Thursday, April 6th, 2006,
by Fred (,
nanny state, police, security, terrorism
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I’m not sure which is scarier, this Daily Mail story about a man arrested for playing the wrong music:
Harraj Mann, 24, played the punk anthem London Calling and classic rock track Immigrant Song in a taxi before a flight to London.The lyrics to both tracks made the driver fear his passenger was a terrorist.
The words of the Clash track begin: “London calling to the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down.” And Led Zep’s Immigrant Song goes: “The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands, to fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!”Mr Mann, of Hartlepool, Teesside, had boarded the plane at Durham Tees Valley Airport when the flight to Heathrow was stopped and he was arrested by police.
He said he was told he was being questioned under the Terrorism Act and his choice of music had aroused suspicions.
Or the people defending the actions of the police. From the Daily Mail reader comments:
Fair enough! Only those who don’t know the lyrics can think otherwise!
- Lana Edwards, Zurich, Switzerland
The taxi driver was suspicious and tried to do the right thing, in notifying authorities. Lives have been lost with all these bombings.
- Marijane, Lady Lake, FL
Or these comments at the Wizbang post about this story:
I guess I am conservative enough that I would rather be safe than sorry. Maybe this incident is just the tip of the iceberg, maybe it is the isolated case that stands out. I know that our planes flying into buildings is a sign of a broken system. A guy spending several hours under questioning may make sense or not, I would need more facts to be sure.
But as I said before, if both the taxi driver and the police twitched on this guy and didn’t follow through before he did a terrorist act, that would be the real tragedy.
First, I give the taxi driver his due for being able to understand the lyrics. That is pretty impressive in itself.
Second, I do not think he is a jerk at all, much less deserving of eternal damnation for being suspicious of someone I presume is Arabic, listening to disturbing lyrics about waging war. Was he also in Muslim garb? The article doesn’t say. In today’s context the driver did exactly the right thing. Virtually no one except a Muslim terrorist is likely to take those lyrics literally, but they are alarming in light of recent events. For all the cab driver knew, the guy may have been on his way to wage Jihad. Better safe than sorry. Apparently the authorities agreed.
The man was questioned for three hours and probably had a background search. Boo hoo. Cry me a river.
Give me a break. Detaining someone for several hours because they listen to a 36 year old rock song? Defending the police that do such a thing because “better safe than sorry”? It’s wild goose chases like these that keep the authorities from catching actual Bad Guys. But at least that taxi driver can feel better because he made the police arrest a dirty muslim Led Zeppelin fan.
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Friday, March 10th, 2006,
by Fred (,
Dubai, politics, ports, security, terrorism
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Driven by a strange bedfellows coalition of Democrats who want to make the Adminstration look weak on security (traditionally a good issue for Republicans) and Republicans who appear to be terrified of Arabs, Dubai Ports World has said it would sell its interest in American ports to a US firm. Congress, of course, is unfazed, vowing to press forward with legislation to block DP World’s acquisition of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. But then again, this was always about politics and not security - after all, how could it have been, when it would still be Americans manning the ports and Americans securing the ports?
Adding to the fiasco and abuse of power of the whole situation, which American firm is best positioned to buy DP World’s interest in the US ports?
Eller & Co., whose Miami subsidiary Continental Stevedoring & Terminals sued to block the sale, said it might attempt to buy the terminals. “We are certainly encouraged by what the statement said,” Eller attorney Michael Kreitzer said. “We think we are one of the companies (that could buy it). We have been in the business for 70 years. We could do it.”
That’s right. The company that sued to block the sale now wants to buy the port interests. At fire sale prices, of course. None of the top five port operators in the world are American firms, but this seems like a good way to build them up - stop legitimate foreign firms from operating here, and force them to sell their property to Americans at distressed prices.
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Thursday, March 2nd, 2006,
by Fred (,
Dubai, ports, security, terrorism
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You can take the Judge out of the courtroom…
Associate Circuit Judge Brian Babka is presiding over the [former Judge William B.] Starnes case. He seems pretty good-natured, as judges go. Starnes may be stretching the boundaries of that good nature. During each of the first three days of trial, Babka has scolded Starnes over some behavioral infraction. First it was for acting as his own attorney even though the very capable Richard Roustio fills that role. But that didn’t stop Starnes from walking right up to Babka to discuss his case, which is bad form for a defendant. The judge told Starnes flat-out: “I don’t want you addressing the court.”
The biggest blow-up came on Wednesday when St. Clair County State’s Attorney Bob Haida appeared before Babka. My colleagues who cover Haida’s office said they can’t remember him ever getting involved in someone else’s trial. But there he was Wednesday, complaining about an interview Starnes gave to a television station. Starnes told the reporter that he was wrongfully arrested, that he had no faith in the police officers’ integrity, and that he thought his case was a political vendetta.Why? Because Starnes’ nephew twice ran against Haida for the state’s attorney’s office. He lost both times, in 1996 and again in 2000. That 2000 loss came three months before Starnes’ arrest. During the five years this case has crawled through the courts, Starnes had wanted to make the vendetta claim in court. A judge said no.
Hearing Starnes claim in a television interview what he is not allowed to claim in court, Haida said, was like Starnes’ “thumbing his nose” at the court. Maybe Babka should issue a gag order against Starnes.
Again, Babka took Starnes to the woodshed. He watched the interview, he told the lawyers, and was “disappointed by Mr. Starnes’ conduct. I thought it was inappropriate.”
He didn’t want to issue a gag order, which raises all sorts of freedom of speech issues. Starnes began an explanation to the judge. Big mistake. Babka told him if he kept trying to speak directly to him, Starnes might earn himself a contempt charge. After that, Roustio and Starnes agreed Starnes would not give any more inflammatory interviews.
I can’t imagine being defense counsel to a judge would be a fulfilling experience. This defendant is used to deciding what the law is, and doesn’t seem happy that he can only speak in what used to be his courtroom through his whippersnapper of a lawyer.
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