Assorted Collection of Links

From Veggie Planet
Listed here are some of my (Adam's) favorite websites. Just thought I'd share...

CommonDreams.org Newscenter
is probably my primary source of news. If you've wished you had the time to comb through hundreds of newspapers and magazines for progressive viewpoints not often enough given in the mass media, wish no more - this website does it for you. Interestingly, many of the articles do come from mass media publications (NY Times, Boston Globe, etc.), but the overall picture of the world you come away with is much different than that you get from relying on just the mass media alone.

Z net
is another great source of alternative viewpoints; in this case even less often available in the mass media, if at all. Calling this website "progressive" wouldn't be doing it justice. "Radical" is probably a more accurate term, as many of the viewpoints expressed call for total overhauls of the current economic and political systems, as opposed to the normal tinkering that the usual progressives or liberals might call for. Z-net also has a great on-line discussion forum available (for a small monthly fee), for which I have a soft spot in my heart as it's where I met my wife.

medialens
might be called the British version of Z-net (or not, but I'll call it that if you don't mind). Like Z-net, it's a top-notch source of alternative views "correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media."

FAIR - Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting/
and IPA - Institute for Public Accuracy
like the previous links, both provide a counter-balance to the mass media view of the world; but in this case in a much more direct fashion. Both of these websites respond directly to information disseminated through the normal channels, and help us separate the facts from the fiction.

The New Standard
was started by a friend of mine, but that doesn't detract from its value. While all the sites I've listed above primarily provide opinion and analysis of what's going on in the world, this site provides actual hard news, but from an independent people's perspective rather than from the usual perspective of the corporate controlled media. Check out the site, and if you're impressed, consider donating some money to help keep it going. We definitely need good sources of independent news, and this is a good place to start. Stopped Publication April 2007

Democracy Now
provides welcome relief for eye strain. Rather than having to sit in front of the computer screen to read about what's really going on in the world, you can just turn up the sound and listen to this great radio program that airs viewpoints even NPR wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. They keep an archive of past shows, so you can listen at any time.

Global Issues
is something I just stumbled upon while surfing the net, and highly recommend it as a one-stop primer on what's going on in the world. I wouldn't call it a news source exactly in that its focus is less on what happened yesterday than on putting today's major issues into their proper historical context. Too often, today's news is reported as if it happened in a vacuum. This site helps us better understand why things are as they are, which is an important starting point in helping us to get where we want to be.

EarthSave
... It wouldn't be right for Veggie Planet to not reserve at least one favorite link spot for a vegetarian-focused site. EarthSave was founded by John Robbins, would-be heir to the Baskin-Robbins throne, who instead chose to devote his life to educating people about the effects their food choices have on their health and on the planet. The EarthSave website is part of that mission.

Fair Trade Web sites, from Fair Indigo

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