CASPIAN NEWSLETTER, 08-18-05: Consumer privacy and RFID newsletter

CASPIAN NEWSLETTER, 08-18-05: The Catch-up Edition
Consumer privacy and RFID newsletter
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A Note from Katherine Albrecht

There hasn't been a newsletter in several months, but for a very good
reason. I've been working with my co-author Liz McIntyre to finish our
upcoming book Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to
Track Your Every Move With RFID (Nelson Current/2005). It's an explosive
expose that tells everything we know about RFID and offers up some new,
never-before-published information that will prove in the companies' own
words their unsavory plans to monitor everything on earth and all of
humanity. It's due out in the major bookstores October 4, 2005. We'll
send out an email reminder when it's available so you can buy this
must-have book.

Many thanks to Sunni Maravillosa for all her help in producing the
newsletter over the past year while I've been working on the book. She
will be refocusing her energy on her very successful website, Sunni's
Salon, at www.endervidualism.com/salon/ and her blog at
www.sunnimaravillosa.com. Starting with this "catch-up" edition,
CASPIAN's Communications Director Liz McIntyre and I will bring you the
latest in supermarket surveillance news and RFID misdeeds.

CATCH-UP NEWS:
1- CASPIAN warns of CVS loyalty card security hole
2- Levi-Strauss tags jeans in Mexico with RFID
3- AMEX and retailers tout spychipped payment cards
4- Ex-Bush cabinet member joins VeriChip board
5- Spychipped kids' pajamas
6- Texas A & M University tagging student uniforms
7- UK union workers say "no way" to RFID
8- RFID license plates to be tested in the UK
9- Homeland Security launches RFID checkpoints
10- United Airlines employees get spychipped passports
11- Gov't official uses CVS cards to justify more snooping
12- Cleveland Museum of Art to track visitors with RFID

OLDER NEWS:
1- Federal agency warns of RFID privacy risk
2- The mobile parking spy
3- Library requires fingerprint to use computers
4- RFID marketing hits Seattle
5- We got National ID
6- US and Britain to share ID card technology
7- Tesco wants to sell you a house -- and bury you, too
8- Scales that phone home
9- New microphones listen in on London
10- RFID added to Oxford dictionary

CASPIAN ACTIVISTS UPDATE:
1- CASPIAN in the news
2- CASPIAN members sound off
3- Member Corner

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CASPIAN WARNS OF CVS LOYALTY CARD SECURITY HOLE
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Consumers using the CVS ExtraCare cards to buy health-related items
could have been offering up their purchase details to co-workers, family
members and even their mechanics and valets. Anybody with access to the
ExtraCare loyalty card number dangling from someone's keychain, the
first three letters of the person's last name, and their zip code could
peer into over a year's worth of CVS purchases.

CASPIAN revealed the security hole by asking volunteer reporters to sign
up for a CVS ExtraCare card and purchase health-related items. Then we
asked only for the reporters' card numbers and zip codes. Armed with
that information we accessed the CVS website and had a list of their
purchases sent to a temporary email account we had set up for the
purchase.

In each case, CVS responded within 24 hours, sending us lists detailing
purchases of sensitive items like Trojan Twisted Pleasure condoms, a
home pregnancy test kit, and enema kits. Information in the emails
included products purchased, date of purchase, price paid, and UPC
numbers. An example email is posted at our website at
http://www.nocards.org/press/images/cvs-email.jpg.

CVS was offering the purchase histories so consumers could prove their
over-the-counter medical product purchases qualified for a federal tax
program. Qualifying purchases can be reimbursed through a so-called
flexible spending account, or FSA. However, CVS made the information
available on every ExtraCare cardholder, whether they requested the
service or not. The demonstration not only pointed out CVS's lax
security, but showed how the pharmacy chain is collecting massive
amounts of information on people through it's ExtraCare card.

CVS shut down its email program for several days so it could improve its
security, but not before reporters had a field day. The story was
covered in over 100 media outlets, including CNN, the Boston Globe, the
Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

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LEVI-STRAUSS TAGS JEANS IN MEXICO WITH RFID
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Levi-Strauss quietly started an item-level RFID pilot at one of its
stores outside of Mexico City this spring with an evaluation planned for
this past July. When we caught wind of the scheme, we faxed an open
letter to senior management requesting details, but so far there has
been no response. We'll keep you posted on this development so you'll
know if it's time to say adios to your Dockers!

