[geeks] Re: [SunHELP] Terrorism

[Nicholas Dronen]

On Mon, Sep 17, 2001 at 11:40:53AM -0700, Gregory Leblanc wrote:
> On Mon, 2001-09-17 at 09:15, Edward Chase wrote:
> > 
> > How can you think that Usama is not behind this?  I do believe that the FBI 
> > or CIA have linked all the known people involved in this incident back to 
> > Usama.
> 
> Well, they can probably think this the same what that you can't be
> bothered to spell his name right.  Come on people, it's all over the
> newspapers, can't you even look it up?  Osama bin Laden, spelled and
> capitalized just like that.

The native languages of Yemen and Saudi Arabia are Arabic, so
his name is probably Arabic -- thus (and obviously) the English
spelling is a transliteration.

That there is a "correct" English spelling of his name, and
what that spelling is, is a matter left to language scholars
of some sort, not the Associated Press or other US news agencies.

Anyway, by your account the FBI's been spelling his name
"incorrectly" since June of 1999.

	http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/laden.htm

Regards,

Nicholas Dronen