I'm blacklisted, says opera maestro

[Cronopio]

Source: Guardian UK

John Adams, one of the most revered living classical composers, has claimed that he is blacklisted in his native America and is being followed by the security services.

The 61-year-old musician has accused the United States of being in the grip of a political and moral panic and has complained that he is now grilled by airport immigration officers whenever he flies home because of his controversial reputation.

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Interviewed on BBC Radio 3's Music Matters yesterday, Adams said he was now 'blacklisted'. 'I can't check in at the airport now without my ID being taken and being grilled. You know, I'm on a homeland security list, probably because of having written The Death of Klinghoffer, so I'm perfectly aware that I, like many artists and many thoughtful people in the country, am being followed.'

...

During the interview, presenter Petroc Trelawny asked Adams if he felt that America was living through an age of paranoia that resembled the McCarthy era of the Fifties. 'Well it is, and of course Congress has continued to sign off on these Patriot Acts that continue to clip the wings of human rights,' said Adams, adding that poets, novelists and musicians with left-wing leanings are often watched, including, he said, the American composer Aaron Copland, who was 'hounded' all his life. 'I'm sure the FBI had a large file on him. So we artists assume that we are being followed.'


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/19/classicalmusicandopera-usnationalsecurity

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Funny thing about no-fly lists. They just keep getting longer and longer and longer ...