Click here for more details

During the 2005 UK General Election and the 2006 local elections, we asked you to register a highly visible and damaging protest vote against Tony Blair, his style of government, his right-wing leanings, and his lies about the 'war' on terror and Iraq.

Click here to read our closing statement.


Thursday, April 06, 2006

First they came for the punks, then they came for the little old ladies....

Chicken Yoghurt - Man held as terrorism suspect over punk song (It only links to the original Reuters article, but the comments are well worth a look-see.)

BBC - Terror fear over Clash fan's song: A phone salesman was hauled off a London-bound plane by police after his taste in music aroused terrorism fears. Harraj Mann, 23, asked a taxi driver to play The Clash's London Calling through the vehicle's stereo. But the cabbie rang police after he heard the song which includes the line: "War is declared and battle come down". Police said Mr Mann, from Hartlepool, was released without charge after his arrest on board a Bmi plane at Durham Tees Valley Airport. Durham Police said a security check revealed he did not pose a threat.

After they'd delayed the flight and hauled him off it, of course. And it's not the first time that Clash lyrics have got people in hot water in this New Game with New Rules:

The Register - Police slap cuffs on Punk SMSer (3rd June 2004): A tech worker was arrested yesterday after a text message he sent was intercepted and traced back to his phone. In a scene reminiscent of Neo's first escape from Agent Smith, Special Branch officers slapped the cuffs on Mike Devine at his office in Bristol yesterday, and took him away for questioning. Devine, who plays in a Clash tribute band in his spare time, had sent a message containing lyrics from The Clash's Tommy Gun to his lead singer who had forgotten the words to the song.

And today there's even more good news for those who are worried that the government is not doing enough to protect themselves:

Independent - Helen and Sylvia, the new face of terrorism: Two grandmothers from Yorkshire face up to a year in prison after becoming the first people to be arrested under the Government's latest anti-terror legislation. Helen John, 68, and Sylvia Boyes, 62, both veterans of the Greenham Common protests 25 years ago, were arrested on Saturday after deliberately setting out to highlight a change in the law which civil liberties groups say will criminalise free speech and further undermine the right to peaceful demonstration. Under the little-noticed legislation, which came into effect last week, protesters who breach any one of 10 military bases across Britain will be treated as potential terrorists and face up to a year in jail or £5,000 fine. The protests are curtailed under the Home Secretary's Serious Organised Crime and Police Act. Campaigners expressed their outrage yesterday at Charles Clarke's new law, which they say is yet another draconian attempt to crack down on legitimate protest under the guise of the war on terror.... As well as Menwith Hill, the sites covered under the new law include Fylingdales, the early warning station on the North York Moors and the US air bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath in East Anglia. From next week the powers will also cover three nuclear sites - Aldermaston in Berkshire, its research facility at neighbouring Burghfield and the Devonport naval base at Plymouth. The Government's decision suggests it is already preparing for the protests that would follow the expected decision to replace Trident with a new generation of nuclear weaponry... Before Mr Clarke's announcement military police only had the power to escort protesters off the military sites and prosecute them for civil trespass.

And in case you're wondering how you missed this little announcement...

Press Gazette - Monthly avalanche of stories 'is burying Clarke’s bad news'
Tim Worstall - Journalists Report: Our Job is Too Difficult

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home




Flash Videos
(most recent first)

  Video X - The Roses of Success
  Video IX - Dave the Chameleon
  Video VIII - Don't Vote Labour
  Video VII - Leo Blair
  Video VI - Not over by a Long Shot
  Video V - Iraq in 30 Seconds
  Video IV - Drawing the Line
  Video III - Debate
  Video II - Unbelievable
  Video I - Vote Blair

  Just for fun: London Underground



Other Campaign Websites




Further Reading

Websites of vocal bloggers involved in our campaign and/or with similar aims or views.

  - Blair Watch
  - Bloggerheads
  - Chicken Yoghurt
  - Curious Hamster
  - Europhobia
  - Craig Murray
  - The Nether-World
  - Rachel North
  - Perfect.co.uk
  - Talk Politics
  - UK Dissident
  - The UK Today
  - Oscar Wildebeest




RSS Site Feed



Previous Posts

Backing Blair is an initiative of Bloggerheads and The UK Today
You can contact us via our respective websites or by emailing:
team AT backingblair DOT co DOT uk