The star of Ireland’s newest Oscar winning film today told about the heavy handed tactics of US immigration officials who refused him entry to America to attend the awards. Ruaidhri Conroy, who starred in action short Six Shooter, said he was barred from entering the States because he overstayed a visa by two days in 1998. [...] “I was escorted onto the plane by four officers and they said if you behave we won’t handcuff. They were very heavy,” he said. [...] Conroy, who had a seat reserved at the 78th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood for the ceremony, revealed how he spent 22 hours in custody at Los Angeles’ LAX airport before being sent home.
- The sheer unabashed pettiness of it! But is there method in this apparent madness?
Yeah, nothing unusual here. Indeed, the 50,000 or so undocumented Irish in America now live in fear, in daily dread, unable to travel abroad, unable even to get a driver's licence, while Ted Kennedy's lobbying on their behalf seems doomed under a WASP Republican regime.
ReplyDeleteOf course, aren't US legislators about to pass a law making it a felon - criminalising all undocumented immigrants - all 12 million of them, PLUS anyone who assists them (employers, landlords, charities, religious organisations etc). All this occurring as the Bushists secretly construct "prison camps" for the future "benefit" of US Muslims ...
But ya only have to look odd to be tossed out of Amerikay - remember this?
Yusuf Islam Banned from U.S.
September 28, 2004
Last week, Yusuf Islam (the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens) was on a plane bound for Washington, DC when it set down in Bangor, ME. The plane was boarded by FBI agents who removed Islam before sending him back to London. So far, U.S. officials have been very sketchy on there reasons for deporting Islam, but the composer of Peace Train has been marked as a potential threat to national security. Islam converted to Islam in 1977, leaving his music career behind (he has recently returned to recording and performing). After Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses was published, Islam reportedly supported an Iranian fatwa against the author, although he now claims that he was misquoted and he has recently been campaigning for peace. Would seeing Cat Stevens sitting next to you on a plane make you nervous?
It's the sheer, unabashed pettiness of it that gets me. Also, the complete indifference to bad publicity, or the positive welcoming of it. The targeting of actors and pop musicians is no accident. This stuff gets out, as a warning.
ReplyDeleteThe idiots probably thought "Ruaidhri" was one a them Muzz-lim names.
ReplyDelete