BlogHerald reports that in the past six months U.S. Newspaper circulation has dropped a further 3.6 per cent.  This is primarily because more people are turning to online resources.  

I do not know the numbers for this blog, but I bet the hits and visitors have gone up by more than 3.6 per cent in the past six months.

I do not read newspapers anymore.  I scan the occasional Canadian Globe and Mail; but it is so repetitive: every issue has a least one article on the homeless, one on drug addicts, one on prostitutes, one on buildings that should not be torn down, and one on the wickedness of the US.   Why should I pay for that, or even waste my time looking at my boss’s free copy?

When travelling in the US, I pick up the occasional U.S. News & World Report with its colorful pages.  But even that can be absorbed in less time than it takes the average breakfast waitress to bring the coffee. 

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The problem with discussion forums on the web is the sheer triviality of it all—unless you are the initiator of the conversation, when the topic is dead serious.  Below are extracts from PomsInOz (the English in Australia) and a discussion on mining ruining Vancouver.  I repeat the questions and comments without edit.  They provide a unique and “honest” perspective of working in a mine or living in a rich city–quite different from the official announcements at conferences in palm-fringed resorts. 

Andy starts out asking: 

hi.. my names andy and im from cornwall uk.
question… are there any miners on this forum that are actually working in the mines in wa. im an experienced underground tin miner (south crofty mine) and would like any advice you guys can give me on this please, companys.. areas..wages.. contacts. been thinking about leaving uk for oz for a while now. i am also a blockie/mason, another option i guess. any help would be great.

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