better ways to get the news

[Danny Sleator]

I'm alternately outraged and depressed by what's happening
in the world.  We now have the most powerful, deceitful,
arrogant, and belligerent administration in US history.  And
almost everything they're doing is wrong.

Here's one example to illustrate the power of Emperor Bush.
He can start a unilateral, preemptive, unprecedented war
costing hundreds of billions of dollars.  His justification
for it constantly changes, and is buttressed by a stream of
lies.  Simultaneously he can demand and get from congress a
huge tax cut for the rich, despite the fact that we're in a
recession and there's a huge budget deficit.  And while
doing all this outrageous stuff, he remains extremely
popular.

I'm thinking about what I, an average Joe, can do to slow
down this juggernaut.  One thing I did was put up this
lighted sign outside of my house:

   http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sleator/pictures/no-war.jpg

But I think the real problem, and the reason for Bush's
popularity, is that the American people basically don't have
a clue about what's really happening.  The mainstream media
are not communicating it.  Here are four examples to
illustrate this point.

1. Remember the huge crowd of Iraqis cheering and pulling
   down a statue of Saddam?  It turns out that the crowd was
   very small and some (all?)  of the jubilant members of
   the crowd were actors.

   http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2842.htm

2. Remember the rampant looting of Baghdad?  Perhaps you
   knew that the US didn't lift a finger to stop it.  But
   did you know that it was encouraged by US troops as a
   photo op?

   http://truthout.org/docs_03/041603D.shtml

3. Did you know that Richard Perle (a key author of the US's
   current Iraq policy) worked to undermine the Camp David
   accords in the summer of 2000?

   http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,342857,00.html

4. There's an outrageous, little-known part of NAFTA called
   chapter 11, which foreign corporate investors are using
   to challenge laws designed to protect public health,
   environmental regulations, and jury verdicts.  The cases
   are heard before a secret international trade tribunal.

   http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7076

These are just a tiny sample to illustrate the problems of
missing and/or misleading stories in the media.  This
situation goes a long way toward explaining why the war is
so much more popular in the US than it is everywhere else.
So I'm suggesting (to all the addresses in my inbox over the
last few years) some good alternative sources of information
that I've found.

A good place to start is http://www.truthout.org
They collect stories from reputable sources all over the
world.  You can sign up for a daily mailing of stories of
their suggested stories.  I've included one below.  Sign up
for their mailings at: http://216.25.72.229/membership/sub_mgmt.php

http://www.fair.org is a media watchdog group.  They
maintain a web site, and they let you sign up for sporadic
mailings about media deceptions and bias.  They often have
action alerts about specific outrages in the media.

Another very good organization is http://www.moveon.org
They email reminders when congress is considering important
issues.  They make it easy to contact your congress person to
voice your opinion.  They also run ads in mainstream
publications and on TV.

I also highly recommend the book "What Liberal Media?" by
Eric Alterman.  He explains in great detail all the ways in
which the media system is broken, and how it got this way.

Here are some other great sites to take a look at:

    http://www.consortiumnews.com
    http://www.copvcia.com
    http://www.democraticunderground.com
    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info
    http://www.tompaine.com
    http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm

I hope you find this mailing useful, and I apologize if you
got this more than once.  Feel free to distribute this
further.  One warning: If you keep up with these sites, your
world view will start to diverge from the "standard"
(i.e. false) world view.  You risk being viewed as a
conspiracy theorist or a nut.

          Danny Sleator
          Professor of Computer Science
          Carnegie Mellon University
          Email: sleator at cmu.edu




t r u t h o u t | 04.16

Eagleburger: Bush Should be Impeached if He Attacks Syria
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Echoes of Empires Past
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Bomb Before You Buy
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US Troops Encouraged Ransacking
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Reflections on the Battle of Baghdad
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Bush-Hitler Remark Sinks Movie Exec
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'Fearless' Dean Wins Converts
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What About Private Lori?
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t r u t h o u t | 04.15

William Rivers Pitt | How America Lost the War
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Rout Proves Anti-War Point
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Aftermath: The Bush Doctrine
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Baghdad Seeths With Anger Toward U.S.
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Syria Could Be Next, Warns Washington
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America Targeted 14,000 Sites. So Where Are The WMDs?
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Scandal-Hit US Firm Wins Key Contracts
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Civilisation Torn To Pieces
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Mesopotamia. Babylon. The Tigris and Euphrates
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t r u t h o u t | 04.14

War and Peace: Anarchy in the Streets
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U.S. Marines Exchange Heavy Fire in Central Baghdad
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Pillagers Strip Iraqi Museum of Its Treasure
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Crime Against Humanity
<a href=" http://truthout.org/docs_03/041403D.shtml ">GO</a>

