================================================== ===================
CASPIAN NEWSLETTER, 11-24-05: Thanksgiving Edition
================================================== ===================
Consumer privacy and RFID newsletter
A Note from Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre

So much has happened since our book came out last month that we hardly
know where to begin! So, since it's Thanksgiving, we figured we should
start with the many reasons we have to be thankful.

First, the Spychips website has a whole new (gorgeous!) look and feel
thanks to the creative energy and countless hours of hard work of our
new volunteer web designer. This saintly friend (who prefers to remain
anonymous) has brightened our offices with his design aesthetic, html
skills, and unflappably cheerful personality. Stop by and see how great
things are looking on the http://www.spychips.com website. And if you're
as impressed and grateful as we are, drop a line of "thanks" to the
Spychips webmaster. ([email protected])

Second, our new book is doing extraordinarily well. On its release last
month, Spychips flew to the top of the Amazon bestseller charts as a #1
"Mover and Shaker," hit the top ten Nonfiction bestseller list, and
spent over a month as a Current Events bestseller. In a single month,
the book has sold thousands of copies and is now in its fourth printing.
What's more, it has received rave reviews from the journalistic and
privacy communities, who have called it "brilliantly written,"
"stunningly powerful," and "scathing." (We include an excerpt from one
of those reviews below.) Thanks for your help making this possible!

Third, we are now award winning authors! Spychips won this month's
Laissez Faire's Lysander Spooner award for Advancing the Literature of
Liberty. Not only did Laissez Faire grace us with an award, but they
obtained permission from our publisher to reprint the entire first
chapter of "Spychips" online. For those of you who have not yet bought
the book, here is an appetizer, courtesy of Laissez Faire books and
Nelson Current publishers:
http://www.lfb.com/index.php?stocknumber=PV9017

We are also thankful for the many, many CASPIAN members and supporters
who have joined with us in the fight against privacy-invading
technologies. Thanks to your help in getting the word out, this
newsletter now reaches nearly 11,000 subscribers around the globe, with
more joining our ranks each day. And we are grateful that people have
started putting their money and time where their values are, staging
protests in Dallas and New Hampshire and joining together to form our
first state chapter (see story below).

As we gather with our loved ones to give thanks today, we ask that you
pull out your copy of Spychips and discuss its contents over
Thanksgiving dinner. A family gathering is the perfect opportunity to
tell your extended family about the RFID threat that is advancing under
our very noses. Show your family members the photos of the spychipped
Calvin Klein clothing labels on page 38 and the human implants on page
180. Tell them about the photo-snapping smart shelf (see:
www.BoycottGillette.com) and IBM's planned "Person Tracking Unit." Tell
them about this free newsletter and encourage them to become informed.
After all, if you don't tell your aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and
nephews about RFID, who will?

Finally, we would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who has
purchased one or more copies of "Spychips" and helped spread the word
about RFID. We've gotten notes from members who have provided books not
only to friends and family, but to their lawmakers as well. One
gentlemen even sent a copy to President Bush!

We are blessed to be able to work with you all, and wish you a
bountiful and joyous holiday.

In freedom,
Katherine and Liz

================================================== ===================
SPOTLIGHTED REVIEW:
================================================== ===================
EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) reviews "Spychips"
Marc Rotenberg, EPIC Executive Director

The privacy movement has been waiting for the book that transforms the
world as did Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," Michael Harrington's "The
Other America," and Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed." It's not yet
clear that Spychips will be that book, but the case can be made that
Spychips is one of the best privacy books in many years....

There is much here for Orwellian paranoia. But what makes Spychips such
a compelling book is that Albrecht and McIntyre stay focused on what is
actually happening today. They are also funny, clever, engaging, and
informative. Much of the best material comes from the other side. If you
really want to be creeped out, take a look at the patent applications
for some of the RFID services on the horizon or attend the trade shows,
listen to the speakers, and read the product announcements. Albrecht and
McIntyre have done all this. Their reporting from behind enemy lines is
first-rate.

