Saturday, November 22, 2008

JUDGING ME JUDGING OBAMA

It's quite clear to me that those of you leaving comments critiquing my analysis of the nascent Obama administration really don't have a clue as to what I am saying. On the other hand I see many who do. Rather than write three thousand words trying to explain it again I think I'll just let the next months demonstrate what I have been saying, I thought rather clearly.

I have not rolled over for anyone and those who know me understand that it's not in my DNA. Having a body and a soul replete with scars I no longer run out with people who want to risk their lives in Quixotic, ill-conceived skirmishes. Stop saying that it's the same people, doing the same things, in the same old game. The people may be the same but the "things" and the "game" have changed. Hell the gameboard has changed too. I don't have a complete pithy response and it's frustrating. But play with these ideas...

Take this as a given: The people who will be occupying the White House are not running the collapse. The collapse is running them.

Never in my lifetime have I seen The Powers That Be as vulnerable as they are at this moment. In my lifetime, the closest it ever came was 1968. That's when they killed Bobby and Martin. After Newark and Detroit and a four or five other riots; after the Chicago convention; after Tet... Shit, the whole country almost came apart. But they kept control. Now, assassinations and troops in the streets will only lose them more control. The assassinations were tools of that era. Martin and Bobby were visible heads of movements and ideologies that threatened the system. So were the Panthers... OK, so tell me, who is at the visible head of the "collapse" movement? What's the name of the charismatic leader of chaos and panic?

We are much farther off the tracks now than in 1968.

One of my intelligence mentors, CW4 William McCoy of US Army (Ret.) CID fully articulated something I had already pretty much figured out by 1993. When you're fighting against overwhelming odds, the first thing you want to do is find a way to make the enemy deviate from its order of battle. Every time an enemy deviates from his plan he leaves openings that can be exploited. This has always been my first goal since day one. It was my wish behind every FTW article and Rubicon. Make them break stride. Stan Goff, bless his sweet soul, understands this perfectly. Well, guess what?" They have. In fact, they're tripping all over themselves. And the work that I and the rest did at FTW; the work in Rubicon, the magnificent job Jenna has done here, have helped bring that about. I am suggesting that we are far more influential than we know and we should act like people are actually listening. They aren't going to listen to people singing a song they've heard too many times. Too many people are reading the map --or significant parts of it. We did that. Of course, the lion's share of the credit for making the old paradigm waver is the whirlwind they unleashed this summer. It's a bucking bronco and they are not steady in the saddle.

I just finished chatting with an old friend and former member of congress (guess who?). She agreed with me completely that there are more openings now to get in and "make an impression" than ever before. It was she who came up with term "vulnerable" and it was THE word I'd been looking for, for days.

Here are two more pieces of shared mentoring.

1. Don't shoot unless you have a head shot.

2. A young bull and an old bull are standing on top of a hill, looking down on a herd of lovely cows. The young one grins and looks up at the old bull and says, "Let's run down and have our way with a few?" The old bull shakes his head and said, "No, son. Let's WALK down and have our way with all of them... One at a time."

Just play with this stuff for a while. I'd rather get back to figuring out what's going on... Don't blink.

And God do I love this blog and all of you who make it such fertile intellectual ground. We all must care for this soil.

(I'll bet Jenna will write something beautiful as a counterpoint... Just call us Gilbert and Sullivan.)

C-Ya

MCR
***********************************************************************************

Unleashed this summer...bucking bronco and they are not steady in the saddle.

Of course, I couldn't help remembering a bucking bronco last summer in the middle of traffic outside Prospect Park and its rider, unsteady in the saddle, who landed on his thumb.

Right. Ouch. Remember those nifty hierarchies of pain with third degree burns and getting shot at the top? Out the window.

But back to the matter at uh.... hand.

I think what Mike's saying is reminiscent of those psychological tests where they show you a picture of a guy smiling next to a benign, sunny picture. Then they show someone else the same picture next to a sinister picture.

The subjects' interpretation of the guy's entire character changes.

Thus the Obama drama is peopled with a familiar cast of characters but the mise-en-scene has shifted and therefore, so have the goals.

It is against this new backdrop that the new administration's actions must be seen and weighed. Their primary goals are not so malevolent as those to which we have become so cynically accustomed. Their primary goals will be to salvage what they can and not only for themselves and their kind since they are now able to see that such a course of action would in fact be against their own interests. Therefore they will not be so paranoid nor so antagonistic towards the likes of us.

Ultimately, it comes down to a question of timing (the headshot.) There are times when taking to the streets is called for as it's the only show of power TPTB respect. But given the worldwide relief at the election results, does anyone think now is such a time? (I await your response, NB Patton.)

That's my reading of Mike's take. But, speaking of Gilbert and Sullivan, some might still feel:

Though to catch your drift I'm striving,
It is shady it is shady;
I don't see at what you're driving,
Mystic lady mystic lady.

Sorry but it rhymed.

JO

40 comments:

John said...

Mike,

I am a new reader, and just read your "As the World Burns," as per your advice. Amazing stuff. Just one question. You say, in relaton to the eventual self-destruction of the dollar owing to its debt, that "Once a revolt like this is unleashed there is no turning back. The world will have to destroy America or be destroyed itself."

Would you kindly explain, what you mean by "revolt" and, above all, what the connection is between the collapse of the dollar and the necessity to destroy America (or the necessity for war)?

Thanks,

John

in_the_light said...

Thanks Mike.

You hit the spot. Like a good massage. My mind is noodley (professional massage therapist term for relaxed). You're right on.

There is a tremendous difference between Power and Force (read the book Power versus Force for more). FOr a long time, TPTB have used Force to keep our Power at bay. On Novermber 4th, that Force showed itself to be weak, and now is the point in history that our power as people grows expotentially.

And for those who still didn't hear it, this is what peak oil is and always has been about . Peak oil is the peak point of the amount of energy that runs the old paradigms engine. Without that energy from dead matter, this game cannot go on. And it is not like anything we have seen before in history. There has always been another way for the game to continue. There has always been another thing for TPTB to draw their energy from. Not this time. There is nothing to shift to. There is nothing that can sustain this level of civilization anymore. And when the SHTF, not even TPTB won't be able to keep it together. How could they? Their engine driving the machine is pau, done. And with no machine... ?? Then what?

That's when the force gives way to the power. We've always had this power. There has always been this power with us. Power isn't impatient and it doesn't do work until it has to. When our Power squashes the oppressive regime, or elites, that have written the rules of this game for too long, it won't be a temporary squashing. It won't be a slap on the wrists or a spanking. When our Power is put into action, there will be nothing left of the old paradigm. We will make sure of that. Power always dictates what happens over force. Now is the time to recognize that. Fall into our power.


mat

NB Patton said...

