He threw caution to the wind.

October 10, 2006 7:23 PM

An international manhunt is under way seeking the man who expressed his displeasure of Polish president Lech Kaczynski by forcefully expelling intestinal gas. No word on whether he did another for the president's twin brother, nor whether he will attempt arson by lighting these farts on fire.
posted by Kickstart70 (30 comments total)

Polski my gorki!
posted by furtive at 7:25 PM on October 10, 2006

Oh my, if America were Poland Babs would have been dismembered and quartered!
posted by ericb at 7:30 PM on October 10, 2006

They sure are putting up a stink over this.
posted by Kickstart70 at 7:40 PM on October 10, 2006

Who are the fart police? Americas leader would love this guy! GWB loves his own passingsl
posted by hortense at 7:42 PM on October 10, 2006

Ain't that a gas!
posted by brain_drain at 7:55 PM on October 10, 2006

Like there's any way to know which Polack farted, sheesh.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:56 PM on October 10, 2006

I hope they start screening more carefully for this at the airport now.
posted by owhydididoit at 8:15 PM on October 10, 2006

Stanley Kowalski: I am not a Pollack. People from Poland are Poles. They are not Pollacks.
posted by geekyguy at 8:42 PM on October 10, 2006

He complained to the arresting officers that President Lech Kaczynski and his twin brother Jaroslaw, was responsible for turning Poland back to a Communist style dictatorship. He was reprimanded to show more respect for the country's rulers.

Hoffman replied with a loud fart and was immediately arrested. He was charged for "contempt for the office of the head of state."

Sounds to me like he was absolutely correct.
posted by Malor at 8:42 PM on October 10, 2006

POLAND -- NEVAR FORGET.
posted by Krrrlson at 8:52 PM on October 10, 2006

Poland is a member of the EU now. Where does arresting someone for "contempt for the office of the head of state" fall under the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union? Here, I would think:

Article 11
Freedom of expression and information
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Though perhaps it remains a question whether farting comes of the heading of "imparting information".
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:58 PM on October 10, 2006

This man's nonconforming gas is a breath of fresh air.
posted by Citizen Premier at 9:07 PM on October 10, 2006

No, no, George_Spiggott -- he has a freedom to hold his opinion until he is, for example, exiting an empty elevator.
posted by dhartung at 9:18 PM on October 10, 2006

Arty Farty loathed his party
Lech the Prez was there
Hubert Hoffman blew a boff one
and Jaroslaw ran out for air

[/2nd grade]
posted by maryh at 9:44 PM on October 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

Displeasure? Maybe it was a fart of assent.
posted by dreamsign at 10:18 PM on October 10, 2006

He was dumb enough to give a reason? If justice is having the benefit of doubt, then freedom is knowing it.
posted by Brian B. at 10:52 PM on October 10, 2006

*applauds maryh*
posted by Space Kitty at 11:09 PM on October 10, 2006

posted by carsonb at 11:14 PM on October 10, 2006

God, the current Polish government are an embarrassment. Luckily it looks like there are elections coming up.
posted by athenian at 11:31 PM on October 10, 2006

What will you do if we let you go home
And the plastic's all melted
And so is the chrome
Who are the fart police?
posted by rxrfrx at 5:02 AM on October 11, 2006

*lights match*
posted by jonmc at 6:41 AM on October 11, 2006

Sadly, the EU has no power to enforce the so-called 'rights' under the charter. Poland is a fine example of this problem. Other new member states have similar problems accepting this new concept (for them) of citizen's rights.

Myself, I wonder what would happen if they tried to deny these rights to a citizen of another member state, such as the United Kingdom. That might get quite interesting.

Myself, my only response is a refusal to visit and spend money in such countries. And since my partner works for the European region of a global megacorp, it could mean a refusal to live (and therefore, pay some big taxes) to the economies of these countries.
posted by Goofyy at 7:06 AM on October 11, 2006

Arrested for farting loudly? GWB better be careful on his next trip to Poland, since he enjoys fart jokes.
posted by mike3k at 7:30 AM on October 11, 2006

If only this had happened in the US. We'd get our vegi-stained liberal panties in a bunch. It's only Poland right? I hear it's east of New York. Course the guy was complaining about a left wing government, which by my back of the envelope calculations makes him a red stater, so yeah this is in fact hellairyarse.
posted by econous at 8:45 AM on October 11, 2006

I'd be farting a lot, too, if the Unabomber was the president of my country.
posted by koeselitz at 11:19 AM on October 11, 2006

No word on ... whether he will attempt arson by lighting these farts on fire.

Actually if he gets jailed you could hold a great candlelight vigil in the square outside. Instead of holding the candle in front of you, you bend over and moon the presidential palace and hold the candle in front of your all.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:38 AM on October 11, 2006

allass

Not sure how I managed that.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:39 AM on October 11, 2006

I fart in your general direction.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:54 PM on October 11, 2006

I am not a Pollack. People from Poland are Poles. They are not Pollacks.

To pan bardzo dobrze spowiedzial.

And don't forget that there are millions of them between the north pole and the south pole.
posted by sour cream at 1:21 PM on October 11, 2006

When farts are outlawed, only outlaws will fart.
posted by clevershark at 8:58 PM on October 11, 2006