Jim, US
I stand corrected about the detonator - however, he still could have lit it with a match which, to my knowledge, are still allowed to be brought onboard.
Hez.

Yes even flying naked with no luggage period would not solve this problem. I don’t care how many security and back ground checks are done – there can always be someone on the inside. A Muslim airport ground crew member plants something in the landing gear compartment just before take off. With the right key people in the right places they can do anything they wish. And there are enough sympathizers living in all the western countries to accomplish this. Enjoy your multicultural western world! :)

The depth of the hatred towards Bush never ceases to amaze and depress me, even though I am a lifelong Democrat. I believe that most of our leaders on both sides of the aisle actually have the best interests of the country at heart when they act. Are there politics involved?---Of course. Would they intentionally deceive the public about matters of life and death---I think the vast majority (Bush & Hillary included) would not. However, I am apparently in the minority. The media feeds this hatred from both sides every day, and the end result is a country that trusts no one, and believes the very worst about its' elected leaders. It is the biggest threat our democracy faces, and makes taking effective action against any foe all that much more difficult, if not impossible. What ever happened to the unified country we had after 911? Didn't that feeling, however short, feel good? Then came
Fahrenheit 911 and all the rest. Makes me want to cry.

Ahhhhhh...that little "cloud of complacency" that so many have been sitting under finally cleared. Did we honestly think that life would ever be "normal" again after the tragic events of 9/11?
From my travels here in the US, I've noticed a drop-off here and there with regard to security; questionable items caught at one airport are glossed-over at another; tweezers, small scissors, etc. Not packing them in my checked luggage was a careless oversight on my part BUT...someone wasn't doing their job! Why weren't these items red-flagged at the gate when my luggage was scanned and then confiscated? Any woman wearing an underwire bra can certainly attest to setting off every alarm at the gate but other items slip through the security cracks!

Deal with it people! There is nothing that you cannot purchase for your personal needs at your trip's destination, if need be. A few hours in flight won't destroy most make-up applications; the temporary incovenience of not carrying water (or other bottled beverages) and inspection of infant formula will pass in a few days. The BEST thing that can come out of this crisis is no more carry-on luggage which means "those" passengers who wheel on their Yugo and stuff it into the overhead can't do it anymore!
A better thing would be for the news media to be given a gag order, once and for all. State the facts; just the facts! Don't elaborate, don't render your mis-informed opinions...don't think, none of you are good at that anyway!

Lisa from VA-- it is however your constitutional right to get on this blog and sound off against those you dont agree with..... Rock on...

Well, Lonnie, if he wasn't lying about Iraq, he did a hideously poor job as Chief Executive, and he's been compounding it ever since. If the fast and ridiculous reason change for the war didn't make you even a little suspicious, I think there's ample proof he's used fear mongering and divisive politics to split this country, so even in the "best case" how can you continue to support that extraction industry puppet?

You know why oil company profits are out of this world? The US pays to secure Iraqi oil fields for the oil companies, who steal the oil and sell back the gas to run the military trucks who are there to protect the oil companies, aka Halliburton. Seems a bit like collusion, to me.

If commercial aviation is the only option for your travel needs, perhaps you will stop complaining about the carry-on restrictions.

I love it when people start posting about how US policy would have stopped this or that from happening. US policy is not the reason the terrorists hate us. The terrorists hate us because of our freedoms and power. They don't care what we do in the Middle East other than it upsets their plans for domination. Go hide your heads in the sand and wait for the terrorist to come shoot you in the brain.

The "CHANGE" many of you so desperately want, scares me. I am worried about the change that would invite the terrorists to directly attack the us in our country again. If you think that the lack of attacks in the US aren't a result of the current administration being proactive, I have some beachfront ocean property to sell you in Nebraska.

I will whole-heartedly agreed that all administrations make mistakes - but most don't make mistakes (or lies) that kill Americans (Sadam having WMD). The Bush administration, and his cabal of Cheney, Rove and Condi, has been nothing BUT a mistake from January 20th, 2001!

Americans are so petty about the small inconveniences that we are asked to "endure". Our military has been making sacrifices for all of us whiners for years now. Don't you think we can make a small sacrifice when asked, for our own safety. What a bunch of short sighted petty bunch we have all become.