MCR,
Thanks for the response,... I wanted more though! The idea that you feel I "dont have a clue" really sucks for me. I do want to understand, remember me? I'm the guy that was capable of enough critical thought to understand what you said, not what I "heard" when everyone else went ape shit. I still have that understanding and I still have the capability, so what am I not getting here?

Keep in mind, I still understand the idea of the intangible victory that Obama's election was. I GET the fact that TPTB are vulnerable. I GET the notion that this impossible to predict instability in TPTB's game plan has "blessing in disguise" written all over it, because it provides great potential for change in our favor that wasn't there before! I GET the idea that the cabinet could be filled with comic book villains as long as they have incentive enough to carry out the change we demand, (or the Appearance of it!) and the change Obama should dictate with those reigns...

What I don't get is you saying even remotely good things about a fed chairman and Hillary Rothschild Clinton! Are we reading the same map? And this is NOT me retreating back across the battlefield to pout because it isn't a perfect victory! This is me defending our soil :)

On another note, I want to make it clear I didn't intend to suggest that you were rolling over for anyone... However I was just expecting something a bit more critical from you about the cabinet to be,... shame on you for not writing what I felt you should write! :)

For example I can think of someone better for Treasury Secretary, how about Peter Schiff?

Oh and take it from me, those in a firefight that wait for a head shot will be there last day above dirt. It is a shit your pants frantic race to hopefully land one or two center mass while behind cover or while scrambling towards it. But now I'm being a negative nancy,... Okay I understand your message; Don't burn up all your ammo before the battle has even begun.

-"Don't Blink"
I haven't Blinked since the beginning of September! I feel like that poor bastard in A Clockwork Orange :)

Please explain more instead of letting the truck plow me over in the months to come, I want to get it. It doesn't need to be pithy, I gots my thunkin cap on.
________

Jenna,
Regarding timing... I think the time to resist tyranny is one big constant NOW! ANYTIME, ANYDAY my fellow Americans come together to publicly show our mutual disgust of the FED I will be out there with them, with pickets or pitchforks. In my opinion, I think it is of extreme importance to get the word out, so that's what I am doing.

Unknown said...

MCR,
I've appreciated your work for several years now. I understand your analysis of the current political scene. I'd suggest to those who are quick to judge any of your comments - please go to the FTW site and read the brilliant articles by that team of real journalists. You will have a better understand of the events as they unfold and the MCR comments here may be clearer to you.

Michael, thanks for continuing to write on this blog.

Anonymous said...

In simple terms, here's why I continue to return to this site: Mike challenges me.

No other reason.

And I've just been challenged once again. I'll explain.

20 years ago it dawned on me that an integrated, single global economy would require something quite unique of Americans in contrast to the rest of the world. This relates directly to the Old Bull/Young Bull story. When the folks who control our monetary policy and our foreign policy became fully entrenched in the halls of power, they had to come up with a plan to bring the American people along with them in their effort for global integration. The alternative would be a gunfight with the most heavily armed civilian population on the planet.

So how do you walk down the hill to the Americans and convince them to allow you to have your way? It's simple. Your goal is to convince them that their system is a threat to their existence. You ship their economy out, then you entice them to become further indebted than ever before. You build your finance organizations offshore and you partner your corporate growth strategies with the policies of foreign nations.

When your global infrastructure is in place and is secure, you pull the plug on the economy in America. When the bottom falls out, the people will eventually begin to see things your way - "Maybe we SHOULD integrate into a single North American economy. We need to be competitive with near-slave labor in China, and feeding my kids is more important than sovereignty."

But economics isn't the only game in town that's employed to convince people to fall into a single global system. One of the other games is to convince the world that they need to unify under a single global leadership that will gauruntee world peace. That's something else that I realized at about the same time 20 years ago. When you want total control, world peace doesn't come easy. The first thing you need to do is replace every government who disagrees with your corporatist philosophy. That takes decades, as we've all witnessed.

And then you need to motivate the people to support you. One way to do that is to establish "leaders" who will point to all of the corporatist and imperialist crimes, and who will work with NGO's and other organizations to promote peace and international harmony, using imperialist crimes as justification.

The question becomes "How do I differentiate between the charlattans who use real crimes to push their global integration agenda from the sincere activists who expose the crimes simply because they want justice and they want a gorenment that hasn't been usurped?"

The answer is simple:

Which of the two has a final solution that agrees with the Imperialists?

Does one advocate an international system as their goal? Which brings us back to the bulls. They're not gonna force the world to concede to an international system. Instead, they're going to get "buy-in" to a philosophy that says "we can work together, expose the crimes, and form a peaceful word government that eliminates all war".

I would place someone like Chossudovsky on that list. He has excellent research and he's done an excellent job exposing criminal acts of war, economic manipulation, and an entire assortment of corporatist/imperialist crimes. But what's his end game?

Same as the corporatists. A single global system of government.

And that, my friend, is where I am challenged. We're following a game plan that's been written, defined, explained, and exposed for nearly a century. Yet we should accept that current policy and current events are the RESULT of collapse, although they fit like a glove with globalist plans that have been underway for more years than the two of us combined have been drawing breath on this God given planet?

Is it coincidence that energy collapse is causing financial collapse that is leading to a single global monetary policy, when a single global monetary policy has been the goal of internationalists all along? That was a reaction to collapse? I stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago.

Is it coincidence that organizations like the Perdana Peace Forum are calling for a criminalization of war - under UN authority? And that the very wars created by the globalists are the evidence presented to justify a single global system?

Again, I don't believe in coincidence. And you are leaving me challenged. I know that you don't want to write a 3000 word essay - and it would take a lot more than 3000 words to answer my issues effectively. And I don't expect you to. I'll leave it at this: You and I agree that we're facing a collpase, that we have an imperialist leadership, and that corporate globalization is destroying us and our planet. As for other issues, such as current intent and rationale behind the formulation of policy, you and I are clearly in two different dimensions. C'est la vie, I guess.

Nick said...

Mike,


My name is nick, and i am new to all of this. in early 2008, i came across your truth an lies lecture on youtube and i went and got your book. i'm about 3/4 finished and i'm floored. but though i know i'm more than 5 years too late on this subject, it's still new for me. About midway through rubicon, you said that if justice isn't served by the 2004 election, then 911 will become history. and the best chance for justice would be near the 2004 election, (around when you were writing the book.) i know that so many things have happened since your book has been published, and i am desperately trying to catch up with everything that your book and ftw has touched upon, but i feel like it is a losing battle. i understand that it is a battle that i missed, but please understand as i read your book, i am reliving your battle as if it were happening now. anyone i talk to about your book, or you, or the subject of 911, i get labled a conspiracy theorist and get ignored. i feel like there is no hope for justice, i would just like to know if you feel the same.

I will continue to research ftw and keep your book as a research guide to reference anytime i need.

i wish i wasn't so late, and i wish i could talk to you.
thanks for your time.

-nick.

gaelicgirl said...

