NOTHING TO SEE, FOLKS, NOTHING TO SEE – AT 8:12 A.M. ET:  Generally, when we put two and two together, we come out with four.  The "four" this time is that this was a dry run for a terrorist attack.  But watch it get swept under the rug:

Two men taken off a Chicago-to-Amsterdam United Airlines flight in the Netherlands have been charged by Dutch police with "preparation of a terrorist attack," U.S. law enforcement officials tell ABC News.

U.S. officials said the two appeared to be travelling with what were termed "mock bombs" in their luggage. "This was almost certainly a dry run, a test," said one senior law enforcement official...

...The two were allowed to board the flight at O'Hare airport last night despite security concerns surrounding one of them, the officials said.

And that should worry us.

The men were identified as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi, of Detroit, MI, and Hezem al Murisi, the officials said. A neighbor of al Soofi told ABC News he is from Yemen.

Y'see, what it is, is that they were upset by the mosque controvery, and, and...

Airport security screeners in Birmingham, Alabama first stopped al Soofi and referred him to additional screening because of what officials said was his "bulky clothing."

In this heat, in Alabama. 

In addition, officials said, al Soofi was found to be carrying $7,000 in cash and a check of his luggage found a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, three cell phones taped together, several watches taped together, a box cutter and three large knives. Officials said there was no indication of explosives and he and his luggage were cleared for the flight from Birmingham to Chicago O'Hare.

Huh?  No indication of explosives?  Well, no, explosives generally aren't carried on a dry run.  But I wonder how many passengers have cell phones taped to Pepto-Bismol, phones taped together, and watches taped together.  Oh, I know.  That was all so they wouldn't lose any of the items.  It's an old Yemeni custom.

Yuch.

August 31, 2010