Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Punked for The Clash
Read this story in the British paper Sun.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
A passenger was hauled off a jet as a suspected terrorist - because he sang a song by The Clash during a taxi ride.It is England, but we have The Patriot Act. So I immediately contacted The Contrarian, who travels on Amtrak & whose taste in punk runs considerably beyond The Clash. & made a mental note never to sing Patti Smith's Ask The Angels on the PATH to Jersey City.
The cabbie rang cops after Harraj Mann belted out London Calling.
Harraj, 24, is the SECOND man to be quizzed because of lyrics written by the punk band
...The London Calling hit warns that "war is declared and battle come down".
The cabbie rang cops as Harraj boarded his plane at Durham Tees Valley Airport for a flight to Heathrow.
Mobile phone salesman Harraj - who was questioned for three hours and had to catch a later flight - said: "The taxi had a tape deck where you can plug in your MP3 player.
"I played London Calling and sang along before finishing up with the Beatles.
"After I got on the flight, two men in suits came on.
"I got frogmarched off the plane in front of everyone and had my bags searched."
"Across the country through the fieldsBut I suppose in Cheney/Bush America that just sounds rapturously patriotic.
You know I see it written 'cross the sky
People rising from the highway
And war war is the battle cry
And it's wild wild wild wild."