Mike, thanks for another brilliant post. I greatly enjoy following your thought, partly because it explains some of the intuitive feelings I am having to current events, but that I don't have the background that you have to analyze. I get so frustrated reading posts, on here and on other sites, of people who are stuck in the "us versus them" mentality. And I love your explanation of the "same people in a very different time/situation". I believe it will be fascinating to see how that unfolds.

Also, "in the light", loved your post also. I have read the "Power vs. Force" book, and it is very interesting to see it applied to this situation.

nbpatton: I think one part you're missing is the part I referred to above, about the same people in a new situation. There is no way that the "recycled Clintonites" can respond and act in the same way they did in the 1990s. It is impossible because the circumstances have changed so radically, that even if they want desperately to replicate that time, it is impossible now. New conditions will demand new responses. "Shorebreak", I think you are missing the same thing. As Peak Oil becomes ever more present, a globalized world, including a globalized, corporatist government, becomes more and more difficult to attain/maintain. The times they really are a'changing, like it or not.

Ruiz said...

We know you're not "rolling over", Mike.

Everybody here has been chugging to some degree on the Change & Hope koolaid, myself included. It's been an open and plentiful bar and even the most cynical of us have been partial to a cup or two. However, with these appointments, the last vestiges of hope are surely drying up.

The game hasn't changed at all! Do you realise the significance of that question? (that's rhetorical)

Paraphrasing what Jenna said, it's now a case of the Democrats seeing an opportunity to further the interests of the party. Those do not coincide with any of the interests of the common citizen.

We're being softened up for things on the horizon which transcend the red/blue distinction. Obama represents a substitution and a shift in tactics, but ultimate goals remain the same.

That's just my view.

Howlin_Dog said...

Jenna I pushed the wrong button last time. This is the same post, but with cleaned up links. Sorry.

I may have figured out who is really in control now. This is a little bit of half-baked research,but it is all adding up. If someone finds the theory has some merit please expand it further. First, the seeds of my idea, then a little later some facts (complete with links.. I have not earned the right to not provide analysis without at least some data).
The diverse initial facts: I work near a metal recycling yard. Last summer they were cleaning the place out shipping everything they had due to high metal prices and the common assumption was “it was all going to China”. The lot is bare now. Later once crude prices and gasoline prices went through the roof, I was chatting with a Chinese friend and found that people there were parking their cars because of high gasoline prices.

With a web search later I found that China had increased the price of fuel on June 20. This is the time crude prices started dropping. Oil Price Graph.
Later I started looking for the exchange rate of Chinese Yuan vs. the dollar... the data stops in August. Yahoo Graph . As been widely reported China is not wanting to invest in US securites now they are tired of getting paper for work, but what it looks like they did was take as much of that worthless paper as they could and use it to push our economy on over the edge. I also looked at steel prices in relationship to all of this: Steel Price Graph Again it all lines up with the time frame.
Now that we are really vulnerable, China is again lowering the price of fuel. Latest China Announcement (by the way... note how Bloomberg spins the headline.). It is looking to me like China set back and playing a willing participant while we loaded the gun with all the “funny money” of cheap interest & credit default swaps. Then once we locked and loaded the gun and placed the barrel to own head, they simply gave the trigger a small nudge.
Deng Xiaoping's famous statement was: "I don't care if it's a white cat or a black cat. It's a good cat so long as it catches mice." It is looking as if the black cat wall street thought was its friend turned out to be a panther, and wall street is the mice.

Paula said...

"Every time an enemy deviates from his plan he leaves openings that can be exploited."

Exploited to what end? What is our end goal... Sustainability? Relocalization? Democracy?

Yesterday you (Mike) posted a tidbit about Sanford Weill raising a vc fund. I did some research on that... Weill is looking into raising a $5 billion fund specifically to invest in struggling financial firms, and he's looking to foreign sovereign wealth funds to raise this capital. In other words, he's looking to lay the groundwork for continued control -- i.e., a significant equity stake in the financial firms that survive -- on the far side of the current collapse shitstorm.

This is very, very smart. He's exploiting the openings toward his own end -- to position himself to become the next Rothschild. And he will succeed if we don't define our goal. Asymmetric economic warfare doesn't require a leader... but it does require a goal, so those who wish to participate can engineer their own independent missions in its service.

I see the openings and I understand, to some degree, how to engineer independent, small missions. But I don't know what the goal is. I'm wondering... does anyone? Has it been defined anywhere?

Anonymous said...

Hello Mike, great post. The thing I like most about your work is that it is based on actual reporting of facts and not full of conjecture like shorebreaks long and so predictable post.

Shorebreak we have had a world currency for decades its called the US dollar. The countries of the world that are not broke are moving away from the dollar. Much of the of the world is also rejecting free market capitolism. The NWO boys failed miserably this year.

Putin whipped them in Georgia and their monetary system fell apart. Remember GWB came on tv last week and said "we must not turn away from free market capitolism" and that "we will grow our way out of these economic problems". We all know that whatever GWB says the opposite happens...

PO caused the NWO crowd to try their scheme. They have obviously failed.

At this point I would worry more about your own world order than globalism. As someone else already alluded, geology is killing it.

Shiner, OC, CA

whistling grizzlybear said...

along the lines of developing alternative food sources ... today's Mug Root Beer lesson in Eating Earthworms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_N76JPiv3w

just another silly home video related to the general subject of "preps".

next stop - eating 4 earthworms, in one sitting.

Howlin_Dog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Howlin_Dog said...

Mike,

I think I understand exactly what you are saying about the game has changed so old players have to play by new rules. That is what really made the light turn on with my previous post about China now ruling the financial game.

Heck it is kind of funny... the wall street gang and their lackys thinking they were the rulers of the NWO... then all of a sudden China opened a good ole fashioned can of whoop ass on them. Then while they are standing there reeling, China says: "Grasshopper... now who is master?"

Anyhow, since these idiots have got us in this bind, it makes sense to use them, because at least they know who to contact and what the real mess is. So as usual Mike, even when the map is foggy you do show the way.

Anonymous said...

I'm a regular reader going back years, but have been unable to log on to make comments or ask questions. Maybe now I have it straightened out.

If one is supposed to be investing in gold, does one put all one's money in gold (and silver) or does one also have funds in traditional savings, checking and DC accounts? I took all my IRA funds out of mutual funds over a month ago and want to put them in FDIC insured CD's, but am wondering if there is ANY safe investment that has to do with the banking industry at this time? I don't want to wake up in a few weeks and find out all my money has vanished into some black hole somewhere. What are people in-the-know doing with their everyday money? Rather than put money in my IRA, I have been getting necessities, food back-up, woodstove, water purification devices, etc. - even am learning to grow my own food. It has been really expensive, but has given me a whole lot more peace of mind. Who needs money if one is self-sufficient? The thought of thousands of starving people roaming the streets, some with less than gentile mindsets scares me the most. I don't believe in guns, but what does a woman of a certain age do to protect herself when all hell breaks loose?

