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You are here: Home / Politics / War on Terror / War on Terror aka GSAVE® / Slovaks Set Us Up The Bomb

Slovaks Set Us Up The Bomb

by John Cole|  January 6, 20109:06 am| 106 Comments

This post is in: War on Terror aka GSAVE®, Assholes, Bring on the Brawndo!, Security Theatre

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This is, perhaps, the dumbest thing I have ever heard ever:

Slovak officials on Wednesday blamed ”a silly and unprofessional mistake” for a failed airport security test that led to a man unwittingly carrying hidden explosives in his bag aboard a flight to Dublin.

Dublin security chiefs said it was foolish for the Slovaks to hide bomb parts in the luggage of innocent passengers under any circumstances.

***

Security experts said the episode illustrated the inadequacy of security screening of checked-in luggage — the very point the Slovak authorities had sought to test when they placed real bomb components in nine passengers’ bags Saturday.

”The aim of the training was to keep sniffer dogs in shape and on alert in a real environment,” the ministry said.

Eight items were detected. But one bag had two bomb components in it. The sniffer dog found one but the police officer in charge failed to remove the second, which was not detected by the dog, because he was busy, the ministry said.

That allowed 90 grams (3 ounces) of RDX plastic explosive to travel undetected through security at Poprad-Tatry Airport in central Slovakia onto a Danube Wings aircraft. The Slovak carrier launched services to Dublin last month.

You aren’t misreading that. Slovak authorities placed explosives in the bags of nine passengers (who had no idea the authorities were doing this), eight of them were detected by dogs, but the ninth was allowed to travel all the way to Dublin, the man picked up his bag and went home, and it took three days for the Slovakians (did I just make that word up?) to alert the Irish what had happened.

I’m speechless.

*** Update ***

From the comments:

Janet Napolitano and Desiree Rogers need to resign so people will understand that this will not be tolerated.

Exactly. And you just know Rahm’s fingerprints were on this, too!

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Previous Post: « Why I Will Cheer When the WaPo Folds
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Reader Interactions

106Comments

  1. 1.

    4tehlulz

    January 6, 2010 at 9:11 am

    These guys should consult for the TSA.

  2. 2.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 6, 2010 at 9:12 am

    Oh. My. God. What a colossal all-around FAIL!

  3. 3.

    Bob In Pacifica

    January 6, 2010 at 9:13 am

    Having some Slovak in me I can honestly say we love eating sausages. Not sure Slovakia needed to be a country on its own, though.

  4. 4.

    Tom

    January 6, 2010 at 9:14 am

    ”For an incomprehensible reason for us, they took the person into custody and undertook further security measures,” it said.

    Yeah, um, maybe it was the plastic explosives they found in his suitcase.

    Did the Slovaks ever consider having people willingly take part in this test? What’s the benefit of the people not knowing the explosives were in their luggage?

  5. 5.

    scav

    January 6, 2010 at 9:14 am

    No no No no No: They’re brilliant! Out of the mouths of babes and Slovaks! Can’t idiot proof anything, ever, they keep designing better idiots, not to mention nigerian bankers and bombers.

  6. 6.

    donovong

    January 6, 2010 at 9:15 am

    Jeebus, Cole, I can’t keep up this morning! You must be feeling better.

    Insert obligatory typical outrage-reflecting comment here.

  7. 7.

    SGEW

    January 6, 2010 at 9:16 am

    The world will not end with a bang or a whimper
    but with the words ‘what does this button do?’

  8. 8.

    Punchy

    January 6, 2010 at 9:16 am

    This shit is becoming unbearable

    I cannot imagine a buisness traveler who needs to be at a very important meeting, missing a flight b/c of “mysterious” airport property.

    The world’s gone mad.

  9. 9.

    geg6

    January 6, 2010 at 9:18 am

    @SGEW:

    This.

  10. 10.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    January 6, 2010 at 9:18 am

    You missed the point here, Cole. The plane made it safely! So, if the authorities put bomb making material on the plane what are the odds that someone else would be trying to blow up the plane? See. Makes sense, eh? If the odds of a terrorist strike on a commercial flight are about 1 in 15 million takeoffs, what are the odds that TWO strikes would be attempted on the same flight!

  11. 11.

    Punchy

    January 6, 2010 at 9:20 am

    in the bags of nine passengers (who had no idea the authorities were doing this)

    If this happened in the US and the TSA had found it, I’m guessing the “I had no idea it was in there” excuse would have been mocked, the person waterboarded, and perhaps labeled a terrorist. Not to mention, CNN would have run round-the-clock coverage of the nothingburger.

  12. 12.

    Malaclypse

    January 6, 2010 at 9:20 am

    Had the passenger come to the US, we’d have him in GITMO by now. We would then refuse to release him, because he would know what our interrogation methods were.

  13. 13.

    scav

    January 6, 2010 at 9:21 am

    ok ok, I really want the drugs to wear off so that I can wake up and see we’re largely governed by headless chickens. but I guess that’s democracy for you.

  14. 14.

