.bmp)
.bmp)
In post-9/11 America, electronic surveillance comes in myriad forms: in a gas station's video camera;in a cell phone tucked inside a teen's back pocket; in a radio tag attached to a supermarket shopping cart; in a Porsche automobile equipped with a LoJack anti-theft device."We're really on the verge of creating a surveillance society in America, where every movement,every action-some would even claim, our very thoughts-will be tracked, monitored, recorded and correlated,"says Barry Steinhardt,director of the Technology and Liberty Program at the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington,D.C.RFID,in Steinhardt's opinion,"could play a pivotal role in creating that surveillance society."In design, the tag is simple:A medical-grade glass capsule holds a silicon computer chip,a copper antenna and a "capacitor" that transmits data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader.Implantations are quick, relatively simple procedures.After a local anesthetic is administered, a large-gauge hypodermic needle injects the chip under the skin on the back of the arm, midway between the elbow and the shoulder."It feels just like getting a vaccine — a bit of pressure, no specific pain,"says John Halamka, an emergency physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.He got chipped two years ago, "so that if I was ever in an accident, and arrived unconscious or incoherent at an emergency ward, doctors could identify me and access my medical history quickly."(A chipped person's medical profile can be continuously updated, since the information is stored on a database accessed via the Internet.)Halamka thinks of his microchip as another technology with practical value, like his BlackBerry. But it's also clear, he says, that there are consequences to having an implanted identifier."My friends have commented to me that I'm 'marked' for life, that I've lost my anonymity. And to be honest, I think they're right."Indeed, as microchip proponents and detractors readily agree, Americans' mistrust of microchips and technologies like RFID runs deep. Many wonder:Do the current chips have global positioning transceivers that would allow the government to pinpoint a person's exact location, 24-7? (No; the technology doesn't yet exist.)But could a tech-savvy stalker rig scanners to video cameras and film somebody each time they entered or left the house? (Quite easily, though not cheaply. Currently, readers cost $300 and up.)How about thieves? Could they make their own readers, aim them at unsuspecting individuals, and surreptitiously pluck people's IDs out of their arms? (Yes. There's even a name for it — "spoofing.")What's the average lifespan of a microchip? (About 10-15 years.) What if you get tired of it before then — can it be easily, painlessly removed? (Short answer: No.)http://www.cbs13.com/
As in the days of Noah....
