links for 2009-01-09

A course I would desperately like to take. May need to simply harrass the professor instead. Thrilled to see someone studing infrastructure as a path to understanding globalization

Interesting musings on data retention laws and cloud computing. As much as cloud vendors would like their users to think of the cloud as a black box, it becomes important to understand the infrastructure to comply with local laws.

Gorgeous flow map showing US oil imports from 1973-present in dollar and barrel terms