Microchipping Kids and Corpses
Written by Sam Ettaro
Thursday, 18 October 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 18th, 2007
From Samuel Anthony Ettaro, RTR Media
http://www.restoretherepublic.comNEW HAMPSHIRE RFID STUDY COMMISSION SEES
CHIPPING KIDS AND CORPSES AS ACCEPTABLE
Dr. Katherine Albrecht argued for implant restrictions, but
was overridden by industry.
CONCORD, NH: The NEW HAMPSHIRE RFID STUDY COMMISSION yesterday voted in support of language that would allow guardians and parents to implant RFID microchips into children. The Study Commission was created when the state Senate killed a bill which would have required labeling on all products containing RFID-tagged products in NH and is comprised of lawmakers, industry and retail representatives, as well as members of the public and state law enforcement officials.
Dr. Katherine Albrecht, who will be speaking on RFID at the Hope for America Conference in Tempe, AZ on December 8th [conference site-
http://www.rtrlive.com], was appointed to the Commission by the governor of NH to represent consumer interests. This group meets once per month and one of its tasks is to provide recommendations to the state legislature including recommendations on possible legislation.
In the Oct 17th meeting in Concord, NH several aspects of proposed legislation were debated and several important votes were taken.
In this marathon meeting spanning three and a half hour long meeting the commission voted to remove specific language in proposed legislation submitted by Rep. Neal Kurk, which was designed to raise the bar on the microchipping of humans. In a 9-5 vote, the committee voted to strike down language requiring that anyone receiving a human implant must be at least 18 years of age and eliminated language that would have required an individual's own personal consent to receive a microchip in their body.
The original text of Rep. Kurk's legislation read, "Consent of a guardian, guardian ad litem, attorney-in-fact, parent or other agent shall not be
considered adequate consent."
The new language proposed by industry representative Richard Varn removed the words "shall not" and replaced them with "shall".
In addition the Committee struck out an entire provision which would have prohibited the microchipping of corpses. There was a discussion about the
fact that many people have religious objections to receiving a microchip post-mortem and see it as a desecration of their body.
The committee considered allowing a provision which would have allowed an opt-out policy wherein all corpses would be potentially subject to chipping
unless the individual had opted out while alive through some applicable directive.
Once realizing that they had the majority on that point, they moved to completely strike the language prohibiting corpse chipping altogether. This
was discussed after people expressed dismay that their deceased relatives had been chipped as part of the cleanup of hurricane Katrina.
"These votes were not surprising considering the makeup of the commission," said Dr. Katherine Albrecht. "Those with Pro-RFID views are disproportionately represented on the Commission. We should clarify that this is really just an advisory body, and while we will be making recommendations we're not responsible for enacting public policy. Although it seems obvious that the deck is stacked on the Commission in favor of industry, there is still a chance to get the type of bill that we want once this goes out to our legislature."
**********************************************
Dr. Katherine Albrecht is now off to the Netherlands speaking at a
conference called Recalling RFID,
http://www.debalie.nl/recallingrfidPresentations and debates on RFID and digital connectivity scenarios with
speakers from the industry, researchers, artists, privacy advocates,
programmers and consultants. Speakers include Katherine Albrecht (CASPIAN -
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering, USA), Bart
Schermer (privacy lawyer and coordinator of RFID Platform Netherlands), Rafi
Haladjian (founder of Violet company, tech entrepreneur), Melanie Rieback
(Ubisec researcher, VU University Amsterdam), Stephan Engberg
(Priway/Copenhagen Business School), Christian van 't Hof (researcher,
Rathenau Instituut), Willem Velthoven (designer and director of Mediamatic)
and many others.
She also be touring the world's first RFID-tagged retail book store, SelexYZ
Scheltema, in the Netherlands, and will be meeting with representatives of
http://www.antichip.nl, a Dutch group in opposition to the chipping of
horses. They have provided a compelling set of photos illustrating the
adverse affects of microchips in horses:
http://www.invisio.nl/antichip/*********************************************************
Barbara Haywood, author of
http://www.DogPolitics.com, will be the Guest
Host today and tomorrow on Uncovering The Truth, stepping in for Dr.
