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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.)
Well, when someone REALLY wants access to the system, all they'll need is a saw.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
...EVERYTHING is removeable. The question is what happens when you do.
Record his transponder signal, and throw a copy of his chip over the border fence into the USA...
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
Does he really have one?
Trolling using another account since 2005.
The technology exists such that they could in theory make this thing only operate when pysically attached to the body ( say, powered off of blood or bloodflow ), and only operate when in contact with his specific blood type.
So to use it, a perpetraitor would have to a) Kidnap him, b ) cut off his arm, c) surgically graft the thing into someone else with the same blood type.
Hopefully by that point they'd have de-activated his chip.
I imagine in a few years we'd even be able to make these things DNA specific.
"can't be removed" -- I doubt that. *Anything* can be removed from the human body if the remover the required skill and doesn't really care about collateral damage.
I suddenly have a mental image of a Mexican criminal trying to get into a government installation carrying an arm...
Why is it sci-fi movies of years past tend to predict the future
:)
terminator/2, cafe flesh etc etc
Anyways im still waiting for the flying cars..
I'm just waiting for the conspiracy theorists on this one:
It's the sign on the devil! Apocalypse is upon us! Major League Baseball really is tracking our movements!
"Righteous speed demon and trust fund party darling of justice"
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?
Federali wouldn't be a word in Spanish. Maybe Italian or Latin, but not Spanish. I think the Spanish word would be Federales.
my pet machine
Well, do you kick hin in the ass to reboot the thing?
What, with an internal heads-up-display, a la the Terminator
I am Attorney Sancho Panza of Borg, prepare to be indicted!
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
It looks like he's giving Professor Kevin Warwick a run for his money...
Next step: interfacing with computers using mind control!
sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
Civilian contractors in Iraq need this technology
not Mexican Attorney Generals.
This guy really does have a chip on his shoulder..
(ok ok arm, its close..)
Seriously though, is there really any justification for this? Is this not something that can be achieved by other, less obtrusive methods?
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
can you run linux on Him? Now that's what I call an Embedded solution.
How hard is it to block the signal? kidnap them throw them in a foil lined body bag then scan later in a basement to remove.
I guess in one sense you could mail them the chip to prove you have the official.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
En Rusia soviética, el microchip le programa!
``The system is already in place and I already have it,'' he said. ``It's only for access, for security and so that I can also be located at any moment anywhere I am.''
If I have the key I can drop an NLOS on you ass baby!
http://www.raytheon.com/products/nlos/
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
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):
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.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
Then I can play all the cool games! Right now I can't play worth a flip.. ...this is about the new playstation right? Maybe I should go back and read the article...
THIS has been done before.
We can rebuild him. We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's first Bionic man.
Rafael Macedo de la Concha will be that man.
Better than he was before.
Better . . . stronger . . . faster.
duh nah nah nah nahhhh...
Well he is Mexico where they have changed party once in 70+ years, IIRC.
When Ashcroft getting one? We REALLY want to know where he is all the time...
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
... Upgrades.
*cue martial arts fighting scenes*
Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
No 666 comes straight from the bible
The article does not specify how it is made non-removable. Perhaps it reacts to air (but not blood etc!). Any ideas? Perhaps they just claim that to dissuade people chopping him up to get his security access...
Posters recognized by their sig,
... everyone to get the chip obviously. They know in advance it would be resisted, so to mitigate that, they have to first chip the ones who will be enforcing the mass chipping. That means the paramilitary the overt military and the police, and they have to start at the top in those orgs so that the orders will be followed. Every step of the mass chipping has to be taken precisely. They scare the parents into chipping the youngest. They force the highest levels in government to get the chip. The police and military get it, so that they can say "what citizen, you rdfuse the chip? WE got the chip, so if we can do it, you can do it", along those lines. We've seen the plans coming soon to chip cops hands so that that chip will activate their "smart" guns, so only the cop can use them. Special forces in the military are the first to be getting the chip. Criminals will be getting the chip soon, to track them inside the jail, then outside forever. As they enforce the chips in these unique areas, eventually enough of the population will have them so that the rest may be mandated to get them, perhaps to tie in with a universal ID system.
One step at a time, how they do most things.
