From Yahoo News:
LONDON (AFP) - A love of punk and hard rock anthems by The Clash and Led Zeppelin reportedly led to a British man being hauled off a plane bound for London by police on terrorism fears.
Indian-born Harraj Mann, 23, played "London's Calling" by The Clash and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" through the stereo of a taxi he caught to Durham and Tees Valley Airport in northern England.
The taxi driver, however, grew suspicious of his passenger after listening to the lyrics of his chosen songs and alerted the authorities after they reached the airport.
Two police officers boarded Mann's flight to London's Heathrow airport shortly before take-off last Thursday.
"I got frogmarched off the plane in front of everyone, got my bags searched, asked every question you can think of," Mann, a mobile phone salesman, told his local newspaper, the Hartlepool Mail, on Monday -- a story that was picked up by the national press on Wednesday.
"I was being held for questioning under the Terrorism Act," he said.
By the time Mann was set free his plane had already departed.
The offending lyrics by The Clash include the lines: "London calling from the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down.
"London calling to the underworld, come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls."
"Immigrant Song", for its part, starts: "The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands, to fight the horde singing and crying Valhalla, I'm coming!"
A spokeswoman for the Durham Police confirmed that a man was escorted from the London-bound flight, questioned by police and released without charge.
"Safety is paramount and we respond to concerns from members of the public in the way they would expect us to," she said.
"In this case the report was made with the best of intentions and we would not want to discourage people from contacting us with genuine concerns regarding security."
Is the culture of fear that Bush and Blair are fostering making us all just a little bit jumpy? 1984 and V for Vendetta look more and more real every day. I'd be locked up for years for half the stuff that I listen to. Hell, even the titles would probably get me in trouble:
Vote With a Bullet -- Corrorosion of Conformity
Stigmata -- Ministry
Bullet in the Head -- Rage Against the Machine
Fuck Tha Police -- N.W.A., Rage Against the Machine
Free thought and free speech are not crimes.
3 comments:
dbackdad said: Is the culture of fear that Bush and Blair are fostering making us all just a little bit jumpy?
I'm afraid so - and that poor mans experience isn't that isolated unfortunately:
John Catt
AGE: 81
CRIME?: Wearing an anti-Blair T-shirt in Brighton during the Labour conference.
WHAT HAPPENED: He was stopped under section 44 of the 2000 Terrorism Act as he walked towards the seafront for an anti-war demonstration outside the conference. His T-shirt accused Mr Blair and George Bush of war crimes. He was released after signing a form confirming he had been questioned. The police record said the purpose of the stop and search was "terrorism" and the official grounds for intervention were "carrying plackard + T-shirt with anti-Blair info"
Maya Evans
AGE: 25
CRIME?: Protesting over British casualties in Iraq.
WHAT HAPPENED: Standing on the Cenotaph in Whitehall, she read out a list of soldiers killed in Iraq. She was arrested under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, which requires police permission to make a protest within one kilometre of Parliament. She was given a conditional discharge after being found guilty. Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Lord Chancellor, later denied that the prosecution was an "undue infringement" of individual liberties.
Be afraid, be very afraid....
We have been over run by cowards. Nothing breeds tyranny like cowardice.
Indeed Mr Bear...
"In order for evil to prosper, it is enough that good men do nothing".
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