Am i reading all this right from the FAA that there basing this new rule because of
Two 
incidents that werent on any commercial flights but cargo carriers (fedex) and the other was on the ramp inbetween flights due to rough handling? Is this also being based off the bad batch of lithium cells from sanyo used in laptop batteries that caused a laptop to catch fire in japan and caused a recall of several million batteries because of a fluke?
So based off this now i cant carry a extra battery for my laptop or camera because of some remote risk, oh come on this is getting to the point of lunacy.
Plus i think if you short out any battery in alcohol and/or fire it will cause a fire or explode from the materials inside expanding just like the testing that was done as part of the testing in the new rules.
This is going to effect alot of people who take extra batteries for there laptops and cameras so they can get through a long flight/trip because laptops dont exactly sip on the batteries when at idle or viewing a DVD or to get through a trip without buy batteries at the destination for a premium. What the FAA didnt think about is that most batteries come in a case that isolates to prevent accidental shorts see
link its the first three items on the list, so this prevents this. There are also similar cases for other rechargable sizes as well including CRV3 which is a rechargeable battery that most consumer point and shoot cameras use, Then the batteries for professional cameras have plastic covers for the contacts as well.
Of course TSA is going to drop the ball on this like normal, and i can see Li-Ion batteries and others being confused with other types of batteries and being confiscated. I can see/here it now "NiCd, Nimh, Alkaline, Li-Primary, Li-ion there all a like and not allowed" Dont laugh because its gonna happen because The Stupidity Association dont have the abilty to think, use common sense, instead they makes the rules up on the fly as normal. Another example of how money is being sucked out of the economy
.
Oh BTW if they start confiscating batteries how are they going to deal with them because if TSA does like they normally do and throw it away the EPA will take action because thats illegal as this is hazardous waste and has to be disposed of properly.