archy

Suspicion Breeds Confidence
One of my favorite movies is Terry Gilliam's Brazil. On of the things that I love about the movie is the depth of detail in the sets, especially the Ministry of Information posters that appear in the background. In tthe movie the MoI wages an endless war against undefined terrorists who, the Minister informs us, in perfect Bushian logic, are motivated by bad sportsmanship. Throughout the movie, the posters warn the characters to "Be Safe: Be Suspicious," "Suspicion Breeds Confidence," "Trust in haste, Regret at leisure," and "Don't suspect a friend, report him." While most critical pundits find Orwellian tones in our own war on terror, I think Gilliam is the better model. Here's the latest:

British anti-terrorism detectives escorted a man from a plane after a taxi driver had earlier become suspicious when he started singing along to a track by punk band The Clash, police said Wednesday.

Detectives halted the London-bound flight at Durham Tees Valley Airport in northern England and Harraj Mann, 24, was taken off.

The taxi driver had become worried on the way to the airport because Mann had been singing along to The Clash's 1979 anthem "London Calling," which features the lyrics "Now war is declared -- and battle come down" while other lines warn of a "meltdown expected."

Mann told British newspapers the taxi had been fitted with a music system which allowed him to plug in his MP3 player and he had been playing The Clash, Procol Harum, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to the driver.

"He didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash but I don't think there was any need to tell the police," Mann told the Daily Mirror.

Insert your own pop-music equals terrorism joke here.