] Lighters haven't been permitted in checked bags for at
] least 30 years because they might start fires in cargo
] holds. Congress passed a bill last year adding lighters
] to the list of items prohibited in the cabin.
]
]
] The genesis for the ban was Richard Reid, who tried
] unsuccessfully to light explosives hidden in his shoes on
] a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001. He used matches.

In the words of Hannover Fist, "Aw, gimmie a break!" Want a list of easy ways to kill everyone on an airplane? Here's a couple. 1) Mix ammonia and bleach. In an enclosed area you have a good chance to simply overcome everyone with the fumes before they can land the damn thing. This works best in first class. 2) Store your explosives properly. Druggies have been getting drugs through airports in this way for years. 3) Properly packaged chemical agent. What happens when you fill a mini hairspray container with something nasty? You don't even need something ugly like Sarin, plain old ether would work just fine.

Richard Reid was a moron who might have managed to blow off his foot, but the potential for actual damage to the plane was minimal. Maybe if he'd flushed his shoes down the toilet after lighting them he might have been able to do something, but let's get real folks. Everything we've done to "improve air travel security" has made a plane safer, maybe, but has without question made getting to the plane much more dangerous.

Cigarette Lighters Banned From Airplanes

] In the strange world of immigration law, detention is
] indefinite and "the burden is on the girls to prove that
] they are not potential suicide bombers, rather than on
] the government to prove they are,"

They're young! They're Muslim! They MUST be suicide bombers! Hey DoJ jackasses, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." The very first thing in there is religion. I'm not very partial to religion in general, but it doesn't get much more straightforward than that.

The Nation | Blog | The Daily Outrage | Young and Arrested | Ari Berman

] The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told
] investigators that the luggage-screening system it set up
] at airports across the USA "increases security risks,"
] according to the report by the Government Accountability
] Office.

I seem to remember screaming this when they first started doing it. Their new security plan made airports much more dangerous, and has a side benefit of making airport parking ramps the one place nutjobs can't get maced when that urge to rape hits, TSA took the mace.

TSA fears targeting of crowds at airports

] ROME - Left-wing journalist Giuliana Sgrena claimed
] American soldiers gave no warning before they opened fire
] and said Sunday she could not rule out that U.S. forces
] intentionally shot at the car carrying her to the Baghdad
] airport, wounding her and killing the Italian agent who
] had just won her freedom after a month in captivity.
]
] ...
]
] The White House called the shooting a "horrific accident"
] and restated its promise to investigate fully.

When we can't even succuessfully whack a pinko journalist, why do we think we'd be better at, something Shrub said in 2000 was a misguided mission, nation building?

Ex-Hostage Disputes U.S. on Iraq Shooting

] "This notion that the United States is getting ready to
] attack Iran is simply ridiculous. Having said that, all
] options are on the table," Bush said.

This is what's known as a "non-denial denial." For those of you looking for an example of this, go rent (buy) a copy of "All the President's Men" and there are a couple examples in there of places where people say things are totally untrue, but do so in a way that does not deny that the question might be true.

A great example of this is when they ask Stephen Collins if they wrote a story saying that MacGruder had control of the CREEP slush fund, and he said he would have no problem with that. His public response was that he never said that to the grand jury. He hadn't because it wasn't asked, but it was still true.

Maybe our exit strategy for getting out of Iraq is a drive 200 miles east into Iran, or 200 miles west into Syria.

Bush Denies U.S. Plans to Attack Iran

] Bush urged Congress "not to attach to this proposal items
] that are not directly related to these emergencies
] abroad."
]
]
] But the White House attached its extra spending request
] to a measure that is labeled "Funding for the War on
] Terror." Among the extras is $5.3 billion to pay for a
] restructuring of the Army and, to a lesser degree, the
] Marine Corps. The administration chose to not include
] those items in the $419.3 billion defense budget for 2006
] that Bush submitted to Congress last week.

It's funny, but if W tried to say he wasn't a crook right now, I'd find Nixon much more believable. And with this coming from that well known liberally biased rag the... Chicago Tribune? oh, I guess there won't be any waving that flag on this one.

Yahoo! News - War budget request loaded with extras

] Flight BA175 was three hours into its journey to John F.
] Kennedy International Airport when it was forced to turn
] back to London's Heathrow Airport, where the passenger
] was met by police.

This is going to sound obvious, but why not just divert the plane to Keflavik in Iceland, take the guy off and send the plane on its way? I mean, if there's a bomb on it, it'll go boom and the problem would be solved, if there isn't, the guy is off the plane and the problem is solved. I mean I can think of a half dozen places to land the damn thing that don't involve going all the way back to Heathrow.

I'm just waiting for some country to pull a funny and tell Air Force One to leave their airspace because it has someone on their "terrorist" watch list on board.

British Flight Forced to Turn Back

] I fear that passage of the current bill, which fails to
] comprehensively address the problems exposed by 9/11,
] will not do enough to prevent another 9/11. Congress can
] get a good bill - that addresses intelligence reform,
] terrorist asylum abuse and security for driver's licenses
] - when the Senate decides it's willing to tackle these
] vital issues.

Sorry, I felt my original, "What a crock of shit." was insufficient. This is a commentary from one of the two congressmen who held any change up. Let's hold up the whole thing to deal with details that have no bearing on the actual subject? Oh forget it... What a crock of shit.

Bill ignores critical issues

] Instead, the battle for control of the Sunni city 40
] miles west of Baghdad has sharpened divisions among
] Iraq's major ethnic and religious groups, fueled
] anti-American sentiment and stoked the 18-month-old Sunni
] insurgency.

I'm sorry, but does ANYONE find it surprising that we go in, blow the crap out of this town, and oh yeah, kill what looks like a wounded, unarmed guy on camera (that's not getting airplay over here, but it sure is all over the mid-east) in a mosque of all places, making it look even better, and find that people are just as pissed off at us as they were before?

Folks, this isn't just how to lose the war in Iraq, this is how to screw up our national security for years.

The phrase "Waging Aggressive War" comes to mind some days.

Iraq Assessments: Insurgents Not Giving Up