[random][politics] Raise the black flag...

Seems that a couple of weeks ago, someone reported post-punk singer/writer Henry Rollins to the Australian government as a security threat. Why? Because while he was flying from Auckland to Brisbane, some moron saw him reading Ahmed Rashid's book Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam In Central Asia. Way to go, dumbass... Glad to see that keeping informed constitues threatening behavior. Henry's account of his interaction with a very apologetic person from Australia's anti-terrorism office may be found here. The letter he recieved said, in part:

The person who sat next to you on the flight from New Zealand does not agree with your politics or choice of reading and so nominated you as a possible threat. As they were too cowardly or stupid to leave their details I can’t call them to discuss their idiocy with them.

His response?

Please tell your government and everyone in your office to go fuck themselves. Tell them twice. If your boss is looking for something to do, you can tell him I suggest he go fuck himself. Baghdad's safer than my hometown and your PM is a sissy. You have a nice night.

That's certainly, um, succinct. Somehow the exchange seemed so indicative of the peculiar anti-Islamic idiocy that seems to have infected much of the so-called "coalition of the willing". How much more of this goes on that doesn't come to light because one of the parties involved happens to be famous? [via]