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Homeless to be Implanted with Subdermal RFID Tags
An anonymous reader writes "Politech has the scoop on the Bush administration's plans to forcibly implant RFID tags into homeless people in participating U.S. cities. Here's an excerpt from the UPI article: "The miniscule RFID tags are no larger than a matchstick and will be implanted subdermally, meaning under the skin. Data from RFID tracking stations mounted on telephone poles will be transmitted to police and
social service workers, who will use custom Windows NT software to track movements of the homeless in real time... A second phase of the project, scheduled to be completed in early 2005, will wirelessly transmit live information on the locations of homeless people to handheld computers running the Windows CE operating system.""
No one Cares about the Homeless! /sarcasm)
So now we can use geocaching to find homeless people? Awesome!
This is the most retarded April Fool's day yet. If you can't come up with your own stuff, at least link to people that do. Lucky for Slashdot that Paypal doesn't let you donate a kick in the ass.
That is how I read it.
How does CTRL-ALT-DEL work on windows CE?
with all these april fool's postings, I don't know what to believe anymore!
(huddles in corner wearing tinfoil hat whilst sucking on thumb)
Yeah, Bush is evil, but I really doubt he's that evil.
This sounds like someone's idea of a very bad joke.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
You can defeat this plot by putting the homeless person in a microwave.
taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
who will use custom Windows NT software
That's a joke all in itself.
I am invloved in an effort to produce an open source HMIS, so that if we are required to have tracking systems, at least they will be inexpensive and under the control of non-commercial entities. You can see a demo of the open HMIS at: homeless-mis.net It uses PHP and Postgres (or MS-SQL if you like that sort of thing....)
The idea of integrated information systems actually started with homeless advocates that wanted to improve services through coordinated service delivery. But, like any tool, HMISs can be mis-used, and sometimes you wonder what motiviates these federal requirements.
You had me up 'til then.
I sat through all of the crap that's been posted today due to AF, but this is just plain not in good taste. Invasion of privacy by RFID is safe to poach on - maybe one along the lines of Dilbert (PHBs using RFID to track workers) - but the subject of homelessness just plain isn't funny. Reminds me a bit of the TV show that paid homless folks to fight each other...
--- Bwah?
Why spend the money when it's cheaper to just ignore them like we do now?
Although the story is an exaggeration of the actual program, which does not use RFID, there is a real program called Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) being developed by the Department of Housing and Development. From my cursory glance, it seems as though it's a program to collect data on homeless in the name of cutting down crime and assisting them, rather than full-on movement tracking (think of the infrastructure costs!). Anyhow, EPIC discusses it here
Anybody who has ever been arrested, tried, convicted, of any misdemeanor or above should be tracked using this technology. It's just a good idea - we can keep an eye on criminals.
;>
Better, you could program the automatic doors of your home or office to not let in tagged criminals.
By storing the information in XML format, you can interactively query a RFIDed criminal to find out what their background is (violent vs. non-violent, type of theft, drug use, current income level, gender, SSN, credit history, etc.) and let your security system decide on the fly whether you want that particular entity on your premises.
In fact, governments, building owners, and residents could publish their specification for the type of people they will allow into their space -this will solve all sorts of social ills in the future. The Upper Eastside of New York City, for example, could specify:
<Entities_Allowed>
<Income minimum="50000"/>
<Convictions allowed="white_collar"/>
<Race allowed="caucasian,asian"/>
<Memberships disallowed="ACLU,NYCLU"/>
<Jokes onyou="april foools"
</Entities_Allowed>
Big Daddy, Johnny, Burp, Aunt Zelda, Scott, Slurp, Big Momma
Humm... as far as I know there is no guarantee in The Constitution stating that the government CAN'T implant RFID tags (and shock devices, cause that's really where we're going w/ this) into you, your dog , and the homeless guy living down the street. What are you trying to hide? Aren't you a patriot? Don't resits, assamiliate... it's much safer ;)
And Howard Dean said "GwaUEAUEAAUE".
...from Etch-a-Sketch for WinCE. So a reboot is as simple as shaking it!
This was obviously written by someone who works with homeless programs. PATH is a real program, funded under the McKinney grant, and they are actually deploying Palms to collect data on mentally ill homeless persons.
On any other day, I would actually have believed this for half a second. Clearly, there are big privacy issues with collecting any sort of information on people. The current requirements make me any many others very uncomfortable. The federal government has actually received quite a bit of push back over this issue, and the final rule has been delayed for more than a year as a result of the privacy concerns.
Thankfully, it look like HUD will be making significant concessions to address community concerns, that will result in a final requirement that better protects client privacy.
You misspelled "assmutilate"
The homeless are the only group that's not being tracked at the moment.
All the rest of you are already being tracked by your:
credit card
membership card (wall mart, sams, grocery store, etc.)
utility bills
bank
employer(time cards, drug testing, etc.)
state ID
IRS
ISP
slashdot(you never know)
Did I miss anything?
What?
RFID chips in dental work
How else do you think the "identify" people by their dental records.
The miniscule RFID tags are no larger than a matchstick and will be implanted subdermally, meaning under the skin
... but the kind I use are known as "Farmer's Matches", and they're huge!
Dude, I don't know about your matchsticks
-kgj
-kgj
How does it taste? It varies from person to person.
A few years ago, I went into a Sears to buy a new microwave oven. They had a display model that was really cheap, so I decided to buy it. The sale associate says "Whats your name" and I say "Why do you need my name? I'm paying cash for this" and he replies "Because the computer tells me to".
I ask "Does the computer tell you other things?" He doesn't get it. So I say "Jackie Brown" (just watched the movie the night before). He says "Huh? But..." but types it in anyway. Then he asks for my address. I reply "I don't have an address, I'm homeless." Mind you, I'm wearing nice clothes, driving a new car, etc. He asks "If you're homeless, then why do you need a microwave?" I respond "Because I don't have one." Increasingly frustrated, he says "I have to put something in." So I pick up a card and read the stores address to him. By this time a couple of other bored sales associates have come round. He doesn't like my answer, but types it in anyway. Then I pull a fat wad out of my pocket and peel off a hundred. And walk out with my oven.
-cp-