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Researcher Evan Booth: How To Weaponize Tax-Free Airport Goods

New submitter MickeyF71 writes "At the Hack in the Box security conference security expert Evan Booth shares the results of his two year research on the effectiveness of airport security. He demonstrates how easy it is to produce lethal weapons from goods easily bought from the tax-free section at most airports." Google's translation of the Dutch in that link isn't ideal. For those who prefer English to Dutch, Booth's presentation at CarolinaCon 2013 (YouTube video) may be a better bet.

288 comments

  1. First Post by PPH · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll be reading TFA while standing in the TSA security line at the airport.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:First Post by Ksevio · · Score: 1

      Hope you can read Dutch. Either way, the TSA isn't going to notice/care

    2. Re:First Post by Nerdfest · · Score: 5, Funny

      If the TSA guys could read they'd probably give you an hard time.

    3. Re:First Post by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because they are not there for security. They are there to enforce conformity.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  2. They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Go into any duty free shop and make a bee line to the liquor section. There's something wonderfully flammable stuff there.

    Although, for some of those Scotches, if a terrorist were to use them, you'd see Fark headlines like: "The Horror! 30 year old Scotch murdered in terrorist act! A plane and people died too."

    1. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's what I was thinking. Some vodka, a lighter, a handkerchief...

    2. Re:They needed research for this? by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: 1

      That would certainly be the Fark headline.

      --
      WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
    3. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That lets you make a fire, not a weapon. If you're thinking of some kind of aerosol-spray-pump flame-thrower, then .. ok, everybody, go out into your back yard right now and play with it. I think you'll be disappointed. In the time you can spray me with these rather low-heat flames, I can beat the living shit out of you with my hands, and I'm hardly a "tough guy." And you will drop your "weapon" while I'm beating the crap out of you. So this is all down to a boxing match anyway.

    4. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And you will drop your "weapon" while I'm beating the crap out of you.

      You've watched too many action movies.

      When someone splashes alcohol in your face and lights it, the very last
      thing you will be thinking about is beating them up. You WILL be thinking
      about you face being on fire.

    5. Re: They needed research for this? by stobesel · · Score: 1

      Molotov cocktail with vodka?

    6. Re:They needed research for this? by gweihir · · Score: 1, Funny

      Indeed. I have been thinking this since 9/11. The TSA was an obvious scan right from the beginning,

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    7. Re:They needed research for this? by sribe · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You've watched too many action movies.

      When someone splashes alcohol in your face and lights it, the very last
      thing you will be thinking about is beating them up. You WILL be thinking
      about you face being on fire.

      I think it's you that's watched too many movies--booze does not burn all that well. While splashing alcohol in 1 person's face and lighting it might, possibly, incapacitate that person, it is not any way to incapacitate the entire flight crew and all the other passengers. The end result would be an attacker struggling to not suffocate, because it is actually very hard to breathe when hog-tied, and especially with one or more knees in your back.

      Oh, by the way--you do realize there's fire extinguishers on board, and the flight attendants know where they are and how to use them? Right? So what do you think they're going to do with the fire extinguisher after they empty it? ;-)

    8. Re:They needed research for this? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      The TSA was an obvious scan...

      Oh brother! That was horrible...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    9. Re:They needed research for this? by kryps · · Score: 2

      I think it's you that's watched too many movies--booze does not burn all that well. While splashing alcohol in 1 person's face and lighting it might, possibly, incapacitate that person, it is not any way to incapacitate the entire flight crew and all the other passengers. The end result would be an attacker struggling to not suffocate, because it is actually very hard to breathe when hog-tied, and especially with one or more knees in your back.

      You can not "incapacitate the entire flight crew and all the other passengers" with knives either. But planes have been hijacked with knives before.

    10. Re:They needed research for this? by AJWM · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But planes have been hijacked with knives before 9/12/2001.

      Fixed that for you.

      --
      -- Alastair
    11. Re:They needed research for this? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Go into any duty free shop and make a bee line to the liquor section. There's something wonderfully flammable stuff there.

      Booze is actually very difficult to light, you really have to heat it up before you can light it. Go try it if you don't believe me...

      Hint: Buy a travel steam iron in the shop and head for the baby changing room to heat your bottle vodka for ten minutes before boarding.

      --
      No sig today...
    12. Re:They needed research for this? by larry+bagina · · Score: 2

      And the keyword is "before". As we all know, 9/11 changed everything.

      Before, a hijacking meant an unplanned trip to Cuba or an inconvenient delay on the tarmac while the hijacker negotiates for ransom money. (And the hijacking situation was probably more convenient than some flight delays) . So sit back, relax, and do what they tell you.

      --
      Do you even lift?

      These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    13. Re: They needed research for this? by AJWM · · Score: 4, Informative

      Molotov cocktail with vodka?

      It won't work. Vodka -- and in fact most liquors -- are mostly water. 80-proof beverages are only 40% alcohol, and it needs to be at least 50% (100 proof) alcohol* to burn (strong stuff like 151-proof rum is sold with a flame arrestor built into the top of the bottle.)

      (*If the beverage is warmed you can coax a flame off of the alcohol evaporating out of the liquid -- this is how you ignite brandy; it has to be warmed first. But as soon as you splash it or try to spray it, it will cool below the ignition point.)

      If the bottle is glass it would make a more dangerous weapon than the liquid inside it.

      --
      -- Alastair
    14. Re:They needed research for this? by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This. 9/11 changed the perception of hijackings. And hell, during 9/11 one plane's passengers did resist successfully.

    15. Re: They needed research for this? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The bottle the stuff comes in makes a pretty good weapon. Also, a bit of flaming booze thrown around a plane would cause quite a but of panic even if it didn't hurt anyone much. Certainly a few glass bottles of alcohol are more dangerous than my tube of toothpaste or that old lady's orange juice.

    16. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But planes have been hijacked with knives before.

      That is true. It was also back in the day when hijackers wanted to be flown somewhere ("take us to Cuba" or whatever). Now that people are aware that hijackers likely plan to use the plane as a weapon - killing all aboard in the process - the assumption (and assumption it is) is that people will no longer be cowed by weapons that cannot incapacitate large numbers of people. So a knife? Big whoop. A Malatov Cocktail? Please.

    17. Re:They needed research for this? by dcollins117 · · Score: 1

      And hell, during 9/11 one plane's passengers did resist successfully.

      Are you referring to Flight 93? The one that crashed into the ground? If that's your definition of success I'm taking the train.

    18. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes - and no. It depends on levels of adrenaline, testosterone, somewhat on rational decisions, training, and more. The pain, and the surprise, in the situation you describe will stop almost everyone, almost 100% of the time. Pure shock almost always stops everyone.

      But - there are exceptions. Depending on how things developed into a struggle to the death, the guy being sprayed with burning alcohol may well understand that he is dead whether he fights or not. Some really hard core sumbitches will struggle to make their deaths mutually painful, for him and his attacker.

      Call me a numbskull, or whatever. I've been injured a couple of times in my life. (who's counting, anyway?) It takes time for the pain to soak in sometimes. Not always - it depends on how I was injured. But, it can take literally minutes for the shock to hit home. Until the shock hits, you can be fully functional.

      After the fact, shock may have reduced me to a helpless idiot, but as long as something remained possible and necessary, I continued to act for my own self preservation.

    19. Re:They needed research for this? by Baloroth · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But planes have been hijacked with knives before 9/12/2001.

      Fixed that for you.

      Aye. That fact pretty much makes the whole TSA utterly pointless. No one is going to even try hijacking a plane, not anymore. Blowing it up, maybe, but not hijacking. And there are vastly easier targets if you just want to kill a few people with explosives (the queue for the security checkpoint, for example).

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    20. Re:They needed research for this? by msauve · · Score: 1

      Stay back! I have a bottle of booze, and I know how to use it.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    21. Re:They needed research for this? by flayzernax · · Score: 1

      I can second this, its not easy to bring down some people. Some people have a blind rage and once you injure them, your response is not shock. Unless that injury is massive and going to kill you in seconds anyway.

    22. Re:They needed research for this? by flayzernax · · Score: 1

      It depends on the booze also. Some booze is pretty flammable, but honestly I doubt they sell it in large quantities in an airport, maybe at a semi decent bar if your lucky to find a shot of it. But some booze will light if sprayed from your mouth on a flame, the flame is usually produced by cloth on a stick soaked in said booze already ignited at the appropriate temperatures for ignition. Ive seen it in person.

      It wouldn't make an effective weapon though, theres better options. Maybe moderately useful as a distraction prior to a real practiced unarmed blow.

    23. Re:They needed research for this? by Hamsterdan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They knew they were dead anyways, fight or not. They did save a bunch of other lives...

      --
      I've got better things to do tonight than die.
    24. Re:They needed research for this? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ok, I'm obviously not the only one who got that.

      9/11 was like the trojan horse (the original one, not the malware). It was a once in a lifetime, actually, once in history stunt. It will never ever work again. The reason it worked was simply cooperation on the side of the attacked. Yes, cooperation. Not in the sense that they actually helped them, but that they didn't resist thinking that it's "only" a simple plane hijacking.

      Try it again and at the very least 50% of the people in the plane will be all over you. Quite seriously, if I let you continue, I will die anyway. If I fight you, I have a fighting chance to survive. Cut, bruised and maybe lethally stabbed, but there's a chance.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    25. Re:They needed research for this? by Kreigaffe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You've never been around liquor, have you?

      It's not really flammable. Yeah, no. Until you start getting to high-proof stuff, it *won't* burn (unless you throw it into a hot skillet and light it, the heat will evaporate it quickly and the alcohol VAPOR will light, but the liquid form? no dice brah, you can't light your shot of bourbon on fire). 151 will burn if lit, and pure grain alcohol obviously burns REALLY well, but 80 proof? 90? That won't burn.

      Throw it in my face, go ahead. The only thing that'll hurt is possibly a stinging in my eyes. Now, try to light it, and while you're fumbling with a tiny lighter thinking that just by bringing it near me that I'll combust like in the movies?... haha, well, go ahead, that would be fucking hilarious.

      --
      ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
    26. Re: They needed research for this? by Kreigaffe · · Score: 1

      The glass is the only dangerous part, booze really isn't very flammable. Unless you're talking real high-proof stuff, it's more likely to extinguish a flame than get caught on fire

      --
      ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
    27. Re:They needed research for this? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Even a gun won't work. There's 20something bullets in your gun, there's 300 people in here, do the math. Yes, I'll be dead when I attack you, but ... to hell with it, I'll die anyway.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    28. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guarentee you are so much of a pussy that you will cower in fear of the hand pump flamethrower.

    29. Re:They needed research for this? by meta-monkey · · Score: 2

      Half successful. The plane was rendered unable for use as a weapon against those on the ground. And those people had to debate and make a decision. I think today the decision would be automatic.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    30. Re:They needed research for this? by meta-monkey · · Score: 1

      Best hijacking ever!

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    31. Re:They needed research for this? by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

      Exactly. You can't shoot all of us, and I'm going to grab as many of those bullets as I can before I drag you to hell with me.

      Before 9/11, it was "pfft, we'll ride this out, settle with the airline for stress and discomfort, this guy with the box cutter just made me $50k quick and easy."

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    32. Re: They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You could splash the alcohol into someone's eyes though...

    33. Re:They needed research for this? by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Oops, sorry for that. Entirely unintentional ;-)

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    34. Re:They needed research for this? by Livius · · Score: 0, Troll

      And the keyword is "before". As we all know, 9/11 changed everything as far as Americans knew.

