Apple Cancels Apple Expo 2001 237
Ziploc writes: "Apple today announced the cancellation of Apple Expo 2001, which was scheduled to take place at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, from September 26th to 30th, 2001.
See the press release here."
I can see the logic (Score:2, Insightful)
Apple Expo 2001 (Score:3, Insightful)
Hate to say it (Score:4, Insightful)
WTC terrorists == airline security consultants (Score:1, Insightful)
Dark Days A Plenty (Score:0, Insightful)
(shamelessly reprinted without permission)
by Mark Driver
Rotten. Fucking rotten. That's all I'm feeling in the wake. My stomach's the size of a walnut, and my mind is gray and
gooey, like a big dumb oyster. Unresponsive. I haven't felt like doing much of anything since Tuesday. Even smiling
makes me feel guilty. Tuesday was the most horrible day I've ever lived, and days later I'm still not shaking this feeling of
sick. I'm bummed to the core.
I had been up drinking until 4 in the morning before, so when my mom called five times in a row around 7am P.S.T. on
Tuesday, I was not polite or pleasant as my face hit the receiver. "It's fucking seven o'clock in the morning!" I screamed
into the phone, assuming she was the East Coast salesperson from CRW that liked to call at six or seven in the morning
and tell me about exciting deals from the company that I bought an infrared mouse from like three years ago and had
been getting hounded by ever since.
"Well, sorry," my mom said, snippy and pissed, "I just thought you'd want to witness history." She hung up on me. I
rubbed my pulsing head and squinted through dry eyes, trying not to get too awake. I turned on the television just in time
to see the second tower of the World Trade Center collapse. I tried to shake the muck from my skull, tried to comprehend
what was happening. Click. Click. Click. Bang!
"Yo, girl!" I shouted into the bedroom. "Get up! Get yer skinny ass outta bed!"
I've had a really good run of not caring about "Big News Events", because they always seem staged, wrapped in
manipulation, every camera shot teeming with vampires just out of the picture, using whatever tragedy it was to further
whatever cause they were always schlepping around town.
On Tuesday, the initial reporting was black and white, fact-based, straight-up reporting on the awful situation. The eyes
of anchorpeople were grim and frantic. Their guests were speechless. The anti-septic news façade was broken and
everyone looked and sounded just like regular human beings. But as the initial shock wore off, the networks got their
graphics together and the politicians got their agendas in line.
There were some very bizarre things said. The CIA got to go first.
"We need more human resources in our worldwide surveillance networks. We need informants. It's dirty work. This is a
dirty business and in gathering information we are forced to deal with some not so nice people. Congress must
understand and accept this." All fine and well, but do I need thirteen different officials reading the SAME EXACT
WORDS from the memo pulled off their fax machine five minutes before the interview?
Other phrases I heard:
"America is a different country now." Oh, and I suppose we need a new Constitution too.
"America has lost her innocence." Um, I'm not sure if you can call a global superpower, the only country to have ever
dropped nuclear bombs 'innocent', but I'll go along with it for now.
"How many civil liberties are Americans now willing to give up in the wake of these attacks?" Um, well, I'll be willing to
wait in long lines at the airport. That's about it. Thanks for asking.
Then there was the Congressional dipshit who said with a straight face, "this just underscores the need for a national
missile defense system."
"But could a missile defense system have stopped this attack?" asked the interviewer.
"I think it's too early to tell," the Congressman said, keeping that straight face.
A man in a blue suit said, "we must be patriotic. And selling all your stocks when the markets re-open is certainly not
patriotic. All real patriots will know not to dump their holdings out of fear." Um, OK. I thought that patriotism was something
else. Apparently it's a financial term. I stand corrected.
In a brilliant display of foreign policy analysis, Taliban-esque Jerry "Jerk Me Off" Falwell and Pat "I'm a Koala"
Roberson blamed the terrorist attacks on God's displeasure with the ACLU, pro-lifers, feminists, and homosexuals. No
shit. Now I certainly don't have the life experience of a man who has slept with prostitutes, nor do I have the bedrock
ethics of a man who stole a religious broadcasting business from his trusting partner, but I'd imagine these guys would be
hard pressed to find a problem in the U.S. that wasn't directly tied to the homosexual agenda. Budget crisis? Homosexual
agenda. Fall in wheat prices? Homosexual agenda. Scrapped NASA launches? Homosexual agenda. That's quite a sexy
worldview, huh?
