End of the world 2012?

[IndigoPrime]

The ancient Mayan calender apparently picks 2012 as the end of the world

From what I've read, it picks 2012 as the end of one of the calendars (the long count), but that's it. Anyone talking about them claiming that was the end of the world is just talking shit. They no more suggested 2012 would be the end of the world than Western people suggest December 31 is the end of the world.

[Kerrin]

Fear not. I will be selling berths on my intergalactic life boat at a discount rate to board members. It is extremely easy and convenient, simply paypal £100,000,000 per person to kerrin@we'realldoomeddoomedItellyedoomed.co.ck and I will send you an individually numbered ticket.

Due to obvious reasons of confidentiality I am unable to present you with any photographs or brochures at the present time.

ABTA registered.

[Jared Katooie]

FOOLS!


THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS ALREADY ENDING!

THE FINAL DESCENT OF HUMAN SOCIETY HAS BEGUN!

ONLY THE ONE TRUE RELIGION WILL SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE!

CONVERT TO TRIANGULARIANISM NOW, YE HEATHENS, LEST YE SUFFER AND DIE IN THE RUINED WASTELAND THAT AWAITS YE!

[Peter Wolf]

James Hansen is one of these enviromental[politicised science] Authoritarian Eggheads that are commonplace nowadays on the pretext of saving the planet.

James Hansen was very recently praising the Chinese Authoritarian political system and saying the US should adopt a similar political system to save the planet/climate while forgetting that China is the filthiest country on the planet in terms of its enviromental policies which could be categorised as destructive while calling for China to place an economic boycott on the US because it doesnt have a plan to reduce its CO2 output while China doesnt have a plan to do that either while at the same time the CO2 output of the US has declined as in case it has escaped anyones notice more or less the entire US manufacturing base has moved to China.

This isnt off topic either when i consider how many alarmist THE SKY IS FALLING !!! enviromental scenarios/dribble i have heard so far.





Dont get me started.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Perhaps these End of the World scenario's actually reflect Western concern at the West's declining power and influence.

China, India and the East seem to be rising to ascendency so perhaps all these doom laden cultural events from Zombie apocalypse to Alien invasions are our way of dealing with the belief that the West's best days are behind her and only mediocraty awaits us in the future.

[JOE SOAP]

I think the East rising in ascendancy is a bit of a myth. They need us as much as we need them, they also have larger populations and a large strata of poor with dwindling resources. I expect a contraction on all sides in the coming years with no winners 'cept maybe a few wars.

Subject to change if new power source is revealed/discovered.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

War in the Artic over the oil. I could well believe that as the world's resorces shrink. The old Empires Britain, Russia, Europe and America might slug it out over this while the rest of the world entertains itself in similar fashion over their increasingly scarce resources.

Geography is destiny after all. 

[TordelBack]

Dont get me started.

I think I already did!

I think you're misinterpreting what was going on there - Hansen believes, on the basis of the science within which he is an acknowledged expert, that the US's absurd bipartisan system, in reality a dog-and-pony show controlled by corporate interests, will never be able to make the decisions that he believes need to be made right now.   He's only anti-democracy in so far as he believes that US democracy doesn't work and won't do what needs to be done on a very tight timescale.  FWIW I believe him. His China remarks were by way of illustrating this - but were poorly judged.  He wasn't commenting on China's environmental policy.  The man is a scientist, not a PR-spun politician, and he is desperate to see solutions implemented.

Of course the Right, who themselves only believe in democracy as long as it can be manipulated through rabble rousing hate-speak and maintaining the poverty and ignorance that permits it, took this as all their Christmases coming at once.  Another reason to bury scientific claims under chest-thumping rhetoric.

[Peter Wolf]

Dont get me started.

I think I already did!

I think you're misinterpreting what was going on there - Hansen believes, on the basis of the science within which he is an acknowledged expert, that the US's absurd bipartisan system, in reality a dog-and-pony show controlled by corporate interests, will never be able to make the decisions that he believes need to be made right now.   He's only anti-democracy in so far as he believes that US democracy doesn't work and won't do what needs to be done on a very tight timescale.  FWIW I believe him. His China remarks were by way of illustrating this - but were poorly judged.  He wasn't commenting on China's environmental policy.  The man is a scientist, not a PR-spun politician, and he is desperate to see solutions implemented.

