Posted by
peripheral on Monday, August 02, 2010 7:08:22 AM
From My Perspective - - -
In a marketing ploy, “Unilever's Omo detergent is adding an unusual
ingredient to its two-pound detergent box in Brazil - a GPS device that
allows its promotions agency Bullet to track shoppers and follow them
to their front doors. Starting next week, consumers who buy one of the
GPS-implanted detergent boxes will be surprised at home, given a pocket
video camera as a prize and invited to bring their families to enjoy a
day of Unilever-sponsored outdoor fun. The promotion, called Try
Something New With Omo, is in keeping with the brand's international
‘Dirt is Good’ positioning that encourages parents to let their kids
have a good time even if they get dirty…The GPS device is activated
when a shopper removes the detergent carton from the supermarket shelf.
Fifty Omo boxes implanted with GPS devices have been scattered around
Brazil…teams in 35 Brazilian cities are ready to leap into action when
a box is activated. The nearest team can reach the shopper's home
‘within hours or days,’ and if they're really close by, ‘they may get
to your house as soon as you do’…Once there, the teams have portable
equipment that lets them go floor by floor in apartment buildings until
they find the correct unit…” The Prize Offer is a free Video Camera.
In a similar way, a story that first appeared on July 25th indicates:
“In an attempt to better manage inventory, Wal-Mart plans to use
electronic identification tags (smart labels) on merchandise.
Wal-Mart…is putting electronic identification tags on men's clothing
like jeans starting Aug. 1 as the world's largest retailer tries to
gain more control of its inventory. But the move is raising eyebrows
among privacy experts.The individual garments, which also includes
underwear and socks, will have removable smart tags that can be read
from a distance by Wal-Mart workers with scanners. In seconds, the
worker will be able to know what sizes are missing and will also be
able tell what it has on hand in the stock room. Such instant knowledge
will allow store clerks to have the right sizes on hand when shoppers
need them…Wal-Mart's goal is to eventually expand the tags to other
types of merchandise but company officials say it's too early to give
estimates on how long that will take…Before the rollout, Wal-Mart and
other stores were using the tags, called radio frequency identification
tags, only to track pallets or cases of merchandise in their
warehouses. But now the tags are jumping onto individual items, a move
that some privacy experts describe as frightening…”
Google already has the ability to zoom to the location of your home
address; the use of “cookies” on a computer reveal what websites one
accesses; your PCs are programmed in such a way that Microsoft (and
others) can routinely and automatically “update” one’s computer; the
government wants greater control over Internet use so they can monitor
and/or block data they deem inappropriate or detrimental. Sixty years
ago, “Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell was published. It is about the totalitarian regime of
the Party. The novel depicts an oligarchical collectivist society where
life in the Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual
war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public mind
control. The individual is always subordinated to the masses, and it is
in part this philosophy which allows the Party to manipulate and
control humanity. In the Ministry of Truth, protagonist Winston Smith
is a civil servant responsible for perpetuating the Party's propaganda
by revising historical records to render the Party omniscient and
always correct, yet his meager existence disillusions him to the point
of seeking rebellion against Big Brother, eventually leading to his
arrest, torture, and conversion…” Is it possible this is where we’re
heading today?
It is vital to have a fixed focus – especially in times of clear and
present danger. We need to maintain the discipline of King David in Psalm 27:1-5,
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?...Though an army
besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the Lord, this is
what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of
my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His
temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling;
He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a
rock.” It is wise to be prepared. What some deem to be fiction may be
the forecast of what is to come! Consider these things with me!