Monday, August 21, 2006

Keeping You Safe

This just in from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), you _are_ allowed the following items in carry-on-baggage:

-Corkscrews
-Knitting and Crochet Needles
-Metal Scissors with pointed tips, if less than 4 inches in length
-Screwdrivers, if less than 7 inches in length
-Walking canes and umbrellas, once they have been inspected to ensure that prohibited items are not concealed

(here is a full list of allowed/banned items)

Anyone else see a possible problem with this? Okay, I know the current issue of people going mad scientist and mixing chemicals on the planes, but if they're going to stop me from carrying Saline Solution, shouldn't they also ban all sharp pointy things?

On a related note, the TSA recently "discovered explosive residue at a checkpoint" in Huntington, W. Virginia. Here they note that the terminal was reopened later in the day, but fail to inform us that "chemical tests later found that there were no explosives in the bottles" (according to CNN).

The woman stopped with the bottles was 28 and of Pakistani origin. Her mother says she was targeted and humiliated.

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