Bob,
 
> Switzerland, maybe, but I probably
> couldn't afford it.  Scandinavia is too cold.
 
Switzerland is a special case ... you cannot just move there if you want
... it's one of the most restrictive countries that I kow.
 
And don't be mistaken about Scandinavia. Other than fucking cold in winter
it gets pretty warm in summer, plus Scandinavians are a decent breed of
people, just like the Irish.
 
> Does your government (or governments) actively (and secretly) try to
> snoop through your personal financial transactions?
 
Not yet.
 
> And telephone calls?
 
Depends. Every company here has been required for ages to keep a log of
which number having called which number at which date at what time for how
long. But the government doesn't have automatic access to this data, they
need a court-order for that. Also for eaves-dropping.
 
With cell-phones the location of the antenna which was used to make the
call is recorded, the SIM-card number, the IMEI-number. If the receiving
phone was a cell-phone then similar information is recorded.
 
Same observation that the government does not have automatic access to this ... yet.
 
> (Noting,
> of course, that terrorism has been far more of a problem in Europe than
> it has been here, and for a much longer time).
 
It's good to know your classics, people sometimes seem to forget that.
 
 \%/{at}rd

--- D'Bridge 2.41