[FuzzieAlum]

Well ... the cell phone thing is real, believe me. Most bombs are disguised to look like common electronic objects. If they won't turn on, that's a big suspicion that they're not really what they say they are (or that the batteries need to be charged!).

I'm an airline employee, so I've had background checks every which way to Sunday, so it's pretty unlikely I'm a terrorist, and I still am asked to turn on my cell phone most of the time I go through. (And, if it matters, I am white.)

The belt buckle thing is another ... a metal buckle will set the wand off so they make you undo it to make sure you're not using the buckle as an excuse for the thing going off, when in reality you have a bolt cutter or whatever under there. I participated in security tests at one of our airports, and they had me slip a metal thing inside my pants behind the buckle just for that reason. (Luckily, security did catch it.) However, unless you have metal on the rest of the belt, though, there's no good reason to make you take it off - just to undo it.

I can tell you this: When they wand you or do extra screening, they are supposed to ask your permission before they touch any part of your body, and that includes sticking their hands in your hair. (What kind of weapon could you hide in you hair, anyway?) If anything like that ever happens to you, ask to speak to the manager. If he/she doesn't resolve it, ask to talk to the airline's (not the security company's) Ground Security Coordinator. There should be one on premises, frequently very near to the security checkpoint. They might have a different title, but essentially they are the liasion between the airline and the security company. If it's the airline doing secondary screening at the gate, do the same thing.

And if you don't get any satisfaction, write their customer service department a polite, firm but upset letter. While the airlines are no longer in charge of the security firms, they don't like to have pissed-off customers, and they will speak to the security company next time they meet together.

Yes, a lot of these things are invasive, and no, not every security employee (or airline employee) is fair and objective. BUT I urge you to complain to the people who can do something about it. Airline security is messed up now, incompetent at times, overzealous at others, and too many different companies and agencies have their hands in it. If it's just a pain in the rear, though, remember why we're doing it - so no other terrorists attack us in the air again. If it's inappropriate, on the other hand, you have a complete right to speak up and let your dissatisfaction be known.