Of course the Right, who themselves only believe in democracy as long as it can be manipulated through rabble rousing hate-speak and maintaining the poverty and ignorance that permits it, took this as all their Christmases coming at once.  Another reason to bury scientific claims under chest-thumping rhetoric.

I havent started yet.

I havent misunderstood/misinterpreted anything as i have done my homework on James Hansen and i know who he is affiliated with and i understand that he is an Authoritarian and i understand his political outlook and i understand lots of other things about James Hansen that i wont go into here.I understand the wider agenda that its all part of and i understand the reason for James Hansens doublestandards etc.

I want James Hansen to put his taxpayer money where his mouth is and go over to China and lecture them about reducing their enviromental impact on the planet while praising their wonderful Authoritarian Collectivist/Capitalist political system that is apparently the solution because like i said the CO2 output of the US has dropped significantly through de-industrialisation in the last 10 years.

The corporate/Financial interests that control the US are wholly responsible for the de-industrialisation of the US and the West in general so in that sense they have all unilaterally reduced the CO2/pollution output of the US already.

This is very simple.

I dont expect James Hansen to say anything publically as to why Americas system of Constitutional Democracy is broken as we wouldnt want him to bite the hand that feeds him.

Should someone who is on the payroll of the US taxpayer be calling for an economic boycott of the US ?

I think not somehow.

"Of course the Right, who themselves only believe in democracy as long as it can be manipulated through rabble rousing hate-speak and maintaining the poverty and ignorance that permits it, took this as all their Christmases coming at once.  Another reason to bury scientific claims under chest-thumping rhetoric. "

Is that any worse than all the Maoist/Collectivist/Fake Communists [Who are really Staeists who think that Communism involves nothing but a ruling class while everyone queues up to buy a loaf of bread while living in poverty] who would have cheered when they heard a US public figure praising/advocating Chinese style Authoritarianism ??

The same can be said of the Left regarding the above comments and even more so and i say that as objectively as possible.

The world is not going to end suddenly on an arbitary day of the 2012 calendar but what is going to happen is more of the same only worse than what you are seeing now unless everyone does an about face and wakes up to reality very quickly.People also have a psychological need believe in and fixate on end of the world scenarios and they always have done and always will do.

People are so stupid its pitiful sometimes.

[M.I.K.]

This is the most boring coversation about the end of the world that I have ever encountered.

[Zarjazzer]

So it's not the end of the world. But hopefully the end of this deplorably paranoid thread.

[spoiler]Kerrin -save the lifeboat for me not these nobodies and losers on this board. I'm an important being and must be saved though I resemble something goblinoid rather than human.Of course I can't give you the money NOW, but I'm sure an IOU will suffice, after all if my good name isn't worth £100,000,000 what is?

Cheers!-Z[/spoiler]

[SmallBlueThing]

At least we wouldnt have to suffer further indignities heaped upon the once good name of dr who, in the name of its 'fiftieth anniversary celebrations'. So, you know, every cloud.
SBT

[mogzilla]

So it's not the end of the world. But hopefully the end of this deplorably paranoid thread.

[spoiler]Kerrin -save the lifeboat for me not these nobodies and losers on this board. I'm an important being and must be saved though I resemble something goblinoid rather than human.Of course I can't give you the money NOW, but I'm sure an IOU will suffice, after all if my good name isn't worth £100,000,000 what is?

Cheers!-Z[/spoiler]

don't listen to him .he still owes me £17,000,000.60p for all the victorian porn i sold him(er,for a friend you understand?) on ebay

[fresno bob]

Well if the world does end December 22,2012, I won't have to hear some philosophy major dropout quote vague Nostradamus quatrains on December 23rd.

[I, Cosh]

Oooh, nice use of the word eschatological.

I'm afraid I lifted it from the Wiki, but it is one of my favourites - along with teleological.

I've always been a fan of the word epistomology, but I sometimes get it confused in my head with eschatology. So I have to always bear in mind the exhortations of the great sage Paul Weller to immanentize the eschaton.

[spoiler]No points at all for anyone pointing out he got it from Robert Anton Wilson.[/spoiler]