Terror attack foiled on Northwest Airlines flight

[Richard Hakluyt]

I'm trying to elucidate precisely how dangerous 80g of PETN is.

Take a look at this :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_effectiveness_factor

It's RE factor is 3x that of ordinary gunpowder...........so equivalent to 240g of that.....doesn't sound very scary...

OTOH the detonation velocity is 21x that of gunpowder, which, I think, would make it far more dangerous than it's gunpowder equivalent especially if the explosive was in a hard casing (shrapnel) 

But could it take down a plane? Or even breach the hull, given that the explosive was enclosed only by soft human flesh.

Well, I have no idea 

[Caliga]

It seems unlikely to me it would have sent the plane crashing to the ground, though it may have killed a number of people aside from the bomber.  A commercial airliner like that one should be able to fly with a serious hull breach.

For example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Airlines_Flight_243

OTOH, there was the Lockerbie bombing... so I guess I'm not sure really.

[CountDeMoney]

OTOH, there was the Lockerbie bombing... so I guess I'm not sure really.

Lockerbie's bomb was much bigger, in the forward cargohold, and shredded the cockpit above it right off the fuselage.

[Caliga]

Lockerbie's bomb was much bigger, in the forward cargohold, and shredded the cockpit above it right off the fuselage.

I confess I don't recall most of the details about that bomb re: size, composition, and placement on the aircraft.

[CountDeMoney]

Lockerbie's bomb was much bigger, in the forward cargohold, and shredded the cockpit above it right off the fuselage.

I confess I don't recall most of the details about that bomb re: size, composition, and placement on the aircraft.

You could always ask the bomber.  The Scottish government saw to that.

Three months to live.  Four months ago.  Whatever.

[Caliga]

You could always ask the bomber.  The Scottish government saw to that.

Three months to live.  Four months ago.  Whatever.

I learned in a Hollywood movie once that the Scots are obsessed with freedom. 

[CountDeMoney]

You could always ask the bomber.  The Scottish government saw to that.

Three months to live.  Four months ago.  Whatever.

I learned in a Hollywood movie once that the Scots are obsessed with freedom. 

Unless it's the IRA.  No "Stop Snitchin'" up there, little rat bastards.

[DGuller]

Wouldn't the guy also have to dry hump the side of the plane to make a hole in it?  I would think that being even a foot or two away from it would make the explosion much less effective.

[Caliga]

Yep, well, I'm assuming he's an idiot. 

[The Brain]

Wouldn't the guy also have to dry hump the side of the plane to make a hole in it?

Doesn't work.

[KRonn]

Since this guy is working for a worldwide terrorist organization, AQ or like minded groups, who train people to make war on us, maybe he and others who commit similar acts should first go to Gitmo for interrogation. Instead of immediately getting lawyered up, read his rights (as a foreign national), etc. Just a thought. Some of this seems quite a gray area between law enforcement and military action.

[The Brain]

Since this guy is working for a worldwide terrorist organization, AQ or like minded groups, who train people to make war on us, maybe he and others who commit similar acts should first go to Gitmo for interrogation. Instead of immediately getting lawyered up, read his rights (as a foreign national), etc. Just a thought. Some of this seems quite a gray area between law enforcement and military action.

Let me guess: you also want to charge him for water and board?

[KRonn]

Since this guy is working for a worldwide terrorist organization, AQ or like minded groups, who train people to make war on us, maybe he and others who commit similar acts should first go to Gitmo for interrogation. Instead of immediately getting lawyered up, read his rights (as a foreign national), etc. Just a thought. Some of this seems quite a gray area between law enforcement and military action.

Let me guess: you also want to charge him for water and board?

Hmmm... water... board... that could be an idea!

But few people are water boarded. The idea is to do longer term interrogations to get info, find what he knows. But once he gets into the civilian system things change entirely.

[jimmy olsen]

Since this guy is working for a worldwide terrorist organization, AQ or like minded groups, who train people to make war on us, maybe he and others who commit similar acts should first go to Gitmo for interrogation. Instead of immediately getting lawyered up, read his rights (as a foreign national), etc. Just a thought. Some of this seems quite a gray area between law enforcement and military action.

Let me guess: you also want to charge him for water and board?

Lol, your a genius. 

[Fireblade]

Do you guys remember that Islamic forum we invaded a couple of years ago? Gahawer?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/29/abdulmutallabs-web-posts-_n_406083.html

Those posts, beginning in 2005, show a teenager looking for a new life outside his boarding school and wealthy Nigerian family.

Most of all, they paint a portrait of someone who seems lost and needs someone to hear him.

The postings seem hastily written and are replete with spelling and grammar errors. In one, on Jan 28. 2005, he wrote: "i am in a situation where i do not have a friend, i have no one to speak too, no one to consult, no one to support me and i feel depressed and lonely. i do not know what to do."

The posts were made to an Islamic bulletin board called Gawaher, which literally translates from Arabic as "gems" or "jewels," but can also be read as "essence" or "spirit."