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1.  

   RFID bacteria

   

   dorpus, Jul 2nd, 2004 @ 12:19pm

   
   

   If we could engineer gut bacteria to carry little RFID markers in them, wouldn't it be a great way to track people? Unless people give themselves bleach enemas, we would be able to track them. If you shake hands with a homosexual, the government will know about it.
   
   

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2.  

   Re: RFID bacteria

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 2nd, 2004 @ 1:41pm

   
   

   People shake hands with me all the time dorpus.
   Whats your point ?

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3.  

   Valued added is a buzz word

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 2nd, 2004 @ 1:42pm

   
   

   Hey Mike,
   
   Please just once, clue us in on what these
   " value added jobs " are that we all shall be seeking.
   
   I'm curious.

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4.  

   Re: Valued added is a buzz word

   

   Mike (profile), Jul 2nd, 2004 @ 3:00pm

   
   

   Perhaps you should ask the analyst who did the study... it wasn't me.
   
   But, please, how hard is it to look at the fact that RFID chips will allow for a revolution in logistics and not realize how that will create new jobs?

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5.  

   Re: Valued added is a buzz word

   

   Cyke, Jul 3rd, 2004 @ 5:34pm

   
   

   The only new jobs I see are in the manufacturing of the chips. Of course this will probably be taking place in some third world country, not in the US. There are already people in those logistics positions that you speak of. All that will change will be their job duties, not new jobs created. It's the thousands of tellers and stockers who will lose out. The only difference here is that these are low paying jobs anyway, so once THEY have to resort to McDonalds to make a living, they won't be out much money.

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6.  

   I absolutely agree

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 3rd, 2004 @ 10:03pm

   
   

   Of course, some new RFID-related jobs will be created but just think about how many grocery clerks, retail sales people, and others will no longer be necessary because RFID will eventually allow people to purchase things simply by picking them up and walking out of the store. Big companies like WalMart will realize huge gains.
   

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7.  

   What jobs exactly?

   

   CT, Jul 4th, 2004 @ 10:05pm

   
   

   The people who work at WalMart stocking shelves are at the end of their rope already. They took those jobs because they have no useful skills and no real prospects for getting any.

   This is the point when the optimists trot out the example of ditchdiggers put out of work by steamshovels; didn't they get other jobs? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think actual studies exist. But there were any number of other low-skill jobs available at the turn of the nineteenth century. In case you hadn't noticed, those jobs by and large don't exist anymore. Or, they're being done by imported labor with a different wage standard than the one we're used to.

   Walmart doesn't have any "value-added" jobs. Walmart (like every other large corporation) adds value by subtracting labor costs. All we really know is that, in the past, people have all found something else to do and get paid for it. Eventually. Of course, that was before we had ten million illegal aliens working in our country for next to nothing already, as well as global competition for any kind of "knowledge worker" job...

   So you can read a completely unsupported statement about all the fine jobs waiting for these poor people if you like. Why not roll over and go back to sleep?

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8.  

   No Subject Given

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2004 @ 2:55am

   
   

   I think we should be helping people from developing countries who are much poorer than the poorest people here.

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