Steal This Computer Book 4

Published by No Starch Press (http://www.nostarch.com)

This list may be freely copied and distributed provided that the contents are not modified in any way..

Newspapers Online

Newspapers don't report facts; they report information filtered through the eyes and opinions of the reporters, writers, editors, and news services that provide the information in the first place. Even worse, many newspapers find it more profitable and easier to tranquilize the public with shallow sensationalism, local stories, and trivia in order to capture the largest market share possible for their advertisers.

If you begin reading newspapers from different cities and countries, you may be surprised to find that African, European, and Asian newspapers report international events that American newspapers never bother to cover at all. Furthermore, even when foreign and American newspapers do cover the same event, the overseas newspapers often provide completely different points of view based on facts that American newspapers gloss over or completely ignore.

Browsing through multiple newspapers can give you a much wider exposure to news and a greater appreciation of a newspaper's inherent bias. Try reading an Iraqi newspaper to get a better understanding of how the Iraqi media portrays the feelings of their people toward America. Or read a Brazilian or Australian newspaper to learn about events affecting the Southern Hemisphere that North American newspapers routinely ignore.

The following links point to some of the more prominent English-language newspapers (with the exception of the French newspaper, Le Monde). Remember that English-language newspapers may offer information that differs slightly or dramatically from newspapers in other languages, and that the following links aren't the only newspapers available on the Internet.

Bahrain Tribune

News about the Middle East from Bahrain (http://www.bahraintribune.com).

Bangkok Post

News from Thailand (http://www.bangkokpost.net).

Buenos Aires Herald

Get information about South America from an Argentinean newspaper that's been in business since 1876 (http://www.buenosairesherald.com).

China News

English-language Web site providing news about and from China (http://www.china.org.cn).

Christian Science Monitor

A highly respected newspaper that maintains its own news bureaus in 13 countries, including Russia, Japan, Germany, France, the U.K., South Africa, and Mexico, as well as throughout the United States (http://www.csmonitor.com).

Financial Times

Covers financial news from around the world (http://news.ft.com).

Gulf News

News from the United Arab Emirates (http://www.gulf-news.com).

Ha'aretz

Daily newspaper from Tel Aviv, Israel (http://www.haaretzdaily.com).

International Herald Tribune

A well-respected newspaper edited in Paris and published in conjunction with the Washington Post and the New York Times (http://www.iht.com).

Investor's Business Daily

A financial newspaper that covers international events with an obvious emphasis on money and how the news affects different stock markets (http://www.investors.com).

Irish Times

Keep up with the latest business, sports, and politics of Ireland, and use this Web site as a search engine for Irish topics as well (http://www.ireland.com).

Japan Times

Provides the latest news of interest about Japan and Asia (http://www.japantimes.co.jp).

Los Angeles Independent Media Center

A news media organized to provide alternative viewpoints from the clone-like views offered by the more traditional news sources that may be too timid to upset potential advertisers, government officials, or the status quo (http://la.indymedia.org).

Le Monde

France's leading newspaper (http://tout.lemonde.fr) covering world events from a uniquely French point of view (written in French).

Moscow Times

Read news from a Russian perspective in this English-language newspaper (http://www.themoscowtimes.com).

The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times

Get the latest news from two of the largest cities in America (http://www.nytimes.com and http://www.latimes.com).

The New Zealand Herald

News from New Zealand's major newspaper (http://www.nzherald.co.nz).

The Norway Post

Learn the latest news from Norway and the rest of Europe, as seen through the eyes of a country that most people never think about (http://www.norwaypost.com).

The Paperboy

Provides links to the most popular international newspapers (http://www.thepaperboy.com).

Pravda

Once the political mouthpiece of the Soviet Union, Pravda is now a national newspaper covering all aspects of political and social life throughout Russia (http://www.pravda.ru).

Russia Today

The Russian equivalent of USA Today, this newspaper provides information about daily activities in Russia (http://www.russiatoday.com).

South China Morning Post

The South China Morning Post is Hong Kong's English-language newspaper, covering financial, political, and technological news about Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Japan, and Singapore. Read this to get a better idea what the Asian public thinks about Europe, America, and the rest of the world (http://www.scmp.com).

The Sydney Morning Herald

Read the latest news from down under (http://www.smh.com.au).

The Telegraph (London)

Major British newspaper providing news about England, Europe, and the rest of the world (http://www.telegraph.co.uk).

The Times of India

One of India's major newspapers, covering national and world events (http://www.timesofindia.com).

The Times (London)

International news from a distinctly British point of view (http://www.the-times.co.uk).

Toronto Star

News from one of Canada's largest daily newspapers (http://www.thestar.com).

USA Today

An American newspaper that covers a broad range of news from around the United States. Best known for its colorful weather maps (http://www.usatoday.com).

The Wall Street Journal

Provides financial news from all over the world, emphasizing Europe, Asia, and North America (http://www.wsj.com).

The Washington Post

News from another well-respected American newspaper, most commonly known as the newspaper that helped break open the Watergate scandal in the early '70s (http://www.washingtonpost.com).

The Onion

A satirical weekly newspaper that uses humor to reveal the truth behind the latest headline stories (http://www.theonion.com).

The Weekly World News

Offbeat weekly newspaper that covers outlandish events such as Big Foot appearing on a TV show, the CIA using talking cats to search for terrorists in the Middle East, and UFOs landing at the White House (http://www.weeklyworldnews.com). While the stories may be ridiculous, the techniques they use to grab a reader's attention is strangely similar to waht other newspapers do as well.

