International News And Other Busyness

Rotten To The Core

Squall 16, Summer 1998, pg. 39.

Fearing a sales drop in its lucrative East Asia market Apple computers have conveniently dumped the Dalai Lama from their advertising campaign.

While cyber execs are willing to ride the politically-correct bandwagon with creative computer-users in the West the exiled spiritual leader of occupied Tibet is obviously a no-no with those a bit closer to his homeland, and Apple's sizeable Asian orchard - China - which is just ripe for the picking.

Apple-ogists for the US-based multinational attempted to justify their rotten actions by explaining the Dalai Lama was not well-known enough in East Asia to warrant his inclusion in the regional ad directive which uses images of 'great thinkers' to highlight the virtues of their range of computers. Instead they proposed to replace him with the internationally-renowned aviation queen Amelia Earhart(!?)

Her only spurious connection with Asia lies in the fact she disappeared after her plane crashed into the Pacific (near-ish to Japan).

The news of Apple's pip-squeak cowardice comes as fellow corporate hack Rupert Murdoch ensured that his publishing concern Harper Collins pulled the rug on Chris Patten's kiss 'n' tell Hong Kong story. The former Governor (not noted for his democracy until he left Britain - but we don't have room here) had his revealing wee book shelved after power-crazed Murdoch realised his Star TV plans for China could be jeopardised if his international media operation was seen to be anything other than completely subservient to the Chinese authorities.

Seems that some people will do anything to shake bloody hands with the brutal regime that currently wields power in that country - over to you Tony.