I'D RATHER GO NAKED!

NewsWithViews.com ^ | March 13, 2003 | Mary Starrett

[fight_truth_decay]

Fashion designers from New York to Milan have filled the runways in recent weeks with all the latest Spring looks. Hemlines are up, heel heights are down and pink is all the rage. But regardless of what you think of this season's haute couture you should be made aware of a trend that's catching on... it could make you think twice before buying new clothes. Tiny specks capable of tracking virtually every single item are now being imbedded by manufacturers. This Orwellian technology, called RFID (radio frequency ID) will now be used by Italian clothing designer Benetton in the form of trackable chips woven into it's apparel. The chips, which function as itty bitty radio transmitters will be inserted when the clothes are made and will remain intact throughout the life of the garment. According to chip manufacturer Philips Electronics, the devices will be "imperceptible" to the wearer.

Sound like something out of a futuristic sci-fi thriller? Welcome to your brave, new world.

Benetton is not alone in implementing this frighteningly invasive technology. Gillette has already purchased 500 million of these tracking devices and starting in July will imbed them in shaving cream and razors sold at Wal Mart stores. The chipped items will sit atop "smart" shelves that will work in unison with the chipped products to tell Gillette and Wal Mart all kinds of things; and the info-gathering doesn't end there. As an extra added bonus ,when shoppers take their Big Brother -branded purchases home (and wherever RFID "readers" are located,) their purchase will be tracked. RFID Journal touts the technology as a way to eliminate bar codes, cut down on labor costs and theft and says it will be a boon to inventory control.

The founder and director of a group called C.A.S.P.I.A.N. (Consumers Against Privacy Invasion And Numbering) sees it differently. Katherine Albrecht, a Harvard University doctoral candidate says what Benetton, Gillette and over 90 of the world's biggest corporations are doing, in essence, is "registering" those products to you. Albrecht has been warning us about this for years. She says consumers have no idea that these RFID chips actually track the owner .. " then anytime you (go) near an RFID reader device the (product) would beam out your identity to anyone with access to a database - all without your permission".

Think this is waaaay out there? It's not. According to a 2001 INFORMATIONWEEK article on the RFID scheme, proponents are looking ahead to a seamless, network of millions of RFID receivers in airports, stores and even your home. And remember, you can't turn these things off.

Benetton, which had sales of over $2 billion last year apparently thinks spending the 25 cents to 50 cents per chip will be money well -spent. The company has ordered 15 million chips for starters. So along with your mock turtleneck you'll be getting an RFID gizmo which operates at 13.56 MHz, and stores 512 bits of information. RFID Journal says "unless there is a big public outcry, Benetton is not going to be the last retailer to adopt RFID".

Did you get that? IF NOBODY GETS UPSET ABOUT THIS IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN! Don't just SIT there, DO something...Be part of that "big public outcry" they doubt will happen 'cause you're either catatonic from too much TV, or you just plain don't care.

Know that the likes of Kimberly Clarke, Coca- Cola, Philip Morris, Target, the U.S. Department Of Defense and the United States Postal Service (just think of the implications of THAT!) are watching this Benetton thing very carefully. They're poised to begin their own chipping programs in the not-too-distant future.

Where is all this technology coming from? From the brilliant minds at MIT's Auto-ID Center. In just a few years the center has raked in tons of money from some heavy-duty global corporations who are raring to go on this. The effects of this RFID technology are truly chilling. Consumers wouldn't be able to escape the watchful eye of manufacturers, retailers and marketers. Law enforcement would have a field day with this as well. Individual's behavior could be monitored to the nth degree.

So what can YOU do about it?

Spread the word. Boycott Benetton.... (Gillette, too, while you're at it) and make sure they know you've stopped buying their products and WHY.

Get educated. Check out C.A.S.P.I.A.N.'s web site: at http://www.nocards.org/. It's a good place to start.

Call your local media (radio talk show hosts, newspaper editors, TV stations).

And think about going naked. Katherine Albrecht has. She says "I'd rather go naked than wear clothes with spy chips".

