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Bert Is Evil 444

Posted by michael from the brought-to-you-by-the-letter-B dept.
It's been coming in all day. Bert and Bin Laden. Lindqvist.com has the best explanation, I think. Even FOX is reporting on it now. Bert is unstoppable.
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Bert Is Evil More

Bert Is Evil

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  • My favorite part... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Cutriss ( 262920 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:45PM (#2413605) Homepage
    Is the last paragraph of the Wired article...

    "Bert is best known for his role [sesameworkshop.org] on the long-lived Sesame Street children's show, where he lives with his housemate Ernie."

    His housemate? Or...are they just insinuating that maybe Bert is leaving Ernie for some hot bin Laden-lovin'? :D

  • This makes a twisted sort of sense (Score:5, Funny)

    by ckd ( 72611 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:46PM (#2413607) Homepage

    Here's the "logic":

    • Jerry Falwell says that gays "helped this happen."
    • Bert and Ernie have been living together for how many years? Haven't you ever been a little bit suspicious about them?

    Obviously this explains the whole thing.

  • Google Image search strikes again (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Cato the Elder ( 520133 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:46PM (#2413609) Homepage
    A search for "bin laden" shows Bert and Osama on the second page of pictures. If the protestors made their collage out of that, it would explain a lot.

    Hmm, I guess it would be proof if the two random people showed up on the poster as well.

    • Re:Google Image search strikes again (Score:4, Informative)

      by update() ( 217397 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @08:11PM (#2413716) Homepage
      Yeah, a comment to the (now heavily /.'ed) Swedish site says:

      Hey Nikke,

      We reckon that four out of the 8 images used in the poster are from the very first page of results in Google for an image search on Osama Bin Laden. http://images.google.com/images?q=osama+bin+laden& hl=en&sa=N&tab=gi

      Regards, Littleboy

      Another person answers a question that had occurred to me -- in bin Ladin's TV appeareance, isn't he holding a bottle of Johnny Walker? Closer examination reveals it's a Yemini-style knife (jambia, the one poachers kill rhinos to get horn for the handles) that he started wearing after the Cole attack.

    • Bert's getting promoted! (Score:2, Interesting)

      by pbryan ( 83482 )
      I'm watching the Bert/bin Laden picture slowly climb to the top of the list, presumably because more people are clicking on the image.

    • Wonder what the FBI thinks about half the geeks in the country suddenly starting to hit their search engines with OBL's name as the search string, and furiously mailing messages mentioning OBL to all their friends.

      And of course, the FBI/NSA computers are suddenly going to start popping out someone named "Bert" in traffic about OBL.
      • congress's efforts are going towards making that more than a joke. This site may get on the list. heh, now imagine the pain that CIA workers will have in being required to read slashdot posts at the -1 threshold. "who is this goatse.cx, and what is the connection to osama bin laden?"

    • Re:Google Image search strikes again (Score:4, Funny)

      by T. Will S. Idea ( 463154 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @10:25PM (#2414022) Homepage
      OK, so here's what we need to do. Everybody fire up Gimp and start putting out really embarrassing pictures of Bin Laden. Show him in suggestive poses with drugs, booze, women, etc like some of these here [google.com] here [wipewithbinladen.com] and here [tobaccobymail.com]. Distribute them to your friends who can put them on their web sites. Eventually the whole front page of Google's image search will be full of these images. Then unsuspecting protesters will construct their posters out of these and hey presto, score one for the good guys. (Hey if they were careless enough to put Bert on their poster who knows what else they might overlook?)

      Some days you have to take delight in the simple pleasures.
    • When I did the search it appeared on the first page of pictures. I bet Google rankings for images are partly based on click-throughs. So, thousands of readers form Slashdot and elsewhere search Google for the now-famous picture of Bert and Bin and its rankings go up.

      Folks, we live in a really weird world.

  • The reach of the internet ... How this started ... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by pgrote ( 68235 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:49PM (#2413617) Homepage
    Think about it ... Someone posts a picture of Ernie and the Binnie boy. From what I can tell it came from http://www.j-roen.net/bert/how/how.htm.

