Ian Watson is all excited: `The Israeli ArmageddonCon, climaxing with me as Toastmaster hosting a countdown to Midnight at Megiddo on the final day of this year to usher in the true next millennium, has mutated into a serious conference in Jerusalem about the End of the World. The Israeli government is issuing commemorative SF postage stamps, so now the opening ceremony will feature me introducing the Minister of Communications to launch first day covers depicting aliens investigating a giant monolith inscribed with SCIENCE FICTION IN ISRAEL in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Klingon, and Elvish. The high profile has moved the British Council to tell me and others to ignore Foreign Office warnings about not going near Jerusalem.' STOP PRESS! Armageddoncon is now postponed to -- probably -- Autumn 2001 since, as Ian says, `most of the foreign guests have chickened out. Pathetic bunch of cowards.'

from 'Ansible' December 2000