QUES: Even though electronic espionage may cost U.S. firms billions of dollars a year, most aren't yet taking precautions, the experts said. By contrast, European firms will spend $150 million this year on electronic security, and are expected to spend $1 billion by 1992. Already many foreign firms, especially banks, have their own cryptographers, conference speakers reported. Still, encrypting corporate communications is only a partial remedy. One expert, whose job is so politically sensitive that he spoke on condition that he wouldn't be named or quoted, said the expected influx of East European refugees over the next few years will greatly increase the chances of computer-maintenance workers, for example, doubling as foreign spies. Moreover, he said, technology now exists for stealing corporate secrets after they've been "erased" from a computer's memory. He said that Oliver North of Iran-Contra notoriety thought he had erased his computer but that the information was later retrieved for congressional committees to read. No personal computer, not even the one on a chief executive's desk, is safe, this speaker noted. W. Mark Goode, president of Micronyx Inc., a Richardson, Texas, firm that makes computer-security products, provided a new definition for Mikhail Gorbachev's campaign for greater openness, known commonly as glasnost. Under Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Goode said, the Soviets are openly stealing Western corporate communications. He cited the case of a Swiss oil trader who recently put out bids via telex for an oil tanker to pick up a cargo of crude in the Middle East. Among the responses the Swiss trader got was one from the Soviet national shipping company, which hadn't been invited to submit a bid. The Soviets' eavesdropping paid off, however, because they got the contract.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Are Europeans spending more or less to combat electronic espionage than the U.S.?

QUES: (CNN) -- Deposed Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya will not be reinstated as head of state, an overwhelming majority of the Honduran congress voted Wednesday. In an hours-long process, 111 lawmakers voted in favor of a motion not to return Zelaya to office. A majority of 65 votes in the 128-member body was required to reject his reinstatement. Zelaya was removed from office in a military-led coup on June 28 and replaced by congressional leader Roberto Micheletti. On Wednesday, lawmakers voted one by one and addressed the chamber as they cast their vote, making for a slow process. The vote was a key part of a U.S.-brokered pact that representatives for Zelaya and Micheletti signed October 29, giving Congress the power to decide Zelaya's fate. The United States expressed disappointment Thursday over the latest rebuff to its diplomatic efforts to end the political crisis in Honduras. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela continued to call on the Honduran government to allow Zelaya's return and to create a unity government in the interim period before the new president takes office next month. "We are disappointed by this decision since the United States had hoped the [Honduran] Congress would have approved his return," Valenzuela said in a conference call with journalists in Washington. "Our policy since June 28 has been consistently principled. It has condemned the coup d'etat and continued to accept President Zelaya as the democratically elected and legitimate leader of Honduras throughout this political crisis." The United States continues to call for Honduras to engage in national reconciliation and creation of a truth commission to investigate the crisis, in addition to the unity government. "The absence of democratic, constitutional order is the unacceptable status quo," a senior U.S. administration official said on the conference call, remaining anonymous under the ground rules of the call and because of the sensitivity of the situation. "The election is a step toward a day where Honduras will have an electorally legitimate government in place."
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: Who has continued to accept President Zelaya as the democratically elected and legitimate leader of Honduras following the coup d'etat?

QUES: The Principals Committee had its first meeting on al Qaeda on September 4. On the day of the meeting, Clarke sent Rice an impassioned personal note. He criticized U.S. counterterrorism efforts past and present. The "real question" before the principals, he wrote, was "are we serious about dealing with the al Qida threat? Is al Qida a big deal? Decision makers should imagine themselves on a future day when the CSG has not succeeded in stopping al Qida attacks and hundreds of Americans lay dead in several countries, including the US," Clarke wrote. "What would those decision makers wish that they had done earlier? That future day could happen at any time." Clarke then turned to the Cole." The fact that the USS Cole was attacked during the last Administration does not absolve us of responding for the attack," he wrote. "Many in al Qida and the Taliban may have drawn the wrong lesson from the Cole: that they can kill Americans without there being a US response, without there being a price."
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What was the main subject of the Principal Committee's meeting?

QUES: Earths magnetic field helps protect Earth and its organisms. It protects us from harmful particles given off by the sun. Most of the particles are attracted to the north and south magnetic poles. This is where Earths magnetic field is strongest. This is also where relatively few organisms live. Another benefit of Earths magnetic field is its use for navigation. People use compasses to detect Earths magnetic north pole. Knowing this helps them tell direction. Many animals have natural 'compasses' that work just as well. Birds like the garden warbler in Figure 1.36 use Earths magnetic field. They use it to guide their annual migrations. Recent research suggests that warblers and other migrating birds have structures in their eyes. These structures let them see Earths magnetic field as a visual pattern.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
Name two benefits of Earths magnetic field.