Nov. 26, 2006
Thanks to contributions and assistance from so many of you, Mike Ruppert was successfully moved from Venezuela to Canada on November 18th. He is currently in the greater Toronto area and receiving medical care and rest thanks to dedicated Peak Oil activists. In addition to his previously described symptoms it has been learned that his adrenal system is severely damaged and there may be toxicity of the liver. He has lost more than 20 pounds in the last ten weeks. Many of you have written suggesting possible poisoning as cause for his known symptoms. We are not pursuing that at the moment because the treatment for the symptoms would not change in either case.
Mike has received offers of residency from more than 20 countries on five continents. It will not be possible to further consider those options until his health has stablized which may take several months. In addition, Mike must also turn his attention to a number of legal issues arising from FTW's permanent cessation of operations.
LEGAL NOTICE -- Michael Ruppert has every intention of satisfying all legitimate outstanding debts of From The Wilderness Publications, Inc. Those creditors and customers with unfilled orders who have not received refunds are asked to maintain complete records. At a subsquent date, either the FTW web site or Mike Ruppert's blog will post notices about how to make contact and present claims. At present, the Ashland, Oregon offices are vacant and all phone lines have been disconnected. For the time being mail should still be sent to the Ashland address as it is being forwarded to a temporary holding area, pending new arrangements.
The first priority is for Mike to recover his health. He will, as soon as he is able, be pursuing legal and financial arrangements to satisfy all obligations but it may take several months before funds become available.
Mike sends the following message to all FTW subscribers, friends and fans:
"Over the past four months many of you have touched me with your generous and loving offers of support and encouragement. You have kept me alive. I have also understood, probably for the first time, how deeply FTW has impacted your lives and the lives of a new and younger generation. As my health and my access to your letters improves I will be writing personally to as many of you as I possibly can.
"I want to repeat something I have been saying in private emails over the last month. Personally, I am through forever with investigative journalism and public lecturing. I am leaving public life. It is my hope that by continuing to repeat this sincere position that many of the inexplicable difficulties which have dominated my life over the past months will ease.
"It is time to move on. I spent twenty-seven years as a dedicated public activist and that is something which I am no longer able or inclined to do. The price was ultimately too great. I want to assure all FTW creditors that if it takes the rest of my life we will pay off our debts. Unfortunately, any unfillfilled orders will not and cannot be shipped. We will refund them as soon as we are able. Many of the tragedies and mishaps which marked FTW's final months and necessitated its closure became a perfect storm. How they played out has already been discussed. But I am still alive and plans are underway to have the FTW web site archived in perpetuity on the internet for the benefit of future researchers and we expect that to happen soon.
"This is not the end but a new beginning."
While donations are not needed to relocate Mike to another country, there is still a need for funds to cover immediate medical expenses. Mike Ruppert will not be able to travel long distances for the foreseeable future. He will continue to work with and through his New York attorney Ray Kohlman and Jenna Orkin.
Please continue to send donations and essential correspondence to the address below. If sending a donation, please remember to put "For Mike Ruppert" in the memo line.
Ray Kohlman
300 East 71st St.
Suite 3H
New York, NY 10021
Thank you all.
"I've been waiting for something to happen, for a week or a month or a year..."
ReplyDeleteThis is GREAT NEWS!
While I am sorry to see FTW bite the dust, I am so glad to read that Mike is recovering!
brisa
ReplyDeletewhat a heartening message. it will do mike good just to hear it. thank you so much.
It's a shame that FTW will shut down, but I am very glad to hear that Mike is receiving medical attention, and that the priceless FTW content will be archived and kept available to all.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that Mike has decided to "let go." The stress can accumulate to the point where you can't take it any more. I too was in that situation once, and I too wisely let go. It disappointed a lot of people, but they were understanding.
And as Brisa says, we'll carry on from here. At the same time, we need a vehicle to keep the FTW community together. Can this blog fill that order? Can Jenna find the time to keep it going? And how about posts from other FTW team members? We've all gotten so much from FTW, so there should be a way to give it back and keep the community alive.
Mike--your work has touched more people than you can even imagine. For all of the vocal opposition and praise that you know of, there are a thousand-fold more who have quietly taken your work to heart.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that FTW has proven to be the most influential source of reliable information for me. While I'm sorry to see you step out of the public eye, I understand your reasons and wish you all the best.
Sincerely,
Jeremy
rice farmer
ReplyDeletei'm not doing the geo-political research that i was while ftw was going at full throttle but as long as i'm home and able to check email, your comments and everyone else's will be posted.
it's a question more of time than of interest. this blog community remains acutely aware of each other whether or not we overtly or regularly express it.
