Second, we need to make America the most attractive place on Earth for high-tech services and manufacturing jobs and to accelerate foreign direct investment in the U.S. Finally, we need to address the competitiveness of America's infrastructure.

WSJ: Jeff Immelt and Ken Chenault: How We're Meeting the Job Creation Challenge

Apple is basically the cheapest large tech stock on Earth.

FORBES: Is Apple The World's Best Value Stock?

Where once the West relied on China's lack of environmental enforcement to tamp down rare-earth prices and implicitly subsidize high-tech goods, in the future the nature of the subsidy will change so that China's cheap(er) labor will subsidize Western mid-tech goods.

WSJ: Business Asia: Postcards From the Rare-Earth Front

Ironically, the value of such high-tech achievements might be laid low by down-to-earth political disputes between the allies.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

This case involves something called rare earth materials, which are used by American manufacturers to make high-tech products like advanced batteries that power everything from hybrid cars to cell phones.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks on Enforcing Trade Rights with China | The White House

Right now, though, one of the high tech toilets - the one built in Russia - is orbiting the Earth on the international space station, and, as NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports, it's partially broken.

NPR: Space Toilet Awaits Repair Mission

New techniques have been developed to "sidetrack" a well when the pipe gets stuck or to control the pressures and temperatures found five miles down into the earth's crust with blow-out preventers and special purpose high-tech drilling rigs.

FORBES: A Gold Mine In Oil Exploration

Why on earth is Alan Greenspan so irked about equi-ties, particularly those of high-tech companies?

FORBES: Fact And Comment

Why on earth is Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan so irked about equities, particularly those of high-tech companies?

FORBES: Fact And Comment