website on global security/privacy factors?
Haven't found it yet. Maybe I will have to start it myself. Whenever I cross a border I always make notes regarding four questions.
1. Was my photo taken at Immigration?
2. Did I have to provide fingerprints?
3. Were my bags X-rayed?
4. Were my bags inspected?
It is interesting how individual borders vary within nations. So far the strictest I have ever encountered was Srinagar, Kashmir during the Islamic conflict with the government of India. The loosest was Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the early 1990s, when you could actually enter the country without going through security (you could just walk around the building, there was no fence at the old airport for a few months at least, in 1992 I think it was).
Is there a trade-off between freedom and security? Yes, of course.
I would also like to see a service-minded rating system. I have never yet been to a country where people entering are treated like customers, given a seat and a number. Buddhist monks entering Sri Lanka are welcomed in such a way. International entry points are too much like banks for my liking.