    KCinDC

    January 6, 2010 at 9:23 am

    They must be taking lessons from the Canadians.

  15. 15.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    January 6, 2010 at 9:23 am

    @Punchy:

    I cannot imagine a buisness traveler who needs to be at a very important meeting, missing a flight b/c of “mysterious” airport property.

    Just imagine how much better everything would be if Obama had heeded Dana Milbank’s advice, cancelled his vacation, returned to DC, and shown some real “anger” over the Panty Bomber! Problem solved.

  16. 16.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 6, 2010 at 9:24 am

    @Punchy: Holy crap. I’m flying into there in two days. After that, I am not getting on a goddamn plane again for a long-ass time.

  17. 17.

    Why oh why

    January 6, 2010 at 9:25 am

    Did the Slovaks ever consider having people willingly take part in this test? What’s the benefit of the people not knowing the explosives were in their luggage?

    Because then the Irish can arrest this terrorist and win the War on Terror!

  18. 18.

    Face

    January 6, 2010 at 9:26 am

    Slovak authorities realized their error and told the pilot of the Danube Wings flight, who then decided to still take off with the sample on board, the ministry statement said.

    Wow. Any US-based pilot that did this would have been fired on the spot, sued for emotional whatever, and lost his license to fly.

  19. 19.

    PeakVT

    January 6, 2010 at 9:26 am

    Octopuses carrying coconuts makes sense. This, not so much.

  20. 20.

    D-Notice

    January 6, 2010 at 9:27 am

    Would they have admitted it had the people been Middle Eastern-looking?

  21. 21.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    January 6, 2010 at 9:27 am

    @asiangrrlMN: Just don’t fly Northwest Airlines. With drunk pilots, sleeping pilots overshooting the destination, and not raising the red flag on a passenger paying cash for a one-way ticket with no luggage I have to wonder why the fuck this airline is still in business.

  22. 22.

    neil

    January 6, 2010 at 9:27 am

    This proves that Obama is not serious about terrorism.

  23. 23.

    Dracula

    January 6, 2010 at 9:29 am

    Punchy, it’s not just in the US where this would happen:

    The ministry said it contacted Irish authorities and explained the situation on Tuesday, prompting Irish police to raid the man’s Dublin apartment. A major north Dublin intersection was shut down Tuesday and neighboring apartment buildings were evacuated as a precaution while Irish Army experts inspected the explosive.
    ……………
    The man was detained for several hours then released without charge.
    ………………
    Irish police said they initially were led to believe the man might be a terrorist until the Slovaks explained the situation further.

    The guy is probably now on a no-fly list, I’d imagine.

  24. 24.

    jwb

    January 6, 2010 at 9:29 am

    @The Grand Panjandrum: Actually NWA is owned by Delta now.

  25. 25.

    MattF

    January 6, 2010 at 9:31 am

    I like “explained the situation further.” E.g., “We’re unbelievable shitheads.”

  26. 26.

    calling all toasters

    January 6, 2010 at 9:31 am

    John Madden was right!

  27. 27.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 6, 2010 at 9:34 am

    @The Grand Panjandrum: Um, thanks. My last leg is on Northwest as they own MN. Yes, I know they are Delta now, but my flight is NW, so that’s what I’mma calling it.

  28. 28.

    neil

    January 6, 2010 at 9:34 am

    I’m about to shit myself with rage over this ‘paying cash’ thing. He bought the ticket in fucking Yemen I don’t blame people with less experience in the third world for not thinking of this, but do you think that maybe, just maybe, cash purchases are more common in Yemen? I’d go so far as to guess that well over half of plane tickets bought in Yemen are bought with cash.

    And if one-way tickets are so suspicious, why are they allowed to sell them?

    The problem with red flags is if you raise too many of them, they are worthless. If not checking any bags is a red flag, then you’ve got a shitload of red flags popping up for no good reason, especially now that the airlines have started charging extra for checked luggage.

    Anyway, now we know how to sneak a bomb onto a plane: fly out of Slovakia, and put two bombs in your suitcase, since they stop searching after the first one.

  29. 29.

    scav

    January 6, 2010 at 9:35 am

    I’m thinking the Irish are sounding as headless as the Slovaks, honestly. Doesn’t sound like they bothered to listen to the end of the phone call but ran around closing intersections. They must be getting out of practice.

  30. 30.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    January 6, 2010 at 9:39 am

    “…Slovak authorities placed explosives in the bags of nine passengers (who had no idea the authorities were doing this), eight of them were detected by dogs, but the ninth was allowed to travel all the way to Dublin, the man picked up his bag and went home, and it took three days for the Slovakians (did I just make that word up?) to alert the Irish what had happened.”

    Janet Napolitano and Desiree Rogers need to resign so people will understand that this will not be tolerated.

  31. 31.

    neil

    January 6, 2010 at 9:39 am

    Woah, even worse. The Slovakians called the man with the bag on Monday to let him know that he had a bomb. Then, on Tuesday they called the Irish authorities.

