Slashdot has a rather interesting article where it's not really techy in nature, shows what a few reporters for a newspaper did when confronted with the idea to grab the garbage of the local Mayor, Chief of Police and the DA!
I suppose the usual comment I would have is, use a $30 shreader !
Three prominent members of Portland, who have voiced their views that "Most judges have the opinion that [once] trash is put out...it's trash, and abandoned in terms of privacy", and "that once you set your garbage out on the curb, it becomes public property", got their "garbage" turned on them, and have now caused a "stink"...
From the garbage of these three members of Portland life, they found that the Chief of Police's credit-card number; we know where he buys his groceries; we know how much toilet tissue he goes through. We know whose Christmas cards he has pitched, whose wedding he skipped, whose photo he threw away. We know what newsletters he gets and how much he's socked away in the stock market. We even know he's thinking about a new car--and which models he's considering.
The Mayor escaped with only her recycling garbage being picked, but this showed what newspapers she reads, and what TV shows she was interested in "Wargame: Iraq", "Everwood", "CSI Miami", "The West Wing", Figure skating TV programs and a Dog show...
Very interesting reading, if you are interested in your own privacy, so as soon as you toss something in the rubbish bin, think who coulld be reading it, yea RIGHT, who's gonna be interested in a email from my brother in New Jersey who stubbed his toe whilst shovelling snow last weekend!
The site that carried the story has been naturally "slashdotted", but someone kindly posted the text of the story so everyone can read at your leisure!
News Source: Slashdot - Going Through the Garbage (full text of newspaper article as a comment posted in /., thanks Shuck)
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