      Fixed that for you.

      The tactic had been tried before, unsuccessfully. Just not in parts of the world that the US pays attention to.

    35. Re:They needed research for this? by element-o.p. · · Score: 1

      I beg to disagree, based upon things I have actually tried or that I witnessed someone else try.

      I have marinated steaks in Jim Beam, and the marinade burned quite well when I dumped the remainder in a campfire. Not the same as trying to ignite it with a lighter, I'll admit.

      However, I also saw a friend make a "Vapor Lock" (what he called it, anyway -- I had never heard of it before that), where he poured liquor into a glass, ignited it (with a lighter, IIRC), let it burn for a second or two to vaporize the alcohol, then clapped his hand over the top to smother the fire. Wait for a couple of seconds, then uncap and inhale the vaporized alcohol. Seemed to me like a good way to really hurt yourself, but...<shrug>.

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    36. Re:They needed research for this? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      But how many of those 300 would volunteer to be in the first twenty?

    37. Re:They needed research for this? by matfud · · Score: 3, Informative
    38. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can immediately think of a much better option than alcohol. Spray-on deodorant or hair spray + a lighter = small flame thrower. I recall very well how one crazy classmate once showed how he could get a 1-2 foot flame that way and keep it burning. Furthermore, I think that even if you knew that you were going to die unless you did something to stop the hijacking, moving towards a flame would be nontrivial simply because your natural instincts would work against you. No matter how brave and willing to sacrifice yourself you are, you cannot stop your reflexes from making you retreat as soon as you feel the flame. A team of 4-5 hijackers that also prepare by wearing easily flammable clothes (and take them off) could probably keep the passengers and crew quite busy with putting out lots of burning material and then clever use of the carts and toilet doors in the front section could also slow down attempts to overpower them. However, even though hijackers could then get maybe 5-10 minutes of time to work the cockpit door, I don't think they would be able to breach it. Not to mention that the pilots could maneuver the aircraft hard enough to make it impossible to stand let alone do anything in the cabin as soon as they find out what is going on. A routine cabin depressurization emergency descent would suffice.

    39. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Okay, we got... salt, celery, limes... little umbrellas. Are you guys ready? Let's roll."

    40. Re:They needed research for this? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2

      IIRC there have been a few cases since where one guy on a plane starts to set off an explosive and the people around him go medieval on him, trying to disable him and the weapon.

    41. Re:They needed research for this? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      More to the point for me, my son is on the plane. I will rush the gun to soak up the bullets which might kill him. Lots of people travel with their families. Its the main use for air transport.

    42. Re:They needed research for this? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2

      People with young children on the aircraft.

    43. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More hollow Slashdotter chest puffery.

      I wish I could be there someday when you get your ass handed to you in a fight... but I can't be the one to do it, because I'm not a violent arrogant macho dickhead.

    44. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit! You just have to buy stuff with a high enough percentage of alcohol!
      Anything that typically goes on top of a B-52 will by definition burn easily!

    45. Re: They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BULL! SHIT!

      You just have to buy stuff with a high enough percentage of alcohol!
      Anything that typically goes on top of a B-52 will by definition burn easily!

    46. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vapor lock? Honestly, I can't see what the point of that would be-- when you burn ethanol, it produces CO2 and H2O. If you want to inhale ethanol fumes, you don't need to ignite it for that. Just warm it up with a cover over it.

    47. Re:They needed research for this? by skegg · · Score: 2

      Unfortunately, many passengers may also have the following thought:

      If I do nothing, I can let someone else be cut, bruised and maybe lethally stabbed, but I can come out of this unscathed.

    48. Re:They needed research for this? by Bluesman · · Score: 1

      You can put alcohol or chemicals from aerosol cans on you or your clothes and light it without injury. The chemical will likely burn off before it heats your skin enough to burn you. A simple wipe or pat down would kill the flame.

      If you try this at home, please have a fire extinguisher or bathtub full of water to jump into. It's possible to let the fire burn too long and have your clothes start to burn.

      --
      If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
    49. Re:They needed research for this? by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

      * Raises hand *

      I'd be going over the backs of seats to give them a flank to worry about.

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    50. Re:They needed research for this? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You don't have kids, I can tell.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    51. Re:They needed research for this? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Quite possibly. But there's a plane of 300 people against you. One PERCENT of them is enough. And all it takes is a father/mother thinking "I may die, but my kid who sits next to me will survive".

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    52. Re: They needed research for this? by cusco · · Score: 1

      Where do they sell rum with a flame arrestor? I buy 151 rum all the time (mostly Cruzan, but others if it's not available), and it always has a regular cap on it.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    53. Re:They needed research for this? by nedlohs · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Count the number of US flags in that list prior to 9/11/2001 (you'll need more than than the standard complement of fingers and toes).

      Now count the number of US flags in that list post 9/11/2001 (I'll help here, the answer is 0).

    54. Re:They needed research for this? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      Sure every other hijacked plane that day saw everyone on the plan killed plus people not on the plane killed.

    55. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But this is operating under the thinking that the type of people who would do these types of things are completely rational in their decision making.

      When choosing their targets, the 9.11 hijackers chose symbolic targets, not ones that were especially damaging to America. I assume the flight that crashed was headed to the white house, but I wouldn't be surprised if they'd tried flying it into the statue of liberty. These types of people just see these buildings as representations of power, and that's why they were targeted.

      If they seriously wanted to screw with the US, they'd take a page out of what's been going on in my country for way too long: targeting businesses. A lot of people don't get where the term "Irish Car Bomb" comes from, but it's very effective as screwing with someone's ecomony when implemented cleverly. You don't need to destroy large places or kill many people - you can perform slightly lower-risk stunts and let the terror take it's course.

      To any Americans: can you imagine the nation-wide panic that would occur if some random bloke just walked into the Mall of America and detonated a homemade-something? On Black Friday?

      Make people afraid to spend their money, their purchasing power, and the national economy grinds to a hault.

    56. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I shop online Thursday night before BF..

    57. Re:They needed research for this? by JabberWokky · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Beyond the many parents who have chimed in, I'd be running in the front if my wife were on the plane.

      I've been in situations like that. And I've run into some really bad things. It's a powerful instinct. Sure your life is valuable: but if you're living it right, it isn't the most valuable thing in your care.

      --
      "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
    58. Re:They needed research for this? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      that drink is called a sniffer and you do it with cointreau.

      alcohol does burn... but on a plane, a more immediate weapon is made from the bottle itself.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    59. Re:They needed research for this? by laejoh · · Score: 1

      So what do you think they're going to do with the fire extinguisher after they empty it? ;-)

      I must have watched too many p0rn movies...

    60. Re:They needed research for this? by chaboud · · Score: 2

      I dunno. I drove the wrong way up a one way, slid to a stop, hopped out of my car, and wrestled a bike thief to the ground today, all because I saw a guy in bike clothes yelling "stop that guy!" Only later, when I was telling my wife about it, did it occur to me that there was a fair bit of risk involved.

      No doubt there are at least a few dudes on that plane who watched Bourne with a magazine and want to see if it works against a knife. It won't be box-cutters that take a plane ever again.

      I give an attacker about 15-30 seconds of confusion before it's game over. Taking a full 737? I'd wager 8-15 people would be required. The era of low-effort hijacking is over.

      I'm pretty sure that my MacBook Air 13" will do some damage if thrown, and I've been really looking for an excuse to get a Retina...

    61. Re:They needed research for this? by chaboud · · Score: 1

      I'm totally with you, even solo, I'm going to throw a laptop or two at the guy and rush him. That said, I'm not sure that people travelling with families is the main use for air transport. For flights local to the west coast, my totally un-scientific sample-set (roughly 50 flights per year) would indicate that most of the person-miles flown are solo travelers.

    62. Re:They needed research for this? by ozmanjusri · · Score: 3, Funny

      Precisely.

      Young children are compact and easily thrown to distract or injure a hijacker.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    63. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting list. I count six hijackings in 2000-2001 (prior to 2001/9/11), and only seven in the rest of the decade (2002-2010). Three more in this decade (2011-2013) were all foiled by the pilots and passengers attacking and overpowering the hijacker(s).

    64. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't care how much training you have. Seeing some guy (or gal) spray spit flames onto someone else's face is going to effectively stun you for at least 20 - 30 seconds. It what scientist might refer to as the "WTF did I just see?" effect. Add a few extra seconds if you're the person being sprayed.

      Alcohol might burn a few degrees colder and, unless the person inhales the flames there's not going to be much damage because it's only the alcohol that's burning and not the flesh, but try to remind yourself that when your face is on fire.

      To paraphrase the late George Carlin, people breathe normally when plummeting to their death from 30000 feet, they also shit normally.

    65. Re:They needed research for this? by Inda · · Score: 2

      40% ABV Sambuca lights with a simple flame. No warming in needed. It's actually desires to have it on fire before drinking.

      Also, see Brandy and her many sisters.

      Next question.

      --
      This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
    66. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      an after-meal Sambuca is usually served lit. So it does burn and it's a not-too-hard-to-find drink. It's usually room temperature, and doesn't take too much effort to set fire to it.

      Heck a friend of mine used to light it in his mouth...used to.

    67. Re: They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or in the first few seconds, of confusion you kill a few people mercilessly. The rest may know they are going to die but hope and living a bitlonger n most cases will win out against immediate certain death.

      I believe Americans call it shock and awe

    68. Re:They needed research for this? by hairyfish · · Score: 1

      Or any number of young men who think they're UFC champions in waiting and want to try out their new moves. Maybe it's just where I live, but in any decent crowd there always seems to be a lot of people that are willing to kick off given half an excuse.

    69. Re:They needed research for this? by hairyfish · · Score: 1

      Can you explain how you would execute this attack? Do you throw the alcohol on the victim then try to light it while avoiding being punched in the face? Or have you already lit it in a vessel you are holding while every bloke around you jumps on top of you and punches you in the head before you get the chance to throw it? I've seen a lot of fights in my time and this is the stupidest idea for a weapon I've ever heard of.

    70. Re: They needed research for this? by TheColorTwelve · · Score: 1

      Every bottle of Bacardi 151 I've ever seen has had a flame arrestor on the mouth of the bottle. A Little metal plate with small holes in it. Google it.

    71. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When someone splashes alcohol in your face and lights it, the very last thing you will be thinking about is beating them up. You WILL be thinking about you face being on fire.

      Nah, you'd think so, but no. I've been in the room twice when somebody's face has caught fire. Really! I'm totally not kidding.

      College students just don't seem to understand why Bacardi 151 says "do not use for flaming drinks" on it. They have to find out the hard way. Burning facial hair smells like ass, in case you were wondering.

      Anyway, typically the flaming person is the very last to realize that they are on fire. Everyone else in the room (even the drunks) reacts long before anything else happens, typically the first thing the person on fire says is "ow, ow, stop hitting my face, why are you hitting my face" not "hey I'm on fire".

      Burning alcohol on your face is no big deal in and of itself. However, if you are using hair product or facial schmears, that can get ugly real fast. Stay natural, my friends!

    72. Re:They needed research for this? by warpuck · · Score: 0

      Don Q 151 burns pretty good

    73. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Counting flags? what about reading the summary of the incident and realize that all they were crazy people claiming they had bombs, being subdued by the passangers and the ship safely land on an airport.

    74. Re:They needed research for this? by steelfood · · Score: 1

      If anything, setting someone's clothes on fire would be a far more effective method of immolating others. Cotton, in particular, burns great so long as it's dry. Except, if you splash alcohol on someone first, you just hydrated their clothes.