    We can at least be grateful that they didn’t put a detonator on the bomb.

  32. 32.

    Why oh why

    January 6, 2010 at 9:39 am

    Why hasn’t Obama fired Slovakia’s Prime Minister yet?

  33. 33.

    Dork

    January 6, 2010 at 9:39 am

    Doesn’t sound like they bothered to listen to the end of the phone call but ran around closing intersections.

    I notice it didn’t say they closed any pubs.

  34. 34.

    KCinDC

    January 6, 2010 at 9:40 am

    @neil, was it even a one-way ticket? I keep hearing conflicting reports.

    Really, if Al Qaeda is the world-girdling, all-powerful organization that Republicans repeatedly tell us it is (more of a threat than the WW2 Axis or the Societ Union), then I think they can afford to pay for round-trip tickets.

  35. 35.

    Brick Oven Bill

    January 6, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Now consider that the airport screeners who let the civil engineer Mohammed Atta board the plane with box-cutters did not make a mistake. You could legally carry box cutters onto an airplane on 9-11. But the private security screeners were fired.

    And now the government runs things.

  36. 36.

    Emma

    January 6, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Neil: I keep telling people the same thing. There are actual societies outside the United States where people do not carry a walletload of plastic. Cash purchases are still the normal way of doing business, even for the wealthy.

  37. 37.

    scav

    January 6, 2010 at 9:41 am

    @Dork: well, they have had SOME practice!

  38. 38.

    Comrade javafascist

    January 6, 2010 at 9:44 am

    Nothing to add other than praise for the headline. Pure Win.

  39. 39.

    PaulW

    January 6, 2010 at 9:45 am

    How soon until a Republican congressperson blames Obama for this? Three… two…

    Here’s a brilliant suggestion for the security-impaired: if we don’t want terrorists blowing up planes… let’s stop flying. It’ll save up on fuel, reduce the risk of losing one’s luggage, and no more long lines at the check-in gates!!!

  40. 40.

    scav

    January 6, 2010 at 9:47 am

    @PaulW: Exactly! and If you don’t use your American Sapphire Encrusted Platinum Gilt Card to buy a different return Lear Jet at the same time, you can’t be trusted to fly.

  41. 41.

    neil

    January 6, 2010 at 9:48 am

    Emma: When I was in Mexico (which is far, far more advanced than Yemen) there was a story in the newspaper about municipal workers who were up in arms because the city started paying them in checks instead of cash.

  42. 42.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 6, 2010 at 9:53 am

    @PaulW: And, it’s better for the environment, too. I will do my part by not flying once I’m back in MN again.

  43. 43.

    Rhoda

    January 6, 2010 at 10:02 am

    This would have been an excellent Peter Seller’s film.

  44. 44.

    Andy

    January 6, 2010 at 10:03 am

    The basic story is bad enough. But (according to the Maddow show last night) when the Slovak authorities realized what they’d done, they informed the Dublin authorities that the passenger in question (who also hadn’t noticed the RDX in his luggage) was a terrorist suspect. The man was arrested and placed in custody for several hours before it was all straightened out. That’s the real crime here.

    Pretty sure this poor sod is on every terror watch list in the world now.

  45. 45.

    ellaesther

    January 6, 2010 at 10:04 am

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Hmmm. Hillary Clinton, too.

    Isn’t she the one who runs the rest of the world?

  46. 46.

    johnatparis

    January 6, 2010 at 10:05 am

    @ your update…

    there’s a big difference between wanting Rahm’s head abd wanting Napolitano’s.

    The latter is stupid and only Republicans are asking for it for baldly stupid political reasons.

    But Rahm is different. Detested by the progressive left, the desire to see the back of him is due to altogether different considerations, namely he’s an asshole we hate too.

  47. 47.

    Shell

    January 6, 2010 at 10:10 am

    This is good news for John McCain.

  48. 48.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    January 6, 2010 at 10:19 am

    @Shell:

    This is good news for John McCain.

    Indeed.

  49. 49.

    parksideq

    January 6, 2010 at 10:22 am

    Slovaks to Irish traveler: All your checked luggage are belong to us. You have no chance to survive make your time.

  50. 50.

    Joey Maloney

    January 6, 2010 at 10:25 am

    On the subject of dumb airport security, Michael Yon says he was arrested by the TSA for refusing to disclose his annual income.

  51. 51.

    jurassicpork

    January 6, 2010 at 10:33 am

    And they were supposed to reassemble the bomb components… how?

  52. 52.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 10:42 am

    Heard about this yesterday on the BBC. Can’t believe this happened. Okay, yes I can. But still…

    From the article:

    Eight items were detected. But one bag had two bomb components in it. The sniffer dog found one but the police officer in charge failed to remove the second, which was not detected by the dog, because he was busy, the ministry said.
    —
    That allowed 90 grams (3 ounces) of RDX plastic explosive to travel undetected through security at Poprad-Tatry Airport in central Slovakia onto a Danube Wings aircraft. The Slovak carrier launched services to Dublin last month.

    and:

    The explosives never posed a danger to the flight, the interior ministry said Wednesday

    and:

    ”No one was in danger, because the substance without any other components (needed to bring it to a detonation) and under the conditions it was stored, is not dangerous,” the ministry said.