As for me, I have no problem wearing the old stuff I have hanging in my closet. I might not make any new fashion statements but I'll be making a statement that doesn't ever go out of style in a free society. My statement's summed very well in something called the 4th Amendment.

Related Articles: Benetton Clothing To Carry Tiny Tracking Transmitters AP

Mary Starrett was on television for 21 years as a news anchor, morning talk show host and medical reporter. For the last 5 years she hosted a radio program. Mary is a frequent guest on radio talk shows. E-Mail M123STAR@aol.com

[Tall_Texan]

I can only imagine the outcry if FR had been around back in the days that bar-codes started appearing on everything. Massive conspiracy, that, right along with the little code numbers on the backs of road signs to guide UN troops.

I said then that it was only a matter of time before they'd switch from putting bar codes on products to putting bar codes on people. And that bar code would go on the forehead just like the Biblical "Mark of the Beast".

I don't think I'm wrong about that, by the way.

[BlueLancer]

"I can only imagine the outcry if FR had been around back in the days that bar-codes started appearing on everything. Massive conspiracy, that, right along with the little code numbers on the backs of road signs to guide UN troops."

General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Captain Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Mandrake: Aye, no, no. I don't Jack.
Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? Its incredibly obvious isn't it. A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first...become...well, develop this theory?
Ripper: Well, I, uh...I...I...first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Mandrake: Hmm.
Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue...a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I...I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Mandrake: Hmm.
Ripper: I can assure you that it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh...women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Mandrake: No.
Ripper: But I...I do deny them my essence

[Ramius]

They are powered

They are *not* powered...

Yeesh! What's up with my fumblefingers today???

[tje]

There is no battery. The devices are passive. They have to be in a particular RF field to actually operate..

[Flyer]

Don't tell, it's Secret!

[Smedley]

The ultra-short range of the RFID transmissions would make it difficult to scan the clothes without the wearer's knowledge, Karsten Ottenberg, senior vice president of Philips Semiconductors, based in Hamburg, Germany said.(Pulled from related articles above)

Actually, RFID technology has matured to the point where passive systems can be read from 9 meters.

[Tall_Texan]

Okay, where did the S in the acronym come from?

It's a secret. We'd have to kill you if you found out.

[BlueLancer]

"It uses microwave energy beamed down from orbital mind-control satellites contolled by the Illuminati."

Gadzooks, they're on to us ...

[Xenalyte]

Doh!

[Smedley]

For a transmitter, no matter the size, that's a hell of a battery!

There is no battery needed. Some RFID systems use magnetic or electromagnetic signals as their power source.

[Jonah Hex]

ARRRRGGHHH!!!!

(diving under desk until the boogeyman goes away)

[jim35]

I'd rather not go naked, but I guess I could wear homespun. This looks like one more intrusion on my privacy, and is far more than a mere barcode, which is a hands-on item that requires close scanning, and can't be done in secret. These tags can't be removed, or turned off, and they can be scanned without your knowledge. And even small amounts of memory storage are enough to put 666 in, along with your SSN. And they're only short range if you use a low-powered scanner.

[blau993]

Exactly how does the chip know who I am just because I walked into a drug store and bought a can of shaving cream?

[Darksheare]

You let out our secret, BlueLancer!
Your punishment will commence soonly:
You are to cut down the mightiest tree in the forest!
With!
A Herring!

[null and void]

Okay, where did the S in the acronym come from?

It's a Secret...

[jim35]

By linking the check or credit card that you used to purchase the item with the unique number on the embedded chip. No reason the scanners can't be high powered, and read through walls, is there?

[freeeee]

Exactly how does the chip know who I am just because I walked into a drug store and bought a can of shaving cream?

Because you paid using a credit card/debit card/store loyalty card.

So you can pay with cash. But soon cash itself may have these chips too.

[fight_truth_decay]

Supermarket = S

[Redcloak]

Just pop 'em in the microwave for a minute.

[1rudeboy]

Another day, another boycott. Soon every "conservative" household will need a full-time employee simply to keep track of them all.