interesting. I wonder if this is how I set off the alarm at Wal Mart the other day; I bought some CD-Rs and then went to Walmart for groceries. I set off the alarm when I was leaving, and wondered at the time how it knew about products I had bought at another store.
Dana Angel Stewart writes: > >" BIG BROTHER COMES TO WAL-MART > > > > http://www.newswithviews.com/Mary/starrett14.htm > > > > By Mary Starrett > > June 11, 2003 > > > > NewsWithViews.com > > > > Starting this week, the nation's largest discount retailer will > > quietly begin selling tracking-chipped products to clueless shoppers. > > The first volley in their war against our privacy is set to start at > > their Brockton, Massachusetts store. > > > > Wal-Mart will put Radio Frequency I.D. sensors on shelves stocked with > > > RFID-tagged Gillette products, but they'd rather you didn't know about > > > it, because, hey, you might not like it, and then you might make noise > > > and then they'd have a big PR mess on their hands. > > > > You might even stop buying Gillette products or, say, refuse to shop > > at Wal-Mart. > > > > These chips, researched at M.I.T.'s Auto-ID Center are about the size > > of a grain of sand. Chipsters say the technology will only be used to > > help retailers keep track of inventory - like bar codes. But > > privacy-loving consumers question the very concept of a device that > > sends out radio waves to "readers" that not only identify the article, > > > but where and with whom it's going. > > > > The Big Brother implications of this thing need little hyping to get > > your skin crawling. > > > > Wal-Mart's putting the pressure on its top 100 suppliers to make sure > > their inventory is all chipped by the end of next year. > > > > But why start this in Brockton, Mass? > > > > Could it be because the store's customers are typically lower income > > minorities who'd be less likely to be aware of the tracking devices, > > and even less likely to make a fuss about them? > > > > Their thinking? Let's foist it on folks who're too concerned about > > paying the electric bill to be aware of these types of issues. > > > > Retailers are SUPPOSED to alert their customers to the tracking chips > > and offer to "kill" the tags at the checkout counter. > > > > Don't count on it, because what you don't know won't hurt you, right? > > And to PROVE those RFID tags won't be "killed" at the cash register > > one of the ways they're planning on convincing you, the shopper that > > these tags are A-OK is by touting how "hassle-free" returns will be. > > Huh? If the tags are supposedly turned off at purchase, how can they > > be read after the item's brought back to the store? Just one of the > > myriad lies you'll be told about this technology. > > > > Are we to expect that in addition to being asked the "paper or > > plastic" question we'll get an option on whether the RFID tags are > > left on or turned off? Not only will consumers be witnessing the death > > > throes of privacy, but it's going to cost them. Currently, the chips > > cost about 60 cents each. Add that to the cost of each and every item > > that uses this Orwellian technology. Gillette and Wal-Mart are only > > the pioneers here, the stated plan is to affix each item produced on > > the planet with RFID tags. Each pack of gum, each roll of film, each > > bottle of Merlot. > > > > So what's a freedom-loving shopper to do? > > > > Fortunately for us, there's a really smart lady finishing up a Ph.D. > > at Harvard. She started a group that's bellowing out the urgency of > > fighting this technology; her name is Katherine Albrecht and she's > > founder of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And > > > Numbering). Albrecht's CASPIAN has proposed a piece of federal > > legislation called "RFID RIGHT TO KNOW ACT OF 2003". It's a law that > > would let consumers know which products had tracking chips attached to > > > them. In short, the proposed bill would amend the Fair Packaging and > > Labeling Program by adding language that requires manufacturers to > > state (in a conspicuous location) that the package contains a radio > > frequency identification tag that can transmit unique identification > > information to a "reader" device both before and AFTER it's > > purchased(!). > > > > This is where you come in. > > > > The bill needs a sponsor. > > > > Maybe YOUR Congressional Representative would like to go on record as > > having helped stop this assault on our privacy. Forward this article > > to him/her and tell them the entire text of the bill can been seen at > > nocards.org. > > > > Will you make it a point to email, call or fax your representative > > today, before our Big Brother gets any bigger? Do it NOW before the > > lobbyists and big money special interests get to them and convince > > Congress these RFID chips are consumer-friendly! > > > > And while you're at it, why not tell the suits at Wal-Mart and > > Gillette (and Home Depot, Proctor and Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, > > too, by the > > way) that from here on out you wouldn't go near their stores or their > > products with a ten foot pole. > > > > It works. Remember back a few months when I told you how Italian > > clothing company Benetton had chipped their Sisely line of clothes and > > > was all set to roll out the garments with RFID tracking devices? Well > > your outrage and feedback caused them to put the scheme on hold. > > > > Let's make sure the behemoth Wal-Mart is similarly put on notice. (By > > the way, IBM's planning to add RFID to it's products; so if Wal-Mart > > manages to sneak this past us, all bets are off and then every > > corporate giant will be able to inflict this chilling, > > tracking/monitoring horror on us.) > > > > If RFID gets off the ground as planned, that would make George > > Orwells' predictions off by just 20 years. It's up to us. > > > > C 2003 Mary Starrett - All Rights Reserved" > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