    Really? Plastic explosive gets on a plane but it’s no danger? How does plastic explosive…explode? What if the passenger was also carrying whatever was needed to make it explode and somehow it detonated?

    Sure, that’s not supposed to happen. But neither is explosive material placed in luggage as a test supposed to be left there.

    The poor passenger. I wonder if the explosives leave a residue that’ll be picked up every time he ever uses that luggage again. That’ll suck.

  53. 53.

    Seanly

    January 6, 2010 at 10:44 am

    That’s like the joke I heard on a Laurie Anderson song – someone in the government suggested that every plane carry a bomb because the chance of two bombs being on board was extremely low.

  54. 54.

    gopher2b

    January 6, 2010 at 10:44 am

    I hope this guy sets fire to everything else that was in his luggage. I imagine C4 leaves behind trace particles which the screeners with the swabs (supposedly) can pick up.

    Though I’m sure they put the passenger on the “Terrorist Watch List” so he will probably never be able to fly again anyway.

  55. 55.

    Eric U.

    January 6, 2010 at 10:46 am

    As usual, the Onion is way ahead of this story

  56. 56.

    mcd410x

    January 6, 2010 at 10:48 am

    I don’t buy all of the argument, but this from Greenwald is completely unsurprising:

    “Today in The Washington Post, that paper’s CIA spokesman, David Ignatius, explains that Abdulmutallab never made it onto a no-fly list because there are simply too many reports of suspicious individuals being submitted on a daily basis, which causes the system to be “clogged” — overloaded — with information having nothing to do with Terrorism. As a result, actually relevant information ends up obscured or ignored.”

  57. 57.

    gopher2b

    January 6, 2010 at 10:48 am

    I’m confused by the article. Was the dog too busy or the cop too busy to get the last bomb?

    I can imagine the dog kicking back at the station with the other dogs.

    “Nailed it, bitches. Found the bomb in under 3 mins. New record. Suck it!” says dog.

    “There were two bombs.” says another dog.

    “What? Fuck.”

  58. 58.

    Col. Klink

    January 6, 2010 at 10:49 am

    Lucky none of those dudes had a transfer flight to the USA. Imagine the torture routine as they tried to deny they knew how those things got on the plane. On the otherhand, had the Slovaks put the components in Eric Erickson’s luggage at random it would totally have been the win.

  59. 59.

    rachel

    January 6, 2010 at 10:51 am

    @gopher2b: And then they put him in the Cone of Shame.

  60. 60.

    gopher2b

    January 6, 2010 at 10:51 am

    @mcd410x:

    I buy it. Did you read the NY Times piece the other day about Obama’s anti-terrorism efforts. He noted that their was a “credible” threat that Somalians were attempting to detonate explosives during the inauguration. The CIA, etc deemed it credible and people were really concerned about it. Turns out it was one gang of Somalians fucking with another gang of Somalians who were traveling to the U.S. Multiply that by hundreds a day and you see what they are dealing with.

  61. 61.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    January 6, 2010 at 10:53 am

    @ellaesther:

    Hmmm. Hillary Clinton, too. Isn’t she the one who runs the rest of the world?

    Only Monday thru Friday, on the weekends it’s George Soros, with the help of his trusty lieutenants, Michael Moore & Al Franken…

  62. 62.

    Seanly

    January 6, 2010 at 10:53 am

    @Violet:

    Plastic explosives require specific detonation devices. You can bang on it with hammers, make little animal sculptures ala Caddyshack and (I think) even cook it without setting it off. Of course, the “safety” of the product does not alleviate that their action wasn’t a horrible, horrible idea.

  63. 63.

    neil

    January 6, 2010 at 10:55 am

    Plastic explosive gets on a plane but it’s no danger?

    Thousands of gallons of jet fuel get on a plane and it’s no danger.

  64. 64.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    January 6, 2010 at 10:56 am

    @mcd410x:

    …. which causes the system to be “clogged”—overloaded—with information having nothing to do with Terrorism. As a result, actually relevant information ends up obscured or ignored.”

    And this statement is the single best description of the conservative mindset I have EVEH come across… bar none.

  65. 65.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    January 6, 2010 at 10:58 am

    @neil:

    Thousands of gallons of jet fuel get on a plane and it’s no danger.

    Yes… but were they put there by the Slovaks… and in whose luggage… and is Obama aware of the situation?

  66. 66.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 11:02 am

    @neil:

    Thousands of gallons of jet fuel get on a plane and it’s no danger.

    Well, sure. But it’s not put in a ziploc bag in someone’s luggage. Carrying fuel, such as camping stove fuel, is prohibited in luggage. Probably because it’s not safe and might explode.

  67. 67.

