Thursday, December 11, 2008

UH OH

The dieoff has already begun though is not yet recognized. I suspect
that is about to change because this CNN story from Africa has been on
our map of future events for many years.

My dawg sure is getting a lot of loving lately.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/08/pip.zoonotics/index.html

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

It is interesting, though not reassuring, that zoonotic diseases have been among us for longer than one might realize. In addition to the risk to pregnant women of toxoplasmosis from a cat and Creutzfeldt-Jacob from mad cows, there is also evidence (vigorously denied by USG agencies) that multiple sclerosis may in some cases be linked to canine illnesses such as distemper. (It's also interesting when referring to the French oriented-study in the link, to remember that France was critical in uncovering the treatment for AIDS, whose origin is simian.)

Swine flu, bird flu... When you consider that 99% of our genes are shared with mice, whyever would the viruses not make the species leap?

JO
Posted by at

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

The die-off has been under way for a long time. Just look at de-colonization in Africa. By first colonizing Africa and then starving them of economic resources, 100's of millions of Africans have died early deaths from the resulting turmoil over the last several decades.

Implementing a highly contagious disease outbreak is certainly one method to get rid of us, but it'll never be as effective as simply starving us to death. Look at iraq in the 90's. The US enforced economic restrictions that resulted in over a million dead bodies. Genocidal maniac Madeline Albright called US policy "good" when asked about the 400,000 dead children.

My warning is for the US people to be prepared for economic deprivation that results in starvation, disease, riots, and more. Our economy has been sent away and our future finances have been stolen by the banks who want to nationalize us under their control - just like they've managed to accomplish in Venezuela and are accomplishing in other South American nations. We are being de-colonized in an effort to make global integration look like a life-saving event.

In that respect, the die-off started a long time ago in the US. We just haven't seen it's results yet. We'll be turning that corner very soon, and it's not gonna be a slow burn. It'll arrive as a flash-over. It doesn't take long to die when you have no food or water.

8:33 AM
Anonymous said...

Ahh, so the die-off is here then? Or still, 'just around the corner', as it has been ever since dieoff.org was born?

As for the article, do you even read the websites when you link them or just find a scaaaaary headline and post it on your site to further fear monger about? If you would have scrolled down a bit on the article you would have read: "It's unlikely the current viral strain of monkeypox could become a pandemic, because it loses strength as it passes from person to person."

Is monkeypox a good time? No, I'm sure it's a miserable ailment. Will it lead to a die off (6 billion dying, according to you)? Nope. Anything else is just hopeless fear mongering on your part, MCR.

At to Shorebreak: That's a money quote right there: "In that respect, the die-off started a long time ago in the US. We just haven't seen it's results yet."

Umm....if the die-off started a 'long time ago' and we are still here.....how is it a die off?

-AR

10:54 AM
fusion_is_fundamental said...

this is from 911blogger.com

maybe someone would like to use it to bring up peak-oil or 9/11? the public can vote on which question they want (or demand?) answered

--------------
http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions

The Obama-Biden Transition wants to hear from you.

(The Obama transition team has taken a hint from the change.org website, and now has an official page dedicated to gathering input from Americans: "Use our 'Open for Questions' tool to ask a question about a policy or issue that's important to you." Ok, then. Maybe this will be a better experience than the privately-run "change.org". Only one way to find out... -rep.)

Via Talking Points Memo;

Obama Team Rolls Out New Web Site That Takes Questions From Public
By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld - December 10, 2008, 1:38PM

This is pretty interesting: An Obama aide points out to us that the Obama transition team has just rolled out an innovative new feature on its Web site, hoping to carry through on the President-elect's campaign promises of greater government transparency.

It's a page entitled "Open For Questions," in which anyone can submit questions to the transition and, subsequently, to the administration.

The rub, though, is this: The public is able to vote on how much they'd like certain queries to be a priority, and the voting tally is visible -- which means it'll be tougher for the Obama team to not answer questions that participants clearly want answered.

11:01 AM
kiki said...

Andrew, as food, potable water and shelter become a problem anywhere, the body weakens and is more susceptible to disease. We mus'nt forget wildlife moving into areas that used to be populated by people either; leading to more people/wildlife contact ergo increasing chance of disease/s.
And then there are the rats. With cities having more problems meeting expenses, how long will they have the funds to continue fighting rat populations in cities?

