[DamienJasper]

Now THIS is why I didn't want this thread moved.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DamienJasper', 'N')ow THIS is why I didn't want this thread moved.

[Guest]

Yes. I'm not even trying to deny it.

[DamienJasper]

Beats me why the last post had me logged in as "Guest"

[drew]

Damian, I 'm beginning to wonder if you're an attention whore.
Seriously though, all kidding aside I think you need to read some Solzhenytzen. My first reading of Alexander S. was a bit much for me, I must admit, and I could not read him for several more years. You are young, as I was, but you seem so sad I think Solzhenytzen would help. Many who do not know the author will not get it so I will explain. A. S. is one of the most positive individuals to ever walk this earth and that is the beauty of his work. He had the misfortune of spending 10 years in the soviet gulag, and lived to tell of it. The gulag system, my young freind, was not far removed from Hitler's concentration camps and killed far more people outright in its 50 or 60 years of existence. A.S. was an army officer who was picked up for writing a joke about Stalin in a letter to a friend, and overnite he lost everything-except his mind/soul/spirit-what ever you call it. This spirit allowed him to survive what would kill most men-slow starvation, brutal abuse, violence, cold, heat, sickness, and work. ' A life in the day of Ivan Denisvich' is autobiographical, and lays out one day of his internment, building a structure in -40 c weather. A.S. is happy, I kid you not, to scam an extral bowl of soup, to have warm felt booties stuffed with rags, to work hard, to stand by the fire burning in an oil drum. He is happy during the 7 mile march back to the camp after a twelve hour work day, happy to live one more day. His works are infused with this zest for life, there is no other word for it, despite writing about the most sad and depressing an existance possible. In 'The Gulag Archipelago' AS's ten year stint, he writes about being escorted on a city bus (or train) to a work detail amongst ordinary free Russians. AS is actually angry at them for talking about banalities, in his experience any ways, about a boss, a cheating spouse, the slowness of thr train, crappy food ,etc. Solzheytsen is furious and can't wait to be reunited with his fellow inmates (90% wern't criminals as we know them) so they can talk about life, share each other's existence, and be. He says 'you can lose everything you have in a second, all that has true meaning resides within, that is what is important' (I am paraphrasing a bit, sorry) I have read somewhere around 7 of his works, they are very, very heavy reads, but deeply meaningful. Perhaps this will help.

Drew

[mgibbons19]

I have never gotten more than a few pages into the Gulag Archipelago yet. Thanks for the recommendation, I will give it another try.

Look, you could get flattened by a bus tomorrow. If you wasted today worrying about next week, it will have been a wasted day.

[DamienJasper]

Drew: I'm not an attention whore. But I've been to counselors and therapists. It does no good to tell them I'm depressed about something I can't control, does it? That book you talk about says that the author is frustrated with Russian citizens because they speak of banalities and aren't in touch with their 'real' selves. The same could be said for taking depression medication, couldn't it?

mgibbons: I've heard that before and I appreciate your chiming in. But you're talking about what might happen and I'm talking about what is definately going to happen. Big difference, no?

[cornholio]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DamienJasper', 'D')rew: I'm not an attention whore. But I've been to counselors and therapists. It does no good to tell them I'm depressed about something I can't control, does it? That book you talk about says that the author is frustrated with Russian citizens because they speak of banalities and aren't in touch with their 'real' selves. The same could be said for taking depression medication, couldn't it?

[DamienJasper]

In short, I've been there and done that. Doesn't change a thing about oil, does it?

[drew]

It wasn't that the free russian folks weren't in touch with their 'real selves', it was the fact that what they concerned themselves with was trivial, in AS's mind, that angered him. When you have had every material comfort, family, house, and freedom taken away what is left? The essential decency of human companionship was, and is, the most precious gift we own, in AS's opinion, and mine.

You say essentially 'PO is coming, I have no power,... nothing I can do to change it,...etc..' ; AS was in a far worse situation powerwise, yet he miraculously managed to thrive. His attitude and spirit are what allowed him to do so. You have every freedom in the world!!!

BTW I used to get super upset about the completely stacked political system that exists in the west, and I was as lost as you purport to be in finding solutions (In my case, real democracy, social political revolution, unionism). I realized I could protest (did once), write (a few times), or become a radical (I value my freedom way too much).

In the end though, I lost so much of my anger because I realized the political front was something I could not change in any meaningful way, I was, and am, but one man. Like I said, try not to worry about things you cannot possibly control. However, empower yourself, do things for you, and your immediate freinds and family. They are what matters anyway.

PS Cornholio's advice was very good.



Drew

[cornholio]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DamienJasper', 'I')n short, I've been there and done that. Doesn't change a thing about oil, does it?

[DamienJasper]

Okay, this is all redundant at this point. I saw a post somewhere else (one of half a dozen maybe) that makes fun of Christians for being blindly faithful and the like. Isn't what you're saying, about "just being happy" the same thing. The difference with AS's situation, despite being in prison and all that is that he still had access to food and necessities. Isn't PO going to put those things out of reach? Even a can of beans? If not, then why spend all this time talking about a die off?

But again, thanks for the input.

