At around 11:30 AM today I received the following email from reporter Sanne Specht at the Medford Oregon, Mail-Tribune:

"Hi Mike,

The BOLI Commissioner just this morning returned my call(s). You were right. The judgement is against your (defunct?) biz. They cannot collect from you - unless you return to Oregon and start another biz etc.

"Avakian apologized for the misleading press release and for not being clearer in his comments regarding your specific case."

Gee, what was it Mark Twain said, "A lie is halfway around the world before the truth even gets its shoes on." Or... as Neil Young said, "Oh, oh the damage done." All I can say is if Avakian blew that part -- at a time when Bluemark was trying to sell CoLLapse to dsitributors -- what else did he get wrong? And to what purpose? I kind of agree with Chris Smith that there's no reason to think Avakian's foot-in-mouth, personally-delivered, widely distributed press release impacted CoLLapse's future -- too much. -- And when is anyone going to get that FTW is not an ongoing business under any name or function???? -- I am a singer/songwriter now. If you want to attack me now, attack my music, which I hope to have you all hearing soon.

While the original press release was blasted all over and hyped by the Oregon State Labor Cimmissioner personally, the "correction" will only be buried someplace in the back pages and the wires won't see it. The hateful bloggers won't admit it. But I think the Medford Mail Tribune will be publishing a follow-up soon; maybe tomorrow. Let's see if it gets the same placement or travels the internet as fast as the first one did.

It doesn't matter. It's about the message of sustainability and it never was about me.

Michael C. Ruppert