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from the home-of-the-brave,-land-of-the-ham-fisted dept.
Two Soylentils sent in stories about the US TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and their handling of Ballaké Sissoko's kora (musical instrument).
US customs dismantled 'impossible to replace' instrument
Prominent Malian Musician Alleges that TSA Destroyed His Instrument:
One of Mali's most prominent musicians, Ballaké Sissoko, has alleged that the Transportation Security Administration [TSA] destroyed his specially designed instrument during a trip from New York to Paris that began on Monday evening. On Thursday afternoon, the TSA said that its agents did not open the instrument case or create the damage.
[...]Sissoko checked his kora, which was packed in a hard flight case covered with "fragile" stickers, as oversized baggage. Koras are large instruments that can stand more than 4 feet from the tip of the long, rounded neck to the base of its big gourd body.
[...]But once he arrived at his apartment in Paris, Sissoko says, he opened the case to find his kora dismantled.
An official statement posted to Sissoko's Facebook page, written by ethnomusicologist and former BBC presenter Lucy Durán, notes: "The neck of the kora has been removed. The strings, bridge and entire, delicate and complex sound system of amplification has been taken apart.... These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace."
[...]Sissoko says that inside the case, alongside the dismantled instrument was an official note from the TSA written in Spanish, that said that agents had opened the case for inspection, and that its contents "may have been searched for prohibited items."
At the bottom of the notification is this slogan: "Seguridad inteligente ahorra tiempo" — "Smart security saves time."
[...]"In Mali," the musician's statement says in part, "the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments, cut the tongues out of singers and to silence Mali's great musical heritage. And yet, ironically, it is the USA Customs [sic] that have in their own way managed to do this."
[...]According to the TSA website, musical instruments must undergo screening, whether they are carry-on or checked.
See also: BBC, Al Jazeera, the Guardian
Here's how that kora used to sound in Sissoko's hands Ballake Sissoko - Nalesonko - live, Toumani Diabate with Ballake Sissoko - Kadiatou (gorgeous), Famadenke
Ballaké Sissoko's Kora Dismantled by American TSA
https://afropop.org/articles/ballak%C3%A9-sissokos-kora-dismantled-by-american-tsa [Link giving 404 07-18:37ITC]
"The kora is a fragile, hand-crafted instrument, and Ballaké's kora is tailormade to his own specifications. It is an intrinsic part of his very special sound. Would US customs have dared to dismantle a Stradivarius? In its own way that is what has just happened to Ballaké. The neck of the kora has been removed. The strings, bridge and entire, delicate and complex sound system of amplification have been taken apart. The kora is in pieces. Even if all the components that have been dissembled were intact, it takes weeks before a kora of this calibre can return to its previous state of resonance. These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace. They are certainly not available in shops." (Lucy Duran)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by exaeta on Saturday February 08 2020, @04:11AM (14 children)
The Government is a Bird
(Score: 2, Touché) by aristarchus on Saturday February 08 2020, @05:32AM (1 child)
exaeta is right. OMG, has the worldl gone mad? But Siriusly, in the name of the Dog Star, when did the American culture wars become a war on culture? Is this a Trump thing? Is music being funded by Trump, or is the only music he approves of is paeans to his own narrciscistic self? #ImpeachAgain. Third time is the charm, and goes with with a major Fifth, and a dissonant minor 7th diminished.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 08 2020, @05:40AM
When it became clear that culture is a hippie thing and entertainment is what brings profits.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday February 08 2020, @06:07AM (4 children)
Get rid of that and shit like this will stop overnight
How?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by exaeta on Sunday February 09 2020, @01:17AM (3 children)
The Government is a Bird
(Score: 2) by TheReaperD on Sunday February 09 2020, @04:20AM
In order for that to work, you would have to be able to sue the person that did the damage as the US federal government doesn't give a shit about $5,000 but, to the employee, that's likely more than his/her whole month's paycheck.
Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Sunday February 09 2020, @04:44AM
Government is far too bold and out of control because they know they are immune.
Yes, and the voters know how to remove that immunity, right? Or is it hopeless and they should just surrender now? Tell them to cancel the next election? With a 95% reelection rate, you may as well.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Interesting) by driverless on Sunday February 09 2020, @11:01AM
I live in a country where you can sue the government, in technical terms "ask for judicial review of a ministerial decision". It works quite well, and doesn't have any of the bad effects that people have mentioned in this thread. It's largely self-regulating, it's only done for significant causes, and you don't need to go after individuals, a public slap across the face from the courts is quite sufficient, in particular since it then establishes case law which means they can't do it again. Works very well too, I've been involved in a couple of these on either side of the issue. In particular it's a really good way to counter bureaucratic stupidity, which this one seems like a prime example of.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Common Joe on Saturday February 08 2020, @09:36AM (4 children)
We, the citizens, are the government. If you want to stop crap like this, the individuals who allow this have to be sued. Leave me out of this.
(Score: 3, Informative) by exaeta on Sunday February 09 2020, @01:19AM (3 children)
The Government is a Bird
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Sunday February 09 2020, @08:04AM (2 children)
The problem is, if the 11th is repealed, and the government is sued and loses, the money comes from the tax payers, not the person who performed the act. Nothing will be changed except the person suing gets richer and I, the tax payer, will be screwed more than I already am. It's ripe for abuse.
Don't get me wrong. I believe you and I are of the same opinion: sue the person. Where you and I probably disagree is, I don't see repeal of the 11th Amendment as a step forward unless we have something sane to replace it and do a better job. I see the repeal as a step back. Unfortunately, I don't have a better suggestion at this point except to say that we need to go after individuals who are obviously overstepping sane laws and that is definitely not happening right now.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Sunday February 09 2020, @11:11PM
If your Government keeps making boneheaded decisions that cost you, the taxpayer, money then you'll vote them out. Governments will enact sane laws, hire competent people and behave themselves because they don't want to be voted out.
Right now, the US government can do what it wants, because Fuck You.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by exaeta on Monday February 10 2020, @01:38PM
That's how you think until the government blows up your house.
Taxpayers should pay if blowing up someone's house is really in the public interest.
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/30/774788611/police-owe-nothing-to-man-whose-home-they-blew-up-appeals-court-says [npr.org]
Of course, if the government can blow people's houses up with no problem, it isn't a big moral leap to justify blowing up the government, just saying. People like you are why we have so many mass murders in the US.
The Government is a Bird
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 08 2020, @04:44PM (1 child)
It's not absolute immunity, the government gets sued all the time. The real problem is that there's been way too much collusion with the judicial branch over abuses of power. The courts have more or less abdicated responsibility because they're afraid of having to be the adults in the room if something does happen.
So, because of the possibility of terrorism, the American people get sexually assaulted just to gain access to a plain that they've already paid to board and when they do, who knows what's going to happen to their luggage because the courts don't seem to think that there's any particular reason to require actual reason to do these kinds of invasive inspections.
I don't know who is right here, but the government doesn't have a good record of honesty.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by exaeta on Sunday February 09 2020, @01:21AM
The Government is a Bird