To: Raymond Duray who wrote (1213 ) 7/22/2003 3:12:51 PM From: Don Earl Read Replies (4) | Respond to of 20039 Ray, <<<Now you are aware of the recent developments in nano-technology, right?>>> Speaking of dogs and nano-technology.... An article I saw recently was on the topic of using the same kind of chips they stick in critters in case they get lost, in people. I wished I'd saved it because it vanished almost as quick as I found it. I half chuckled after I read it because it sounded almost like Mel Gibson talking to the lady in the back of his cab about her dog. According to the article, it's about the size of a grain of rice and the present uses are mainly for medical identification. For example a diabetic has his chip in place and a hospital can scan the chip to pull up his medical records. Future uses discussed were along the lines of tracking people by satellite. For example, persons under house arrest or missing children. The article kind of stuck in my mind because it popped up the same day MSI was talking about a TV blackout with a missing child report. It's not too hard to imagine a future where chips are stuck in babies as a common procedure, and within a generation or two, a government Raptor type program would be able to monitor every person in the country. People are pretty dumb and I doubt it'd take much of a media campaign to convince most of them to plant chips in their kids in case they get lost. From there it's not too hard to picture a shift in the banking system to where everyone needs an ID chip installed to use a credit card or to cash a check. At that point, government control would be pretty close to absolute. Talking to the press, getting special interest groups together, forming political parties, political protests, signature campaigns, etc. - it all goes into the computer and the secret police are there to Patriot Act anyone who might be a problem.