By opening your mind to the wealth of newspapers available through the Internet, you can be as fully informed (or ignorant) about world events as you wish to be. Once you start reading a British, Egyptian, or Japanese newspaper (or even a newspaper from another American city) on a regular basis, you may never look at your own world the same way again.

Magazines Online

Whereas newspaper coverage is pretty much confined to stories that are deemed acceptable by the paper's corporate owners, magazines usually have more freedom to target specific audiences and advocate specific opinions and beliefs. As a result, two different magazines will often reach completely different conclusions about the same topic.

Although it's tempting to read only those magazines that support your own opinions, take some time to learn what people who have different political views or are from another country or continent might have to say. For foreign magazines, visit one of the Web sites listed below, or visit your favorite search engine and try to hunt up some different magazines not listed in this book.

AlterNet.org

Online magazine that offers an alternative to mainstream investigative journalism. Regularly covers topics that the mainstream either ignores or glosses over such as the drug war, sexual politics, and health issues. (http://www.alternet.org).

The Economist

Comprehensive magazine that provides news about events from around the world, including places most American high school graduates can't find on a map (http://www.economist.com).

Federal Computer Week

Offers stories about how various Federal government agencies are using computers to (hopefully) streamline their organization and improve efficiency (http://www.fcw.com).

Monday Morning

Lebanon's English-language weekly news magazine (http://www.mmorning.com).

The National Review

Conservative magazine providing its own unique point of view on American politics and international events (http://www.nationalreview.com).

New American Magazine

An ultra-conservative magazine that takes American patriotism to the extreme. Reading this magazine will certainly open your eyes to the way people can interpret world events (http://www.thenewamerican.com).

Philippine News Link

Links to an enormous range of newspapers and magazines that cover the Philippines, including The Manila Times, Filipinas Magazine, Asiaweek, and The Manila Bulletin (http://www.philnews.com).

ZMag

Magazine available in English, French, Spanish, and Swedish, billing itself as a magazine for people concerned about social change (http://www.zmag.org).

News Services Online

Newspapers and magazines often get their information from national and international news services, which often get the information directly from people at the scene of the event itself. Local writers, unable to attend the news event in person, simply embellish, exaggerate, or expand on the information from these news services to create their own newspaper or magazine articles. So, rather than wait for news to appear in your favorite newspaper or magazine, go directly to the source by visiting a news service Web site.

21st Century Digest

Provides the latest news articles and links to several major news networks including CNN and the BBC (http://www.21stcenturydigest.com).

ABC News, CBS News, and MSNBC

News from the three largest television news networks in North America (http://abcnews.go.com, http://cbsnews.cbs.com, http://www.msnbc.com).

Agence France-Presse

French news service that offers news in English, French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese (http://www.afp.com).

Associated Press

One of the most popular wire services, AP provides stories to newspapers throughout the United States including the Los Angeles Times, the Detroit News, and the Washington Times (http://www.ap.org).

Baltic News Service

The largest news agency in the Baltic states. (http://www.bns.ee).

BBC News

International news coverage from the British Broadcasting Corporation (http://news.bbc.co.uk)

Business News Americas

Financial news about Latin America (http://www.bnamericas.com).

China Daily

News from mainland China covering Chinese and international news (http://www.chinadaily.net).

CNN

You can't ignore the only news service that can get inside countries like Iraq and Cuba and interview world leaders like Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro (http://www.cnn.com).

Federation of American Scientists

Information from the scientific community regarding various environmental, political, and technology storieis (http://www.fas.org).

Fox News

News from the fast-growing (and incresingly conservative) Fox Network (http://www.foxnews.com).

Good News Agency

Unusual news service that only offers positive, uplifting news to counteract the deluge of pessimism so prevalent with most news services today (http://www.goodnewsagency.org).

Intelligence Online

This news service is especially designed for diplomats, military and political officials, heads of company security services, or academics interested in intelligence matters, business intelligence, and international political issues. Find news on money laundering, terrorist activities, weapons smuggling, and other types of crimes that are occurring at this very moment (http://www.intelligenceonline.com).

Inter Press Service

This non-governmental organization delivers daily news from around the world in English, Finnish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish (http://www.ips.org).

Korean Central News Agency

The official news service of North Korea. Learn about world events as seen from communist North Korea's point of view (http://www.kcna.co.jp).

One World

Provides news from over 150 global organizations, from such groups as Save the Children, ActionAid, UNICEF, and Christian Aid. One of the few sites that presents news from a brutally honest point of view with headlines such as "Brazil to celebrate date that meant genocide for 5 million" (http://www.oneworld.net).

Reuters

Read information from one of the most popular and famous news services in the world (http://www.reuters.com).

Stratfor.com

Analyzes global events to offer the general public access to information normally reserved for governments (http://www.stratfor.com).

Voice of America

Voice of America offers the official United States government's view on the news, which they broadcast around the world, especially into countries that limit access to information (http://www.voa.gov).

Voice of Russia

Voice of Russia broadcasts interviews, discussions, and historical information about Russia. Unlike the Voice of America, the Voice of Russia is primarily an entertainment and educational broadcast about life in Russia (http://www.vor.ru).

Finding More News Sources

Because space permits only a select listing of news sources and since the number of newspapers, magazines, and news services present on the Internet keeps growing, you can get a more complete listing of sources by visiting one of the following Web sites that list news services by region, continent, or country:

Editor & Publisher Online (http://www.mediainfo.com)

News Directory (http://www.ecola.com)

Newspapers Online (http://www.newspapers.com).

For more information about media bias and sources of alternate news, visit the following Web sites:

Chicago Media Watch (http://www.chicagomediawatch.org)
Free Speech TV (http://www.freespeech.org)
WebActive (http://www.webactive.com)