"Collapse" with Michael Ruppert at The Pickford

Now showing at the Pickford! Discuss the film here.

I'm not sure I will be able to get to one of the showings this weekend, but I'm quite familiar with Ruppert's views, having followed his "From the Wilderness" website for a number of years.

Watch the film's trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNmi49F_DIo

New Showtimes at the Pickford Cinema:
* Sat. 1/30 2:15 PM
* Wed. 2/3 9:00 PM

* Thurs. 2/4 9:00PM

Here's how Michael Falter, the Pickford's Program Director, describes the film:

Hi Folks,
No, 'The Collapse' isn't a new dance craze sweeping the nation, but it IS the title of one of the most compelling documentaries of the year, opening TONIGHT at the Pickford (at 6:30pm). This film shook us to the core when we screened it at Toronto this year--the subject of Chris Smith's doc is Michael Ruppert, who likes to say that he doesn't deal in conspiracy theory, he deals in conspiracy FACT. Whether you believe everything he says is less important than considering the ramifications of what he says if he is right. About what? See the excerpt from Roger Ebert's Four Star review below.

We'll have guests from Transition Whatcom say a few words before the film each night, and I neglected to mention in my email last night that we will be selling copies of Michael Ruppert's various books, courtesy of Village Books. Pickford Film Center will keep 20% from each book sale, so consider picking up a title or two.

http://www.villagebooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/michael+ruppert

A long excerpt from Roger Ebert's review:

If this man is correct, then you may be reading the most important story in today's paper.

I have no way of assuring you that the bleak version of the future outlined by Michael Ruppert in Chris Smith's "Collapse" is accurate. I can only tell you I have a pretty good built-in B.S. detector, and its needle never bounced off zero while I watched this film. There is controversy over Ruppert, and he has many critics. But one simple fact at the center of his argument is obviously true, and it terrifies me.

That fact: We have passed the peak of global oil resources. There are only so many known oil reserves. We have used up more than half of them. Remaining reserves are growing smaller, and the demand is growing larger. It took about a century to use up the first half. That usage was much accelerated in the most recent 50 years. Now the oil demands of giant economies like India and China are exploding. They represent more than half the global population, and until recent decades had small energy consumption.

If the supply is finite, and usage is potentially doubling, you do the math. We will face a global oil crisis, not in the distant future, but within the lives of many now alive. They may well see a world without significant oil.

Oh, I grow so impatient with those who prattle about our untapped resources in Alaska, yada yada yada. There seems to be only enough oil in Alaska to power the United States for a matter of months. The world's great oil reserves have been discovered.

Saudi Arabia sits atop the largest oil reservoir ever found. For years, the Saudis have refused to disclose any figures at all about their reserves. If those reserves are vast and easy to tap by drilling straight down through the desert, then ask yourself this question: Why are the Saudis spending billions of dollars to develop offshore drilling platforms?

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091209/...

"Collapse" with Michael Ruppert at The Pickford

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