have u never seen return of the jedi??

i'm w/you on the weirdness, especially seeing people dancing in the streets.
but that vid i posted was funny/weird cause of the timing of it - the attack on the bin laden complex was originally planned for the same night as that dinner, & obama is probs the only one in that room who knows the truth about osama at that very moment, yet is able to crack a massive grin & laugh. surely you've got to be able to appreciate the politiks & cunning behind that facade??
why wasn't it cut/vetoed from the guy's speech before hand? because it'd maybe draw attn to obama's & the military's plans if it got out a joke about bin laden had been axed and/or the people responsible for proofing the speech were out of the loop regarding the planned assault on bin laden.
(& you have to say, if it were for yesterday evenings killing of bin laden, that joke would have been really old & unfunny, but now it's given new light by the timing of it - on saturday it was a really stale unfunny joke, by sunday/monday it's bizarre the coincide!)

i think there is something to this too.
i think really it's a combination of a lot of the factors we've mentioned & probably a lot of shit we don't know about.

there's isn't one specific reason as to why things have turned out the way they have (except the obv, that 'axl is an asshole' - and as we know the obvious answer is usually the correct one!) just a lot of petty stupid BS

at the same time GNR hit a plateau of fame & sales a long time ago that the brand/name will always ensure a headliner status. i think axl is comfortable with the level the brand is at, the lack of releases and promo's is evidence of that - if he wanted to push the band he could sanction blu-rays/dvd's/live albums.

but i don't think that 'lack of ambition' is a critical issue in the CD clusterfuck & band-members dropping off - i think the reasons for that stem from axl's general pettiness, reluctance to do anything that he doesn't want to do, & procrastination. of course that behaviour creates other problems.

i think he realises what he has lost when bucket left - hence the efforts made to bring bucket back & the slowness to replace him & record new material.

but yea i don't really understand his thinking either. it's really all guesswork & speculation. but there is a narrative & info around & axl's behaviour has resulted in a lot of the negativity that has always surrounded this band. but it's also what makes them special & unique so... rough with the smooth n shit & waiting without holding our breath..

yea there seems to be something to that faldor:
Ruth Gledhill, the Times' religion correspondent, has written a piece on the burial at sea that's worth a read if you can negotiate the paywall.
She points out that OBL was deposited in the sea to stop his grave becoming a shrine.
As regards the controversy we mentioned earlier about whether or not such a burial is permitted under Islamic law, she quotes a US blogger:

According to Carina Adly MacKenzie, the sea burial adheres to Islamic tradition.

"There is a stipulation that if it is likely that an enemy may try to dig up the grave or destroy the gravesite, burial at sea — while not ideal — is allowed."

yea but do AQ now have the infrastructure to retaliate.

i can't imagine jihadist forces not attempting some kinda of retaliation but 'apparently' AQ's capabilities have been almost nullified thru the war on terror.. but hey that's just what i hear on the news this morning..