And then there was our President who scampered around like a scared chimp all day Tuesday and then tried to explain
his skittishness away on Wednesday. Like yer one friend who hides in the corner during a bar brawl and stands up after
the fighting's over saying something like "I was looking out for the police." Apparently, uh, Air Force One was in threat
of being, er, hit midair by amateur pilots in 757s, so while the entire country wracked itself with spasms of fear and
uncertainty, the leader of the free world was hiding underground, watching Home Alone II, eating imported spumoni, and
getting back massages from his handlers. And when he did finally emerge from the safety of his bunker, he was not
reassuring. I wasn't relieved or impressed. I was nervous he was gonna say something stupid. Luckily he kept to his
platitudes and pronounced his simple words correctly. I suppose that's all we can ask of the guy. (Conspiracy note: Has
anyone actually seen Dick Cheney since it all began?)
Back to the tragedy. Not like you need to hear it from me, but IT'S SO FUCKING AWFUL! Total bullshit. And the stupidest
thing that these terrorists could have done. What a bunch of rednecks.
Yes, rednecks. Think about it. Rural kids, all pumped up about God and Country, easily manipulated by Men With Big
Plans. OK, maybe they're against blue jeans and booze, but they're also against women with jobs and the toleration of
those with outsider beliefs. They site the crumbling of religious values as the basis for the downfall of their society. They
live in isolated, economically poor communities. They are so filled with God's love, they want to kill for him. Provincials
that smell like piss, fed this warped world view that every American is a die-hard supporter of Israel and a ardent hater
of Arabs. You swap some enemies around, and what you've got is a good ol' fashioned redneck.
I'd say that most Americans didn't really think about Arab issues at all until Tuesday. Your average factory worker
probably hated Jews and Arabs equally and would have had a hard time forming an opinion as to which one he would
cheer for. Well, those who didn't have an opinion certainly do now. And those who were supporters of the Palestinians
and Arab-rights are suddenly feeling what the Israelis have been feeling forthe past twenty years. Fair or not, guess
how much public support Palestine's getting right about now
This is a truth. One we must face. America is an imperialist nation with economic interests all over the globe, willing to
protect them by any means necessary. American Democracy, arrogantly enough, is only available to Americans. To
protect our "interests" we have a long and depressing history of propping up unpopular dictator creeps all over this
globe to exert control within the region and keep business scooting along as usual. Sound far fetched? Any idiot capable
of locating the public library can look to our policy in Latin America, specifically in the countries of Nicaragua and El
Salvador, and see why more than half the countries south of Florida would shoot an American on sight.
We even pulled this off in Iran with that stooge of a Shah in the1950's. CIA trained officers and British MI6 agents didn't
like the fact that current Iranian president Mosaddeq was going to nationalize the oil industry and pull it from British and
American control. So, they took him out of office and put in the Shah, a tyrannical ruler who clamped down in democratic
Iran with a secret police force equally as repressive as the drooling moose of the Taliban. And then, in 1979, after nearly
25 years of bullshit, religious revolution kicked the Shah in the butt and the U.S. was uncordially shown to the door with
more than a few hurt feelings. So then we gave arms to Iraq to fight Iran. And then Iraq became a formidable regional
power. And then we had to fight Iraq. And now we have huge bases in Saudi Arabia. It all works out quite well. No
wonder we have such high opinions of ourselves.
The main reason we're even involved in any of this Middle East business in the first place is the oil, the only reason
we've cared about Israel from the beginning was because we needed a reliable oil foothold. In gaining that foothold
we've made enemies, half of whom we spent the better part of many years arming with tanks and planes.
Combine this with our insane fear of Soviet Communism, the crazy loathing of the Russians evident even as their empire
groaned and fumbled. Like in the war with Afghanistan that became their own Vietnam. Many of the Afghani solders who
sent the Ruskies a' packin' are now leaders of the ruling Taliban. And where did you think the Taliban learned guerrilla
fighting techniques? Where do you think International Supercrook Osama bin Laden learned to shoot his first AK-47?
Not at the Learning Annex. Like the Contras, the CIA trained many Islamic fundamentalists in the fine art of warfare and
improvised munitions, and then gave them plenty of military equipment to terrorize the Russians with. Well, guess who the
Holy Warriors came after once Russians left? That's right, the U.S., the other world giant taking big, meaty dumps in their
backyard.
We still exert economic influence over the region. This is why we are resented. They are not jealous of our lifestyle. They
do not hate our freedom. They hate us.
What we are feeling now is the cost of doing business worldwide.
And I'm not saying this to kick America while it's down. I'm saying this because before we roll out the tanks, we need to
take an honest look at ourselves, our place in the world, the reality that we are not this insulated happyland of freedom
and success that official press releases say we are. We are a nation that has always struggled to balance commerce
with ideals, a balance that has been completely out of whack of late. The insane quest for insane profit has outspent our
decency, our ethics, our basic humanity. We've become a nation of businesspeople first, and living things second.
