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The University of Michigan Government Documents Center

Keeping Current on the Net - Daily News, Internet, Magazines, etc.

BACKGROUND BRIEFING - on Current news items.

Yahoo! - Full Coverage: Top Stories

Check the Latest Polls - Public Opinion Online

Most significant events of the last half of the 20th century - join the discussion

Technology

1998 Nobel Prizes: See the significant people and their accomplishments for 1998.
Microsoft - A Monopoly?: Can the Department of Justice make the case?
See also: ZD Net AnchorDesk: Microsoft vs. Government
Male Impotence: What can be done?
Global Climate Change: How significant is it and what must be done?
The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence: Are we alone in the universe?
Mir Space Station: How bad is it?
The New Millennium: What does it hold in store? Will the new century be dominated by Technology
The Year 2000 Problem: Will the date problem in computer programs cause a world wide economic crisis. See some thoughts about this problem and 8 myths about the millennium bug and the Center for Millennial Studies.
Asteroids Near Earth Orbit: Is the Earth in danger?
Cloning: Yes, or No. How radical is this technology and its implications?
Space Exploration: Pathfinder landing on Mars - July 4th 1996. An investment in knowledge or a waste of money? See the Questions and Answers
Dr. Carl Sagan - died December 20, 1996: He taught us about the origins of Life and the Universe.
Jacques Cousteau - died June 25, 1997: He taught us about the sea and the Life there.
Roswell, New Mexico: Did aliens really crash there?
Are Computers all they are Cracked up to be?: Read a number of contrary essays.
Science in the News: Check out the stories behind the news headlines.
Life on Mars: Maybe we're not alone? Read about the Mars Pathfinder.
Life on Other Worlds: Is ALF out there?
Galileo and Jupiter: Galileo has arrived. See what's happening.
Comet: Hale-Bopp: Coming soon: Will it be a great show?
Atomic Weapons: Photos taken soon after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. What about the moral issues of war and of use of technology such as this in war? Is this really any different in kind than Pearl Harbor?
Melatonin - A chemical slumber switch: Is this stuff safe or not?
DHEA: According to media hype, the newest magic pill to cure what ails us. How much truth here?
The Anti-Technology Message: Wonder if the Unabomber surfs the Internet?
Space: The Final Frontier. See it now!
Windows 95: A media circus.

Jump back to NEWS

Political Issues

The Prison Industry: Is it big business keeping people behind bars?
U. S. Arms Sales: To what extent do we profit from and promote arms races around the world?
Our Justice System: How fair is it?
American Indians: How is our government treating them?
Federal Grand Juries: How do they work?
Politics: Ask the politicians some Hard Questions and pay attention to their answers or lack thereof.
Health Care in America: Is it in crisis? What can we do? Is the problem greed, lack of planning and management or unrealistic expectations?
Child Protection Laws: How can we best protect our children?
Deadbeat Dads: Is there another side to the story?
Race Relations: Pulling together or pulling apart? See the African-American home page.
Native Americans: They were here first! See what Chief Seattle thought.
Agriculture: What place does farming and ranching have in modern society?
Reinventing Government: Can common sense be useful in government? See the Public Innovator Learning Network.
The U. S. Budget Deficit: What is it? How dangerous is it? What can be done? How Would You Spend the National Budget?
Does American need a tax cut?: What would a balanced budget mean for the states?
Over Population & Teen Age Sexual Behavior: How many other problems such as poverty, war, disease, starvation, etc. spring from this? Read this too and look for the solution.
Conservation of Wild Areas: Man must not destroy everything!
Terrorism: Terrorist attacks seem to be on the increase in the United States. What does this say about our society and what does it portend for the future?
Human Rights: Support the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. See the 1997 Human Rights Report
Homelessness: Can it be eliminated or is it with us always?
Women's Issues: They had a conference in China.
Bioethics Issues: Advances in medicine and biological science and genetics etc. make this a significant field. For example the Right to Life and the Right to Death.
Government and Religion: Let's not mix the two! Alternate view.
Ecology: Are Environmental Activists too extreme? How important is it to save the Rain Forests?
Welfare Reform: Is a woman's place with her children or in the workplace? And other Questions and discussion.
The Neighborhood: How do we make it work again?

Jump back to NEWS

World

Echelon Watch

What's this top secret multi-government agency watching us all?

Kosovo

What about the war? And what's it like in Belgrade?

Genocide in Rwanda

Why and how did it happen?

Saddam and the Bomb

How close did he get?

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

What now for South Africa? Can they really forgive and forget?

El Nino

How will it affect the world's weather?

