The general question was about the feasibility of an acid attack on a commercial airliner, regardless of the technical errors contained in my question regarding the material of the bottle in relation to the type of acid.

I would be more interested in the opinion of a chemist or mechanical engineer...you share the same "know it all" attitude that the author of this column has.

If you've done any reading about it...part of their off-the-books mission is illegal operations.

There is a structural problem between our government and the CIA that is not addressed by putting the heads of Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney on pikes, however self-righteous fun that prospect may be.

While one could argue that our intelligence services are ineffective, it is equally true that they are totally entrenched in the government and military.

Occasionally someone addresses this point by stating "the CIA should be shut down". However there is no evidence that this will ever happen, regardless of who in the government is subject to prosecution.

see it

Or to put it another way...what organization does not seek to frame itself in a way it perceives as advantageous?

Does a powerful law firm, going into a case against an adversary, just say, "you know, we're really big and powerful and we represent people with ethical issues and we don't really need to win and we really shouldn't win, so why don't you just take it"...?

No I don't think so.

that the bad actions of one party are not excused by the bad actions of another.

If one googles "box cutter 9/11", one immediately gets an article from Slate magazine saying that we don't really know if box cutters were actually used!

Yes, google is a great source of information.

Did you learn to fly using Google?

After several pages, I don't see anything that says the risk is zero.

So we're basically talking about the opinion of a second-generation pilot...sort of like Cliff Claven on steroids.

oh wait I forgot where I was.

Normally I don't really agree with you too much, except that I more or less support Israel (at least when they're not killing civilians).

But this AIPAC thing is pretty much a dog bites man story. Wow, powerful lobbyist uses all the tricks. You could've knocked me over with a feather. Crazy Zionists!

however, from the article it's not clear that the power elite actually is outraged.

Well, it at least proves the hypocrisy of the MSM...if you get all your information from YouTube, anyway.

Looks like the trannies have arrived.

the discourse here is frequently fool-driven. And who argues with a fool...?

once upon a time it meant that the online conversation was over...now it means it's just getting started.

however this fool appears unstoppable.

that's a puzzler.

Unfortunately, I'm 48.

the wandering jew.

what if...we could only save 15 million people by NOT torturing someone. What I mean is...what if? Could we do it? Could we NOT torture? To save 15 million?

I'm thinking we would just go ahead and torture anyway.

talk about shutzpah!

so in that sense this person was amazing.

In college I went door-to-door for a political group. One day they took me to their secret clubhouse in the inner city...and they said, "you know, we're COMMUNISTS!"

That was too radical for a suburbanite like me.

but that's only four words.

but you knew that.

when you need him

don't we owe it to ourselves?

This new Salon column features endless arguments about Israel twenty-four hours a day. Come and hang out with Jews, Gentiles and Arabs in a sophisticated, non-supportive environment.

The Jew and You - only at Salon

The actions of one heavy equipment operator - even if completely intentional - don't really represent the moral framework or democratic aspirations of the State of Israel.

unlike Durian Joe I love the meat.

no investigation, no inquest, no hearings of any kind, let alone no trial

Is this the case with the Israeli criminal justice system in general?

I remember after the OJ trial, people were decrying the state of American justice. But I don't think that one case should be used to indict an entire system.

but it's interesting that groups like Code Pink and Act Up are always portrayed here as edgy and daring, while fringe religious groups are always seen as twisted losers.

it doesn't really matter...there's no shortage of people in the world.

I knew they were hinting at something.

Compassus was impressed by it.

quite

you seem to be wound a little tight for the letters section...try a padded cell somplace instead.

not

anything that's at least half-time...if you get fired then look for another one.

Today on cnn.com there was a story about a dude who threw his girlfriend's baby out of the car on the freeway - to its death. That's bad parenting.

This kind of parenting is just a baby chewing on a low-voltage power cord. It looks edgy, but the risk just isn't there.

Inappropriate Behavior That White People Like - now at a B. Dalton near you.

You seem to have that covered, around here anyway.

Just make up some stuff.

what a circus

however it also has blue cheese on it

as far as I can tell, she pursues her spiritual quest all the time.

ReaderReader has completely lost his mind.

I'm sure you'll be back under some wacky new name.

the Love Boat...now that was a good show.