Please note the paragraph below which I emphasize in bold and italics —
First published: Wednesday, April 14, 2004
YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE …
Paying for drinks with wave
of the hand
Club-goers in Spain get implanted chips for ID, payment purposes
Posted: April 14, 2004
5:00 p.m. Eastern
By Sherrie Gossett Being recognized has never been easier for VIP patrons of the Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, Spain. Like a scene out of a science-fiction movie, all it takes is a syringe-injected microchip implant for the beautiful men and women of the nightclub scene to breeze past a “reader” that recognizes their identity, credit balance and even automatically opens doors to exclusive areas of the club for them. They can buy drinks and food with a wave of their hand and don’t need to worry about losing a credit card or wallet. “By simply passing by our reader, the Baja Beach Club will know who you are and what your credit balance is,” Conrad K. Chase explains. Chase is director of the Baja Beach Club in Barcelona. “From the moment of their implantation they will also have free entry and access to the VIP area,” he said. In the popular club, which boasts a dance floor that can accommodate 3,000, streamlined services and convenience matter to Chase’s VIP customers. Baja Beach Clubs International is the first firm to employ the “VeriPay System,” developed by Applied Digital’s VeriChip Corporation and announced at an international conference in Paris last year. The company touts this application of the chip implant as an advance over credit cards and smart cards, which, absent biometrics and appropriate safeguard technologies, are subject to theft resulting in identity fraud. Palm Beach-based Applied Digital Solutions (NASDAQ:ADSXD) unveiled the original VeriChip immediately after the 9-11 tragedy. Similar to pet identification chips, the VeriChip is a syringe-injectable radio frequency identification microchip that can be read from a few feet away by either a hand-held scanner or by the implantee walking through a “portal” scanner. Information can be wirelessly written to the chip, which contains a unique 10-digit identification number. Media seized on the novelty factor of the chip implant, driving it to worldwide headlines in 2001. Last year, Art Kranzley, senior vice president at MasterCard, speculated on possible future electronic payment media: “We’re certainly looking at designs like key fobs. It could be in a pen or a pair of earrings. Ultimately, it could be embedded in anything – someday, maybe even under the skin.” Chase calls the chip implant the wave of the future. The nightclub director has been implanted along with stars from the Spanish version of the TV show “Big Brother.” “I know many people who want to be implanted,” he said. “Actually, almost everybody has piercings, tattoos or silicone.” Will the implant only be of use at the Baja? “The objective of this technology is to bring an ID system to a global level that will destroy the need to carry ID documents and credit cards,” Chase said. During a recent American radio interview, Chase said the CEO of VeriChip, Dr. Keith Bolton, had told him that the company’s goal was to market the VeriChip as a global implantable identification system. With only 900 people implanted worldwide, though, the global mandate isn’t exactly around the corner, and current applications are extremely limited. Chase added, “The VeriChip that we implant at Baja will not only be for the Baja, but is also useful for whatever other enterprise that makes use of this technology.” He also alluded to plans for FN Herstal, which manufactures Browning and Smith and Wesson firearms, to develop an implant-firearm system that would make a firearm functional only to the individual implanted with its corresponding microchip. A scanner in the gun would be designed to recognize the owner. Chase’s mention of the FN Herstal-Verichip partnership came a full week before it’s formal announcement by Applied Digital yesterday. Chase believes all gun owners should be required to have a microchip implanted in their hand to be able to own a gun. While yesterday’s Associated Press story on the prototype is primarily from the angle of police usage, WND reported two years ago that from the he outset of the company’s acquisition of its “Digital Angel” implant patent – said to be GPS trackable – Applied touted the implant as a potential universal method of gun control. Chase also claimed that the VeriChip company had told him that the Italian government was preparing to implant government workers. “We are the only company today offering human implantable ID technology,” said Scott R. Silverman, chairman and chief executive officer of Applied Digital Solutions. “We believe the market opportunity for this technology is substantial, and high-profile successes such as in Spain will serve as catalysts for broader adoption.” Since 1999, the Applied Digital Solutions has boasted that it also has a GPS-trackable chip in the works, but four years later the device has yet to come to market. Some mechanical engineers contend such a device requires substantial antenna length and that creating a self-contained unit in the space of a tiny chip is virtually impossible. In addition, questions of accuracy of new GPS consumer items have been raised by the press. A previous Wall Street Journal “road test” of different manufacturers’ GPS watches and devices for children had some kids tracked to the Sahara Desert, rather than New York City where they were. Despite the kinks that may need to be worked out, security of loved ones and personal property remains one of the chief marketing focuses of personal GPS devices and RFID chip firms. Meanwhile, in Barcelona the VeriChip is gaining a following of enthusiastic “early adopters.” “Everyone embraced the electronic payment application,” Chase said. “My customers like the fact that they do not have to carry a credit card or ID card with them. With the VeriPay system, they no longer have to worry about their credit cards getting lost or stolen.” Related stories: ‘Spy chips’ for nation’s livestock? Bio-chip implant arrives for cashless transactions Miami journalist gets ‘chipped’ SEC investigating Applied Digital Applied Digital gets reprieve from creditor Implantable-chip firm misses final deadline Implantable-chip company in financial straits Post-9/11 security fears usher in subdermal chips ‘Digital Angel’ not pursuing implants
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© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com–>© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Sherrie Gossett is associate editor for Accuracy in Media and a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily. Her original news stories have been widely cited by the press, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Herald, Agence France-Presse, London Times, Fox News and Inside Edition. She is based in Washington, D.C.