Source: Frontline Solutions, June 1, 2005
http://www.frontlinetoday.com/frontline/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=164014

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AMEX AND RETAILERS TOUT SPYCHIPPED PAYMENT CARDS
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American Express says don't leave home without it -- your spychipped
credit card, that is. They've started shipping out their new see-through
"Blue Card" that features a visible RFID tag inside. Already, CVS and
7-Eleven have begun installing contactless credit card readers at
checkouts in hopes customers will pay for even very small purchases by
waving their wallets or spychipped AMEX key fobs. Credit card companies
Visa and Mastercard are planning spychipped cards, too, and other
merchants, including McDonalds, Walgreens, KFC, and Regal Cinemas have
reportedly signed on to the RFID payment agenda.

We were dismayed to learn that card-free Meijer supermarkets (one of our
favorite retailers) announced Monday they will roll out contactless RFID
credit card readers to all 171 Meijers locations. Their gas pumps will
be spychip-ready early this fall. If you are a Meijer shopper, please
register your concern with the company through
http://www.meijer.com/contact/pcaform.asp or call (616) 453-6711.
(Remember to block your phone number by dialing *67 first.)

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, August 8, 2005
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-card08.html
and
Progressive Grocer, August 16, 2005
http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001015352

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EX-BUSH CABINET MEMBER JOINS VERICHIP BOARD
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Not long after former Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson
joined the board of VeriChip Corporation (makers of the human RFID
implant), he began touting implants for all sorts of applications. In a
July television interview, the former Wisconsin governor told CBS
MarketWatch the implant was "a giant step forward to getting what we
call an electronic medical record for all Americans." Just what we need
-- computer chips in our arms and federal oversight of our confidential
medical information. Thompson went on to describe "so many uses," even
suggesting the implant could "replace dog tags with the United States
armed forces."

After espousing the benefits of human chipping, Thompson claimed RFID
technology could help prevent infant abductions from hospitals --
feeding overblown fears about an extremely rare occurrence. Statistics
show that, on average, out of more than 4 million births per year in the
United States, 0 to 12 babies are kidnapped from U.S. hospitals
annually, and 95 percent are returned safely.

Ironically, just a few days after that interview, a well-publicized baby
"abduction" at a hospital in North Carolina was reportedly averted by
VeriChip's RFID infant protection system ankle bracelet. However, the
publicist failed to mention that the abductors were the baby's own
parents who were fearful that the hospital might take their infant from
them.

Source: Yahoo Finance, July 18, 2005
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050718/185344.html?.v=1
and
Information Week, July 19, 2005
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=166400496

Note: the Tommy Thompson video is no longer posted, but we have the
footage. We also made a transcript that is posted at our website:
www.spychips.com.

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SPYCHIPPED KIDS' PAJAMAS
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Sleepwear manufacturer Lauren Scott must be dreaming if she thinks
spychipping pajamas will keep kids safer. Her company is planning to
market PJs with RFID tags sewn into the hems on the premise they could
avert child abductions. The scheme has parents buying a SmartWear RFID
system (about $500) and installing the RFID readers in key areas of the
home, like a child's bedroom, so an alarm can sound when the spychip
laden jammies pass the reader. Target Corp. has reportedly placed an
order for the pajamas which are due out next spring.

Of course, there are predictable issues with the system, like false
alarms triggered by midnight trips to the bathroom. But that's not
stopping SmartWear. The company is also working to develop other
applications for long-range child tracking, like active RFID tags sewn
into children's outerwear.

Given how easy it would be for an abductor to simply remove the tagged
clothing items, we're wondering how long before someone suggests tagging
the kids themselves with implants.

Source: Information Week, July 18, 2005
http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1DIYRQZX1LUI4QSNDBCCK HSCJUMEKJVN?articleID=165702816

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TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY TAGGING STUDENT UNIFORMS
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Freshmen entering Texas A & M's military Corps of Cadets this fall will
find spies in their uniforms. University workers are sewing RFID tags
into the cadets' pants, skirts, shirts and jackets to uniquely identify
each piece and register it to the student. The project and database
loaded with details of cadet garments will be overseen by the school's
RFiD2 Lab, an arm of the university's engineering department.

