[Carlhole]

thx

[dukey]

yay doomer porn :D

[RacerJace]

I just finished watching CoLLapse.. It was spooky hearing/seeing Michael Ruppert describe all of the aspects of collapse in context with peak oil and economic destruction, political impotence, war, famine and finaly belief in survival and love of life and community. I was fully empathizing with him every step of the way. I have done all the things he (amoung others) had urged people to do back in 2005. Get out of debt, invest in real gold and prepare to be self sufficient (especially with food). I went through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and I'm only just starting to feel some level of acceptance. I have sobbed and felt dispare. I've drank myself silly (alone) on many occasions and then dragged myself out of the darkness and with ... I don't know... some resignation mixed with determination and a lot of love for my wife and children, come to realise that you just have to get on and enjoy life. We are not very far past the peak here in Australia (as far as living standards go I mean). The rollercoaster is just rolling and bumping through the first section of the plateau before the big dipper goes down to the first real scary drop-off and everyone starts screaming. The view is great from up here. I feel charged with anticipaction and fear, anxiety and ... I wait in the shadows... I hope. Soon I will step out into the sunlight and begin to feel purpose again.

[eXpat]

Thank you very much for this

[Dukkha]

Thanks for posting it. I've never really bothered with him before - the doomer stuff irritates me a bit too much - but it was interesting to see him emphasise the importance of community and how the rugged individual in the hills was not a sensible response - an attitude which doesn't really come through on this website. I also couldn't shake off the feeling that he's a desperately lonely and sad man - I felt very sorry for him.

[efarmer]

It's a tough gig when night after night one takes the stage and toots out the plaintiff notes of the dirges of destruction and the blues of oblivion on the wailing horn of doom. The player eventually begins to search for something they can toot on their horn that is not so poisonous to the joy of each and every moment of existence and has the chance of eliciting a smile from the crowd.

In essence they put the horn of doom to their lips and attempt to play a Dixieland Jazz funeral march and being stuck in the groove of their paying gig for so long, all that comes out is a somber version of taps with a few half hearted ersatz toots that sound like goose farts. Seeing smiles in the crowd they are heartened that they are successfully making the transition to jazz, but in truth, people always laugh at fart noises, even if they are coming from the horn of doom and are in fact the intro to the Doomer anthem, "When the SHTF" which is the dead ender's version of When the Saints Come Marching In".

I have never been on a flight with one of the snuff peddlers on their way to a doom concert, but I am left to wonder if they go to the pilot on their way to their seat and let him know that if something goes way bad and it looks bleak, they would like to be able to get a microphone and make the announcement first.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dukkha', ' ')the rugged individual in the hills was not a sensible response - an attitude which doesn't really come through on this website.

[Sixstrings]

Guys, it's also available on most cable systems that have on-demand movies (look under documentary -- I watched it a few days ago).

It's really too bad the producers don't have an on-demand thing on their own website (though I guess theater and on-demand contracts don't allow that). On the one hand, they deserve to be paid for their work. On the other hand, this is only playing in certain cities and I can see how people don't want to wait for it to come out on DVD.

[mcgowanjm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dukkha', ' ')the rugged individual in the hills was not a sensible response - an attitude which doesn't really come through on this website.

[efarmer]

I Jolly Roger that notion Ludi and add a Curly Joe "Soyt-enlee" as well.

I just don't like the idea of being locked up in angst with a belly full of fear
and loathing as a way of life and would rather cheerfully do something
even if it is wrong.

May the best snuff peddler win and gain the right to claim the
"I told you so first" doom trophy.

For myself, I would rather flit like a big goofy June bug and fly
into the bug light thinking I was going on vacation. Of course this
would cheat me out of being demoralized and pain poisoned before
I died, but all in all, seems like a better deal to me.

[Carlhole]

Meh. I lost respect for Michael Ruppert. He's a bit whack. I used to be a subscriber of FromTheWilderness.com though. Loved his pieces back in 2001-02.

"Collapse" offers nothing new for me. I've heard (or thought about) all these things for about 10 years now. In fact, I can't think of so much as a tidbit of new information I gleaned from the film. Watching this film is exactly like perusing PeakOil.com.

