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LY BD © oF VEN? DIGITISED DRUGS: HAVE CHIP, WILL TRIP! n unnamed senior analyst from Britain's National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) "went off the deep end" at the September 1999 crime-fighting conference in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, sponsored by the FBI and the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies. The analyst claimed that "digi- tised drugs"—non-chemical nar- cotics or hallucinogens transmitted across the Internet by criminals to create new forms of addiction— could eventually replace heroin, crack cocaine or LSD. This new generation of drugs, whose effects can be experienced without the need to possess illegal chemicals, involves implanting into the body a silicon chip able to pick up a signal that delivers "highs" every bit as addictive as the smartest designer drugs. (Source: Intelligence, no. 106, 8 November 1999, p. 6; see also NEXUS 6/05 Science News, "From Water Memory to Digital Biology", by Dr Jacques Benveniste, and Global News 6/01, "Molecular memory could be transmitted by e-mail".) device is powered electromechani- cally through the movement of muscles, and it can be activated either by the "wearer" or by the monitoring facility. A novel sensation-feedback fea- ture will even allow the wearer to control the device to some degree. The "smart" device is also small enough to be hidden inconspicuous- ly on, or within, valuable personal belongings and priceless works of net art. Commenting on Digital Angel's many potential applications, Richard J. Sullivan, Chairman and CEO of Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. (ADS), said: "Although we're in the early developmental phase, we expect to come forward with applications in many different areas, from medical monitoring to law enforcement." Sullivan added that the multi-purpose technology would enable ADS to tap into a vast global market with an estimated total value in excess of US$100 billion. (Source: Applied Digital Solutions, Inc., 17 December 1999, www.adsx.com/ews/) rights to a miniature digital transceiver— which it has named "Digital Angel"—that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as providing a tamper-proof means of identification for enhanced e-business security, locating lost or missing individu- als, tracking the location of valuable prop- erty and monitoring the medical conditions of at-risk patients. The implantable transceiver sends and receives data and can be continuously tracked by GPS (global positioning sys- tem) satellite technology. The transceiver's power supply and actu- ation system are unlike anything ever cre- ated. When implanted within a body, the STANDOFF OVER PINE GAP TREATY EXTENSION he Australian Federal Parliament's Treaties Committee recently stated that it cannot obtain enough information about the purpose or operation of the secret United States satellite intelligence base at Pine Gap in the Northern Territory. The Committee was denied full access to the Alice Springs base, which is official- ly operated by Australian intelligence and the CIA when it is, in reality, a US National Security Agency (NSA) base. Describing the standoff as "untenable", the Committee says it cannot make a posi- tive finding on the treaty to extend the operation of Pine Gap for a further 10 years. The last time this happened, the Australian [Whitlam] Labor government was simply dismissed—by "friends of the US". This time, Labor is in the Opposition and has issued a report saying the treaty should not be extended until the Committee is given a copy of the secret 1966 agreement which established the base. (Source: Intelligence, no. 106, 8 November 1999, p. 31) TRANSCEIVER IMPLANT CAN BE SATELLITE-TRACKED pplied Digital Solutions, Inc. of Palm Beach, Florida, USA, recently announced that it has acquired the patent Th fF -as f ee oe (> an — on fis a >i ox "Three billion light years? Yes, we could have claimed that as business travel if you'd come by car. 6 = NEXUS FEBRUARY — MARCH 2000