The hysteria about terrorists making bombs out of liquids (which probably could only actually happen in a movie anyway) on British flights to America may have died down a little. Sadly the media-enhanced racism, if that's the right word, which consists of the assumption that anyone looking vaguely dark-skinned is clearly about to blow up a plane has not.

A 2-minute websearch throws up several instances of such incidents including those committing the crime of looking kind of non-white whilst being musicians, moving seats and making phone calls, being an Arab with an Arabic name, looking pretty scruffy and not wearing flipflops, all despite clearing heightened airport security procedures along with everyone else. These are just a few of the incidents that made the news which most likely isn't even nearly most of them. And now a new aspect of the "war on terror" rears its ugly head - the WAR ON T-SHIRTS.

Poor Raed Jarrar was travelling through JFK airport last week. Raed is a peace activist and hence happened to be wearing a t-shirt designed by "Artists Against War". It bore a slogan (inspired by the anti-Nazi movement) saying "We will not be silent". All fine so far perhaps, except the t-shirt designers had made the crucial "mistake" of featuring the same slogan written in Arabic alongside the English version. Oh dear.

After successfully going through the enhanced-search-for-suspicious-people that airports do now and then, he was pulled aside again and asked to remove his t-shirt on the premise that the Arabic script on it was worrying people. Not having a translator on-hand, the airport staff were worried that the Arabic may not be an exact translation of the English and hence presumably something that would cause explosions in the air - perhaps a "I have a bomb" message for instance, using that known terrorist technique of publicly announcing their future evil via clothing before getting on a flight.

Realising that there was nothing intrinsically dangerous about the fabric of the t-shirt itself he was offered the chance to wear the shirt inside out and be allowed to proceed onto the plane. But who would want to fly in uncomfortable backwards clothes? This not being satisfactory, one member staff generously offered to buy him a "I heart New York" shirt. Another member of staff decided this was not so good an idea, saying "No, we shouldn't ask him to go from one extreme to another". "We will not be silent" is naturally famous for meaning the exact opposite of "I love New York".

Quote of the day has to come from a certain Inspector Harris from the airport who upon being challenged as to exactly what law forbade Arabic text in an aeroplane responded as follows: "You can't wear a t-shirt with Arabic script and come to an airport. It is like wearing a t-shirt that reads 'I am a robber' and going to a bank".

Rendered speechless with amazement in a bad way, in the present climate the Poorhouse actually considers it less dangerous to take the "I am a robber" option.

Buy your very own airport-stoppage inducing t-shirt here.