It is very good to learn that you've relocated to a potentially less challenging cultural environment, Michael (at least we should all hope Canada to be that way for you!)
ReplyDeleteAlso, you earn immeasurable respect and admiration for choosing to depart your most recent 26 yr period of service to humankind, having tirelessly directed the good fight as fearless researcher and reporter. And now, your retiring the sacred sword portends the warrior's act of self-birthing into wisdom well earned.
As for whether FTW proves to live beyond being mere archival monument to zealous pursuit of truth, we shall see. It is now up to the minds you have opened to do as we will with what you have shown us. And we thank you for being here with us, dear friend.
Enjoy your rest; be healed.
What a relief to hear that Mike is recuperating in Canada! I lived there for several years, and found it to be a good place--Canadians have a 'softer' quality than Americans, and a greater tendency to healthy questioning. I wish him well in his recovery. That his adrenal glands are compromised does not surpise me in any way. All that stress for so many years would take its toll on them. Making the decision to become more of a private person is a good step towards allowing those adrenals to relax and replenish. For me as well, I do not need any refund on whatever part of my subscription to FTW was left. I have received so much from this website that cannot be quantified. I DO hope this blog continues...
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your work.
Why would the CIA want to recruit a CIA case officers within a Los
Angles police department cover?
I want to use the following in my newsletter and post it on several Democratic
party websites in my area. Do you have any comments or clarification
to add?
HONOR, duty, Country
Dick
Everett, WA
Wall Street, CIA and the Global Drug Trade
Michael Ruppert was first recruited (by the CIA) when he was a senior
at UCLA. The Agency flew me to Washington and said: "Mike, we want you
to become a CIA case officer. You've already interned for LAPD for
three years, you interned for the chief, your family was CIA, your mother
was NSA. We want you to go back to the LAPD, and being an LAPD cop will
just be your cover."
Comment: Why would the CIA want to recruit a CIA case officers with
a Los Angles police department cover?
The (Kosovo) KLA controls 77 per cent of the heroin that's entering
into Western Europe.
If you and I go to a bank and we take in $10,001 in cash, the bank
has to fill out a currency transaction report because you might be
laundering money. General Electric-- GE can accept a check for 100 million
dollars from the biggest drug lord in the world, and there is no
requirement in the world that GE report that to anybody. But with a thing
called the "price-to-earnings ratio" on their shares, a hundred million
dollars in net profit for GE in South America--which was very easily done
last year--equates to, at a price-to-earnings ratio of thirty to one,
an increase in GE's stock value of three billion dollars.
It's the CIA's Volume 2 of their own Inspector-General's Report from
1998 where, in its own words, the Agency admits that of the 58 known
Contra groups, 58 were involved with drugs. And that the Agency dealt
with them; it protected six traffickers, kept them out of jail. One guy
moving four tons of cocaine a month was using a bank account opened by
White House staffer Oliver North.
In the mid- to late '70s, America dealt with oil cartels. We had an
oil crisis and it almost crippled the American economy. We had been
subsidized by very cheap oil that we acquired by, in a sense, exploiting
other countries. Well, then we had cartels of cocaine and we went from 40
to 50 metric tons a year to 600 metric tons a year. And that money was
moved through Wall Street and became, in effect, the capital that
replaced oil in the US economy.
When people start to talk to me about the Trilateral Commission, the
Council on Foreign Relations and the Bilderbergers--those are all
readily identifiable groups of people who are the wealthiest of the wealthy
in the world. And we find the Rothschilds and there are groups of
wealth in the world that are so powerful that political movements don't ever
touch them. And yes, they are in effect a guiding unseen hand.
Bill Clinton... Well, first of all, he was up to his eyeballs in CIA
cocaine in Mena, Arkansas. Again, it's provable; the Wall Street
Journal covered it. The New York Times covered the aspects of that. Gary Webb
in his fabulous book, Dark Alliance, produced documents showing that
CIA contracts at the Mena airport were negotiated by the Rose Law
Firm--Hillary's law firm. CIA has been under Clinton control, funneling money
into the Democratic Party. I firmly believe that Bill Clinton was
connected to the CIA as far back as when he was at Oxford. I believe his
trip to Moscow was not to protest the war. I believe it was to spy on
Americans.]
In October of '98, CIA Inspector-General Frederick Hitz released a
report...well, actually, he didn't release it; he had finished a report
as far back as May or June of '98. It was released to the public on
October 8, 1998, one hour after Henry Hyde's committee on the judiciary
voted to start the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
Then, in May, 1998, Maxine Waters received a "smoking gun" letter
from Reagan Attorney-General William French Smith to Bill Casey, where it
said the CIA no longer has to report drug trafficking by its agents!
