Truly bizarre news. The central premise of 'Eco-Friendly Jihad' has just been endorsed by Osama bin Laden.

Seriously.

The latest audiotape from bin Laden (released Jan 29th, 2010) blames climate change on the US and other Western nations. According to Associated Press, the Al Qaeda leader has called for "the world to boycott American goods and the US dollar, blaming the United States and other industrialised countries for global warming."

Al Jazeera broke the story - their report is here. For the AP version, click here.

I'm kinda skeptical about statements 'from Osama bin Laden'. AP reports that "the tape's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, but the voice resembled that of bin Laden on messages known to be from him." It's possible that this statement is coming from another Al Qaeda spokesperson, claiming to represent Osama. Either way, some very nasty people are now seriously making the case which I performed satrically in 'Eco-Friendly Jihad'.
 

So far no-one has is asking the critical question. If Al Qaeda are serious about reducing carbon emissions, why have they repeatedly bombed public transport?

I can understand people being angry about Guantánamo, Iraq or Palestine. Most of my friends are. But I don't understand why anyone thinks they can help the children of Palestine by bombing a commuter train in London. That's like trying to remove mice from your kitchen by flying to Botswana to shoot a giraffe. It's moronic.

As someone who grew up in Ireland in the 1980s, I am convinced that terrorism doesn't work. I've heard people say, "of course terrorism works... look at Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. They used to be in the IRA and now they're in Government."

True. They're in Her Majesty's Government... of Great Britain and Northern Ireland... as junior partners to the DUP. That's like Osama bin Laden leaving Al Qaeda to become Sarah Palin's running mate.

[For the record, Sarah Palin has a lot more in common with Osama bin Laden than I do. They may disagree on foreign policy, but they both support banning gay marriage, bringing God into the classroom, and increasing access to guns. Palin/bin Laden 2012? You read it here first.]

Let me be clear. I don't hate America. Some of my shows criticise aspects of American foreign policy - most of my American friends do the same thing. But how many of us want to live in a world dominated by China? Or Russia? Or Iran? Personally, I'd like to live in a world run by a coalition of Holland, Sweden, Canada and New Zealand... but I'm not holding my breath.

Finally, there is a remote possibility that someone in Al Qaeda randomly came across my show on the internet - while googling 'Jihad' or something - and that this gave someone the idea for "Bin Laden's" latest statement. It seems pretty unlikely, although the show did crop up in some far flung places (The Seoul Times described it as "contemporary and controversial".) And there's been a lot of extra web traffic ahead of the upcoming tour. Maybe someone in Al Qaeda reads 'The Kilkenny People'?

I used to presume that Al Qaeda hadn't the remotest interest in artists, performers or cultural commentators. But their latest  statement quotes Noam Chomsky. Also, the 2008 World Performing Arts Festival in Pakistan (where I was invited to return, with 'Eco-Friendly Jihad') was bombed by Islamic militants, who disapproved of its openness to foreign cultures.

So maybe Al Qaeda do pay attention to culture. At any rate, I think we can safely say we're winning the war on terror if the best they can do is to rip off ideas from a smart arsed Dublin comedian.