Self-Regulating Stupid
”I’m al-Qaeda and I’m here to blow things up.”
All in fun. Ermiyas Asfaw laughed and walked away from the security officer who was asking him about the “Dubai” sticker on his luggage. But next thing you know, Asfaw’s civil rights are being trampled on!
Whether he’s al-Qaeda or al-comic, Ermiyas Asfaw, 27, of Washington D.C. is ostensibly an Ethiopian cab driver and university student … wouldn’t be the first al-Qaeda member to fit that employment profile … with an outstanding warrant and a poor sense of comic timing.
Airport officials say they are treating the threats seriously, yet they believe his boasts were not credible.
Massport officials sent a clear message today, however, praising airport workers and condemning “dumb” behavior in the international airport.
“This airport is not going to tolerate any outrageous threats of using a bomb or identifying themselves with a terrorist organization,” said Orlandella.
… (Asfaw, free on $1,500 bail) is due back in court Oct. 19 for a pre-trial hearing. Prosecutors had asked for $10,000 bail saying the suspect has an out-of-state fugitive charge.
This is the second case of stupid self-regulation in Boston in just two weeks. It’s like Boston is a stupid magnet or something. (Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s bad enough as it is. No jokes please.)
This is the second bomb scare at Logan in the past two weeks. An MIT student, Star Simpson, 19, reportedly walked into the airport last month with a circuit board strapped to her chest and carrying a glob of Play-Doh. Her unusual behavior also sent the airport into a terror alert.
She too was arrested and faces charges.
Boston of course is also where two artists expressed their inner vision by duct-taping electronic devices with wires sticking out of them to bridge abutments, then videotaping the police reaction.
Boston was also the launching point for two of the 9/11 hijackings. Which makes stupid offensive.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 6:57 am on Tuesday, October 2, 2007
3 Responses to “Self-Regulating Stupid”
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October 2nd, 2007 at 11:45 am
Not only stupid, but apparently flush with enough cash to travel extensively by air. Interesting.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
It’s like Boston is a stupid magnet or something
Boston is in Massachussetts, which has repeatedly re-elected Jon Cary and Jabba The Hutt to the Senate for decades. I rest my case.
No jokes please.
Oops! :-D
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:53 pm
There are signs in airports that warn that joking about committing a crime such as hijacking is a crime. But stupid is as stupid does. Signs won’t help those who are too stupid to read them.