BONER CANDIDATE #1: IT’S A SHAME ABOUT MR. SISSOKO’S KORA
One of Mali’s most prominent musicians has criticized the Transportation Security Administration after he said his “impossible-to-replace” instrument was destroyed by agents at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. On Thursday, Ballaké Sissoko told NBC News via email that his custom-made kora — a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa — had been “totally destroyed” during a tour of the U.S. “Normally they just open the flight case because of the strange shape of the instrument and case,” he said. “This time, they disassembled and broke it.” Calling it a “terrible situation,” he added that he hoped “to get an apology at some point.” A TSA spokesperson later denied the instrument had been damaged by the agency. “It is most unfortunate that Mr. Sissoko’s instrument was damaged in transport,” said the spokesperson via email late Thursday. “However, after a thorough review of the claim, it was determined that TSA did not open the instrument case because it did not trigger an alarm when it was screened for possible explosives.” Read More
BONER CANDIDATE #2: I GOT THE VIRUS
An airline passenger who falsely claimed he had the coronavirus aboard a WestJet flight — and got arrested for it — now feels his prank was “probably not the best thing to do.” James Potok, a 28-year-old aspiring musician from Ontario, Canada, says he made the false claim while trying to film a viral video for “publicity” aboard the flight, which was ultimately forced to divert back to the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. The plane was bound for Montego Bay, Jamaica. Reports indicate it had already reached airspace over Florida by the time it was forced to divert back to Canada. Potok, who also goes by Potok Philippe, told Tononto’s City News that he got out of his seat about “midway through the flight” with the intention of filming a viral video for Instagram. “I looked around, I said, ‘Can I get everybody’s attention? Please, can I have all your attention?’ And then I followed that by saying, I believe I [said] word for word, ‘I just came back from Hunan province, the capital of the coronavirus… I’m not feeling too well’ … That was exactly what I said.” Potok — who presumably was unaware that the coronavirus was first detected in Hubei, and not Hunan — said the crew soon quarantined him at the back of the plane. “Once I saw we were flying back to Canada, I kinda, you know, I kinda second-guessed what I did was the right thing to do or not.” He added that he was “not trying to scare anybody,” but then attempted to defend himself, saying he never actually said he had the coronavirus. He also questioned the crew’s decision to turn the plane around and go back to Canada, rather than let a plane filled with people — who did not know they were not in danger of contracting the coronavirus — continue on their journey to Jamaica. Read More
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