A good advocacy book also needs good recommendations [for action]. The
authors cover these bases well, providing advice for local protests and
national campaigns. Much credit also goes to their organization CASPIAN
for several of the successful organizing efforts.

The privacy movement needs a book. I nominate Spychips.

- Marc Rotenberg

================================================== ===================
NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS
================================================== ===================
RECENT NEWS:

1- VeriChip may implant the mentally impaired in Chattanooga
2- Filmmaker paints disturbing picture of the VeriChip future
3- Wal-Mart under fire for item-level RFID tagging
4- New CASPIAN chapter formed in New Hampshire
5- Islands "glisten" with excreted RFID tags
6- UN reports on "Internet of Things"
7- TESCO to purchase a 49 percent share of Meijer stores?
8- Wal-Mart to be investigated for inaccurate pricing
9- H-E-B introduces loyalty card at new "Plus" store
10- Wal-Mart employee sued over RFID trade secrets
11- Final U.S. passport rules require RFID
12- IBM calls for global identity management solution
13- "Blink" and your privacy's gone
14- U.S. Govt "Open Source Center" to practice "information judo"
15- Dallas dubbed "The RFID Hub"

CASPIAN ACTIVISTS UPDATE:

1- CASPIAN in the news
2- CASPIAN members sound off
3- We need your help with a project
4- MEMBER CORNER: One-man anti-Wal-Mart campaign in Dallas

================================================== ===================
VERICHIP MAY IMPLANT THE MENTALLY IMPAIRED IN CHATTANOOGA
================================================== ===================
Several hundred mentally impaired residents and employees of The Orange
Grove Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, may be injected with VeriChip
RFID implants, according to a November 12 National Public Radio story.
The Center is considering implanting the glass encapsulated RFID tags,
which have a read range of approximately six to eighteen inches, as a
way to identify "wanderers" and those who need medical assistance.
Though the chipping is said to be "voluntary," the patients would not be
able to consent themselves; their parents and legal guardians would have
to make the decision for them.

VeriChip Corporation has been trying to find new ways to "sell" its
unpopular product. The device, about the length of the diameter of a
dime, is typically implanted under the flesh of the upper arm, in the
triceps area. Despite years of effort, the company has only been able to
convince about 50 living people in the United States to undergo the
procedure.

In a bid to enhance its image, the company has hired former Secretary of
Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to join its board and tout the
implant as a way to link patients to a national medical database. Other
marketing initiatives have included chipping bar patrons as a way to pay
for drinks, implanting employees in the Mexican attorney general's
office, and chipping the remains of the victims of hurricane Katrina.
However, this latest initiative to chip the residents of the Orange
Grove Center is the first time living persons would be chipped without
their express consent.

Reportedly, VeriChip will waive the usual $200 implantation fee to "show
the benefits for people with cognitive disabilities."

Coincidentally--or maybe not-- this reported initiative was followed by
VeriChip's announcement that it will make an initial public offering of
its stock in the second quarter of 2006.

Those wishing to express concerns about the chipping can contact the
Orange Grove Center's Fundraising/Public and Media Relations Office:
(423) 308-1160.

You can listen to the entire NPR story here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5010736

You can read about the VeriChip IPO here:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051115/20051115005863.html?.v=1

================================================== ===================
FILMMAKER PAINTS DISTURBING PICTURE OF THE VERICHIPPED FUTURE
================================================== ===================
Creeped out at the prospect of a mandatory chip implant? You're not
alone -- so is filmmaker Calvin Roberts. His powerful short film about
the VeriChip, called "Jump Ground," can be found online at
http://www.eyesightfilms.com.

Warning: You'll have the cold chills by the end of the movie.