    Someone in Bangledish picked this up and ran with it. This is amazing.

    First it shows the reach of the internet. It's unreal that this is how it is. What a great feather in the cap for the internet to be out on the forefront.

    Second what an amazing rub that things we look at as cultural icons aren't perceived as such in foreign countries. I mean what were they thinking?

    • Sorry bub, it's been editted after the fact. The Lindquist site has a picture of the poster pre-bert, meaning that some serious photoshop work was done, surprisingly, before it got out on the wire.
      • Why would that happen? How on earth would an AP photog do that? Why would an AP graphics person do that? I know a couple; they wouldn't. Aside from the fact that you have to suppose some kind of elaborate conspiracy or career-ending prank for no fruitful end, doctored photos are relatively easy to catch if you blow up the pixels a bit (strange as it seems, you haven't been examining your celebrity porn closely enough). No one has been able to convincingly detect such doctoring.

        Occam's razor finds two much better (simpler) explanations:

        1. Retarded fake-ass-"Muslim" poster-maker doctors his poster after learning that his creation includes a gay muppet.
        2. AP temporarily panics, fearing bogisity, and erases Bert, assuming it "must be some kind of mistake".
        Get used to it. This is the New New Media. And, to be fair, the Lindquist site contains both above Occam-compliant explanations.

  • Bastards!!! (Score:3, Funny)

    by hhe_hee ( 470065 ) <prodigy@nOSpam.acc.umu.se> on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:50PM (#2413624) Homepage
    Hey I just heard that they've kidnapped Kermit, those friggin bastards!!!

    What the hell are we supposed to do now?

  • Legal recourse? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Xerithane ( 13482 ) <xerithane.nerdfarm@org> on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:51PM (#2413627) Homepage Journal
    The scary thing about this is I'm sure the original Bert and Bin Laden was meant as a joke, as is Bert and Pamela Anderson or Kevin Costner.


    Hopefully no one is going to attack whoever made the original because Ignacio has stated it wasn't his intent nor does he find it humorous.


    I know someone who used to play Counter-Strike as 'USAma Bin Laden' and always was terrorist. After the attack he felt very bad about the joke and changed his name. I have to say that I feel bad for these people who do something pre-attack as a joke or whatnot and now have people criticizing them when a month ago today would have found it funny.

    • Do you mean Kevin Costner alone is a joke? Or is it Bert and Kevin Costner. I can't decide which is funnier.

    • Re:Legal recourse? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Shelled ( 81123 )
      I know someone who used to play Counter-Strike as 'USAma Bin Laden' and always was terrorist.

      I was the only Bin Laden for the longest time on Firearms servers, but dropped the name after the attacks to avoid the friction. Ironically, I was quickly replaced with dozens of Bin Ladens or variants of the name.

    • Sure was meant as a joke...a tasteless, hurtful joke. Why is it not more funny that Bert has been actually linked to real evil? I would think your average person who thinks "Bert is EVIL!" is funny would find the real thing twice as funny. Look, either being hurtful is funny, or it's not.

  • Osama bin Bert (Score:5, Funny)

    by zpengo ( 99887 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:51PM (#2413629) Homepage
    It's a widely known fact in the intelligence community that Sesame Street has been a form of communication between al-Qaeda leaders and the various semi-independent cells around the world. Through sometimes cryptic phrases and symbols, unintelligible to outsiders, they have broadcast messages to all the world that can only be truly understood by a few. Some examples:
    • "C is for cookie, that's good enough for me."
    • "Seven! Seven jumping jackrabbits! Ah, ah, ah!"
    • "I am Captain Vegetable, with my carrots, and my celery."

    The difficult that the intelligence community has had in tracking down members of these terrorists cells is partially due to the fact that these messages are broadcast worldwide, and also because the suspected terrorists are a bunch of little kids.

