A funny story out of Oregon, with some very relevant points. A newspaper, in protest of police inspecting people's garbage, went through the trash of a few prominent local officials. Then they reported what was found. Make sure you destroy the important stuff before pitching it.

And your garbage can is just one of the many places where your privacy is being pilfered. In the wake of 9/11, the U.S. government has granted itself far-reaching new powers to spy on you, from email to bank statements to video cameras (see "Big Brother's in Your Trash Can," below).

After much debate, we resolved to turn the tables on three of our esteemed public officials. We embarked on an unauthorized sightseeing tour of their garbage, to make a point about how invasive a "garbage pull" really is--and to highlight the government's ongoing erosion of people's privacy.

posted by mt at 09:53