This is good idea!
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35302,00.html
McALLEN, Texas — Amid preparations for the war on terrorism, there's nothing some would like better than to take a swing at Usama bin Laden, even if it's just his image on a pinata.
But that may not be any easier than finding the real bin Laden in one of his Afghanistan bunkers.
Rene and Lala Karam received 10 papier-mache bin Ladens from a Reynosa, Mexico pinata maker Wednesday. The border retailers were stocking up for their JJ's Party House in McAllen.
Although seemingly innocuous, the Mexican packages of paper or clay that spew candy when children hit them with a stick have brought an angry response.
"I've received at least 100 calls since yesterday," Rene Karam told The Monitor in McAllen for Friday's editions. "People are saying, 'How can you be so greedy as to make money off a national tragedy?"'
The Karams have in previous years sold pinatas of both notable and notorious figures in papier-mache, from Monica Lewinsky to Saddam Hussein.
But they say that only the bogus bin Laden has created such a stir among Rio Grande Valley residents.
Bin Laden has been named the No. 1 suspect in the Sept. 11 suicide bombings in New York and Washington that killed more than 6,000 people. The leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network has said all Americans are targets for his weapons of mass destruction.
Karam said he thought of producing the pinatas after a California radio station called to ask if he could find a manufacturer in Mexico. He then started getting requests at the store to construct the traditional effigy that children hit until it breaks.
"I could have sold all 10 of the pinatas by this morning if I had wanted to," said Karam. But selling the dolls is the last thing on his mind now and the manufacturer will try to sell them in Houston or Austin.
Karam, who is of Lebanese descent, said that many callers Thursday complained he was reinforcing negative stereotypes of people from the Middle East.
"I had planned on sending the proceeds to the New York firefighters," he said. "But now I don't even want to sell them."
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35302,00.html
McALLEN, Texas — Amid preparations for the war on terrorism, there's nothing some would like better than to take a swing at Usama bin Laden, even if it's just his image on a pinata.
But that may not be any easier than finding the real bin Laden in one of his Afghanistan bunkers.
Rene and Lala Karam received 10 papier-mache bin Ladens from a Reynosa, Mexico pinata maker Wednesday. The border retailers were stocking up for their JJ's Party House in McAllen.
Although seemingly innocuous, the Mexican packages of paper or clay that spew candy when children hit them with a stick have brought an angry response.
"I've received at least 100 calls since yesterday," Rene Karam told The Monitor in McAllen for Friday's editions. "People are saying, 'How can you be so greedy as to make money off a national tragedy?"'
The Karams have in previous years sold pinatas of both notable and notorious figures in papier-mache, from Monica Lewinsky to Saddam Hussein.
But they say that only the bogus bin Laden has created such a stir among Rio Grande Valley residents.
Bin Laden has been named the No. 1 suspect in the Sept. 11 suicide bombings in New York and Washington that killed more than 6,000 people. The leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network has said all Americans are targets for his weapons of mass destruction.
Karam said he thought of producing the pinatas after a California radio station called to ask if he could find a manufacturer in Mexico. He then started getting requests at the store to construct the traditional effigy that children hit until it breaks.
"I could have sold all 10 of the pinatas by this morning if I had wanted to," said Karam. But selling the dolls is the last thing on his mind now and the manufacturer will try to sell them in Houston or Austin.
Karam, who is of Lebanese descent, said that many callers Thursday complained he was reinforcing negative stereotypes of people from the Middle East.
"I had planned on sending the proceeds to the New York firefighters," he said. "But now I don't even want to sell them."