[drew]

Damian , you don't get it do you? Try reading the books me and cornholio suggested and then come back online and discuss-it would do you a world of good. Sohlzenytsen lived in death camps, where more than 70 % perished in the first year of imprisonment. The Gulag killed 50 to 70 million people!!!How can you even suggest AS had the necsssities of life? He said, by his own account, that what saved him from certain death was a lie he told in his first year. The kgb was looking for professionals to help the regime and asked at the gulag. AS lied and said he was a nuclear phyicist- he was a high school teacher before wwII. He still did a ten year stint, with better conditions. He is 100 % certain he would have died had he not taken a chance.

Attitude is everything my freind-even where PO is concerned

Drew

[cornholio]

Well, I'm not Christian and the decision to be happy has nothing to do with faith... it's simply pragmatic. As a human animal you decide how to interpret the events in your life, your surroundings and your role in the world. And, you can decide to be content with what you are handed and lead a happy life or you can bitch and whine and be miserable. It really is up to you to choose to be content with what you have. Being content is pragmatic (it's in your best interest).

Regardless of how you see Peak Oil unfolding (personally I think the doomers will be disappointed) you will benefit by realizing just how little you need to survive and be content. Peak Oil threatens wasteful trips to shopping malls, mindless road trips on 2$/gallon gas and endless growth of the stock market. It does not make the air unbreathable, does not cause bodily pain, and will not keep affordable beans and rice off the shelves in our lifetime. Life will go on and need not be miserable (unless you make it so)...

Doomers choose to discuss die-off scenarios because they have convinced themselves that that is the inevitable consequence of peaking oil... But, timeframe is often lost in these discussions. Even if this year is peak oil in 35 years the world will be pumping as much oil as 1970 (following a bell curve)... Tractors will still be running and you will still be able to buy your beans. There is a huge amount of coal to keep electricity going. If coal is needed for something else (gassification for liquid fuels) there will be time to build nuclear facilities (possibly breeder reactors or thorium reactors). In those 30 years light rail networks can be built as the need becomes apparent.

The interaction of increased efficiency (out of necessity), improving technology, and decreased demand (through recession/ depression/ loss of globalization) makes prediction beyond 30 years impossible, but doom/gloom is not the only or even the most likely outcome. Starvation is not inevitable in our lifetime (in developed countries).

Personally I think PO is a reason to be efficient and develop frugal habits... If possible live close to work, drive an efficient car (or bike when needed), live in an efficient house and turn down the thermostat a little... And be ready to adjust as needed. That approach should be enough. Have faith in your ability to adjust to change...

[DamienJasper]

Look, I really, really do appreciate your input. But consider this:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')So says Michael Ruppert in the most recent NY Times. He says that an economic collapse of Great Depression proportions is mere weeks away. Thoughts? I'm not sure what to make of this guy.


Couple of weeks? No! Couple of months? Yes!. There has to be a catalyst that starts the ball rolling. A depression is like a big bomb, something or someone has to light the fuse.

The fuse that sets off the bomb will be the Iranian Oil bourse. The fire that lights the fuse will be the euro currency. The bomb will explode when the Iranians are able to replace the dollar as their oil currency and use euros instead. That is slated to happen something about 20 March 2006.

Once the sale in oil in euros overcomes it initial hurdels and the petrodollar that subsidizes the US economy takes a nose dive, then the depression will be upon the US. By next year at this time, the main source of food for many Americans will be the Salvation Army soup kitchen.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DamienJasper', 'W')hy would you EVER want to stick around and watch the world crumble around you like this, yet go on telling yourself to be happy.

[DamienJasper]

Look, I dont' know how much more plain to make this; I don't care about "humans perservering" at this point. I am not the totality of humanity. Let's face it, when we think about this stuff, the most predominant concept on our mind is "What about me? What will happen to me?" Saying "people will survive" or "humanity will still be around" is a given and a noshitter.

I'm just trying to get rid of my nightmares, waking and sleeping. ANd from the individual perspective, what is worse than seeing your worst nightmares come true? Certainly, death couldn't be any worse at the very least, right?

[drew]

If by death you mean self inflicted, I agree, but then what are you doing except taking the selfish route? I am assuming you have freinds and family, and it is they who will suffer beyond your wildest imagination. Even if you are a hermit, the cops, paramedics, firemen, or anyone else unlucky enough, who discovers your body will suffer. It may not be personal, but still would be an insult to the psyche, probably hardening the souls of these individuals making the world a darker place than it already is.

Get some help please.

Being in a dark place is a state of mind-nothing more.

Get some help. There is already enough hurt in the world, don't add more.

Drew

[DamienJasper]

Do you honestly think I WANT to? I don't want to hurt anybody. But saying that having me dead will hurt my family is a given. And I know it's selfish. But...I don't want to stick around and watch them suffer, die and starve either, which is the most likely scenario from a logical standpoint. My family, we've been down before. We've had bankruptcy, near foreclosure, unemployment, seperation. We've had it in the last 5 years. But watching them starve and die and know this is an unstoppable course is something all together different. I'm clearly having trouble expressing my fears here. But it's like the scenarios show, food will be gone, access to food will be gone. The world is headed toward a cesspool of misery in the next few years most likely. Every time I look one of my family members in the face I see walking corpses and in haunts my mind several times every hour. I don't know how much longer I can take the nightmares. And this may sound truly grotesque, but what the hell; I looked around at my church congregation this Sunday and hideously enough started wondering "Which ones are going to be eaten?"

I know I need help. But the help I need doesn't exist apparently.

[drew]

Help?

Ask God

and I don't mean in church.

Sounds weird coming from me, but it works.

Drew