16 continued from page 15 M E T R O S P I R I T D E C 1 8 2 0 0 3
analogy, your cell phone conversations or probably even our wire-line conversations, could technologically, easily be wiretapped and picked up by fairly inexpensive devices. People can listen into all your conversations right now. It happens to be against the law for them to do that. Now do 150 million cell phone users in the U.S., are they daily worried about their cell phone conversations being picked up? No. I think mostly they don’t worry about it.” “I’ve seen some articles where they say, ‘Your (identification) papers please,’ and that’s what this chip is all about,” Cossolotto added. “Well, I don’t see anybody recommending that we outlaw paper. Paper is just something that things get printed on.” But the policing scenario did not seem all that far-fetched when, in December of 2001, then-ADS CEO Richard Sullivan suggested that immigrants to the United States be implanted with the chips in the wake of Sept. 11. “Man today is more than ever converging with technology,” Sullivan, who has since retired from ADS, said at the unveiling of Verichip, according to an article in the Palm Beach Post. “I think the positives overwhelmingly overcome any small negatives. The government is more prepared, for the overall benefit of the citizens, to advocate some of these changes.” The article also quoted a legal director of the ACLU’s Miami chapter who said Sullivan’s idea was “unconstitutional” and went “way too far outside the realm of what we believe in as a society.” Up until that time, ADS’ products had been
Ho! Ho! Ho!
used to identify and track animals. Some privacy groups are waiting to see if future incarnations of ADS’ chip will allow it to be tracked by a global positioning system. Judging by an ADS press release, they may not have to wait too long. The release, dated May 13, states that ADS is already working on a prototype of what the company believes is the first-ever, subdermal, GPS “personal location device,” or PLD. Currently the size of a pacemaker — about 2.5 inches in diameter and a half-inch thick, the company already plans to make the device smaller. “As the process of miniaturization proceeds in the coming months,” the release states, “the company expects to be able to shrink the size of the device to at least one-half and perhaps to as little as one-tenth the current size.” Naturally, plans to track humans by satellite through their implanted microchips invokes that Orwellian adjective. Of “chipping” in general, Declan McCullagh, chief political correspondent for CNET, an online magazine devoted to advents in technology, wrote in a January column: “It’s difficult to imagine a more ruthlessly effective way to track every American. I doubt it’s likely, but it’s possible to imagine a future where ‘getting chipped’ starts as a way to speed your way through lines at ATMs and airports — and ends up being mandatory.” For all the arguments about invasion of privacy, however, there are also plenty of “what-if” scenarios supporting human trackability that are being bandied about on the Web. Cases like Elizabeth Smart and Daniel Pearl, the journalist executed by his Middle-Eastern kidnappers last year, are at
the forefront of such discussions. How many kidnappers, supporters of the technology ask, would be instantly foiled at the push of a button if trackable chips were implanted in their victims’ bodies? But as it currently stands, Verichip and its other-functioning cousins can only be read, at most, from a distance of about a foot, Cossolotto said. Cossolotto said he’s seen articles about the new Veripay chip suggesting that desperate thieves, no longer able to steal a person’s wallet or purse, would resort to cutting the Veripay chip out of a victim.
Special/Greg Whitesell He thinks such a scenario would stand a better chance of playing out in a movie script than reality. “If, in the course of trying to steal something from somebody, they resort to physical assault with a scalpel, well that’s a pretty serious crime,” Cossolotto said. “And then, if they go and use your chip illegally, they’ve committed a pretty serious crime and they will be prosecuted. “Now, can I say definitively that no one will ever try to do that? It would be hard to say that, but I think it’s extremely unlikely that that sort of thing will happen.”
As Santa’s newest helper, I want to give you $500 cash to spend however you like…. Dear Homeowner, It’s true! I’ve just received word from the North Pole that I’ve officially been named as one of Santa’s Helpers. With this special assignment comes the power for me to do something very special for you …. From now until December 25, I am going to give you an immediate $500 cash rebate on any new furnace you buy from me. This is cash you can use to pay for holiday gifts, travel -- whatever you like. Think about this. If your furnace is 10 years old or older -- even if it’s still running -- you’re probably heating your home on borrowed time and paying more for utilities than you need to. But at this time of year, who really wants to think about buying a new furnace, right? That’s why I’m pleased Santa has asked for my help. In addition to the $500 instant cash-in-your-pocket rebate, here’s what else I’m going to give you: • $500-$1000 off the regular list price of a top-of-the-line furnace and air conditioning system
• $0 down, 0 interest, 0 payments for 6 full months -- you don’t pay a penny all winter. Call 722-5304 right now to make an appointment for your no-cost, no-obligation Needs Analysis and Replacement Estimate. The sooner you call, the sooner I’ll hand you that $500 you can use any way you want as an early present from Santa. So, if your furnace is 10 years old or older, don’t let buying holiday gifts keep you from buying the furnace you need to keep your family safe and warm this winter. Buy a furnace before December 25 and get… • $500 cash rebate to spend however you want • $500-$1,000 off the regular full price of a premium furnace & air conditioner system • $0 down and no payments with 0 interest for 6 months • Lower heating bills for the rest of the winter because of new energy-efficient furnace Just call me Santa’s Helper and call me today at 722-5304.
722-5304 “WORRY FREE GUARANTEE™”
John Haynie, Owner