I'm trying something new this week, a roundup of News as presented by media outside the U.S. - I've been complaining a lot lately about how our current state of Mainstream Media gives virtually no useful information on what's happening in the rest of the world, let alone our own country. So I thought I would give this a try. If it works, I'll make this a regular Friday feature.

First off - jumping up to the north of us, a program from the CBC called The Current and an interview with fellow Canadian David Frum on April 1st, regarding his "Waterloo" editorial and the resulting fallout.

(David Frum - Well . .I had no idea he was Canadian, did you?)

Q:"Were you pushed, or did you jump?"

Frum: "I was jumped. . . I mean pushed."

Next up - via BBC's Africa Service, Africa Today covering the recent developments in Niger after their coup and demonstrations in Somalia.

(First the coup and then the crackdowns)

From the Al Jazeera Listening Post, a report on the rift in U.S.-Israeli relations this week with the recent construction going on in Gaza and the various reactions from our State Department and the Israeli cabinet.

(File under: Awkward Photo ops)

ABC Radio National in Australia and their Correspondents Report, featuring a segment on Thai protests and the threatened arrest of an American journalist covering Human Rights violations in Indonesia.

(The continuing protests in Thailand - almost a daily occurrence)

This week, being The Pope wasn't all it was cracked up to be as BBC Radio 4's morning program Today reported on Monday the ongoing calls for his resignation. Also, first reports on the Moscow Subway bombing and China's purchase of Volvo.

(Pope Benedict and the old "what did he know and when did he know it")

Again from the BBC, reports and eyewitness accounts of the Moscow Metro bombing and the upcoming British elections.

(Moscow Metro - ugly and getting uglier by the minute)

And finally, for our Russian friends (or those of you who are brushing up on your language skills), a special report from Moscow Radio on Monday morning of the Moscow Subway bombing as it was unfolding. It's all in Russian but the seriousness and the devastation crosses all language barriers.

So that's a taste of what the rest of the world was listening to this week. Actually, you can too. It's all on your computer, either via Podcasts from iTunes or casual browsing to whatever streaming audio sources you can look up via Google. It's all there and you can check it out. Getting information about what's happening in the world around you is essential. If you can't find it where you live you have to find it where you can. There's too much going on not to know about it.