    MattF

    January 6, 2010 at 11:07 am

    @Violet

    In fact, high explosives are routinely tested by setting them on fire. The science and engineering of “stuff that goes bang” are quite interesting subjects– and, perhaps paradoxically, nowadays it’s a lot safer than it used to be.

  68. 68.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 11:08 am

    @Seanly:

    Plastic explosives require specific detonation devices

    From here:

    Just as with other explosives, you need to apply some energy to C-4 to kick off the chemical reaction. Because of the stabilizer elements, it takes a considerable shock to set off this reaction; lighting the C-4 with a match will just make it burn slowly, like a piece of wood (in Vietnam, soldiers actually burned C-4 as an improvised cooking fire). Even shooting the explosive with a rifle won’t trigger the reaction. Only a detonator, or blasting cap will do the job properly.

    Would fireworks work as a blasting cap? Because things like that are brought onto planes all the time. People bring them because they don’t think they’ll be a problem or they forget they’ve got them. In the UK at Christmas they have giant signs at the check in advising people not to bring their Christmas crackers on the plane – even in checked luggage – because of the spark. People just don’t even think about it.

  69. 69.

    numbskull

    January 6, 2010 at 11:10 am

    @mcd410x:

    Noise in the system is a real problem. And it’s usually caused by really stupid people.

    Over the holidays I was jogging along and a minivan pulls up next to me. Driver is some lady from the neighborhood who is frantically trying to find out what that small plane is doing circling overhead. She’s convinced it’s somehow a terrorist attack. Thinking “ah, it’s just my neighbor’s boyfriend buzzing his girlfriend’s house, like he does at least once a month”, I tell the driver “Yeah, that DOES look suspicious. You’d better call the police.”

    Bad Numbskull! Bad!

    PS: Note that this was BEFORE the panty bomber… The minivan driver is probably calling the police every other day now…

  70. 70.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 11:11 am

    @mcd410x:

    “Today in The Washington Post, that paper’s CIA spokesman, David Ignatius, explains that Abdulmutallab never made it onto a no-fly list because there are simply too many reports of suspicious individuals being submitted on a daily basis, which causes the system to be “clogged”—overloaded—with information having nothing to do with Terrorism. As a result, actually relevant information ends up obscured or ignored.”

    I totally buy this. People have complained because “his DAD reported him to the authorities!” But heck, any of us could call up a government security agency and report any relative of ours and make up stuff about them just because we were ticked off with them. And the FBI (or whoever) would have to check into it. Just because there’s a family dispute doesn’t make someone a terrorist. Just because his dad reported him doesn’t mean he’s automatically going to blow up a plane.

  71. 71.

    mcd410x

    January 6, 2010 at 11:12 am

    @gopher2b: My only quibble is that Glenn is mostly talking about electronic intel. I think cell phone companies/the govt spying on us this way is completely wrong, but doing more of it isn’t necessarily going to clog the system — you’re just feeding more info into a computer to search for terms.

    Put another way, if there were no electronic intel, there would still be mistakes made in human intel.

    The problem is, as it’s always been, what happens when humans get that information. Doesn’t really matter whether it’s gathered electronically or, in this instance, by people on the ground.

    I have no doubt there are so many people trying to turn each other in that agents can’t run down all the leads.

    “These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they’re gold, and you don’t get them. Why? Because to give them to you would be throwing them away. They’re for closers.”

  72. 72.

    Mnemosyne

    January 6, 2010 at 11:18 am

    @Violet:

    Would fireworks work as a blasting cap?

    No, at least not in the accidental way you’re thinking of. High explosives are a lot more complicated than that and you need a fairly high amount of explosive in the blasting cap to set it off. If you took the plastic explosive and wrapped it around something like an M-80, you might be able to get some action, but it wouldn’t go off just because a low-intensity explosive was somewhat near it.

    There’s zero chance that a Christmas cracker in someone’s luggage would accidentally set off a plastic explosive if it doesn’t have a blasting cap.

  73. 73.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 6, 2010 at 11:26 am

    @Tom:

    If the people know the thinking goes they will tip off that they have explosives in the bags either subconsiciously or willing. A terrorist bomber on the other hand would have months or years to mentally prepare and therby would be very unlikely to give the hints away he had the bomb.

    9 out of 10 is still better then a lot of the US tests of a similar nature in which only two out ten bomb componets were found by TSA agents.

  74. 74.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 11:28 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    There’s zero chance that a Christmas cracker in someone’s luggage would accidentally set off a plastic explosive if it doesn’t have a blasting cap.

    Yeah, but the Christmas cracker could ignite the poorly packed camping stove fuel, were there some of that.

    I think the real issue is they don’t want Christmas crackers in the cabin because if someone pulled the cracker it would go “bang!” and terrify all the passengers.

    From the wiki article you linked:

    Because of their size and appearance, blasting caps are sometimes not recognized as explosives, leading to injuries.

    So this wouldn’t happen, but in the realm of horrible coincidences, imagine if the guy in whose suitcase the idiot Slovaks packed the explosives was an actual terrorist, carrying some bomb parts or a blasting cap. The odds of that are zero, but still…the Slovacks are idiots for performing such a test on poor unsuspecting passengers. And even worse idiots for not having a system that guaranteed all explosives planted would be removed. AND passengers whose bags were used would be told so in case any residue lingered they’d be aware of it.