But not this week. This week is different. Look around you. People are actually being nice. Quiet. Thoughtful. Helping
each other. Volunteering. Nothing like a war to give you some prospective.
Yes, war. Network hyperbole aside, America was attacked. But the America attacked was not the Government and it was
not the President. As much as the news harped on about how safe the President was, I don't think many viewers cared
that much about him. It was the people on the planes, the victims buried in the wreckage that they cared about. America
is the people who are in New York City and Washington right now, above and below ground, doing whatever they can.
It's the heroes who rushed the cabin of Flight 93 and crashed themselves in Pennsylvania. It's the shopkeepers who
gave survivors and rescuers water and wine and sandwiches free of charge. It's the lines of blood givers, of tent donors,
volunteers from neighboring states working unpaid 12 hour shifts. It is normal people who are pasted to their television
sets, sickened to their stomachs, sad beyond anything they've felt. My best friend missed his own mom's funeral
because of closed airports. Another friend, with two family members on the NYPD, spent all of Tuesday trying the phone,
throwing up and crying. A woman I know living on the Lower East Side had to explain to her six year old kid about
terrorism while trying to shield him from people jumping from 95th floor windows and disappearing into clouds of dust.
This is the America that was attacked. And this is the America that will retaliate.
When the military goes marching off, it will be with nearly the full screaming support of the American public. This has not
been the case for many decades. The Gulf War was nothing more than a business venture and everyone knew it. It was
fought with very limited public support. This war, however, will have across the board support, world wide support.
Americans have been attacked on their soil, and now they want a fight.
Jesus, Afghanistan, do you really want a full-blown war with America? Are you that nuts? Do you know the most widely
held virtue here is winning at all costs? Have you seen the lines of scary people waiting to sign up at the army recruiter?
Do you really want to mess with these folks? Have you ever been to the South? Seen professional football? Do you
know what our murder rate is like? We kill each other for fun in America, and you just gave a whole lot of bored maniacs
something to do with the next four years of their lives. Our regular Armed Forces are scary enough, but it's the
volunteers you're gonna have to look out for. These people play the lottery, eat seventeen pounds of ground beef daily,
crush beer cans on their heads, and don't know there's a difference between Chinese and Japanese people. You really
want them wandering around your country with bazookas?
Oh, man, Afghanistan. Just turn on the TV and see how doomed you are. They're cueing the reels of little kids saying
the pledge of allegiance. A seven year old is holding up a picture of his missing fireman father. A WWII vet is sitting in a
wheelchair with a flag in his hand. The camera is pulling in close on the President singing the Battle Hymn of the
Republic. The Battle Hymn of the Republic! YOU ARE SO FUCKED!
Think about it, it couldn't be more perfect. Here we sit, tottering on a horrible recession. Unemployment is way up. We
have a military who has been begging for a real fight since the Gulf. We have an America who hasn't had a mission in a
long time, an America floundering with the possibility that the last great frontier was to be completely colonized by
multinational corporations. Not anymore. We've got marching orders now. All aboard!
Yes, 20 scrawny guys with patchy beards have just brought a world-sized posse led by Marshall Death into their
remote country campgrounds. People from Moscow to Rome are tired of living in fear, of watching planes go down, of
digging out from body bombs. They are spoiling for a fight too. It seems that Islamic terrorists haven't made too many
friends in international circles over the years. The world is ready to bid them farewell.
And soon, when everything is in place, a warbling call from George W. will be made. "Strategical whooping will
commensurate at once!" he will say, and the machines will proceed to begin killing with surgical accuracy, although I
have a feeling there will be a few unintended targets hit every now and then like, oh, I don't know, every single standing
building in Afghanistan. Yes, for the first time in sixty years, we have right on our side. We will be the good guys. And
with righteousness on our side, there is no limit to the carnage we can create. There will be no restraint. You just wait
and see.
And honestly, I'm all for it. I want blood. I want to see terrorists running through the desert with napalm in their beards. I
want to see them pulling their brothers from the rubble. I want to see them frantically calling everyone they know in Kabul
after a bombing run to see who's still alive. This is not kneejerk, this is not reptile brain, this is not armchair quarterback.
This is revenge pure and simple. Politics and causes and motivations aside, these yahoos brought war to my doorstep.
They are willing to spill my blood and the blood of others not involved in their little fights. These raccoon-eyed rednecks
with a world-view the size of a third prize shoe-box diorama took their tiny ideas of how the world should be and used
them to kill thousands of civilians. Caused real pain. To people I know. To people I don't know. They stabbed
stewardesses to death with razor blades to draw pilots out of the cockpit. They crashed planes full of innocents into
buildings full of more. They were funded and supported by nations who are now looking forward to Holy War with the
U.S. We cannot hide behind 'violence is wrong' or 'give peace a chance' This goes beyond T-shirt ideology. This is for
real. This is war. And like it or not, part of the battle field will be your own village.
