This & That, Ceci et Cela

Apparently, Oprah isn’t the only one with the golden book club touch:

An unexpected endorsement from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has resulted in a huge jump in sales for a book by a critic of U.S. foreign policy. William Blum’s “Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower” was ranked 209,000 on Amazon.com’s sales list before bin Laden mentioned it in an audiotape released on Thursday. By Friday, the book was No. 30 on the Amazon.com list. Bin Laden said al Qaeda group was preparing more attacks in the United States but also told Americans, “It is useful for you to read the book ‘The Rogue State’”.