      The biggest crime that can be committed when splashing someone with alcohol is the act of rendering the alcohol unfit for consumption.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    75. Re:They needed research for this? by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      I agree that throwing bourbon on someone isn't a great way to set them on fire, but I wanted to clarify on the flammability of ethanol.

      EtOH / H2O mixtures have a flash point well within normal temperatures. You can set table wine on fire if you leave it in the sun for an hour to warm it up. Regular vodka burns at 79F which is not a pleasant temperature to drink vodka at, but you won't need a skillet. Conversely, ice cold everclear won't burn until it warms up to 63F.

      Fascinating stuff! I love how it needs to be warmer to burn at 12.5% than 10% concentration.

      10% — 49 C (120 F)
      12.5% — about 52 C (126 F)
      20% — 36 C (97 F)
      30% — 29 C (84 F)
      40% — 26 C (79 F)
      50% — 24 C (75 F)
      60% — 22 C (72 F)
      70% — 21 C (70 F)
      80% — 20 C (68 F)
      90% — 17 C (63 F)
      96% — 17 C (63 F)

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    76. Re: They needed research for this? by cusco · · Score: 1

      Ah. Haven't bought Bacardi in years. If you have a choice Cruzan is my preference, although it's not available everywhere. Appleton is also good, but overpriced. There are a lot of alternatives to Bacardi, many of them much better, but they have much smaller marketing departments so they're not well-known. Cruzan also has a coconut rum that is absolutely wonderful.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    77. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "they didn't resist thinking that it's "only" a simple plane hijacking."

      Depends where in the world you are.

      In the late 1980s an irate chinese businessman beat a would-be hijacker to death using - wait for it - his mobile phone! (It was largish candybar size, not a brick)

      There have been a number of simliar cases in other parts of the world. Some passengers _really_ don't like having their flights diverted.

      There have also been cases where pilots have responded to a hijacking by dumping cabin pressure and going _up_. That tends to slow 'em down a lot.

    78. Re:They needed research for this? by Michaelejahn · · Score: 1

      Just wanted to add that I attended a bachelor party where two people bumped each other while doing flaming shots and got burned pretty bad. Booze is pretty flammable.

    79. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAA!

    80. Re:They needed research for this? by matfud · · Score: 1

      Flags? I was commenting on the GP Baloroth who claimed "No one is going to even try hijacking a plane, not anymore."
      Which just is not true.

      And for other commenters. If you read through the list you will see that it has always been a rare occurrance that the Hijackers achieve thier goal.

    81. Re:They needed research for this? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      When I was a student we used to set Drambuie on fire and stick the glasses to our arses with no ill effect whatsoever.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    82. Re:They needed research for this? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      There's alcohol and there's alcohol. Meths (I believe the colonials call it wood alcohol) that you use for cleaning ignites pretty easily & burns pretty well.

      They don't usually sell that in airport shops, however.

      The drinkable stuff really doesn't burn as easily or as hot, and usually needs preheating (i.e. in a frying pan or on a pudding).

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    83. Re:They needed research for this? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      I took an "in america" is implicit in the statement, mainly due to the TSA reference. Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong of course.

    84. Re:They needed research for this? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      The only realistic way to weaponize alcohol is to add it to an Englishman. Or an Irishman.

      If you're feeling really brave, try it with an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    85. Re: They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BULL! SHIT! You just have to buy stuff with a high enough percentage of alcohol!

      Some part of "real high-proof stuff" you're struggling to comprehend, nigger?

    86. Re:They needed research for this? by matfud · · Score: 1

      Does this mean that the TSA security theatre is working? Nah I doubt it. :)

      Security doors on aircraft and better screening of passengers does work but not the half arsed invasive approach taken in the US.

      Yes you do not want people on board with dangerous thingies. But there is that which is true for most people and then there is taking it to far. In a way the only serious hijacking you are likely to get now is one that is intent on crashing the aircraft.

      Previously there were two main reasons; Escape (from the law or from political oppression)...fly to another country, or to achieve political goals (release these people or we start to kill the hostages)...land somewhere appropriate and start killing the passengers.

    87. Re:They needed research for this? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      Given the entire topic is about a potential reason (that isn't the TSA) for the drop, I'm not sure where you got that impression in the first place...

    88. Re:They needed research for this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One percent isn't even close to enough. A well-trained fighter, especially one with a weapon, doesn't have anything to worry about against even half a dozen average yahoos. If the would-be terrorist has a few friends and a strategy, they're pretty likely to win any ensuing brawl, expecially if they can grab a child as hostage. You might think "Let the kid die, we'll all die anyway if we don't fight", but who's actually going to make that call? And what are you going to do when the whole plane turns on you because they lack your foresight?

      9/11 didn't change shit.

  3. WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject of w by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    eapons in airport stores? Tax or no tax, it's a potential problem.

  4. Re: WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You've never been in an airport have you?

  5. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Sique · · Score: 1

    Because for instance, the amount of liquids per bottle you can bring from a tax free shop at the airport through security is not limited to 100 ml.

    --
    .sig: Sique *sigh*
  6. A true geek! by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 1

    Using whatever is at hand, in MacGyv^H^H^H^H Mythbuster style, and make stuff that goes boom! (among other things)

    I salute thee, mr. Booth!

  7. All I could tell from the link by fermion · · Score: 2
    Is that Dutch looks like german, in which everything seems angry. The web page seemed very very angry about my lack of cookies. I never knew a web page could look so angry.

    As far as the article, this is not surprising given that security theater dominates our security policy. Look at school shootings. Evidently from what I have read, professors do not have the ability to lock many university classrooms, so they have to barricade of sacrifice themselves. I read this week that the police are now recommending that we take defensive action when someone tries to shoot us. What were school doing before, opening all the doors and lining the kids in the hallways to be executing? At school the policy is to lock doors, hide, and stay away from windows when a attack is announced. Which is to be done before the administration sacrifices themselves. Good defensive positions saves lives.

    Of course the answer is always more guns, which is really going to some good when a truck full of claymores and fertilizer is driven into a school courtyard, or when some explodes their group 1 element on the plane.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    1. Re:All I could tell from the link by PPH · · Score: 1

      Evidently from what I have read, professors do not have the ability to lock many university classrooms, so they have to barricade of sacrifice themselves.

      This is being changed after the Virginia Tech shootings. Where faculty was unable to lock classroom doors, the shooter was able to enter. Where students were taken to lockable offices, they survived. Classroom door locks are now being added to many schools.

      I don't know why they were ever removed. Back in my day, classrooms not in use were locked as a matter of policy (when no staff was present). Otherwise, students could enter and utilize them for 'unsanctioned' activities. I have many interesting stories from my high scool music department practice rooms.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    2. Re:All I could tell from the link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Evidently from what I have read, professors do not have the ability to lock many university classrooms, so they have to barricade of sacrifice themselves.

      This is being changed after the Virginia Tech shootings. Where faculty was unable to lock classroom doors, the shooter was able to enter. Where students were taken to lockable offices, they survived. Classroom door locks are now being added to many schools.

      I don't know why they were ever removed. Back in my day, classrooms not in use were locked as a matter of policy (when no staff was present). Otherwise, students could enter and utilize them for 'unsanctioned' activities. I have many interesting stories from my high scool music department practice rooms.

      I think the main historical reason for locks on classroom doors was to prevent vandalism and keep students from having sex in the classroom at night.

    3. Re:All I could tell from the link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Dutch are probably the least angry people on the planet lol.

    4. Re:All I could tell from the link by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

      I don't know why they were ever removed. Back in my day, classrooms not in use were locked as a matter of policy (when no staff was present). Otherwise, students could enter and utilize them for 'unsanctioned' activities. I have many interesting stories from my high scool music department practice rooms.

      I had a private smoking lounge in the maintenance space above ours. (Wonder if anyone ever found the bong I think I left up there.) I was in practically every musical group the school had, and so received a key that just so happened to open *that* lock, too, my sophomore year... :)

      Nobody ever guessed how I managed never to get busted in the restrooms or trying to sneak out to the far parking lot. Since I wasn't supposed to tell any of the other students that I had what turned out to be a master key to every room and office in the whole music wing... I of course abided by the conditions under which I'd been given the key, and didn't tell a soul!

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    5. Re:All I could tell from the link by CdBee · · Score: 1

      unless you include the Afrikaner Dutch, in which case they may be one of the most angry races alive

      --
      I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
    6. Re:All I could tell from the link by pipatron · · Score: 1

      Not sure if they have lived in isolation long enough to have diverged and formed their own race yet..

      --
      c++; /* this makes c bigger but returns the old value */
    7. Re:All I could tell from the link by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Well, being able to speak German (and a hint of Dutch) I can tell you, Dutch sounds more like German when you're reeeeeally drunk or high on weed.

      So, from a purely language point of view, they're more like the mellowed out, plastered cousin of the angry German.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:All I could tell from the link by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yeah, keeping teens from having sex is far more important than keeping them safe from firearms. Priorities, man, where does the constitution say anything about a right to fuck?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    9. Re:All I could tell from the link by nitehawk214 · · Score: 2

      I don't know why they were ever removed. Back in my day, classrooms not in use were locked as a matter of policy (when no staff was present). Otherwise, students could enter and utilize them for 'unsanctioned' activities. I have many interesting stories from my high scool music department practice rooms.

      I had a private smoking lounge in the maintenance space above ours. (Wonder if anyone ever found the bong I think I left up there.) I was in practically every musical group the school had, and so received a key that just so happened to open *that* lock, too, my sophomore year... :)

      Nobody ever guessed how I managed never to get busted in the restrooms or trying to sneak out to the far parking lot. Since I wasn't supposed to tell any of the other students that I had what turned out to be a master key to every room and office in the whole music wing... I of course abided by the conditions under which I'd been given the key, and didn't tell a soul!

      No worries, slashdot readers do not have souls.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    10. Re:All I could tell from the link by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      Is that Dutch looks like german, in which everything seems angry. The web page seemed very very angry about my lack of cookies. I never knew a web page could look so angry.

      It's probably asking your permission to use cookies, as per the recent EU rulings on cookie use in websites.

    11. Re:All I could tell from the link by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Yeah, keeping teens from having sex is far more important than keeping them safe from firearms. Priorities, man, where does the constitution say anything about a right to fuck?

      There are a couple of things that supersede the US Constitution.

      Rule 34 is one of them.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    12. Re:All I could tell from the link by Dare+nMc · · Score: 1

      > keeping teens from having sex is far more important than keeping them safe from firearms.

      I am assuming your trying to be sarcastic, but it is likely a true statement. IE thousands more teens will die from un-protected sex, than firearms.
      IN USA there are a estimated 6312 cancer deaths per year due to HPV. and close to 10,000 deaths per year due to aids. The total deaths by gun deaths is droppin from 11,000 (less than 3000 were teens.) No numbers to say what % are infected as teens, but I think it is safe to say a teen having unprotected sex is more likely to die because of the sex, than from a gun in the USA. (of course driving make both of these causes tiny in comparison.)

    13. Re:All I could tell from the link by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Then stop trying to delude yourself into thinking that teaching abstinence works with hormone machines like teenagers and start handing out condoms to them!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    14. Re:All I could tell from the link by shikaisi · · Score: 2

      The Dutch are probably the least angry people on the planet lol.

      Q: Why are the Dutch such nice people? A: Because all the real bastards went to South Africa.

