With regards to your first point - linchpin vs.ripplepoint, while I agree that it is easy to alter, I think you miss the point that there would be no 9-11 to prevent if other events had not first setup the conditions for 9-11 to occur, as Mr. Grecko points out in his original post. This argues that 9-11 really should be a ripplepoint.
Your second point - that the Arabs would want the Jews exterminated anyway (so 9-11 would still presumably be a linchpin) is not historically borne out. Jews were historically much better treated by Muslims when the latter ruled the southern part of the Iberian peninsula in the Middle Ages than they were by Christians following the Reconquista (two words: Spanish Inquisition). Mr. Grecko is correct in his assertion that it was the founding of the state of Israel on lands regarded by the Arabs as belonging to their Palestinian brethren and taken by force of arms that has triggered the "push
them into the sea" attitude of latter-day Muslim extremists.
(Please note that my recitation of my understanding of historical facts implies nothing about my personal views on the topic. Genocide is just wrong, and that is essentially what the more extreme Muslims are proposing with regards to Israel.)
Now, I realize that Andy has already made art for one side of a 9-11 "linchpin" card in reaction to the events of that fateful day and in tribute to the victims, but as this "card" has never been printed either as a promo or in any other Looney Labs product, it could be regarded as "notional". Andy himself, as designer, inventor and publisher, has final say over what would be a linchpin and what would be a ripplepoint in any future timeline.
Linchpin or ripplepoint, 9-11 presents an interesting opportunity for an artifact. There is apparently a story
circulating that the flag alledged to be the one the fireman raised that has been carried by various naval vessels and so forth is in fact *not* the one the firemen raised (see
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-30-flag-mystery_x.htm for details). Could a Chrononaut have nabbed it? Certainly suggests an artifact.
Also, you'll note that Andy's notional 9-11 card was designated E-2. When asked what E-1 would be, Andy replied that it would be the Florida recount. I suggest that E-1 be a ripplepoint. It would be rippled by a 1967 linchpin (E-0?) which is "Unsafe At Any Speed" on its "original" side and "Corvair Test Fraud Exposed" on its alternate side. There is some evidence to suggest that Nader was duped - apparently through the machinations of rival auto-makers - into proving the Corvair unsafe. (see the
following for details:
http://www.corvaircorsa.com/handling01.html,
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3547,
http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2006/03/tagesspiegels_w.html). The patch for E-1, 2000', I suggest as being "Martial Law Declared in Aftermath of Y2K Bug". With Nader out of the picture, the election goes the other way, but we are less aware about the implications of defective products and the Y2K bug gets downplayed till it is too late!
chrononauts-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2007 13:36:32 -0600
From: "Robert Potter"
Subject: RE: [Chrononauts] 2001 and
the Cuban Missle Crisis (not
related)
To: chrononauts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Wow. That's a lot of information to put in one e-mail. Usually, these
electroic messages are only a few sentences long. But you do make a lot of
good points. However, I think 2001 was meant to be a Linchpin, because that
sort of event is easy to alter by time travel. And, even if Israel was
rippled out of existence, the Arabs would probably still want the Jews
exterminated.
$&L
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com