On the subject of Boston security in particular. I was horrified to see that airline ground staff do not go through security at all when going to the aircraft. They have a gate from their office straight out onto the tarmac. We flight crew are subjected to all manner of search, and they walk straight out and join the passengers again on the other side. When challenged, I was told that as they were airline employees, they were above suspicion and did not need to be checked. I pointed out that so was I as a pilot of the plane, but was told that that was different. Absolutely amazing! No wonder they picked Boston on Sep 11