Secondly, I just read the two links about Obama's advisors and "As the World Burns" again after a reader recommended them. I am ill to contemplate what we have before us. I would just like to ask why, why, WHY would anyone, or any group want to destroy most of the population on earth? This is genocide in the extreme. Who are these people and why is no one trying to stop them? I guess those with power and money have no sense of right or wrong. Population control and environmental issues were big in the 60's, 70's and 80's. I recall groups such as ZPG (Zero Population Growth) when I was in college in the 60's when the earth's population was only half of what it is today. If we had been proactive about our parenting then, and had been better stewards of the earth, then we wouldn't be where we are today with too many mouths to feed and not enough resources to go around. Population control seems to be a taboo topic. It doesn't have to mean abortion, like it seems to be today. The earth's population could decrease in much more humane ways than planning killer diseases, wars and "weather events" on the sly. Who are these people I can guess, but who exactly are they? Do they have names and addresses? Sure they operate behind 7 veils as they always have, but if enough people knew what's in store for us, we could at least squawk, scream, threaten bodily injury (like they do) until maybe the course of things might change. It blows my mind that we are going to be destroyed by people in our own country and not a soul is attempting to do anything about it. The looting of the treasury just moves right along and no one in Congress, the press or elsewhere says or does a thing about it. We only get part of the story. Ever read about the bogus mortgages or the amount of money the Fed already has socked away in the press? It's like living in the Twilight Zone. Somebody pinch me and maybe I will wake up to another reality. Just about every major catastrophe in the last 20 years has been in one way or another been a planned event, even though to those without inquiring minds they may look like acts of God. It really makes me ill to discover that Obama is listening to Brezinski and folks from the Project for the New American Century. Rove said he would win. I guess he would know. He's the one who rigs the elections. I hope the Obama administration isn't step 2 of the Big Debacle and we were all naive enough to fall for the rhetoric and promises.

Thank you so much for all the magnificent information you have shared over the last 8? years. I read you even when I was in New Zealand. I would be just another clueless blue pill person if I hadn't come upon FTW by accident. I can leave my personal email address if you want to reply personally rather than in the public forum. I don't how you filter these messages, and don't want the whole world knowing my personal email address. Thanks so much and have a great Thanksgiving.

Robert said...

Message for Nick,
First, welcome to the club. Second, do finish reading Rubicon. Don't feel like you "missed" anything. You're awake and aware now. That's what matters. Also, in your study of 9/11 don't get hung up on details of what exactly did or did not happen when or where. Those debates are going to rage on forever. The lesson of 9/11 is about the big picture. Once you've got that that's all you need. It sounds like you've already got it.
Additionally, once you've got it, your time and energy are best invested in preparing for tomorrow, not lamenting yesterday. That's what It's about (In my humble opinion)
Finally, Yesterday was the 45th anniversary of an important historical event. We should pause for a moment and contemplate it.

Hikikomori said...

Once there lived a dragon in a palace. Just as all dragons he was an evil one and people lived in constant terror. Time after time a hero would arise, come to the dragon and fight him in his palace. People would wait outside with hope. But after each fight dragon's servant would come out and announce: Rebel has fallen. Hail dragon!

Always.

But one time, one hero defeated dragon. And while he's been marvelling at dragon's riches, he heard dragon's servant shouting outside: Rebel has fallen. Hail dragon!

The hero looked at the mirror and saw himself turning into a dragon...

NB Patton, seems like you're expecting a messiah. A perfect messiah from above, coz he cannot come from below, coz the system would filter him out. He has to come from above, from outside, delete the old corrupt system and install completely new, clean one.

That's not real.

Yes, Obama is loading his gun. That's his job now. What do you expect? Continue waving his flag? The cabinet has to be filled up and he has to arm himself to be able to do his enormously hard job.

You don't like his bullets? Well, any kind of bullets aren't an object of admiration, especially if they're aimed at you. BUT -- is Obama aiming at you? That's what IMHO you get wrong.

Do you think that he went for office with secret desire to serve TPTB instead of the people, just like Bush did?

IMHO, Obama understands that in order to keep sheep safe he has somehow to feed the wolf too. It's a compromise. It's reality, whether we like it or not.

I don't think that anyone in his place could do much better. If we are really going down so badly, I hope that with Obama in office it will be easier for us, ordinary people, rather than if there would be another neocon.

Your revolution would bring only more trouble. I don't believe in its success. Wise people, if they ever shoot, they shoot only when all the other options are exhausted. Otherwise They will take it as a perfect excuse to demonize and use force against us. I don't subscribe to the idea of preventive wars.

Even if you would manage to overthrow Obama -- whom would you offer in his place? He should be acceptable to the people. Obama went through enormous pains to gain such a huge support, and you think it is so simple to find a suitable substitution in people's minds and hearts just because you think he invited some wrong people?

I'm glad that Mike eventually admitted that he wouldn't be able to manage the system, given the opportunity, coz he doesn't know how to control it. Years ago I a bit worried that he criticizes almost everyone in power. It's easy to criticize, but it's hard to come up with some realistically constructive solutions. And if Obama would ignore reality, who can be sure that he wouldn't meet JFK's fate?

First of all we have to resist tyranny in ourselves.

Dave Crossland said...

Mike, I can't thank you enough for continuing to post. Thank you dearly for all the work you have done, and although I see the high price you have paid personally, I am so happy you are continuing to just publish your thoughts. Best, Dave

Jenna Orkin said...

MCR wrote:

Please respond to what I have written and not what you think I said. I have NEVER, EVER said that there was going to be a one-world
government or a one-world economy. It will be impossible. Shorebreak
isn't up to speed on the work we've done. George Orwell had it right in "1984". There will be different continental and regional economies and governments and they will be quite different from each other. For sure there will be a North American regional economy but it won't ultimately be NAFTA like. NAFTA is a globalization model superimposed on North America. For at least five years I have been screaming that
globalization is dead. D-e-a-d! Geography is a force as powerful as
gravity now that the energy to operate it fades. As energy diminishes there will be a corresponding shift of power based on geography, whether one speaks in terms of continents or counties. Regional currencies are already taking shape (as are local currencies). The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has already done much of the ground
work for China's sphere of influence. Although Michel Chossudovsky did amazing and brilliant work over the years, he and I parted ways about four years ago. He aligned with Holocaust deniers (Mark Robinowitz did a brilliant job on this) and he has dug himself into the indefensible
position of saying that Peak Oil is not real. I will always salute
Michel's pioneering work from 2000 through 2004. But, in my opinion, a
brilliant man under great stress turned into a backwater he will never emerge from.