  • laughs for days... (Score:3, Funny)

    by DuckyExMachina ( 320160 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:52PM (#2413633) Homepage
    The Bert hidden in the poster was a covert infidel detection mechanism...anyone that saw it and started laughing is obviously a spy...
    This makes me wonder if the poster-maker is related to the guy who set himself on fire [azcentral.com] while burning the American flag.

  • Next Thing.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Peridriga ( 308995 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:53PM (#2413639)
    Next thing ya know "All your base are belong to us" are gonna show up in pro-American celebrations in Afgan after we crush them :-)
  • deep undercover.

    I'm sure he'll have a laser designator focused on bin Ladin's backside soon enough... ;-)

    299,792,458 m/s...not just a good idea, its the law!

  • Culturally owned... (Score:4, Funny)

    by jamesmartinluther ( 267743 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:54PM (#2413641) Homepage
    ...by the B3rt xpl0it.

  • Clear Concise Explanation (Score:4, Informative)

    by Apreche ( 239272 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:54PM (#2413642) Homepage Journal
    There was a site, and still is a site called bert is evil. It basically was full of pictures with Bert photoshopped into them. And they were all evil situations like KKK rallies. The site even won some webby awards a while back. The site is also linked on www.memepool.com today.
    Anyway apparently there were some people rallying in favor of Osama Bin Laden, and they made posters of him with pictures of him they found on the internet. Of course on the Bert is evil site there was a whole set of laden pics. So when you type bin laden pictures into google or whatever search engine. You end up at bert is evil. They used these pictures to make posters and their rally made the news. Now even moreso because they have the messed up posters. Oh so funny.

    Maybe you people seem to forget there's a war going on.

  • Confirms my theory (Score:5, Funny)

    by poemofatic ( 322501 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:54PM (#2413645)
    ..that Osama was merely a puppet, while Bert was the true Mastermind. No wonder Condi is worried that Osama's speeches contain secret messages.

  • CNN Breaking news: Sesame Street has been banned! (Score:4, Funny)

    by albat0r ( 526414 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:55PM (#2413650)
    CNN Breaking news:

    After the recent discovery of Bert being associate with the terrorist Bin Laden, the USA government have banned Sesame Street from TV, and all toys that are linked to this child tv show must be destroy before the end of the weak. Those who don't destroy these toys will be considered "friendly to terrorism" and will be arrested.

    Also, folwing this discovery, the makers of Sesame Street have been arreted by the FBI for further investigation about there relationship with Bin Laden!

    More news about this story comming soon...
    • According to a recent BBC story [bbc.co.uk], the US government has just got US television executives to agree to "exercise judgement" in broadcasting statements by Bin Laden and his associates. The Government warned that those statements may include coded incitements to violence.


      This shows how clueless the government is: such actions can do nothing. Such cluelessness about the internet is worrying for other reasons too.


      And it makes me wonder about something. After the Sep11 attacks, bin Laden gave a video interview. Would you like to know what he said? I found transcripts available from BBC [bbc.co.uk], CBC [www.cbc.ca], and CNN [cnn.com]. The CNN version is really different from the other two. Someone else posted a comment [slashdot.org] on this, and the replies suggested that it might have just been due to rushing things. Maybe not: maybe listing the inaccurate transcript was deliberate.

  • You blew his cover! (Score:5, Funny)

    by wiredog ( 43288 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:56PM (#2413654) Journal
    The CIA finally gets someone close to bin Laden and you slashdotty bastards blow his cover! Now the taliban is probably gonna put him through a shredder! What'll we tell Ernie?

    I wonder what Big Bird is up to?

