The 'Arabic Assasin' surprised to lose baggage handling job

After making raps in which he repeatedly threatens bombing missions against American targets, violence against uncovered women, and all sorts of other lovely 'fun anecdotes', American born Bassam Khalaf was amazed to learn he would no longer be allowed to work as a baggage handler.
What can I stick in this suitcase? I've got a record to sell...

What amazes me about this story is the guy actually sounds surprised he won't be allowed access to baggage being loaded onto planes anymore. Is he just stupid? I mean, granted, it's unlikely he's serious, but what if he is? The guy is on record (literally and figuratively in this case) saying he intends to bomb American targets. Wouldn't we be pretty damn dumb to allow him access?

What about his Freedom of Speech, you insensitive boob? How dare you justify the trampling of his rights. Firing him makes us just as bad as them, Don!
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Here's the part I love. Apparently, Bassam, aka The Arabic Assasin, isn't the brightest bulb on the tree. He posted his contact information, including his phone #, email address, and record label street address on his webpage (do a Google search on Bassam Khalaf). He does realize he lives in TEXAS right? This is where they dragged a guy to death just for being black.... how long does he think he's going to make it before Bubba, Jim-Bob and Wayne Lee Johnson arrive to throw him a very special party???? ~:wave:

By the way, one of the bright lights I work with is already going for the "PC of the year" award. He said "just because he's an arab muslim doesn't mean he can't express himself. This is exactly what I said was going to happen with the Patriot Act". Uh, excuse me, nobody's going to jail, except maybe the three rednecks that take him out for a weekend of excitement and adventure. He lost a job loading bags onto a plane after repeatedly claiming he was itching for the chance to bomb a building. Imagine that.... :dizzy2:

http://fileserv8.soundclick.com/imag...icassassin.jpg
~D

What an idiot!

Ha, THIS will teach him not to join the Assassin Union...

Its at least possible that his rapping is perfectly legitimate art (equally it might be rubbish or it might be an incitement to commit terrorism, I'm more of an Iron maiden man myself and i don't propose to find out). But I agree he shouldn't really be considered suitable as a baggage handler.

YOU FASCIST DOLT! This is what I'm talking about! You support this Intellectual Suppression?!


:gring:

(Sorry, I don't feel like I've contributed to a thread here in weeks. I'm maybe losing my mind due to work, who knows. I'll take a brief hiatus and see if I can find my argue-mojo again. Odd story, Don. I hope Texas lives up to it's rep this time.)

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

After making raps in which he repeatedly threatens bombing missions against American targets, violence against uncovered women, and all sorts of other lovely 'fun anecdotes', American born Bassam Khalaf was amazed to learn he would no longer be allowed to work as a baggage handler.
What can I stick in this suitcase? I've got a record to sell...

What amazes me about this story is the guy actually sounds surprised he won't be allowed access to baggage being loaded onto planes anymore. Is he just stupid? I mean, granted, it's unlikely he's serious, but what if he is? The guy is on record (literally and figuratively in this case) saying he intends to bomb American targets. Wouldn't we be pretty damn dumb to allow him access?

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Ahhhh a little bit of home in the states ~;)

Stupid!
If he is not American citizen, kick him out!

Not only is he an American citizen, he was born in Houston and has lived there his whole life.

I swear, this whole thing is like a bad Saturday Night Live skit.... ...

*loud voice* what do you get when combine the misogyny and violence of American ghetto culture with the misogyny and violenc of militant Islam? The Arabic Assassin! With such hits as "On your knees 5 times, Mother F%@!r", "Bi^!, put the burkha on", "I been workin on the airplane (to the tune of I've been working on the railroad)", and "Sharia for Houston!", this masterpiece will highlight your collection. Impress your friends with how tolerant and multicultural you are! Geoffrey Nasalwhiner, political & musical critic for the New Yorker says "This is the most important statement of our times. Anyone with a desire to grow will own this album". Call 1-800-iam-dumb and order your's today. And kids... don't forget Mom, with mother's day right around the corner! *end pseudo-commercial*

~D It does really sound like a SNL skit...

