Posted on 07/14/2005 9:09:10 PM PDT by mhking
HOUSTON — When Bassam Khalaf raps, he's the Arabic Assassin. His unreleased CD, "Terror Alert," includes rhymes about flying a plane into a building and descriptions of himself as a "crazy, suicidal Arabic ... equipped with bombs."
Until last week, Khalaf also worked as a baggage screener at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
"I've been screening your bags for the past six months, and you don't even know it," said Khalaf, who also said Thursday that he is not really a terrorist and that his rhymes are exaggerations meant to gain publicity.
Andrea McCauley, a spokeswoman for the regional Transportation Security Administration office in Dallas, said the agency checks criminal records before hiring screeners, but it does not investigate what people do in their spare time.
"We have eyes and ears in the workplace," McCauley said. "Once we discovered these Web sites, we fired him."
An Internet search of Khalaf's name brings up Web sites that feature his obscene, violent and misogynistic raps that threaten to fly a plane into a building on Sept. 11, 2005.
Khalaf, 21, was hired on Jan. 16 and fired July 7, according to a TSA termination letter that cited his "authorship of songs which applaud the efforts of the terrorists on September 11th, encourage and warn of future acts of terrorism by you, discuss at length and in grave and alarming detail various criminal acts you intend to commit, state your belief that the U.S. government should be overthrown, and finally warn that others will die on September 11, 2005."
Khalaf, who was born in Houston and is of Palestinian descent, said working as a baggage screener was the best paying job he's ever had. He said he hoped to use any extra money he earned to produce his CD.
"I kept my music and my job separate. I told a couple of people who I thought was cool with me at work that I rapped, but I never sat there and told them lyrics or anything," said Khalaf. "I guess somebody probably told them that I had a Web site."
Khalaf said his terrorist-themed rhymes are more about marketing. He called his songs art and pointed to other rappers who have rhymed about terrorism. He specifically cites Eminem's song, "My Dad's Gone Crazy," which discusses blowing everything on the map up except Afghanistan and says: "There's no tower too high, no plane that I can't learn how to fly."
"Controversy sells," Khalaf said. "It brings a lot of attention. Everybody wants to label all Arabics terrorists just because a couple of people messed up. Well, I'm going to play along with that character. I'm going to let you think I'm one."
Bassam Khalaf, 21, poses in Houston Thursday, July 14, 2005. When Khalaf raps, he's the 'Arabic Assassin.' His obscenity-laced CD, 'Terror Alert,' includes rhymes about flying planes into buildings and descriptions of himself as a 'crazy, suicidal Arabic ... equipped with bombs.' Until two weeks ago, Khalaf also worked as a baggage screener at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. (AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis)
Double-barrelled Mega-PING! to both lists! If you want on, FReepmail me!
You can almost hear the money rolling in from CD sales as a result of all this, can't you?
Gee Mr. Khalaf if you discovered you had a leaky heart valve, would you hire a heart surgeon who rapped on the side about cutting out Pali hearts? I didn't think so!
BS
Reminds me of the Arab kids that lived in my last nabe in Brooklyn, dress, attitude and all.
Sweet, I'll be flying out of IAH tomorrow. Good to know this tool won't be working.
?????Messed up??????
Messed up is a typo, or turning the keys in the ignition when the cars already started. Messed up is putting the fork on the right side of a place setting. Flying planes into the WTC is a little more than messed up. This sh!thead is clearly in dire need of an a$$ whoopin' and further proof to my assertion that islam is a form of mental illness.
It seems to me, separate and apart from the titles of his raps, rap in Arabic qualifies as terrorism.
Send him to Uncle sam's Caribbean resort...Club Gitmo, and don't hold the panties!
I think the airport should have included a one way ticket out of the country in his severance package.
Send him to Uncle sam's Caribbean resort...Club Gitmo, and don't hold the panties!
-PJ
Dang, you couldn't make stuff like this up.
You know, the private sector can only screw things up so much and for so long. If you want to create a mess that gets worse and never goes away - you need Federal money.
I was thinking of changing my tagline to TSA = They'll steal anything maybe it should be TSA = They'll say anything
I've seen this guy at the airport. Didn't like the looks of him then.
http://www.soundclick.com/pro/default.cfm?BandID=351031&content=bandInfo
I'll bet Bassam's on the F.B.I.'s ping list. He's now carryin' some baggage and a rap sheet.
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