Online News Sources

[The Ghost of Bondo]

I thought since there is often mention of finding a variety of sources that we should have a thread to collect links to sites of note for finding news, and more importantly less traditional sources than the major US news sources.  Preferably I'd say is places with a lot of editorials collected because news is more similar from place to place.

Anyway, my main online source is www.reuters.com it is a british based international source.  You can get a few different nations worth of news (US, Canada, UK, Italy, and India I believe) in English, the others are in the local languages.

[jn.loudnotes]

Safari has several major news organizations built into its favorites, the best of which, Google News, has links to every other one on the planet  

[kami]

On the topic of news and press, here's a comprehensive list of press freedom throughout the world. Note that the US is way down... Bucc, looks like we DO have more freedom here doesn't it? I'm right again it seems.

[|MP|Buccaneer]

Kami, only by that ranking system, which considers the following non freedom of speech:

The poor ranking of the United States (17th) is mainly because of the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there.  Arrests are often because they refuse to reveal their sources in court.  Also, since the 11 September attacks, several journalists have been arrested for crossing security lines at some official buildings

They are basing the fact that many journalists in America break the law and get jailed as reason that we don't have freedom of the press.  I don't happen to agree with that criteria.  

Guess you didn't actually prove as much as you thought Kami.  I'd love to see how they ranked when you don't include that measure.

[tasty]

I love to read politics/news blogs, here are some of my favorites:

Eschaton
This Modern World
DailyKOS
Altercation
Best of Warblogs
Wasted Irony
NoWarBlog
Counterspin

Go here if you want news and political updates presented in a liberally-biased manner. For unbiased news I like the BBC.

[kami]

Well you can still see that Sweden is among the top which just crushes your statement that our freedom would be any less than the freedom of the US.

[The Ghost of Bondo]

Bucc, don't bring that shit into this thread.  Who are you to determine what it is judged by, your idea of a good ranking system is one that puts the US on top because you always claim the US is better than every other country (don't say you haven't, you said it directly when I've said others were better (proven by the UN ranking) that you've been to other countries and that the US is the best).

[|MP|Buccaneer]

Well you can still see that Sweden is among the top which just crushes your statement that our freedom would be any less than the freedom of the US.

Where did I make the statement that Sweden's freedom of the press is less then America's?

Bucc, don't bring that shit into this thread.  Who are you to determine what it is judged by, your idea of a good ranking system is one that puts the US on top because you always claim the US is better than every other country (don't say you haven't, you said it directly when I've said others were better (proven by the UN ranking) that you've been to other countries and that the US is the best).

Ok Bondo, another lesson for you in taking words out of context.

First, I've said that American is better for ME then other countries.  Since better is very subjective, I've tried to make that clear.  I've lived in quite a few countries in my life, and America is the best for ME.  I've often said that if Sweden or Canada or wherever is better for someone else, that's exactly where they should live.  So just fucking get over yourself and stop putting words in my mouth.

Second, who am I to determine what it is judged by?  I didn't determine anything.  I QUESTIONED something though.  The validity of it.  I read the link that Kami provided.  The link itself is where that quote came from.  It was them, admitting a possible flaw in the data.  Like I said, I am interested in seeing it without that data set.  Since freedom of speech is a constitutional right here, but not in most places, I'm very interested to see how it stacks up.  

But the flaw, as I see it, is that many in the American Media believe their careers are more important then the law.  Not laws on censorship, or restriction of information.  No, nothing like that.  Most of it is the protection of a source.  Well, that's not freedom of the press in my opinion, because it tramples on the rights of others (most often, the right of someone to face their accuser in court).  

Could another country have greater freedom of the press.  Maybe.  I doubt greater, but it could happen.  What I find likely is for some other countries to have equal freedom of the press.  

Now please Bondo, run off and take this out of context somehow for me.  Thanks.

[kami]

Freedom of speech is a part of most western countries constitutions...

