Sigh...After being in a couple of Islamic countries plus Singapore for the past 3+ weeks, on arrival this a.m. in LA:
Me (to TSA) If you need to open those cases, I need to be present.
(Cases are sealed and stickered across opening by Singapore Security Police)
TSA: Why do you need to be present?
Me: Well, with baggage handlers, TSA, caterers, fuelers, etc, it's possible things get lost, damaged, or stolen. I'd like to limit the exposure as much as possible, so I need to re-seal these if you need to open them.
TSA: I understand. No problem.
Me: Thank you.

15 minutes later....
TSA: Sir, why are you still standing here?
Me: Because I've not seen my boxes go on the belt yet.
TSA: Sir, they've opened your boxes and inspected them already, the big orange cases went down the security belt. We use a different belt if we hand-inspect them. Two of the big black cases are still being searched, but you can't come back here to watch.
Me: What happened to you agreeing with me that I could be present to view you going thru the cases?
TSA: I'm sorry, I forgot, sir. But I did make sure that nothing was damaged and it was all packed carefully. I could see it was expensive gear.

Sigh....on arrival home, this morning I discovered that two of my Firewire cables had been cut in half when they closed the lids. but...at least they resealed 2 of 5 cases.
Didn't mean to hi-jack the thread, but Apit brought it up...:-)
I'll tell ya, I'd MUCH rather fly in the UAE, Israel, Malaysia, etc than to fly in the USA or EU when it comes to security. they do it right. We don't.

I wonder if the "Trusted Passenger" program (or whatever they call it) would get around all this nonsense? They check you out completely far in advance, take a retinal scan, and from then on there's no inspection of anything needed any more? Or does it just get you into a shorter line?

When I used to fly myself in a Mooney 201 I would smugly just take my stuff out to the aircraft, throw it in, and then leave (after preflight and IFR clearance). No lines.

The program will work long enough for the first mole to infiltrate.

I dunno, but I paid for the program in Orlando, and it indeed benefitted me for ONE flight.
Hilarity of the day...we were clearing security at LAX, and TSA forced a woman to remove her gel inserts from her bra.
I wonder what they'd do if you'd had a masectomy?
THAT would be a fun conversation to monitor.

the "Trusted Passenger" program

Is that the one that comes with a passport-like book marked with a big "TP" on the front?

And the gel insert was precious too...

I was in Sarajevo a year ago and no one could get into the terminal building without going through security. ALL baggage was x-rayed on its way into the building, and all passengers, flight crews, etc., went through metal detectors before going through the terminal doors. I felt really secure once inside!

Unlike Spot's experience, we stood right by our bags as they were inspected, then carried them into the terminal. Had a similar experience with baggage inspection flying out of Scotland.

We in the U.S. have a long way to go before we get "security" right. And we''ll be a lot more apt to get it right using common sense than with a bunch of bully boys taking gel inserts out of bras!

To avoid the theft and destruction that seems to permeate the airport environment, we ship all our gear except cameras, which we carry on, via UPS. Haven't lost a thing yet.

Jack