Hey, I won't be in class tomorrow to share this myself, but I just read an article in EE times about the rare metals subject Curtis posted on. Turns out we just passed HR 6160, which creates a domestic program for rare metals. Interesting...

Sorry I can't post the article, but I only have it in print.

Well, we all know we make cars, and we know Japan makes cars, but China makes cars? Apparently, they actually have the worlds largest auto-market, and the industry is expanding rapidly (just like everything else in China). Thought it might be interesting to know that the family car of the next century may no longer be a Honda or a Toyota, but some Chinese variant. Let's not even think about the environmental impact of the new car needs of China, or the effect even cheaper cars will have on the US auto market.

It looks like NATO is trying to get some cooperation over missile defense going with Russia. Russia has apparently agreed to continue talks, and may be present at the NATO summit in Portugal to discuss cooperation on the missile defense system, which now looks like a precaution against Iran. More in article.

At a time when the globe is experiencing financial turmoil, it's nice to know that some people are still concerned with the fundamentals (such as a missile defense system with no actual practical use). Missile defense is the somewhat fictional art of shooting down big missiles with smaller missiles, or lasers, or whatever the MIT guys thought up this week. The article is written by the Secretary General of NATO however, so there is a high likelihood that some sort of missile defense system may be put in place. Probably a good idea to know more about it... Estimated cost: a billion?

From drug trafficking to illegal fishing, transnational crime is growing. This is a transcript of a "third committee" meeting addressing some of the issues of transnational criminal organizations today. We've talked a lot about recognized and legal transnational organization, this article illuminates the fact that the aforementioned are not the only flavor available.