Beware of Cat Stevens: The newest terrorist threat!!

Thats what you get for publishing an album named "Foreigner".

(ie, Its called irony and sarcasm. Anybody who thinks Cat Stevens is a terrorist should go apply for a job at CBS News. This event falls under the category of common sense is not all that common.)

Lets please all remember to vote.

 

actually, it's what you get for denouncing the U.S. and democracy and changing your name to Yusuf Islam.

i'm not saying that it's not pretty silly to arrest him as a threat, but as much as i like his music, i think he has to be one french fry short of a happy meal to convert to orthodox islam...

and i would probably say the same thing if he had dived deeply into any of the major religions... fanatics of any kind are dangerous, but you can't really blame folks these days for being just a little extra paranoid about islamic fundamentalists/extremists...

 

well, religious persecution in the broadest sense. people should just keep their god stuff to themselves. everybody. not just 'everybody except what i am'...

and i disagree (respectfully) with your statement that terrorists don't do what they do because of religion. differences in beliefs about supreme beings have been the cause of more death and suffering than anything else in the history of the world. period.

i persecute all religious fanatics equally.

i do agree with you about american foreign policy. as george carlin has said, we pretty much consider our national job these days to go around bombing countries with brown people in them.

 

Irrespective of whether Cat Stevens is or isn't a threat, why divert the plane from it's intended destination to Maine and incur a delay of 6 hours for the rest of the passengers. Surely there would have been equal or better facilities to interrogate him at the nations Capital? If I'd been a passenger I'd have been extremely pissed off at what seems to be a knee jerk reaction by the authorities and the subsequent ill- thought out action.

The USA is receiving increasing negative publicity in Europe over the restrictions to travel, I now don't consider the States as a holiday destination, can't be bothered with the hassle and cost associated with the journey to London to get a visa, the seemingly "officiousness" of your immigration. The result? Less travellers, less foriegn exchange, less pro American culture.

I absolutely agree that security and safety is paramount but maybe it's time to re-evaluate your homeland security methods to produce safety for your people with a welcoming entrance to your country.

 

This isn't really funny. What do you do if you find yourself on one of these "no-fly" lists? Is there any course of appeal? The authorities could destroy someone's livelihood, or worse. This is tyranny.

I have no intention of visiting the USA if I can possibly avoid it while it remains in its current state. I reckon I'm probably at greater statistical risk of being randomly detained or sent to Guantanamo bay (or one of its many equivalents) than being involved in a terrorist incident.

I'd feel more comfortable visiting China now, frankly. Especially given the relations between the respective governments; I reckon the UK authorities would have a better negotiating chance with China.

 

Oh, and you must realise that this isn't an isolated incident. The media only notices it when it happens to someone well-known like Ted Kennedy or Yusuf Islam. There are thousands of "ordinary" people being caught up like this.

I really hope the US public is capable of understanding the direction things are heading in their "land of the free", and doing something about it.

At the moment I have every sympathy for the US public; this wasn't the platform Bush was standing on, and he didn't really win the election anyway. But if the citizens of the US actually re-elect him, it becomes their responsibility, and they'll get what they deserve, frankly.

 

Don't feel too sorry for Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam. This is the same guy that said that Soleman Rushdie should be killed for writing the book "Satanic Verses". It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he has terrorist connections.

 

The best part? One of the Dept of Homeland Security guys was on Good Morning America this morning explaining why the flight was diverted, as opposed to not allowing him to board - with the current system in place, the fastest they get the information about international flights is 15 minutes *after* the flight is in progress.

So, even if Osama bin Laden boarded a flight from London to Washington DC, our country wouldn't recognize the threat until well after the plane was in the air. Good thing they make me take off my shoes though, that solves everything!

-m.

 

For years the US government played up the so-called "Communist Threat". It was a very useful device because it distracted the public from the other issues that the government wasn't handling properly. It's now been resurrected for the 21 century as the "Terrorist Threat". Citizens even seem to be willing to give up their civil liberties to help the cause--what a great deal for the government!

The government's belligerent attitude towards the Middle East will only enhance terrorism because it is exactly the behavior that caused them to fight in the first place. Bush and Co. can tell a good thing when they see it.

I agree with KMO completely, except that it's only the people who vote for politicians like Bush who deserve what they get. Unfortunately the rest of the US and the world has to suffer for it too.

