And just because I love you guys...Bin Laden's 'Will' Complains of Betrayal -Magazine
Fri Oct 25, 2:07 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A London-based magazine said on Friday it was publishing a will written by Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, in which he complains of betrayal by fellow militants in Afghanistan.
The Arabic-language al-Majallah said the will, typed and signed by bin Laden and dated December 14, 2001, was obtained a week ago from a "very reliable" source in Afghanistan.
It said the will, typically packed with versus from the Muslim holy book the Koran, depicted a man who appeared desperate and on the verge of death.
"Reading it, you get the impression of a dying man. It may be that he was wounded and felt he was dying," Majallah Editor-in-Chief Hani Nakshabandi told Reuters of the will, which is due to be published on Saturday.
The date on the will suggested it was written at the height of U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11 attacks, which ended in the ouster of bin Laden's Taliban protectors from Afghanistan.
There was no independent confirmation of the authenticity of the document.
Nakshabandi said while wills are normally revealed after the death of their author, it was impossible to verify if bin Laden had actually died.
The Saudi-born militant, Washington's prime suspect as mastermind for September 11, disappeared after U.S. troops launched its war on Afghanistan in October 2001. U.S. troops combing the mountains where he was believed to be hiding have failed to find him.
But some television stations and Web sites close to his al Qaeda network have published letters attributed to him or messages in his voice, although the dates of these messages was not verified.
BETRAYAL
In the will, bin Laden repeatedly complains of betrayal by fellow militants, including the Taliban who shielded him.
"We saw the cowardly Crusaders (Christians) and the lowly Jews hold fast while fighting us, while soldiers of our nation raised the white flag and surrendered to their enemies," bin Laden wrote in the will, studded with versus from the Koran.
"Even the students of religion (Taliban), only a handful of them were steadfast, while the rest fled before they met the enemy," it adds.
Bin Laden also asks for forgiveness from his children, saying he had given them only a little of his time since he embarked on his path of jihad (holy war).
"I have chosen a path filled with dangers and endured much hardships...treachery and betrayal," he wrote. "If it wasn't for betrayal, conditions would have been different and the outcome would have been a different one."
Urging his children to remain faithful to God, he advises them "not to work for al Qaeda," without giving an explanation.
But he said his advice was based on an example set by prominent early Muslim leader, Omar bin al-Khattab, who urged his son to shun the post after him.
Bin Laden described the New York and Washington attacks as "part of escalating strikes directed toward America" starting with a 1983 attack on a U.S. marine barracks in Lebanon and the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
The United States has blamed bin Laden for the twin attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. But it has accused Lebanon's Shi'ite Hizbollah group for the suicide attack on its barracks in Beirut in which 241 servicemen were killed.
Students Asked to Test-Run Condoms
Fri Oct 25, 1:02 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - British students are being recruited to test condoms, rating them for their pleasure, comfort and performance qualities.
The 100-150 successful job applicants will be paid 100 pounds ($155) per academic term as they road-test a range of condoms from German manufacturer Condomi.
"The condom testers will be asked to give a pleasure rating. They will not be asked to test quality -- that has already been done," Condomi's marketing manager in Britain Victoria Wells told Reuters on Thursday.
"Test results will be fed back to our research and development department, and we hope that the students who participate will both enjoy the testing and the money, and give us a frank response which we can use for product development," Wells said.
She said adverts had been placed in a number of student publications and will run on several student radio stations from October 25.
Would-be testers will be asked to fill in an application available online at www.condomi.co.uk.
Among the voluntary questions asked of candidates will be: how many partners they have had, how often they have sex and how long its lasts -- with the option to tick various boxes marked from "under one minute" to one marked "1.5-two hours."
I plagiarize...you decide!