      --
      No left turn unstoned.
    15. Re:All I could tell from the link by Artea · · Score: 1

      +1 Insightful

    16. Re:All I could tell from the link by Dare+nMc · · Score: 1

      I would agree, except for the "yourself" part of that post, if I believed in abstinence only, I would have left out the unprotected in "unprotected sex." Had they said "ourselves" it would have been a insightful post. Yourself makes it a baseless attack, more flamebait than insight.

    17. Re:All I could tell from the link by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      It's not really my fault that the English language lacks a suitable indefinite pronoun. French has "on" and German "man", but in English you can either use a horrible passive tense or substitute with a "generic" you. If you prefer to read an "ourselves" there, it would fit just as well.

      Sorry, but the finer points of the English language sometimes still escape my grasp. In retrospect, it does indeed sound a bit like an attack, that was not the intention.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    18. Re:All I could tell from the link by Neil+Boekend · · Score: 1

      Yep, we all bought something at Gamestation on the 1st of April 2010

      --
      Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
    19. Re:All I could tell from the link by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      I reveal a secret I've kept for 33 years, and that's the best you can come up with? Meh.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    20. Re:All I could tell from the link by PPH · · Score: 1

      Slight logic error there. The anti-vandalism and anti-fornication* motives explain why there were locks. So now, not getting kids massacred is one more reason for them. So what was the reason for having them removed?

      * Interesting note: Decades after leaving high school, when running into classmates, the question of what we all did when we snuck into classrooms comes up. Those who answered 'smoke' (not necessarily tobacco) seem to have fared rather worse in their life trajectories then those who answered 'fuck'.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  8. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by larry+bagina · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The TSA recently changed policies to allow pocket knives, nail clippers, hockey sticks, and box cutters back on planes. Box cutters, you'll remember, were used on 9/11/2001. The reality is, many prohibited items pass through security on a daily basis. You've heard stories about people the TSA failing their own security checks (fake bombs, guns, etc). You probably haven't heard any stories about the TSA actually stopping a terrorist. This is not because they're too modest to tell anyone.

    All is not lost, since cockpit doors are still locked during the flight and passengers know a plane hijacking no longer means "free trip to cuba" but "you will die" which changes the dynamic (c.f United Airlines flight 93).

    --
    Do you even lift?

    These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

  9. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    Indeed.

    I once had a transparent bottle with one finger of liquid left in it (clearly visible) confiscated because the bottle was too big. Even though bigger bottles were available in the shop behind the scanner (also clearly visible).

    --
    No sig today...
  10. Over thinking it by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That guy is over thinking it. A wine bottle and a roll of duct tape can be used to make a good knife - and on international flights they serve wine in glass bottles. Credit cards can have their edges honed to the point of being as sharp as box cutters.

    About the only thing worthwhile is using a remote controlled toy to trigger something.

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    1. Re:Over thinking it by houghi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My grandfather sharpened the edges of coins, so they could put them between their fingers when fighting.
      Bar fights are done without the duct tape. Just use any glass or bottle and break the end while holding it.

      Look at the average documentary about prisons and you will know that anything can be made into a weapon.

      And if you are a danger with a nail clipper, you are a danger without it.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    2. Re:Over thinking it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not to mention, a terrorist could dissect another passenger and use their teeth and large bones as weapons! On a long flight, they could render a passenger's body fat into a viscous fire accelerant!

      We had better block the presence of body fat, teeth, and large bones at the security gate too... it's the only way to ensure safe and convenient air travel for the public.

    3. Re:Over thinking it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      My grandfather sharpened the edges of coins, so they could put them between their fingers when fighting.

      And it impressed your grandmother enough that she didn't smash that bottle of rum on his head, and the rest was history.

      Someday children will have stories about how their parents met while suing each other for sneezing inappropriately. Times are changing.

    4. Re:Over thinking it by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Bar fights are done without the duct tape. Just use any glass or bottle and break the end while holding it.

      That's a good way to end up with a handful of blood and broken glass. It's not easy to break the end off of a bottle without breaking the whole bottle. Amateur bottle fighters are little more than business for surgeons. There's a very good reason for the duct tape.

    5. Re: Over thinking it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tyler is that you?

    6. Re:Over thinking it by AK+Marc · · Score: 2

      That, and the bottle unbroken is a good weapon. A solid hit on a head would be fatal (assuming wine bottle, not beer). And if it breaks on someone's head, then you have the broken bottle you were aiming for anyway.

    7. Re:Over thinking it by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Be prepared to find your name on a no-fly list for no real reason. You clearly are a problem to national security. You can think.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:Over thinking it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i think I can see what the future holds for us. You have to score lower than a TSA agent before you can board the aircraft.

    9. Re:Over thinking it by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      Someday children will have stories about how their parents met while suing each other for sneezing inappropriately. Times are changing.

      My daddy's lawyers are bigger than your daddy's lawyers.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    10. Re:Over thinking it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      his is a silly millimeter longer?

    11. Re:Over thinking it by wienerschnizzel · · Score: 1

      Not only over thinking - he's thinking in the wrong directions.

      His blunt weapons are useless in an airplane - no room to make a swing at a target positioned as high as a human head. Has he seriously not thought about a shiv on a two foot pole? The projectile weapons are little more than an annoyance. Yes, even the crossbow, which could seriously injure one person with a lucky shot and that's it.

      His "Plausible attack scenarios" are laughable as well. Even if you manage to keep the cockpit door open, what then? You still have to deal with two non-compliant pilots. There is a person who tried - and not with weapons made of fashion magazines- he had hammers and a freaking dart gun. He failed. And being on a cargo plane he didn't even have to deal with a cabin full of pissed-off passengers

      .

      Seriously, the only 'plausible' danger would be to quietly set up a bomb as a part of a suicide attack or a timed bomb to explode in the next flight and he didn't demonstrate anything like that.

    12. Re:Over thinking it by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 1

      is that a sillimeter?

      --
      The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
  11. Ruining it for everyone by bsDaemon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Who wants to bet that the ultimate outcome of this talk becoming known to the public at large will be to close duty-free stores at international airports? Frankly, while I agree that airport security as it exists is basically theater which provides little-to-no meaningful increase in actual safety, I sort of feel like pointing out what you can do with items you're allowed to purchase on the "secure side of the fence" as it were, is akin to the people who point out that more murders are perpetrated with hand guns than assault rifles: they think they're making a logical point, but all they're doing is creating a causus belli for their opponents to expand their reach to target handguns, too -- NOT providing a rational argument for passing over banning assault weapons.

    On the other hand, as a security industry professional, I'm naturally inclined to find things like this kind of cool. But seriously, I don't think anything good will come from this from a policy standpoint.

    1. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Imagix · · Score: 5, Interesting

      True story: Passing security, my wife had her nail clippers confiscated. As soon as we cleared security, we walked into one of the shops and bought another pair of nail clippers. What was the point of seizing them at security? Equally true story: we bought water in the security area in our originating airport. Transferred planes in London, and they seized the water. BTW: do they somehow scan all of the merchandise that was brought into the secured area, like the bottled water that you can't bring across security?

    2. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Won't happen. Those shops provide a large amount of income to the airports..

    3. Re:Ruining it for everyone by turkeyfeathers · · Score: 5, Funny

      The replacement clippers you bought in the shop were made of approved inert metal. The ones you tried to smuggle on the aircraft could well have been made of plutonium. You and a few of your terrorist buddies put your plutonium nail clippers together and... BOOM! So you see, the policy was effective. Now please report to Guantanamo Bay.

    4. Re:Ruining it for everyone by MLCT · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That won't happen, because ultimately airports are only profitable as they are run as giant shops. Antiquated rules on the requirements for how long people need to be there before the flight are maintained to ensure there is a large number of trapped people sitting about who want to buy food/drink and who get bored or are addicted anyway to buying things they don't really need in shops.

      Ultimately our security means little compared to the ability of the shops to sell "things" - hence the fact that we can still buy such things in the departures lounge even though it is clearly a security risk. The money they make (and thus the rent the pay to the airport) matters more than absolute security. Indeed some of the shops were no doubt delighted when the 100 ml rule came in, as now they can sell us elementary things like a bottle of water that we are not allowed to take through security.

    5. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not really, you don't have to show up that early, except for international flights, they recommend that you show up that early because many people suck at time management. Also, security sometimes takes longer than expected. You can show up pretty much last minute and get on the plane, you just have to hope that you don't get unlucky with the traffic or any of that.

    6. Re:Ruining it for everyone by ATMAvatar · · Score: 3, Informative

      What was the point of seizing them at security?

      Aside from the obvious security theater, they also sell the items.

      --
      "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    7. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What was the point of seizing them at security?

      To make you buy from the duty free store. The stores were losing money, and needed an influx of forced shoppers so that the airports could increase rent fees. I'll bet most of the confiscation rules were suggested by airports and not airlines or security professionals.

    8. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Lemming+Mark · · Score: 2

      Although I can imagine certain items being banned or screened more careful, I'd suspect that the lobbying of airports / airlines will protect the duty free shops from significant changes. Similarly, I've always suspected that the restrictions on liquids would have been lifted quickly if they were a financial pain (rather than a financial benefit) to the airports / airlines / shops.

      Just my opinion, though, it's not like there's (as far as I'm aware!) particularly good insight available into how and what the interested parties communicate.

    9. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plutonium nailclippers? We are not defending against those because we know islamic suicide terrorists are not gay: they want to get their harem of virgins in heaven.

    10. Re:Ruining it for everyone by donscarletti · · Score: 1

      Plutonium is a strange metal. It has 6 allotropes and is denser when melted than when solid, it is brittle and doesn't conduct heat or electricity. You take this horrid, unworkable metal that an experienced machinist or blacksmith would have trouble making a simple screwdriver or chisel out of and have to make a perfect, hollow, evacuated sphere out of it, surround it with precision trinitrotoluene shaped charges with multiple detonation points and then boom.

      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    11. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 1

      Plutonium nailclippers? We are not defending against those because we know islamic suicide terrorists are not gay: they want to get their harem of virgins in heaven.

      Just to be clear - is this AC suggesting that people who trim their nails are gay?

      --
      "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
    12. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Well, women do tend to grow longer finger nails, and more often than not love the cock.
      Men who keep closely trimmed nails tend to not want any additional cock.

      So if anything, I would have to conclude that NOT cutting your fingernails in a sign you want the cock, not the other way around as the GP suggests.

      Perhaps he is trying to redirect some strange and confusing feelings :P
      Or perhaps homophobes will be homophobes despite that annoying 'reality' thing, as not only would any signs of being gay just not matter, but being gay itself also just does not matter.

    13. Re:Ruining it for everyone by chihowa · · Score: 2

      Good deals, too. That's where I get all of my discount used nail clippers!

      --
      If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
    14. Re:Ruining it for everyone by turkeyfeathers · · Score: 1

      You know too much about this plutonium. Report to Guantanamo Bay.

    15. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Staredown · · Score: 1

      True story: Passing security, my wife had her nail clippers confiscated. As soon as we cleared security, we walked into one of the shops and bought another pair of nail clippers. What was the point of seizing them at security?

      I think the question answers itself.

    16. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Mitreya · · Score: 2

      BTW: do they somehow scan all of the merchandise that was brought into the secured area, like the bottled water that you can't bring across security?

      No! That's the best part. As I am forced to throw away my water-bottle, I see a random worker bring in a palette of water bottles and go in without so much as a scan (they just open the door).

      I am almost certain the airport vendors lobbied for that particular rule. Water/soda prices have almost doubled in the last few years.

    17. Re:Ruining it for everyone by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

      That would be the heaviest nail clippers ever.