================================================== ===================
WAL-MART UNDER FIRE FOR ITEM-LEVEL RFID TAGGING
================================================== ===================

"In New Hampshire we live free. We don't want R-F-I-D!" was the chant on
November 5th as 26 New Hampshire residents protested at a Bedford, New
Hampshire, Wal-Mart store. The beleagered retailer has been drawing
criticism from privacy groups because of its RFID tagging of products
like Hewlett-Packard printers in violation of a moratorium called for by
over 40 of the world's leading privacy and civil liberties
organizations. Photo gallery online at:
http://www.spychips.com/protest/nh-protest/slideshow/index.html

And on October 15th, more than 70 Texans converged on a Dallas Wal-Mart
Supercenter to protest the store's RFID tagging of consumer products.
Placing RFID tags on individual consumer items, a practice known as
"item-level tagging," has been widely condemned by privacy experts since
2003. Armed with anti-RFID signs and singing "We don't like the looks of
spychips sittin' in this Wal-Mart store," the group worked the sidewalk
adjacent to the store's parking lot, handing out literature to passersby
and waving to drivers who honked in support of their stand.

Photos of the Dallas Wal-Mart protest:
http://www.spychips.com/protest/walmart/protest-slideshow/index.html

Can you spot the spychip? See Wal-Mart's in-store use of RFID:
http://www.spychips.com/protest/walmart/spychip-slideshow/index.html

================================================== ===================
NEW CASPIAN CHAPTER FORMED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!
================================================== ===================
There's a new branch in the CASPIAN family, and boy, is it ever active!
Just weeks after forming, New Hampshire CASPIAN put up a website and
organized a Wal-Mart protest that drew more than 25 people. Now they're
at it again, with yet another protest scheduled for tomorrow, Friday,
November 25, the biggest shopping day of the holiday season.

Check out their new Internet digs, see some photos, and get details on
the Friday event by visiting their website at http://www.nhcaspian.org/.
If you're planning to be in New Hampshire tomorrow, they'd love for you
to join them in saying "no" to item-level RFID tagging.

================================================== ===================
ISLANDS "GLISTEN" WITH EXCRETED RFID TAGS
================================================== ===================
Caspian terns who fish in the Columbia Riger Basin are eating RFID-laced
salmon and excreting the tags in their nests, causing two main islands
the birds inhabit to "glisten" in the sunlight, according to an article
at IT World Canada. Two million salmon are implanted with the tracking
tags each year by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a
federally-owned public utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The
tags have been used since 1986 to track salmon migration through the
Columbia River system.

Since each RFID tag contains a unique number, biologists can log a
detailed history on the fish as they swim past RFID readers stationed at
the river system's dams and waterways. Data includes details like the
"sub-species of the fish, age, waterway and habitat of origin, condition
of the fish, and so on," according to a BPA spokesman.

The article does not indicate whether any studies are being made of the
excreted tags and their impact on the birds' health or the environment.

http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/News/f074f0e3-3f68-4820-a841-b37de22673ab.html

================================================== ===================
UN REPORTS ON "INTERNET OF THINGS"
================================================== ===================
Devices like RFID tags and sensors will be the biggest Internet users in
the future, according to a new report out by the United Nations'
International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The report, aptly titled
"The Internet of Things" predicts that "we are heading into a new era of
ubiquity, where the 'users' of the internet will be counted in billions
and where humans may become the minority as generators and receivers of
traffic."

The report tips its hat to CASPIAN's effectiveness in curtailing
item-level RFID trials at Wal-Mart and Tesco, observing that "public
concerns and active campaigns by consumers have already hampered
commercial trials of RFID by two well-known retailers." It goes on to
advise that privacy protections must be put in place or "the development
of the Internet of Things will be hampered if not prevented."

And this would be a bad thing?

Source: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4440334.stm

The executive summary of the report is available at
http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/opb/pol/S-POL-IR.IT-2005-SUM-PDF-E.pdf

================================================== ===================
TESCO TO PURCHASE A 49 PERCENT SHARE OF MEIJER STORES?
================================================== ===================
No. It's just a nasty rumor, according to U.S.-based Meijer stores. The
business press had reported that UK-based retail giant Tesco, the
world's third largest retailer and target of a CASPIAN-led boycott (see
http://www.BoycottTesco.com) was in talks with Meijer stores about a
joint venture. The press predicted Tesco would announce a deal for a 49
percent interest in Meijer, worth some $4.5 billion dollars.

