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Mon 28 Aug, 2006 11:58 pm
Posted on Thu, Aug. 24, 2006
It just looks like a penis pump mom
Associated Press
CHICAGO - A Cook County judge has decided there is enough evidence to prosecute a man who says an airport security guard misheard him when she thought he said that a sexual device in his backpack was actually a bomb.
Mardin Amin claims he actually told the guard the small, black object was a "pump" - as in a penis pump.
Amin's attorney said her client was embarrassed to explain the object in front of his mother, who was traveling with him, so he whispered. The guard misunderstood, and thought he said "bomb," according to defense attorney Eileen O'Neill-Burke.
"His mother is standing there so, under his breath, he says, 'It's a pump. Put it away. Put it away,'" O'Neill-Burke told The Associated Press on Thursday. The guard asked him again and he repeated that the object was a pump, the attorney said.
O'Neill-Burke added that Amin, an Iraqi, has a thick accent and she herself had trouble understanding him until he brought the pump to her office and showed it to her. She said she recently learned that Arabic speakers sometimes have trouble distinguishing the sounds "p" and "b."
However, Judge Gerald Winiecki decided there was sufficient evidence for the case to move forward after the female security guard testified that she heard Amin "clearly" say the word bomb on Aug. 16 at O'Hare International Airport.
Amin, 29, of Skokie, is charged with felony disorderly conduct and faces up to three years in prison if convicted. He was released on $75,000 bond and is due back in court Sept. 13. O'Neill-Burke said he will plead not guilty then.
Amin told the Chicago Sun-Times after the hearing that security officials did not give him a chance to explain the misunderstanding, that he would never use the word "bomb" while going through a security checkpoint, and does not consider a penis pump an unusual object to own.
"It's normal," he said. "Half of America they use it."
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1. Do you think the Judge is a little unreasonable here? A little over-the-top? A little too eager to be a good citizen?
2. "Half of America" uses the penis pump? I'm assuming that's the male half.
3. What idiot would think a real terrorist would actually admit he had a bomb in his bag?
4. Are these people somehow related to Bush?
I guess I'm from the other half of America. I've never even heard of a device called a "penis pump." Since it's never come up in conversation with friends, I assume they're not familiar with this device either.
This judge is overzealous, and that's being charitable about it. She's probably a Bush appointee.
Oh, I' ve heard the term lots of times. Only on a2k, of course.
Hmm. An Iraqi with a small mysterious and unidentified black object in his backpack tries to board a plane and they stop him.
I have to say, I'm not sure I have a problem with this.
After everyone understood that the man's accent caused the upset, not a bomb, the poor guy should have been released to go home and hide until his embarrassment subsided.
I'll bet lots of women have heard of dildos. Would it embarrass you if that was found in your luggage? I would be mortified. On the other hand, I'm not stupid enough to try to carry on such a thing.
Well! Clearly, this guy was assigned to the wrong judge!
We would have been MUCH more lenient here in Oklahoma.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/18/judge.sentenced.ap/index.html
Diane wrote:After everyone understood that the man's accent caused the upset, not a bomb, the poor guy should have been released to go home and hide until his embarrassment subsided.
I'll bet lots of women have heard of dildos. Would it embarrass you if that was found in your luggage? I would be mortified. On the other hand, I'm not stupid enough to try to carry on such a thing.
That's where I was coming from - I mean, they eventually realized what he was trying to say and that he was embarassed (is that 2 r's?). Gimme a break.
blacksmithn wrote:Hmm. An Iraqi with a small mysterious and unidentified black object in his backpack tries to board a plane and they stop him.
I have to say, I'm not sure I have a problem with this.
I'm with blacksmith on this.
I have no problem with what happened, and I don't think the judge was over zealous.
Everyone knows bags are going to be checked....if you need a sexual aide, buy a duplicate when you get to your destination.
I'd rather have security mis-hear the word bomb and look into it, than the other way around.
mini rant alert...people are being such namby pamby poop heads. If you want security, you pay the price. If I was pulled out of line and detained causing me to miss my flight, be questioned etc. that's proof security is doing its job. The rules apply to everyone, not just "them"
The world's not gonna end because I miss a flight can't bring my sex toys, hair gel or breast milk with me.
deal with it.
Looks more like a pump than a bomb to me, but what would I know about either?
Thanks, BBB...
We traveled recently and Mo's asthma inhaler (it comes with this long tube thing to make sure the medicine is delivered properly) attracted a lot of attention at luggage inspection. My bag was even tested for explosives.
No big deal.
Honestly, why people think they have to carry so much crap onto an airplane baffles me.
What is stupid about the current security deal is that they won't let you carry on beverages purchased in the "safe zones" of the airport. Each plane has a cart stocked full of the exact same stuff free for the asking.
Well, do you think a real terrorist is going to pack a suitcase full of these:
Of course not! It would logically be DISGUISED to look like something else. Maybe something most people would be uncomfortable talking about (or asking questions about) like a sex toy, say.
This paranoia is getting ridiculous... granted, this Iraqi wasn't too bright to bring this thing in his carry-on... so give him a Darwin award... but honestly, your point about the liquids is right on.
Who's checking the stuff on all the carts? Why not allow SEALED bottles? Or let you buy bottles from a Security Zone? If security checks out all the products in the area between the Security Gate and the airplane, why not be allowed to purchase something there?
This is just getting stupid.
Yeah.
Everyone knows THESE are the types we have to watch out for.
Hey, now that you mention it, Boris LOOKS kind of Middle Eastern to me!
The point of this thread was that paranoia is running amok out there and people are over-reacting.
What if it had been a Middle Eastern woman who had a breast pump in her bag, but she also had trouble pronouncing it? If she were embarrassed, she might be whispering, too.
Do you think the guard should have arrested her and her baby, too?
The pendulum is swinging wildly.
My point is that it's at least arguable that in the cited example, the right decision was made by security officials. Whether the results of that decision are too draconian is a separate question.
Yes, I certainly agree about the security guard - that was not my issue. It was the judge who I think over-reacted. Look at what this poor guy faces, and why?
Looks to me like all the court found was that a triable issue exists. In other words that a prima facie case can be made that defendant violated a law or statute. Whether the case can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt is up to a jury to decide.
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