Katherine Albrecht. This show is live on the We The People Radio Network at
http://www.wtprn.comTopics include How The Government Plans To Track Your Every Move - Through
Your Dog! and Why ALL listeners need to sit up and pay attention to local
animal or dog laws - including the mandatory microchipping of you animal,
the requirement for photo ID to walk a dog in a public park and how these
laws infringe on privacy, freedom and civil liberties.
About Barbara Haywood Dog Politics & My Dog VotesT
Barbara Haywood is the founder and CEO of My Dog VotesT, a specialty t-shirt
and campaign supply company. My Dog VotesT is the world's only company with
a corporate mission of Saving Dogs and DemocracyT and the goal of creating
dog-friendly and dog-safe communities.
My Dog VotesT is a socially responsible, for-profit company with a deep
commitment to advancing civic participation and volunteerism on the local
level. Her company underwrites the country's only national, nonpartisan
GOTV (Get Out The Vote) campaign for dog owners, the My Dog VotesT Campaign,
which is aimed at elevating voter participation in local and state
elections, and partners with dog clubs to conduct My Dog VotesT voter
registration drives at dog shows, competitions and community adoption
events.
Today, Barbara also authors Dog Politics - The Political Blog For Dog Owners
and speaks on "America's Secret War On Dogs: The 7 Threats Against Dog
Ownership - What Every Dog Owner Should Know" about anti-dog legislation,
privacy and constitutional issues for pet owners.
She shares her insights and vision for creating dog-friendly and dog-safe
communities with audiences across the country. Barbara believes in the
inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - with
dogs.
Barbara is media consultant and strategist specializing in solving Branding
and Diversity communications challenges, working with some of the world's
largest organizations. She resides with her family and The Princess Zsa Zsa
in New Jersey.
On the web at www.mydogvotes.com and www.dogpolitics.com
My Dog Votes In The USA Stamp from Zazzle.com
**********************************************
AND NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS!
Albertson's Supermarket in the Dallas-Forth Worth area has finally dumped
their frequent shopper card, the Alberston's Preferred Customer Card, as a
new company purchased the chain and realized that so many people hated the
card. Recall that back in 2002 Caspian members staged in Dallas-Fort Worth
and created a firestorm of local media controversy.
WEB LINK:
http://www.nocards.org/protest/IrvingAlbertsons/gallery.htm******************************************
ABOUT CASPIAN
CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is a
grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999
and irresponsible RFID use since 2002. With thousands of members in all 50
U.S. states and over 30 countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate
consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and encourage
privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail spectrum.
ABOUT THE HOPE FOR AMERICA CONFERENCE AND RON PAUL RALLY
http://www.rtrlive.comExploring and Celebrating the Ron Paul grass roots phenomenon and learning
to apply today's digital technologies and direct political action to affect
systematic social change. Join us for a full day of learning, sharing and
exploration of techniques and technologies that you can afford to implement
and that get results! Real solutions require real education and must go
well beyond the political process. Understand the issues. Get involved.
Commit yourself, get educated and help support RTRs efforts and our great
guest presenters including Dr. Katherine Albrecht, Alan Korwin, George
Shepherd, Samuel Anthony Ettaro and Joan Veon
(
http://www.rtrlive.com for details and registration information. )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Katherine Albrecht
Founder and Director, CASPIAN Consumer Privacy
Host of "Uncovering the Truth"
We the People Radio Network, M-F 10AM-12PM EST
Listen live:
http://www.wtprn.comArchives:
http://mp3.wtprn.com/Albrecht07.htmlCo-author of "SPYCHIPS: How Major Corporations and Government
Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID"
http://www.spychips.com/book/booksales.htmlWEBSITES:
Human Chipping:
http://www.AntiChips.comRFID:
http://www.SpyChips.comShopper Cards:
http://www.NoCards.orgBio online at:
http://www.spychips.com/media/katherine-albrecht.htmlHope for America Conference:
http://www.rtrlive.com
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