I will spare our readers a rant on the futility of such a measure, but it now
appears that you can add lighters to the list of items you cannot bring on plane. That includes checked baggage. The
reasoning behind this? Remember Richard Reid, the guy that almost blew up a plane by lighting his shoes? He was
caught when someone smelled the distinct odor of matches being struck. The FBI concluded that if Mr Reid
had used a lighter, the bomb would have exploded. So, in what can only be considered a feat of
deductive logic worthy of Sherlock Holmes - lighters are no longer allowed but – you guessed it – matches
are. Am I alone in thinking there must be some better way to spend my tax dollars than to come up with half-baked
security policies? By the way, if you need a nytimes (or any other ”irritation” website) login, check out
www.bugmenot.com.