Mexican Attorney General Gets Microchip in Arm

novakreo writes "Rafael Macedo de la Concha, Mexico's Attorney-General, now has a non-removable microchip in his arm, to track his movements and to give him access to a new crime database, according to Bloomberg. The article says that eventually around 160 Mexican officials will have a chip implanted." (Wired and CNN are both running the very similar Reuters report, too.)

Comments

tracking?

[AmigaAvenger]

anyone else doubt the tracking ability of this thing? it would need both a fairly decent rx/antenna, and also a fairly good transmitter to get that info back out. since mexico isn't known for the incredible cell coverage, the incoming part would at least have to be gps. outgoing could be cell, but would be better served by satellite also. So they fit two satellite radio devices into this guy, complete with high gain antennas?

Re:Homeland Security masterplan

[orthogonal]

Homeland security soons [sic] hopes, through coersion [sic], fear, FUD, false warnings and money, to install trackable microchips in every Mexican by the year 2020.

I suppose you intended this a humor, but I fear you're right. I suspect Homeland Security -- or actually, the U.S. Treasury, may even be behind this.

From the article: The chip can't be removed, but will be deactivated after Macedo's term as attorney general expires, he said.

Now, did Mexico implant 160 government employees with non-removable chips at the behest of the Bush Administration?

According to Fox News (emphasis orthogonal's):

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration announced Tuesday [6 July 2004] that it has resumed sharing a wide range of financial information with Mexico with the aim of trying to catch money launderers (search), drug dealers and terrorist financiers.

In April, the United States had suspended sharing such information with Mexico, dealing a blow to cross-border crime fighting, which had resulted in the arrests of several high-profile drug lords.

The U.S. government did so after sensitive information provided by the [U.S.] Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network was leaked by Mexican officials. After the suspension, the network outlined a set of steps that Mexico should take before the United States would agree to resume information-sharing.

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that Mexico has since taken steps to safeguard sensitive financial information it receives from the United States and other countries.

Were employees told to get the chip or to find another job? Especially bad is that the chip can be "deactivated" but not removed. Even deactivated, can it be detected? Conversely, if it can't be detected after detection because it has its, for instance, own power source which is turned off by deactivation -- unlike RFID chips which reflect the powered signal of a detector --, what do you do when the power runs out? Stick in yet another chip?

I realize the price of dealing with a superpower can be high, but I never imagined that it would be as high as treating your country's citizens like livestock.

This is terribly dehumanizing. Employees no longer just have an employee number, then have serial number like any animal on a feedlot, like any other cog in a machine -- and they don't just have it, they have it inside them. This is dystopian science fiction reified.

The chip is reminiscent of the terrible and also un-removable serial number tattoos that Nazis forced on Jews and other concentration camp inmates.

And I'm sure certain Christians will recall the "Number of the Beast" in the Christian Book of Revelation.

Regardless of the recollections that spring to mind, this is a horrible defeat for humans and for humanity, and a great victory for the omnipresent, omnipotent "Big Brother" State.

Shout out against this now -- shout to the roof tops -- or in ten years you'll have to decide between getting a chip of your own or losing your job -- and in twenty years, some bland man from Homeland Security will tell you that for "security reasons, you understand" you have no choice at all to refuse a chip.

This will stop....

[mseeger]

Hi,

this will stop as soon as terrorist use RFID sensors to "trigger personalised" bombs.

A few months ago i was consultant for a goverment agency. They were plannng to install RFID chips into the cars of VIPs to save them from stopping at the parkhouse entrance of that agency. The goal was to avoid stops and deny snipers a shot. We were able to convince them that this was "not a good idea" ®SMALL>TM.

Regards, Martin

Re:Bush & Mexico

[Abreu]

...And he supports NAFTA, which most people would agree benefits Mexico at least slightly more than the U.S.

Absolutely not! NAFTA benefits the US far more than it benefits Mexico. The US has been blocking a lot of mexican products and services from entering the country because of protectionist lobbying.

Just one example: USian truck drivers can enter Mexico without any trouble since day one of NAFTA, Mexican truck drivers are being blocked from entering the US because of lobbying from the teamsters union. Therefore, both US and Mexican producers trying to sell products to either side have to hire USian transports...

Of course nobody has recourse on the WTO against the US, since the WTO is US-based and has never decided against the US in a trade dispute... Combined with the fact that mexican politicians would never do anything to upset Uncle Sam...

Re:Mark of the beast and all that jazz...

[bbobjoe]

Incorrect. The NT with exception of very early Bibles has been translated ONCE. I have a copy of the Critical Greek NT. That flags Manuscripts and their age. Most modern Bibles NIV, NASB, etc... Are heavily based on Codex Siniaticus (4th Century), Codex Vaticanus, and Codex A (5th Century) from Egypt. And various fragments from ealier. Translators do NOT keeping copying other works. The NIV was not a KJV copy. In fact the KJV is based on late Greek Manuscripts from the 11 - 15th Centuries. Although they agree about 99% statisically They NIV translators went back the said Manuscripts and translated. And it does mean right hand and forehead. Only 1-1.5% of the text of OT or NT is disputed and none of it affects any doctrine.

Regarding Mark of the Beast

[Landaras]

Everytime a topic like this comes up, a lot of people mention the Mark of the Beast or other references to Revelation.

Many are jokes, a few feign seriousness, and there are sometimes one or two that appear to be truly righteously indigant (on Christian grounds) in regards to the technology.

I personally don't touch eschatology, as I have better things to do with my time, but I thought I would repeat (or rather, paraphrase) the insight of a non-Christian poster of several months ago.

Why do you fundamentalists get up in arms about this supposed 'Mark of the Beast' or that intepreted 'Sign of the End Times?'

You say that you want Jesus to come back, but your messiah said himself that he won't return until these things come to pass.

Stupid Christians. No End Times = No Return of Christ. You shouldn't be fighting this technology.

You should be cheering this on.

Not making any judgment calls (as a Christian myself), but thought I would repeat the insight for the benefit of all.

- Neil Wehneman