Garner Waiting For "Last Shot" To Rule Baghdad
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Vanishing Liberties -- Where's the Press?
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Anthrax Source Probably Domestic
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India Mulls 'Pre-Emptive' Pakistan Strike, Cites Iraq War Precedent
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Outspoken Yellowstone Ranger Loses Job
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t r u t h o u t | 04.13

Congressman Questions Iraq Work Given To Halliburton Subsidiary Without
Competition
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US Arms Group Heads for Lisbon
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US Show of Force Galls Arab World
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U.S. Govt Accused of War Crimes against Journalists
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Ordinary People Fear Their Nation Could Be Next Target of 'Regime Change'
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Northern Iraq Falls, Mobs Run Riot in Baghdad
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The Future of Iraq's Oil
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War Within A War A Real Possibility
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t r u t h o u t | 04.12

Hans Blix: War Planned 'Long in Advance'
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The Press and the War
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Spoils of War
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Suicide Bomber In Baghdad Injures Four Marines
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Security Council Balks at Postwar Plans
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Murdoch Adds to Empire With Control of DirecTV
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Bush Offers Crooks And Warmongers To Lead Iraq
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House Revives ANWAR Again
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t r u t h o u t | 04.11

Despite Cheering Crowds, Army Unit Sees Urban Combat in Baghdad
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In Search of Horror Weapons
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Syria Now Top US Target for 'Regime Change'
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Descent Into a Charnel-House Hospital Hell
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Republicans Want Patriot Act Made Permanent
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The Pentagon's 'Trainee,' Ahmad Chalabi
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UNICEF Warns Of Worsening Situation For Children In Iraq
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House Democrats Want Halliburton Probe
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CPJ Condemns Journalists' Deaths In Iraq
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t r u t h o u t | 04.10

William Rivers Pitt | The Longest Winter
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Dark Day for Journalists in Iraq
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Wailing Children, the Wounded, the Dead
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The Taliban are Back in Southeast Afghanistan
<a href=" http://truthout.org/docs_03/041003D.shtml ">GO</a>

War Out of Compassion
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Iraqis In Basra Weigh Freedom's Cost
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Oakland Cops Defend Use of Force Against Protesters
<a href=" http://truthout.org/docs_03/041003G.shtml ">GO</a>

Coleman Apologizes For Remark About Wellstone
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Saddam Hussein, "Chemical Ali" Apparently Survive Attacks
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Economy on the Edge
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t r u t h o u t | 04.09

Oakland Police Open Fire At Anti-War Protest
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Iraqis Launch Urban Fightback in Baghdad
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Simpson: 'This Is Like A Scene From Hell.'
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Baghdad Hospitals Overwhelmed, No Longer Counting Casualties
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"Smoking Gun" WMD Site in Iraq Turns Out to Contain Pesticide
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'I Love My Country, But.'
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Cronies Set To Make A Killing
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William Rivers Pitt's New Book Now Available
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t r u t h o u t | 04.08

Surgeon Describes "Horrific Injuries," Sanitized War
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Up to 3,000 Iraqi Fighters Dead in Show of Force
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Red Cross: Iraq Wounded Too High to Count
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U.S. Finds No Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq
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Little Hope for Post-War Boom in US Economy
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Carlyle Group Heads for Lisbon
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Army Chaplain Offers Baptisms, Baths
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Irish Anti-War Marchers to Confront Bush
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Disarmament In Tatters
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7-Year-Old Kurd: 'I Like War'
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t r u t h o u t | 04.07

Thirsty Iraqis Must Be Baptized to Get Water
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Near Baghdad, U.S. Troops Encounter 'Remarkable' Foe
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Britain Admits There May Be No WMD's in Iraq
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Forecasters Underrating Weakness of US Economy
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US Marines Kill Seven Iraqis After Truck Fails to Stop (Again)
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Baghdad Hospitals Stretched to their Limits
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American Portrayal of War of Liberation Faltering Across Arab World
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Blair and Friends Staring Into War's Political Abyss
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Turf War Rages in Washington Over Who Will Rule Iraq
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To Activists, Real Battles Are on Home Front
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t r u t h o u t | 04.06

Red Cross Horrified by Number of Dead Civilians
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Samar's Story
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At Umm Qasr, the "Secured" Port, "It's Chaos"
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How the Dissidents Fooled the Washington Hawks
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US Military Admits 'Suspicious' Powder is Explosive
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Kerry Lashes Out at Republican Criticisms
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Saddam Was Not Always Washington's 'Demon'
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The War's Dirty Secret: It's About Changing United States, Not Iraq
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Jobs Show Worse-Than-Expected Drop
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Senate Won't Debate Alaska Oil Drilling
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