Working on the release of this smoking-gun memorandum was a guy on the
Attorney-General's staff named Ken Starr.
One of the reasons why Colombia is like Vietnam is because we already
have about 300 Special Forces Green Beret advisers on the ground,
training Colombian troops, but we have maybe 500 to 1,000 former--and I use
that term real loosely--CIA Special Forces personnel who have
supposedly retired from the military and are now working for two corporations:
Dyncorp and MPRI. And they're in Colombia as "civilian advisers" but
they're going out on combat missions. They're flying airplanes, they're
shooting, they're being shot. We've had Army personnel shot down already.
About a year ago we had an Army plane shot down by a SAM
[surface-to-air missile].
We have major investment corporations like Nicholas Brady's Darby
Investments. Nicholas Brady was George Bush's Secretary of the Treasury.
He has just opened a billion-dollar investment partnership with a group
called Corfinsura, based in Medellín, Colombia, to build roads and
dams. And it's like what we saw in Vietnam with major companies like Brown
& Root going in to build Cam Ranh Bay, making billions of dollars in
profit.
So we're going in to suck out. You see, for twenty or thirty years
now, the drug money has been building up in Colombia. There's trillions
of dollars in equity that's accumulated and it's become a threat to Wall
Street's control, so we have to go down and blow the country up to take
the money back to make sure it doesn't become powerful. Venezuela is
not going along with this, like Cambodia would not go along with the
Vietnam War and Laos wouldn't either. President Hugo Chavez is denying
overflight to American planes, so we're gonna sabotage the Venezuelan
economy! This is going to suck us into a hemispheric conflict just like
Vietnam.
We're being told that we're going to fight the evil drug lords. Well,
the American Press even now is having trouble selling that to the
American people. And even now, in the first or second week in September of
2000, we're starting to have body counts turn up in the news. It's just
like Vietnam.
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/wallstdrugs.html
my N&V newsletters:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewsViewsnolose
my book (a draft) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newsviewsnolose2
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningOnEmptyDemocratCaucusWA
From Michael Kane:
ReplyDeleteAdvice for those looking to continue the spirit of FTW:
Read Crossing the Rubicon. Read the FTW archives. Understand our maps on oil&gas, geo-political events, the economy, and renewable energy. Once you understand this to the best of your ability follow the news, link relevant reports at the blog and analyze them.
Follow the websites that are in FTW's links section, but do not assume they are always 100% correct in their analysis.
FTW's demise could be a resurgence for critical thinking and personal responsibility. No longer do you have the crutch of FTW - now you have to do it on your own. Keep following and contributing to the blog and watch for reports and articles from past FTW writers to help guide you. We are not gone entirely. For example Stan Goff is still writing feverishly.
http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/200601003_white_supremacism_sexism_militarism/
Personally, I believe the last article of true importance on Peak Oil in the context of geo-political events (which has been the FTW mandate) was written on October 4, 2005 by Mike Ruppert and myself titled THE MARKETS REACT TO PEAK OIL. That report details the bumpy plateau of oil production that we are now balancing upon.
That report was the last relevant word on the geo-political reality of Peak Oil. That reality is now history. It is virtually written in stone.
The only thing that matters now is the LOCAL reality of Peak Oil. Anyone focussing on geo-political events like a soap opera has not paid close enough attention to FTW's past 5 years of work. There are greater forces at play that are out of our control - both political and spiritual. We must recognize what we can control and start taking responsibility for it.
The end of FTW came at the perfect time - it sends the right message at the right time. Stop worrying about the world's problems and start worrying about your community's problems. The latter is actually within your grasp. Start fixing your own personal problems. If you want to be a valid and valuable member of a Post-Peak community you need to get over your hang-ups, maximize your health, exercise extreme mental discipline, develop excellent socialization skills (perhaps the most important), and ready your mind to open up and take in the many important skills and lessons you will need to thrive and survive; this is the knowledge we must pass on to the next generation.
peace eternal
m>k<
Michael Kane
It was nice to hear from Michael Kane. I hope FTW team members will poke their heads in here like that from time to time.
ReplyDeleteBut Michael and Jenna live in the Big Apple, right? I figure that in the near future, it will become the Rotten Apple, as other big cities will. I assume that you guys have developed contingency plans...
Japanese government "anti-terror" exercise
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061128TDY03003.htm
North Korea is Japan's perfect bogeyman. This is part of the process of demonization and fear-mongering. The danger of a fascist US lead by a mentally unbalanced wing-nut far outweighs that of the Hermit Kingdom, but try getting that message out.