"We have never held talks with Tesco, or with anyone else," a Meijer
spokeswoman was quoted as telling Reuters. "Meijer is a family-owned
business and we have no plans to change that."

Privacy-loving shoppers should breathe a sigh of relief. Such a marriage
would have been bad news for consumers who enjoy card-free shopping at
the 170 Meijer superstores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Kentucky. Tesco, on the other hand, is notorious for its invasive
loyalty card program and abusive business practices. What's more, Tesco
is one of the world's most notorious spychippers.

CASPIAN launched its Tesco boycott in January of 2005 over the
retailer's escalating use of RFID on consumer products and its past
misconduct with the controversial Gillette RFID "smart shelf." Details
about the boycott and the scandalous photo-snapping shelf can be found
at http://www.boycottTesco.com. (For the BBC's take, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hibusiness/4211591.stm and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4209545.stm.)

Concerned shoppers can contact Meijer to weigh in on these developments
and confirm their store will remain card-free by calling customer
service toll-free within IL, IN, KY, MI, & OH:
1-800-543-3704
(remember, you cannot block your phone number when calling toll free)
Outside region call:
616-453-6711

Source: Supermarket News:
http://www.supermarketnews.com/ViewStories.cfm#9220
and
Reuters:
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2005-11-23T115226Z_01_RID340145_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-RETAIL-MEIJER-TESCO-DC.XML

================================================== ===================
WAL-MART TO BE INVESTIGATED FOR INACCURATE PRICING
================================================== ===================
Wal-Mart may soon need an RFID inventory system just to keep track of
its numerous woes. The retailer has been slammed by our book Spychips
for promoting RFID, has faced two CASPIAN RFID protests in two months,
is featured in a very unflattering movie detailing its poor corporate
citizenship, and now faces investigations for charging shoppers the
wrong prices.

Wal-Mart stores in California and the Midwest exceeded federal
guidelines for mischarges according to two new union-sponsored studies.
According to The National Institute for Standards and Technology, for
every 100 items scanned, no more than two should have the wrong price.
However, in a study at 60 California Wal-Marts, the incorrect price was
rung up 8.3 percent of the time. In a similar study of 78 stores in
Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, the wrong price was rung up 6.4 percent
of the time.

News of the mispricing is prompting investigations by the Attorneys
General of California and Connecticut. They're after the real lowdown on
the retailer's "legendary" low prices.

Sources:
New York Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/business/story/367887p-313105c.html
and
KGO TV
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=state&id=3656984

================================================== ===================
H-E-B INTRODUCES LOYALTY CARD AT TWO OF ITS NEW "PLUS" STORES
================================================== ===================
HEB is trialing a frequent shopper card program at two of its new "Plus"
stores in Waco and Round Rock, Texas. This is heartbreaking news to
loyal HEB shoppers who have lauded the store for remaining card-free and
offering everyday low prices to everyone.

The HEB loyalty program comes with a new twist: Shoppers are rewarded
quarterly for their purchases through checks mailed to the address on
file with the store. Requiring a mailing address means that consumers
can't resort to fake names and addresses as a way to help protect their
privacy.

Let's encourage HEB to reconsider its plan! Management might not have
thought through the serious privacy and civil liberties implications of
what amounts to an item registration system.

Call customer relations, Mon.- Fri, 8AM - 5 PM Central Time:
210-938-8357 or toll free 1-800-432-3113

or write to them at:
H. E. Butt Grocery Company
Attention: Customer Relations Department
P.O. Box 839999
San Antonio, TX 78283-3999

================================================== ===================
WAL-MART EMPLOYEE SUED OVER RFID TRADE SECRETS
================================================== ===================
Wal-Mart has sued a former employee for allegedly emailing confidential,
"highly sensitive" RFID trade secrets to a private email account earlier
this year. Wal-Mart is reportedly seeking compensatory damages and
injunctions that will prohibit the employee and any co-conspirators from
using the information.

