It's the end of the world as we know it

I believe that the media can accelerate trends significantly. If people don't know there is a recession, they probably would not behave different and continue buying cars etc.
If I go out of my door at least here in Germany everything is the same as before, I cannot even see the recession if I go shopping somewhere.
But people have not had real problems since a long time, that explains why they desperatly seek for bad news with a religious appearing obsession.
I think you can compare the "Depression" hype with the climatic change hype that was here all over the media the last 2 years. You could not dicuss these matters with certain people because logic was denied.

This "end of the world" feeling seems to attract the same kind of people now. It seems to give them a warm and fuzzy feeling within their little house and 20 gold coins they have burried in their garden and the weapon they have bought against the coming riots (oh shit, I have also some gold at home...).

That said I am glad that we have this media hyped depression because it offers chances we may not see again in our lifetime.
But of course only to the very few of us who can stay open minded with all this bad news flow.

 

for enough to buy two bags of rice?

 

Actually the sun pretty much stays in the same place.

It's your place on the Earth that is rolling towards (and away from) the sun.

 

"Ugly it will get" .... Yoda

 

I agree the fruitcakes are out in force about 2012 and spaceships and whatnot. But.... Do not think the terrible cant or wont happen. Look at this history of the world. The blood and violence is everywhere. Rome didnt just go down, it went out in style.

The United States is how old? And how much blood here? How many generations do you have to go back until brother vs brother? Not very far. The Communists in Russia killed millions upon millions. How long ago? Fascists in Germany killed millions, how long ago?

We get too complacent in our short lives to see that it is right on the horizon. Take a look at Russia now, Putin has some uprisings on his hands and he will not go quietly. He may deflect attention by war. Social instability is real in France and England. My grandfather is still alive, and he marched through Italy at a time when the world was killing each other in mass in everyway they could think of.