  • Afghan TV Guide (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:57PM (#2413655)
    AFGHAN TV GUIDE

    MONDAYS:

    8:00 -"Husseinfeld"
    8:30 - "Mad About Everything"
    9:00 - "Suddenly Sanctions"
    9:30 - "The Brian Benben Bin Laden Show"

    TUESDAYS:

    8:00 - "Wheel of Terror and Fortune"
    8:30 - "The Stench is Right"
    9:00 - "Children Are Forbidden From Saying The DarndestThings"
    9:30 - "Afganistans Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers"
    10:00 - "Buffy The Yankee Imperialist Dog Slayer"

    WEDNESDAYS:

    8:00 - "U.S. Military Secrets Revealed"
    8:30 - "When Northern Alliance Attack"
    9:00 - "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pita Bread"
    9:30 - "Just Shoot Everyone"
    10:00 - "Veilwatch"

    THURSDAYS:

    8:00 - "Matimallahoasillalama Loves Chachi"
    8:30 - "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather"
    9:00 - "Veronicas Closet Full of Long, Black, Shapeless Dresses and
    Veils"
    9:30 - "My Two Baghdads"
    10:00 - "Diagnosis: Heresy"

    FRIDAYS:

    8:00 - "Bob Patterson (Must Have His Hand Cut Off)"
    8:30 - "M*U*S*T*A*S*H"
    9:00 - "Everybody Loves Anthrax"
    9:30 - "Achmeds Creek"
    10:00 -"No-witness News"

  • Poor ol' Bert-is-Evil is Slashdotted to hell... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Cutriss ( 262920 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:58PM (#2413660) Homepage
    Really...I'm starting to think that maybe hosting services should start selling Slashdot-insurance. :)
  • Straight from CNN! [cnn.com]

    "U.S. officials recently said that the group headed by accused terrorist Osama bin Laden has put encrypted messages to its members on Web sites."

    Bert is part of the plot. Bert is the key. The messages are so encrypted that Bert appeared. We are doomed!

  • Here is (Score:4, Informative)

    by G-funk ( 22712 ) <josh@gfunk007.com> on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:59PM (#2413663) Homepage Journal
    Here's the original Bert is evil [powersurfr.com] page.

    Turns out they were right all these years :-)

  • In 2001 AD, war was beginning... (Score:4, Funny)

    by The Milky Bar Kid ( 411137 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:59PM (#2413664)
    What's next? Will we see someone in Pakistan waving a picture of Bin Laden, and underneath...

    "Someone set us up the bomb."

    But then, all Afghanistan's base belong to U.S. now.

  • Al Qaeda threat assessment (Score:5, Funny)

    by nobodyman ( 90587 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @07:59PM (#2413668) Homepage

    Guess the FBI can cross out "Photoshop Skills" from their Al Qaeda dossier.

  • Does the Middle East get PBS? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Desus ( 253573 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @08:00PM (#2413670) Homepage Journal
    I know it's funny. and I'm supposed to laugh but....
    Does Sesame Street even broadcast in the largely Islamic countries where these posters are popping up?
    I've heard every theory about why Bert is on the posters, but (stick with me here) Maybe they don't know who Bert is? Most of us have grown up watching Sesame Street but I wonder if the same holds true in the Middle East.

    Just a thought.
    • True. They probably don't know. But in the end, does it really matter? They mass-produced a poster of Bin Laden with a FUCKING PUPPET!!!!!! I don't know what thought process occurred where someone thought that a FUCKING PUPPET was a natural part of the photograph.
    • Or at least, a version of it. My dad has family in Israel, and when my sister and I were little, we used to watch tapes of the Israeli version of Sesame Street. I honestly don't know whether it's a spin-off of the original series or a simple clone - the fact it's in Hebrew makes it difficult. But Ernie and Bert (or look-alikes) were both in the series. So it certainly is possible for someone in the middle east to know about Bert.

      (Incidentally, even though I never did get a good comprehension of spoken Hebrew, I have to say that I found the Israeli version of Sesame Street much more entertaining than the American version. The animation in particular is very trippy.)

  • Sesame street (Score:4, Funny)

    by iomud ( 241310 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @08:01PM (#2413676) Homepage Journal
    I guess T is for Taliban today.
  • The one is a caricature of medieval backwardness, like a character from Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. The other is more modern and doesn't always hold his finger up when he talks.

    Beyond that....

