Dear Frog:

Actually the answers to your questions are easily taken care of...

Wm. F. Shakespeare said it all in one of his play titles: "Much Ado About Nothing."

It is all about appearances, NOT about safety. You get enough action going, add some spice and salsa, touch off the fireworks, and hey: Who AIN'T gonna be impressed by your efforts?

Of course, to address what I think is your gut-level, underlying concern...and I apoligise in advance if I misinterpreted you...the things you mentioned have nothing, repeat nothing, to do with air travel safety. In my business, there is a term called vaporware...a promised "killer computer app" that never, somehow, materializes. Well, we have the same thing with the so-called "airport security." It is vapor. The only thing that works is the metal detector and the explosives detectors. And they only keep out the amateurs, not anyone serious about commiting mayhem on or to a plane.