Posted on 06/13/2006 3:17:38 PM PDT by F15Eagle
EDMONTON -- Imagine a world where you're taken unconscious and with no identification to a hospital. The doctor scans the microchip implanted in your shoulder, downloads your medical identification number and links up with a secure network that says you're a diabetic and allergic to Tylenol.
Sounds ideal.
In a world where more than 230 physicians in the United States have bought microchips for implantation in patients, and where a club owner in Spain offers to implant VIP chips into posh people so they don't need to carry credit cards or identification, the ethics of human microchip technology needs to be debated in Canada, says a University of Ottawa professor.
"This is all happening relatively quickly," said Ian Kerr, an expert in ethics, law and technology who spoke Friday at the Access and Privacy Conference in Edmonton. "I don't think we're that far off."
Canada hasn't given its approval to microchips that can be implanted into humans for medical purposes. But since 2004, people in the U.S. can have $100 to $200 radio frequency microchips inserted under their skin. The rice-sized implant releases a patient-specific code when it is scanned. With that code, an authorized health-care professional can then link up to a network to find information on the patient's medications or prior treatments, similar to what might be available on Alberta's electronic health record system.
In the U.S., 97 health-care facilities and 230 physicians have jumped aboard. Harvard Medical School's chief information officer had one implanted in his body. Mexico's attorney general did the same thing so that he could access secure areas in his office.
For Alzheimer's patients who get lost, the technology could be particularly useful. Kerr said putting such a chip on equipment in a hospital say, a rare mobile cardiac machine also could help doctors find the machines quickly in an emergency.
But already, people have been able to clone the chips. While that doesn't give them complete medical information, issues of privacy and security must be raised, Kerr said.
VeriChip, the company that makes the technology, has opened offices in Vancouver and Ottawa.
Wal-Mart is looking into similar technology to track inventory and microchips are already used in pets.
A school near Sacramento, Calif., outraged parents when administrators made students wear identification badges outfitted with microchips. When the students walked through doors equipped with chip readers, teachers could monitor the students' whereabouts through their palm pilots.
"It can be in a knapsack, embedded in somebody's shoe or implanted in your shoulder," Kerr said. "It's hard to know what's around the corners with these kinds of things E Let's think a little bit about the implications before they happen because sometimes you can't put the genie back in the bottle."
Kerr said it's hard to know if Canada would approve the chips for human implantation.
Frank Work, Alberta's privacy commissioner, said he thinks it's inevitable.
"Worried or scared, you know that if there is an advantage to it, either economic or medical, someone is going to perfect it," Work said. "Someone is going to bring it to a point where it can be used in the near future.
"We'll do it in a well-intentioned way, wanting to look after people. But like with anything, as soon as you bring in the well-intentioned application, someone will figure out the evil application."
jsinnemathejournal.canwest.com
for your ping lists if interested...
Sounds more like ... "mark of the beast" to me
I can't believe how fast everything is happening.
If they can make, there are others who can hack it, circumvent it, alter it, or overide it.
I can't believe how fast everything is happening.
Just keep looking up my brothers and sisters. He is coming soon. We may be that generation. Either way, for believers it will be Glorious.
Maybe parents should consider the option of tagging their kids. In the event of a kidnapping, every time the kid is moved through an area with a scanner, the kid's location is noted.
When the minors reach adulthood, the locator chips are automatically removed.
Just an idea. I'm not one who favors a kid's rights to privacy over a parent's right to know.
I'm at a very big Microsoft conference this week and the various vendors will scan our badges to gather information about us. So if I want the t-shirt, I allow them to scan me. The thing is, all the scanners aren't working the same. Some can pick up a signal quickly, others need me to take the badge out of its holder in order to get a reading.
I wonder, as the technology improves, if this can be used discreetly, without the wearing even knowing about it. The badges that Microsoft is using are thin as a credit card, but obviously have detailed information embedded in them. Now stick that to someone's back, like the joke "kick me" sign, and you could track them for many miles.
I heard the State Deptartment is is thinking about putting these chips in US passports. Imagine a Zarqawi like terrorist having a chip reader!
He is near, even at the door.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Do not receive anything on your body.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you all
National ID will come first.
Thank you
Pphht! Right out in front of God and everybody, buddy. And the "enlightened" and "free thinkers" dismiss it all as superstition and coincidence.
Yes, the stage is certainly being set. Nations want to divide the land of Israel. Iran is threatening to build weapons to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. There is money being raised for the Third Temple. Lots of things going on.
Remember the IBM commercial where the guy stuffs all the food into his pockets and goes right out the front door? As you know, that's RFID. Many places are going to self-checkout. Walkout with RFID has to be the next step.
Yes things are certainly continuing as we expected. Plus a few unexpected. Of course we aren't surprised. Israel has now been a reborn nation some 58 years and Jerusalem (at least 1/2 of it) has been in their hands 39 years.
And yet the moon rock cult wants them to move to Alaska or someplace else. Tick, tick, tick...
"When these things happen, look up for your redemption is at hand."
I think I would change that slightly.
Revelation 13 tells us that it will be required to bow to the idol which comes to life and speaks (this is created by people of the Earth (v.14). As many as would not worship the image of the beast are killed (v. 15).
The survivors who do worship the image are caused to receive the Mark in the right hand or the forehead (v.16).
A chip like this, perhaps or most likely some sort of credit authorization, is quite likely (or just one component of) the means by which the economic control is issued over buying and selling (v.17).
"9 If any man have an ear, let him hear"
Well I think that may be the problem. At first it might seem like a good idea or helpful. Imagine if Adolph Hitler had come to power with this technology.
Yes, it certainly qualifies as a tool that could be used for evil purposes instead of good.
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