From Their Vaults to Your Desktop

Free Speech Internet Television(freespeech.org): At this site you can feast on independent video documentaries (and sound clips) that wouldn’t otherwise get aired or distributed. Watch guerrilla coverage of protests at IMF meetings, riots against the NYPD and other things you won’t see unfiltered on CNN.

CounterPunch(counterpunch.org): Radical muckraking newsletter and Web site fronted by journalists Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair.

The Emperor’s Clothes(emperorsclothes.com): Alternative views on NATO “peacekeeping actions” and U.S. foreign policy.

Human Rights Watch(hrw.org): The latest on atrocities, massacres, disappearances and suppression from around the world.

Corporate Watch(corpwatch.org): Keeping up with the multinational corporate bullyboys is a snap with this site. Sample headlines: “USA: Companies Profit From Body Parts,” “UK: Toxin Found in Nike Football Shirts,” and “Brazil: McDonald’s Conducts ‘Experiment’ in Shantytowns.”

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting(fair.org): A left-leaning media-watchdog group that exposes spin, distortions and omissions in the news.

Copwatch(copwatch.com): This site polices the police by keeping tabs on corrupt and brutal cops across the country. Beatings, killings, bribes, planted evidence . . . it’s all here!

APB News(apbnews.com): A full-fledged independent newswire with 55 employees and 130 freelancers, APB News covers lots of stories on crime, justice and law that fall between the cracks of the mainstream media.

Opensecrets(opensecrets.org): This Web site from the Center for Responsive Politics follows the money trail in politics through all its dark twists and turns. Find out which candidates your neighbors gave money to!

Freedom Forum(freedomforum.org): This impressive site reports daily on conflicts involving free speech, mainly in the United States.

Index Online(indexoncensorship.org): For a global perspective on free speech and freedom of the press — including banned photos and political cartoons — check out the Web site of the bimonthly Index on Censorship.

NameBase(pir.org): A fantastic effort to index over a quarter of a million citations from more than 750 newspapers, magazines and books. Simply look up the name of a CIA agent, Cold Warrior, mafioso, politician or multinational corporation, and you’ll get page references to mainstream and alternative publications that spill the beans.

The Konformist(konformist.com): Sardonic humor and brash attitude enliven this conspiratorial look at the day’s issues, including JonBenet, Columbine, gas prices, Giuliani, JFK Jr. and, um, the world’s largest gangbang.

ParaScope(parascope.com): Extensive material on hazy goings-on, from assassinations and government drug-running to UFO sightings and psychic research.

  Disinformation(disinformation.com): The supreme guide to the hidden aspects of our world, Disinformation delivers a “dossier” — an article with lots of links — every weekday. You’ll get the latest word on police-state tactics, conspiracies, extremism, corporate creeps, radicals and revolutionaries, suppressed tech, ignored history and all manner of mindfuckery, including occasional reviews by this writer. For your continued edification, Disinfo also has a subversive search engine.

Fortean Times(forteantimes.com): From the quirky to the frightening, the “Breaking News” area of Fortean Times’ Web site reports on events that defy explanation (and sometimes belief). Read about bizarre deaths, new animal species, disturbing religious behavior, amazing coincidences and inexplicable crimes.

To get more news from a leftist perspective, visit The Nader Page (nader.org), featuring weekly columns by consumer advocate and presidential candidate Ralph Nader. If you’re looking to uncover the more bizarre aspects of our world, try The Anomalist (anomalist.com), or Steamshovel Press (steamshovelpress.com), which promises “All Conspiracy. No Theory.”