Schneier on Security: Expensive Cameras in Checked Luggage:

In this day and age of excessive security theatre, there is an increased risk of our valuable camera equipment wandering its way out of our possession while it's in transit.

As always, someone has a bright idea of making sure that your camera gear gets special attention - the right sort of special attention, that is.

Put a starter pistol in with your camera gear.

For the full details, as always, read the linked article, but here's the gist of it.

• A starter pistol is a firearm.
• TSA is required, by law, to take special care to not lose firearms.
• As such, very very few firearms are lost.
• You're allowed a non-TSA approved (aka back-doored) lock on cases holding firearms.

Brilliant!