      --
      Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    18. Re:Ruining it for everyone by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

      No, you don't evacuate it. You fill the sphere with hydrogen. That will give you much more bang for your buck.

      --
      Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    19. Re:Ruining it for everyone by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      There's money behind the duty free shops. There's no money behind the people getting harassed in security. So they wouldn't close duty-free.

    20. Re:Ruining it for everyone by AK+Marc · · Score: 2

      And that was a reaction to the security. I remember as a child going up to the gate to meet incoming passengers. Yes, it was trivial to get to a gate with no boarding pass. The airports complained when the rules precluded non-passengers from going to the gate. Airports in other countries still let you go to the gate if not traveling. I've been to some that looked like malls more than airports. No idea if the locals went there.

    21. Re:Ruining it for everyone by rastos1 · · Score: 1
      As far as I know (which admittedly isn't very much in this area) the supplier that provides the beverages for the duty-free shops has to have security clearance and certification and the bottling and delivery process has just as string security as the airport checkpoints. That does not mean that they have to go through the same checkpoint as the passengers, but that they go through some kind of security check.

      I would not bet a dime on security of that process, but it certainly gives business opportunity to the beverage supplier, company doing the transport and foremost the company doing the certification (i.e. rubberstamping the application forms).

    22. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      They'll get it. Hey, who said anything about the virgins being female?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    23. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      And could you please get in line for the transport to Gitmo? That kind of knowledge clearly tells me that you must have terrorism on your mind, nobody else needs this information.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    24. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      It is HIGHLY unlikely that the stores close because of this. The stores were the reason for the whole confiscation craze in the first place.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    25. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reason that liquids can't be brought through is the ease of making and detonating liquid binary explosives and the difficulty of detecting them. As long as the bottled water that's being sold is from a trusted source, there's no need to check it. Vetting every single bottle of liquids would be prohibitively expensive, so they just make you toss out your bottle of water and buy a new one.

    26. Re:Ruining it for everyone by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      If you want it to go boom, yes. If you want to just make a really nasty neutron pulse, fatally irradiating everyone on board, you need much simpler arrangements. Slotin managed to do it accidentially.

      You'd still need a state sponsor though - there's nowhere else you might obtain a sufficient amount of refined plutonium. You shouldn't need anything too bulky - the demon core did it, and that was less than ten centimeters across. You'd still need a good excuse as to why you are carrying on pieces of metal that could be weaponised simply by smashing someone's skull in.

    27. Re:Ruining it for everyone by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      Sounds like Gitmo is the place to be. Lots of educated and devoted people. Would be a good group to work with. Furthermore, I love the Cuban climate and the cigars are to die for.

      Sign me up!

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    28. Re:Ruining it for everyone by i.r.id10t · · Score: 1

      Thats weird, I've seen the same guy who fills/maintains the Coke machines at work also delivering to the local air port....

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
    29. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then how do you know that??
      Unless you have terrorism on your mind!!

    30. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "We'll clip the nails of everybody on this jumbo jet
      We'll give you folks a manicure you never will forget!"

      http://www.myspace.com/princemyshkins/music/songs/nail-clippers-13560173

    31. Re:Ruining it for everyone by lightknight · · Score: 1

      Hmm. Squirt a little of each bottle into a clear plastic cup. If one of the travelers starts cringing or crying, then take a step back, and drop a slightly lesser amount than one would normally.

      You could even employ two extra people per line, aptly named "Bottle Squeezers," thus increasing the populous jobs programs that is the TSA.

      Of course, terrorists could get tricky, and try and split up the explosives, so one carries one component through, and another carries the other, and they both meet up on the same flight. But then, there are, in theory, so many ways to down an airplane, that it's virtually impossible to protect against them all.

      Hell, someone could rent a small plane, and ram it into a jet in mid-air. *shrugs* The list goes on.

      --
      I am John Hurt.
    32. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Cow+Jones · · Score: 1

      Plutonium is a strange metal. [...] an experienced machinist or blacksmith would have trouble making a simple screwdriver or chisel out of and have to make a perfect, hollow, evacuated sphere out of it [...]

      Please don't mention plutonium, half spheres and screwdrivers in the same sentence.
      I've had nightmares about this.

      --

      Ah, arrogance and stupidity, all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari
    33. Re:Ruining it for everyone by fluffy99 · · Score: 1

      The reason that liquids can't be brought through is the ease of making and detonating liquid binary explosives and the difficulty of detecting them. As long as the bottled water that's being sold is from a trusted source, there's no need to check it. Vetting every single bottle of liquids would be prohibitively expensive, so they just make you toss out your bottle of water and buy a new one.

      Well at least that's the party line spouted by TSA. All the explosive experts and chemists disagreed pointing out that mixing such chemicals and getting them to explode rather than burn is not trivial. There are very powerful two part liquid- powder explosives such as Astrolite that could be effective, but again not easy to detonate as it requires the use of a blasting cap. A few bottle of acetone-based nail polish remover and a lighter might be more effective.

    34. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I am sorry, by law you are not allowed to know that.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    35. Re:Ruining it for everyone by chrismcb · · Score: 2

      That won't happen, because ultimately airports are only profitable as they are run as giant shops. Antiquated rules on the requirements for how long people need to be there before the flight are maintained to ensure there is a large number of trapped people sitting about who want to buy food/drink and who get bored or are addicted anyway to buying things they don't really need in shops.

      Yeah, the airport shops like having people there, but you know what? They don't need "antiquated rules" to force people to come early. You know what would make them even MORE money, get rid of the stupid security checkpoint. BOOM instant customer increase as non passengers would be allowed in the airport.
      They already have enough people due to lay overs, and people wanting to come earlier. Throw in non passengers who are waiting for arrivals, or hanging out until departure...
      Some of train stations in Europe have ENORMOUS malls associated with them, and are quite busy, and they don't have these "antiquated rules" Not everything is a conspiracy

    36. Re:Ruining it for everyone by chrismcb · · Score: 1

      Airports in other countries still let you go to the gate if not traveling.

      What countries let you go to the gate if you are not travelling? I know some airports do, because the security check is at the gate itself. which is a bit frustrating as you have to sit in a small contained area prior to boarding. But I wouldn't say this lets non passengers go to the gate. Just a tad closer

    37. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hahaha best joke ever =)

    38. Re:Ruining it for everyone by steelfood · · Score: 1

      the ultimate outcome of this talk becoming known to the public at large will be to close duty-free stores at international airports

      Actually, the FBI is monitoring all inbound connections to TFA, and is immediately adding everyone that ever accessed that server onto the no-fly list.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    39. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's also a nasty environmental (chemical) toxin. Even without the shaped charges, spreading it around makes for an unholy cleanup cost (ditto uranium, depleted or not).

    40. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh noez! The homophobe mods think being gay DOES matter, and so mod me troll.

      Oh slashdot, how thee has fallen

    41. Re:Ruining it for everyone by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Remember when going out to the airport, parking at the end of the runway, and watching the planes was a popular spectator sport? (Well, at least for those of us old enough that commercial airliners were a novelty...)

      Now, you'd barely get parked and get your binoculars out, and the SWAT team would descend on you.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  12. So what.. by houbou · · Score: 1

    in the hands of an expert, a toothpick can be a weapon.. sheesh..

    1. Re:So what.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do they even allow Chuck Norris into airports, never mind on a plane?

    2. Re:So what.. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Not to mention a tea cup.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:So what.. by lightknight · · Score: 1

      Martial arts, anyone?

      --
      I am John Hurt.
  13. Why work so hard? by putaro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While cute, this is really overthinking the problem.

    If you want to kill lots of people in an aviation related way, send a suicide bomber to the security checkpoint at Thanksgiving.

    If you want to get weapons onto the plane, infiltrate someone into the cleaning staff or maybe the caterers. There are lots of people and vehicles who enter the airport without being rigorously searched. Have them leave a weapon for you in the airplane's bathroom or taped under your seat.

    1. Re:Why work so hard? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I were to do some spectacular air terror act I would use a good rifle from a suitable location on ground close to the landing strip.

    2. Re:Why work so hard? by jovius · · Score: 1

      True. In the end the security checkpoint will be built in the door frame of your home.

    3. Re:Why work so hard? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Hmmm... that sounds quite interesting, actually. I'd like to know when someone takes a gun into my home. But I'm sure I'll be responsible for feeding and sheltering that TSA goon, right?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Why work so hard? by mjwx · · Score: 1

      While cute, this is really overthinking the problem.

      If you want to kill lots of people in an aviation related way, send a suicide bomber to the security checkpoint at Thanksgiving.

      Traditionally the goal of hijacking a plane is to get a bunch of hostages in order to further a political goal (release of "political" prisoners is a common one).

      If a terrorist organisation could operate domestically and simply wanted to kill people, there are softer targets than airports (buses, theatres, think about the places that got hit in Israel in days past) and targets with far greater political value (banks, municipal buildings). You need only look at the damage Timothy McVey did and he was just one nut with a truck full of home made explosives. Fortunately for most western nations, terrorists are not supported enough or funded well enough to operate domestically.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    5. Re:Why work so hard? by Shompol · · Score: 2
  14. Rubbish weapons by Attila+the+Bun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The weapons in the photos look scary, but I bet they'd be really rubbish in real life. For example, the club is made from a rolled up magazine and some Liberty statuettes. It is small, not very heavy, not very sharp, and would probably fall apart if it was used.

    Really any of these weapons is insignificant compared to what an fit but unarmed human can do. And that's why aeroplanes are safe these days: any hijacker will have to take on a hundred or more strong and highly motivated passengers.

    1. Re:Rubbish weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rolled up magazine (e.g. Delta Skymiles catalog) makes for a VERY effective club. Each individual page adds a reinforcing layer. A good magazine that's between an eighth and a quarter inch thick is almost equivalent to a metal rod.

    2. Re:Rubbish weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yet it can smash a coconut in multiple pieces in one hit according to the article. He did 2 years of research so it would be rather rubbish if he came up with a armory of weapons that fall apart on first use.

    3. Re:Rubbish weapons by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

      The weapons in the photos look scary, but I bet they'd be really rubbish in real life. For example, the club is made from a rolled up magazine and some Liberty statuettes. It is small, not very heavy, not very sharp, and would probably fall apart if it was used.

      Really any of these weapons is insignificant compared to what an fit but unarmed human can do. And that's why aeroplanes are safe these days: any hijacker will have to take on a hundred or more strong and highly motivated passengers.

      +1. The rules have changed - it used to be "submit, avoid confrontation and eventually the hijackers will release you; even if it is after a prolonged period of time." Now it is "Kill the bastards before they can kill you." Whenever I fly I take note of what I can use to protect myself - whether it is my very sharp point all metal pen, my all metal laptop, or the power cord.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    4. Re:Rubbish weapons by Attila+the+Bun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yet it can smash a coconut in multiple pieces in one hit according to the article. He did 2 years of research so it would be rather rubbish if he came up with a armory of weapons that fall apart on first use.

      Sounds impressive doesn't it. But if you tried you could easily smash a coconut with your bare hands. However it would be very different if the coconut had arms and legs and was defending itself. And if there were a hundred of them, you would soon be overwhelmed.

      If your goal is to injure one random person on a plane then nothing and nobody can prevent you. Almost anything will serve as a weapon, and if you are reasonably strong you don't even need a weapon. But that's a preposterous idea, because the remaining passengers will flatten you and you will spend the rest of your life in jail.

      If your goal is to take over a plane then a rolled-up magazine laced to a handful of trinkets will not help.

