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10/06/04 12:15 AM

#20294 RE: Chris McConnel #20291

Chris -- yup, that too -- actually the cop won't even have to sit anywhere in particular or spend any time actually scanning anything -- sensors (which will continually be pinging us with very significant bursts of RF/microwave energy they'll emit so that they're able to read the RFID chips at longer distances, I believe currently already capable of reading beyond 100 meters) will be everywhere, and all the info automatically gathered will be immediately processed by and immediately available to anyone with access to the system -- say somebody wants you to have a bad day, say perhaps because they don't like what you've been saying (by any means, including just talking with someone on the street thanks to the extremely sensitive and capable mikes/audio systems that are going into the rapidly proliferating newer generations of full-motion day/night surveillance cameras) or who've you've been saying it to -- they just ask the system where you are and, with the click of a mouse, relay your real-time info to the desired local elements and dispatch them to 'assist' you . . .

whether folks 'get' it or not, it's all very real and the first major stage of its implementation is already well under way (also very importantly including the manifold and not only continuing but accelerating efforts on/deployments of the 'system' itself, its computers, computer networks and data-mining software, that we have variously known as Carnivore, Echelon and John Poindexter's supposedly terminated Total, er make that Terrorism, Information Awareness)
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F6

10/06/04 12:25 PM

#20354 RE: Chris McConnel #20291

(COMTEX) B: ACLU: Keep trackers out of Va. licenses ( United Press International )

NEW YORK, Oct 06, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged Virginia not to become the first state to place radio frequency identification chips in its driver's licenses.

RFID tags are computer chips attached to tiny antennae that are capable of broadcasting their data wirelessly to anyone with a RFID reader. They are currently used for "contactless" applications such as toll-booth speed passes, but are being considered for a variety of consumer goods.

"Until now, the controversy over RFID tags has focused on Wal-Mart and other retail applications," said Chris Calabrese, program counsel of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project. "But this is the first proposal we've seen to include RFIDs in driver's licenses. That brings the potential intrusion of this technology to a whole new level."

Calabrese testified before a panel of Virginia legislators considering whether to recommend the technology's adoption in state driver's licenses.

The ACLU says the chips will allow anyone to be tracked.

Copyright 2004 by United Press International.

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