Um, I think this guy ought to be fired. He's an idiot, he says he wants to hurt people, and he raps. Fire him, I say!

If he hates America so much why dont we deport him to the middle eastern country of his choice?

Because he's a locally born American citizen. We don't deport our criminals, how can we deport somebody with offensive views?

And from the interview with the guy, he strikes as more the 'ghetto street rapper' mentality then a militant muslim. He claims he's just being controversial to sell records and get rich. It's like when Dr. Dre & Ice-cube get offended that people treat them like criminals from the street. Well, fools, you've been singing about shooting cops, raping women, selling drugs and doing drive-bys for over a decade. How are we supposed to know you're making all that up to sell records...

Exactly. They want to get money, at least don't talk about hurting others. It causes all the street kids to act like them, and makes them think it's cool.
Talentless, stupid bastards.... :furious3:

Deport was the wrong word.. how about asking him to kindly get the hell out and fight his personal jihad where he belongs. (with all the other militant muslims)

I wouldnt mind asking all those thug rappers to get out of the country too, but i dont know what country I hate enough to send them to.. maybe Kim Jong Il would enjoy them..

I doubt he or the rest of them would survive outside the US

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Originally Posted by Steppe Merc

Exactly. They want to get money, at least don't talk about hurting others. It causes all the street kids to act like them, and makes them think it's cool.
Talentless, stupid bastards.... :furious3:

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Well that is the MTV mentality, these MTV people would rape their mother if they could still sell her afterwards.

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Originally Posted by Proletariat

What about his Freedom of Speech, you insensitive boob? How dare you justify the trampling of his rights. Firing him makes us just as bad as them, Don!
...

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Other people we should keep a serious eye on:

Tom Clancy:
He wrote a book about a terrorist crashing a plane into the U.S. Capital Building well before the 9/11 attacks took place. At best, he was promoting the idea of using commercial aircraft to attack the U.S., and at worst, he was the secret mastermind behind 9/11.

Thomas Harris:
His books which feature Hannibal Lector (a serial killer who likes to eat his victims) as the "hero" definitely promote the idea of serial killing in today's youth. I wouldn't be surprised to find half-eaten bodies in Harris' basement. After all, he wrote a work of fiction about it, that means he probably does it in real life.

Steve Earl:
Ever listen to Copperhead Road? He talks about using know-how he learned from the Viet Cong to kill DEA agents who try to investigate his grow-op. John Lee Pettimore my ass! Earl was definitely talking about his own life. I think he should be taken into custody immediately.

Stephen King:
I mean, come on! His books speak for themselves! The man is obviously twisted! Anybody who can come up with the sick crap that man writes about is obviously a danger to society.

On the other hand, it could be that these folks are just talented artists with good imaginations.

It seems to me that this idiot rapper (and yes, I do think he is an idiot) is being hammered on because he is offensive and many people find the actual genre he works in to be offensive in and of itself. But unless there is some proof that he is an actual security threat, there really are no legal (or moral) grounds for firing him.

By all means, move him to a less sensitive job and observe him, but firing him seems to be a bit heavy-handed.

Why can't they fire him? If an author wrote a book about killing everyone in their workplace, they'd probably be fired to, or at least they should be.

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Originally Posted by Steppe Merc

Why can't they fire him? If an author wrote a book about killing everyone in their workplace, they'd probably be fired to, or at least they should be.

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Step back and think about that for a minute.

By your reasoning, anybody who ever wrote a work of fiction involving any sort of violent act could be persecuted for their imagination.

Is that really a road you think we should take?

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Originally Posted by Goofball

By your reasoning, anybody who ever wrote a work of fiction involving any sort of violent act could be persecuted for their imagination.

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That's what you got from that?

It wasn't his point. It's not 'any sort of violent act.' It's something that directly deals with his job.

I think they should fire him on the grounds of stupidity. I have seen some seriously dumb things before, but this is impressive. Writing music about terrorism when you are a baggage handler, hummanity really is stupid isn't it http://forums.bit-tech.net/images/smilies/sigh.gif.

