Thursday, March 24, 2005

A technology entrepreneur in northeastern Washington asked a doctor to implant an RFID chip into his hand in order to experiment with the technology. Amal Graafstra, who runs a technology company in Bellingham, WA, asked a doctor to place the chip under the skin of his left hand, and posted pictures of the procedure to the photo-sharing site, Flickr. Graafstra plans to use the chip for keyless entry to his car, home, or as a login for computer systems.

Implanting RFID chips is a relatively old technology. Professor Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading, UK implanted a 23mm RFID chip into his left arm in August 1998. It allowed him to open doors and turn on the lights in a room as he entered. Further European research in the area was recently dealt a blow when the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies made a presentation to the European Union raising privacy concerns over the potential for such chips to be used to track members of the public.

In mid-2004, about 160 Mexican officials received RFID implants for security purposes, and scientists in the past have implanted themselves with such chips for research purposes. In October 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the implantation of Verichip technology for medical purposes.

An implantable RFID chip is a minuscule capsule containing a microchip and an antenna, all enclosed in glass. The chip that Mr. Graafstra had implanted was 12mm long and 2mm in diameter — about the size of a grain of rice. RFID chips work by storing a unique identification number in the microchip. This number can be retrieved by a special RFID reader that is held within close proximity. Graafstra notes that his chip can be read from a distance of about 2 inches (5cm), and only provides the single identifying number.

Describing himself as a long-time tinkerer, Graafstra’s comments do not show much of a hesitation to perform this process. “I like to mod things, and I guess it was only natural that it extended to my own body,” he wrote in an email to Wikinews.

Graafstra appears to have been impressed by the process, too. “It was odd feeling it [the chip] being pushed under the surface of my skin… without feeling pain, I was able to really get a feel for just how utilitarian our bodies actually are and how… separate the skin layer really is from the muscle layer under it,” he told Wikinews. He was able to use his hand to perform technical computer maintenance just an hour after the procedure.

RFID is a controversial technology. Privacy advocates fear that the technology might be abused by governments and used to track people. Microchip implants have been used for years for tracking lost pets.

The pictures that Graafstra posted spurred commentary in the blogosphere, with some assuming that the pictures — or the process — were faked. Graafstra denies this, and posted a short video of himself triggering the RFID reader with a swipe of his hand.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Peter Costello’s budget announcement has led to rejoicing for small businesses, but the lack of joy for those pushing for radical corporate taxation reform has led to many businesses asking “what about us?”

Personal taxation and small business have been the big winners after this year’s federal budget. Although dampened by the twin economic threats of rising interest rates and petrol prices, there should be a reasonable amount of real income savings for both low and high income earners, with those receiving Medicare, or a superannuation benefit, privy to an even lower level of taxation (0% for those on super benefits).

Small business also has benefited from the Howard government’s 11th annual budget, with them receiving a higher level of reducing depreciation, leading to a higher level of deductions in the years following the uptake of new technology or other capital. They are also privy to a AU$435 million dollar tax cut to compensate for their changing accounting requirements under the government’s new AIFRS reporting standards, as well as increasing the uptake of both the small business tax relief scheme and CGT (Capital Gains tax) Concessions.

The budget was not a complete loss for big business however, as superannuation laws have been tweaked to streamline contribution and payment rules previously impeding those with multitudes of staff.

But this is not enough, says Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young. In their newly published paper “Taxation of Investment in Australia: the need for ongoing reform”. In it they lead the charge for a greater streamlining and organization of the corporate tax system in Australia, submitting that it will lead to reductions in “disincentives to work save and invest in Australia [as well as improving] the international competitiveness of Australian businesses.” This follows from a recent report brought out by Mr. Costello himself about the need for tax reform in Australia.

A budget night Mr. Costello was notably coy about any future reform of corporate tax in Australia. He alluded to the report by his ministers but kept from outlining the government’s plan precisely.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

The National Socialist Movement is, according to its website, the largest and most active Nazi party in the United States. Accordingly, it refers to itself as ‘America’s Nazi Party’ and aims to instigate major change in the US.

Wikinews was able to conduct an interview with the head of the party, Commander Jeff Schoep. Fresh back from a march in Missouri, Commander Schoep told Wikinews his views on Barack Obama, the economy and much more.

Read the full exclusive interview below:

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Dr. Stephen Schoenthaler, a Professor of Criminal Justice at the California State University in Stanislaus, has long argued that there is a link between a healthy diet and decreased aggressive behaviour, as well as with increased IQ and school performance.

Dr. Schoenthaler is well-known for a youth detention center study where violations of house rules fell by 37% when vending machines were removed and the cafeteria replaced canned food by fresh alternatives. He summarizes his findings by saying that “Having a bad diet right now is a better predictor of future violence than past violent behaviour.” In a very large test, Schoenthaler directed a study in meals at 803 New York City schools, in low-income neighbourhoods, finding that the number of students passing final exams increased by 16%.

Critics have questioned some of Dr. Schoenthaler findings, due to the lack of placebo control groups. However, more recent work by Dr. Bernard Gesch, a physiologist at the University of Oxford, has placed some of the work on a more scientific footing. Dr. Gesch found that nutrition supplements produced a 26% drop in violations of prison rules over a placebo, and a 37% decrease in violent offences. The Netherlands has embarked on a wider scale dietary research program in 14 prisons.

The short term behaviour consequences of ingesting sugar are well understood: an initial burst on energy, followed a sugar low in which your body produces adrenalin, which makes you irritable and explosive. However, Schoenthaler and Gesch suggest that there are long term impacts over and above the short term consequences of blood sugar variations.