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Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo, apparently not at all concerned about Apple’s stock price or its shareholders, ran an article yesterday in which a “source” that has been “100% correct before” suggested the real reason Steve Jobs is not speaking at the Macworld Conference and Expo keynote, and is pulling from Macworld Expo forever and ever and ever, is because Jobs’ health has been “rapidly declining.” Later that day, Jim Goldman at CNBC donned his tights and headed down to the ring for the big Mac Web cage match.

Gizmodo ran the following snippet from their source:

Steves health is rapidly declining. Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring.

This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why Macworld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [Macworld] is the cover designed by the worldwide “loyalty” department.

Goldman (or the People’s Champion, as I like to call him)—shot back:

I spoke to Apple after these headlines crossed and the company, which officially doesn’t comment on rumors, reiterated the reasons it offered two weeks ago: Apple was pulling out of Macworld because the company didn’t see the need to continue its investment in the expo, which included Steve Jobs’ keynote.

I was told this morning (Tuesday) that nothing has changed since then. The same reasons apply today that applied two weeks ago.

I was told two weeks ago by sources inside Apple that the decision had nothing to do with Jobs’ health. I got the same message today. Period.

What do you have to say to that, Mr. Diaz, or should I say Conquistador #2?

Speculations on Steve’s health are nothing new. They’ve been surfacing for over a year now. And every now and again, in bin Laden like fashion, Apple will show us a video of Steve to let us know he’s still around. I don’t think there’s an Apple journalist or fan out there who didn’t immediately consider Steve’s health (including us) when Apple announced he wouldn’t be presenting the keynote. But to say that Apple’s pulling from the Expo next year because of the potential of Steve’s absence is very flimsy. Contrary to popular belief, Apple doesn’t need Jobs to announce a major new product, they just need the product. Yes, Steve sure knows how to sell them to crowds, but it’s not like we’re buying crap because Steve says we should. We’re buying iPhone and iPods and Macs because they’re great products.

If Apple needed Macworld Expo to tell us about these products, they would. But why wait until one day each year to do this? Why rush out a product just to have something to announce in January (after the holiday shopping season, by the way). Why sit on a product just have something to announce in January (after the holiday shopping season, by the way). This fall, we saw major announcements with the new iPods, iPhone App Store and aluminum laptops, and they came in the form of small press conferences. The media listened. Apple has also been turning more and more towards their annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference to make major announcements. So, again, do they new Macworld?

Now, none of this means there isn’t some truth to the rumor of Steve’s health, but the notion that they’d pull from a conference if they had any use for it all is just absurd. Even Gizmodo backs away from their own article:

This source has repeatedly been 100% correct before. Those times, however, were always related to news and images of unreleased Apple products. I can only hope that, in this more personal matter, it is absolutely wrong. And that if he is not, that sentence just means that Steve Jobs is retiring according to his plan.

Of course, they follow that up immediately with the accusation that Apple is lying to us, even while admitting that none of this is their business:

While Steve Jobs’ health is nobody’s business—not the press, not investors, not the public—we believe that there’s a line between saying “no-comment” and plainly misleading—once again—the public.

What do I think of all this? Nothing. I’m just looking forward to Macworld and the keynote, with or without Steve. But if you’re wondering why we didn’t run this story yesterday…well, let me tag in Mr. Goldman:

I will say again: if Apple is lying, holding some truth back, manipulating its own stock by manipulating the truth, someone — indeed a lot of people — could be going to jail. Do I like the way Apple has handled this ongoing story? No. But do I traffic in rumors to fill the void the company has created by not choosing to be more forthcoming about Jobs’ health? Absolutely not.

When Apple’s got something material to report, I trust that it will. Meantime, unsourced garbage nuking its shares is just that.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Read [Gizmodo] Via [CNBC]