[My wife worked for one of the major airlines for several years. The following is from conversations we had regarding airport security.] Knives The knife ban won't work against anyone with even a smidgen of metal detector knowledge. Anyone can purchase a razor sharp ceramic knife like this one http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Rd6ExOvaDz8:www.smarthome.com/9126.html+ceramic+knife&hl=en Without millimeter wave body scanners enforcing this one will be difficult. Even advanced scanners may not detect objects secreted between butt cheeks or on the inside of thighs (especially if legs are fat or held together closely.) Guns Airline personnel will allow law enforcement agents, with proper forms, which are easily obtained, to board a flight with their firearms. Available fake badges, laminators and photo quality printers on home PCs allow anyone with the interest, law LE demeanor and general appearance to pose as a Fed. My wife raised concerns to her management that the gate people responsible for determining if a passenger claiming to be a LE agent was in fact an agent had no training to determine the authenticity of their credential. (Her supervisors listened, smiled and did nothing.) An FBI agent explained to her what she should look for in examining a bona fide FBI ID, but there are too many agencies accorded this privilege to make any simple training possible. A centralized data base, with authentication capability by gate agents, of LE personnel allowed to carry firearms aboard U.S. domestic routes is needed. Crew IDs Both uniforms and IDs have been forged in the past and in at least one case used for a hijacking. Authentication can and should be improved. Expectations The people entrusted with maintaining a safe air travel environment are minimum or low wage people with little training. Israel airline and security personnel are much better paid and well trained (days or weeks vs. hours in the U.S.) Isn't our safety worth more than minimum wage? steve