I truly appreciate that so many of you get that I will not return to
seven-day, 70 hour weeks and I generally cringe at well-intentioned and sincere newbies who ask questions that would require me to go back and recapitulate and redo work I spent decades on. I appreciate that
so many of you do not try to deluge me with individual questions. I have a good life now and am in really good health -- after serious challenges. It's up to me to enforce that. I keep my email address secret because waking up to "friends" who pepper me with questions left me little time to take care of myself and I paid the price for that. But here's a comment on the dollar issue.

Everyone in the media conveniently forgets what happened before the
collapse became apparent. First the dollar shrank to $1.50 against the Euro. What happened? Inbev bought Anheuser Busch with strong Euros. Now that at least one automaker and Citigroup are going to liquidate, do you think the foreign buyers would like to bid on an inevitable liquidation sale against a strong or a weak dollar? I can already see new pressures mounting to drive the dollar down again. Even with deflation. Maybe Alwaleed wasn't so foolish to up his stake in Citi. Another little run on the dollar and, when the time comes, Citi's largest shareholder (a Saudi Prince) will have first choice on individual assets. On the other hand, plummeting oil prices may have
doomed the Saudi monarchy.

[Regarding the blog: We are really hampered here. I know that
improvements are needed but I don't have the money or time right now. I will after my new book is out. We are also hampered because FTW's last, short-lived webmaster was part of the operation to sabotage us in Ashland. He posted a forged article from me intended to discredit me while I was in Venezuela. He left, refusing to give me or Jenna the administrative password to the blog so there is little we can do at the moment. The blog is working fine and we're very widely read. How widely? I can't say because we don't know. We have no tracking devices of any kind a that's really OK with with me. I get my feedback in other ways. I will deal with the blog in time. Right now I am negotiating the new book, doing research and taking care of me and Rags.]

MCR

Jenna Orkin said...

MCR wrote to 'john':

I wrote a 600 page book with a thousand footnotes and published a
newsletter and large web site for eight years explaining it. I also
made three DVDs as well. With regrets, I cannot start over again. I suggest that you get and read my book, "Crossing the Rubicon".

MCR

in_the_light said...

I just wanted to add a comment directed toward Paula's post.

Proclaiming a goal... what an interesting can of worms your peeking into. I don't suggest any of us proclaim a goal. Why? Because life is not a cut and dry formula: we're here, do x y and z to get to there, and presto, that's our goal, all is good, let's do it.

Life is, i'll say this explicitly, an experiment . It always has been, it always will be. And forgetting that is what happened to the current powers that be... And look at what is happening to them now...

Consider Mike's journey. Goal oriented living can get you pretty unhappy and pretty unhealthy. Now look at him: He knows where he's going, he knows how to get there, but rarely (if ever) do you hear him proclaiming these days what we all need to do. Living right now, living right here is what is important.

As Daniel Quinn said, the author of a wonderfully insightful and enlightening book called Ishmael, said, "There is no one right way to live."

Forget about the goal.

You're already alive in it.

Mat

martypantsROK said...

Want a quick and dirty tracking device for your blog to see who widely read you are? Check out this:

http://clustrmaps.com/

nice world map with points of origin of readers. Cheap and quick to insert then we can ALL see where your reader come from.

Lawrence Peterson said...

Part of my investment strategy for the future, whatever it is, is spending a significant amount of time on physical fitness. Investment in gold or stocks or land or wood burning stoves will serve little if one doesn't make the investment in one's health.

As part of that strategy; I go six days a week to a gym where I live which is populated primarily by seriously right wing military types. (It is the only decent gym in town.) I am reminded daily that there are a lot of very angry people who are not at all happy about the new administration and will never give Obama and his team the benefit of a chance. It really comes as a shock every time I overhear the conversations. I am encouraged by the remarks by Mike and other on this blog, but reminded too that those who "lost" the election have a great deal of hatred for the team that must try to solve this mess.

Anonymous said...

Mike - I'm fully up to speed. I've been watching FTW for years, in addition to all of the other sources I follow. You, Stan, Catherine via Solari, Matt, ASPO, OPEC, SCO, etc, etc. I picked up Rubicon (you're welcome!) when it first hit the shelves. I enjoyed it, BTW. Very informative. I've been following, my friend. As closely as anyone, short of sitting alongside of you. And lest I forget, I've also been paying close attention to Jenna.

As I clearly stated before, I don't argue with the fact that we're facing collapse. Our differences are closer to a chicken/egg issue than anything else.

Here's something that I recommend to anyone whose trying to get a handle on what's truly happening: If you have RSS feeds set up, take the next step and set up a relational database. Use something simple like Microsoft Access. Find data types that work for you - people, government, finance, NGO, media, etc. Follow your feeds and populate the database. Watch your mind get completely blown away when you look at the results after a few years and a clear, concise picture of players, timelines, and agendas comes into view.

As for others who point at a drift away from free market capitalism as a sign that the NWO is failing, you're demonstrating a complete failure to grasp the objective. Your conclusions are diametrically opposed to the goals of central banking monoplists. Think, people. Why does a corporatist need capitalism when he controls a nations finances? Nationalisation is their goal. Those who claim that Chavez stands against corporatist goals simply do not understand the goals.

As for globalization being dead, emerging regional economies have always been the goal.Go back to TGC and look careflully at the strategies. Open up a MEFTA map and see where the EU and ASEAN borders are, as weighed against current conflict. Look at what APEC is currently saying about "protectionism".

I'll openly admit to everyone reading this a clear and present challenge that I face. The challenge is to remain clear in my thinking, judgement, and rationalization process while simultaneously reviewing and assessing as much relevant data as possible. Why is that a challenge? Because there's a lot of compelling arguments out there.

What's the key to unbiased review and assessment?

The key is to never subscribe to a specific philosophy or ideology without being 100% open to accepting another that proves to be superior to my current leanings. I will never again look for information that supports my philosophy. Instead, I simply look for information, then I weigh all of it rather than weighing only what supports my current ideological bent.

So, I've already stated where I stand. As Mike has stated, he's not about to educated new readers by re-writing years worth of FTW material. To the same extent, I'm not about to sit here and spend hours of time compiling easily found links and data to support my beliefs. Besides, I've learned not to align my beliefs with the thinking and theories presented by others. I buy in when I see the dots and establish my own connections. One thing that I've learned is that I can key in on a base group of contacts, and depending upon how I've built my contacts I can get two 100% accurate sets of data that each paint a very compelling picture of what's happening - and each can be quite different and unrelated. My goal is to uniquely identify the brush strokes like Peak and others. But in order to apply meaning and focus, I need to fit them into the larger evolving and dynamic canvass.

Keep up the good work and keep digging. I'll keep watching and I'll continuing learning. But I watch a lot. A whole lot. I respect and accept the beliefs of all the folks here. Mine are simply different. Among other things, I'm a student of learning. I present my views primarily for consideration, not as a claim to the truth. Ultimately, we are each responsible for our own determination of truth.

trobador said...