Source: RFID Journal, July 21, 2005
http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1752/1/1/

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UK UNION WORKERS SAY "NO WAY" TO RFID
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Don't tag us! says one of the UK's largest trade unions, GMB. The Union
is demanding the European Commission ban RFID and GPS tracking of
workers, pointing to how the practice can "seriously invade [workers']
right to privacy." A GMB study shows companies are not only monitoring
work activities, but also recording worker breaks and bathroom visits.
The union charged retailers Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco with
"dehumanizing their workforce" through these surveillance practices.

Source: Baseline, August 4, 2005
http://www.baselinemag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=157578,00.asp

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RFID LICENSE PLATES TO BE TESTED IN THE UK
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The UK is planning to embed active (battery-powered) RFID tags in
vehicle license plates later this year as a way to monitor vehicle
compliance. The plate manufacturer, Hills Numberplates, claims "A single
reader can identify dozens of vehicles fitted with an e-Plate moving at
any speed at a distance of up to 100 metres."

Highway authorities here in the States are reportedly excited about the
possibilities. One Texas highway bureaucrat, Jerry Dike, was quoted as
enthusing, "We see tremendous advantages to the (e-Plate) for everything
from verifying registration and insurance to Amber (missing child)
Alerts."

No doubt they could find other uses for the remotely trackable plates,
as well. Once the government can identify and track individual cars,
they can track the people driving them and learn a great deal about
their habits. For example, using mobile readers, government agents could
monitor cars entering the parking lot of a political rally, identifying
those opposed to the party in power.

Sources: The Washington Times, August 12, 2005
http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20050812-082018-4885r.htm
and
Wired News, August 9, 2005
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68429,00.html
and
e-Plate website
http://www.e-plate.com/

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HOMELAND SECURITY LAUNCHES RFID CHECKPOINTS
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The U.S. Government has begun issuing spychipped documents to visitors
crossing into the United States at five checkpoints on the Mexican and
Canadian borders. That's quite a leap for a technology we were promised
would never be used to track people.

Source: News.com, August 8, 2005
http://news.com.com/Feds+test+RFID+controls+at+U.S.+borders/2100-7348_3-5823958.html?tag=nefd.top

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UNITED AIRLINES EMPLOYEES GET SPYCHIPPED PASSPORTS
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Selected United Airlines pilots and cabin crew are participating in a
three-month trial of the new spychipped U.S. passports. The test, which
started in mid-June, includes 300 employees who make international
flights between the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The goal
is to evaluate the readability and durability of the chips so systems
can be tweaked before being unleashed on the general public in early
2006. Time's running out to get a privacy friendly passport!

Source: Wired News, August 9, 2005
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68451,00.html

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GOV'T OFFICAL USES CVS CARDS TO JUSTIFY MORE SNOOPING
================================================== ===================

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is trying to justify the
TSA's plan to collect even more information about airline passengers by
pointing to CVS ExtraCare cards. Said Chertoff, "The average American
gives information up to get a CVS (drugstore discount) card that is far
more in-depth than TSA's going to be looking at."

We agree that the CVS cards are invasive, Mr. Chertoff, but that doesn't
give the federal government the green light to get nosy, too.

Source: USA TODAY, August 10, 2005
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-10-chertoff-interview_x.htm

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CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART TO TRACK VISITORS WITH RFID
================================================== ===================

The Cleveland Museum of Art plans to deploy RFID tracking technology
this October to closely observe visitors in order to better understand
how they use the museum. This move won't surprise anyone who has
reviewed the list of museum benefactors that includes notorious
spychippers like IBM, Accenture, and the Cintas uniform company.

Source: CIO Asia Magazine, August 2005
http://cio-asia.com/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=2&articleid=2308&pubid=5&is sueid=60

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FEDERAL AGENCY WARNS OF RFID PRIVACY RISK
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A recent federal government report identifies RFID privacy issues that
include "tracking an individual's movements; profiling an individual's
habits, tastes, or predilections; and allowing for secondary uses of
information." But agencies deploying RFID are apparently not too
concerned. While three of the 24 agencies surveyed acknowledged the
technology would allow for tracking employee movements, only one agency
identified "protecting an individual's right to privacy" as a concern.
This is particularly troubling since more than half of the agencies
surveyed are either using or planning to use RFID.

