Outrageous--Homeless people to be forcibly implanted with tracking chips

[Terran]

http://indybay.org/news/2004/04/1676374.php

HUD Marks/Chips Homeless

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that it was about to begin testing a new technology designed to help more closely monitor and assist the nation's homeless population. Under the pilot program, which grew out of a series of policy academies held in the last two years, homeless people in participating cities will be implanted with mandatory Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that social workers and police can use track their movements.

The RFID technology was developed by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in partnership with five states, including California and New York. "This is a rare opportunity to use advanced technology to meet society's dual objectives of better serving our homeless population while making our cities safer," HRSA Administrator Betty James Duke said.

The miniscule RFID tags are no larger than a matchstick and will be implanted subdermally, meaning under the skin. Data from RFID tracking stations mounted on telephone poles will be transmitted to police and social service workers, who will use custom Windows NT software to track movements of the homeless in real time. In what has become a chronic social problem, people living in shelters and on the streets do not seek adequate medical care and frequently contribute to the rising crime rate in major cities.

Supporters of subdermal RFID tracking say the technology will discourage implanted homeless men and women from committing crimes, while making it easier for government workers to provide social services such as delivering food and medicine.Duke called the RFID tagging pilot program "a high-tech, minimally-intrusive way for the government to lift our citizens away from the twin perils of poverty and crime." Participating cities include New York City, San Francisco, Washington, and Bethlehem, Penn.

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You gotta love this part:

Supporters of subdermal RFID tracking say the technology will discourage implanted homeless men and women from committing crimes...

Why don't we all just be required to have them then??

And this:

In what has become a chronic social problem, people living in shelters and on the streets do not seek adequate medical care and frequently contribute to the rising crime rate in major cities.

First off, I thought crime was generally falling, not rising; and second, I don't believe that homeless people cause significantly more crime than their per-capita share, because the majority of homeless people are CHILDREN AND FAMILIES!!

[rucky]

1. Did I just see another horseman ride by?

this is surreal

[cheezus]

2. How about if we just round them up and put them in camps

Christ.

[cosmicdot]

3. beware mission creep ... first they came for the homeless ...

[yella_dawg]

4. Obviously, the US lost WWII

'cause the Nazis are running the government. This is freakin' insane. This is freakin' terrifying.

[Walt Starr]

5. That's it, I will never again see another doctor

This is how it will start but eventually you'll be implanted wihtout your knowledge.

Never again will I seek medical care.

[Minstrel Boy]

6. Have you seen what these things look like?

Remind you of anything?

[Walt Starr]

7. I bet the thing even has 666 transistors

/sarcasm

[tom_paine]

12. The Busheviks DO LOVE THEIR LITTLE INSIDE JOKES

Like the "Rob-Georgia" file that, hey whattayaknow, it robbed Georgia.

[plurality]

27. are you fucking kidding me ?!?!

[shanti]

32. they stopped bothering to hide their madness

long ago...

[NYCGirl]

8. I believe this has already been debunked...

This was posted here when it was first published on APRIL 1 (I haven't yet donated to DU, so I can't use the search), and was debunked as a press prank.

Can someone check this out with a search, please?

[ihaveaquestion]

11. Debunked - Here's the thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=45682

I don't know if 'radio' chips is the correct terminology. I don't think tracking is possible with the computer chips that are implanted in pets and some people who volunteer for it. I think they're just used for information only.

When these chips were first announced a few years ago, I thought then that they would be used by the military in lieu of dog tags and that it would be a mandatory thing. I'm sure the DOD is thinking about it and it's only a matter of time till it's a reality.

[NYCGirl]

13. Thank you!

Thanks so much, smjoyner, for checking that out.

[Terran]

20. That thread doesn't really debunk it.

Neither of those sites actually proves it's a hoax. politechbot.com says, "This is a joke...I hope." And the other one says it's a joke but doesn't offer any proof. If it is a joke, then it was written by someone with a very thorough knowledge of federal homeless programs. I work in this area, and I wouldn't put it past the feds to think something like this up. I HOPE it is a joke, and my apologies for alarming people if it is.

[sangh0]

28. You should be able to debunk it

If you really do work in the area of homelessness programs, then you should know that the govt has no right to implant these chips and to monitor the movements of citizens who are not breaking the law.

It was an April 1 prank.