We'd sure like to know more about this sensitive RFID data. What was
Wal-Mart up to that warranted this degree of cloak and dagger
skullduggery?

We'd love to find a CASPIAN member in the vicinity of the Benton County
Circuit Court in Arkansas to investigate this matter more fully. Please
contact [email protected] if you could visit the courthouse to retrieve
related public documents and possibly sit in on any court proceedings.

Source: The Morning News:
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/10/05/business/05wmlawsuit.txt

================================================== ===================
FINAL U.S. PASSPORT RULES REQUIRE RFID
================================================== ===================
The State Department will begin issuing RFID-enabled passports in early
2006 despite the overwhelming criticism of its plan. More than 2300
citizens wrote in to complain about the proposed spychipping, with many
raising security concerns.

To help appease citizens, the department did decide to include security
features in the new passports, including a cover with RF shielding
material. This material will reportedly help prevent unauthorized remote
reading of the embedded RFID tag when the passport is closed.

But, of course, this does nothing to address the bigger concern looming
on the horizon: the massive databases these machine-readable passports
with spawn.

Today, customs officials merely look at your passport. In the future, a
spychipped passport will enable them to scan the information and create
enormous databases so people can be monitored and tracked through their
travels. What happens when those databases are run by corrupt officials
of foreign countries? Do we want our own government, much less some
third-world dictator, having computerized records of us that include a
digital photograph, biometric information, date of birth, age and any
other information they decide to encode on the chip?

Source: RFID Journal:
http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1951/1/1/

To see the final rules for yourself, visit the Federal Register
information:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-21284.htm

================================================== ===================
IBM CALLS FOR GLOBAL IDENTIFICATION
================================================== ===================
National ID. The mere mention conjures up images of jack-booted
authorities demanding, "Your papers, please." It's enough to raise the
hackles of any freedom-loving citizen with an ounce of historical
perspective.

But National ID initiatives don't go quite far enough, according to Cal
Slemp, vice-president and global leader for security and privacy
services at IBM Global Services. He believes the time is right to
develop a standard global ID. In order to avoid a patchwork of national
standards that might not be consistent or compatible country to country,
he proposes the creation of a body to develop international
standards--perhaps an arm of the United Nations.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39236488,00.htm

================================================== ===================
"BLINK" AND YOUR PRIVACY'S GONE
================================================== ===================
Chase Bank USA is hoping consumers won't realize their new credit cards
contain remotely readable RFID tags. Towards that end, the company is
referring to the technology embedded in the cards as "blink." The bank's
glitzy new advertising campaigns encourage consumers to "blink a drink"
and "blink a movie" instead of digging into their purses and wallets for
anonymous cash.

The cards have been rolled out to approximately five million card
members in Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, New
York and Pennsylvania. Initially, consumers will be able to "blink" at
7-Eleven stores, AMC Theatres, Arby�s, CVS/pharmacy, Duane Reade, KFC,
RaceTrac, Regal Entertainment Group, Sheetz, Sony Style stores,
Walgreens and Wawa, with more venues anticipated.

Source: ContactlessNews:
http://www.contactlessnews.com/news/2005/10/28/timestrapped-new-york-tristate-residents-blink-their-way-to-faster-purchases/

See the Chase Bank press releases and images of the new cards and
readers (along with a creepily upbeat video demonstration) at the Chase
national press room:
http://www.chaseblink.com/press_room.asp?market=1

================================================== ===================
U.S. GOVT "OPEN SOURCE CENTER" TO PRACTICE "INFORMATION JUDO"
================================================== ===================
The United States Government has announced a new CIA-managed initiative
to gather and analyze intelligence information. This "Open Source
Center" will practice "information judo," according to its director,
Douglas Naquin. The plan is to rifle through every bit of information
that can be siphoned from publicly available sources like the Internet,
commercial databases, radio, television, maps, video, and printed
materials like conference reports. "The more volume the better," says
Naquin. He says the goal is to "kind of get some sense of where the
trends are and what the buzz is on certain topics, or who's connected to
whom."