You guys alternate between cracking me up and infuriating me.

Yes. Let's get security standardized AND TIGHT, nationwide.

Yes. Give me reasonable guarantee that my luggage will arrive in full, undamaged, and in the same city that I do, and I will gladly check everything ;-)

Yes. Let's get all carry-on regulations enforced uniformly. Or ban it. I don't care. Just set an expectation and stick to it.

Now those griping about personal freedoms - God given rights to what?! Don't get me started! If you are a US citizen, you have more freedoms than anywhere else in the world. Look at your TRUE freedoms. Carrying a bottle of anything is NOT a freedom. Neither is that darned cell phone. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness my friends. I don't think your gripes were what they had in mind.

If we could EACH adopt the attitude that my rights END where they infringe upon YOURS, would the world not be a better place?

Moms with babies and children with special needs - check with your airlines IN ADVANCE. They will see that you have the proper equipment & nutritional needs. If you were caught in the chaos this morning, your frustration is understandable. Otherwise - quit whining and be a mother.

Duffy and any of you other self-entitled brats? Buy your own plane - or get Mommy & Daddy to do so. Just get out of the way of people who are trying to cope.

You should not have to take another form of travel. It is your right like everyone elses to fly. And i agree that at the very least water should be provided. The funny thing im flyng on Aug 25 and by then, all of this will have subsided and new measures will be in place.

This kind of obsession with fear is just not going to work anymore. Hopefully, this stupid water policy will backfire on Bush. Chertoff is out of it’s mind with this policy. We as a people have been in fear for nearly 5 years now since 9/11 and it has only gotten worse thanks to Bush intentionally reaching for the kerosene hose, rather than the fire hose. My wife and I are bringing our first child into the world in a matter of weeks and I don’t want her to grow up in a world of fear. The propaganda machine has got to stop!

This would have merely been a blip on the screen today if the Blair/Bush love affair didn’t exist. Hopefully, Blair’s love of Bush will diminish when the US house and/or senate turns democratic in the fall. Don’t kid yourself on this, though. Having a true balance of power in Washington is the only thing that will save us from groupthink and any truly significant terrorist threat. It will also be the only way that we can moderate our foreign policy at a time when Bush and Condi are totally inept or unwilling to legitimately broker any kind of diplomacy (be it in Iraq, Israel/Lebanon, or anywhere). Moderation in our foreign policy will eventually moderate the attitudes of terrorists. It may not eliminate their hatred for us or make it happen overnight, but the less we are viewed as international bullies and hypocrites and more as international peacekeepers then the less we will have to worry about being targeted by terrorists

Vote against fear this fall. (And vote for water on your flight) Vote for change!

Jm, Swallowing a liquid explosive, a very toxic substance by the way, would cause severe digestive problems before the plane got off the ground. The people who want to blame Bush for everything are the ones who need to get a clue. Yes the current adminstration has made mistakes, but show me one that hasn't.

I promise not to gripe about not being able to bring water on the flight if the airlines will give/sell me a bottle of water. That 4 ounce cup you get halfway through the flight isn't going to be enough.

And for those who suggest we take a different mode of travel...exactly how am I supposed to get to Hawaii or England???

To the person who said: ‘here's a dumb question simpletons: why terrorists attack only Americans and British and Israelis.’ Have you been watching the news for the past 7 or 8 years?

The TRUTH is not ONLY the USA, Britain, and Israel have been attacked. Try Australia, Philippines, Russia, Many parts of Africa. Not to mention that a major terror bombing plot involving 17 Muslims was uncovered and stopped in Canada just a few months ago.

If liquids are banned from a plane, ban ALL liquids including the little tot's formula or breast mile. The TSA will make the traveler DRINK it to be sure it is safe? Come on now people - how ridiculous is that?! The would be terrorists are on a suicide mission. You don't think they would gladly swallow, with a smile on their face, some liquid explosive to prove it is safe? Please - the TSA has no clue because the director of Homeland Security has no clue - because his boss Georgie has no clue!

How about an "express security lane" in the airport, like they have in Supermarkets.

But instead of 15 items or less, make it a lane for people whose bags are under a certain, very restrictive size, who don't have electronics other than cell phones, no liquids, no gels, etc. And no kids under 3 or people over 65.