 

in this morning's paper, it said that the reason he had been blacklisted was that in 2000, an imprisoned radical muslim priest was making up a list for his people to contact to raise money for a defense fund and apparently 'that singer who converted' came up in the conversation, although there is no hard evidence that he actually ever worked with any of those people.

 

I have made it a point not to post in Fred's and in many cases not even to read the posts in Fred's ( I have more than enough stress in my life), but I feel called to chime in here.

I am sorry Yussaf Islam was denied entry to our nation if indeed he has had nothing to do with terrorism. It could be a case of mistaken identity that will be worked out in time, or it could be that he inadvertantly had a peripheral relationship with a terrorist supporting group, or finally because of reasons of his own he may be directly aiding those who would murder innocents. Until this can be determined I do not feel that the actions taken by our nation are unreasonable.

It would be better had he not been allowed on the aircraft prior to these issues being resolved but we do what we can. The world is now a very dangerous place. For the person who said the war on terrorism is a dodge for other pressing issues, did you miss September 11, 2001! I am sorry, but get you head out of the earth! We indeed have many pressing issues and being able to live in a world free from fear is one of them!

This is far from a perfect world but I firmly believe that people of Good Will can see a way out of this mess. That includes people who are people of faith. Yes faith can be perverted by those who see it as a means to an end. This has been seen throughout human history but the vast scope of people of faith is discrening how to live in peace with each other and with God( Whichever of the expressions of the divine you have discovered). I am admittedly biased but if you look at the good it more than outweighs the evil.

Now I remember why I never wanted to post here... I am way to long winded. I only ask that rather than offering invective, we might enter into a discussion of what can bring about what we all hope for, a place where we can be who we are without fear.

Peace,

Fr. Bill Kessler
Roman Catholic Priest
Prius Owner

 

John Kennedy was killed by LBJ
We really didn't land on the moon
We killed 3000 people ....

Dave are you sure you want to make that statement. And if so where is your proof. I make no statements on Iraq as I am still trying to figure that one out(but I support whole heartedly our men and women in the service). But how can you say that we did 9/11 to ourselves.

I realize that this great experiment of the Democratic Republic can invite discussions of motivation but that seems utterly irresponsible as a point of argument.

But that is what we are here for, you can make such statements and see the discussion through. In many other parts of the world this discussion would not be able to happen. You and I would be hunted down and silenced for our views ( China's policy on the Internet).

I hope that we can all find a way out of this mess but it can only be done in a rational and dispassionate manner lest we fall into the same trap that many fundementalists are in.

Peace,

Fr. Bill

 

i am a long time member of an organization that is considered relatively conservative (not necessarily politically, but in general) and business-oriented, but is still based on the overall goal of world peace and understanding. we/they believe that the key to peace is in fairness and truth, and in getting to know each other so that we can see that we have many more similarities than differences.

i have nothing against individuals having faith if it helps them in some way. but i was never so scared in my life as shortly after 9-11 when bush and bin laden were both quoted as saying 'god is on our side'.

does anybody really think you would ever make progress with bin laden or anybody like him by walking up, putting your arm around his shoulder, and saying something like "let me point out why your god is wrong and mine is right!!" ??

how about " let's leave our beliefs at the door and just talk about how we can stop killing each other, and trying to screw each other out of natural resources or people..." the REAL issues that affect all of our everyday lives.

while i realize this approach will not work with these true megalomaniacal fanatics, i still believe that for the vast majority of people, it WILL work and is the only way towards a true peace - true respect for our differences (and the right to have those differences as long as they don't reduce the rights of someone else) along with the realization that we are much more the same than different.

by the way, anybody ever notice that the 'golden rule', considered a foundation pillar of most major religions in one way or another, has no mention of a supreme being? do unto others as you would have them do unto you. simple but effective.

and by the way, when daveinolywa accused me near the top of religious persecution, i thought about it a lot and re-read what i had written because that was never my intent. however when i read his later post about conspiracy theory and so on, i realized that his views simply differ radically from mine.

 

I agree with Davein OlyWA. I've read too many 911 books/papers, etc. I guess. And frbill: to stop terrorism, stop BEING the terrorists! I love this country, but our gov't IS the biggest bully on the planet. Here, I'll say it: WE, the US are the terrorist threat. Regime change would go a long way in this country...
Love my Prius!

 

You don't think the government would kill 3000 people? They killed 5 to 10 times that many Iraqis and 1000 US soldiers. And for what? No terrorists there. No WMD. I can't say for sure if they had alterior motives or if it was a big mistake, but either way it's clear that the current President is dangerous and not fit for office.