Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody

[paultakeda]

Cat Stevens denied entry to the U.S. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4506076,00.html)

[madajb]

It's a wild world...
-ajb

[ncttrnl]

So does that mean the dept of homeland security is the moonshadow thats been following him all this time?

Kinda makes you wonder why he's on a watchlist though. Sometimes celebrities hang out with shady people in the name of their beliefs. Maybe he was seen with someone shady enough to put him on the feds radar.

[madajb]

Kinda makes you wonder why he's on a watchlist though.
C'mon now, you can't tell me this isn't subversive:

Come on
Come on, let's go down
Everybody's waiting for us
Down at the Boomtown
O. Redding and Washington
Chico and Harpo and Karl are
In the Kitchen with Mum

=)
-ajb

[ncttrnl]

Ahhh... now the reports are including that he is suspected of funding Hamas

Before they all said "officials declined to comment" type stuff.

[Troike]

Some memorable quotes :D

Officials had no details about why the peace activist might be considered a risk to the United States.

Another federal official, who is in law enforcement and spoke anonymously because of agency policy, said that after the interview, Customs officials decided to deny Islam entry into the United States.

[madajb]

Ahhh... now the reports are including that he is suspected of funding Hamas

Before they all said "officials declined to comment" type stuff.
Wow, that was ages ago, wasn't it? Right around the time he supported the fatwa(h) on Rushdie.
Hard to believe he hasn't been in the country since.
-ajb

[ncttrnl]

Wow, that was ages ago, wasn't it? Right around the time he supported the fatwa(h) on Rushdie.
Hard to believe he hasn't been in the country since.
-ajb

They seemed to allude to more recent support of terrorism but then Britain is accepting him so I dunno. Really, does it matter when it was? The man supported a terrorist group operating in another country. I don't think this is a forgive and forget type thing.

[madajb]

They seemed to allude to more recent support of terrorism but then Britain is accepting him so I dunno. Really, does it matter when it was?
No, I was just surprised it took him this long to come back into the country, if it was the thing I'm thinking of.
I'm also surprised no one took him aside _before_ he got on the plane and said "Hey, Cat, you know, they're just going to put you back on a plane when you get over there...and I don't think you get frequent flier miles for being kicked out of the country."
heh.
-ajb

[paultakeda]

Forgive and forget is a hypocritical stance, and is used when convenient. I would not use that as an excuse.

For the RIA and GB, forgive and forget, or rather, move on to find peace, is convenient.
Perhaps not forgive but definitely forget is our funding and support of the Taliban.

Implying that your past sins can never be forgiven is a tacit recognition that our prison system is useless, and that once someone is incarcerated they should effectively be put to death or expelled from the country -- unless we enjoy spending tax dollars on people who cannot ever pay for their crimes.


Anyhow.

Stevens was last in the US in May.

What changed between then and now?

[madajb]

Stevens was last in the US in May.

What changed between then and now?
We moved one step closer to "Your papers, comrade". (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/09/21/passenger.screening.ap/)
-ajb