Nazi Assets:

Preliminary Study on U.S. and Allied Efforts to Recover and Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II

1997: Countdown to History--Hong Kong and Hong Kong 1997: Lives in Transition--PBS

On July 1, 1997, the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong becomes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. These two websites have been prepared to keep Internet users informed about the progress of the transition and the effect it is likely to have on residents of the city, the government of China, and the rest of the world. 1997: Countdown to History is provided by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English-language daily newspaper since 1903. Drawing on the archives and daily reporting of the newspaper, this site offers users an in-depth look at the changes likely to be wrought on the residents of the city as the transition approaches. Lives in Transition takes a different tack, focusing on the impact of political change on individual lives through "Hong Kong Diaries" written by a range of residents of the city. An annotated transition timeline is also available. A production of the long-running P.O.V. series, this site offers a view of life in Hong Kong that other sites often overlook.
Also see Hong Kong 1997 Web Site Home Page
Hong Kong Newsgroup Time Magazine Special Page
CNN Site
Channel A
China's Web Site on Hong Kong
Hong Kong: A _New York Times_ Special Report

World Statesman

The state of the world - articles by world leaders.

War Crimes

See the War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, Remembering the Holocaust, and Major War Criminals/Suspects.

The United Nations

How important is it in our world?

The Children of the World

We say they are important. Do we practice what we preach?

The Cambodian Genocide Program

Who says genocide ended with the Nazis?

Genocide in the 20th Century

How prevalent?

Africa

Conflicts are widespread.

Russia

An amazing experiment in democracy, free enterprise, and change. Will it succeed? See Russian culture and other Russian Links.

Cuba

When will Castro fall and the Cubans in Florida return home?

Israel

Is Peace with Palestine Possible? See the Arab View

Iraq

How serious is the threat from the Chemical and Biological Agents being produced there?

Iran

Revolution and extremist religious fanatics?

Landmines

How long to remove the threat in the world?

Somalia

The face of anarchy and the results of world food aid.

Liberia

War and Anarchy. Who says man is civilized?

War in Bosnia - Crotia

Genocide, religious and ethnic intolerance, madness, Who says man is civilized?
Also see the Bosnia Home Page and CNN's Bosnia Page and ABCNEWS.com : A Beginner's Guide to the Balkans.

Nigeria

What are the government and the oil companies doing to the place?

China

What's going on there?

Taiwan

Can it maintain independence?

Jump back to NEWS

Personal Rights & Beliefs

Criminal Law: Is it still in the hands of the states?
Capital Punishment in America: How fairly used? How many innocents executed? How much deterrent to crime?
ECHELON: America's Secret Global Surveillance Network -- Patrick S. Poole: How much are our governments spying on private citizens, organizations, and businesses?
Privacy: Does a company have the right to sell your name and address or do you have a right to privacy?
Censorship of the WWW: Freedom of Speech vs. the Censors who see satan on the Internet. See also the Center for Democracy and Technology
Civil Liberties: How important are the civil liberties of the individual and minorities when opposed to the duty of the state to keep order?
Gun Control: It's the NRAs right to bare arms (or arm bears) against the rights of the rest of us to avoid being shot.
Smoking: You don't have to quit, you just have to stop. Also see the Anti-Tobacco Site and Smokers Organization.
Banned Books: They don't want us to read what they don't like. It's amazing what they have banned or tried to ban.
Animal Rights: Should they have some? An alternate view.

Jump back to NEWS

Human Interest and Other

U. S. Congressional Medal of Honor Citations: Read about some real heroes.
100 years of movies: Which do you think were the best movies of the twentieth century?
The Titanic: A great ship but not so unsinkable.
Natural Disasters: Watch out for Mother Nature.
Drought: Is it the dustbowl of the thirties again? What will happen to this year's grain crop, the farmers, our grain storage supply and ultimately our food supply.
The Pulitzer Prizes: They've been awarded for 1996.
Walking from Anchorage toward Buenos Aires: To raise awareness of health and safety issues of women and children.
The Running Man: He's attemping to run around the world in a little over three years.
Swimming the 696 mile length of the Cumberland River: To raise awareness of river pollution and environmental concerns.
Mad Cow Disease: Threat or hype?
Climbing Mount Everest: The adventure is reported to the Net.
Searching for the Mayas: Help Explore Mayan Civilization.
The Amazon Rain Forest: Help explore it online.
Weird News Stories: Human activities never cease to amaze!
Super Models: Or emaciated women?
Newspeak - Orwell in the 1990s: Human activities never cease to amaze!
The Olympic Torch: Follow its progress as it is carried through communities across the nation.
Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Roll over Beethoven!
The Paranormal: It's not taken very seriously here.
James Bond Movies: They've lasted over 30 years now!
Star Trek - after 30 years: Many creative shows have given us a fresh look at social, political, and philosophical problems.
Craig Shergold: The Make-a-Wish Foundation continues to receive millions of letters because of a chain letter which won't die. Click above to learn the facts.
The Oklahoma City Bombing Trial: Another media circus. Right wing extremist idiots.
Chess on the Internet: Also see The Chess Archives and Kasparov plays Deep Blue