I just don't understand anyone with eyes to read the credible news available that still questions what we're in for here in the next several years. It truly amazes me.

Thank you again MCR and Jenna for your continued effort to keep us informed.

11:22 AM
NB Patton said...

JO, Andrew Ryan, others;
Who gives a damn about the viruses! This is just the type of sidetrack nonsense that is so typical of the MSM. For me, the real meat of this article is what I think MCR was referring to, and can be found in the first couple paragraphs.

"Last year, rising food prices touched off riots around the world, killing dozens of people. Unable to afford basic supplies, communities in Central Africa are increasingly turning to the forests for food."

What a glimpse into the future for all of us on Earth. I hope you people get that and are preparing for it. How horrible does stockpiling ammunition sound now? Those people are feeding their families with those "evil" rifles.

I worry about the fact that my forest is made of concrete and steel. And 99% of the available food supply is,... Well,... Human.

May our knowledge, experience, material preparations, and companions provide us with the means of securing life and liberty.

11:23 AM
Anonymous said...

Andrew Ryan - the best answer I have for your question is "Go find a guide to reading comprehension". If you fail to understand context, you fail to understand. Someone can probably help you with that.

On the other hand, if you choose to ignore context, that's your own problem. Make up whatever answer feels best to you, then go back to watching the game. If your team is winning, life must be good.

11:24 AM
djmagic said...

For some reason, I'm reminded of a Zach De La Rocha line written 15 or so years ago...
"AIDS is killing entire African nations
And a vaccine is still supposedly under preparation.
But these governments, they don't mind the procrastination;
They say "We'll kill them off, take their land, and go their for vacation.""

Not vacation per se, but I think the point remains similar. Extermination of populations, actively or passively, allow for the pillaging of any natural resources, while simultaneously decreasing competition for the further use of resources in the future...
The necessity and inevitability of a drastic population reduction doesn't seem to be up for debate (in this forum), but it's the manner in which the collapse and die-off occur which is what has many of us a bit uneasy, to say the least.
I'd agree with NB Patton and those of the mind that the more important part of the story is the violent side effects of food shortages, and that what we've seen thus far appear to be only a small preview of the motion picture unfolding on the screen in front of us all.
Perhaps the notion that people in parts of the world are having to resort back to primitive 'hunter-gatherer' ways of survival is also a scary warning. Some might argue that people in african villages have been eating out of the forest since the beginning of time. And there are a (very)few who have. Those aren't the people being discussed in this article.
I've been there; people in rural Africa (which is most) don't hunt in the bush. They farm, herd, and trade with their neighbors in marketplaces, much like most of the rest of the world did until the late 1800's.
The fact that food shortages and the resulting rising prices are causing a return to a more self-reliant, if you will, form of life means that we should all take heed and prepare to help our families, friends, and local communities do the same, rather than scoff at another culture/society and pass judgment simply because they just happen to be the first one's to feel the impact of the crisis facing all of us...

1:09 PM
Anonymous said...

Thanks for the good info Mike as i look to you as a source of credible information and guidance.

I started doing a lot of reading on some of these topics a few years ago. Along the way i bumped into the FTW site and have read your postings ever since.

I have read some interesting things on what is really going on out there in the past several years. Its hard to weed out whats fact and whats fiction. This is especially true when the topics are considered adsurd in the mainstream, so you have tendancy to keep them to yourself... well at least i do.

What is uncertain is the "ultimate" goal. There is information that the USA will become a union with Mexico and Canada. Along the way the USD, CAD and Peso will become the Amero. There is quite a bit of google literature out there on the Amero. I even seen a youtube of a guy holding what he calls an actual Amero coin (800 billion were shipped to the chinese government already ??) There is already a EU union, along with the African Union, the "soon to be" Asia Union.

There is so much info, it is hard to categorize a "conspiracy theory" and facts, especially when its not accepted by anyone.

With this said, the Ultimate goal being 1 world government with the merging of all these unions once established? can you comment?

is this horse pukey and am i way off?
how does this play in with oil and end of grid?

If there is any credibility to any of this, would it change our course to any degree? or prolong the inevitable?

-B

1:14 PM
MarcosLagoSalado said...

Hi Rice farmer, Michael & all--have you guys looked at John Michael Greer's book
"The Long Descent: a users guide to the end of the industrial age" and also his blog Archdruid?
even if a fast crash is really upon us his material is worth a read, also Sharon Astyk's, after all learning to grow food and otherwise prepping our families and communities remains solid and useful preparation. Not all of us can afford gold nor eat it..and what abt silver? Since Rubicon this is the best book i have read...keep up the good work

1:36 PM
v said...

A couple of interesting articles I picked up.

Pakistan: We're ready for war with India
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3688288/Pakistan-Were-ready-for-war-with-India.html

Sovereign Risk and the Black Hole: The Iceland Cometh?
http://blog.atimes.net/?p=298

Why are gasoline (and oil) prices so low -- and where are they headed?
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4846

V

3:03 PM
Jenna Orkin said...

from M:

re: youtube video of a guy supposedly holding an Amero coin

there may (or may not) be any truth to the Amero Conspiracy Theory, but some guy in front of his video camera uploading to youtube is not investigative journalism

one of the people spamming the internet in recent months with this claim is a white supremacist who got outed about a year ago as an FBI informant, it's just more fake exposure of scandals that looks like it was crafted in Karl Rove's disinformation factory.

whether the Amero is real or not is tangential to the situation

6:52 PM
businessman said...

Since the term HIV was mentioned in the CNN article, along with the conclusion that HIV causes AIDS, I wanted to pass along this article written by someone who's been a researcher in the field of HIV and AIDS for many years. She finds the conclusion that HIV causes AIDS to be very questionable, and further includes this statement in her article:

"The epidemiology of HIV and AIDS is puzzling and unclear as well. In spite of the fact that AIDS cases increased rapidly from their initial observation in the early 1980s and reached a peak in 1993 before declining rapidly, the number of HIV-positive individuals in the U.S. has remained constant at one million since the advent of widespread HIV antibody testing. This cannot be due to anti-HIV therapy, since the annual mortality rate of North American HIV-positives who are treated with anti-HIV drugs is much higher – between 6.7 and 8.8% – than would be the approximately 1–2% global mortality rate of HIV-positives if all AIDS cases were fatal in a given year."

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/culshaw1.html

7:07 PM
brell said...

well, the choicest examples are haiti, north korea, subsaharan africa and inner cities in the us.

luckily for detroit and similar cities, people leaving them creates more room for urban gardening, which secures the local food supply, despite crime... and for that and other reasons makes the city more attractive in the long run...

cuba is a nice counter-example. but i havent been there in person so i cant say. i do know that we are mostly all eating petro-food.

8:39 PM
in_the_light said...

Marcos,

I am reading the Long Descent right now. It is a tough book for me. He brings up a lot of concepts that I have trouble dismissing. Also, this weeks post on his blog made me stop and think.

http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com

Thanks for bringing it up because I think it is an idea worth spending some time to consider. I know MCR feels that a fast collapse would be the best. He's mentioned that it would leave our infrastructure in tact. I understand that, but at the same time wonder if it doesn't make more sense that our collapse would take centuries to be complete seeing as how this isn't like a stock market collapse in which it collapses just to be rebuilt. We are talking about the final burial of the industrial age, and the redcution of huge amounts of human populations.

Real, deep, and lasting change tends to take time. When change happens on a dime, it doesn't always last and it usually isn't profound. Since this event will last and it certainly is profound change, doesn't it make more sense that it should take some time?

mat

9:35 PM
agape wins said...

Someone posted about Government
doing what enterprise, & investors
looking for return would not??!

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gaddy/gaddy36.html

12:00 AM
Sam McGee said...

I didn't look at the youtube...but would these be the Amero coins?

http://www.dc-coin.com/index.asp?Category=8&PageAction=VIEWCATS

Hal Turner started this hoax, as far as I know. Daniel Carr, the coinmaker, says clearly on the site that they are novelty coins, not legal tender.

Good, fairly reliable information on deep integration:
http://www.canadians.org/integratethis/

1:46 AM
Hikikomori said...

Last night I saw a dream in which the girl, once I was in love with, asked me how am I?..

I still remember the pain when I realized that I lost her. But first of all I remember the joy she gave me. It was very difficult to let her go. If you ever lost your loved one, you know what I mean. No, she haven't died. We just couldn't be together. It was my fault.

But, does it matter now if she's alive or dead? I know nothing about her. I just hope that wherever she is – she's doing fine. I hope that she's happier without me. As I said, it was difficult, but once I convinced myself that she's no longer “mine”, once I managed to shift my attention from my pain to her hopefully joyous freedom, my pain disappeared. It was my ego that's been hurt, my self, who just lost ownership and access to something beautiful, magical, miraculous... Only memories remained, and I decided to keep them bright. Once she was fire in my heart and in my life. I miss that fire... therefore I remember it with hope and now I understand that most important thing in life is love.

Yes – love.

You may have life, but without love it's tasteless and meaningless. If you're able to enjoy fullness of life without true love, then you perhaps never loved and it's possible that you're nothing more than just a sophisticated animal.

Love does miracles in us. Love heals our souls and bodies. Love connects people. It restores their lives and makes them happy.

Yes, you're right, mom, body needs food and roof and we cannot live on love only. But you see, love inspires to do something, to feed your loved ones and build a roof for them. But if you love no one, you don't care about anyone, unless you have to.

This is my answer to you, Athene. The answer to all problems is – love. That's my absolute, universal, but meanwhile utopian paradigm. Utopian for society of selfish individuals, but really working between true lovers, in true family, among true friends. We do our best to our friends, more than for ourselves, without expecting to get anything back. And our true friends do the same to us. In that way we enrich each other rather than only ourselves. And I believe that true love for someone else is stronger than for oneself. These are actually opposites. The more you love yourself, the less you love others. The more you love others, the more they love you.

But that works only among true friends and lovers. If you give all yourself to those who don't care about you, most probably they'll eat you alive. That's why it's utopian.

But isn't it terribly wrong?! As one very talented Russian, who, by the way, died in a car accident, sang:

I saw a dream where the world is being ruled by love,
I saw a dream where the world is being ruled by dream.
And a star shines beautifully over it,
I woke up and realized – trouble!

Yeah, the world is being ruled by selfishness. That selfishness is in everyone of us, not only in the PTB. And the world will not change unless we change ourselves, at least the critical mass of us, the democratic majority. Someone said: “Change yourself and the world will change”. Change yourself and you'll change the way your money works. But no one wants to be the first, even if you believe that you should and even actually want. Coz the day you change, the same very day others still unchanged will consume you completely. The world is more or less full of predators or simply careless creatures looking for easy prey.

So change means self-sacrifice, just as love is. Love desires to be loved back, but loves anyway, coz that's its nature, contrary to scorpion's. But, isn't that unjust? You may spend all your life giving all yourself away every day and it may be that others will not bother even feed you, literally. That's why God, final judgement and afterlife are necessary, IMHO, to make it all just, eventually. Otherwise, “let's eat and drink and have fun, coz tomorrow we're gonna die!”

No, you cannot love only on the condition that you'll be paid back eventually. If you love, you love. If you don't, you don't... Final judgement just makes it all just. That's my paradigm I believe in.

And yes, the dieoff. That's what I wanted to write about in the first place, but my heart led me somewhere else...

I think before we get ourselves ready to survive, first of all we should get ourselves ready to die. Death is inevitable end of our lives and we never know when it'll happen. We expect to live a hundred years, some really do, but most of us die sooner. And some of us die “too soon”, unprepared. Are you sure that today you'll not be hit by a car? I'm sure the sun will rise again tomorrow and I naturally hope and almost without doubt believe I'll see it then again, but I perfectly understand that in some unlucky circumstances this my belief one day may tragically fail. Am I ready? No.

We cling to life naturally, almost no matter what. And perhaps it's natural that we don't think about death. But we are not just animals. We should be ready, at least by living our lives the way that in the sudden and unexpected end we'd have nothing to be sorry about. Ironically, but seems like animals are better prepared than we...