It seems doubtful that "Collapse" will raise awareness of peak oil much. Doing an Oprah Show would have gotten Mike more mileage.


"Shit! How can you possibly say there's no hope? Just change your mind and see what we see. Stop thinking like dinosaurs." -- Mike Ruppert
"The greatest part of the American character is when we get pissed off and we put our minds to something that needs to be done, and we believe in it, we really CAN change things". -- Ruppert

You mean doom is NOT inevitable, Mike? What is he trying to say?

[Homesteader]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dukkha', ' ')the rugged individual in the hills was not a sensible response - an attitude which doesn't really come through on this website.

[hardtootell-2]

I agree that he seems to say nothing new. I found his "it can't be done" attitude pretty irritating and unrealistic. I have seen way too much of that in my professional and personal life. I even consciously take the opposite view and stray close to the technocopian line. Knowing the truth of our predicament is good. Giving up hope is not. Just because I cannot imagine a comprehensive solution, does not mean that there isn't some kind of patchwork that will get some people through. Look at what our ancestors accomplished with much much less.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mcgowanjm', '
')Again D Orlov and 2010 predictions:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')In particular, organized crime rings will start using data mining software to identify lightly guarded cabins and compounds in Montana and other remote locations

[TheDude]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '&')quot;Collapse" offers nothing new for me. I've heard (or thought about) all these things for about 10 years now. In fact, I can't think of so much as a tidbit of new information I gleaned from the film. Watching this film is exactly like perusing PeakOil.com.

[efarmer]

A fella sure gets tired of eating the same old doomburger helper
night after night. Sure would be nice if the snuff peddlers would
make a little conspiracy spice cake or fright pie for dessert once
in awhile. But no, it's doomburger helper and a browned pound of
ground zombie.

You are what you eat. Doom, it's what's for dinner. Again.

I am in the mood for something fishy, I think I will go watch
CSPAN instead.

[MikeB]

Good. Now I don't have to waste my money.

1. The first 45 minutes or so feels exactly like out-takes from End of Suburbia. There is some of the same archival footage, and Ruppert rehashes some of his own soundbytes.

2. For someone so opposed to "bullshit," there's a few dollops of it here.

a. He quotes "a Christian named Timothy" who said, "The love of money is the root of all evil." Ruppert should check his sources before he quotes them. No one named "Timothy" said it. It's a reputed letter of Paul to Timothy, and it turns out Paul didn't even write it, and no "Timothy" ever received it. It's from Paul inauthentic letters--basically Church forgeries.

b. He rehashes the post-Soviet empire Fable of North Korea vs. Cuba. Cuba succeeded because they gardened "organically." North Korea failed because it didn't. I don't suppose climate had anything to do with it, North Korea being decidedly "North" and Cuba decidedly tropical. And you're gonna tell me all those Cubans never once used pesticides or fertilizers? I'll wager they farmed any damned way they pleased.

Also, Ruppert says we need to "collect organic seeds." What pap. I think he means "open-pollinated" seeds, ones you can plant. Who gives a care whether their certified by the Sustainability Police?

c. Finally, perhaps most egregiously, Ruppert cites the bullshit story of "The Hundredth Monkey" to support the idea that some transformation in human thinking is going to transpire. The problem is, The hundredth monkey never happened! http://www.skepdic.com/monkey.html

Like Thom Hartmann, who wrote a crappy book called "The Last Days of Ancient Sunlight," Ruppert falls for New Age bullshit.

[MikeB]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')irst post in a year. What brings you back? Obviously not your love for Mikey

[eastbay]

KillJOY you joined four days before I did. Another Class of '04 member. How about that.

Yes, it's a lot of repeats from what we read here and close to us. Some basic additional content editing would have been helpful. But for anyone new to this, it's a Grand Slam IMO. I sent the link around to a few PO unaware friends. Well, they're not 'unaware' exactly because they hear me rant about it all the time, but maybe, 'unconvinced' friends.


Thanks!!