Steal This Computer Book 3: What They Wont Tell You about the Internet

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. Read 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 Le Monde, which is French). 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/home.asp).

• 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 website providing news about and from China (http://www.china.org.cn/english/index.htm).

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

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

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

• NetIran Provides links to five sources of news from Iran: IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency), Iran News, IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), ISNA (Iranian Student News Agency), and the Tehran Times (http://www.netiran.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 Get the latest news from Norway and the rest of Europe, as seen from Norway (http://www.norwaypost.com).

• The Paperboy Provides links to the most popular international newspapers-see Figure 2-1 (http://www.thepaperboy.com).

  Figure 2-1: The Paperboy website provides links to major newspapers from around the world.

• 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).

• Rwanda Post Since news about Africa is often scarce, visit the Rwanda Post site to read the latest information about Rwanda and the rest of the African continent (http://www.rwandapost.com).

• 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 American weekly newspaper (see Figure 2-2) that uses humor to reveal the truth behind the latest headline stories (http://www.theonion.com).

  Figure 2-2: Sometimes the news can be funny if you just look at the hidden context behind the story.

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 just a newspaper from another city) on a regular basis, you may never look at your own world the same way again.