This topcop down there being chipped might be related to corruption in mexico, no idea, seems reasonable enough though. It is obvious that we are seeing an outright complete merging of the countries, any sort of "border" now is becoming moot, so perhaps they will be trying out the more extreme measures down in mexico first, to work out the bugs, see what sort of techniques are more efficient.
-- Reality checks don't bounce.
I think this is obviously just a PR stunt by the Mexico officials to make it look like they are "doing something" about the crime in their country, when in fact this doesn't really help at all.
Think about it. You want to threaten the bad guys, who are a little less educated and a whole lot more guilable then you are. In that light you concoct a story that makes it sound like this database is being watched with "superhuman" effeciency by the head in each district. Throw in the part about tracking and non removable to make kidnapping seem dangerous, and you keep the officials safe on top of it.
This sounds like it is the high tech version of the "This is protected by an alarm system." sticker. Instead of just buying them and sticking them on your windows, you do a press conference.
Actually, this could be a good idea for people who are afraid they are going to be taken hostage. If I had to go to Iraq, I wouldn't mind having a chip in me so I could get rescued if I were taken hostage.
From the Article: Mexico's Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said he had a non-removable microchip implanted in his arm as a security measure to track him throughout Mexico and to give him access to a crime data bank.
They say they'll have access to the network, but apparently, in Soviet Mexico, THE NETWORK WILL HAVE ACCESS TO *THEM*.
Just say NO to the Mark of the Beast, kids. Especially if it's running Microsoft.
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
Seems like the "limitations" of range and power to RFID tags that people kept saying would make them impractical for mass universal chipping are being overcome at a fast rate.
The usual FUD is that the politicians would get all the citizens implanted with chips, and that they would be able to spy on our every movement.
Mexico has come up with the concept of implanting the politicians so that the citizens can spy on their every movement.
This is a definite improvement, if you ask me.
This sig seemed like a good idea at the time....
As somebody on another forum astutely observed, the way that this will be sold at first is by "chip = vip" method.
Expect non-removable chips to become a chic accessory in the next few years.
When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
When the only tool you have is a shotgun, every problem looks for the nearest exit.
But when the only tool you have is an axe, every problem looks like hours of gleeful, giddy, glorious fun!
What? Mexico has a problem with "significant government corruption and organized crime" (including BTW judges and other officials being assasinated) and the solution is to put a location tracking device on the officials? Am I missing something here?
hedless man:
1. My take on it is that they mean "not trivially removeable", like a wristwatch. It's under the skin, I doubt it's grafted to the bone.
2. His RFID code can be read to allow him access to the bank. It's a heck of a lot better than a driver's license as ID.
3. Kidnapping is a HUGE problem in Mexico. huge. Hollywood put Denzel Washington in a movie, "Man on Fire" - about the kidnapping rings in Mexico. Vincente Fox has been asked to crack down on the issue. Mexican police are shot at about as often as U.S. forces in Baghdad, i.e. just about daily. You just don't read about it unless you read Spanish newspapers, like La Raza or others. At this point, RFID might be a minor deterrent to kidnapping. But it might just persuade potential enemies to just kill him outright in the street. In fact, they may put a hit on the guy JUST TO SEND A MESSAGE.
I see a world like the one in Minority Report within my lifetime, and I'm 35. The Gap has a electronic voice that greets you as you walk in. Every subway car you board goes into a database. Every transaction your credit card makes goes through a heuristic filter for abnormal pattern matching, and certain kinds of deviations get you reported automatically to the government. RFID is just the means to make it happen.
...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...
No sig for the moment.
(Apologies in advnance for my terrible Spanish)
Member of Orkut? Annoyed with spam?
...a non-removable microchip in his arm, to ... give him access to a new crime database...
Somewhere in Mexico, an IT guy is laughing his ass off.
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.
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.
Not making any judgment calls (as a Christian myself), but thought I would repeat the insight for the benefit of all.
- Neil Wehneman
My legal education, in nifty podcast format
Now, if they only equipped politicians with detonation collars..
Lisp is the Tengwar of programming languages.
Although I agree that implanting people with chips is pretty dehumanizing, if you agree to a particular job you have to agree with the particular terms of employment, no matter how absurd, if you don't like it then find a new line of work its that simple.
