Osama Bin Laden Firecracker

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Osama Bin Laden Firecracker

James Joyner | Saturday, July 3, 2004

AP — Fireworks Give Chance to Blow Up Bin Laden

Some Americans this Fourth of July plan to get a bang out of blowing Osama bin Laden’s head off. The bin Laden Noggin, a cone-shaped pyrotechnic device with a cartoon of bin Laden’s face, has been a hot seller at some fireworks stores around the country. When lit, the bin Laden cone erupts in blood-red flames and screeches for 60 seconds. Two shots blow his head off. It is part of an Exploding Terrorists Heads four-pack that also includes Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat and Moammar Gadhafi.

Another hot seller in some places: Game Over, a package of three artillery shots decorated like bin Laden, Saddam and Gadhafi in striped jail uniforms.
Both sets of fireworks are made in China.

Suzi Hoffman, whose husband returned home in May after spending eight months working as an electrician in Baghdad, got a kick out of the terrorists’ heads while shopping for fireworks in suburban Omaha. “I thought they should have shot Saddam in the head when they found him,” she said. “So, this is a great way to get your aggression out.”

Lisa Myer of Papillion was appalled when she heard about the fireworks while shopping for smoke bombs and sparklers for her son. “What are we trying to teach our children?” she asked.

Umm, terrorists are bad and we should kill them? Either that or “anything for a buck.”

Of course, in many states, it’s illegal to use fireworks.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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