  75. 75.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 6, 2010 at 11:32 am

    @Violet:

    Yeah the list he was on had 550,000 names or so and he had only been added in the past few weeks. Not nearly enough time to vet the info that put him on the list.

  76. 76.

    demimondian

    January 6, 2010 at 11:54 am

    Frankly, John, the security theater side of this is much ado about nothing. The dogs were being tested, and they found all nine suspect bags — that’s exactly what we’d want. What the police didn’t know was that they were also being tested, and they missed a second explosive package. That’s very bad, and shouldn’t have happened — but, if the bag hadn’t been known to be a part of the test, it would have been destroyed when the dog alerted on it, not (carefully) unpacked and inadequately cleaned up. Neither it, nor its owner, would have been on the plane.

    So, from a security theater point of view, exactly the right thing happened — the test was run, the dogs passed, and nobody noticed anything. That’s what’s supposed to happen. I would even agree with the pilot’s allowing the flight to continue with the bag on it; without a detonator, it’s not going to do anything, anyway.

    The only part I feel went wrong was that the poor passenger was arrested and incarcerated. The Slovak security people should have made sure that the Irish police knew what was flying in, and the Irish police handled the situation wrong. Other than those — and the original mistake — I don’t see a problem with what happened.

  77. 77.

    mcd410x

    January 6, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    And J.N. should be fired for this!

    Also.

  78. 78.

    cat48

    January 6, 2010 at 12:06 pm

    @Rahm haters who want him fired

    Sally Quinn said in her “fire people” column that the CoS job is an 18 month job to Rahm. He plans to leave after that & will probably run for Chicago mayor. He may not even be in DC, see–no worries. I sorta like the little bad-ass ballerina myself. Just guessing but Jim Messina might get the job next. You won’t like him either. He used to work for Baucus.

  79. 79.

    Lisa

    January 6, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    I know this is really serious and scary, but I really can’t stop laughing at the title of this post. Nice blast from the past.

  80. 80.

    gopher2b

    January 6, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    @demimondian:

    You don’t see any problem whatsoever with the government putting C4 in your luggage without your knowledge or consent?

  81. 81.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    @demimondian:
    They could easily have used fake bags that looked like real bags. I don’t really like the idea of anyone putting plastic explosives in my luggage.

  82. 82.

    DZ

    January 6, 2010 at 12:46 pm

    I love this site. I don’t post much, but I read every day, and I very much enjoy the commenters. BUT, I do not understand how anyone can defend Rahm Emmanuel. He is a corporate owned DLC scumbag who has opposed every piece of progressive legislation that has appeared in his adult life. He is the very definition of what is wrong with the Democratic Party.

  83. 83.

    Ash Can

    January 6, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    @cat48: Sally Quinn doesn’t have the first idea what she’s talking about. Glenn Beck will announce that he’s leaving Fox to become the COO of ACORN before Rahm gives up his day job to challenge Prince Richie.

  84. 84.

    demimondian

    January 6, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    @gopher2b: No, I don’t. They go through my checked baggage anyway, just as they go through yours.

    You didn’t realize that? Yeah, well, guess again.

    There’s a problem with penetration testing in all fields — at some point, you need a real test case, and, honestly, you’d rather it was something that is run by a sympathetic entity than by a genuine attacker. That is: you hire someone to put real explosives in real bags and see if you find them. You ask them to be creative about what they do and how they do it, so that you find out if your procedures are trivial to circumvent. And you do this regularly.

    This is necessary. In computer security testing, you’d be surprised how many companies fail pen tests when the tester sends in a “repairman” who leaves behind goodies, or somebody “drops” a flash key in the parking lot of the building which infects someone’s laptop. The purpose of pen testing to to expose blindness — and it has to be done live sometimes.

  85. 85.

    gogol's wife

    January 6, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    @Bob In Pacifica:
    I’m part Slovak too. I’ve tried to tell my husband that the stereotype of Slovaks is that we’re dumb. Once the Times had a story about some clever jewel thieves in Paris who had “Slovak accents.” I got them to publish a correction (it should have been “Slavic accents”); in fact they were Serbs. Slovaks are never clever jewel thieves.

  86. 86.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    @demimondian:

    They go through my checked baggage anyway, just as they go through yours.

    They go through bags. They don’t put things in them, except for the paper notices saying they’ve gone through your bag.

    There’s a difference between searching a bag and adding something to them. Especially something like a plastic explosive that, depending on how it’s wrapped might leave a residue that will cause the poor passenger’s bag and contents to set off explosives tests forever.

  87. 87.

    numbskull

    January 6, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    @demimondian:

    Please stay far, far away from me and my personal property that I am held responsible for.

    Sure we know that baggage gets searched. That is entirely different from illegal and dangerous items being placed in our baggage, without our knowledge, by The State. It is especially entirely different when it’s done in a situation where it is entirely predictable that Another State may become involved, one that shoots first and never gets around to asking questions later.

