February 11, 2008
Is Bin Laden in China?
Well no he isn’t, but this recent AFP report has some Beijing kids getting their sugar fix on confectionery inspired by the cave dwelling terrorist rock star to welcome in the new year among the drums and dragons in Long Tan Park:
For those with a sweet tooth, sugared Osama Bin Laden-shaped candies were on offer along with rat-shaped lollipops.
What a charming vignette. Even more charming is the fact that six and a half years on from Sept. 11 these sweets are still doing a roaring trade. They first appeared on the scene shortly after 9/11 (this New Yorker article dates them to January 2002) when some enterprising Afghan decided that if Sept. 11 sucked for American kids then it could suck for ones in Kandahar, too. So, the “Super Osama Bin Laden Kulfa Ball” was born, and exported from Afghanistan as successfully as one-way pilots. These coconut-flavored (a bizarre choice in itself considering the available alternatives in Afghanistan: cardamom, raisin, almond, yak… ) balls are sold in purple boxes (not to be confused with Purple Heart boxes) and feature Bin Laden’s bearded mug preaching peace and enlightenment among tanks, warplanes and cruise missiles. Delicious, and now available for the Olympics, too. Get them while stocks last.
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In the year following 9/11 the old junk markets on Nanjing Lu were full of spin-off Bin-laden stuff.
A friend of mine came over to visit around that time and we bought a selection of stuff and he took it back to the Uk and stashed it. Watches, lighters, dolls, all kinds of stuff.
The 'best' find was an LCD type handheld console game where you had to shoot down planes before they hit the buildings called "Bush vs Bin-laden". If you won a level it played a blip version of 'Yankee-doodle rode to town'. We got two and have one still boxed and wrapped.
There was a dancing Saddam doll around at one point too.
Anyone alse remember the "Russian Shop" in that plaza that used to be by the Henan Lu metro station? BTW.