  • If his parents didn't take away his rubber ducky when he was younger, imagine how different things would have been...

  • In Other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by neema ( 170845 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @08:14PM (#2413721) Homepage
    Osama bin Laden reportedly vows to destroy America for the attacks it launched against Afghanistan. His evil partner Bert was quick to add "Oh, and we're going to blow up that fucking rubber ducky too."

  • Osama-Bert? (Score:3, Funny)

    by BarefootClown ( 267581 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @08:19PM (#2413739) Homepage

    From the Wired article [wired.com]:

    One of the first sightings of the Osama-Bert poster...

    Osama-bert? Sounds like a new Dilbert character. Think "Dogbert," but nicer.

  • The new kilroy (Score:3, Informative)

    by moz711 ( 217919 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @08:27PM (#2413765)
    It looks as if one of the sesame street characters are posied to become this generation's Kilroy. [ohiohistory.org]
    For those who don't know, where ever Americans went durning the second world war, they would paint a cartoon character, Kilroy.
    So, who should it be? I think the obvious choice to represent the united states would be Ernie.
  • Personally, I found this article [wired.com] pretty funny. It's been asked for before, now you can get it!
  • Just take a look at the Sesame Workshop statement (from FoxNews):

    Sesame Workshop issued a statement saying it was very unhappy with the sudden connection between a lovable character with a penchant for penguins [emphasis added] and bottlecaps and the most wanted man in the world.

    Where will it all end?

  • This is precisely the kind of thing that is going to get our boys killed. Bert was a secret agent! Now, by talking about it on some of the bigger news sites, the terrorists are going to figure out who he is. His cover's blown: he's doomed!

  • Parody (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sdo1 ( 213835 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @09:36PM (#2413938) Journal
    From the Fox news article...

    "Sesame Street has always stood for mutual respect and understanding," a spokeswoman said. "We're outraged that our characters would be used in this unfortunate and distasteful manner. This is not at all humorous.The people responsible for this should be ashamed of themselves. We are exploring all legal options to stop this abuse and any similar abuses in the future."

    Now tell me exactly what are they going to do? Sue some random guy at a protest on the other side of the world?

    Or maybe they've forgotten that parody is a protected form of fair use and free speech [publaw.com].

    -S

  • I remember many years ago seeing on Usenet a series of three newspaper reports.

    The first was a 'siege in progress' report - Big Bird had flipped and gone into an apartment building and fired shots, and police had the building surrounded.

    The second was immediately post-siege - Big Bird had killed Ernie and wounded several, and been shot dead by police storming the building.

    The third was several days later, the bulk of it being Bert's eulogy at Ernie's funeral.

    Does anyone have a copy of these? I'd love to read them again.
    • ***NEWS UPDATE***
      AP Online
      AP 05/08 10:03 EST V055
      Copyright 1995. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- Big Bird, the famed friendly muppet of Sesame Street, has apparently gone on a rampage. Several muppets are known to be dead; including Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert -- long time friend, room-mate, and lover of Ernie. The bird is now reportedly holding Maria hostage in a five floor tenement near Hooper's Store. New York City Police SWAT teams have surrounded the building. Stay tuned for updates on this situation, as they occur.

      ***TRAGEDY IN NEW YORK CITY***
      AP Online
      AP 05/08 11:48 EST V743
      Copyright 1995. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- Big Bird, Sesame Street muppet, is reported dead at this hour after an hour-and-a-half hostage standoff with New York City Police. Kermit-The-Frog, Sesame Street Muppet on the scene, reports that as police stormed the five story tenement building where the bird was holding Maria hostage, Big Bird flew out an upper story window at them in a Kamikaze-like attack. Police SWAT units brought down the bird in a hail of automatic weapons fire. Dead are: Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, and Big Bird. There is no information available concerning Maria.