    5. Re:Rubbish weapons by Bogtha · · Score: 5, Informative

      The weapons in the photos look scary, but I bet they'd be really rubbish in real life. For example, the club is made from a rolled up magazine and some Liberty statuettes. It is small, not very heavy, not very sharp, and would probably fall apart if it was used.

      You'd be surprised at how effective seemingly benign things like this are. It sounds akin to a Milwall brick.

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    6. Re:Rubbish weapons by flyingfsck · · Score: 2

      Yah, a club made from stale airport sandwiches would have been better.

      --
      Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    7. Re:Rubbish weapons by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      What an overkill. I have my belt.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:Rubbish weapons by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

      That's why I always fly with garrotting wire.

      What, you think they search that hard?

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    9. Re:Rubbish weapons by Attila+the+Bun · · Score: 1

      You'd be surprised at how effective seemingly benign things like this are. It sounds akin to a Milwall brick.

      You'd be surprised at how effective bare knuckles are. As long as the hijackers have no easy access to the cockpit and are heavily outnumbered by highly motivated people, they stand no chance (this was not the case for the Milwall hooligans). No improvised weapon is powerful enough to overcome the difference in numbers and shift the balance of power. The challenge is going to be ensuring in the long term that ordinary people remain highly motivated to resist aggressors. The TSA's scare tactics come in for a lot of (deserved) criticism, but at least they keep people keyed up.

    10. Re:Rubbish weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It did fall apart.... well the first attempt at making it did.

      The second attempt shattered a coconut.

      He says the heads weren't made from metal exactl but a composite, so the points do break off with repeated attacks... plus point being you're leaving chucks of crap inside your target.

    11. Re:Rubbish weapons by chrismcb · · Score: 1

      Almost anything will serve as a weapon, and if you are reasonably strong you don't even need a weapon.

      It used to be when you were flying back to the US you would have to answer a bunch of moronic questions. Things like "did you pack your checked bag, does it have any electronics in it, list them etc." One of the questions was "do you have anything that can be used as a weapon." My response was "yes" as ANYTHING can be used as a weapon.

    12. Re:Rubbish weapons by servognome · · Score: 1

      You'd be surprised at how deadly a Cinnabon is. Give one to everybody and get them addicted, eventually you'll cause mass murder as they die from diabetes

      --
      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
    13. Re:Rubbish weapons by hairyfish · · Score: 1

      Sounds impressive doesn't it. But if you tried you could easily smash a coconut with your bare hands.

      I can only assume you never tried to crack a coconut with your bare hands, I'd go so far as to say it is impossible. It's even quite difficult repeatedly smashing it on concrete, you generally need something sharp to crack the case and bare hands simply aren't up to the task. I doubt TFA claims too, coconuts can provide a challenge even for a machete, I highly doubt a rolled up magazine and cheap pointy trinkets would have any effect.

    14. Re:Rubbish weapons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Arrrrgh! Hundreds of angry coconuts with legs!

  15. No more hijacks in real life by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No-one will ever hijack a plane in real life again, at least in the west, because you can't get in the cockpit, and people will assume they're going to die anyway and will risk death from any hand weapon to stop the hijacker.

    The only weapon of any real consequence is one which can puncture the skin of the aircraft, or kill everyone on board some other way. Other than this you might as well ban all these things from busses and trains etc. where they would have the exact same effect.

  16. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sigh, you do realize that those bottles behind the screen are screened, right? And that they don't have the resources to test every bottle that comes through the security check point for everything they're worried about.

    Of all the things that TSA does, this is one of the few that actually has any validity. If anything they should be far more strict about it.

  17. Arbitrariness of airport security by Lemming+Mark · · Score: 1

    This is one of the reasons airport security has bugged me so much - I've been inconvenienced over trivial things that don't really matter to security, whilst equivalent or greater threats just go unmentioned. I once had a cone spanner confiscated. That's a very small, thin spanner, suitable for adjusting bicycle bearings - and very little else - I'd lost it at the bottom of my bag and hadn't realised it was there (though I had flown the outbound leg successfully without security picking up on it!).

    It was against the rules to let "tools" through the checkpoint - but couple of weeks later on a much larger, more significant flight, I was able to get a heavier spanner for free on the front of a biking magazine in the duty free area. Derp.

  18. Whats the point? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Other than distracting law enforcement officials for a short time, which could be done entirely non-violently, what could anyone gain from this silliness?

    I GET it, checkpoint security could be toned DOWN a lot and still be effective, but it's hard to see how that message gets across by demonstrating all the other things you can do after the checkpoint. The other end of the argument could be "move the checkpoint up" and your message is lost.

  19. Self defense classes by Culture20 · · Score: 2

    Anyone who takes a self defense class (especially women's self defense) will learn how to "weaponize" ordinary objects that we all have at hand every day. Umbrellas and CDs/DVDs make vicious weapons when broken.
    "That's my purse! I don't know you!" -Bobby Hill

    1. Re:Self defense classes by lightknight · · Score: 1

      And anyone who has been alive for the past decade is aware that if some group of people hijack your plane, you're better off rushing them, than waiting for a 'successful negotiation.' The problem kind of fixed itself day two of the crisis...

      --
      I am John Hurt.
    2. Re:Self defense classes by cusco · · Score: 1

      I read that as 'Benny Hill', and was trying to remember what skit it belonged to . . .

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  20. This Is Why by hduff · · Score: 1

    This is why we can't have nice things.

    --
    "I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
    1. Re:This Is Why by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Even if we had nice things, TSA would take them away. At random, I may add. It's almost like some TSA goon going "hey, I could use that" and suddenly it becomes an "illegal item".

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  21. But...will it change anything? by ibsteve2u · · Score: 1

    Hard to believe that anything will change. After all, the threat of terrorism was out there and well-known prior to 9/11, but the airlines still shirked all defensive/offensive tactics (even basics like strengthened cockpit doors) in the name of profit - and they got away with it because they liberally dispensed cash to their lobbyists.

    I daresay no one will argue an assertion that the liquor industry, as one example of an airport retailer, likewise has a significant lobbying presence in Washington, D.C....et al.

    --
    Orwell: "In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act"
  22. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by AikonMGB · · Score: 4, Informative

    You missed the point: you can bring in large empty bottles, or small bottles filled with liquid, but not large bottles with a small amount of liquid. The regulations are arbitrary and near-useless.

  23. My Q&D human translation of the Dutch article by fondacio · · Score: 4, Informative

    Researcher builds bomb out of articles from airport shops

    To demonstrate the futility of current airport security, next week a security expert will demonstrate a remotely controllable bomb. All the materials were bought at the airport once past security.

    The detonation mechanism will be presented at security conference Hack in the Box in Amsterdam. It is the result of two years of research by security expert Evan Booth.

    “There are all kinds of things we cannot take with us and security checks for those. But it turns out that this doesn’t make much sense,” says Booth.

    The detonation mechanism is the result of more than two years of research into deficient security at airports and available materials which are sold the in stores which are located ait airports behind customs.

    Drone

    To build the mechanism, Booth has used a Zippo lighter, disposable lighters, adhesive tape, dental floss and a remote controlled drone. “Which can be opreated with a mobile phone through a wireless network”, claims Booth.

    He used the engine from the drone to operate the zippo lighter. With disposable lighters, it is possible subsequently to create a blowtorch. By doing this, it would be possible to cause a fire, but at the conference Booth will present a more developed concept which even enables the detonation of a bomb.

    Simple

    “The trick is to prove that you can have dangerous weapons on board without carrying any forbidden items with you”, Booth has stated to NU.nl.

    Apart from a bomb, Booth also managed without much effort to create a bow and arrow out of items he had bought in a shop at an airport. For this, he used an umbrella, a hairdryer, socks, a leather belt and condoms. He did not want to further develop things were too obvious, such as using a lighter and deodorant as an alternative gas burner.

    Also remarkable is a club he created out of a souvenir, some magazines, dental floss, a leather belt and adhesive tape. During a test, this club turned out to be so solid that a single strike sufficed to break a coconut into several pieces.

    Profiling

    “Airport security has not been done well for a while now. What annoys me, is that we spend a lot of money on it and, for example, violate people’s privacy with body scanners. In the meantime, it turns out it doesn’t work well”, explains Booth.

    “It is a difficult problem, but I don’t know if this security makes any sense at all. I believe more in good intelligence and preventing the wrong people from coming to the airport.”

    To pre-empt problems with authorities, Booth has contacted the responsible government agencies in the United States in February. “I have offered to demonstrate my research and provide explanations, but I haven’t received any response. In the meantime, I have continued my research.”

  24. Honestly? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

    Did anyone honestly believe it was the opposite?

    --
    Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  25. Not news: knowledge has always been ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... a more powerful weapon. Anyone with a basic knowledge of physics and turn anything into a powerful weapon, including their own body. Anyone with a knowledge of chemistry of physics is more capable of making use of the things that they find around them. Anyone with a knowledge of psychology or security is better able to manipulate the mechanisms that are supposed to keep us safe. And the list could go on.

  26. Uhm, no. by raehl · · Score: 4, Informative

    Antiquated rules on the requirements for how long people need to be there before the flight are maintained to ensure there is a large number of trapped people sitting about who want to buy food/drink and who get bored or are addicted anyway to buying things they don't really need in shops.

    There are three sets of rules about when you need to be at the airport:

    - Check-in time: Usually 30 minutes. This cutoff is to both give you time to get through security and the airline time to put other people in your seat if you don't show. But, since you can check in online anytime within 24 hours of your flight, this doesn't really put any requirement on you as to when you have to be at the airport.
    - Back Check Time: Usually the same as the check-in time, and usually 30 minutes, although at some airports it's more. This is to make sure that the airline has time to get your bag to the plane and loaded on it. 30 minutes is pretty reasonable here (and the airports where it's longer, like Las Vegas, there's a reason.)
    - At The Gate time: 15 or 30 minutes prior to departure, depending on whether you're doing domestic or international departure. As a practical matter though, this is really "before they are done boarding the plane". If it's 10 minutes to departure and they've still got a line of people getting on the plane, they won't know you're not there. But if it's 25 minutes before departure on an international flight and you're not on the plane and they are done boarding, they're going to pull your bags from the plane.

    Why 30 for international but only 15 for domestic? Because the airlines are not required to fly your bags on the same plane as you domestically, but they are required to do so internationally, so they need the extra 15 minutes to get bags off the plane.

    So, yes, there are rules about when you have to be at the airport and at the gate. But they have nothing to do with getting people to shop.

    1. Re:Uhm, no. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      But if it's 25 minutes before departure on an international flight and you're not on the plane and they are done boarding, they're going to pull your bags from the plane.

      Depends on the carrier and maybe the airport. I've been in places where if you are "checked in" they will hold the plane for you. Period. Otherwise, you could spend $1000 on a ticket to get through security, and stay in the secure area indefinitely. That's not allowed, so there must be a 1:1 between security and boarding.

      One of the Australian discount carriers closes the gate 45 minutes before the flight "so the captain can do weight calculations" I would guess it's a policy designed to push up fees for tardy passengers, but regardless the reason, you can show up at the airport 15 minutes before boarding starts (40 minutes before takeoff) and get refused a boarding pass, luggage is irrelevant.

    2. Re:Uhm, no. by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      So, if I actually only need to be there 30 minutes in advance, why am I told that I need to be there two hours in advance? I remember back when they used to tell us to be there 30-60 minutes early and no one had any problems. It's only been since 9/11 that they suddenly started telling everyone to arrive hours in advance, and as much as I like complaining about the TSA, security doesn't take THAT much longer to get through than it used to.