Imagine how excited the Open Source Center would be to get its hands on
retail databases enhanced with RFID tag numbers--especially if those
numbers are associated with individuals at checkout.

While the Center is managed by the CIA, the information and analysis
will reportedly be shared with the entire U.S. intelligence community.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=5315

================================================== ===================
DALLAS DUBBED "THE RFID HUB"
================================================== ===================
It's official. Dallas is now "The RFID Hub" of the United States. Some
of the 121 Dallas-Ft. Worth area companies working with RFID gathered to
unveil the new slogan they hope will promote the northeast Texas
corridor as the place to go for Spychip technology.

Now it's our turn! Let's also make Dallas "The RFID Protest Capital of
the World." Anyone up for another good awareness raising event?

Read our member corner for a story about one CASPIAN member who is
always ready to sound off about RFID in Dallas--even if it means going
solo. He'd love to get some company as he battles Wal-Mart's item-level
RFID agenda.

Source: Dallas Morning News:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-rfidhub_10bus.ART.State.Edition2.8f3ae1e.html

================================================== ===================
CASPIAN IN THE NEWS
================================================== ===================
The buzz around our controversial new Book "Spychips: How Major
Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move" has put RFID
in the media spotlight. We have been inundated with requests for
interviews, and have been making the rounds of talk radio shows coast to
coast.

CASPIAN founder and Spychips co-author Katherine Albrecht has been
telling the world about the privacy and civil liberties implications of
RFID on stations like WREC in Memphis, WXNT in Indianapolis, KAGM in
Albuquerque, WSAU in Wausau, WZTK in Greensboro, and KTAR in Phoenix.
She's also been interviewed by WGN TV out of Chicago, a broadcast that
will also air on cable channels across the country.

You can listen to Katherine talk about Spychips in a two-part podcast by
Information Week reporter Laurie Sullivan by clicking this link:
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=173402917

CASPIAN's Communications Director and Spychips co-author Liz McIntyre
has also been busy spreading the word, with recent radio appearances on
stations like KKVV Las Vegas, WTVN Columbus, WATR Waterbury, and WMCA
New York.

The book along with our fight against item-level RFID have also been
featured in many newspaper and magazine articles. Here's a sampling:

The Boston Globe
You need not be paranoid to fear RFID
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/10/10/you_need_not_be_paranoid_to_fear_rfid?mode=PF

CIO Insight
The ultimate privacy argument against RFID
www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1875019,00.aso

The Chicago Sun Times
Book sees X-ray vision in retail ID chip
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-spychip21.html

Information Week
RFID: Really Feeling Increasingly Defensive?
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2005/11/rfid_really_fee.html

The Denver Post
Undisclosed Spying Objects
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_3207821

AdAge
Surprising bestseller blasts P&G, Wal-Mart
http://www.adage.com/paypoints/buyArticle.cms/login?articleId=50410&auth=

================================================== ===================
CASPIAN MEMBERS SOUND OFF
================================================== ===================
As always, we can count on our members to keep our spirits high and
remind us why we do this work. Here are some snippets from a few recent
letters we've received:

Loved your book, thanks for taking up the fight and keeping it alive.
We've decided to shop at a card free store (the local carniceria!),
changed our razors and are on the lookout for RFID everywhere! We
realized how far it's already pervaded our lives as we watched the IBM
commercial for RFID tags on all boxes that are shipped... they have the
answer to lost shipments! We lose more of our precious freedoms
everyday... Big Brother really is watching. Count us in the fight!
-Anonymous in Arizona

Thank you for what you are doing. The degree to which we are losing our
privacy is terrifying... RFIDs in consumer products, implanted chips in
humans by Applied Digital Solutions, and pervasive cameras and
microphones all are only a taste of what is to come. The true nightmares
will be more terrible than we can imagine if we let it become reality.
-Chuck Schoon in Arlington, VA

