Since when does the government have the right to tell us when we can retire?What the hell has it got to do with them?Not that I have the option, having not even started a pension till I was 26, and since then only paid in as little as I could get away with (ie afford). But it's the principle of the thing, isn't it? What right has the government got to tell us when we can retire?Fuck that. I'm emigrating.

The latest CASPIAN newletter is too annoying to keep to myself. Disregard, disagree, or disseminate as you think fit:I have disturbing news from the RFID front lines. CASPIAN has uncovered evidence of industry plans to deploy RFID tracking devices in consumer clothing items. A $600 million company called Checkpoint has developed prototype labels containing RFID spychips for Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein, and Champion sportswear. These tags contain tiny computer chips with unique ID numbers that can be read remotely by anyone with the right equipment.Potentially, people wearing the tagged clothing items could be identified and tracked as they pass through Checkpoint-equipped doorways and store portals, as they stand near Checkpoint's retail "smart shelves" containing hidden RFID reader devices, or when they enter Checkpoint's planned RFID "smart zones" in stores.Checkpoint has an infrastructure of anti-theft reader devices already in place at stores and libraries around the world. (Look at the bottom of the next security portal you pass through and you may see the Checkpoint name.) These portals could be retrofitted to silently read and record the unique ID numbers contained in Checkpoint's new clothing tags, or in any other item Checkpoint may be tagging. Since there is no legal requirement for companies to tell consumers when products they buy contain RFID tags, this may already be happening. Earlier this year, Checkpoint announced the purchase of 100 million RFID tags from vendor Matrics. Nearly a year ago, a senior Checkpoint executive boasted that "the technology is ready to pilot," and revealed that "we're working with forward-thinking consumer product goods manufacturers and and small business retail clients on pilots."