Traditional mining and mining the internet for information

A critic attacked me for mining the internet for information and presenting it in this blog and other forums. Here is my defence. The very essence of American capitalism is that you add value to a product, charge for the value added product, and thereby make money. Only in sad countries that do not espouse the American work ethic is it considered immoral to make a profit from honest labor—in this case adding value to a raw product.

Energy and the environment – politicians put on a show

Three news items about interfering politician, and they are all doing it for personal benefit, not societal improvement:

• Alberta oil sands could be nationaized if the industry fails to curb emissions.
• Zimbabwe gold production falls to new lows as miners are not paid.
• Bush’s budget seeks $2.7 billion for energy research.

Actually this third item is probaby good news for the mining industry. The proposed U.S. budget calls for accelerated research into power generation based on coal, nuclear energy, and renewable resources.