Report: INFORMATION SECURITY: Radio Frequency Identification Technology
in the Federal Government available at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05551.pdf

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THE MOBILE PARKING SPY
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Government vehicles equipped with license-plate snapping camera systems
are rolling through cities like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and
Toronto, looking for scofflaws. The AutoFind License Plate Recognition
system reportedly feeds license plate information to a central database
to monitor not only the presence of vehicles, but how long they remain
parked and whether the drivers are "persons of interest."

RFID could make such invasive spy systems even more powerful. Imagine if
an RFID counterpart to the camera system could roam the streets sniffing
out RFID-enabled license plates and vehicle registration stickers? It
would work in the dark, in the rain, or at 65 miles per hour. Worse,
such a system could be turned to scan the spychipped drivers licenses
tucked in the purses and wallets of passersby.

Source: Boston Herald, May 28, 2005
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=86797&format=text

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LIBRARY REQUIRES FINGERPRINT TO USE COMPUTERS
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If you want to use a library computer in Naperville, Illinois you'll
have to provide a fingerprint scan to verify your identity. While
investigating a lewd conduct report on a library patron, officials
discovered that other users were swapping library cards and using
passwords of friends and relatives to get online. (The nerve of those
brazen criminals!) To prevent such unauthorized anonymous or
pseudonymous web surfing, the three-library system is installing
fingerprint scanners on 130 computers, at a cost to taxpayers of over
$40,000. This will create an audit trail of computer users that can
later be accessed by law enforcement.

Here's to the 99% of other libraries across the nation that value free
access to information and encourage patrons to access the Internet
anonymously.

Source: Chicago Tribune, May 20, 2005
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/abstract/842275931.html?did=842275931&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date= May+20%2C+2005&author=James+Kimberly%2C+Tribune+st aff+reporter&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Library+card %3F+Check.+Fingerprint%3F+Really%3F+%3B+Citing+sec urity%2C+Naperville+libraries+will+make+patrons+pr ove+their+identities+before+using+computers.+Priva cy+advocates+fear+misuse+of+the+data.

Source: LibraryJournal.com, July 15, 2005
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA622707.html

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MARKETING VIA RFID COMES TO SEATTLE
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Hey Seattle residents! Want to be spammed with personalized marketing
and advertising as you stroll around downtown? To be properly barraged,
you must rent or buy a special active RFID tag from Awarea Corp. Then,
whenever you walk within 100 feet of one of the city's six new RFID
zones, your Awarea tag will trigger overhead speakers to serve up the
kind of information most of us desperately want to escape. As a bonus,
the system also tracks your movements, giving Awarea another way to cash
in: They plan to mine information about participating consumers and sell
it to retailers.

Source: Computerworld, May 23, 2005
http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/technology/story/0,10801,101951,00.html?source=NLT_PM&nid=101951

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WE GOT NATIONAL ID
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"Tuesday May 10th 2005 is the day that future historians will note as
The Day America Changed. On this date, the Senate of the United States
of America [unanimously] passed legislation that will bring about a
national ID card."

Unreal ID: The site that generated 20,000+ faxes
http://www.unrealid.com/

"Stay angry about Real ID," a message of resistance
http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00001399.html

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US AND BRITAIN TO SHARE ID CARD TECHNOLOGY
================================================== ===================

Now that both the US and Britain have plans to impose national ID cards
on their citizens, the countries are working together to ensure that
their systems are compatible. Michael Chertoff, the newly appointed US
Secretary for Homeland Security, said, "I certainly hope we have the
same chip... It would be very bad if we all invested huge amounts of
money in biometric systems and they didn't work with each other."

Source: The Independent, May 27, 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article223372.ece

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TESCO WANTS TO SELL YOU A HOUSE -- AND BURY YOU, TOO
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TESCO, UK's biggest retailer (and target of a CASPIAN-led boycott), will
be undercutting professional realtors by selling houses on its website
for a fee of approximately $100 U.S. dollars. (UK realtors typically
charge a standard commission of one to two percent.) Buyers register
with a credit card, browse available houses online, tour homes
virtually, and then contact the seller directly. While this may sound
good, Tesco's tentacles are beginning to reach into a few too many areas
of the British economy for our comfort.

