1 Dissident Voice Irreverent and unabashedly freewheeling commentary, news and opinion.

2. Memory Hole Useful research tool for an amnesiac culture.

3. Iraq Casualties Since the demise of Venik's War In Iraq (Ru), this is one of the most up-to-date sites for down-in-the-trenches events in Iraq.

4. Free Software Foundation A source of inspiration for those who see a possible new world in the Free Software movement.

5. Groklaw A detailed analysis of the SCO v. IBM litigation – potentially the biggest software lawsuit around right now. Also a good site for legal beagles who want to do some good with their profession.

6. Capitol Hill Blue Sometimes strange, sometimes loaded with inside-the-beltway rumors and near-information.

7. Counterpunch One of the best commentary sites on the web.

8. LinuxToday Techie news and views from Tux's perspective.

9. Poclad These folks were on to corporate personhood long before it became a hot issue. Good resource site.

10. Axis Of Logic Comprehensive, collective approach to art, politics, history, poetry and humor.

11. The Smirking Chimp There are many I-hate-George sites, but this is one that hates harder.

12. Tom Tomorrow's This Modern World One stop site for dry humor in a not so funny world.

13. TUC Radio You need to listen to this one person radio program. Very bold and very much in advance of the trend-setters.

14. Reclaim Democracy A decent, well-done primer for doing just what it's name implies.

15. Reclaim the Media This is where the ramparts are in the 21st Century and these folks tell you how to climb them.

16. The Scriptures of Hackerdom Specialized site for the hacker community.

17. Come Don Chisciotte A variegated, irreverent site for you those of you who read Italian.

18. The Backbone Campaign. These folks are trying to reinvigorate the Democratice Party - or at least the democratic process - by promoting a rational platform. Good luck getting past the neoliberal guardians of the DLC who avidly pursue the Southern Race Track Crowd and Big Corporate Donors.

19. Black Box Voting. This is the site to read if you enjoy scary stories. Along with Greg Palast's book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy", Bev Harris's "Black Bock Voting" shows how HAVA, federal legislation passed in the wake of the 2000 election coup d'etat, paves the way for the total demise of fair elections in America.

20. The Dial. An interesting hybrid of politics and good writing, reminiscent of the original 19th Century Dial magazine.

21. The Porcupine. Suitably thoughtful and prickly commentary.

22. Progressive Independent. All websites develop their own flavor. While some seek to exclude, others, like this one, seek to include a range of political views from Left Libertarian to Hard Left. Very active postings from readers.

23. War in Iraq. Founded in 2004 by anti-war Muscovites calling themselves Mirror of the World, this site contains very up to date information about Middle and Central Asian events. Sometimes, you will find news here that doesn't appear elsewhere for days. The quality of the stories and analysis, however, varies from extremely insightful to raving junk, so use your discretion.

Suggestions? Submit recommendations to Zbignew@ersarts.com