"FEATURE-China weighs Iran and Iraq risks for oil prize"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BLA454445.htm
With its huge foreign currency reserves, China is scooping up energy and resources around the world, leaving the US with what Patty shot at. I guess I'll be resuming my study of Chinese.
Hooray for Mike! This is such good news! May the Universe guide & protect him! I'm so glad Mike is changing his direction. He is, I believe a very noble man. It isn't an easy thing to turn off your hearts desire, (so to speak), and away from all it stands for. But you must Mike! You should be so damn proud for all that you & your crew have accomplished. You are truly a great human being of this era. No one could ever tell me otherwise. Hang in there and please, please do everything you can to just get well & start enjoying your golden years. The "big movie" will just have to play out as it may. We've all learned a great deal & remain forever enlightened by your spirit.
ReplyDeleteI must give this vital info from "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" by James F. Balch, M.D.
I have nothing to do with this book! It's just a book I picked up & refer to for family & friends & it has worked very well! It says Vitamin B-5 & all B vitamins are essential for adrenal gland functioning. L-Tyrosine relieves stress on the adrenal glands.
Bare with me I quote the following from pg. 67 Adrenal Disorders: The adrenal glands are triangular-shaped organs resting on top of each kidney. Each gland weighs about five grams & is comprised of two parts: the cortex or outer section, which is responsible for the production of cortisone, and the medulla or central section, which secretes adrenaline. The adrenal cortex helps to maintain salt & water balance in the body. It is also involved in the mnetabolism of carbohydrates & the reglation of blood sugar. (There's a whole lot more info here but I'll cut to the chase).
The functioning ability of the adrenal glands is most often impaired due to extensive use of cortisone therapy for nonendocrine diseases, such as arthritis & asthma. And STRESS. Long term use of cortisone drugs causes the adrenal gland to shrink in size. Adrenocortical failure is caused by pituitary disease & turberculosis.
PANTOTHENIC ACID (Vitamin B5) is Essential & the adrenal glands will not function without it. Also Vitamin B Complex,(all B vitamins are necessary for adrenal function) & Vitamin C plus Bioflavonoids is Vital for adrenal function. Also L-Tyrosine which relieves excess stress put on the glands. Also Recommended: Avoid Alcohol, caffeine & tobacco, these substances are highly toxic to the adrenal gland & other glands. Stay away from fats, fried goods, ham, pork, highly processed foods, red meats, sodas, sugar and white flour. These foods put unnecessary stress on the adrenal glands.
Do consume plenty of fresh fruits & vegetables--particularly green, leafy ones. Brewers yeast, brown rice, legumes, olive & safflower oils, nuts, seeds, wheat germ & whole grains are healthy additions to the diet. Eat Deep water ocean fish, salmon & tuna at least 3 times a week. TAKE POSITIVE ACTION TO RELIEVE STRESSFUL SITUATIONS.
This last recommendation jumped out at me. There's more in the book but I just wanted to pass on what seemed most essential.
Again please do everything you can to get well so you can have some very well deserved quality time enjoying life & friends. We love you man!
P.S. Ditto on Dan Dashnaw's comment! The truth is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI have this blog of mine. 2 days ago I reported mike's move to Toronto. Today I had this comment to my post in spanish!
ReplyDeleteMike esta envenenado con plutonio
Of course this translates to Mike has been poisened by plutonium...
Can anyone talk about this?
Bob
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI have been a dedicated follower of this site since i doscovered it a year ago.
I am sorry that things are taking the turn they have, however,
I live in Toronto!!!!!! So , if you guys need any help. SERIOUSLY, let me know. I even work for the University of Toronto Community Radio station as a part-time journalist. I would be more than willing to help in anyway that I could.
Donovon Ceaser
donovonc@gmail.com
"Japan Urges Indonesia to Guarantee Supply of Liquefied Gas"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/ekbis/2006/11/29/brk,20061129-88667,uk.html
Japan wants to lock in LNG supplies, but Indonesia admits it no longer has the capacity to guarantee exports, saying its own country comes first. Now who would have expected them to say something like that?
Now that Mike is apparently in a safe haven, who can recommend an alternate URL(s) for the kind of info formerly available on FTW?
ReplyDeletePlease let us know about Mike's recovery. I am still
ReplyDeleteconcerned about his condition. I too do not want to
be reimbursed for my subsciption to the FTW website. It is the very least I can do right now but
want to send money from time to time. I am praying
for your complete recovery and continued sucess with whatever endeavor you decide will satisfy your
soul. You have impacted my life with your truth-telling.