      I'm not suggesting I agree with the notion that it's done for shopping reasons (in fact, I agree that that is not the reason), but I do think there's something else that's driving those recommendations.

    3. Re:Uhm, no. by fph+il+quozientatore · · Score: 2

      As my former boss used to say, "if you've never missed a plane, you arrive to the airport too early".

      --
      My first program:

      Hell Segmentation fault

    4. Re:Uhm, no. by aXis100 · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression that the 45 minutes is there to allow for bag screening - all of the checked baggage gets x-rayed or similar.

    5. Re:Uhm, no. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Not according to Tiger Airlines representatives.

    6. Re:Uhm, no. by raehl · · Score: 1

      So, if I actually only need to be there 30 minutes in advance, why am I told that I need to be there two hours in advance?

      The 2 hours is published as a recommendation, not a requirement.

      And you're told that because if you don't know when you actually need to arrive at the airport, you're probably an infrequent traveler, and then you may need to be there 2 hours in advance.

      That 2 hours includes finding a place to park, getting into the terminal, waiting through the check-in line (which may be short or long, depending), getting through security (which may be short or long, depending), and getting to the gate.

      If you know what you're doing and are fit and able, you can clip that down to 45 minutes. I do it all the time. In fact I've checked a bag 31 minutes before departure more times than one might think possible. But if the airline is publishing a number for Jane and Joe Public, 2 hours is a good recommendation.

  27. Wait what? by raehl · · Score: 1

    Since when can you buy lighters in airports?

    And I wouldn't count making a bow and arrow as being successful at getting a (useful) weapon on a plane. A bow and arrow is a virtually useless device in the close-quarters of an aircraft.

    1. Re:Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can buy deodorant - which is one possible component for a flamethrower, and in some tax free shops you can buy RC vehicles for kids, add a Swiss army knife, Leatherman multitool or other similar tool from another shop and you can cause a lot of harm. Lithium camera batteries are also "interesting" combined with water - or short circuited.

      You have a lot of options aside from the plain stab and beat weapons you can invent.

    2. Re:Wait what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Been to an airport lately? Only one I've had trouble buying a lighter at was in Beijing.

      Planes also have these long, clear avenues of flight for missile weapons known as "aisles".

    3. Re:Wait what? by Zaelath · · Score: 2

      I've only ever seen "multiple" lighters confiscated.

      I've done most of my flying post 9/11, I think one trip before. I had one of two lighters confiscated, after the agent confirmed you're only allowed the one, kinda. That was pre 9/11.

      My mother is a lighter kleptomaniac, she took a flight once with a dozen lighters in her handbag, only realised when they got confiscated on the return trip.

      Post 9/11 I had an entire computer sans the case in my carry on luggage, including a power supply which just scans as a black box with wire hanging out of it. All I was asked was, "whatcha got, a playstation in there?", once, at one of about 5 scans.

      The idea that you can "make a weapon" from shit at the souveneir shops is ludicrous, simply because it's easier to just bring one with you, or at least significant parts of one.

    4. Re:Wait what? by j-turkey · · Score: 1

      I can't speak to the rest of your post, but the rules for what items can be carried onto a plane change fairly frequently. Your data may have been superseded. I fly every week for business, and can attest to this. However don't take my word for it - a lighter can be lawfully carried onto a plane. With regard to video game consoles, there are rules for those, too. Even the rules for small knives and some sporting goods are changing. This is not to say that I think that I'm a fan of the TSA. I'm just providing more up-to-date information than what you have experienced that may help you to rephrase your premise. Also, from my experience, although the rules are published and are fairly consistent; how they are enforced is not. A good example of this is how rules are enforced in small regional airports. Generally, the TSA officers in the tiny regional airports have a lot of time on their hands to do things like re-run carry-ons through an x-ray machine, excluding my eyeglass cleaning fluid (etc).

      --

      -Turkey

  28. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, and the last time a 9/11 style attack was possible was 9/11/2001. If a terrorist is going to stop passengers from fighting back, he will need a couple of guns, or a big bomb strapped to his chest. Anything else, and they will rip his arms and legs off after the first attempts of an attack.

  29. Here's a clue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's a clue: and dangerous mind and a pair of hands are lethal weapons. In any case, this guy is now on every watch list there is in the United States of Stupid/Paranoia.

  30. Next headline by roman_mir · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Next headline will read:

    TSA: How To Eliminate Researcher Evan Booth While Pretending To Be In Line With The Constitution

  31. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by ark1 · · Score: 1

    Indeed, you could have 1 large empty bottle + 2 small bottles as if it was impossible to fill the large bottle with the small one once you cross the checkpoint. But we know this is done to give an impression of security and not really provide much security.

  32. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Interesting. Those large polycarbonate bottles can hold well over 100 psi. Pump a two litre one up to max with acetylene, and it would still look empty. Unscrew the top and light a match. Boom.

  33. What this tells us about the scope of the problem. by MarkvW · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This ought to teach us just how disorganized and scarce these "Al Quaeda" suicidal terrorists are. If there were that many of them, they'd have figured out how to make airplane assault weapons long before this guy's ideas made it into print.

    We are being sold a bill of goods by contractors who want the government to buy their overpriced "anti-terrorist" product-of-the-month.

    Every damn politician is now afraid of being perceived as "soft on terrorism," and we now have an Antiterrorism Industry intent on perpetuating itself.

    This is getting REALLY stupid . . . almost as stupid as the internet bubble.

  34. Re:blue barn graphics by davester666 · · Score: 1

    Gift the money to the gov't.

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  35. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes, correct. And people on slashdot continue to post this on every airplane-related story, and continue to mod these posts insightful, and continue to agree with them.

    Meanwhile, the TSA continues to get more funding, continues to grow in power, and continues to perpetuate its injusticies against innocent people both inside of and outside of airports.

    Pointing out how wrong and wasteful they are, to an audience of geeks, accomplishes nothing.

  36. Great by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

    Just at the moment they were relaxing the regulations requiring mothers to drink their own milk and fathers to drink their urine...

    --
    Privacy is terrorism.
    1. Re:Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The cornerstone of reaching 'gold' frequent flyer status.

  37. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by turp182 · · Score: 1

    One can easily pass through security with several little bottles of liquor (1.5 ounces apiece). They look at them but don't verify that the seal isn't broken (anecdotaly speaking, mine are always sealed but they always just received a cursory glance. Probably very common for flights to Vegas...).

       

    --
    BlameBillCosby.com
  38. What Israeli Airport Security Teaches the World by wabrandsma · · Score: 2

    Once again, the Israelis have led the way.

    Much of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport’s security protocol is achieved through a combination of comprehensive due diligence, common sense, and consistency – which, one would think would be the objective of airport authorities throughout the world. If more airport authorities were to adopt Ben Gurion’s approach, surely it would be more difficult for those intending to do harm to succeed.

    http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/2012/06/19/what-israeli-airport-security-teaches-the-world/

    1. Re:What Israeli Airport Security Teaches the World by 0123456 · · Score: 1

      Once again, the Israelis have led the way.

      Why, did they ban duty-free stores?

      If more airport authorities were to adopt Ben Gurion’s approach, surely it would be more difficult for those intending to do harm to succeed.

      If US airports were to adopt Ben Gurion's approach, you'd easily catch the terrorists because they'd be the only ones still willing to put up with that crap in order to fly.

    2. Re:What Israeli Airport Security Teaches the World by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      This comes up every time we talk about this problem.

      Israel is not a good model for the US. It is the size of New Jersey with a single International airport. Their admittedly effective system cannot be used in the US - it just won't scale and it revolves around racial profiling - another no no in America.

      Try again.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    3. Re:What Israeli Airport Security Teaches the World by cusco · · Score: 1

      I haven't really noticed any of the terriers having much success in the last decade, even with the current farcical Security Theater. Why the fuck do you think that I have to go through a ridiculous grilling about my political views and racial ancestry, just because you're a coward?

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  39. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by BubbaDave · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Heh, the *boom* will be when you try to compress acetylene above 15psi.

    A few liters of acet-oxy mix makes a nice boom but little damage, I've had a quart sandwich bag of mix go off in my hands, not even a tingle.

    30 gal trashbag with a nice lean mix will audibly echo in the hudson valley for at least 190 seconds, assuming your ears were plugged for the boom.

  40. Airport termina design by tangent3 · · Score: 1

    I'm most familiar with Singapore Changi Airport, and security checks are done just before the gates. Whatever you bought at the duty free areas will end up being checked when brought through to the gates.

    It seems like the most logical way to do it I'm surprised most other airports don't do the same. It is definitely more expensive though, requiring a lot more X-ray machines, personnel and terminal space.

    1. Re:Airport termina design by chrismcb · · Score: 1

      It seems like the most logical way to do it I'm surprised most other airports don't do the same. It is definitely more expensive though, requiring a lot more X-ray machines, personnel and terminal space.

      I'm not sure how you deduce this is the most logical way to do it, although it does make it simpler to "secure the rest of the airport" But really the most logical way is to NOT do it. Why waste the time and the money, what are you trying to prevent?

  41. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Kreigaffe · · Score: 2

    REALLY? VALIDITY?

    aaaghhhh my head.

    LIQUID EXPLOSIVES ARE NOT AND WERE NEVER A DANGER, THEY ARE FAR LESS ENERGETIC THAN SOLID EXPLOSIVES AND FAR MORE DANGEROUS TO TRANSPORT.

    Anyone trying to blow up a plane with a liquid explosive is either going to blow up on the way to the airport, or do just enough damage to hurt themselves and no one else.

    The whole liquid restriction bullshit is just that, bullshit. And furthermore Susan I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that it was encouraged by the vendors on the 'safe' side of the security checkpoints. I can't fathom how much their sales of beverages must have increased..

    --
    ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
  42. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Kreigaffe · · Score: 1

    There's no real danger from liquid explosives so I'm not shocked the agents don't much give a shit.
    That's not a "oh the terr'rists aren't going to use them", that's a "oh, no, sorry but unless that liquid is magic it's not dangerous to anyone but you"

    explosives explode because they break apart chemical bonds and form gases that occupy a larger area, by far, than the original stuff -- and get quite hot in the process, which also means more expanding. liquids aren't as dense as solids, there just isn't the energy density available to do much of anything dangerous with liquid explosives.

    --
    ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
  43. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    I don't really think telling an audience outside of /. won't be doing much either. I don't know anyone who doesn't think the TSA is nothing but a huge job-creation program, and that's if they think positively about it.

    The whole "we protect you from the scary terrrrrrists" spiel doesn't impress anyone I know anymore. The reason why nobody really complains when more money is pumped down the hole is simply that people not only have other problems, they just noticed that they can't really do anything about it either. It's not like voting could change anything. If it could, it would probably be illegal.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  44. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Time_Ngler · · Score: 1

    You're wrong about the box cutters. Specifically called out and still banned.

    http://www.tsa.gov/pil-sharpobjects

  45. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They do pay particular attention to foot and baby powders, but not for safety reasons.

  46. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unscrew the top? You'd want to contain the expanding gases for maximum overpressure. Remember you want a bomb, not a bottle-rocket.

    [Unless the bottle-rocket is the sprayer for a powdered dairy creamer fireball.]

  47. What? by FatLittleMonkey · · Score: 1

    Do they... allow... Chuck Norris? {boggles}

    --
    Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
    1. Re:What? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      It never came up. Chuck Norris never had to get on an international flight.

      He walks.

      All the way.