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Originally Posted by Goofball

Step back and think about that for a minute.

By your reasoning, anybody who ever wrote a work of fiction involving any sort of violent act could be persecuted for their imagination.

Is that really a road you think we should take?

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He's not being persecuted. He's not being allowed access to the airplanes he has repeatedly stated he wants to crash. I don't think he's serious either, but how do either of us really know? It's not like he got sent to Gitmo or investegated by police.

If Tom Clancy wrote a book heroizing the act of selling America's military secrets to China (in other words, he wrote a gusher in favor of Clinton ~D) it wouldn't be unreasonable to see the DIA remove his security clearance (assuming he has one).

If Thomas Harris was a practicing psychiatrist, don't think his local licensing board wouldn't keep an extra eye on him.

As far as Steven King goes, he's a Red Sox fan. He's gotta be okay. ~D

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Originally Posted by Goofball

By all means, move him to a less sensitive job and observe him, but firing him seems to be a bit heavy-handed.

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Considering the statements this guy made, he indeed rather seems to be some rather silly guy who tries to make cash with provocative songs, and not a potential terrorist.

OTOH, if we had e.g., an elementary school teacher who would sing songs about how much he would like to rape and kill little children - should he have the right to keep his job?

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Originally Posted by Proletariat

That's what you got from that?

It wasn't his point. It's not 'any sort of violent act.' It's something that directly deals with his job.

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I'm a commercial banker. If I wrote a short story about a daring, violent bank robbery where the crooks got away with it with the help of an inside man and then I had the story published in a magazine, is that grounds for my instant dismissal?

If you had just gotten a job working at the bank, I could understand them having some issues with you, especially if the bank had the victim of a serious heist, with the help of an inside guy.

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

If you had just gotten a job working at the bank, I could understand them having some issues with you, especially if the bank had the victim of a serious heist, with the help of an inside guy.

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You didn't answer the question.

Would it be grounds for my instant dismissal?

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Originally Posted by Ser Clegane

Considering the statements this guy made, he indeed rather seems to be some rather silly guy who tries to make cash with provocative songs, and not a potential terrorist.

OTOH, if we had e.g., an elementary school teacher who would sing songs about how much he would like to rape and kill little children - should he have the right to keep his job?

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I think that's pretty clear. It's no good being a terrorist if you announce your plans long before you actually do anything. But who knows? Maybe that's his mindset.... the best place to hide is in plain view.

This is honest, I actually really hope he doesn't get beaten up or worse over this. Texas isn't exactly known for it's open-mindedness and there are a lot of good ole' boys down there that don't think Sept. 11th is a laughing matter. I wouldn't want to see this clown get hurt, and as I found the story on Drudgeport (which is for right-wing nutjobs like myself) I'm sure there's a few guys out there looking for him already. Hey, has anyone heard from Panzer or Kaiser today?

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Originally Posted by Goofball

You didn't answer the question.

Would it be grounds for my instant dismissal?

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If you had just started working there, and you described in detail how to rob the bank with the help of an inside guy, and the bank had recently been robbed in exactly that manner, yeah, I think it would.

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

If you had just started working there, and you described in detail how to rob the bank with the help of an inside guy, and the bank had recently been robbed in exactly that manner, yeah, I think it would.

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Well, then I guess that's where we disagree.

Because talking, or singing, or writing about a thing are in no way even close to doing a thing.

As cliché as it is to use this word, what you are talking about is firing people for "thoughtcrime."

I thought you conservatives hated being told what you are allowed or not allowed to think or say...

Nobody's telling him he can't say it. He's free to make as many records as he wants (though, were I him, I'd get my home phone # and address down off my website). And who knows, maybe he'll sell a couple. One thing I didn't point out before is that in his songs, he does make reference to his job as a baggage handler and that you'll never know 'what special surprise I plant for you'. Doesn't an airport have a right to have employees that don't discourage travel?