      ***NEWS UPDATE***

      AP Online
      AP 05/08 13:25 EST V246
      Copyright 1995. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- The Professor and his assistant, Beaker, muppet chemist, have reportedly found Angel Dust in Big Bird's feed. Big Bird was killed by Police earlier today after the bird went on a killing spree on Sesame Street. Maria, taken hostage during the ordeal, has survived unharmed. Three muppets were killed by the bird: Prairie Dawn (a friendly, pig-tailed muppet girl-child), Oscar the Grouch (a green garbage-can dwelling grumpy muppet) and Bert (the famous gay paper clip collector and pigeon friend). Authorities in the area report that the bad seed was purchased at the local Hooper's.

      ***NEWS UPDATE***

      AP Online
      AP 05/08 14:03 EDT V543
      Copyright 1995. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- Police are asking all motorists and humans to stay away from Sesame Street today as tensions are running high among the muppets. Many reportedly are outraged at the tainted food supply and at how the police handled the hostage situation. According to bystanders on the scene at the time, Mr. Snuffalupagus pleaded with police to be allowed to talk Big Bird down. Instead, police stormed the building with deadly results. Ernie is said to be despondent at the loss of his good buddy Bert.

      ***LATEST ON THE SESAME STREET CRISIS***

      AP Online
      AP 05/09 07:12 EST V927
      Copyright 1995. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- Violence erupted again on Sesame Street last night. As thousands of humans driving home took a sightseeing tour of the scene of Big Bird's deadly rampage, muppets became enraged. Hundreds of muppets, large and small, stalked the streets and surrounded humans in their cars. In at least one case, ten muppets pulled a motorist from his car and beat him with large, Styrofoam numbers. Police again arrived on the scene in force. At this hour, quiet is restored -- but tensions are very high.

      ***NEWS UPDATE***

      AP Online
      AP 05/09 08:43 EST V211
      Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- Police and fire units have been called to Sesame Street. Reporters on the scene describe a nightmarish atmosphere. Furry muppets ranging in size from only inches to seven feet in height are looting Hooper's Store and firebombing the entire neighborhood. Orange and blue firelight is rising over many buildings. Cardboard backdrops, props, and storehouses full of numbers and letters are burning to the ground. Muppets are taunting firemen and police from windows high above the street with counting and alphabet songs. Stay tuned for late-breaking news updates, as they happen.

      ***LATE BREAKING NEWS UPDATE***

      AP Online
      AP 05/10 07:06 EST V482
      Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- The morning fog has brought an eerie calm to Sesame Street after a night of rioting. Smoke rises from most buildings. On the street, lifeless, crumpled fur lies in mute testament of the night of wild outrage. Unknown numbers of muppets have died or been shot to death by Police in full riot gear. Here and there, a muppet--still animated with life--can be seen staring at the wreckage, or sweeping vacantly at the rubble. The Count was reported running down the street crying and yelling, "Ten, Ten Lifeless Muppet Bodies!" No humans were killed in the rioting, although several people reported rug-burns.

      ***NEWS FLASH***

      AP Online
      AP 05/11 11:35 EST V335
      Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved.
      NEW YORK
      NEW YORK (AP) -- Ernie, gay friend and roommate of the murdered muppet Bert, broke his two day silence today with a eulogy address at a mass muppet funeral.

      The following is the complete transcript of his address:

      I come here today to honor a man I loved. A man who was loved by millions throughout the world. Bert was a giant among muppets. His paper-clip collection was viewed with awe by many of the world's leaders. Just one year ago, as President Clinton campaigned on Sesame Street for the muppet vote, it was Bert who everyone turned to for advice. It was Bert who told us all, "anyone who can hang as many paper clips together as Bill Clinton, can certainly run the country." I also come here today to honor Big Bird. Bird was such a loving creature. His large size and bright color alarmed many who first met him, but it was his innocent and curious nature which taught us all to love him. Bird wouldn't have wanted us to remember him, or to memorialize him, with violence. All he ever wanted was for all creatures to "just get along" with each other. Big Bird has come to a bad end, friends, but is wasn't his fault. It was just some bad seed.