[lilymidnite]

9. Checked my calendar ...

to make certain this wasn't April 1.

Unbelievable.

[wtmusic]

10. We should have implanted Republicans a long time ago

those people should be tracked

[BurtWorm]

14. I don't believe it. It's got to be a hoax.

I see images of social workers roaming the parks with tranquilizer guns like Marlin Perkins, picking off homeless people while National Geographic cameras roll, then rushing in to check their teeth, draw blood samples and implant the homing device before the drugged "animal" wakes up.

[slaveplanet]

15. this one is not a hoax

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60124,00.html

http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,63173,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_6

[Tellurian]

16. The homeless are smarter than you think...

they live by their wits daily, they have to, if they expect to survive another day. This invasion of privacy might act as an inspiration for a (homeless) former tekkie to pervert the system, especially if he successfully converts his chip to register on the data log as Donald Rumsfeld.:)

[LDS Jock]

17. Wild Kingdom for the homeless

the old tag and release.

[MoonRiver]

18. OMG! This is what I had implanted in my DOG!

Wonder if they're doing this so no time will be lost once the "final solution" can be put in place. Rid the earth of Muslims, athiests, the disabled and/or homeless, and, of course all Democrats regardless of religious affiliation.

:scared:

[MallRat]

19. This IS a joke, right?

I mean, this can't possibly be true, right?

RIGHT?

RIGHT?!?!?!

:wow:

[Cleita]

21. Your tax dollars being wasted again?

Wouldn't it be better to use that money to address the causes of homelessness and get these people off the streets and into the hospitals they need or rent a room for them to live in?

[ihaveaquestion]

22. Snopes article - not exactly on this, but similar

This article by Snopes debunks a similar story that end-of-the-world conspiracy theorists are apparently spreading around about a smartcard company.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/mondex.asp

It does debunk the idea that these chips can be used to track the movements of anyone. Their effective range is only 5 ft. More suitable for warehouses than city streets.

[Muddleoftheroad]

23. Not likely

Sorry, but I think this is a hoax.

[Zorra]

24. Like field biologists tracking animals.

This is dehumanizing and sickening. Homeless folks who get these should dig them out and attach them to taxis and city buses.

If this is mandatory in order to receive welfare or SSI benefits, it could be an insidious means to discourage people from participating in or applying for these programs.

This is another sign, along with the recent increase of information gathering on individuals and databasing this information, that big brother wants to know exactly who and where we are at all times. It's a way to keep track of individuals that have no physical address vehicle, bank account, or drivers license.

The Right Wing is implementing a technologically advanced police state.

Nov 24, 1933 - Nazis pass a Law against Habitual and Dangerous Criminals, which allows beggars, the homeless, alcoholics and the unemployed to be sent to concentration camps.

[MetaTrope]

25. It is a hoax

But if you look up "RFID" under Yahoo or Google news, you'll find there are a LOT of frightening things happening with the technology.

[Only Me]

26. I was hoping this was a joke...

Since when was it a crime to be poor? And who decided what poor is?
And why, WHY, are they not traking all those Rich people that commit crimes, or think about committing crimes?

If poor is associated with crime, then rich, greedy power mungers ought to be associated with being criminals.
This makes me so mad. :grr:

[lostnfound]

29. kick for further review nt

[TheRedMan]

30. Reality check

Okay, RFID tags are inherently short-ranged, to the tune of a few feet. That is simple applied electromagnetics. A chip-size antenna attached to a device with no battery cannot produce enough energy to broadcast any kind of distance. RFID tags use the energy pulse from interrogating device to respond. They are basically totally passive devices.

The motivation behind this is to control "double dipping," where homeless will bounce between homeless centers and go to the same one repeatedly attempting to get more out of welfare. They tried issuing ID tags, to find that people were faking them, getting extras with different names, tons of stuff. So the next move was to biometrics, but RFID is farther along.

The idea of tracking people's locations with them is really a fantasy, unless literally MILLIONS of interrogators are placed throughout a city and networked together (a hugely expensive, difficult task. Not to mention with this many components, reliablity issues alone would sink it. think about how often your computers crashes...)

There is a LOT of undue paranoia about RFID tags and most people would do well to educate themselves on a website not run by the paranoid.

[shanti]

31. heeeere we go, folks! we're next!

:grr: