A PRESIDENTIAL POLICY (Updates)

Well, there's a rumble growing.

Since last Friday the Rubiconworks website has received more than 45,000 visitors and close to 8,000 clicks through multiple pages. We have received well over twenty bona fide requests for review copies. A few examples are The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, the BBC, two members of congress and one large-city mayor's office. We're all still waiting to hear from the great folks at Bluemark Films as to when we'll see a trailer for CoLLapse but it should be soon. I have not seen a single clip yet but I was there for all of the filming... Trust me on that. The Director, Chris Smith, is a genius, as his two prior wins at Sundance testify. I don't want to spoil the movie for you guys but the filming was one of the most intense things I've ever experienced. It turns out now that I was in this dark, dank, cold basement for four days instead of three. We just shot a few last scenes last week. I do know this -- CoLLapse is a serious, serious motion picture. So I'm eagerly waiting to see something just like the rest of you...

What's before us now is the challenge of proving to the world on May 1 that there are a lot of people around the world who understand what we're facing. Breaking the NY Times list means that cartelized mainstream media will have to finally acknowledge all of us. That will mean that so many who have never had the chance to hear the message of Peak Oil/Sustainability will finally hear it. Who knows how many lives that might save. That's what I would like the blog that bears my name to focus on now. The more people read the book, the more will step out of the Old Paradigm, giving all of us a better shot. We can save lives by figuring out the best-possible viral marketing campaign for the book. Think global and local.

The Bear Market-sucker's-manipulated-pumpanddump rally ends shortly -- right on time. The only thing I missed in recent predictions was $2,000 gold, but I think I know why. I've noticed two huge gold sales recently. One for 140 metric tons and another for (I think) 30 metric tons. There can only be so many tranches of that size. That's around six million ounces. No wonder the price has taken a hit as fools sold their gold and threw money back in the markets. I smell the end of the gold cabal. They've had to dip into their reserves... the real thing.

I have seriously missed communing with the loyalists, giants and friends who frequent here. But I'm back now until the real action starts. Then I suspect I'm going to be busy again. After I saw the responses to the book release earlier today I've been like way out of tune; cranky, ill-at-ease. I needed to write to you. I told you that I had to check out a while to finish a couple of jobs... I guess you'll forgive me. But it's great to be back. Let's start feeding each other on how we get as many copies sold in the shortest period possible.

Do we really want to change the world -- or just play with it a little?

MCR

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From Jenna Orkin:

A few days ago, Businessman sent in the following comment:


Great article, Jenna! Since you brought up the subject of 9/11 and scientific panels, here's a 10-minute video from Denmark featuring an interview with scientist Niels Harrit, stating they've now determined through scientific testing of the WTC dust, that there were more than 10 tons of thermite explosives in the World Trade Center: Click Here for the Video ********************************************************************************
JO's response:

Businessman, if you were not the wonderful loyal helpful guy you are, I would have just rejected your comment. But you're Businessman, so I clicked on the video and was impressed to see that the nanothermite boondoggle has been awarded over ten minutes on a Danish news channel.

Not a prominent channel, it seems, for its hits on google are unimpressive, as are the other outlets that lend time, space and credence to the highly speculative nanothermite venture. But at least the interview was slickly produced.

So a highly engaging ten minutes ensued, reminiscent of those puzzles in which you have to spot what's wrong with the picture.

Without devoting too much time to the shortcomings of this bit of junk science, ask yourselves these questions (if you entertain the matter at all, which we are not recommending:)

How does the scientist concerned, Niels Harrit (Is he a Ph.D? There's little sign of it) know that there was ten to a hundred tons of nanothermite in the World Trade Center debris? Who found it? Where is it now? The debris was removed to Fresh Kills in Staten Island as well as to Third World countries ASAP. Is Harrit just assuming there was ten to a hundred tons (give or take an order of magnitude) because that's what he thinks it would take to demolish the buildings?

He says the nanothermite was discovered "by chance" a short while ago. What kind of chance is it when scientists beg for dust samples for years so they can test it for said nanothermite? Every couple of months I used to get their emails. I never complied because the science would not have been valid; the chain of custody was broken. And mind you, the requests were for a few measly samples, not ten to a hundred tons. All of this, by the way, ignores the myriad scientists (Millette, Lioy, Yiin....) who, whether well-intentioned or not, were studying the dust for pollutants.

So Harrit didn't know any of this? Does he know the other scientists working on this wild goose chase? But the best part was the dead silence when the politely incredulous journalist didn't know what to say next because the only reasonable response was, "Huh?"

While only cursory, this response is intended to quash speculation about issues which at this point can never be proved. It is not intended to open up the floodgates to further questions. Harrit is either a loony patsy or pure disinfo. But it's enlightening to see what's getting into the European media so thank you for the link.

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