Posted on 02/12/2006 4:28:09 PM PST by wagglebee
An Ohio company has embedded silicon chips in two of its employees - the first known case in which US workers have been “tagged” electronically as a way of identifying them.
CityWatcher.com, a private video surveillance company, said it was testing the technology as a way of controlling access to a room where it holds security video footage for government agencies and the police.
Embedding slivers of silicon in workers is likely to add to the controversy over RFID technology, widely seen as one of the next big growth industries.
RFID chips – inexpensive radio transmitters that give off a unique identifying signal – have been implanted in pets or attached to goods so they can be tracked in transit.
“There are very serious privacy and civil liberty issues of having people permanently numbered,” said Liz McIntyre, who campaigns against the use of identification technology.
But Sean Darks, chief executive of CityWatcher, said the glass-encased chips were like identity cards. They are planted in the upper right arm of the recipient, and “read” by a device similar to a cardreader.
“There’s nothing pulsing or sending out a signal,” said Mr Darks, who has had a chip in his own arm. “It’s not a GPS chip. My wife can’t tell where I am.”
The technology’s defenders say it is acceptable as long as it is not compulsory. But critics say any implanted device could be used to track the “wearer” without their knowledge.
VeriChip – the US company that made the devices and claims to have the only chips that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration – said the implants were designed primarily for medical purposes.
So far around 70 people in the US have had the implants, the company said.
You don't understand the technology. RFID chips are passive devices. They must be excited by a strong magnetic field to generate enough power to squawk the ID number. The range varies from 5 inches to about 5 feet. The anti-theft scanners at retail stores are typically the 5 foot variety and they require the very large antennas (5 feet tall) on either side of the doors to operate properly.
Most RFID chips just squawk a unique number. The RFID reader is responsible for using that number as a database key to retrieve relevant information.
Who needs implants? The illegals are the ones crossing the border.
It is a parody, he's a troll.
>>>So your idea is to give unprecented
Yes
>>>and near total power to the state
No
We would still live in a democracy under the rule of law with legislation enacted by elected representatives. What is the great danger? In theory, currently a Republican administration could punish Democrats by cross-referencing voter roles (freely available to the public) with vehicle registration information (available to public officials), and selectively ticket for traffic violations based on party affiliation. Ridiculous? Not any more than an Administration using implants and criminal law reform to jail those who publicly disagree with it, and still expecting reelection. We may disagree with Democrats, but they are our brothers, sisters, sons, mothers, co-workers, friends, and how would we react if they were suddenly ALL jailed. I for one am not willing to pay the tax bill that implies, and would punish the perpetrator at the ballot box.
Such scenarios have been used to try to scare us from any number of technological advances. Nuclear weapons would be the end of the world, chloroflourocarbons, freon, computers, even passports in their time were viewed with suspicion... This one will happen (the genie's out of the bottle), and our concern should not WHETHER (wasted effort), but rather HOW (productive effort).
>>>What is your plan for me (and others) that say "NO" to your implant?
Logically, to be effective, the program would have to cooerce compliance with forceful implantation (and in an area sensitive enough to deter tampering, such as in the brain).
Keep it up man.
LOL! Are you going to personally do this? Or ask a bunch of stormtroopers to do it?
Do you have the chip ?
If so, you know the government changed the rules.
Yes and though I disagree with that law, would even call it unconstitutional, there was a tangible relationship between the law and a stated goal - to control gun ownership presumably reduce crime. The law has not had that effect. But the intent was NOT (despite what some people say) to merely convert an opposition political party into felons and jail them all.
>>>Do you have the chip ?
Dude I am not saying, give me a chip, give me a chip, I am SAYING it will happen, just as the moment the atomic bomb was imagined, it was inevitable that it would be built, and in massive numbers. Anyone who argues that THIS genie can be kept in the bottle is dreaming.
>>>Freedom is just a matter of degree.
That has always been true.
>>>Are you going to personally do this?
Actually I plan on being on vacation out of the country when it happens. :)
The law was cobbled up by gun hating socialists. Get a copy of "How to Own a Gun and Stay Out of Jail - California edition". Read it carefully. You will observe that California gun laws are crafted to entrap gun owners into felony actions. If you put 1 round of ammo into a handgun magazine and step onto a public street, you may be a felon. In California law any part of a gun is considered a whole gun. A magazine with a single live round is thus a loaded gun. If you step onto a public street with a loaded "handgun" and that handgun was not purchased by you with your name on the Form 4473, you have committed a felony.
Don't believe for a minute that the likes of Scott and Perata and Lockyer don't have an anti-gun agenda. Their intent is clear. The socialists in the California legislature are happy to pass nearly every anti-gun law submitted to them.
I moved from California to Idaho for very good reasons. The endless spew of anti-gun laws was high on the list.
CW2, bloody and muddy
I dont like this either. I dont know any anyone would conscent. Ultimate invasion of privacy.
This is a slippery slope deal. First those little chips will transmit your location but before long, and without you knowing it, they will start transmitting your thoughts. If a good looking secretary slaps you, you will know it has started. :-)
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