Maybe I missed something in this thread, but I still am puzzled by the notion that making a bomber check his bomb into the hold instead of carrying it into the cabin is a great advance in security. The examination of these items is more effective, or potentially more effective in a passenger search channel than in a hold baggage search channel. And with the popularity of committing suicide to demonstrate a commitment to Allah, the old hold baggage reconciliation no longer makes a difference.
And I also still don't fully understand why it is suddenly quite safe to have a hold full of lithium batteries, many probably working hard while running computers in stand-by mode rather than off. If the bomb doesn't get you, the hold fire will.