You are currently browsing the daily archive for March 14th, 2007.
John Chadwick has turned International Mining into a visual delight, like the National Geographic, which I received for thirty years, looking at the pictures and never reading the text. I then decided to read the editorial in March’s International Mining. Here is my critique of John’s opinion, another gloomy piece that ignores the reality of America. Let me put the Englishman right by reminding him of the strengths and spirit of the average American and the common sense that rules the U.S.A. in spite of foreign criticism and national self-interested groups.
John writes of a study being undertaken by the National Academies on factors influencing the supply of minerals critical to the United States’ economy. It seems that while the U.S. consumes most of the world’s minerals, it does not produce many, and certainly the U.S. is not spending nearly enough on exploration to find the supply needed in the future. The really bad-sounding news, which will no doubt be used to justify the funding of a study, is that in 2006, the U.S. imported over fifty percent of the top 45 minerals consumed and relied one-hundred-percent on imports for 17 of the top minerals it consumed.
The best part of Business.scotsman.com is the advert. I found myself watching in fascination as a balloon floated up the box and displaced same text about tax free savings, then the balloon raised a ticket telling you you can get 6.0 percent with ING DIRECT. Sadly, the link telling me to find out more took so long to download that I lost patience; I never did see it. Instead I phoned my own taxman and told him I will send the income slips next week—just a reminder that tax day approaches, and now is as bad a time as any to deal with taxes, so here are some profound thoughts on social issues to distract you from reality.