I picked up your book because the hospital I work in has just unveiled
their new ID Tags with RFID chips in them... Also, the new computerized
charting system requires us to carry RFID tags that actually say RFID on
them. The tag has an off/on button which needs to be reset at least once
every 9 hours. When someone with an authorized tag walks by a charting
computer, it turns on automatically and asks for your fingerprint....
Some of my colleagues were joking that it was just a way for the
hospital to monitor when we showed up for work and how long we took for
breaks. I just kinda laughed. When I saw your book, I bought it, and now
I am not laughing anymore. I am going to write to my Congressman right
now. This absolutely freaks me out!
-VJ in Atlanta, Georgia

God bless you people, and good luck. Hooray for informed choice!
-Anonymous in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

I sincerely appreciate the effort for WE THE PEOPLE. I do not want to
tell my children or grandchildren I did nothing.... I'm ready to do
whatever is required!
-Marcia in Ohio

If Wal-Mart continues to put these chips on their products, I will no
longer shop there....many of the people I have informed also agree. We
must stop this insanity and take back our country with all of its
freedoms.
-Anonymous

I have been against using frequent shopper cards for years.... I guess
we are lucky to have some hometown grocery stores in the area that do
not use the cards. We are getting a new Giant Eagle in January and I
will refuse to shop there.
- Kathy in Massillon, Ohio

I'll shop at places that don't punish me for not carrying their card.
- Jay in Oklahoma

I'm glad someone is trying to awake the public as to what is really
going on! We are losing our rights and I sometimes think we appear to be
asleep.
-Nancy in Cornersville, Tennessee

I just ordered 6 copies of "Spychips" and plan on asking my employer to
sell them where I work (major copy/shipping retailer). If he won't, then
I'll hand them out as Christmas gifts. I cannot express the gratitude I
feel towards the work you do in trying to educate the public on the
disadvantages of RFID technology. I would feel helpless and hopeless
without you.
-Stephanie, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

I believe you all are doing a good job. Keep doing it. Please keep
letting us know your progress.
-Anonymous

It is no accident that the more isolated we become through technological
advances, the more corporations continue to erode our individual
rights. I believe informed individuals have a responsibility to educate
their fellow citizens... Instead of commenting on the weather, I often
say, "did you hear about..." You'd be surprised how people respond and
value information delivered in a personal manner. We need to be sincere
and consistent in front of others. Even if it's just a zip code or
telephone number that is being asked for at the checkout line, we need
to refuse and be willing to walk out without purchasing the store's
products. We have all gotten too relaxed about giving information...It
seems we worry more about identity theft from an average person than
from a faceless corporate machine that has the potential for true
identity theft on a grand scale. Starting locally, we need develop
economic alternatives that will help us become independent of these big
retailers: neighborhood co-ops, trading posts ... we need [to] share
and exchange our resources.
-Miranda Verdad in Colorado Springs, CO

What happened to concepts like "privacy" and "individual freedom"?
Aren't the technologies already in use (fingerprints, DNA, etc.)
enough? Do "they" have to know everybody's whereabouts at all times? I
can't believe this, except I DO believe this!!! I am outraged every time
I hear about someone speaking "on condition of anonymity". See below.
- Richard David Jones in East Longmeadow, MA

I am in shock & feeling quite naive after listening to Katherine on the
radio today in Dallas. I was thinking how many store "reward" cards I
have in my possession - several without any doubt. I use my Hancock's
Fabric one usually weekly! I have a toll tag because it saves money,
time & is so convenient. I NEED this book (discussed on radio) & will
read it and then share it with others. Thank you for watching out for us
innocent ones - or should I say ignorant ones? God bless you in your
work.
- Linda in McKinney, Texas

I do NOT want these RFID cards in anything I buy and am very glad you
are running this site. I will write letters and emails to protest this.
This is the ultimate invasion of privacy!
- Renee in Indiana

Congrats on your efforts to slow Big Brother down.
- Harry in Monte Carlo, Monaco

Like many other (probably millions of) shoppers and everyday Americans,
I had no idea the implications were this monstrous for these devices.
And to think I almost invested in RFID technology!! The part that really
bothers me: Why only 10% of people know about, or heard of these
devices, and why the government does not inform the rest of the AMERICAN
citizens about this technology. Concerned American Citizen,
- David in Beulah, Michigan

