Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution)
"The nation's leading defense contractors are gobbling up small technology firms in a consolidation binge driven by the Pentagon's demand that future military conflicts be dominated by high-tech warfare," Renae Merle of The Washington Post writes in today's edition. "Underlying the consolidation is the sharp competition among the big defense companies to secure a lucrative role in the transformation of the military envisioned by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and backed by a growing Pentagon budget. Some industry observers worry, however, that the absorption of the small tech firms into the giant contractors could crimp innovation in a field that thrives on swift advances."
In related news, "The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Army formally unveiled the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, which is geared toward creating battlefield armor for the 21st century," writes Michael Kanellos of CNET News.com in a story from Friday. "The center's research can largely be characterized as chemistry in action. During a ceremony held at the university on Thursday, researchers showed off a technique for applying new types of coatings to fabrics to make them more resistant to water or capable of killing bacteria."
In news that isn't closely related, "The Pentagon's pronouncement that it would seek to 'destabilise' Iran's Islamic republic has given the country's clerics ammunition to portray their liberal opponents as traitors. Hardly a day passes without warnings in the official press against reformists accused of sowing divisions," writes Dan De Luce of The Guardian in a story published today.
All of these pieces are worth reading. posted by micah holmquist at 5/27/2003 11:20:00 AM
