I Just Can't Believe They Did This To Him!!!!

[Dave The Dov]

Singer Cat Stevens Denied U.S. Entry, Flight Diverted


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The former pop singer Cat Stevens now known as Yusuf Islam, was denied entry to the United States and his flight from London was diverted to Maine, after his name turned up on a watch list, a U.S. transportation security official said.


United Flight 919 enroute to Washington was diverted to Bangor where Islam was questioned and detained by federal authorities who planned to put him on a return flight early Wednesday, the official said.


U.S. Customs and border protection authorities discovered that the name matched a federal watch list by checking passenger information transmitted by the airline after the flight departed from London, the official said.


The Washington Post, citing sources familiar with the event reported that Islam, whose name is listed as "Usef Islam," is on several government watch lists, including the no-fly list.


United Airlines spokesman Jeff Green said the carrier was asked by the Transportation Security Administration to divert the plane to Maine for security reasons.


The TSA had the flight diverted to Maine to keep it out of the Northeast corridor airspace, TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said.


The flight, with the remaining passengers, departed for Dulles International Airport after about four hours on the ground and landed at Dulles around 9 p.m., Melendez said.


Cat Stevens had a string of pop hits in the early 1970s including "Moonshadow" and "Wild World" before converting to Islam in late 1977.
_________________
Honda CL77

[e_dog]

everyone is a terrorist. beware.

especially pop stars. keep alert and vigilant.

[abcrystcats]

This is not funny. The guy's been singing about peace and love since the 60s. I saw that on AOL this morning and I just blew my top. WHAT possible reason could the United States have from preventing him from performing in this country EXCEPT that he is against the war in Iraq?

Is there someone in his group who's had connections with terrorism? If so, someone ought to speak out and say so, because this looks very much like Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam is being barred because of his religion and his political stance.

Read Lightning Rod's recent post "4 Days After 9/11". You know, freedom of speech and freedom of religion are beginning to look like things of the past. I may be overreacting. There may be a GOOD reason for this decision. But if there is, I really want to know what it is.

This is an outrage, and I'm pretty torqued out about it.

[mtmynd]

A friend of mine e/m'd that article to me this morninig. What a piece of work our Fatherland Security is, eh? Maybe they know that Cat wouldn't vote for Bush if he were an American.

[Lightning Rod]

Dave

Change your name from Dave the Dov
to Yusuf
try to get on an airplane and see what happens

[Dave The Dov]

Actually when I board the plane. I'm going to sit up in the cockpit and see if anybody will noticed me there. He He!!!!
_________________
marijuana honey oil

[Zlatko Waterman]

Actually,LR:

When I give my name as Mick O'Brien on my boarding card, nobody suspects I'm Irish . . .



--Z

[Dave The Dov]

IRA naaaahhh they wouldn't try anything now would they.
_________________
Ferrari P

[hester_prynne]

He's being followed by a terrorist shadow.....
terrorist shadow
terrorist shadow.....

funny the way things haunt me.

[Dave The Dov]

Well If You Want To Be A Terrorist

Be A Terrorist

And If You Want To Be A Terrorist Be A Terrorist

You Know That There Are
_________________
1870 recession

[frollostone]

This has nothing to do with terrorism or aeroplanes, but the fact that he named himself after a religion makes my brain get hiccoughs every time I see it. It's like meeting someone who introduces himself as Fred Zoroastrianism or Jimmy Shinto or even some other well-known thing: George Papua New Guinea, or Alfred Chair-leg.