A Scribbler & A Shutterbug 
I’d sooner revolt than get one of these.
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Wow…that’s really bizarre. Back in the old days, no one could have fathomed how the world would have no objection to the “mark.” But, in this day and time, lack of knowledge of the Word, the various security/ID issues, and with the surge and dependency on technology, it is now understandable how there are those who will gladly accept the mark. Of course, a particular verse comes to mind…”Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
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You make a great point, CountryGirl — and sadly, one that is on target for some of the comments I’ve read regarding this issue recently. Society has become so out of touch with the Word and so enamored with technology, convenience, and security issues that it will gladly go along with something that promises new bells and whistles, ease of use/less to hassle with, and a supposed promise of safety in these less-than-peaceful times.
While some may laugh at these stories and claim that there’s nothing to them, I believe there’s a great deal of truth and humanistic one-world-government potential in them. Can you imagine how easy it would be to set up a “welfare” program using this technology? It would seem incredibly philanthropic to tell the homeless, single parents, etc. — “come on down, get your free chip — we’ll reload it with currency every two weeks . . . you don’t have to hassle with food stamps, swipe cards, etc. No one can steal it from you because it’s in your hand (or wherever).”
For those so inclined, make all the tin-foil-hat jokes you want. I’m sure that 100 or so years ago, much of what we consider basic necessities would have been viewed with amazement, if not downright fright!
My reason for posting these articles is merely to bring these stories to your attention for your consideration. And hopefully to provoke some thought.
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it’s very easy to note that one of the biggest ways that the government controls people and things is subsidy and socialism. The 55 speed limits weren’t exactly a federal law, they were a federal “program” wherein a state could only get federal money for roads if they made the maximum speed limit for the state 55 or lower. Same way various other programs work…I’ve known people on disability who had to work less than they were able specifically because they’d lose more money than they’d gain by doing the extra work, all because they had managed to find a job they could still do that had a halfway decent payrate, yet would still not sufficiently compensate them for lost disability benefits such as to continue the standard of living his family had come to know with the disability. Sad, really.But don’t think they won’t try to push this thing if they can. I guarantee you they will if they can. I don’t think the US is likely to be the first chip-market though as far as these implants go. I think that dubious honor will go to the EU, Russia, Canada, or such. Possibly Red China or Japan. hard to say.
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Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get ya.
That said, I’ll get excited about this when some government starts dragging people kicking and screaming to get their “chip”. Until then, I’m more concerned with the things Intermodal included in his comments regarding the government use of money for control. But as I’ve said before, if they want to track you, they’ll do it through your cell phone.
I’m not ready to put on my tin-foil hat.
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You know something, Soliver? I don’t know that you really believe your own argument. I think you just LOVE the expression “tin-foil hat” and your argument gives you plenty of opportunity to use it . . .
The attitude you express in your second paragraphy above . . . “I’ll get excited about this when some government starts dragging people kicking and screaming to get their chip . . .”
I’m sure there were quite a few that felt that way in pre-WWII Germany regarding the Star of David required on the coat sleeve of every Jew. Many who had your attitude wished they’d left Germany while they were still able. Unfortunately, many of them left in a dark plume of smoke above the incinerators of Dauchau and Auschwitz.
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And I think you’re greatly over-reacting.
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I think both of you are over/underreacting.
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Intermodal-nice job of fence-sitting.
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well I think it will be the monetary manipulation we already agreed upon, not jackbooted thugs in the flesh. So it actually is somewhere in between ^_-
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I don’t think we’re ignoring the “signs” TXMom. I think we’re trying to be realistic. I know what is to come…I won’t deny that. But, I refuse to sit here in fear because of what I know.
It is inevitable that these things shall come to pass. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t fight it, or recognize it when it starts to happen. But, it does mean that we shouldn’t be afraid of advances in technology because of what could or might happen.
The truth is that we don’t know what God has planned and when it will happen. For all we know, the “mark” will come in some other form. For all we know, we’re still hundreds of years away. And, for all we know, the government is already watching us. Who are WE to predict when Christ will return….or anything else for that matter.
Gillette has censors in their razors? Big deal. As of right now, the best they can do is nab you for not shaving with great regularity. And obviously, they’re not…or there would be a lot of French women sitting in prisons.
Trust me, I’m not laughing at you….you’re making people aware, and that’s a great thing. But, getting all up in arms over something so small….something that isn’t even THAT widespread right now…it just seems to be over the top for me. For now.
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