Current+Events

[|U.S. Debt Clock]

[|Google Stops Censoring in China]
 * CNN:** In a long-awaited announcement, Google said Monday that it will stop censoring search services on google.cn, its Chinese search site...
 * 1) Through prior knowledge or independant research, what type of political system/government does China have?
 * 2) What is Google’s plan to get around the censorship of China’s government, according to the article?
 * 3) If Google were to pull out of China, how would it affect the company? How would it affect the people of China? The Chinese government?
 * 4) Since China is the largest market of people in the world, how could Google’s presence there benefit Americans?

[|Follow the Rules, Comrades...or else (East German simulation)]
 * Herald Tribune:** Stephany Fournier, an 11th-grader at Pine View School, did not want to punish her fellow classmates, but it had to be done. They defied the law...
 * 1) What was different about this simulation for students on the “East German” side of the wall versus the “West German” side of the wall?
 * 2) Why were the rules so strict for the “East German” students?
 * 3) Why do you think the history club created this interactive lesson? What kinds of lessons did students learn?
 * 4) Research what life was like for real East and West Germans. Do you think this school did a good job of replicating the experience safely?

[|**Social Security to see Payout Exceed Pay-In This Year**]
 * The New York Times:** This year, the system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office ...
 * 1) What is Social Security?
 * 2) What is meant by the payout being more than the pay-in?
 * 3) What are some of the **reasons** as to why the payout is greater than the pay-in? [|For hints click here!]
 * 4) What does this potentially mean for Americans? How about for you and me?
 * 5) What are your suggestions for what could be done, OR, what are the options of the federal government?
 * 6) Analyze the graph below and in 4-5 sentences interpret what it represents.

[|U.S. Postal Service 'not viable']
 * The Washington Post:** Happy Monday! The U.S. Postal Service's current business model "is not viable" and the mail agency should make deeper job and wage cuts, hire more part-time staff and consider outsourcing operations, according to a draft of a government audit acquired by The Federal Eye.
 * 1) Why is the United States Postal Service losing money every year? What do you think should happen if they do not fix this problem?
 * 2) What other competition is the USPS facing in mail services? What are email and online billing doing to demand for USPS?Given advances in technology and competition, is the Post Office becoming obsolete in America? Explain.
 * 3) What do you think the USPS should do to cut costs? How might these changes effect the USPS competitors (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.)?