Fair comment Phil, and you are right, you can never know too much.
The problem really is the fact that people have to pay a fairly large sum of money, and waste a lot of time, to pass something that they already have. Nothing wrong with setting a high standard, but why can't an overseas guy sit a conversion type exam to ensure they ARE at that standard? Why spend weeks at a school studying something you already have? In fact, why the compulsory hours in the classroom when you could self-study?
Surely an audit of overseas ATPL exams could establish if they meet the same level as JAA, in which case there is no reason to not make recognition recipical.
Anyway, back to the study! I'm enjoying your book Phil, very impressed.
Cheers BM