As our undeclared war on terror proceeds , the American and (to a lesser extent) British news media have greeted many of our government's actions with, if not approval, tacit acceptance in fear of being labeled unpatriotic.

But others, outside the former British empire, have different views of the war on terror. Voices from the other side of this conflict, whether from regions that have spawned the bulk of our opponents or regions which bear the brunt of collateral damage, are all too easy to dismiss. But what of other voices ... voices from countries which are neutral in this conflict, or even allied to us, but see our actions through the lens of another culture's values?

Now, I speak more than just English, but both France and Japan are fairly American-friendly countries and I'm not fluent enough to comprehend a foreign-language newspaper in any event. But English is one of the most popular languages in the world, pushed by both the American hegemony and the pervasiveness of the Web. Even within the former British empire there are serious differences in how the news is reported: America and Canada, England and Ireland, even Australia and India all have their own unique views. But surely if we step beyond the wreckage of England's colonial ventures there will be other sources - Russian, Chinese, Arabic ... all with their own unique viewpoints.

So the topic of this Call for Knowledge is:

What are the best sources of non-American news in English on the web?

(If you're confused on how to mail using this link, see this commentary.)

As this is the first Call for Knowledge, a let me take a moment to go over the rules. The Call for Knowledge is an informal contest to compile information about a topic of interest. I'll accept submissions for two weeks, then collate them into a brief article highlighting the best submissions. I'll rank the submissions, and the "best" submission will win a Library of Dresan prize of some kind. Since this is a contest, there are ground rules on how to submit:

• Submissions will be accepted for two weeks. For this contest, that's Midnight, March 30th.
• Submissions to the call must be sent to the Info link. This is a contest, so friends who send entries my home address will be disqualified.
• Submissions must meet the Criteria of the Call. For each call, I'll list a formal set of criteria which entries must satisfy to be considered.

• The bulk of the site must be in English. An English version of a site in another language is acceptable only if the bulk of the site is translated.
• The site must be freely available on the web. Paid subscriptions are not allowed, but free registration a la the New York Times is acceptable.
• The site must originate outside the United States. Additional points will be given for sources outside the former British empire.
• The site must be a credible source of news and opinion. Propaganda sites sponsored by a government, crank sites which contain only opinions, and weblogs are disallowed.

I'll collate answers to the Call over the next two weeks and rank them on a totally subjective scale. I'll post the winners of the call at the next site update on the 30th. The submitter of the winning entry will get something nice, like a gift certificate or a Library of Dresan t-shirt.

I look forward to seeing your entries!
See you in 15.
- The Centaur
Renaissance Engineer