  • The Age of Irony is Back!!! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by MagikSlinger ( 259969 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @09:45PM (#2413965) Homepage Journal
    In a BIG Way! :-)
  • Ernie [216.188.151.134].

  • One of the news sites said that the guy who took the photos of the rally was heading back to the market to see whether he could find any of the posters.

    I wonder what they'll be going for on eBay in a year or five or ten.

  • Please Support The Muppets (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheMonkeyDepartment ( 413269 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @10:41PM (#2414044)
    In this time of crisis, we need to be very careful not to show hatred or violence to other Muppets. Just because Bert wants to destroy humanity, that doesn't mean all the Muppets do. In fact, the majority of Muppets are peace-loving citizens.

    I know you've all read the news stories by now. Someone shouted "Dirty Muppet!" and threw a bottle at Grover as he was crossing the street.
    Ernie is under 24-hour protection at an undisclosed location. And in the most perverse story of all, someone tried to force-bathe Oscar the Grouch.

    I hope you'll all attend the rally on Sesame Street later on this week, to show support for the Muppets. Remember: we are trying to destroy Bert, not all the Muppets.

    Bert's last communication was a videotaped rant, calling on all "Muppets, puppets, marionettes and animated characters" to rise up and destroy civilization. He was last seen with cast members of Today's Special and The Great Space Coaster, asking for their support.

  • Log Correlation? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mackman ( 19286 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @11:12PM (#2414087)
    So now that that poster has been clearly identified as being composed of pictures off the internet, maybe webmasters who hosted those pictures should correlate their logs, thus discovering the IP address of the man who made the poster. I'm sure we'd all love to ping flood him and send him nasty emails.

  • So obviously intentional... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Telek ( 410366 ) on Wednesday October 10, 2001 @11:44PM (#2414159) Homepage
    Yes, I read about how it was done, funny...

    But did anyone notice that the large OBL is the same as the one in the picture of Bert? This means that either the maker of the poster (a) found the original or (b) had enough editing skills to cut him out of the doctored one with Bert. In either case, he obviously worked with the image and thus obviously would have seen bert, and anyone with two brain cells to rub together would realize that it's awefully strange to have a large puppet behind OBL in an image...

  • Those who don't watch PBS are damned to repeat it (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ukab the Great ( 87152 ) on Thursday October 11, 2001 @12:57AM (#2414235)
    Almost everyone knows who Bert is. What have those Al-Qaeda folks been doing, living in a cave? On second thought...

  • Nukes back on the table? (Score:5, Funny)

    by imadork ( 226897 ) on Thursday October 11, 2001 @06:33AM (#2414651) Homepage
    You think Afghanistan is in trouble now?
    Just wait until the U.S congress finds out that they've violated copyrights!
    They're doomed now!

  • Why did they make the Bin Laden poster at all? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Peter Harris ( 98662 ) on Thursday October 11, 2001 @06:59AM (#2414707) Homepage
    I ask this with respect, so please excuse my ignorance.

    They're muslims right? So they are forbidden to make images of people. Or have the rules changed since the days when muslim art was all beautiful calligraphy and geometry?

    Even if modern muslims tolerate neutral representations of people, making posters of people to glorify them is surely very close to idolatry, no?

    Not that I have ANY doubts at all about the hypocrisy of any murderer claiming to be doing god's work - that goes without saying. But maybe
    all those who sympathise with OBL should take a step back and look at what they are supporting: certainly not Islam.

  • What mindset is needed? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gotan ( 60103 ) on Thursday October 11, 2001 @11:41AM (#2415942) Homepage
    As it emerges, that bert apparently appeared on the real poster, i wonder what kind of mindset the person has, that put him there. I think the practical joker approach is out of the question, since making practical jokes including bin Laden are probably quite deadly with fundamentalists. Nevertheless, that muppet sitting next to bin Laden looks quite funny, so to include it in the poster it's maker either didn't think at all, doing just what he was told, or he didn't dare edit/censor anything that included bin Laden. It's those kind of mindless followers, doing only what their superiors tell them, that empower people like bin Laden.

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