[mseebach]

My SO once bought a small blender (less the blade) through in her hand luggage - I understand and respect why they asked to take a closer look at that. But if a bomb is indistinguishable from a paperback, then a bomb is indistinguishable from a bag full of clothes. Which means that the current level of security is woefully inadequate and only by opening up all luggage and carefully sifting through every one inch layer of material can we find hidden bombs.

Rather, this seems like a perfect example of the self-perpetuation suggested in the article. It takes a while, so there's a line, it look very meticulous and the victim isn't going to complain, or he might risk finding himself on a do-not-fly or do-harass list.