US group implants electronic tags in workers

Financial Times ^ | 2/12/06 | Richard Waters

[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.

[webstersII]

"The "VeriChip" which is what the article is referring to has recently been proven it can be cloned. "

Oh, but don't worry. They will put in some safeguards against this. In fact, they will get the Internet Explorer browser developers to implement the security protocol.

The we know it could never be hacked. </sarcasm>

[Freebird Forever]

Verichip is the sole owner and manufacturer (so far) of the chips

It's a bit more convoluted than that.

The patent for the implantable microchip (for both animal and human applications) is owned by Digital Angel Corp. which in turn is owned by Applied Digital Solutions, who also are about to IPO the Verichip Corp. Applied Digital licenses the rights to the human applications from Digital Angel and will spin off that license to the Verichip Corp.

The chips themselves are manufactured by Raytheon (article cite).

[webstersII]

"Do random drug tests or government databases give you the creeps? If your up to no good they should, otherwise, WHO CARES? I don't have to hide behind "privacy" rights (a liberal construct) or miranda warnings because I walk the straight and narrow.

You should too."

You should get out more. Ever heard about this? It's a true story about a guy walked the straight and narrow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093126/

[Travis McGee]

Don't worry, this will only be voluntary, comrade.

[af_vet_rr]

Do random drug tests or government databases give you the creeps? If your up to no good they should, otherwise, WHO CARES? I don't have to hide behind "privacy" rights (a liberal construct) or miranda warnings because I walk the straight and narrow.

You are far too trusting of our government and what it tells you.

A lot of Jews trusted a certain government in the 1930s - they thought "we have nothing to hide, we have done no wrong".

There are these things, we'll call them liberals, and occasionally they have the power in the country. It's easy to blow off now, but you will care about databases, government power, tracking, etc., when they are in office again. You will care when they decide to keep track of subscriptions to certain magazines or who partake in certain activities (such as those related to the 2nd Amendment).

Of course, by the time you decide to care, it will be too late.

[VRing]

"Logically, to be effective, the program would have to cooerce compliance with forceful implantation"

Please come and try to chip me.

I dare you.

[RS]

"Regarding friendly fire problems, consider that any device that can be read by us can also be read by the enemy - which means they have perfect little RF homing signals for their outgoing fire."

And since RFID's have to be "painted" with interogation signals in order to be read, we have perfect big RF homing signals for our outgoing.

( but since current RFID's range about 12 ft max right now, we are within "whites of their eyes" range anyway )

[archy]

CW2, bloody and muddy

Concur. Toward the end of the XX Century, I kept saying that the most analagous situation to that toward which we're now heading is that of the Finnish Civil War of 1918, when Finnish patriots forestalled attempts by their nations *progressives* to jump on the Bolshevik revolution's success in Russia.

Now that we're in the XXI Century, I still know of no better situation for comparison. And as we head toward the anniversary of that Finnish national bloodletting, I wonder if we'll last until 1018 before it blows the lid off.

Outcome

Lives Lost
Reason	Reds	Whites	Other	Total
Killed in action	5,199	3,414	790	9,403
Executed, shot or murdered	7,370	1,424	926	9,720
Concentration Camp deaths	11,652	4	1,790	13,446
Died after release from camp	607	-	6	613
Missing	1,767	46	380	2,193
Other causes	443	291	531	1,265
Total	27,038	5,179	4,423	36,640
Source: National Archive

[forrestroche]

yeah sure

[Lurker]

Those Finns were some pretty wicked shots.

Oh, and these things have already been cloned. The mfgr is pretty red-faced about it.

L

[forrestroche]

>>Did this person wander on to a nominally conservative forum by mistake?


member since 2003. 5 seconds of due dillegence would have told you that.

[river rat]

If CWII becomes a nightmare come true in America....the losses in Finland wouldn't cover the losses in a single major metropolitan area in the U.S.....

"Americans" and others who live here - with allegiances to a entity beyond America and it's Constitution are VAST in number....

Now that the Left can see abject failure of their attempt to steal America through the Courts and Politics -- they may become emboldened to act out violently...

That would be their stupidest move of all....
There are MANY ready to respond violently to that foolishness.

Semper Fi

[forrestroche]

>>>Regarding friendly fire problems, consider that any device that can be read by us can also be read by the enemy


...that's why DoD wants em so bad.

[inquest]

Of course, by the time you decide to care, it will be too late.

And of course that's way too advanced a concept for the moron you were addressing, but nonetheless, you're absolutely right.

[Centurion2000]

I think I remembered reading that if the first Civil War's losses were extrapolated to our present day population, deaths from a similar civil war today would be over 9 million.

[stumpy]

I think all terrorists should have the chips implanted prior to their release (or escape). Then we can send the predators to go get them.

[forrestroche]

>>>Please come and try to chip me.


I don't want the job - it was undoubtedly fall to somebody a LOT bigger than me (and you).

[RS]

"...that's why DoD wants em so bad."

Pretty dumb if they did ... when fighting a non-technical foe, all the bad guys have to do is come up with an IED that goes off when it senses ANY RFID tag - their rats scurry across freely, our guys get hit.

[forrestroche]

>>>>ACLU people? So, anyone who believes that privacy is more important than automatic identification is an ACLU ass?


Well they are the ones always crying about privacy "rights" - which dosn't, incidentally, appear anywhere in the Constitution. It is a construct of the leftist judiciary of the 60's.

[MortMan]

My point is that the 4th amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure - and RFID chips can (and will, at some point) be used to search you without your knowledge, and certainly without even probable cause.

The poster I replied to stated that everyone who was against that was an ACLU type. Thet oversimplification is assinine - and genuinely detracts from the debate.

Sure, the ACLU will go ape over this - maybe. But a lot of conservative thinkers will, too. Both factions may be acting under their own, very different set of beliefs. Let's debate the topic, not try to cut off debate by demonizing the opponent.