I believe some disposable batteries have elemental lithium foil in them (opposed to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries).

How do you take the batteries apart without crushing the foil, shorting them, and causing a fire?

Carefully. ;)

People cooking up shitty meth apparently do it (http://health.utah.gov/meth/html/ToxicologyofMeth/Lithium.ht...) but I don't know how they do it. They might be using tools that wouldn't be available in an airport, but I'm not so sure of that.

You can do it with a razor blade and a lot of patience, or as the author shows, using a small pipe cutter that you could easily get into the airport with a carry-on.

He shows this in the Fragguccino video (http://www.youtube.com/embed/TZ5a4ycwsig): by using a small pipe cutter (on a lithium AA battery). He notes that it can be done without the pipe cutter but would take more time.

Thanks - didn't catch that's what he was doing with the pipe cutter.

This kid sitting next to me in class did it....

I think it's the heating element in a thermos; "fraguccino" uses the same technique.

Fraguccino gets the lithium from a battery.