Chips ahoy, matey.

The Editor

The Berkeley Daily Planet

Berkeley, CA

To the Editor:

Chips ahoy, matey. It was truly depressing to read (Berkeley Daily Planet, October 10) that the public library system in the supposedly "progressive" City of Berkeley has approved the installation of Radio Frequency Identification chips (RFIDs) into all library materials. This new system of tiny electronic chips, which are about the size of a single grain of wheat, is currently being considered for imbedding in consumer clothing and other goods.

Some experts have falsely claimed that these RFIDs can be "deactivated" as you leave the store or the library. These are passive devices that are energized by signals broadcasted by any properly configured remotely-based external scanner. The only way that they can be "deactivated" is by being physically crushed, say with a hammer or a pair of pliers. This new RFID universal surveillance system is an important building block in the construction of the coming worldwide corporate police state, from Cheney-Bush-Haliburton Inc. to Walmart Inc. to your local public library. Chips ahoy, matey.

Yours truly,

James K. Sayre

12 October 2003