Glencore Xstrata posts 18% jump in copper output

Pilotless Planes THIS week the Navy will launch an entirely autonomous combat drone - without a pilot on a joystick anywhere - off the deck of an aircraft carrier, the George HW Bush. The drone will then try to land aboard the same ship, a feat only a relatively few human pilots in the world can accomplish. This exercise is the beginning of a new chapter in military history: autonomous drone warfare. But it is also an ominous turn in a potentially dangerous military rivalry now building between the United States and China. The X-47B, a stealth plane nicknamed 'the Robot' by Navy crews, is a big bird - 38 feet long, with a 62-foot wingspan - that flies at high subsonic speeds with a range of over 2,000 miles ...

Corrupt Legislature LET'S talk about what makes a delinquent state legislature. I know it's been on your mind. The newest political trend in New York involves corrupt state legislators attempting to curry favour with federal prosecutors by wearing wires to work. Perhaps there have been worse fads. There was a time, not long ago, when Assembly members could punch in early in the day, leave to play golf and still be recorded as voting "yes" on every single bill that hit the floor. Officials recently revealed that a 74- year-old senator named Shirley Huntley secretly recorded assorted pols whom she invited over for a chat while claiming to be laid up with a broken ankle. She was sentenced to prison for embezzlement anyway ...

Related:Glencore woos investors, promises aggressive cuts Related:Xstrata shareholders snub board with Glencore vote Related:Glencore Xstrata posts 18% jump in copper output Related:Alaska trims expectations for North Slope oil output