I dunno. Suppose your kids are starving and the only job in town has an indentured servitude clause in their contract. Should that be legally permissible?
You might suggest that the slave employer is at least taking care of his slaves instead of letting them die. However, I'd argue that it is immoral to allow somebody to die of starvation at your doorstep if you have the ability to render immediate aid to prevent this. Sure, I can't be the savior of the world, but if I see a man bleeding to death on the sidewalk of my house and don't even call an ambulence, what does that say of my character?
Some employment conditions should be illegal simply becuase they are inhuman. Employers have a tremendous amount of power - particularly over those without highly in-demand talents or skills. You or I may be able to design computer software or something of high value. Some people are working hard just to be a Walmart greeter. Most normal people are somewhere in-between.
Workplaces are something to be regualted for certain. That doesn't mean that we need expensive regulation that doesn't serve any benefit. However, to just say that an employer-employee relationship isn't anybody's business but their own is very naieve...
While he may have said these things in an interview for whatever reasons the claims sound a little odd to me. He claims that he, "...can also be located at any moment anywhere I am," with this system. If you think about that claim he's saying this chip somehow communicates with receivers which can track him. It can't be a passive RFID chip as their would have to be readers everywhere to power it, so we might assume it's an active chip. Where is the network of readers in place to track him all over Mexico? Maybe we can assume it uses cell towers. Does mexico have the cell location technology in place in the towers yet? Also, if you have a cell phone you have probably charged it at least every few days. With just an ID to transmit, let's assume his battery lasts longer, maybe weeks. Is he inserting a battery in his arm every few weeks? I don't think so. He might be charging the thing through a pair of coupled coils? Even so, wet tissues and skin don't make for a great environment for a transponder. That's why we don't implant tags in cattle among other reasons. The tags in small pets can only be read within a few inches.
I think the current technology is just not up to this claim. Maybe the statement is an anti-kidnapping, psychological warfare tactic.
[-- Trust the Monkey --]
I agree. It's almost certainly 99% BS. Maybe there is an RFID-type chip in his arm for accessing that database, that's fairly moot. There are lots of exciting way to protect databases and none of them are 100%.
The tracing Mexico wide aspect is the tip off. Although everybody wants to think otherwise, I'm fairly sure that's just not technically possible.
Passive RFID style chips are good up to 9 meters max. Even at 100 times that, it'd be next to useless for nation wide tracking.
You can't stick a transponder of any decent power inside a person without a power supply.
It's a bluff trying keep him unkidnapped and privacy advocate types off his back.
MEXICO WILL SOON BE RULED ENTIRELY BY CYBORGS. Is nobody noticing this? I mean, we can finally scratch an entry off the list of "things that we would have expected to happen in the 21st century". We may not have flying cars or meals in pill form yet, but at least Mexico is now living in the plot of a comic book.
[Mexican mecha-attorney general] With this new microchip I have had implanted in me, I have become more powerful than ever imagined. I can track my movements, as well as access a new crime database.
[Reporter] But Señor Macedo, aren't you worried about there being ill effects?
[Mexican mecha-attourney general] Yes, that's why I have also had an "inhibitor chip" installed, so that I control the RFID chip-- instead of it controlling me.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
The WTO has never ruled against the US? Maybe they favour the USA over Mexico, but they sure don't give the USA a free pass in disputes with Europe.
Combined with the fact that mexican politicians would never do anything to upset Uncle Sam...
Are you sure?
Has cynicism become the new naivety?
Tracking him with a website would be great fun (a-la the Sims). Also handy for any potential assassin.
Don't fight it. Join it. Yup... when they start forcing RFID chips into my body, I'll add another 1,000,000 or so of my own all so the whitenoise will drown out the signal of the original.
I should make sure that would work first though, shouldn't I.
A sudden rash of Mexican officials having their arms cut off and the "secret" database being accessed and hacked. Nice business model folks!
1. Implant security chip in arm, tell world about it
2. Be found anywhere
3. Access Secure database via chip
4. Rebels cut off arm
5. ???
6. No Profit! Country in disrepair..
Oh wait...
-Goran
Carpe Scrotum - The only way to deal with your competition.