Andrew Leonard at How the World Works discusses the news that China has instituted a blockade of rare earth minerals against the U.S.:
rare earth minerals are crucial to the manufacture of clean energy technology products and strategically sensitive military hardware, but China currently has a near-total monopoly on their production.
Tonight the BBC said shipments of these minerals to Japan were also being blocked by China. They felt it was China’s way of teaching the rest of the world a lesson. But China denies that.