Nowhere close to true for the overwhelming majority of terrorist attacks. If only it were as simple as that implied in the quote above, then this would be a piece of cake.

Can anyone explain to me why it's OK for the FA to hand me water, soda, etc., but if I try to bring a bottle of the same, purchased on the secure side, onto the plane, it's a problem?

If I'm looking to mix the liquid with something to make a big boom, I think the water the FA hands me will work just as well as the bottle I had planned to bring on board with me.

For that matter, why is OK to get any of the above from the FA, but it's no longer permissible to purchase duty-free liquids on board? Both are liquid, both are on the plane, both can be mixed with something else; makes no sense.

Anyone at TSA ever taken a logic or chemistry class?

I heard on the news a couple of nights ago that the problem is not water. It's flammable liquids that look like water.

One of the ingredients they're looking for is acetone, a highly unstable product found in nail polish remover.

Here's what Wiki had to say:
Acetone peroxide (triacetone triperoxide, peroxyacetone, TATP, TCAP) is an organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive acrid smell.

It is highly susceptible to heat, friction, and shock. For its instability, it has been called the "Mother of Satan". It has perhaps sprung into notoriety due to its alleged use in the July 2005 London bombings and has also been reported as the explosive favored by suspects arrested on August 10, 2006 who intended to destroy airplanes flying from the United Kingdom to the United States.

So, it's not about water, it's about something that is clear like water, but very dangerous.

I think the news said that they wanted to carry the flammable liquid inside a sports drink bottle, so it wasn't water they had in mind.

You know I actually heard someone on the radio (Dave Ross for CBS radio) that actually said he was willing to go through security buck-naked for the sake of security. I nearly had to turn off the radio at such nonsense.

There is NO way to make life safe. Hell, people get run over crossing the street to get their mail. All we can do is try to make the world a better balance of cost/gain in terms of time and hassle vs safety. Taking away all liquids in the hand baggage does not meet this requirement, because a determined terrorist can use a remote device made of liquid in their baggage. and if the "liquid" bombs are so normal looking, I'm sure they can sneak through the heavy-duty x-ray machines as well.

I still don't understand how someone could have snuck through a liquid bomb through the x-ray machine but they couldn't sneak it through in their (if they're a woman) cleavage, or if a man, under a sweatshirt or something similar.

Maybe Dave Ross is like one of those guys who loves flashing women on NYC subways, and that's why he's willing to go through naked. If so, the NYPD forgot to criminally charge him for streaking or "conspiracy to commit" streaking. If there would be a criminal charge for stupidity, he'd deserve it too.

Two thoughts to your comment: If you didn't hear the commentary, I'm not certain if your response is any better than those who slam movies they've never seen. (And I don't think you're that kind of person, since I've read your many other good posts.) Second, I know Dave Ross pretty well, and he's a quite reasonable, thought-provoking guy -- and not severely at either end of the political spectrum. So I suspect what he had to say was, at the very least, interesting. (But I, too, haven't heard it.)

That said: I'm of two minds about the "enhanced" security. On one brain half, I think it's silly to ban all liquids and gels for an intedeterminate period of time. On the other brain half, I realize there is concern that there may have been a "fail-safe" provision for those involved in the alleged plot to carry out their orders immediately if any were captured ... and I realize that TSA could have been, and could always be, a lot more draconian in their restrictions than they are. Indeed, they seem to only ban things once it's shown pretty materially that some terrorist was planning on using it on the plane -- not everything that could be used to bring down a plane (the earlier MacGyver reference echoes here).

So I'm hoping the really enhanced security is short-lived. But I also appreciate any reasonable efforts to make sure the tail end of an alleged plot is also thought through.

Santiago Esparza and Gordon Trowbridge / The Detroit News

An unnamed man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the customs area shut down briefly today after the passenger claimed he "contaminated" everyone on a flight from Amsterdam, said airport spokesman Michael Conway.
The Northwest Airlines flight arrived about 11 a.m., Conway said. The man, who is a United States citizen, disembarked and then implied to the air crew he had a biological agent of some sort and had contaminated the flight in some unspecified, said U.S. Customs agent Ron Smith.
Federal, county and local agencies responded to the threats, Conway and Smith said. Airport emergency medical technicians examined the man and felt he did not pose a health risk.
A Centers for Disease Control staffer was present and agreed with that assessment, Conway said. The claims took about 90 minutes to investigate and the others passengers from Amsterdam had to wait in the customs area until the probe was complete.
Officers and agents from several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, interviewed the man and released him, Smith said.
"He was eventually released to continue his journey," Smith said.
It was not clear where the man was headed.
Passengers on two incoming flights from Japan were not allowed to deplane into the customs and immigration area for their own protection, Conway said. Smith said those passengers were delayed about one hour.
Conway said it was possible the man suffered form a mental disorder of some sort, but that he and the emergency medical technicians are not medically qualified to make that determination.
The stir comes on the heels of furor last week when international authorities announced Thursday they had arrested at least 20 people in connection with a plot to blow up planes headed to the U.S. from England using liquid explosives. For the immediate future, passengers are forbidden to bring beverages, lotions and other liquids into airline passenger cabins.
You can reach Santiago Esparza at (313) 222-2127 or [email protected].

This is the transcript of what Dave Ross said:

"Explosive sports drinks. This is DR...

The latest details of the liquid bomb plot are a little disturbing. Apparently, this liquid explosive wasn't just being DISGUISED as a soft drink, one of the ingredients WAS the soft drink. The terrorists planned to use a British SPORTS DRINK as one of the ingredients. And they would set it off with an iPod, cell phone, or electronic key fob. Al Qaeda apparently has the seventh season of MacGyver.

So we've now gotten to the point where the common everyday items we all carry make us potential walking terrorists.

And there is going to be only one way to address that. Universal obedience, no matter how ridiculous it gets.

These colors don't run, but they will wait in line! And do so CHEERFULLY.

If the TSA wants my deodorant, they can have it. If they want my nail clippers, they can have them. If they want my knitting needles, collar stays, nose ring, compass, Q-tips, Pepto Bismol, take it all!

If they want me to strip and carry my clothes through the check point in a see through baggie while doing the Fox Trot, my only answer is Sir Yes Sir!

Although, I prefer not to call it a see-through baggie. I call it a Transparent Patriot Pouch!

And when I'm on the plane, if they run out of Bloody Mary Mix, if they give the last blanket to somebody else, if lunch turns out to be a bag of Fritos and a Kit Kat, I will smile and tell myself how delicious it is. And if we stop on the taxiway for no apparent reason and they turn off the ventilation and the person next to me starts to sweat because they took away his antiperspirant, I will use the time to meditate on patriotic themes like ... freedom.
"

In retrospect, maybe he was being sarcastic. His voice certainly didn't sound sarcastic, but the more I think about it, what he said was ridiculous, so maybe it was sarcastic. Also, I looked him up and he ran for the House as a democrat, so he doesn't seem like he would support such things.

Released? Why?

Peroxide also looks like water.

They could simply ask everyone to taste the water, or even just smell the open bottle like they do in China.

The duty free restriction has been lifted on NW. You can by the booze and gels and such as long as you are on your final leg.

This has nothing to do with NW; the terrorists targeted flights to the New York City area, Washington DC and Los Angeles. You can't book a direct NW flight from anywhere in Europe to those cities.

You haven't heard about the new x-ray scanner that they want to use? No need to strip, it literally makes ones clothes disappear on the scanner and one appears naked. This isn't a joke. I saw the scanner results and was very embarassed not only for myself, but for the passenger.