We should be able and ready to let our lives go just as I once let my love go... The more you cling to it, the more it hurts when omnipotent force majeure takes it away. We have to realize that we own nothing in this world except responsibility to be honest and an opportunity to love and be loved, which makes a good person happy, even if it involves lots of suffering. As the great raver puts it right: everything's borrowed in this world...

6:50 AM
v said...

Mike or Jo (or anyone else who wants to comment):

What are your thoughts on Codex Alimentarius? Apparently their will be a ban on vitamins, supplements and minerals as of december 21st 2009!

regards V

8:03 AM
Jenna Orkin said...

m wrote:

“If anybody could have predicted this economic crisis, I would have
liked to have met them.”

Ellen Weiss, NPR's senior vice president for news
PBS News Hour December 11, 2008

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec08/npr_12-11.html



comment:

just like Condi had no idea that 9/11 could happen and FEMA couldn't
tell that the levees in New Orleans could fail or that the masters of
the universe couldn't tell that exponential growth couldn't happen
forever on a round, and therefore, finite planet.

8:23 AM
Jenna Orkin said...

m wrote:

“If anybody could have predicted this economic crisis, I would have
liked to have met them.”

Ellen Weiss, NPR's senior vice president for news
PBS News Hour December 11, 2008

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec08/npr_12-11.html



comment:

just like Condi had no idea that 9/11 could happen and FEMA couldn't
tell that the levees in New Orleans could fail or that the masters of
the universe couldn't tell that exponential growth couldn't happen
forever on a round, and therefore, finite planet.

8:23 AM
Jenna Orkin said...

posted with a deep sigh:


Dana has left a new comment on your post "UH OH The dieoff has already begun though is not ...":

Andrew, that is a good point. If you want to find articles in the media supporting absolutely any crazy idea, one can...and it is obvious what ideas are supported here.
It is not necessarily a bad thing, though, it shows that there is still freedom of speech in the US. In China, for example, this blog could not exist. Too bad nobody ever bothers to acknowledge that here.

I am mesmerized how easy it is to misled people though (and this goes both ways): gas prices are below $2 a gallon now. If peak oil was here, would that be the case?
Or does the answer lie with another cover-up conspiracy theory?

The peak oil theory has been around since 1956 when Hubbert came up with it...and we're still around with no mass extinction caused by peak oil yet.
FTW has been announcing mass starvation due to peak oil since the 2000s or even earlier...
When I'll be old and gray, probably my grandchildren will come to me with the same (old) news about peak oil.

As for mass die-offs in Africa, unfortunately that is nothing new. People have been dieing in Africa from diseases and starvation for decades. It is very sad and unfair but hardly proof that the conditions there will extend here.

Other than that, this blog is superfun. I especially like when people write about their preparations for an after peak-oil world: cans, wool socks, land in remote areas, mountain bikes.

It is good that blogs like these exist, if we all agreed on everything the world would be much more boring. Also, it is difficult to learn when everyone has the same opinion.

9:25 AM
RayLeeUS said...

Wow! I guess that means you'll be getting a call or email from Ellen or her staff soon, seeing as how you are someone she would like to have met already!

Reminds me of when my daughter said "I wish someone would have told me that the dining room table would get messed up if I wrote on it with magic marker."
Actually, we did. Many times. Plus I had just said "keep them at your play table" 20 minutes earlier when she took them down from the shelf. Nice try. Time out. No dessert.

9:49 AM
businessman said...

The die-off isn't going to be a sudden process. It will be a gradual one, with the poor countries being affected first.

Already we've been seeing riots happening in poor countries around the world due to their conditions of poverty, rising food prices, and other factors. This is one stage of a multi-stage process, and the people who have the greatest resources, flexibility, and mobility, will be the most likely ones to survive.

Personally I think there's no way that oil and gas prices could have risen as high as they did and then fallen as quickly as they did...to less than half of what they were just months ago...without major manipulation and collusion going on behind the scenes to make it all happen. Maybe it was all a big experiment to see how the world would react to it, or maybe the intention was sudden and dramatic demand destruction.

9:51 AM
Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting Dana's comments, JO!

Here's the way I look at things, Dana. You and I are in agreement about peak oil. The only current limitation to oil and viable alternatives is government and corporate strategies. By controlling oil, they can control entire economies. Proliferation of Hubbert's theory is a convenient motor to enable that control.

