U.S. Customs seizes, destroys musician's flutes 

This is pathetic. Moroccan-born musician Boujemaa Razgui, who plays a reed flute native to northern Africa, had his bag taken away after a trip from Madrid to Kennedy Airport on Dec. 22 because it was also carrying bamboo, which Customs will not allow into the U.S. via luggage. As a result, Razgui said he's been unable to make performances and has to fly back to the Middle East to locate more materials to craft replacement instruments.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," the anguished flutist told the New York Daily News. "The worst thing I was worried about was that someone would sit on (the case), that was the biggest mistake I could imagine."

Razgui, one of about 15 musicians in the U.S. who can play the nay, is a world-renowned flutist who has performed at Lincoln Center, and also collaborated with Beyonce and Shakira on their track, "Beautiful Liar."  The 55-year-old father, a resident of Plymouth, Mass., said he's bereft without his flutes and had to cancel several performances over the holidays.  "I make my living from this, this is how I feed my family," said Razgui, who grew up on the streets of Marrakesh playing the reed flute.  Razgui said he's checked his flutes on flights before and never had a problem clearing U.S. customs until now.