An Irish reader writes:

Re your post in The Corner, “Who Needs Terrorists?” about the explosives put in the bag of a traveller from Poprad-Tatry to Dublin, you might be amused to note that the Slovak airport informed Dublin airport about it by TELEX. Who still uses telexes? No wonder the message sat there unread and unloved, not doubt in some dusty broom cupboard, for three long days before anyone read it.

I believe Telex is reserved for Code Orange alerts. If it had been merely a Code Yellow alert, it would have been sent by steam packet via the Cape of Good Hope.

Elsewhere in travel news, relax. Homeland-security officials were right on top of that Pantybomber situation:

U.S. border security officials learned of the alleged extremist links of the suspect in the Christmas Day jetliner bombing attempt as he was airborne from Amsterdam to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed, officials disclosed Wednesday.

Given that he was planning to land in 4 million pieces over the greater Detroit metropolitan area, that’s a lot of manpower. I wonder if the Obama administration understands quite how stupid they sound to the rest of the world.