LOS ANGELES — By now, everyone knows the airport drill, its inconveniences offset by its clarity: take off your shoes, pop your laptop in a tray, have your driver’s license at the ready. But in the three days since the attempted terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner, the beleaguered traveler has once again been beset by a confusing and inconsistent set of rules. Could you keep your blanket, as on Continental, or would it be snatched at the end of the flight, as it was on Lufthansa? Would security measures be visibly unchanged, as they were at the Houston airport, or would passengers be surprised by a careful swabbing of their hands and purses, like those in South Carolina? Would this week resemble Sunday, when JetBlue’s entertainment system was shut down on international flights, or Monday, when the movies began flowing on that airline once more?  Read more... (994 words, 1 image, estimated 3:59 mins reading time)

SEVERAL years ago, as Labor Day approached and parents nationwide began that end-of-summer ritual I know all too well — packing the children off to college — I found myself facing a new and particularly fraught task: preparing to return my son not to college but to war, to the mountain passes northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan. Instead of going to Staples to compare the features of the latest line of laptops or to pick out an alarm clock as I had done with our older children, I went shopping with Ian in the hunting section of Ray’s Sporting Goods, where we bought every last can of sandstone and olive green spray paint to camouflage his gear.  Read more... (1739 words, 1 image, estimated 6:57 mins reading time)

WATERTOWN, N.Y. — The women arrived on time; they were, after all, Army wives. Gym-class demure in velour sweat pants, cotton T-shirts and dirt-smudged cross trainers, they looked ready for a Pilates workout. Until Amanda Knight slipped on a pair of blood-red high heels. And Charlene Jernigan pulled on shoulder-length satin gloves. And Jen McNeil wrapped a blue-and-white feather boa around her shoulders. Then Lily Burana, the instructor, cranked up the music. Vintage Peggy Lee, circa 1966.

So let me get right to the point.

I don’t pop my cork for every guy I see.  Read more... (1084 words, 1 image, estimated 4:20 mins reading time)

President Barack Obama on Monday promised to track down all those behind an attempt to bring down a US airliner on Christmas Day, ending three days of silence on the attack.

Mr Obama told Americans his administration was doing all it could to ensure security after a Nigerian man managed to smuggle explosives onto a Detroit-bound flight, an incident that was a “serious reminder of the dangers that we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland”.  Read more... (293 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)

Following the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest airlines flight, the Transportation Security Administration has imposed pat-downs on all passengers as part of the security screening process. Is there any technique to patting someone down, or do you just grope away?  Read more... (375 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines passenger jet on Christmas Day, and the man who carried out the mission acknowledged that he was trained and outfitted in Yemen, where the group is headquartered. Meanwhile, the al-Qaida affiliate made a posting in the most recent issue of its Web-based magazine that recommended the use of small bombs for terrorist attacks. What else can I read about in al-Qaida’s magazine? All things jihadi. Over nearly two years and 11 issues, Sada al-Malahim (PDF) (“The Echo of Battles”) has published interviews with terrorist leaders, fighter biographies, tips on how to become a better al-Qaida foot soldier, lists of terrorists held by the Yemeni government, and thought pieces on the role of women in jihad. It also publishes fan mail. (Letters might celebrate the announcement of a successful strike against al-Qaida’s enemies.) The magazine has given out several Gmail addresses—most now abandoned or shut down—for reader comments.  Read more... (645 words, 1 image, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)

LAHORE, PAKISTAN — A day of religious gatherings by Shiite Muslims across Pakistan was violently disrupted Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up amid thousands of marchers in the southern port city of Karachi, leaving at least 30 dead and 60 injured.

The bombing was the fourth to occur in Pakistan during the final, climactic days of Muharram. The 40-day religious mourning period includes frenzied self-flagellations to protest the death of the third Shiite imam, Hussein, who was killed in battle more than 1,300 years ago. Hussein was a grandson of the prophet Muhammad.  Read more... (711 words, 1 image, estimated 2:51 mins reading time)

A dangerous explosive allegedly concealed by Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in his underwear could have blown a hole in the side of his Detroit-bound aircraft if it had been detonated, according to two federal sources briefed on the investigation. Authorities said they are still analyzing a badly damaged syringe that Abdulmutallab allegedly employed as a detonating device on Christmas Day. But preliminary conclusions indicate that he allegedly used 80 grams of PETN — almost twice as much of the highly explosive material as used by convicted shoe bomber Richard C. Reid.  Read more... (1319 words, 1 image, estimated 5:17 mins reading time)

(CNN) — President Obama warned Monday that the United States would respond aggressively to terrorism such as last week’s botched attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner.

In his first public comment since the Christmas Day incident, Obama said he directed his national security team to “keep up the pressure on those who would attack our country.”

“We do not yet have all the answers about this latest attempt, but those who would slaughter innocent men, women and children must know that the United States will do more than simply strengthen our defenses,” Obama told reporters in a break from his Christmas holiday in Hawaii.  Read more... (499 words, 1 image, estimated 1:60 mins reading time)

Janet Napolitano, the US Homeland Security Chief, on Monday admitted that America’s aviation security system “did not work” in the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack, reversing her claim over the weekend that “the system worked”.

Her embarrassing U-turn underlined the government’s tepid and confused response to the near-catastrophic incident on board Northwest airlines Flight 253 and came as President Barack Obama prepared to end a three-day silence during his holiday in Hawaii.  Read more... (487 words, 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)