Paula said: "Asymmetric economic warfare doesn't require a leader... but it does require a goal, so those who wish to participate can engineer their own independent missions in its service.... I see the openings and I understand, to some degree, how to engineer independent, small missions. But I don't know what the goal is. I'm wondering... does anyone? Has it been defined anywhere?

To answer Paula, here it is: The ultimate goal is TO STRENGTHEN NETWORKS OF EXCHANGE OF SERVICES BETWEEN PEOPLE. PERIOD.

In the absence of cash, people will still need to exchange services among themselves.

In a context of social upheavel they will need each other. In a context of reduction of public services, people will need each other. So what's the point?

Look at the mafia from Sicile, it is still in operation despite the numerous attempts to break it. It was able to stay active because:
1-They were counting only on themselves
2- Leaders could be easily replaced (family clan structure)
3- They found an independent way of finding ways to survive.

We can speculate ad nauseam on why, how, where and when the economic crash will occur, but the key discussions that should occur is on how to reinforce our own network of exchanges.

Jenna Orkin said...

lawrence,

are you the lawrence who once took me and mike to lunch? bcs if you are, your comment is particularly worrying as you live in one of the bluer states.

Jenna Orkin said...

Mark Robinowitz wrote:

I didn't say that Chossudovsky aligned with the racists, but that
he inadvertently allowed them to post crap on his website, with
predictable results -- he got smeared in the media for the alleged
association with Holocaust deniers, perhaps the worst possible
way to be portrayed in public. When playing chess, it is a good idea to think ahead a few moves.
Web based forums that allow anyone to post anything risk attracting racists and/or government disinformation agents who seek to discredit the website managers or promote their own hateful agendas.
Many websites have had this problem if they focus on controversial topics while allowing anyone to post anything.
9/11. Israel / Palestine. War on Iraq.

www.oilempire.us/forums.html has a few examples.
Moderating any controversial forum takes a lot of energy and time.
There's a difference between editing and censorship.
It seems likely that bad actors posted racist stuff on Global Research's forum and immediately had media attention directed toward the crap that they posted there.
Hopefully some of the Holocaust deniers are merely covert propagandists who don't actually believe their lies. We don't
need people who praise Hitler to tell us about Israeli imperialism,
that is a classic false dichotomy. One can simultaneously support Palestinian rights and also recognize the truth of the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews and other groups. The slow motion genocide of Palestine does not justify Holocaust denial, and the reality of the Holocaust does not justify the occupation of Palestine.
www.oilempire.us/holocaust-denial.html
It's sad that Global Research denies Peak Oil, since some material on that website is brilliant.
One of the best articles on Global Research is a valuable perspective for contemplating the shift in elite policies as represented by the incoming Biden / Obama administration.

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7693
The Post-Bush Regime: A Prognosis
By Richard K. Moore
Global Research, December 27, 2007

A more interesting topic than this predictable smear campaign is the recent capture by "pirates" of the Saudi oil supertanker. This seems to validate predictions that soon-to-be President Obama will increase the importance of the Africa Command (AFRICOM).

Lawrence Peterson said...

Jenna,
Yes. That is me. The Lawrence of Vermont who met with two of my favorite people in New York for lunch. Yes, it is frightening but somewhat moderated by the fact that I am not in Vermont now, but in Reno. Still, this is a Blue state too, there are a lot of retired Military in this town. It always amazes me that these fellows I see everyday seem so "normal" and intelligent and funny and friendly and yet they have this weird and unexplainable Republican Party cult attitude. Their eyes glaze over and they follow the party line. Reminds me too much of the Nazi mob mentality of the late 30's.

It is wonderful to see Mike back in form again. His writing flows smoothly and on focus and mirrors the outrage I feel at what is going on. And, you both have my Email, write and visit anytime you want a Holiday.

[No need to publish this comment. Your choice. I just wanted to reply to your note to me]

Eddie Willers said...

Let's see...

The same man who wrote an impressive book wherein he names Dick Cheney as suspect #1 in the 9/11 attacks now claims TPTB are being run by the crisis, and not the other way around?

The same man who once referred to the Democrats as the Genoveses and the Republicans the Gambinos claims TPTB to be vulnerable?

And...

The same man who continuously warns his readers to watch the Fed, to understand how money works, and who coined (no pun intended) the phrase "Until you change the way money works, you change nothing" rejects the claim that the same people, doing the same things, playing the same game are responsible for our current plight?

Sorry MCR, but I'm not buying it. Maybe I'm missing something, I don't know. Whether or not you choose to endorse any particular political ideology is unimportant to me...but to see what I've determined to be a wholesale departure from the core principles of your past - the principles that made FTW shine will brilliance - is beyond disappointing.

The only situation that can render TPTB to irrelevance is widespread disassociation from the State and all of its actions. As long as you hold on to the belief that you can change the plantation by first becoming a slave you will forever be doomed to working the fields.

(Please understand my comments are meant as constructive criticism and not the actions of a Troll.)

Jenna Orkin said...

thanks, lawrence.

people may need to be reminded that email addresses usually don't come through on blogger.

MCR said...

Yep, Eddie

You do misunderstand me completely. And calling me a sellout is not "constructive criticism". It's an insult. You just don't get it and I won;t waste a second trying to explain something you don't want to understand.

You might start by making yourself President, constructing a cabinet of your own and specifying a ste-by-step plan to change the way money works. Let's ee what you can come up with. That is exactly what I am building on this blog.

And we have the best shot to do it we've ever had.

God have pity on those with ni imagination or vision.

MCR

FlannelFactory said...

Fascinating blog and comments. Long may it last.

Interesting times!

NB Patton said...

Hikikomori,

How did you get that from anything I said?
You absolutely have me pegged wrong.
And you never referenced anything I said for your the basis of your reasoning so I can't offer a meaningful rebuttal other way than saying; - I feel your understanding of my stance on these issues is incorrect.

Now, lets discuss what You said.

You said:
"Yes, Obama is loading his gun. That's his job now. What do you expect? Continue waving his flag? The cabinet has to be filled up and he has to arm himself to be able to do his enormously hard job."

Nope, I didn't expect him to continue waiving his flag. But we're supposed to be duck hunting and he is loading a belt into an M249,... Don't dig too deep with my silly metaphor, all I am saying is that I don't buy this BULLSHIT notion that Obama's presidency will bring any change! Sure, the collapse and chaos of the economy and peak oil will create opportunity. My point has nothing to do with that, my point is that Obama and his current cabinet pics are representatives of the old game. If you are excited about the possibility for change via collapse and chaos thats FINE, so am I!! But don't say that the change is coming from Obama. He will just happen to be the puppet in the spot light.

You Said:
"Do you think that he went for office with secret desire to serve TPTB instead of the people, just like Bush did?"
"IMHO, Obama understands that in order to keep sheep safe he has somehow to feed the wolf too. It's a compromise. It's reality, whether we like it or not."