And soon, we will be walking their villages. With machine guns. Looking for people to burn. There will be brothers of
firemen, of cops, of janitors, of pilots, roaring into their villages in desert vehicles smelling of diesel fuel and spent oil.
These men will not be worrying about stooping to anyone's level. They will not give peace a chance. They, like me, will
want to see ten thousand times the destruction in New York. And who can blame them?
Hell, I was so drunk and pissed Thursday night that if the Army Reserve Recruitment Office was open 24 hours I'd be
carrying a machine gun right now. And this is coming from someone who opposes nearly every war the U.S. has ever
fought, who thinks the American Way of Life has been co-opted into a shallow shell of embarrassing consumer
selfishness, who would love to see a full Israeli pullout from the occupied territories, and is one hundred percent
sickened by nearly every aspect of U.S. foreign policy for the past 200 years.
But I will not tolerate this shit in my neighborhood. They have brought it to me. I will cheer it back upon them a million
fold.
And yet I hesitate. One thing that keeps me, and a lot of other cynics, from allowing myself to completely be lost in this
mass mind of warfare is the track record of our warrior past. U.S. administrations have called upon our patriotism many
times they shouldn't have, many times that they did not deserve it. They have exploited honest patriotism of American
citizens to further their own political agendas, agendas that did not benefit human freedom or American idealism in any
way. I was too young for Vietnam, but that was not a good war. The invasion of Panama was criminal. I have four
buddies who fought in the Gulf and even they will tell you that they were 'just doing their job'. Yes, they love America
and were proud to be soldiers and would certainly lay their lives down for the Army brother or sister fighting next to them,
but that mission was one that did not hold their hearts.
And now, it finally seems like some patriotism is warranted. But I am so conditioned to the manipulation of good people
towards bad ideas - people who trust too much and just want to do the right thing. And now it appears that right thing
finally has come along, but the same old wolves are at the controls.
In this situation I must remember the ideals that this country were founded on. Freedom of speech. Freedom of action.
Freedom from religion. I do believe in them. I would die for them. These ideals that form the basis of American Democracy
are based in common sense, yet are inspirational beyond words. And even if we have been routinely led away from the
sort of America that these ideals attempt to establish, they are there for us to come back to in times of tragedy.
So I'm in. Let's go get the bastards.
Much of the opinion around the Middle East is that America is a cowardly nation who uses others to fight its wars, that it
has grown soft and passive in its sinful Western decadence. I have a feeling that opinion is going to see a bit of a
revision in the weeks to come.
If you were horrified to see them dancing in the streets, rest assured. Soon, they will have no legs.
PS - Seeing the world give their respects to the victims of this nightmare puts a fist sized lump in my throat. The rest of
the world has been dealing with terrorism for decades that saw America mostly apathetic and untouched. These
countries have compassion. They understand. I hope my fellow Americans will remember these scenes forever, and
recall them whenever they start to say anything stupid about anyone who lives outside of these borders.
PPS - My friend Saiid (or the 'Lebanese Stallion' as we like to call him) has asked that people stop throwing bottles at
him from moving cars. Saiid's not a terrorist, he's a Sagittarius. He has also requested at least a slowdown in the amount
of telephoned death threats being called in to the Mosque his parents attend. His dad is an insane fanatic, but for the
Seattle Mariners baseball team. His mom bakes a mean apple kataifi and serves it with a refreshing Lemon Yogurt-ade. If
you see him, his folks, or any of his brothers, smile and say hi to them, OK? For me?
Apple is a US company (Score:5, Insightful)
The WTC didn't house many (if any) government offices, they were businesses.
Personally, I also think it's a little too reactionary; they should just beef up security and go on with the show.
There was a report on Marketplace [marketplace.org] on Friday about how many organizations within the US are cancelling their conventions because of the tragedy. The financial impact on the tourism industry of those cities is in the tens of millions of dollars. Think about it, if a convention has 30,000 people, and each person spends an average of $300 apiece on food, lodging, and such, then the loss of that one convention would mean the loss of $9 mil. in revenue.
logistics (Score:3, Insightful)
Many companies nation, and even world-wide have issued directives stating that 'no one will be forced to fly'. Can you blame them for cancelling an event that may have been plagued by the resultant no-shows of the exhibitors? Business-wise it makes sense, and then, given that they are a prominent American corporation, the over-arching safety concern makes it a very sound decision indeed.