Bert-Bin Laden: Declan explains it all

[Xeni Jardin]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-politech at politechbot.com
[mailto:owner-politech at politechbot.com]On Behalf Of Declan McCullagh
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2001 8:24 AM
To: politech at politechbot.com
Subject: FC: Muppets at war: Sesame Street's Bert in pro-Bin Laden
poster



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The Bangladeshi poster:
http://www.tctubantia.nl/CDA/regioportal/1%2c2078%2c1654__772741_%2c00.html
http://harvard.pawlo.com/bangladesh.jpg
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/nm/20011009/wl/imdf09102001085522a.html

The Bert-Osama clip art's origins:
http://www.angelfire.com/de/cheatsbert/p3laden.html
http://www.fractalcow.com/bert/bert.htm

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http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47450,00.html

   Osama Has a New Friend
   By Declan McCullagh (declan at wired.com)
   7:18 a.m. Oct. 10, 2001 PDT
   
   WASHINGTON -- Evil Bert, meet Evil Osama.
   
   Right now, the two appear to be inseparable -- at least on ubiquitous
   posters carried by pro-Taliban protesters.
   
   Devotees of freak-humor websites will recall the infamous "Bert is
   Evil" page, a shrine to the gourd-like Sesame Street character, which
   offers compelling photographic evidence of the muppet consorting with
   Hitler, the KKK and, of course, Jerry Springer.

   Now, in a move that defies all rules of logic, a doctored photo
   showing Bert with the world's most-wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden,
   seems to have made its way into an anti-American Islamic protest in
   Bangladesh.
   
   Reuters photographs of a rally this week organized by
   Jaamiat-e-Talabaye Arabia, a radical Islamic organization, show that
   protesters created a pro-bin Laden sign out of a collage of photos
   they apparently lifted from Internet sites.
   
   But -- is it fate or coincidence? -- the sign featured a Bert muppet
   sitting on the left side of the man believed to be responsible for the
   bloodiest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

   [...]



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