    Trying to make this analogous to some poindexter bullshit from the IT world only makes me want to repeat:

    Please stay far, far away from me and my personal property that I am held responsible for.

  88. 88.

    Catsy

    January 6, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    There is no defending this test on any level. Think about it.

    They planted live explosives in the luggage of an innocent, unwitting civilian.

    They knowingly allowed those explosives on a plane with other civilians, and knowingly allowed that plane to take off.

    They then allowed those explosives to remain in the unwitting carrier’s luggage all the way home, and caused his home to be raided and him to be treated like a terrorist.

    At no point after the explosives were planted were they in safe custody of any kind. Set aside for a moment the awful experience the victim has already been through. The luggage could have been stolen. It could have been crushed. He could have gotten into a car accident on the way home. It could have ended up exposed to flame or sparks. Everyone on that plane could have died, and the person who owned the luggage could have been killed or maimed by unknowingly mishandling it.

    Every person who had a hand in this criminally negligent operation–from the one who thought it up down to the person who planted the explosives–needs to be in jail. And if I had been a passenger on that flight–let alone the person who had explosives planted on them–I would be building a class action lawsuit on behalf of every single person they put at risk.

  89. 89.

    Donald G

    January 6, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    @KCinDC:

    Really, if Al Qaeda is the world-girdling, all-powerful organization that Republicans repeatedly tell us it is (more of a threat than the WW2 Axis or the Societ Union), then I think they can afford to pay for round-trip tickets.

    At this point, wouldn’t a real world-girdling and all-powerful orgainization own and run their own airlines?

  90. 90.

    bago

    January 6, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    @numbskull: Truly eponymous.

  91. 91.

    gopher2b

    January 6, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    @demimondian:

    They go through my checked baggage anyway, just as they go through yours.

    There is a bit of difference between unzipping my bag, taking a looksee and putting a god damn bomb in there. JMHO.

    If you don’t see the difference, I have one question: how has the economy affected real estate prices in Crazytown.

  92. 92.

    licensed to kill time

    January 6, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    I find this whole Slovakian “test” story really weird – three days to inform the Irish? Let the guy walk around unknowingly with explosives in his bag? I’m no conspiracy theorist but something about this stinks to high heaven. It’s just downright odd.

  93. 93.

    Ruckus

    January 6, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    @Violet:
    About 6 years ago, at a medium size airport in the us, the checkers placed an semi-automatic pistol in the handle of my luggage just before it went through x-ray. The handle was on the side away from me and although I recognized my bag I didn’t see the gun until I grabbed for the handle. I came within a couple of inches of picking up the gun instead of my luggage. And the inspector was not following the bag that close so I could have easily picked it up. And by the way the x-ray checker did not stop or recheck the bag, it sailed on through. I voiced my displeasure to the idiot who picked up the gun as I figured if I had touched it I would probably never be seen again. Or at least the rest of that day. I’ll bet this type of checking goes on more than we know. BTW just in case someone is wondering, I have owned and used guns, have carried a gun for my job and this looked like a 9mm glock, not some piece of plastic.

  94. 94.

    numbskull

    January 6, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    @bago:

    Cool, I got to look up a new word today. So it’s numbskullish to not want bombs put in my luggage?

  95. 95.

    Violet

    January 6, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    @Ruckus:
    They placed a gun in the handle of your bag? I’m guessing it was a carry on bag, because you saw it happen? They didn’t ask you beforehand, it sounds like. That’s insane.

    If it had happened to someone unfamiliar with guns, they might have screamed bloody murder once they saw it. I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue if someone going through security starting screaming, “A gun! A gun! A gun! There’s a gun on my bag! A gun! Oh my God! A gun!” Because that’s EXACTLY what some people might do if it happened to them. Lots of people don’t know what to do with guns, would be stunned to find one on their bag in a security area, are afraid of guns, and would react in any number of unpredictable ways.

    That’s security idiocy. It’s not testing anything to do that to an unsuspecting passenger and put all other people in the area in danger (uninformed armed guards don’t know what’s happening, draw their weapons, etc.). It should never happen.

  96. 96.

    Tonal Crow

    January 6, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    I’m surprised that you didn’t discuss the worst thing about this debacle, which was:

    Slovak border police subsequently traced the man and told him where the explosive was planted so that he was able to find it Monday evening, said the ministry. Kalinak, the interior minister, called him to apologize. But the Slovak ministry admitted it did not contact Irish authorities and explain the situation until Tuesday. That prompted Irish police to raid the man’s Dublin apartment and detain him for several hours. Irish police said they initially were led to believe the man might be a terrorist until the Slovaks explained the situation further.

    To call this “the dumbest thing I have ever heard ever” is to minimize it. Whoever jeopardized an innocent passenger in this way needs to spend some years contemplating rats in a cell.

