From CNN, where they suspect that carry-on trips have just become a thing of the past:

Air travelers might have to get used to stuffing lipstick and lotion into their luggage rather than carry it with them in the wake of a plot to destroy airliners with liquid-based explosives, security experts say.

The Transportation Security Administration issued new rules banning nearly all liquids, including beverages, lotions and hair gels, from being taken on planes after British authorities arrested at least 24 suspects in the plot.

…

Jamie Bowden, a former terminal manager at London’s Heathrow Airport, said the new rules may be here to stay.

“I think certainly here in the U.K. and certainly in the States as well, people are now getting used to kind of a new way of travel,” Bowden told CNN on Friday. “So that I think, although the airlines certainly don’t want these kinds of restrictions, if they believe through government intelligence that it’s much safer to fly like this, that may be a new way that people are going to have to get used to flying.”

The TSA hasn’t indicated how long the restrictions would remain in place but said on its Web site that “these measures will be constantly evaluated and updated as circumstances warrant.”

U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Michigan, said the plot “eliminates the days of carry-on baggage,” according to The Associated Press.

Nancy McKinley of the International Airline Passengers Association said the new rules are going to be a “huge adjustment,” especially for business travelers.

“The challenge is going to be with the airlines on all the luggage [that] is checked and can it actually get to the destination in a reasonable amount of time once you get there — how long do you have to wait for it and all of that,” she said.

McKinley said some airports are urging people to arrive three hours before their flights.

“That’s going to be difficult for business travelers, too. That takes a big hunk out of your day,” she said.

A senior congressional source said authorities believe the plotters planned to mix a British sports drink with a gel-like substance to make an explosive that they possibly could trigger with an MP3 player or cell phone.

The components of the bomb would appear harmless until they were combined aboard the planes. (Full story)

Now stop for a minute. That has always been true. They have essentially zero hope of catching a well-disguised bomb, and anything with a battery can be turned into a detonator. This is never going away as a threat, and it’s a threat you have to deal with every time you’re in a room full of people.

The TSA has not banned U.S. passengers from carrying laptops, cell phones, MP3 players or BlackBerrys onto planes.

McKinley said it would “just be a nightmare” for business travelers if they did.

“If they try to take laptops and cell phones and put them into checked baggage, that creates a whole new problem,” she said. “Because in the past, those type of things (were) not covered. If your luggage is lost and you have something like that in your luggage, it’s not covered.”

McKinley said she was confident that the restrictions eventually would be eased, once screening technology catches up with the threat.

MORE bullshit. Screening hasn’t caught anything of note — the shoe bomber, for crying out loud, was caught by his seatmate, and this UK thing was caught by good old-fashioned police work, not McDonald’s-reject TSA goons.

“I mean there are studies going on right now to get more equipment, more updated equipment that can be changed out so that it doesn’t become archaic, and I think that’s where the focus has got to go,” she said.

Great! More wasted time!

Fortunately, at the end of the story, we get a voice of actual reason:

Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.

“It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact they are under tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and a lot of people around them in a short amount of time, and all the other factors that effect their behavior,” Ron said.

The Israelis know something about terrorism and security even if they’ve become overfond of collective punishment and the bombing of civilians. We probably ought to listen here.

My earlier post stands as well. We’re behaving like idiots where airport security is concerned, and in the process allowing people to THINK we’re doing something when in fact we’re doing less than nothing. It’s like no one involved at TSA knows anything at all about security. It’s theater designed to appease the masses, and has zilch to do with keeping anyone safe.