Fakes on a plane

[babylonsister]

Has CNN absolved this woman of guilt after running her through the mill yesterday?:eyes:

http://www.metro.co.uk/home/article.html?in_article_id=18665&in_page_id=1&ct=5


An airport terminal was evacuated last night after security checks wrongly identified explosive liquids in a passenger's hand luggage.

The building at Tri-State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia, was sealed off by police after the discovery.

The two plastic bottles were in luggage carried by a woman as she prepared to board a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. They reportedly set off screening devices looking for explosives, and were also identified by sniffer dogs. The woman, of Pakistani origin, was held for questioning by the FBI and commercial flights were suspended.

About 100 people were ordered to leave the terminal, and officials confirmed that explosives had been found. However, subsequent tests showed that, actually, no, they hadn't. The woman was eventually cleared to fly.

Meanwhile, in other 'not actually terrorism' news, a passenger who sparked the mid-air security scare on a flight from London to Washington was confirmed to be carrying a screwdriver.

US citizen Catherine Mayo was also carrying cigarette lighters and matches and was charged with interfering with a flight crew. She apparently caused chaos as she paced the aisle, mumbling phrases peppered with the word 'Pakistan'. The incidents came just a week after officials in Britain claimed they had foiled a terror plot to blow up ten transatlantic jets.

Police searching woods in High Wycombe yesterday in connection with the alleged plot said they found a suitcase containing 'everything needed to make an improvised device'.

And a man of 47 and woman of 44 have been arrested at Holyhead Port, Anglesey, under the Terrorism Act. They were held on Friday – but a custody extension had to be applied for.

BA said it aimed to return misplaced luggage caught up in the terror alert chaos to 5,000 passengers by the end of yesterday.

[intaglio]

1. Speaking of fakes check this out on The Register

Mass murder in the skies: was the plot feasible? WARNING this item contains a fairly detailed discussion of the making of TATP you may attract the attention of the NSA if you look at it.

To summarize; mixing the chemicals to make TATP is dangerous and you would likely get a fire cracker that would kill you but not harm the plane. Not only that but it takes 6 - 8 hours to make. (Note TATP itself is a sugary solid NOT a liquid)

Mixing common liquids to make an explosive is hard, to get a fast controllable reaction you would need bulk fluids. So what were the authorities on about??

[babylonsister]

2. Welcome to DU, intaglio! I think

many of us are of the opinion that this whole debacle was one big political distraction, inconveniencing millions of people for their twisted agenda.