But here's where we disagree: We ARE facing an economic collapse. When pension funds disappear as banking continues to contract - and analysts expect a more rapid contraction in '09 than we've had in '08 - and when the derivatives market begins to unravel with no regulatory mechanism to keep it in check, businesses and industry who rely upon revolving credit and loans for capital upgrades and maintenance will be left holding their hands out to banks who have no reserve mechanism to issue a loan.

The key to understanding the severity of the crisis simply can't be found by listening to Wall St. analysts, media pundits, or talk radio.

Also, I find it comical that when I talk about mountain bikes and remote property, you get a kick out of it as though using my resources and past-times as a possible "worst case" lifeline is a stupid idea. Those are the things I like and do anyways - biking, hiking, etc. Do you criticize other folks who enjoy nature and physical activity?

To put it bluntly, while you laugh and snicker at folks who listen to fiscal warnings of "economic armegeddon" from top economists, even in the face of massive banking collapse and market contraction, I'm using my time and the things that I enjoy to prepare for a worsening crisis, and to encourage others to do the same.

Remember that each time you see news of more layoffs or additional finance crises. If it gets really bad, will you be prepared?

For everyone else, FYI - the sheriff in my county (the wealthiest in my region) has just announced that he won't enforce any more evictions - he believes it's wrong to force so many families out of their homes when they have no place to go. Foreclosures are way up. I spoke with a coworker today whose brother was laid off on Friday with no warning. I spoke with an inlaw last week whose considering selling his property b/c his service business has arrived at a near standstill.

And a good friend who just finished building a lavish waterfront property was just forced to close 3 of 12 stores - with more closures pending. She told my wife yesterday that they're gonna try to sell the new house. That's after being told by us for over a year that they shouldn't build - but they were doing so well that they couldn't see the storm brewing around them. They opened a new store every four months for four years - every one showing a tidy profit. They're finally waking up, but hopefully it's not too late for them - everything they have is tied to financing on their (formerly) expanding business.

9:56 AM
kiki said...

I agree any argument can find supportive information sources. The question is where does the information come from ? What is the credibility of the information source and of the person reporting it ? Most I find here do their own research as well as follow Mikes/Jennas and their interpretation of same. Personally, I don’t have professional training as a detective to ferret out all that Mike has been gracious enough to share but when I follow the links to credible reports ie. Barons, Bloomberg News, New York Times, Global Research and many more, I certainly don’t equate those sources to questionable sources with scads of disinformation and conjecture with no facts to back up the claims.

(I do wonder how much of what MCR has written over the years has actually been read, and the sources referenced, actually checked by the occasional poster with an attitude of derision)

I do know: no one can convince another when it comes to issues of the magnitude Mike has tackled – they must read, study and interpret for themselves ie. you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink !

So believe what you will and continue to look at the news and credible news sources. The economic snowball is careening down the hill and will soon be knocking at all our doors. How anyone can't see it, at this point, is beyond me.

10:31 AM
JR Smithson said...

Hi, I am a frequent reader and own Rubicon. I have a practical question about education. I was thinking about going back to school to get a Master's to improve my career, but if it really is as bad as it seems, maybe I should parlay the debt into something more fruitful like gold bullion.. Will debt enslave me when the shit hits the fan, or will education save me? I know it depends on the career, so if there are any career recommendations for the coming collapse I would be interested to hear about them.

Keep up the great work Mike, although I am too poor to actually use your advice, at least I am mentally prepared for the problems we will face.

Thanks.

10:46 AM
fusion_is_fundamental said...

I've tried to tell people in the past that the recent oil price hike is not about peak oil but it was an attempt to prop up the dollar so the world doesn't dump it as the world's reserve currency.
This has also happened in the 70's in the fake oil crisis then except this time instead of oil prices staying high they crashed. Guess whoever was behind it is not as good as they thought.

I hope you post this and not censor it.
If people read it does anyone or MCR have any opinions on it?

10:52 AM
DC said...