====

"Shop 'til you drop" could take on new meaning at TESCO. Shoppers can
now prepare for their ultimate demise by putting their loyalty card
points towards funeral expenses at Dignity, TESCO's "death partner."
Dignity, another mega corporation, owns hundreds of funeral homes and
crematories across Great Britain. Sounds like the perfect partnership.

Source: Tesco Real Estate, BBC, May 17, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4554717.stm
and
The Guardian, June 25, 2005
http://money.guardian.co.uk/aforeyego/story/0,14036,1514112,00.html

Boycott site:
http://www.BoycottTesco.com

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SCALES THAT PHONE HOME
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Now everyone can know how much you weigh! A new scale will allow medical
professionals to monitor your weight remotely, Gerrye Stegall, a
clinical specialist with American Healthways, Inc., told CIO Insight.
"The devices are wireless and transmit to a phone hub. The patient
stands on the scale, the scale [data] goes to the hub, then into the
phone line, and then the nurses will look at the data." Wouldn't HMOs,
food nannies, and bureaucrats love to have this tool in every home!

Source: Scales: CIO Insight, May 11, 2005
http://www.cioinsight.com/print_article2/0,2533,a=151484,00.asp

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NEW MICROPHONES LISTEN IN ON LONDON
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Now that London citizens have grown accustomed to surveillance cameras
videotaping their every move, the watchers are upping the ante with
microphone-based surveillance. Seven microphones have been installed in
the Soho area of London to monitor sound. While government officials
have promised that "the microphones only activate if noise levels reach
above a certain threshold," this development is ripe for escalation.
Today the government says it wants to hear a crowd, tomorrow we're
betting they'll want to hear a whisper.

Check out the photo that goes with the story.
Keep quiet if you see one of these.

Source: Vnunet, May 4, 2005
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1162852

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"RFID" ADDED TO OXFORD DICTIONARY
================================================== ===================

The term "RFID" will be among 2,000 new words added to the New Oxford
American Dictionary this year. Drawn from U.S. popular culture,
technology, and news headlines, the new words "reflect the
preoccupations of American culture, the times we live in, and pluralism
of our nation," according to the publisher. RFID joins other newly
recognized words such as al Qaeda, frankenfood, hate crime, supersize,
Amber alert, bluetooth, barista and reality TV.

Source: Press Release from Oxford University Press USA, May 16, 2005
http://www.prbop.com/archives/000474.shtml
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/05-16-2005/0003630257&EDATE=

via RFIDetail, May 31, 2005
http://go.rfidetail.com/

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CASPIAN IN THE NEWS
================================================== ===================

CASPIAN founder Katherine Albrecht has been busy talking with the media.
She was interviewed by BBC radio and CBS Marketwatch to discuss the
VeriChip, reached millions of Coast-to-Coast AM radio listeners with
news about the RFID menace, and did a live one-hour program on Wisconsin
Public Radio just this week.

She was also quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Arkansas Democrat
Gazette, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, and
numerous other newspapers and trade publications. Her work was profiled
in Women's Wall Street and she did an interview in Hustler magazine.

Chips track more people, products
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Aug 12, 2005
http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/aug05/348097.asp

Radio ID tags stir privacy concerns
Arkansas Democrat Gazette, AR - Aug 15, 2005

http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=Business&storyid=125036

Tiny tags in chips to track gamblers
Seattle Times, WA - May 18, 2005

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002278760_pokerchips18.html

Chase introduces no-swipe plastic Cards work with an embedded chip
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - May 19, 2005

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/20/CREDITCARD.TMP

You're the Shopper and the Cashier
New York Times, NY - May 3, 2005

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/technology/techspecial/04selingo.html

Holy bar code! Big Brother can watch you but he promises he won't.
Women's Wall Street - May 20, 2005
http://www.womenswallstreet.com/columns/Column.aspx?aid=869

CASPIAN's Communications Director and Spychips co-author Liz McIntyre
has also been spreading the word, with recent radio appearances on the
GCN network and WOOD radio 1300 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition,
she has been quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times and a UPI/Washington Times
story that was featured on the Drudge Report and at Newsmax. Catch Liz
live August 24 on the American Freedom Network from 9 to 10 AM CST, and
August 30 on the Republic Broadcasting Network from 11 PM to midnight
CST.

