Places to get Iraq War news that the mainstream media might allow to fall into Orwell’s Memory Hole:
www.thememoryhole.org — Natch. The site preserves documents and other information that has been deleted from news media and government Web sites and archives. The stuff that the powers that be might prefer you forget.
www.iraqbodycount.net — If you’re confused by the logic that killing Iraqis will liberate them, you’re not alone. Using media reports, this site (as of press time) estimates that between 911 and 1,089 Iraqi civilians have been killed.
english.aljazeera.net — The English language version of the famed Arab news service al Jazeera. They’re not as squeamish as U.S. networks about showing civilian casualties, nor impeded by red, white, and blue blinders. Good luck logging on — pro-war hackers have sabotaged the site at least once.
www.commondreams.org — This frequently updated anthology of national and international commentary, breaking-news reports, and links from all over the world is an indispensable source of independent information as well as international activist alerts.
www.counterpunch.org — A political newsletter edited by left journalists Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, Counterpunch has published daily commentaries on the war from all over the world, in addition to its regular diet of well-reported and sharply written independent political essays.
www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks.html — The “Chickenhawk Database,” a list of those political and media figures who can’t wait to send you or your loved ones to war, but weren’t so enthusiastic about doing it themselves. Includes the conflict avoided and, when known, their lame excuses for missing the fun, and the activity they preferred to doing their duty.
Also, The Nation has printed an excellent condemnation of the war and the Bush administration by 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, and offered the Chronicle reprint rights. We decided to put it on our Web site; or read it at www.thenation.com.
This article appears in April 11 • 2003.