by annie » Fri 28 Oct 2005, 10:52:55
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('killJOY', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')mportant Disclaimer
Dale Allen Pfeiffer is no longer associated with Michael C. Ruppert or From the Wilderness publications. He wishes to make it known that he does not agree with the views of Michael Ruppert or his publication
What is going on?
Anyone have the dirt?
I totally respect Dale. He published an article of mine in his newsletter, and his essay about oil and food was the second piece I read about peak oil.
http://www.survivingpeakoil.com/ Here is a response to the above question from Dale Allen Pfeiffer to a reader at [
http://www.survivingpeakoil.com ]. Hope it answers some of your questions. Feel free to ask Dale yourself if you have any questions about the answers.
Annie
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dale Allen Pfeiffer', 'B')ob,
For a professional critique of Mike Ruppert's journalism, please see my blog at
http://www.lulu.com/allenadale. The entries dealing with MR are rather far down the page.
In addition and on a more personal level, Mike Ruppert misrepresented the circumstances of my departure. I did not leave FTW because they could not meet my asking price. At the time of my termination, I was making $1,500 a month from FTW in exchange for my writing and editorial services. Though it was barely enough to meet my monthly family expenses, this was my sole income. A couple of years ago, MR had asked me to write exclusively for FTW, stating that people came to FTW looking for my writing. He repeatedly promised that within a year or two at most, he would increase my salary to $50,000 or more. As a result of this, I developed no career outside of FTW. The monthly retainer was little enough, but to make it even worse, for the past year, my paycheck would arrive weeks behind schedule, often not arriving at all until after I complained to MR and the office staff. For my complaints, MR began portraying me as a whiner.
In spite of all this, when I finally separated with FTW, it was over journalistic issues. MR and Jamey Hecht had treated several of my recent submissions in an unethical and unprofessional manner. This culminated in an article I wrote about Peak Oil & the Working Class, and which I subsequently removed from submission. The events surrounding that article, which would take too long to relate here, ultimately led to my termination by Mike Ruppert.
However, these are personal disputes. For a professional criticism, please see my blog. I will add to the criticisms there that MR has a tendency to take credit for the work of his writers. An example of this is the gold investment DVD where all he does is ape the information told to him by Catherine Austin Fitts.
Mike Ruppert often represents himself as an expert on subjects he knows little about beyond the articles published on his website. MR likes to present himself as an energy expert, and says that FTW brought peak oil to the public. An examination of the FTW archives will show that Mike said little about energy and nothing about energy depletion before I began writing for him in December of 2001. A review of his 9-11 video of a speech he made at about the time I made my first submission to him will also bear this out. In truth, if anyone should be given credit for bringing energy depletion to the public, it should be Jay Hanson, followed by Richard Heinberg. FTW did play a part in this, though I regret that information presented in FTW was misinterpreted, sensationalized and tainted by MR.
Since leaving FTW, I have received a number of revelations from various sources that make me question MR's motivation. I now believe that Mike Ruppert profiteers on important topics such as 9-11 and peak oil. Currently, MR is charging $5,000 for public appearances, in addition to expenses. And I have it through personal accounts that MR and his publicist requested a $2,500 "donation" for the privilege of having lunch with MR.
And then there is his recent plea for donations so that he can move to Oregon. This really burns me up, considering that he terminated my position without severance pay at a time when I was moving from Michigan to Kentucky, with all the attending expenses. May I add that my termination came within a month after MR had provided letters to my mortgage company and Michigan Friend of the Court (in regard to a child custody matter) stating that I was an indispensable part of FTW and would always have a position with them. When I see MR pulling this scam while I am on foodstamps and government assistance, it makes me want to vomit.
I should also say a word in defense of the office workers MR vilified in his plea. When Sesylia and Cynthia were office managers, I always received my check on time. And any problem I had was taken care of efficiently and courteously. Based on my personal experiences with these people, I cannot believe that they were FBI plants intended to ruin FTW.
Anyway, as you can tell I have a large sore spot when it comes to MR and FTW. As I said, for a professional critique, please visit my blog.
Dale Allen Pfeiffer