It's getting easier to wave goodbye to your money
Chicago Sun-Times, IL - Aug 8, 2005
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-card08.html

Wireless world: chips track license plates
Washington Times, DC - Aug 12, 2005
http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20050812-082018-4885r.htm

================================================== ===================
CASPIAN MEMBERS SOUND OFF
================================================== ===================

I am a retired 30 year elem. teacher... I desire to be informed of all
new technology surrounding us, especially when we don't even know it's
going on!! Thanks so much.
- Anonymous

Excellent site! I too have found that the cards provide no benefits, are
incredibly annoying, and definitely a privacy concern as well.
- Mark in Kalispell, Montana

I find what and where the world is headed very scary, it is amazing how
naive people are as to what is happening and what is happening to
them....I truly believe that we are very close to major happenings in
our world.
- Anonymous

The day is coming when everthing you do is documented and
recorded....It's time for us to fight back while we still can!
- Kurt S. in Urbana, IL

Where does it stop? If each item is ID'ed by RF tags then the government
can track where you are all the time, what you spend your money on, how
much you spend and the list goes on and on and on.
- Norman in Brisbane, Australia

Just wanted to let you know that a local chain (Lowes Foods) will next
month begin allowing customers to pay for groceries via fingerprint! (As
if the card wasn't bad enough.)
- Anonymous in Kernersville, KY

I am very glad I found your site. I had wanted to start something like
this for years. We have to voice our opinions.
- Brent in Hattisfield, MS

Great job! I don't want to become a tagged person. It just reminds me of
the numbers tattooed on the arms of the concentration camp victims.
- Thomas B. in Paris, France

As of now, it looks like the [Real ID/national ID] bill(hr418) has
passed through the senate and will become law... Now what choice does
the general public have? I know what I want and this is not it, but
what type of network is there out there for people, especially with
families?
- Rebecca in Nampa, ID

Thanks for the information about these stores....I am sick of this card
BS. What happened to us as people? Why do they need to know or care
about what I'm doing or what clothes I'm in?
- Anonymous in Denver, CO

Our government; our leaders; our politicians are failing us, themselves,
our forefathers, and our future. CASPIAN should be held high as national
heroes of the same degree as our revolutionary political ancestry. Thank
you for your efforts on the behalf of the millions of unknowing.
- Anonymous

I have now had a job at [the Kroger-owned, Seattle-area grocery chain]
QFC for about a month, and I am beginning to understand it a lot more.
QFC has forgotten that they have customers whom they sell food
to....Their employees and customers simply don't matter to them, so why
not take advantage.
- Anonymous

I walked out of Giant & Safeway over cards, years before I heard about
CASPIAN. It's these cards and RFID chips and everything else that make
people go off the grid, deal in cash and barter, and refuse to register
to vote....I'll be emailing Giant & Safeway after this to remind them
that I don't shop there anymore.
- Ahtnamas in Virginia

================================================== ===================
MEMBER CORNER
================================================== ===================

And finally, here's one that was just too funny to keep to ourselves.

Since card-imposing grocery stores promise to return shoppers' keys if
they're lost, one enterprising protester decided to test the system and
see if they'd return a HUGE keychain. Here's his story.

Dear Katherine Albrecht:

This is in regards to my idea of mailing Kroger keychains back and forth
in order to protest.... I put a massive keychain in the mail April 1st,
and just yesterday I received a call from my local Kroger saying, and I
quote, "We have your rather large keychain here in the store, if you'd
like to come pick it up." I dearly wish you could have heard the sound
of this woman's voice on the phone, but when I went in to get it there
were no questions asked, just "here's your keys."

I'm not sure how much that keychain weighed but my best guess says over
a pound. I have a picture of it you'd like to see it.... Let me know if
you have heard anything on the legality of doing this, as I would dearly
love to be able to say I've contributed to the cause.

- R.C., Wichita, KS

We've posted a picture of R.C.'s keychain at our NoCards website here:
http://www.nocards.org/images/keychain-on-steroids.jpg

Of course we're not advocating that anyone else do this, but we bet
you'll get a laugh out of the photo. ;)

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CASPIAN: Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
Opposing supermarket "loyalty" cards and other retail surveillance
schemes since 1999

http://www.nocards.org/
http://www.spychips.com/

You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who
may find it of interest.

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