Re London thing - it seems terrorists could easily hide a small tube or two of substances in their cavities and then in the bathroom of the plane extract them and mix them - boom.
Haven't seen this in lots of articles about this. Is this possible and will all passengers have to undergo cavity searches?

An expert on NPR just addressed the issue and said that if things got that bad many people would just stop flying.

What I wonder is why terrorists don't concentrate on explosions in airports? I haven't been in any where there is security before the check-in areas.

I actually heard the NPR thing and prompted this question because the guy didn't have time to answer and just said yes this could really put the damper on flying.
And i think the security personnel would demand some kind of pay raise for such a duty!

And of course we'd be treated to quotes from travelers saying "I'm happy to do it if it makes flying safer."

Just bend over for the Bush/Blair reign of fear.

>What I wonder is why terrorists don't concentrate on explosions in airports? <

On passing through LHR one day, I asked directions of a man in SWAT gear with an automatic rifle.

As I was leaving, I said, "That's quite a formidable weapon, there".

"There's quite a formidable man behind it", said he.

Sera-Excuse me, Bush/Blair weren't planning on building explosives, that would have been Islamic extremists. Folks that don't believe there is a threat are foolish. Folks that are willing to give up their freedoms so willingly are foolish. But the biggest fools really are those that can't get by politics and see terror and evil for what it is. We need to come to middle ground to make life and travel safe for all. Over-reaction is not the answer, nor is blame shifting. PS-These terrorist have been around for some time, way more than eight years. They haven't liked us for a very long time and pretending it is "reigning power" that brought this on is really foolish. Shirley

if this happens, I know people that will start flying...

"And i think the security personnel would demand some kind of pay raise for such a duty!"

I'm sorry, that made me laugh out loud. I suppose it's laugh or cry...

Could enough volume be packed into the teeth to get a critical mass for an explosion any more powerful than a big firecracker? I would think an aritificial leg or leg would hold more.

Or swallow the stuff in an impervious bag, and rely on laxitives to move it on out. The 7 hours or more needed for a US - UK flight should be enough time.

Cocaine/heroin type drugs are smuggled that way. Or put the material hollow glass eyes. These guys are fanatics enough to sacrifice an eye. Afterall, they are going to sacrifice their lives!

I can think of more creative ways than to pack one's molars with a little drip or two of some gel that will mix into an explosive.

Some humour: There was an orthopedic surgeon who placed his patients on the unit where my wife worked. The man had a voracious appetite for candy, and he would eat it for free out of the bowl at the nurses's station. One day one of the RN's said to him that he ate candy like he had a hollow leg. The surgeon pulled up his trouser's leg and said, "I do."

Bob - interesting aspect about swallowing plastic bags of explosives - why couldn't they swallow two bags - of each substance that explodes only when mixed and design the plastic to disolve during the flight and when the substances mix in the stomach, boom they literally blow themselves up! This is a serious question. Maybe there is no way to protect against this type of thing??

I still am wondering about all of the commercial cargo that is put in the cargo hold on planes. To my knowledge commercial cargo is not exrayed etc.

And I read on one of the news websites today (I don't remember which one) that at this point there is nothing to stop a terrorist from setting of a bomb in the nonsecure area of an airport.

Shirley: You did not get my point. And it's Bush especially who uses this for all the political gain he can--even before the threat was publically announced. He'll campaign on it for the upcoming election, Karl Rove will make sure of that.

Sera, you didn't get my point. Unfortunately the terrorists do not care from which party we hail or from which country we hail. The political jabber is a distraction. Like it or not these extremists are out there and pretending it is because of Bush or Rove or Gore or Blair or Putin is foolish. We need to be viligent because like it or not, irregardless of an election year or non election year, the terrorists are out there, plodding away with their plans. If you don't believe that then you are foolish. It has very little to do with politics, it's a fact. Shirley

Now there's a thought - Osama and the gang helping the GOP and others for election time. Who woulda thunk it? Conspiracy theorists everywhere should take note.

<she says tongue-in-cheek>

To prevent the terrorists from transporting liquids swallowed in plastic bags, all we need to do is stop producing those high-quality zippered bags... oh, wait a moment, this is done already, huh?