CYBERSPACE

* Knee Jerk Reaction: It was just four years ago this week that the figure-skating world was brought to its knees (figuratively) when Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed in the leg at a Detroit rink. Later, four men--including the husband of Kerrigan rival Tonya Harding--were sentenced for the assault, and Harding was banned from skating. But not everyone believes that Harding had anything to do with it (or not everyone cares), because now we have the Tonya Harding Web Site (https://www.tonyaharding.com), a tribute to the Olympic skater, with images and movies, links and a biography. Those who admire Kerrigan have a place to meet, at https://members.tripod.com/~reverie/Nancy/. There’s Nancy news, Nancy on TV, a Nancy bio and Nancy reference.

* The King: If he had lived, Elvis would be celebrating his 63rd birthday Thursday. There are so many Elvis fan sites on the Web that it would be almost impossible to cull the best ones for you. So all you get is the official Graceland site (https://www.elvis-presley.com/). It has an Elvisology, FAQ, news from Graceland and a variety of Elvis-related links.

* Presidents, Part I: Richard M. Nixon would also be celebrating a birthday this week if he were still around. Born on Jan. 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, Calif., Nixon left a long mark on the nation’s audio history. Listen for yourself at the Richard Nixon Audio Archive (https://www.webcorp .com/sounds/index.htm), which has a full text of his resignation speech--7 megs--as well as selected clips. The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace is online at https://www.chapman .edu/nixon/, and a detailed Nixon bio is at https://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/ html/rn37.html. A short postscript: https://www.watergate.com (had to at least mention it . . . )

* Presidents, Part II: Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th president, died Jan. 6, 1919, in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at the age of 60. Famous for his colorful speeches, Teddy lives on today as a Web site subject. There’s a Theodore Roosevelt for President, 2000, Web site (https://www.xtdl.com/~stabbott/tr.htm) claiming that only T.R. can bring us into a new century. And last, but not least, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/html/tr26.html, you’ll find a bio telling just what made him so popular.

* On the Run: It was 70 years ago on Saturday that Josef Stalin ordered the exile of Leon Trotsky from the Soviet Union he had helped create. Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Trotsky fled to Europe to escape Czarist repression in 1902. After his return he played a critical role in the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917 and was later exiled (and, most historians agree, murdered) by Stalin. There’s a detailed biography of Trotsky at https://www.idbsu.edu/surveyrc/Staff/jaynes/marxism/bios/trotsky.htm. The In Defense of Marxism Web page has a few essays about some Trotsky books and assorted other Socialist things. In Defense of Marxism is at https://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~socappeal/IDOM.html

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