If I were to offer Osama any advice at all, it would be to cut it back to about 3 minutes. It's always hard to get airplay for a 25 minute video. And, talking about the housing market is a big mistake.
Sure everyone's interested in the value of their property, but eyes glaze over when you don't keep it local or make it exotic. I would suggest he show a few choice properties that might interest the viewer. You know, a large villa with a thousand acres for less than $750 somewhere northeast of Khandahar. It should have a nice view of the Arghandab River.
Another idea might be to release a series of text messages. Imagine the fun trying to decipher the meaning when he's using Arabic txtspk.
Some of the highlights for me were:
- bin Laden talks about how America has been "bled dry" economically. Now, maybe there have been a few economic issues, but there is no single town in the US that is as bad off as any town in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. "Bled dry" means different things to different people, I suppose.
- He cites his pro-Jewish credentials, but then stirs the pot of anti-semitism by noting how the Koran portrays Mary favorably, "in contrast to the fabrications of the Jews against her"
- Osama hates America because America won't sign the Kyoto Protocols
- Osama believes in low taxes, as is appropriate given his millionaire status