    2. Re:What? by MurukeshM · · Score: 1

      In Soviet Russia, place walks to Chuck Norris! (as it does everywhere)

  48. Re:What this tells us about the scope of the probl by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Just that this bubble can't burst. It's not subject to the laws of the market, and everyone who can make a decision about it has an interest in it being kept afloat.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  49. Easy Steam Bomb by PerMolestiasEruditio · · Score: 1

    Get a duty free bottle of champagne, make a 100W heater element with some silicone sealant or an o-ring that you can insert into the top and lock in under high pressure.

    Open bottle in toilet, insert heater, put in bag surrounded by insulating clothes inside a plastic bag to prevent release of burning smells. Hook into the onboard laptop power supply in your business class seat, wait about 8-10 hours.
    Eventually steam pressure and temperature overwhelms bottle strength. Boom - equivalent of about 3-400g high explosive.

    All airport security is obviously bullshit. Men can easily fit 1kg of high explosive up their arses if they are willing to practice, and women have more than one option for hiding such items beyond the view of all scanning.

    1. Re:Easy Steam Bomb by couchslug · · Score: 1

      Test one and put it on Youtube. Kinda doubt the high explosive equivalent yield, especially as sealing the "cork" would be problematic.

      If you have an MRE heat pack you could dump it into the bottle, add water, cork/shake/throw (quickly, from cover!) and note the results.

      When I was deployed to KSA (before the Khobar Towers bombing) we'd do that with plastic soda or water bottles. Great for startling sleeping airmen! After the truck bombing such pranks understandably disappeared.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  50. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Liquid explosives are not what I would be worried about, Bleach and Ammonia would be something I would be far more worried about. You mix those on the flight and then you have a toxic gas cloud in an enclosed space.

    There are plenty of other two part chemical liquids that i would expect would be just as bad or worse in confined spaces. I don't expect it would be that hard to make mustard gas or some other nasty substance either. I expect that it would be relatively easy to aerosolize some form of biological agent as well from a liquid container, though you would first have to get that agent.

    Basically, there is nothing that is going to stop a determined person, the best you can hope for is to limit the possible damage. By securing the cockpit doors after 9/11 and then the change in passenger attitude (i.e. fight back vs compliance) we really have done about as much as we can. They body scanners are worse than useless and the cost to return on them just shows what a waste they are. If the explosive sniffers actually worked well, then maybe those would be useful but I have heard very mixed things about that. At best they should simply be used to prompt a closer inspection of a person and not a OMG it's a terrorist! response.

  51. Re: WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wanna hang out with this guy..

  52. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Kreigaffe · · Score: 2

    The cabin is a fairly large area and can take in air from the exterior. The risk isn't nearly what you make it out to be, unless someone's carrying a few gallon jugs onto the plane -- but realistically, without TSA and their liquid restrictions, *someone carrying several gallons of shit would never get on a plane anyway*.
    Because it's strange, and someone would ask "why are you carrying 3 gallons of liquid" and the game would be over.

    But, yeah. Cabin air isn't enclosed, it's not a tight space. There is air exchange taking place at all times during the flight.. just not much when at cruising altitude. It can be adjusted, though, and there's always those wonderful oxygen masks that can fall from the overhead bins.
    Liquids have never been a danger, except in the hollywood-addled minds of people who make too much money for too little work to ever grow a working understanding of how the real world actually fucking works as opposed to their gilded fantasies.

    --
    ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
  53. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    I managed to get a leatherman with many many blades onto an international flight after 9/11, entirely accidentially. Forgot I'd packed it in my hand luggage, rather than the cargo luggage. That wasn't a flight into or out of the US though, so it didn't go via the TSA. Don't know how it got through UK security - blind luck, probably. All those layers of metal probably looked like a blur on the xray, and they only have a few seconds to look at each item.

  54. But can it down the aircraft? by bdwoolman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As evidenced by TSA's recent and uncharacteristically sensible decision to ignore pen knives and other little sharps the agency has reaffirmed that they only care about stuff that can down the aircraft. No one can hijack any more by threatening the life of another passenger or crew member because since 9/11 the response to such threats has shifted from compliance to defiance. Armed with a bow and arrow made from an "umbrella, hair dryer, socks, a leather belt and condoms." a would-be attacker would receive a hearty laugh and a face full of mace. Emergency landing to treat passenger wounded by umbrella shaft? Yes.

    I dare you to try to visualize the weapon in question and keep a straight face.

    Joking aside, a determined group of attackers could create a lot of chaos with or without crap bought in duty free. In the right hands even a pair of eyeglasses is lethal. Godfather III anyone? But with the flight deck firmly locked the bird is probably safe.

    --
    "No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
    1. Re:But can it down the aircraft? by Reziac · · Score: 1

      When I was in the 6th grade, I made a bow-and-arrow from two ballpoint pen refills, a straight pin, and a rubber band. Imagine my astonishment when I shot it and my improvised "arrow" flew across the whole classroom and embedded itself in the drywall.

      Now imagine a whole army of ballpoint-archer terrorists. ;)

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  55. Re: WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject by BubbaDave · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wanna hang out with this guy..

    Bring ear protection.

  56. what about.... by MrCreosote · · Score: 1

    one of these

    http://www.swisstechtools.com/proddetail.aspx?pid=5

    I have one - has made it through various security checkpoints and x-rays, including airports and courts - no-one has ever questioned me about it

    --
    MrCreosote Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump! "You're right! There isn't enough room to swing a cat in here!"
  57. It does not matter by arthurpaliden · · Score: 1

    As a result of 9/11 the cabin door is locked and besides at the first sign of trouble the rest of the passengers will just beat the perpetrator to death. There is no upside to trying to be violent on an aircraft.

  58. Obligatory XKCD reference - Laptop Battery Bomb. by fluffy99 · · Score: 1

    Wow, I'm shocked that this hasn't been posted already:
    http://xkcd.com/651/

  59. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unscrewing the top is to let the gas mix with air so it burns, ie a fuel-air explosive. Burning acetylene in air gives off much more energy than the 15psig decomposition Bubbadave talks about.
    You might be better with propene though. Vapour pressure of over 10 bar at 20C would let you get a lot more in the bottle.

  60. Flight 93 is a myth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative
    I was working at a news company on 9/11, and had access to a feed of one-line summaries of upcoming news stories, before the news stories were typed up.... "Flight 93 was shot down by Fxx in the air". Of course, the actual story never followed, you will have to wait 50 years (or more) before it can be opened to the public.

    So, which story is more likely, "overpowered and crashed by heroic passengers" or "shot down by the military"?

    1. Re:Flight 93 is a myth by nedlohs · · Score: 2

      Both are fine. Though I doubt the US military command was competent enough that particular day to manage with your version.

      And we all know that no news company has ever had incorrect garbage entered into their news feed before, so that particular example must have been gospel truth, right?

    2. Re:Flight 93 is a myth by Martin+Blank · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not always intentionally incorrect, either. Sometimes they're just prepping two possible stories with different headlines and differing by only a paragraph or two.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    3. Re:Flight 93 is a myth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sometimes, yes, but these one-liners are actually released to Bloomberg clients in real time to make fast trading decisions, so it was definitely not a draft or a half-baked story preparation.

    4. Re:Flight 93 is a myth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not this company. See my reply to Martin Blank below. It could have been a mistake, but the "heroic" story sounds too patriotic to be true, while the original story seems like a prime candidate to be covered up.

    5. Re:Flight 93 is a myth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This was not a "prepping" headline, but an actual news line released to the traders by Bloomberg.

  61. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by cusco · · Score: 1

    I've gone through TSA checkpoints repeatedly with a Pelco security multi-tool in my bag, which has a two inch blade in addition to other sharp points. Never had a problem carrying lighters, matches and glue. The things that they've complained about are 1) bottles of hot sauce (taken three times so far), 2) chopsticks, 3) a USB hub with a bunch of cables plugged into it. Drywall dust on the outside of my bag got it swabbed for explosives, too.

    --
    "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  62. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I once had to discard my travel shampoo and toothpaste because the zip-lock bag I was carrying them in was a gallon size, rather than the allowed quart size.

  63. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Cyberax · · Score: 1

    If you believe that liquids intrinsically have less explosive power then let me pour you a glass of nitroglycerine.

  64. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by sFurbo · · Score: 2

    It isn't just energy density, but also how fast that energy is released. IIRC, explosive power* of a brisant explosive is proportional to the third power of the density: The explosive power is proportional to the energy released per time unit, which is proportional to how much explodes. In a brisant explosive, this is proportional to the density times the volume of explosive swept by a detonation wave. The latter is proportional to the square of the speed of sound in the material, which is roughly proportional to the density.
    Last I checked, this was believed to be the reason why octanitrocubane had less explosive power than calculated before its synthesis, the density was lower than expected (but that was a long time ago, and I might remember wrongly).

    *To the degree that you can quantitate explosive power

  65. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by hairyfish · · Score: 1

    And really, if we're talking an organised holy war here, you simply bring 20 friends with you, each with small bottles of liquid explosives. 20 times a little bit equals one exploding plane.

  66. Watchlists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I end up on watchlists just because I watched this video, I am blaming you Slashdot!

  67. Re:What this tells us about the scope of the probl by steelfood · · Score: 1

    It has happened before.

    --
    "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
  68. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by steelfood · · Score: 1

    I'm still waiting on them lifting that ridiculous liquid ban.

    Really, if they wanted to ensure that a liquid wasn't exposive, they should just make the passenger take a swig of whatever they're bringing in. If said passenger doesn't get horribly sick and unable to fly while waiting for their flight, it's probably OK.

    --
    "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
  69. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Liquid explosives are also bloody near impossible to put together in-flight. They generally require a vibration-free environment which you're not going to get anywhere on an aircraft. The most likely scenario if anyone tried is a lot of smoke in one of the toilets and a badly burned would-be terrorist.

    Yes, the BBC managed to synthesise liquid explosives for a documentary. They were working under controlled laboratiry conditions and treating the stuff with kid gloves. Not exactly something that's going to happen under real-world conditions.

  70. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 1

    I can recommend that you DO NOT shine your shoes before taking a plane as shiny shoes register as explosives.

    --
    The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
  71. Helping the Terrorists by Occams · · Score: 1

    The Elephant in the TSA room is that on 911 many passengers desperately needed a weapon of some kind, and the day might have ended a little better if a few had them. The TSA nonsense really only ensures that 911 could happen again. OK: without the TSA theater, terrorists would have had better weapons, but this would be cancelled out to a large degree by passengers with weapons. Al Qaeda must base its risk assessment on the fact that the TSA has disarmed the passengers. Without that they would probably choose another method.

    --
    Heavy is the head that wears the tinfoil hat.
  72. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by Reziac · · Score: 1

    You can make an effective explosive from propane mixed with liquid ammonia. The question is how much you can drag along before someone says, as noted above, "Why are you carrying a bunch of gallon jugs??"

    [Some years ago my neighbor's travel trailer turned into a small bomb from both the gas and fridge systems leaking at the same time. Flattened the trailer, the garage, and a row of mature pines. 'Course, that probably involved 10 gallons of propane, a bit much for carry-on luggage.]

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    ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  73. Re:WTH does tax-free have to do with the subject o by rpstrong · · Score: 1

    And my brother had a gallon sized bleach jug explode in his hands. We drilled a small hole in the cap, just set it on top, and held a match to it.

    Nothing. The acetylene wasn't coming out on its own.

    And so my brother gave the plastic jug a light squeeze - and kerpow! - a split open jug and tingling fingertips.

    I don't know how much it echo'd, but it did happen in the Hudson Valley (town of Poughkeepsie, early 70s).