RIP Chrysler 1925 - 2009


Suppliers have demanded COD (CASH PAYMENT); Chrysler suppliers are paid out $7 billion every 45 days. Chrysler has $2.5 billion in cash at hand. You've been sick for a long, long time Chrysler. I suppose Bush might fancy playing doctor during his last days in office.

Oh, and check out the 12 Days of Christmas 2009:

http://ashizashiz.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-niece-penelope.html

12:11 PM
CUBoulder said...

I apologize if this is an obvious or recurrent question on this blog, but would anyone here mind laying out why the price of gasoline at the pumps here in the U.S. has declined so dramatically lately. I'm new to a lot of this, but if "Peak Oil" has arrived, then shouldn't the price of oil be higher, not lower? I've asked some of my younger friends at school who are Econ majors and they tell me it's simple supply/demand principles. I highly doubt such a simple explanation. Any insight would be appreciated, even just another website or book, etc. to look at...In 9/11 truth, thanks.
- CUBoulder

2:02 PM
LeoBro said...

CUBoulder,
Read any of Tom Whipple's articles: E.g: The Peak Oil Crisis: July 2008 – A Month To Remember.

2:52 PM
Anne said...

Also posted with a deep sigh...

Wouldn't this blog be ever so much more elucidating if reading and comprehending "Rubicon" was a requirement for posting? Oh well...at least it is easy to tell who has not done so. Then one can just read the postings by the more erudite and informed.

Differences of "informed" opinion are always good. Blathering is blathering is blathering.....

2:56 PM
Unknown said...

Anne,
EXACTLY!
G2G

2:49 AM
Unknown said...

To Hikikomori:

Don't worry.The world's selfish and being ruled by selfish people, but very soon starting in 2012 there will be a massive spiritual cleansing. A die-off will occur, but of evil. As Revelation says, the Devil will be chained for 1000 years. A New Age is coming!

9:55 AM
Anonymous said...

FTWadmin:

"It (being able to find articles supporting crazy ideas) is not necessarily a bad thing, though, it shows that there is still freedom of speech in the US."

Athene: Amen.

Hikikomori, I wanna go live in your world. I'm tired of defending myself against people who would suck me dry if I let them. That said, there's not a day goes by in this world that I don't thank the universe for the people I love, and who love me. What an unbelievable privilege it has been to be alive.

(Feeling particularly grateful at this moment, while the snow comes down, pine crackles in the stove, and the juncos fuss over the bird seed we just scattered outside...)

Mike, give Rags a smooch from me.

6:36 AM
Anonymous said...

To Joshua:

I wouldn't waste my time or money or energy or anything else on formal education, period (says the one who has a master's degree sitting in the closet, usefully collecting dust). ESPECIALLY if you'd have to go into debt to do so. Schools are after your money, just like every other business. School loans are impossible to get out of unless you die.

Like Mike has been saying forever: GET OUT OF DEBT. I would guess that this also means, DO NOT INCUR NEW DEBT.

As for "job" markets, well, use your head. What are people always going to NEED, regardless of economic situation? Food. Medicine. Transport. Warmth. Communication. There's your job market.

Sorry if I sound harsh. I just don't want you to get fucked over by the system like I did.

6:55 AM
Gustav said...

Hello Again from Slovenia.

I thank you all for your honest answer to my question regarding the impact of current (or I should say THE) financial crisis on European economy. It made me think more deeply about the problems we face.

However I would like to adress the issue that come up today when I picked up my issue of our local version of Science and Technology (Zivljenje in Tehnika). A very short story about Spanish flu - I hope I translated it well. Here goes:

"TRACES OF SPANISH FLU

In 1918 Spanish Flu killed more people than the first world war, and left harsh memories of the event, but also traces of it in human cells. Three American scientists (doesn't say wich ones) showed, that 32 people who survived the Flu and are alive today, still have antibodies that are indicative of the H1N1 virus - the virus that causes the Spanish Flu. In contact with this virus, the innoculant (from the scientists) reacted to it, wich means that those people still have antibodies. With the use of the lymphocites (?) taken from these people, they created five cell-lines that produced the antibodies. They will be needed for efficient treatment, should this disease reoccur."

My question is - why would it reoccur? It's been gone for 90 years.


Sincerely,

Ziga Hauptman,
Slovenia, EU

9:59 AM

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