"Oil tops $62 as inventories fall"
ReplyDeletehttp://money.cnn.com/2006/11/29/markets/oil_eia/index.htm/postversion/2006112911
Beachwizard -- there are some links right on this blog, and the FTW site also has a bunch. That should get you started!
Beachwizard: Someone else on this blog recommended this site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.inteldaily.com/
I have found it to be quite good, with a very similar approach to Peak Oil and geopolitics to FTW. Current articles with some commentary. Also Carolyn Baker's blog is excellent. (Sorry, I don't have the URL handy).
the symptoms sound like an extreme depletion syndrome. take him to dr cher (think thats his name) on dundas street for some acupuncture. get him some bai ren shen from my man kevin at www.ancientway.com
ReplyDeleteorganic walnuts, black rice, black beans, raspberries, red grapes. there are some good herbs he can take as well as acupuncture. for the calcification, you can also check out www.calcify.com edta chelation is very inexpensive. you can make the suppositories in your own home. use coconut butter.
"China's growing stake in Pakistan"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HK30Df01.html
thanks lawrence -
ReplyDeleteplease make the check out to 'ray kohlman' who's mike's attorney but in the memo line please write 'for mike ruppert'
Mike,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Canada. It may be a good thing you came here via Venezuela.
If you came directly here, that is, you did not stop anywhere in the US on the way, consider applying for refugee status. (Before anyone takes this the wrong way, I was pleased with the outcome of last night's election.)
Having come from Venezuela you are not automatically excluded under the Safe Third Country Act. As a refugee applicant, your health care costs will be covered under the Interim Federal Healthcare Program. That is, you will have full access to the (free) social health care program that Canadian residents receive.
If you have no means of support you will be provided with welfare benefits.
Eventually, your case will be reviewed by a (non-adversarial) Refugee Tribunal, but you will receive full due process and assistance from a free lawyer if you cannot afford one.
How successful your case will be before the tribunal, I cannot speculate, but access to free healthcare in the meantime will relieve you from some financial pressures. The full refugee determination process can take years.
BTW, even though the US is a Safe Third country which suggests we do not accept refugees from the US, there is a small but growing contingent of US citizens applying for refugee status.
Something to consider.
Jack
Mike, when you’re feeling better and looking for something to lighten your mood go check out the new James Bond movie.
ReplyDeleteBesides being a just a great movie it’s also got a nice tip of the hat to one of those amazing 9/11 pieces of work that you brought to light. I don’t want to ruin the plot, but it’s one of those smoking guns that NO ONE in the public wants to touch and are trying so hard to distract everyone from talking about. It just popped up on the popular culture radar and on the big screen. It’s like your modern day Three Days of The Condor moment.
The American people gave a slap in the face to BushCo.
ReplyDeleteNow is the time to bring charges under the 96 War Crimes Act against all
participants in 9/11 and the illegal wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. Spitzer
may have helped bury 9/11 at the time, but he seemed to understand the crime.
Perhaps his new position will allow him to reconsider with others the merits of
the case. With Iraq, the case would be hard to lose. Bush and Cheney should
respect the will of the American people and resign, because like Rumsfeld, they
will not have time for a job, as they will be testifying in many trials and
commissions. Speaker Pelosi will tend to reconciliation, but she can open the
door if she has any independence. The road to peace with Islam will have to be
paved with our criminals, the neocon gang. The light will shine and FTW will
dissipate into a million rays to take it to the next level.
Beware Kerry, Lieberman, Specter and other elite operatives who will stymie
inquiry. (Thanks for that last minute gaffe, Kerry, it almost worked.) Oh, and
on behalf of all of us to all the collaborators, the thieves of innocence, ha ha
ha!!!
Stand Firm
Go on the attack.
I was sorry to see FTW come to an end. I have always considered Mike to be at the extreme end of the spectrum of Peak Oil and the politics that come with it (that's actually a compliment!), yet we seriously need the worst-case scenario put in front of us all on a regular basis. No one has done it better. Hope you recover soon, Mike. You will be missed.
ReplyDeleteJenna,
ReplyDeletehow can the FTW readers here in Toronto help Mike out? What does he need? I would very much like to do something for him.
thanks,
james
I have not followed blogs before but I have been inspired by Mike's various videos (purchased by my employer before he tragically died.
ReplyDeleteIt is now November 2007 and I am starting to look around again in the wake of pronouncements about Brazil's reserves. The waters are murky and it is clarity that I seek.
Hopefully someone can comment, but It would be great to have just a few words from Mike. A man worthy of the highest respect, and I hope that he is recovering well. I know that there are times when the baton must be passed, but hopefully Mike can comment.
david, i don't know who's still reading this particular post. try submitting your comment to the latest post which was two days ago
ReplyDelete