Thursday, April 06, 2006

The Culture of Paranoia in action

First we get the citizens of the most powerful nation in the history of mankind to run and hide in terror while wetting their beds about religious wingnuts with boxcutters. Now, our fellow fear mongerers across the pond get themselves all in a tizzy about.... Somone's musical taste?

This is what happens in a culture RULED BY FEAR:

http://www.nme.com/news/clash/22697

The Clash spark terror alert
Man pulled off plane for music taste

The Clash and Led Zeppelin's music sparked a terror alert on an aeroplane, it has emerged.

Harraj Mann from Hartlepool was pulled off a London-bound flight at Durham Tees Valley Airport on March 30. He was questioned under the Terrorism Act after it's believed his choice of music made a taxi driver suspicious.

Mann was able to play his own music through the cab's stereo on the way to his flight, but it seems the driver did not approve.

"I played Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' first, which the taxi man liked," Mann explained. "I figured he liked the classics, so I put on Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song'. Then, since I was going to London, I played The Clash ('London Calling') and finished up with 'Nowhere Man' by The Beatles. He didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash, but I don't think there was any need to tell the police."

It seems The Clash's lyrics which include "War is declared and battle come down", alarmed the cabbie who alerted police, while Led Zeppelin's line about "The hammer of the gods will rive our ship to new lands, to fight the horde", probably didn't help either.

Durham Police then acted on "information received" but admitted "by the time it was established the man did not pose a security risk, the plane had taken off", The Mirror reports.

Mann, however, said he saw the funny side of the incident, telling his local newspaper the Hartlepool Mail: "I was laughing about it, but all my mates are absolutely furious. It's just left me bemused. I can agree that there's a culture of fear. They acted on the information they had. I'm just frustrated that it happened to me. It's a mystery."

8 comments:

Lefty Metalhead said...

Ah! Those fucking wingnuts! Once again music is used to serve injustice!

FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE!!!

B.L. Sabob: Not amused said...

I saw both documentaries about the West Memphis Three. They fucking sickened me. These poor kids getting railroaded by a bunch of backwoods, know-nothing deranged sociopaths just for being different. Its really infuriating. They can't evenn really claim to be afraid of these kids. Its just pure fucking malice. These are the same kind of scumbags who were burning "witches" 400 years ago.

Lefty Metalhead said...

Both documentaries sickened me to. However, they also moved me to join the Chicago-area support group. We haven't done anything as of late, but we sure hope to mobilize soon.

Unfortunately, a witch trial was allowed to take place, leading to the heinous convictions of the three boys. We're confident that the DNA evidence being analyzed at this moment will exonerate them.

B.L. Sabob: Not amused said...

Cool. Post some links about where things stand with them, please.

You live in Chicago eh? I moved out of there just under a year ago. I kind of miss the music scene there, but not the congestion. It just got to the point where I could no longer breath in a city with 8 million people. I needed space.

Lefty Metalhead said...

Fortunately I am a Chicago native. I still live here, in the southwest side. Go WHITE SOX!!!

As far as updates to the WM3 case, there was a legal victory for Damien Echols. The state of Arkansas had filed a motion to dismiss Damien's petition for a writ of Habeas Corpus, but the U.S. district court denied the motion after the defense replied. Check out the details here

I recommend you purchase Damien Echols' autobiography entitled "Almost Home". It's very compelling and it helps to comprehend the situation.

If you want to know anything else, just email me: alexortiz83@msn.com, or continue writing on this thread.

FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE!

Lefty Metalhead said...

As for the general state of the case, DNA evidence is currently being analyzed, which could potentially exonerate the three men, or at least grant them a new trial. There are several other appeals going on as well.

In my opinion, the guys should have been exonerated when a bite mark on one of the victims didn't match either of the WM3's teeth (as you know from Paradise Lost 2).

B.L. Sabob: Not amused said...

I went to highschool in LaGrange, moved away for college and returned to the Chicago area in 97. Lived in Wicker Park until last year.

Thanks for the update about the WM3. I know that my wife will be really interested too. She's the one who turned me on to the Paradise Lost docs. She also read the book by Leveritt (sp?) so she's way more up on the case than I am.

Lefty Metalhead said...

LaGrange huh? What a small world! My sister lives in Burr Ridge, which is only minutes away from LaGrange. I live in the city, about a 15 minute drive from Burr Ridge. Wicker Park is a great neighborhood. I did my undergraduate work at DePaul University in Lincoln Park. That whole area (Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Old Town) is fucking awesome!