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    January 6, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    @Violet:
    Yea that was my reaction as well. I don’t see why they don’t just run a TSA undercover through the system as a passenger. If the checkers don’t find something, big problem. If they do their job correctly, great. If I had been in a big hurry because of my usual tardiness (ok I’m usually late to everything, I’m practicing for my demise) I may have just grabbed the gun.
    And no, they didn’t ask, or seem to give a shit, the first time I knew anything was when I saw the gun, with my hand about 2 inches away.

  98. 98.

    Tonal Crow

    January 6, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    @demimondian: You can determine how well the weapon-detection program works without endangering innocent passengers. Plenty of law-enforcement and intelligence personnel fly in plainclothes, and I’m sure many of them would be willing to test the system.

  99. 99.

    Tonal Crow

    January 6, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    @tootiredoftheright:

    If the people know the thinking goes they will tip off that they have explosives in the bags either subconsiciously or willing.

    We can even optimize this case without jeopardizing passengers’ reputations and liberty. Ask law-enforcement/intelligence officials to volunteer for a program in which their bags can be randomly chosen to receive dangerous contraband. Each person then has voluntarily accepted the risk, yet does not know whether, on any given occasion, she is actually carrying anything illegal.

  100. 100.

    Catsy

    January 6, 2010 at 5:19 pm

    @Violet:

    That’s security idiocy. It’s not testing anything to do that to an unsuspecting passenger and put all other people in the area in danger (uninformed armed guards don’t know what’s happening, draw their weapons, etc.). It should never happen.

    QFE.

    This was not a professional, scientific test of any sort. This was the equivalent of throwing a brick at the windshield of a random passing car in order to test the safety glass.

    The English language does not have words to describe just how criminally negligent this was. Perhaps those words exist in Slovak.

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    January 6, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    @Catsy:
    Oh and BTW I forgot to say that the guy who came to get the gun thought it was funny that I was not happy with the situation. Not the first time border patrol or customs have fucked with me and thought it was funny. Just a little way under the surface this is one fucked up country. I just wonder how much more or less fucked up we are than other countries.

  102. 102.

    bayville

    January 6, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    That Sullivan person Sally Quinn was writing about a couple of days ago should probably resign as well. And Van Jones

  103. 103.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 6, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    @Tonal Crow:

    But if they know they are part of the test once again they would give an unconscious signal or check out their baggage.

  104. 104.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 6, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    @Tonal Crow:

    ” Plenty of law-enforcement and intelligence personnel fly in plainclothes, and I’m sure many of them would be willing to test the system.
    ”

    The vast majority of these guys are well known to not only the airport security staff but the flight attendents and most other airport staff as well. It’s no secret who the air marshalls are. Any mole in the TSA or working in an airport in a few months could figure out what flights have the air marshalls on board or who the air marshall is and pass it to the terrorists.

  105. 105.

    Adam from Slovakia

    January 7, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Hi all,

    in my country, we arent generally stupid, the problem theese days is that that a lot of important people are incompetent and put into their positions through a leading socialist party. Since populistic socialists won votes in 2006, such things, and even worst happen nearly every day. You wouldnt believe me what happens in this republic each day. It is not only this bomb in plane, everything is wrong. You know what is happening now here? Thousands of trucks are blocking capital city because they cannot pay theyr highway fees (taxes for using highways), because the electronical system isnt working. They cannot drive because eager police is circling around them to give them 1000 $ and higher penaltyes for not having payd taxes. So there are thousands of trucks everywhere, and thousands of policemen. And the best thing, as allways, eweryone is blaming everyone, and everyone says noone failed. Sick republic.

    Even the society is sick. Politicians in power with the socialist party are corrupted and vulgar, linked to mafia stealing all they can. Head of supreme court (former minister of justice) is friend with boss of Albanian maffia. Head of national party have multimillion stolen property, and when he drunk, as he nearlly allways is, attacks policewoman and screams at her that she is a fucking bitch, the policewoman gets fired for going to press. Nobody doesnt give a F. Socialist party got nearly 50%!!! Every week a scandal. Every week!!!

    And the biggest fun of year 2009, now i wil show you how you can steal billions of dollars in slovakia and sheeple will chear you up. Our republic selled exhaust emmissions (we didnt produce so much emmisiions so we cann sell them) at a half price as surrounding countryes to a company created a week before the trade in a garage in Florida by a cousin of a head of nacionalist party. What happened when the media found out? Guess what. 3 ministers pulled out, lots of yelling, lots of politicals argueings, but the ministry didnt stop the transaction. Because the papers got stolen and they didnt make it into 31.12.2009. That is all, as allways. 6 billion dollars stolen. Grats. Prime minister screams “we got cheated”, and it is over. Good bye and enjoy your life where ever you live. Because if any of theese scandals that happen here every day happend in your country, you will be allready revolting. hanging such bastards on the streets. But not Slovaks, not this sheeple.

  106. 106.

    Atte

    January 8, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    A great lesson from the Slovakians HOW TO CREATE AN AL-ciaIDA TERRORIST!
    On the other hand they are about to lose their touch with Reality. (TM)

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