[|MP|Buccaneer]

My only hope for getting variety back will be, that the whole globalization as we see it coming today, is actually a commercial way of getting the flipside of earlier days communism into action.

Files, I think it's already here.  All the views are out there, you just need to look.  The internet has made globalization of information a fact.  And not all unpopular positions are whispered, but often shouted from the roofs.

I think you are talking more along the lines of Tasty, where the mainstream media has a much more focused approach.  

Well, speaking as a moderate, not a liberal or conservative, I'd say much of mainstream media is moderate.  Sure, there is your ultra conservative like Rush, but you have your ultra liberal's too.  And if one of them gets more airtime over the other, it's because that's what the population finds appealing.  That's comercial broadcasting.  

But, the left wing and right wings don't actually overshadow the media in my point of view.  Now, I live in a much larger market then Tasty, so we do have differences, but around here, the media tends to have a very moderate approach.  The conservatives bitch about it being too damn liberal, and the liberals bitch about it being too damn conservative.  Which means it's probably pretty balanced.  

Since we've all been watching CNN of late, with the war.  I'd like to know if you think their coverage is too biased?  They've been spending much time talking about the protests, all over the world.  They seem to be covering every angle, without taking a side, from my point of view.  How about yours?

[Mr.Mellow]

When I want valid and honest reporting, I log onto theonion.com. It's the only news source I ever use!  
Edit: Hey Flies, you pwn all. My favorite movie is the Blues Brothers, and you got my favorite quote on your signature. Rock on.

[kami]

I guess you could say CNN has been less biased lately but you can still sense some biased sentiments in how some of the reporters talk. I still like BBC a lot more.

[|MP|Buccaneer]

However, Im not sure you have seen the climax of globalisation yet.

Climax, yeah, I agree, we haven't seen the climax yet.  But we are sure as hell beyond foreplay =D.  (you can take that as in the ecstasy of sex, of as in getting fucked, all depending on your point of view).

I just think we are elbow deep into it.  I think all the information is now there, the climax will come with it being even easier to get, more available, and better organized.

Btw; a cool writer called William Gibson" wrote a lot of good books, including these aspects.
Also, another writer wrote a series of books called "Otherland", being sci-fi of course, and pure fiction. But its good stuff - and I can recommend these books.

Tad Williams.  Yeah, I've read him.  Good SciFi writer.  I've also read Neuromancer by Gibson, but not much else.  Maybe a short story or two.  Unless it's a different Gibson you are talking about.  I've also seen him interviewed a few times.  Not bad at all.

I'm much more of a fan of Robert Heinlein.  They murdered his book Starship Toopers, when they made that shitty movie.  If you have never read it, I can't recommend it more.  It has almost nothing to do with the movie, except for the very beginning, when he's in school and the instructor is quizzing him.  The book is almost all like that.  

And Flies, I gotta thank you for one real great thing you did right there.  Help restore my faith a little.  You said you haven't watched CNN and didn't comment on it.  You are one of the few people here (there are more, but so few) that just don't condemn it when you haven't looked and formed a good opinion on it.  So, a very wholehearted thanks from your GSXR riding buddy in the states man.

I guess you could say CNN has been less biased lately but you can still sense some biased sentiments in how some of the reporters talk. I still like BBC a lot more.

Every news is biased in some way or another.  As long as humans are reporting the information, they'll have some of their own slant on it.  Perception just works that way.  BBC is a good source too.  But I haven't noticed them to be less biased, just biased in a different way.  

It's why I always recommend multiple sources for a more complete picture.

One final thought, I must now forever turn off MSNBC, because I just noticed Keith Oberman was their night anchor.  I was watching it a bit to see the more liberal view, along with Jessie V and Arnott, but Oberman??  Please.  Shouldn't he be talking about March Madness, not the war?  

[kami]

I don't even have BBC at home right now, I've been watching CNN and Swedish television for my news lately. I'll have it fixed in a week I hope. I try to get as many sources of information as possible as well.