Aptenobytes

Sept 14, 2001

I've had a few days to absorb the news, and start being rational about it. Like many people, I wanted someone to blame, and I wanted them to suffer. Now that I'm rational I can examine the first thing one looks at when trying to solve a crime.

Who stands to gain? The Palestinians had the most to lose. If blame could be placed on them, then their hopes for a free Palestine are gone. Osama bin Laden's group seem to be likely, but one has to assume that bin Laden is retarded to think that doing this would be anything but suicide for himself.

So I go into conspiracy/cynical mode. Bear in mind that I'm not saying that I believe this, but the possibility exists. Who stands to gain from this at the moment. The two obvious answers are the military/security establishments of the USA and Israel. Israel, because they have basically been given carte blanche to do what they want to the Palestinian terrorists. Of course the American Three Letter Organizations (CIA,NSA,FBI etc.) are about to get huge budgt increases, and conspiracy theorists could definitely find something to examine as civil liberties get trampled on in the name of national security.

The images of muslims celebrating this horror has deeply disturbed me. This abberation has been shown many times, fomenting hatred, despite the fact that not only are there many muslim and arab victims, and the fact that there are always assholesin any crowd.

I sincerely hope that we find out who did this beyond a shadow of a doubt, because I know I'm not the only one whose thoughts have gone along these lines. We must know beyond a shadow of a doubt who did this. We must follow the spirit and the letter of the law so that we show the world that terrorism can be fought by a civilized society.

Sept 12, 2001

Surreal. It's the only way to describe the last couple of days. I woke up Tuesday, and turned on the news as normal. I watched 'live' as the second plane hit the World Trade Centre. I really could not believe my eyes. When the towers came down, I went into shock.

I didn't realize the true magnitude of what happened until later in the morning when I phoned our customers in the United States to whom I could not ship things. My very first call was to a woman in San Jose whose husband had been sent to Washington for a conference a couple of days earlier. She had just gotten off the phone to him. We were going to get their rings to them in time for their anniversary on Wednesday. The calls didn't get easier. Whoever did this, made a very bad mistake. The americans I spoke to are supremely and coldly saddened and angered.

My biggest worry is that the US will make the mistake of giving away freedom for safety. I have been getting the feeling as I read the various newsgroups that this will not happen, but it must not be allowed to. Terror cannot be allowed to win.

My heart goes out to the victims and fallen heroes of this tragedy. I am cheered by the acts of heroism that have been showed. I am concerned at the dichotomy between what is being reported on television, and what I've been informed of by my internet contacts. I hope that the full story eventually comes to light.

Peace out folks....

Sept 5, 2001

Back from holidays.

What a blast. First up was Montreal for Lara's high school reunion. As soon as we gto into Montreal we met a couple of her friends at the hotel and started a journey to Laval in a minivan. I repeat; a journey to Laval in a minivan. Yes that was hellish in spite of the company. Our trip to Laval was to have coffee and cake with a few of the people from the boat. It was fun, and I met some of Lara's old friends.

Lara's trip on the boat still didn't make sense until the next day's event, the reunion proper. That started on the tall ship Concordia, which replaced the ship Lara sailed on, the Pogoria AKA the Pug. Within minutes, several of the old folks had taken over the bow, hijacked half the booze, and were basically having a hell of a good time. We had fun (read alcohol) for a while until such time as several people made noises about needing food. WE all then proceeded to one of those Montreal bars where the music is very loud, it's basically a nightclub, but oddly enough the food is excellent. There we proceeded to drink oursleves into a state of camaraderie.

The following morning, when Lara and I awoke, we met a few of her closer friends for brekkie. Breakfast slowly turned into a classic East Coast all-day-bender. We started at a pub, then took in one of Montreal's cultural attractions. We ended up staying up till about 3:00am, and I can honestly say that I liked Lara's friends. They got put into the 'good people' category.

Ottawa was our next destination. My goals were to meet a couple of my best friends, and touch base with the two bars I considered home.

On the first day I hooked up with Jenn, and had a wonderful time at dinner with her, then we ended up at Zaphod's. Lara discovered the joys of leaving a club at 5:00am as the sun comes up.

The second day included a wonderful meal at the Black Tomato with my friends Dave and Ellen and their two year old son Liam. At least they say he's two. To look at him, one would guess four or at least three. Of course Dave's 6'5" and not petite, and Ellen is 6'2". It's expected. After the meal Dave and Ellen went home and Lara finally gave up and said she had to accumulate some sleep time. I, being a complete idiot, carried on to Barrymore's. Yes. Another 5:00am leave the bar half-pissed night. I miss that sometimes, but doing it twice in a row reminds me why I got the hell out of the Nightclub industry. That and the complete assault on our freedoms taking place under the guise of protecting our health. GET YOUR FUCKING LAWS OFF OUR CLUBS! Every single bar staff person I talked to knew that their take home pay was going to being going down. Most were worried about their jobs. But this is to protect them. Precedents are being set by this, and it's going to be that much easier to take away the next freedom. Sad really.

Our next stop was Toronto. We arrived by train at Union Station, and basically just wandered around for a day or two. We shopped etc. I'm writing this now on my way home sitting on a plane. I love owning a laptop.