Osama's "base"

[brandc]

Here's an interesting tidbit:

The very name of his terrorist organization may have been inspired by the science fiction novels of Isaac Asimov. Apparently, American sci-fi is popular in Arabic translation, including Asimov's Foundation, known in the Middle East as Al Qaeda, a term usually translated into English as "the Base." (No word yet on whether victorious American troops will tell bin Laden, a la the Japanese video game, "All your Base is belong to us.")

http://www.nypress.com/static/billbo...w=11/30/01#715