Reactive  

Just a quick comment on the foiled terror plot: it seems to me that the authorities are a good deal more taken by surprise than they should be by this idea of liquid explosives. I don't have any problem with banning soaps and other liquids from airplane flights if that's what's necessary to keep travellers safe. But if that's really what it takes, why weren't they doing it before? Isn't their job to be proactive about these sorts of things -- ie to think about what's possible and not simply react to what they've been warned about? (It's especially troubling because this is a plot that has been considered before.) The whole incident seems to suggest that there is a serious imagination shortage at the DHS... for me it's a bit reminiscent of what we saw a year ago over at FEMA.