Good Advice in Wartime

From Andrew Sullivan

(Some) Terrorists (and others) are Stupid

Portrait of the Modern Terrorist as an Idiot - Nice to catch the JFK, Fort Dix, Sears Tower, and the UK "bottle bombers" in the planning stage, but would/could those plans have actually ever worked, either technically or with the bozos involved.

Then again, there's also the sippy-cup terrorist story, and update, too.

Sanity Prevails

Boston drops charges against Mooninite terror cell leaders -- from Boing Boing

What's the Point of the TSA?

Undercover agents slip bombs past DIA screeners...

...tests done by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2006 found widespread failures. According to the GAO, screeners at 15 airports missed 90 percent of the explosives and guns agents tried to sneak past checkpoints.

Also, a Denver woman who carries a Taser for personal protection, told 9NEWS she carried it on board airplanes last year six times. Her Taser shoots 500,000 volts of electricity. She says the TSA never caught it and stopped her.

Most test results, including results from the Red Team, are secret, classified as SSI or sensitive security information. Morris says they do not make them public because they could point out holes in the system.

But at least 90% of airline passengers are taking their shoes off. That makes me feel better stupid.