05 December 2006

Poor Mike throws in the towel after a long battle with the Troppo :-( Thanks to contributions and assistance from so many of you, Mike Ruppert was successfully moved from Venezuela to Canada on November 18th. He is currently in the greater Toronto area and receiving medical care and rest thanks to dedicated Peak Oil activists. In addition to his previously described symptoms it has been learned that his adrenal system is severely damaged and there may be toxicity of the liver. He has lost more than 20 pounds in the last ten weeks. Many of you have written suggesting possible poisoning as cause for his known symptoms. We are not pursuing that at the moment because the treatment for the symptoms would not change in either case. Mike has received offers of residency from more than 20 countries on five continents. It will not be possible to further consider those options until his health has stablized which may take several months. In addition, Mike must also turn his attention to a number of legal issues arising from FTW's permanent cessation of operations. Mike sends the following message to all FTW subscribers, friends and fans: "Over the past four months many of you have touched me with your generous and loving offers of support and encouragement. You have kept me alive. I have also understood, probably for the first time, how deeply FTW has impacted your lives and the lives of a new and younger generation. As my health and my access to your letters improves I will be writing personally to as many of you as I possibly can. "I want to repeat something I have been saying in private emails over the last month. Personally, I am through forever with investigative journalism and public lecturing. I am leaving public life. It is my hope that by continuing to repeat this sincere position that many of the inexplicable difficulties which have dominated my life over the past months will ease. "It is time to move on. I spent twenty-seven years as a dedicated public activist and that is something which I am no longer able or inclined to do. The price was ultimately too great. I want to assure all FTW creditors that if it takes the rest of my life we will pay off our debts. Unfortunately, any unfillfilled orders will not and cannot be shipped. We will refund them as soon as we are able. Many of the tragedies and mishaps which marked FTW's final months and necessitated its closure became a perfect storm. How they played out has already been discussed. But I am still alive and plans are underway to have the FTW web site archived in perpetuity on the internet for the benefit of future researchers and we expect that to happen soon. "This is not the end but a new beginning."