I'm not 100% sure either way, are any of us? But I still have the capacity to reason,... Its hard for me to believe that presidents aren't aware of the basic truths your average FTW reader is... And if you think they ARE, then "feeding the wolf" in any form is treasonous.
The quote reads "LIBERTY OR DEATH", not; "LIBERTY OR QUAZI FREE IS GOOD ENOUGH CAUSE I'M SCARED!" And I agree that the reality of our corrupt pushover government is there, but if we the people don't like it enough, we CAN effect its change in many ways. So I disagree with the absolute "like it or not" part.

You said:
"I don't think that anyone in his place could do much better. If we are really going down so badly, I hope that with Obama in office it will be easier for us, ordinary people, rather than if there would be another neocon."

Lord give me strength to be tolerant and nice... Are you for real? Red/Blue, it DOESN'T matter!! We need someone in there that will FLIP THE BIRD to the banks and corporations! You don't know anybody that could do a better job? How about Ron Paul? How about Cynthia McKinney? She was on the ticket in California! With the Republicans our civil liberties were taken away in the name of physical security, with the Democrats our civil liberties will probably be taken in the name of financial security. And they will also probably attempt to seriously limit the efficiency of our last means of defending those liberties; Arms.

You Said:
"Your revolution would bring only more trouble. I don't believe in its success. Wise people, if they ever shoot, they shoot only when all the other options are exhausted. Otherwise They will take it as a perfect excuse to demonize and use force against us. I don't subscribe to the idea of preventive wars."

First; Not until ALL other options are exhausted? You just said that a "wise" person would consider the unjust rape, enslavement, and execution of everyone he cares about including himself before considering violence on option... I truly hope you just didn't think that one out fully before you hit send.

Second; I didn't say storm the white house today, I said its time to voice our opinion about the men behind the curtain of all this! Peaceful demonstration is the "revolution" I am promoting for the time being.

Third; You said "preventive" I believe you meant "preemptive",... preemptive in what way?! When is a violent revolt "preemptive"? When is a revolt the ethically correct option for any republic?
When your civil liberties are being stripped? (Check). When your constitution is being routinely violated? (Check). When your government is an obvious puppet to private banks and corporations? (Check). When your government is actively engaged in empire building and the murder of innocent people? (Check). When the separation of powers is totally ignored and decisions are made by fiat? (Check). When the very process designed to effect the change we need (elections) is manipulated by the same corporations, from the media to the ballot counts? (Check).
Need I go on?
This nation was founded because the money issuance power was taken away from the colonies. Where they wrong? Where they "unwise" because they didn't exhaust ALL other options? This fight should have happened 95 years ago before TPTB succeeded in turning the people in this country into fat, ignorant, drones with a prime directive of entertaining themselves. The Department of Education?! Wait, when did the Federal Government gain an Education power?

You Said:
"And if Obama would ignore reality, who can be sure that he wouldn't meet JFK's fate?"

Extraordinary theory; We should accept tyranny because TPTB might harm you if you don't. Sorry, cowardice doesn't mesh well with my core values.
I can only leave you with some inspiration from the past, and since I already used Patrick Henry...

"It is better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees." -Zapata

Anonymous said...

Shorebreak you may think you have came to these conclusions on your own but I seriously doubt it. I have read EVERYTHING in your post elsewhere on the web. Your post could have been/was taken word for word from Alex Jones' website.

I am positive most of the things you believe are evidence have to be stretched to reach your conclusions. I have always been able to easily find a more logical explanation to explain your types "evidence".

In the 70's their were slick comic books spouting this crap. In the 80's and 90's there were slick videos.

Who paid for this stuff?

More importantly why is the Federal Reserve's real crimes always included with all this conjecture? Could it be to marginalize anyone who catches on about the FED. It works. When you include the FED with all the NWO crap you are playing directly into the bankers hands.

People like you Shorebreak are the bankers best allies.

Even if you are 100% correct it does not matter. Saying stuff that sounds crazy will never break the FED. We have at least 30 years of proof i'm right about that.

Personally I wish all you guys would just stifle it.

trobador said...

What an interesting debate between NB Patton (3:58PM) and Hikikomori (3:23pm) in the blog titled "Judging me, judging Obama !!! For the one that did not read it, go and read.

The 2 bloggers have 2 different perceptions of Obama's last appointments and decisions .

These 2 divergent opinions could in many ways lead to either life or death. Who's right? Or is it possible that both of them have a pint of truth in their argument ? This reading should enrich your own perception of the current situation and feed your actions' mode. It did for me.

Hikikomori is saying mostly that OBama is careful in his appointments and is mostly feeding the wolfe while preparing the protection of the sheeps (which we hope) and that we need to be patient and give the man a chance.

TB Patton is responding to Hikikomori with sharp arguments that convey the message that actions by the people are urgently needed, especially given US history and the latest appointments from Obama. He summarizes his argument with the following citation: "It is better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees."

What to make out of these 2 perceptions? Well, first of all, I would definitely take the 2 protagonists in my camp as they seem to be of good willing and secondly because they balance each other with their opinion/approach.

One (Hikikomori) is being cautious about expedient move against a possible "protector" (Obama) of the people, and the other (TB Patton) being cautious of not providing an other opportunity to the possible "protector", as he could throw the last blow to the people of America, like old rulers did in the last 200 years or so.

What's your take on it?

Again, I insist that in light of the above, the ultimate winner will definitely be the one that builds, maintains, consolidate and protects any means that can allow people to better support each other in the wake of a scarcity in public services (other than military).

Peace on all of you.

PS: Sorry about my english, it is not ma native language.

Anonymous said...

Shiner,

With all due respect, Catherine Austin Fitts agrees with me. I don't see why it's so hard for others to recognize the obvious:

http://solari.com/blog/?p=1823

Also, my opinions were solid before Alex Jones discovered the internet. As for what you can find "everywhere", most places I see have a limited scope or they've focused on tangents and offshoots of the real threat. Ask the average Alex Jones listener to define Fabianism and you'll recognize how little is understood by them concerning the construct that we're facing.

If time were my friend (and it's not!) I could pull a broad assortment of .gov and .org websites who's collective agenda and core-centric leadership affiliations delineate a clear and concise path and tinmeline towards economic and policy integration to be governed by supranational organizations.

I don't see how that marginalizes the Fed, but so be it.

Paula said...

In The Light wrote: "Proclaiming a goal... what an interesting can of worms your peeking into. I don't suggest any of us proclaim a goal. Why? Because life is not a cut and dry formula: we're here, do x y and z to get to there, and presto, that's our goal, all is good, let's do it....

"As Daniel Quinn said, the author of a wonderfully insightful and enlightening book called Ishmael, said, 'There is no one right way to live.'

"Forget about the goal.

