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Bottles of honey causes Calif. airport shutdown
Breitbart ^ | 01/05/2010 | By TRACIE CONE and MARCUS WOHLSEN

Posted on 01/05/2010 2:43:18 PM PST by Responsibility2nd

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - The suspicious material found inside luggage that prompted the shutdown of a California airport Tuesday morning turned out to be five soft drink bottles filled with honey, authorities said.

A passenger's suitcase tested positive for TNT at Bakersfield's Meadows Field during a routine swabbing of the bag's exterior, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said. When TSA officials opened the bag, they found bottles filled with an amber liquid, he said.

"Why in this day and age would someone take a chance carrying honey in Gatorade bottles?" Youngblood asked. "That itself is an alarm. It's hard to understand."

Investigators said the bag's owner, Francisco Ramirez, 31, is a gardener from Milwaukee who has been cooperating with authorities. He flew to Bakersfield Dec. 23 to spend Christmas with his sister and was returning Tuesday when the alarm sounded.

When TSA agents opened one of the bottles and tested the contents, the resulting fumes nauseated them, Youngblood said. Both were treated and released at a local hospital.

"It's encouraging that the system did work, because something is not right there," Youngblood said. "The system worked the way it was supposed to, but it just takes time when you close an airport—and it costs a lot of money."

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: honey
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It's encouraging that the system did work....
 
 
 


1 posted on 01/05/2010 2:43:19 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: Responsibility2nd

At least the honey was not found in his shorts.


2 posted on 01/05/2010 2:45:30 PM PST by Responsibility2nd (During this joyous Christmas season, I'd like you to know....A reindeer bit my sister once.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

So Mom was right. Honey does work better than vinegar!


3 posted on 01/05/2010 2:47:01 PM PST by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: Republic of Texas

Honey carries botulism spores, which is why you shouldn’t feed it to infants. It’s harmless to adults, but possibly could set off some sort of bioterrorism alarm.

As for the TSA agents, I think they were delusional.


4 posted on 01/05/2010 2:49:32 PM PST by livius
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To: Responsibility2nd
"When TSA agents opened one of the bottles and tested the contents, the resulting fumes nauseated them, Youngblood said. Both were treated and released at a local hospital."

Yeah, gotta watch out for those honey fumes. Whiskey tango foxtrot???

5 posted on 01/05/2010 2:52:10 PM PST by redhead (Roger Simon says Obama is a high speed factory manufacturing conservatives.)
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To: livius

So Mom was wrong?


6 posted on 01/05/2010 2:52:33 PM PST by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: Responsibility2nd
When TSA agents opened one of the bottles and tested the contents, the resulting fumes nauseated them,

What did they test it with, concentrated nitric acid?

7 posted on 01/05/2010 2:53:28 PM PST by Right Wing Assault (The Obama magic is fading.)
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To: redhead

Oh good grief, give me a break.


8 posted on 01/05/2010 2:55:04 PM PST by chiefqc
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To: Responsibility2nd

Reminds me of the old commercial:

“What you got in the bag?”

“Nut and Honey.”


9 posted on 01/05/2010 2:55:40 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: redhead
Yeah, gotta watch out for those honey fumes. Whiskey tango foxtrot???

I was wondering the same thing. What on earth are honey fumes and how is it they made people sick enough to go to the hospital?

Am I missing something here?

10 posted on 01/05/2010 2:57:37 PM PST by Allegra (It doesn't matter what this tagline says...the liberals are going to call it "racist.")
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To: Responsibility2nd
What does this mean, that the more we rely on ethnic workers to run security, the more likely it will be that they don't recognize certain foods, and then panic at the smells?

-PJ

11 posted on 01/05/2010 2:58:05 PM PST by Political Junkie Too ("Comprehensive" reform bills only end up as incomprehensible messes.)
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To: Allegra; redhead

When TSA agents opened one of the bottles and tested the contents, the resulting fumes nauseated them...

________________________________

Well, I had a girlfriend that promised me honey one time.

Turned out the resulting fumes sent me to the hospital also.

(TMI???)


12 posted on 01/05/2010 2:59:37 PM PST by Responsibility2nd (During this joyous Christmas season, I'd like you to know....A reindeer bit my sister once.)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Killer Bees Pictures, Images and Photos

"None of your steenkin business why we put honey in Gatorade bottles!"

13 posted on 01/05/2010 3:01:30 PM PST by Snickering Hound
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To: Responsibility2nd
When TSA agents opened one of the bottles and tested the contents, the resulting fumes nauseated them, Youngblood said. Both were treated and released at a local hospital.

Same old, same old. Several years ago a leaking strawberry preserves bottle sent several USPS employees to the hospital. What a bunch of morons. Maybe instead of hiring the lowest common denominators in society they could hire some returning vets that have balls.

14 posted on 01/05/2010 3:04:56 PM PST by 11Bush
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To: Responsibility2nd
Well, I had a girlfriend that promised me honey one time.

When you go to kiss your honey

And her nose is wet and runny

You may think it;s funny

But it'snot

15 posted on 01/05/2010 3:05:19 PM PST by Graybeard58 ("Get lost, Mitt. You're the Eddie Haskell of the Republican party." (Finny))
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To: Responsibility2nd
"It's encouraging that the system did work, because something is not right there," Youngblood said. "The system worked the way it was supposed to, but it just takes time when you close an airport—and it costs a lot of money."

But the "system" did NOT work. Some poor gardener with traces of fertilizer on his clothing or bags, who is taking honey to give to relatives being falsely accused of terrorism says the system failed again. Maybe Youngblood gets his cues from Janet.

Military personnel or police officers who spend time at a shooting range may be sources of false positives. Current administration officials thus have another opportunity to humiliate our military and law enforcement personnel.

Our "system" punishes the innocent because everybody and anybody might be a terrorist, even a 88 year old retired schoolteacher. But our "system" is more likely to let the suspicious person go because we do not want to be accused of profiling!

16 posted on 01/05/2010 3:06:42 PM PST by olezip
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To: Responsibility2nd

For Christ’s sake. I used to ship maple syrup from PA to my cousin in CA and get oranges and lemons in return. This is horse shit and the American people have better prove to the government who has the balls to stop this crap. This is out of control. What’s next?
A boycott of flying would only encourage the government of taking over their industry (think GM and Chrysler).
I really do wonder at times if we can come back from this debacle of government control.


17 posted on 01/05/2010 3:08:40 PM PST by hkp123
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To: Responsibility2nd
This guy was a gardener. Any fertilizer containing Nitrogen can set off alarms. I once fed my lawn in my loafers and wore them that weekend to the airport. Bad idea.
If he harvested wild honey and put them in Gatorade bottles this would be legit and yet, dumb at the same time.
18 posted on 01/05/2010 3:11:21 PM PST by outofsalt ("If History teaches us anything it's that history rarely teaches us anything")
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To: redhead

Having been in the haz business once upon a time I saw very similar behaviour from public employees (and only public employees). Any chance or excuse to claim illness, hopefully disability, worker comp, mental distress. Anything.

I bet this was the case here.


19 posted on 01/05/2010 3:11:23 PM PST by doodad
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To: Allegra
Am I missing something here?

Yeah, that two agents got the rest of the day off.

20 posted on 01/05/2010 3:14:39 PM PST by Bubba Ho-Tep ("More weight!"--Giles Corey)
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