It sounds like a doom and gloom warning, but folks, do not ignore this
imposing chip technology. Imagine if you get one under these pretences and
then they in fact use it to buy and sell. You by then will not have had the
choice to take the mark or not for buying and selling reasons, you'll have
already taken it under a different guise. Nonetheless you've got it. We are
to be as wise as foxes and gentle as doves, and to be watching for the
signs of Christ's return. Reading this Milwaukee article is chilling to the
skin. Read it and realize this is no fundamentalist Christian consumed with
trying to fit a peg in a square hole of sorts by fitting end times with the
Bible as folks have done for years and years and years, but an article
written in your everyday, garden variety media outlet. Centuries now people
have seen things to give them reason to believe they were close to the end,
this I believe, coupled with many other things, the world government and
economy, which USA is the fore runner of by the way, and many other things,
we are indeed getting closer. Here's the article... Brad
RFID Technology Could Be Used To Track Medication, Passports
Some Clothing Manufacturers Already Put Chips In Labels
POSTED: 11:23 am CST November 14, 2005
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Imagine a tiny radio transmitter hidden in your home, your clothes, or
maybe even under your skin that reveals personal information about you. It
may sound
like science fiction, but it's reality.
WISN 12 News' Kent Wainscott investigated how this high-tech spy chip is
showing up in some surprising places.
Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is already used to track things
like packages, and even pets, but before long, it could be tracking you by
transmitting
personal information from everything you buy, to everywhere you go and more.
For years, people have relied on bar codes to tell them what they are
buying and how much it costs, but imagine food on a grocery store shelf
that can tell
you whether it's fresh and safe.
"They could place a tag on a whole case of milk, and some of the tags
actually have the ability to record temperatures," said Lou Duzyk of
Rockwell Automation.
Or, as you walk through the mall, imagine that every item you've bought is
sending a signal, letting anyone with a receiver know exactly what's in your
bag. That's the potential of RFID.
"It's going to be big. It's going to touch everybody, I think, in the
future," University of Wisconsin-Madison RFID lab Associate Director
Alfonso Gutierrez
said.
RFID technology has been around for a long time, but it's not widespread.
It takes the first step in becoming a part of everyday lives at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison's RFID lab.
It's a one-of-its-kind facility that has partnered with dozens of
businesses to perfect and expand the technology.
Right now, many companies use RFID to track items through the supply chain
-- from the factory to the checkout line. But this is just the beginning.
"I think it's going to be huge. It's just a matter of time before the tag
costs come down, and most manufacturers deem it to be cost effective,"
Duzyk said.
But there are already concerns about the amount of information those chips
can carry.
"Most of the chips hold anywhere between 500 to 1,000 pieces of
information," University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Information Systems
Professor Dave Haseman
said.
Haseman said there may be privacy issues with RFID chips in things like the
clothing you wear or medications you take.
"It helps the pharmacist track his prescriptions, but it also means when
you walk out of the pharmacy you may, in fact, also have a radio device telling
what that prescription is to someone who had the appropriate device to read
it," Haseman said.
Haseman said the government is even considering RFID chips in passports.
"It's essentially the same as, 'I'll Xerox my passport and give it to
anybody I pass as I walk through the airport.' I would have a lot of
concern about
that," Haseman said.
But that hasn't happened yet because the technology still needs work.
"They can read and register the entire pallet? Wainscott asked.
"That's the idea. We're not there yet," Gutierrez said.
Getting there, in terms of technology, is what Gutierrez said the
UW-Madison lab is designed to do. But for now, RFID is still geared
strictly toward consumer
products -- or is it?
"This concept works not only with boxes. It works with people too,"
Gutierrez said
That's right, a people tracker. A Florida company, called VeriChip, is
putting RFID in people...
It is using implantable chips, mostly in hospitals, for patient security,
or to match mothers and newborn babies, or to provide a person's medical
history.
The newest member of the VeriChip board of directors is Tommy Thompson.
The company told 12 News that the former governor and health secretary
plans to have an RFID chip of his own implanted.
In a statement, Thompson said, 'It is my belief that VeriChip is an
important and secure means of accessing medical records and other information."
But not everyone is convinced.
"I would not want to walk around with a tag that gave my next-door neighbor
complete knowledge of my medical history. And I don't think most individuals
would," Haseman said.
"I believe that the technology developers are listening to those concerns,
and are working in ways that you will have a choice, because I believe that
people
are going to demand to have a choice," Gutierrez said.
As long as there are privacy concerns, there will be critics, Wainscott said.
That's why experts are working to make the technology more secure. Because,
like it or not, RFID is here to stay.
"It's not going away. I guarantee it's not going away," Duzyk said.
But as the technology grows, so might the need to protect your privacy.
"The ability for me to drive down the street and read what's in your house
really isn't there. But in another two, three, four years it may be very well
be possible," Haseman said.
There's actually a chance that you may have an RFID chip on you right now.
Some clothing manufacturers have reportedly started to put chips inside
labels to help prevent theft.
There is no technology yet to deactivate the chips when the item leaves the
store. So someone within range, and with right scanning technology, could track
its location, your location and read any information the chip may be
transmitting.
The U.S. Defense Department, and the world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart,
are leading the push for RFID.
While many companies have considered the technology too expensive to use,
experts said costs are starting to come down. RFID chips are likely to
start turning
up in more places, soon, Wainscott reported.
Copyright 2005 by
TheMilwaukeeChannel.com.
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