I am employed at the Bedford Wal-Mart, so I can't show up at the protest
without losing my job. It hurts to have to work for this shameful
company but I haven't been able to find other employment. Believe me,
I'll be there in spirit.
- Anonymous in Bedford, New Hampshire

Now that I have some information about specific companies and products,
I can let my friends know what to specifically look out for. Thanks for
your efforts in letting the public know about the RFID subject. Keep up
the fantastically good work!
- Tony in Salt Lake City, Utah

================================================== ===================
WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH AN RFID PROJECT
================================================== ===================
Attention CASPIAN members! Spychips has caused such a stir in the tech
and retail communities, that some people are coming out
swinging--blindly. It's obvious many naysayers--even RFID industry
practitioners--haven't read the book, and really don't understand the
privacy and civil liberties implications of the technology.

We are looking for volunteers who could respond to some of the
falsehoods that have started circulating on the net at various blogs. If
you have a few minutes to spare, please write to Liz. Her email address
is [email protected]. Thank you!

================================================== ===================
ACTIVIST CORNER
================================================== ===================

CASPIAN member Christopher McClellan is one of the most dedicated
anti-RFID campaigners around, and he's in the perfect location: Dallas,
Texas -- "The RFID Hub."

After learning about the serious privacy and civil liberties
implications of RFID, he decided to raise awareness by protesting in
front of Dallas-area Wal-Marts several days a month -- solo, if
necessary. He's also started a campaign to get information into the
hands of Wal-Mart employees, most of whom have no idea what RFID is,
much less that the devices are already being used in their stores. He'd
love to have some company. If you'd like to join him on one or more of
his protests, you can reach email him at
[email protected]

He's given us permission to share his stories with you. Here's one that
had us rolling on the floor (edited with some comments we couldn't
resist adding):

Christopher writes...

I wanted to fill you in on my first day of protesting a super Wal-Mart
In Plano (north of Dallas).

[He went alone!]

I arrived with signs in hand and went directly into the store where I
asked to speak with the manager. The door guard told me that the manager
wasn't there, but pointed to a young lady and said "She's in charge." I
then told the supervisor that I was there to protest RFID's in front of
her store.

[Note: telling management is always a nice courtesy. Good thinking.]

I wish you could have seen her face!! She said "What are RFID's ??!!!"
(Isn't that amazing that even the employees don't know.) I told her "The
chips that Wal-Mart wants to put in everything." I started out the door
and she exclaimed "You can't do that!!!" Laughing, I told her "I have a
right to protest, and I'm going to."

[He has a guaranteed First Amendment Right to protest that some in our
country have forgotten.]

Just before I got to work I called and spoke to a Sergeant with the
Plano Police Department. I double checked the rules, which was a good
thing because Wal-Mart had a police officer come, and he started
circling around me. He finally approached me, and I immediately dropped
the name of his supervisor and said I was told that as long as I was on
the sidewalk, not stopping people or traffic, I was fine.

[Called the police in advance. Good thinking, Christopher! Always a good
idea.]

So the police officer ran back to the store to tell them that there was
nothing they could do.

I successfully witnessed around 500-600 people in their cars reading my
signs, and a few even gave me the thumbs up. That had to be the best
part.

[WOW!]

================================================== ===================

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

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

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

================================================== ===================
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CASPIAN mailing list, click the
following link or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://www.nocards.org/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi

If you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also
subscribe or unsubscribe via email by writing to:
[email protected]
================================================== ===================
pisshead Reviewed by pisshead on . CASPIAN NEWSLETTER, 11-24-05: Thanksgiving Edition ===================================================================== CASPIAN NEWSLETTER, 11-24-05: Thanksgiving Edition ===================================================================== Consumer privacy and RFID newsletter A Note from Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre So much has happened since our book came out last month that we hardly know where to begin! So, since it's Thanksgiving, we figured we should start with the many reasons we have to be thankful. Rating: 5