That lane would be flying.

People would check everything under the plane for the chance to use a lane like that.

Hey there-
It's Manny. So i went down to the trolly, turns out that despite the bad weather here in Chicago, tourists never turn down a free ride. So the Trolly was a no go. DRATS. I found my umbrella and am off, luggage and water bottle in tow, to find a willing and able rickshaw driver to get me to LA...AND PRONTO. Worry not, I will keep you posted. AND of course, I will buy him some snacks along the way, I might even share my umbrella.

maybe instead of limiting the size of the bags they should require everyone to wear a HELMET. PROBLEM SOLVED.

tHERE HAVE BEEN tERRORISTS ATTACKS ALL OVER THE WORLD NOT ONLY IN THE USA, BRITAIN, AND ISREAL. SPAIN, AUSTRALIA. C'MON IT COULD HAPPEN EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE AND THERE ISNT ANY MEASURE ONE CAN TAKE TO SAVE YOURSELF. IM SURE THE POOR FOLKS BUSSING YOUR TABLE AT WINDOWS ON WORLD FIVE YEARS AGO WOULD HAVE STAYED HOME FROM WORK IF THEY COULD EVERY SINGLE DAY TO "PROTECT THEMSELVES" LIFE GOES ON.........

Lee, proof of his lies are required, and no one has been able to truly prove it. The anti-Bush crowd spins what was said to make proof. The Pro-Bush crowd spins it to deny the lies. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Profiling being a start is questionable. Maybe we should do what we did to American citizens of Japanese descent and shove them all into a camp until the war on terror is over. Only problem with that is the war could go on for decades. But then you miss the people who could be your neighbor, not of Middle Eastern descent, who is the terrorist and will blow up the next plane or building.

But then every politician lies, so what can you expect. Clinton, Carter, Reagan, Ford all lied. So does Kerry, Murtha and Boxer.

Water is not chapstick. Just wait until you are stuck on the tarmac at O'Hare in a summer thunderstorm for 2 hours. Then you will understand why banning even water, the one essential thing for life, upsets those of us who travel regularly.

Airlines do NOT provide enough for their passengers anymore. We have been told for four years to fend for ourselves. Now, in the name of "security", we cannot even do that.

Banning laptops and iPods won't make flying more fun...it will make it just short of torture for some of us who need to travel and use the time to get things done. Not all flights are 1 hour.

The terrorists have already won.

Assuming those alleged in this plot ARE INDEED terrorist operatives, then way to go UK. Good job. I'm all for rounding up extremists (in any way, shape, form, OR faith) and locking them up.

HOWEVER, I have to agree with the anti-fear sentiment in other posts. Banning water is utterly ABSURD! With the mid-term election close, it’s obvious that Homeboy Security Decider-er Chertoff just HAD to play the terrorism fear card, saying it’s “suggestive of an al-Qaida plot.” Neanderthal translation: “They bad. We good. Vote GOP.” And of course Bush is already filling the airwaves in typical fear-mongering style “It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the U.S.” They’re obviously jumping on this like hyenas after a fresh cheetah kill. Spinning fear is apparently the only tactic Bush has left, and it’s becoming sickeningly hackneyed. The media should moderate its coverage. As long as Bush is still office, uncovering plots are going to be (and have been) an almost daily press release since 9/11. Putting it on the front page every time only feeds fear, and desensitizes the narrow-minded to numbness.

With so much grandstanding already, in a matter of hours, I'm compelled to think that perhaps there is a small chance that this could be a carefully staged and last ditch effort between the UK and US to give the Grand Oil Party a bump one last time before the election. If there’s not a conspiracy, then I wouldn't doubt that the hyper-concern policy is something that Chertoff felt would help Bush play their card one more time, to save him from being a certain lame duck. Terrorists will get it right some day (and probably not even on a plane) and we simply have to live with that risk. So in essence, we could become sacrificially dehydrated on our next business flight and still not thwart any terrorists. How insane. If the US didn’t practice cowboy diplomacy, then maybe we wouldn’t have to worry so much about being hated by extremists.

i've seen several people hit in the head by someone trying to put luggage in the overhead bin. this in itself is enough reason to ban carry-on. a purse or purse sized soft sided carry-on would and should be ok.