"You're already alive in it."


Thanks, I'm very familiar with the primitivist literature and am rather quite persuaded by the primitivist view. I'm not talking about declaring a single right way to live; I'm talking about an overriding goal to inform whatever actions those of us who keep track of the cartography might decide to take. Mike wrote of openings the chaos creates of which we can take advantage toward our own ends. I agree completely but if everyone has a different goal it dilutes our effectiveness. Some people want to bring down civilization altogether; some people want to create insular "communities" to the exclusion of everyone else; some people (a la Sanford Weill) want to position themselves to be the next rulers; some people want to do away with money and live in some kind of non-monetary utopia. The goal within the "peak oil movement" (for lack of a better term) currently is supposedly "relocalization," but this is a terribly misleading word -- "relocalization" adherents like to think of their work as "building lifeboats" on a sinking Titanic, but in fact what they are doing is building lifeboats in the shadow of a crumbling dam while encouraging everyone else to do the same. This is not a worthy goal.

Trobador wrote: "To answer Paula, here it is: The ultimate goal is TO STRENGTHEN NETWORKS OF EXCHANGE OF SERVICES BETWEEN PEOPLE. PERIOD. In the absence of cash, people will still need to exchange services among themselves."

Okay so if this is the goal, what are the missions that can get us there? I really think there needs to be a conversation about this, because it's going to be some while before anyone is excused from their Federal Reserve Note obligations... taxes, debts, rents, mortgages, and medical treatment are just a few of the things that cannot be paid with networks of exchange between people. Eventually we will get to the point when Federal Reserve Notes, or whatever national currency might be implemented in its place, fall out of usage; until then, what do we do? This is what I mean by building a lifeboat in the shadow of a crumbling dam. Moreover, the openings Mike points out are not especially suited to actions that will bring about networks of exchange between people... this does not alleviate any immediate pain and therefore does not draw more people into the networks. Personally, I think surviving the next 10-15 years should be the goal, not planning for whatever comes after.

You know, the more I think about it the more I realize the "lifeboat" metaphor is really misplaced. A lifeboat implies that everything else will sink while we remain at level. This is not the case; we are not floating on an ocean that will sustain us if only we can get off the sinking ship. We're at the bottom of a hierarchy that is crashing down on us from above. When the levees broke in New Orleans, lots of people had lifeboats and it did them no good. They still died. The people who survived were rescued by helicopters that came down from above. Perhaps what we need are not lifeboats, but hot-air balloons.

Trobador wrote: "Look at the mafia from Sicile, it is still in operation despite the numerous attempts to break it."

I submit that the Sicilian mafia survives because it operates very successfully in the currency acceptable to government, banks, and bribable officials. If they attempted to operate on their own currency, or through barter only, they would be merely a strange and violent ethnic group that still requires national currency to pay its taxes and the like.

Shorebreak wrote: "Here's something that I recommend to anyone whose trying to get a handle on what's truly happening: If you have RSS feeds set up, take the next step and set up a relational database."

For anyone on a Mac, there is a fantastic database application called Devonthink that's built on an AI kernel which you can manipulate pretty much however you want. I used it extensively a few years ago when I was studying for my journalism degree (a decision influenced by Mike & Al, btw). It's not PROMIS but it saves loads of time for anyone whose work involves datamining.

Regarding site stats: Google Analytics is free and VERY comprehensive. It requires only pasting a small tidbit of code into some part of your site that appears on every page, for example a header or footer, and from there it will update your stats every 24 hours. It might already be integrated with Blogger since its owned by Google. Worth checking into if you need site stats.

Author, Script Writer, Film said...

I keep getting these feeds, of commentary from Mike's blog, and I don;t know why. And on my Gmail account where I get nothing else. A mystery, but hardly worth investigating, since I get some humor out of reading the stuff. People, we are not being struck by an astroid of monumental crushing size (yet). No 5/5/2000 kind of pole shift is predicted or expected. And Cormac McCarthy's pulitzer prize winning novel about survival on a post apocalyptic landscape is pure fiction of the most idiotic kind. There is not going to be a 'remnant' or bunches of 'remnants' across the land.
This is a financial upheaval of enormous proportions, but not the end of life as we know it. There is always going to be money. In some fashion. It is just to damned convenient to do away with. Getting rid of money, because it 'falls out of fashion' is as likely as getting rid of the wheel for the same reason. However, the form of that new money will be interesting, and the avenue we find to reach it might be problematic for awhile. Yes, we need to pull together and live with the support and cooperation of those nearby, at least for awhile. So stop with the 'end of times' crap. We are not living 'below a crumbling dam' and the people who had boats in New Orleans certainly did survive. It was the people who had nothing to keep them afloat or could not swim (not to mention those that were just too frightened to even try) that had to be flown out by helicopter.
Fear the right things. Plan for the worst thing, but within reason. If we go into a 'wilderness state' as some on this site are predicting, it is not going to matter how you planned. You are not going to survive. A few of us will, because of prior life experience you do not want in your supply, and equipment which you do not want to keep around you because you would not know how to apply such if you had it. But is important that you smile on this Thanksgiving Day and thank all those around you for being there. We need one another and the greatest positive thing that is going to come out of all this is simply that. The exiistentialism we have adopted as we have advance (in this culture) has taken us away from warmth and toward isolation. We need to get back to caring about those whom we are among.
None of this means that an astroid is not coming on 12/12/2012 to wipe us out, but, until such time, lets live with some enjoyable understanding, compassion and bliss. Happy Thanksgiving.

Paula said...

James wrote: "This is a financial upheaval of enormous proportions, but not the end of life as we know it."

Clearly you must be either unaware of, or willfully ignorant of, both peak oil and climate change. The financial crisis is the least of anyone's worries and that is not what I'm addressing.

Author, Script Writer, Film said...

I am so well aware of both peak oil and the climate change scenarios. For God's sake, I was a physicist on the Antares Project in the 80's out in Los Alamos and later a professor of ethnology. I am aware. But I also question. I question long, hard and deeply. Do you? To what extent is global warming going to effect us? The answer is conjecture. To what extent are we the cause of this warming? The answer is conjecture. Will this warming continue or reverse itself, whether we change what we perceive our contributions to the problem or not? More conjecture. Peak oil. More conjecture. Yes, we have seemingly reached that point, but then, use of oil is dropping dramatically, which happens when economies reverse in masse.
And other things will come online. Who could have thought, in the early 1800's that there would be a substance available to allow for all these vehicles to run about the planet? Not very many people at all. Or that synthetic rubber would be developed and allow us to continue to pursue the battles necessary to win the Second World War? Without rubber we were finished by 1942!
So, yes, I do not write out of ignorance. I don't however, claim to be correct. I just foresee the future a bit differently than yourself. And it is likely, and very hopefully, that I am more accurate in my assumptions than you are Paula.
Most Sincerely,
James