Do you run out of Kleenex, Paper Towels and Toilet Paper at the Same Time? You know its true!

So a commenter on one of Ta-Nehisi Coates' postings about Glenn Beck (posted as a joke comparing Beck to Mos Def asking whether white people should be embarrassed about Beck like he jokingly suggested that black people were expected to be embarrassed of Mos Def. Just to throw in my 2 cents on the Mos Def thing, I was only slightly uncomfortable because I like Mos Def's work and assumed he was a pretty smart guy. While he sounds naive at best and conspiracy-addled at worst, I think that in there is a grain of a good point, which is that there never was a lot of media air time devoted to what folks like al-Qaeda and the Taliban actually say about themselves and the rest of the world. Hitchens says to go and watch bin Laden's videos or listen to his tapes, but that kind of shit was never broadcast on TV or radio, which I think should have been Mos Def's point. Why not? The words of these fools ought to be broadcast so that there is no confusion about where they stand and so that reasonable people can reject and oppose their ways. Marketplace of ideas or something like that. Mostly I think the problem for Mos Def was that he had the misfortune of coming onto the show on a night when Christopher Hitchens was not visibly drunk. Don't get me wrong: he's a smart guy and very interesting to listen to and read, but I have definitely seen him drunk on Bill Maher's show before.) linked to this great clip from True Stories (more David Byrne for ya. I wish he made more movies). Glenn Beck's conspiracy theories, unfortunately, are not nearly as baroque as even this guy's, but he's still young, and has time to grow....

Davy Byrne in England

If Glenn Beck is worried about creeping fascism and society becoming more like '1984', he ought to go to England (well, he ought to at least re-read '1984' if he's going to claim that we're headed down that road and maybe tweak his arguments a little bit). David Byrne sent this snapshot in to Boing Boing while on the road. I assumed at first that it had to be a joke, but based on other things I've seen coming out of England's police-propaganda machines [see below], I fear that it may be serious.

I've been enjoying the postings of terrorist alert, security and CCTV posters on Boing Boing. All Eyes On You was a lovely one!

here's one I saw on the road near Newcastle, where I performed the other night. love the "be taken down" in smaller type...I want one of these for my house!

DB
en route to Liverpool

And also from the London Metropolitan Police (via Boing Boing):

Terrorism: If you suspect it, report it

TERRORISTS NEED INFORMATION
Observation and surveillance help terrorists plan attacks. Have you seen anyone taking pictures of security arrangements?

TERRORISTS NEED TRANSPORTATION
If you work in vehicle hire or sales, has a sale or rental made you suspicious?

TERRORISTS NEED TO TRAVEL
Meetings, training and planning can take place anywhere. Do you know someone who travels but is vague about where they are going?

TERRORISTS USE COMPUTERS
Do you know someone who visits terrorism-related websites?

TERRORISTS NEED COMMUNICATION
Anonymous, pay-as-you-go and stolen mobiles are typical. Have you seen someone with large quantities of mobiles? Has it made you suspicious?

Translation: god help you if you worry about CCTVs in your neighbourhood, get into an argument at the car-rental agency, don't feel like telling your co-workers that you go off to have regular dialysis treatments, look at websites that the guy next to you in the Internet cafe isn't familiar with, or can't get credit and use pay-as-you-go phones instead. After all, the police here don't even need to charge you with a crime in order to lock you up for 42 days. Absolutely the stupidest salvo in the war on terror to date, Tesco's, Islington, London, UK

For those who missed him live...

...here is david Byrne on videotape: