we can find criticism of anything "modern" in the Telegraph. It was their blind hatred of Labour…

A lot of the media over here are gearing up for a Tory victory at the next election. I'm not so sure.

Me neither. Assuming Labour and the Lib Dems are prepared to coalesce, it would be hard for the Tories to achieve a majority, wouldn't it? It always surprises…

You're right don, torygraph does have that retired tweed colonel flavour..along with pictures of posh tottie

I've not seen a hard copy for a couple of years, but used to think it was quaint the way it still ran "Court Pages".

And I don't think the paper ever fessed up…

Don,do you actually bother reading The Telegraph? I do, and if you think it's some kind of cheering section for the Conservatives then I suspect Lady Thatcher, Messers Major, Hague, Duncan Smith, Howard…

But

1. At least its not the Daily Mail
2. If you only read the Guardian (for example), you only see the Guardian's view of the world..
3. Craig Brown is a comedy genius!…

(sad bastard I know, but it meant I also got to see Geoffrey Howe give Margaret T. a totally unexpected mauling)

There's a terrific Julian Barnes essay ('Mrs Thatcher discovers it's a funny old world') on this whole episode.

One of a series of 'Letters from London' that he wrote…

Mal, that would be the same Telegraph that ran a story along the lines of "10 Ways Blair has Ruined Britain".

It's nice how those papers on the right hate Tony Blair for a commie Labour bastard, while those on the left despise him as the true heir of Thatcher.…

I struggled with that one. Iraq maybe, but Britain...

They loath Labour with a lively "retired colonel" vigour, providing an amusing if slightly sepia tinged irrelevancy.

Russell recently linked to a discussion on the practice of 'bus plunges' being used by newspaper editors to fill up small empty spaces when heading to print.

Well, all is not lost in this shallow digital age! Today's Herald has…

Craig Brown captures him perfectly

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/05/15/do1506.xml

A contest would also prevent the left, and especially some oppositional trade union leaders, from seeking to claim after a Brown coronation that they speak for a wider segment of party and union opinion than they…

I'm not sure if he could be considered to have had any more…

And just to rain on my own parade, so what? It might actually mean something if New Zealand was the United States, France or…

I remember when Brown was deputy to John Smith in the shadow chancellor role. Smith was away, I was working from home and watching a parliamentary debate (sad bastard I know, but it meant I also got to see Geoffrey Howe give Margaret T. a totally unexpected mauling).

Ooh yes…

Nah, Prescott tends to be memorable for all the wrong reasons, if at all. I actually thought he'd been firmly encouraged to resign after a pretty gaffe-filled 2006, but it turned out not to be the case.…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1C2hieHKgA

Sounds interesting, does anyone happen to know if audio or video is available on-line?

That would be great. I wonder if the BBC has it. What I remember is a stunned House collectively drawing their breath in a sort of long drawn out whistle.

there's still those thorny domestic perennials — health, education, welfare and policing.

Except that those are Brown's strong points. As Chancellor he has been funneling billions into all these areas. The state schools and hospitals in the UK today are a far cry from the crippling dilapidation that had…

I was also a witness to Thatcher's handbagging by Howe (the poodle that roared) and her subsequent demise in the following weeks will always have a special place in my heart.

Sounds interesting, does anyone happen to know if audio or video is available on-line?

On another note, I can't…

A minor correction RB, but Gordon Brown didn't actually contest the leadership election after the sudden death of John Smith, it was a three…

That was John Prescott back in 2001, and somehow I don't think the electors are going to be quite so indulgent of the Deputy PM getting in fistfights with protestors…

I remember when Brown was deputy to John Smith in the shadow chancellor role. Smith was away, I was working from home and watching a parliamentary debate (sad bastard I know, but it meant I also got to see Geoffrey Howe give Margaret T. a totally unexpected mauling).

Me too!…

Yes, it's a dig at Blair

this is smart. After two or three terms most democracies get restless. Signalling a change of style to the electorate so they don't have to vote for one is the smart move. They must be ready for a PM with a low to negative…

Man, I thought this post was going to be about Gregory Isaacs!

Ha, that melody came to mind…

I was really looking forward to having Scotsman in charge, as well as a world-leader called 'John Smith'. It would have been a sub-editors dream.

If it wasn't for his…

I fear for Cameron now that Brown has his hands unshackled.

Didn't Brown take a swing at someone in the last election? Cameron could be in for a very rough time.

Brown tore…

While I wouldn't be writing any obits for Helen just yet, the biggest problem Labour faces is the genuine lack of an alternative leader – maybe I'm missing someone obvious, but is anyone standing out as…

As you say, they elected Labour – surely that means that the PM (who is basically a party leader able to command a majority in the house) can be whoever Labour elect.

That's actually what I meant. Sorry if it wasn't clear. There have been mutterings about whether there had…

Not sure on your point here. Do you think that (UK) parties should *not* be able to change leader in mid-term? They…