Well, it is official. After a couple weeks of rumbling around in the rumor mills, the press release is out and the Security Theatre is being enlarged.
The TSA is now expanding their efforts to ban various states of matter to powders in addition to liquids. Reading the press release is actually sadly entertaining. They claim that they will be using the x-ray machines – the same machines that actually cannot identify chemical composition of the liquids (hence the reason you cannot bring big bottles) – to identify powders that need to be checked more thoroughly. Apparently powdered explosives show up on x-ray. But then they still need to be checked using the actual trace element detection system so they really aren’t being tested or identified by the x-ray machine. The good news in all of this?
If a particular powder is determined to be a potential threat, it will not be permitted into the secure area or checked baggage.
At least they’re doing one thing that isn’t completely idiotic. Of course, and bottle of talc thrown in someone’s face is a pretty good way to distract and attack them. And a laptop is a pretty good bludgeoning object. The farce continues.
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