[dave at farber.net: [IP] FW: Tommy Thompson Puts off RFID Implant]

Wed Dec 7 08:14:32 PST 2005

Hey...I'd definitely vote for requiring that all congresscritters and 
senators undergo a chipping and that their location should be publically 
available on the internet (say, via Google maps or whatever).

The possibilities are rather humorous....

-TD

>From: Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org>
>To: transhumantech at yahoogroups.com, cypherpunks at jfet.org
>Subject: [dave at farber.net: [IP] FW: Tommy Thompson Puts off RFID  Implant]
>Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 08:55:27 +0100
>
>----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave at farber.net> -----
>
>From: David Farber <dave at farber.net>
>Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 19:07:30 -0500
>To: ip at v2.listbox.com
>Subject: [IP] FW: Tommy Thompson Puts off RFID Implant
>X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.746.2)
>Reply-To: dave at farber.net
>
>
>
>Begin forwarded message:
>
>From: "Richard M. Smith" <rms at computerbytesman.com>
>Date: December 6, 2005 5:44:58 PM EST
>To: EPIC_IDOF at mailman.epic.org
>Subject: [EPIC_IDOF] FW: Tommy Thompson Puts off RFID Implant
>
>FYI
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Katherine Albrecht [mailto:kma at nocards.org]
>Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:09 PM
>To: press at nocards.org
>Subject: Tommy Thompson Puts off RFID Implant
>
>RFID IMPLANTS: FINE FOR THEE, BUT NOT FOR ME Ex-HHS Head Puts Off Being
>Chipped Despite July Promise
>
>Ex-Bush cabinet member Tommy Thompson still hasn't received an RFID
>implant
>despite a televised promise he made in July 2005 to do so.
>Shortly after joining the board of VeriChip Corporation last spring, the
>former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and four-term
>governor of
>Wisconsin told CNBC that he would "get chipped" with a VeriChip
>implant, but
>he has no plans to undergo the procedure anytime soon, according to
>recent
>revelations.
>
>The VeriChip is a glass-encapsulated RFID device designed to be injected
>into human flesh for identification purposes and for use as a payment
>device.
>
>In public appearances, Thompson has suggested injecting the
>microchips into
>Americans to link to their electronic medical records. "It's very
>beneficial
>and it's going to be extremely helpful and it's a giant step forward to
>getting what we call an electronic medical record for all Americans," he
>told CBS MarketWatch in July.
>
>When confronted by a CNBC correspondent in another July interview about
>whether he would take a chip himself, Thompson replied, "Absolutely,
>without
>a doubt."
>
>However, when authors Liz McIntyre and Katherine Albrecht, who
>researched
>human chipping for their book "Spychips: How Major Corporations and
>Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID,"
>contacted the VeriChip Corporation on December 5, they were told that
>the
>chipping never took place.
>
>VeriChip spokesman John Procter said Thompson has been "too busy" to
>undergo
>the chipping procedure, adding that he had no clear plans to do so in
>the
>future. "I wouldn't put any type of time line on it," Procter said.
>
>The VeriChip spokesman also attributed the protracted delay in the
>chipping
>to Thompson's desire to investigate the procedure. "He wants to see
>it [the
>VeriChip] in a real-world environment first," said Procter, who said
>he's
>trying to arrange a tour for Thompson at Hackensack University Medical
>Center, the first hospital to implement the technology in its emergency
>room.
>
>But the authors question this explanation. "We would expect Mr.
>Thompson to
>investigate the device *before* advocating it to others," said Liz
>McIntyre.
>"It sounds like he has wisely decided to put off the implantation,
>perhaps
>due to the serious privacy and civil liberties implications of such
>devices,
>or perhaps due to the serious medical downsides, like electrical
>risks and
>MRI incompatibility."
>
>Albrecht added, "Perhaps the implants conflict with Thompson's religious
>beliefs. Whatever his reasons, he should share them with the American
>people, many of whom have loved and trusted him for years. He will be
>responsible if they take an implant because of his influence."
>
>Thompson may find himself under increasing pressure to get chipped in
>light
>of VeriChip Corporation's recent IPO announcement. The company is
>relying on
>Thompson's cooperation to give the much maligned human tracking chip an
>image boost. "He said it on live television," said Procter of Thompson's
>chipping intentions. "We look forward to setting a firm date in
>accordance
>to his schedule and other commitments....We want to maximize the
>impact of
>[Thompson's chipping] event...We'd certainly like to...really knock
>it out
>of the park."
>
>McIntyre is hoping that Thompson will resist the pressure. "Our
>concern is
>that the VeriChip Company would like to chip every person on the
>planet, and
>they're counting on Thompson to be their ticket to mass acceptance,"
>said
>McIntyre. "We're hoping he will work for the best interests of
>humanity and
>refuse to be goaded into an ill advised action."
>
>According to Procter, only about 60 living persons in the U.S. have
>agreed
>to be chipped. In addition to the voluntary recipients, the company's
>implants were injected into the deceased victims of hurricane
>Katrina, and
>there are plans to chip mentally disabled patients at a residential
>center
>in Chattanooga. VeriChip has also had talks with the Pentagon about
>chipping
>military personnel, though Procter said that "no formal agreements
>have been
>reached."
>
>A transcript of Thompson's entire CBS MarketWatch interview is
>available at
>http://www.spychips.com/devices/tommythompsonverichip.html.
>
>###
>
>================================
>For more information contact Katherine Albrecht or Liz McIntyre, co-
>authors
>of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track
>Your Every
>Move With RFID."
>
>Liz McIntyre (liz at spychips.com) 877-287-5854
>
>or Katherine Albrecht (kma at spychips.com) 877-287-5854
>================================
>
>Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your Every
>Move with RFID is the winner of the Lysander Spooner Award for
>Advancing the
>Literature of Liberty. Authored by Harvard doctoral researcher Katherine
>Albrecht and former bank examiner Liz McIntyre, the book is meticulously
>researched, drawing on patent documents, corporate source materials,
>conference proceedings, and firsthand interviews to paint a
>convincing --
>and frightening -- picture of the threat posed by RFID.
>================================
>
>"This is the first, and maybe the loudest, popular book on a crucial
>technology of our times...all of it is fascinating, some is gross and
>revolting, and most of it is hilarious...this is a masterpiece of
>technocriticism."
>
>-- From the foreword by Bruce Sterling, best-selling author and RFID
>"Visionary in Residence," Art Center College of Design
>
>
>Spychips "make[s] a stunningly powerful argument against plans for RFID
>being mapped out by government agencies, retail and manufacturing
>companies."
>
>--Evan Schuman, CIO Insight
>
>
>"The book makes a very persuasive case that some of America's biggest
>companies want to embed tracking technology into virtually everything we
>own, and then study our usage patterns 24 hours a day. It's a truly
>creepy
>book and well worth reading."
>
>--Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe technology reporter
>
>
>"Spychips is one of the best privacy books in many years....The privacy
>movement needs a book. I nominate Spychips."
>
>- Marc Rotenberg, Georgetown University Adjunct Professor of Law and
>Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
>
>=========================================
>
>
>
>
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>Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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