Originally Posted by
justhere
I'm not sure that anyone thinks that water is a threat to an airplane. The problem is that only the person carrying the water knows for sure that it is water. Doesn't matter whether you agree or disagree, the TSA's stance is that unknown liquids pose a threat. As every liquid that comes through security is unknown to the TSA, then every liquid is viewed as a threat, even if it really isn't. And tasting the liquid really isn't the answer as the bottle could have a fake bottom etc. Personally, I disagree wholeheartedly with the liquid ban, but I'm just saying that no-one, not even the TSA, thinks water is a threat to an airplane.
And that's why the ban is a complete waste of time and resources.
If they want to detect them for explosives, use the existing puffers or swab the cup. If it's an explosive and it has a liquid in, it WILL set off the ETD. However, since this water carnival started, puffer and ETD use has dropped dramatically.
Pretty much it comes down to TSA being lazy and not wanting to actually do anything about the "perceived" threat. There are ways to determine if it really is a threat, but TSA refuses to use them.
If the liquids really are a threat, they should have dumped the terminal when she spilled it on the floor as it was an unknown liquid. If liquids are really a threat, they should treat them as hazmat and not lump them together in a trash bin. If liquids really are a threat, then they shouldn't be given to the homeless, unless they're trying to "kill off" the homeless population.
Yes, Emmerson isn't a good spokeshole against TSA, but then again, TSA created the situation with its idiocy. So it escalated to a no win situation for all involved.