War in Context

Five reasons why you should read (and donate to!) Paul Woodward’s site War in Context.

1. Not simply becaus he regularly points to my stuff and sends this web site loads of smart, critical and in some cases influential readers.

2. Not simply because he provides the best annotated clipping service of the mainstream media for all things war, terror and Mideast related. (Paul and I long ago agreed that the predictable hosannahs of the “alternative” media often don’t make for particularly interesting or enlightening reading, and that there’s a lot more to be gained from an informed and critical reading of the mainstream media.)

3. Not simply because he gathers the essential reading everyday — not the wire service chaff, but the important, quality nuggets of information and analysis from a diverse range of sources — into an indispensable daily briefing book.

4. Not simply because he’s a wry Yorkshireman weaned on watching the likes of Johnny Giles and Peter Lorimer from the terraces at Elland Road in the early 1970s who has, like David Bowie’s “Man Who Fell to Earth,” come to ground in a small town in the Carolinas.

5. The reason you have to support Paul is the depth of his commitment to independent journalism — he’s doing it all for free, spending hours every day to provide a service that helps keep the rest of us informed. Without him, the Internet would be a poorer place. He doesn’t deserve to be poor!