Microchip News October 23rd
This week in Las Vegas, supposedly "dozens of people" were implanted with VeriChip microchips at an osteopathic medical convention.
That's already weird, since osteopaths seem like the least likely people to want to turn human beings into numbered cyborgs. But several other things made this news story even weirder. First, there was the obvious enthusiasm shown by Las Vegas News 3 reporters Steve Crupi and Nina Radetich around the chipping.
The segment opens with Nina gushing:
"This afternoon, News 3's Steve Crupi watched several people get the computer chips inserted into their arms, which I'm sure was a blast!"
A blast? I'm guessing most people (even those who like VeriChip) instinctively flinch when they see huge needles piercing human flesh. Watching people get chipped sounds like about as much fun as watching spleen surgery.
But it gets worse. The people interviewed make wildly inaccurate statements that go uncorrected in the news story. Here's an example:
News 3 Reporter Steve Crupi: "Does it freak you out at all that you have this microchip in your body now?"
Newly chipped osteopathic physician Matthew Duke: "No, not at all... According to the manufacturer it has no problems with MRI scans or any problems along those lines. And if I want to take it out, it can be easily removed."
But the MRI incompatibility issue was clearly identified by the FDA as a problem. And the chips are anything but easy to remove.
By the way, chipped doctor Matthew Duke (who has no worries about the microchip implant) was the subject of an investigation by his state medical licensing board earlier this year. They issued him a "Letter of Concern" in July over an allegation of improper patient care. Sounds like he may be as careless about his patients as he is about his own wellbeing -- and his facts.
In another case of misleading and inaccurate information, VeriChip spokesman Marc Poulshock says that the implant contains "no antenna" -- which is completely false.
His exact quote is: "That's complete sci-fi. It's a passive chip, there's no power source on it whatsoever There's no antenna on it. There's no GPS feature to it at all."
But that's nonsense. In his 2005 testimony to a government comittee, VeriChip VP Richard Seelig explained that one of the principal components of a VeriChip is its antenna:
"The functional components [of an implantable VeriChip transponder] are an RFID (Radiofrequency identification) integrated circuit, a capacitor, and an antenna."
Will VeriChip spokespeople ever learn how to get through an interview without this kind of factual error? (I've heard them say far worse.) But News 3 just laps it up and asks for more -- Steve Crupi even enthuses over the advantages of someday chipping the military.
This is not the first time Las Vegas station KVBC (a local NBC afilliate) has promoted human chipping. Earlier this year, the station commissioned a poll showing many Las Vegas residents in favor of chipping immigrants. And in 2005 they promoted a plan to implant microchips into one thousand Las Vegas pets.
If you're concerned about the biased coverage of VeriChip by this station, take a moment to drop the reporters and producers a line:
Nina Radetich: nradetich@kvbc.com Steve Crupi: scrupi@kvbc.comJudy Greene, News 3 Producer: jgreene@kvbc.com
News 3 viewers deserve to get the whole story on human chipping, including the privacy downsides and medical risks.
http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/139/6210/sin.asp?wid=139&nid=6210
That's already weird, since osteopaths seem like the least likely people to want to turn human beings into numbered cyborgs. But several other things made this news story even weirder. First, there was the obvious enthusiasm shown by Las Vegas News 3 reporters Steve Crupi and Nina Radetich around the chipping.
The segment opens with Nina gushing:
"This afternoon, News 3's Steve Crupi watched several people get the computer chips inserted into their arms, which I'm sure was a blast!"
A blast? I'm guessing most people (even those who like VeriChip) instinctively flinch when they see huge needles piercing human flesh. Watching people get chipped sounds like about as much fun as watching spleen surgery.
But it gets worse. The people interviewed make wildly inaccurate statements that go uncorrected in the news story. Here's an example:
News 3 Reporter Steve Crupi: "Does it freak you out at all that you have this microchip in your body now?"
Newly chipped osteopathic physician Matthew Duke: "No, not at all... According to the manufacturer it has no problems with MRI scans or any problems along those lines. And if I want to take it out, it can be easily removed."
But the MRI incompatibility issue was clearly identified by the FDA as a problem. And the chips are anything but easy to remove.
By the way, chipped doctor Matthew Duke (who has no worries about the microchip implant) was the subject of an investigation by his state medical licensing board earlier this year. They issued him a "Letter of Concern" in July over an allegation of improper patient care. Sounds like he may be as careless about his patients as he is about his own wellbeing -- and his facts.
In another case of misleading and inaccurate information, VeriChip spokesman Marc Poulshock says that the implant contains "no antenna" -- which is completely false.
His exact quote is: "That's complete sci-fi. It's a passive chip, there's no power source on it whatsoever There's no antenna on it. There's no GPS feature to it at all."
But that's nonsense. In his 2005 testimony to a government comittee, VeriChip VP Richard Seelig explained that one of the principal components of a VeriChip is its antenna:
"The functional components [of an implantable VeriChip transponder] are an RFID (Radiofrequency identification) integrated circuit, a capacitor, and an antenna."
Will VeriChip spokespeople ever learn how to get through an interview without this kind of factual error? (I've heard them say far worse.) But News 3 just laps it up and asks for more -- Steve Crupi even enthuses over the advantages of someday chipping the military.
This is not the first time Las Vegas station KVBC (a local NBC afilliate) has promoted human chipping. Earlier this year, the station commissioned a poll showing many Las Vegas residents in favor of chipping immigrants. And in 2005 they promoted a plan to implant microchips into one thousand Las Vegas pets.
If you're concerned about the biased coverage of VeriChip by this station, take a moment to drop the reporters and producers a line:
Nina Radetich: nradetich@kvbc.com Steve Crupi: scrupi@kvbc.comJudy Greene, News 3 Producer: jgreene@kvbc.com
News 3 viewers deserve to get the whole story on human chipping, including the privacy downsides and medical risks.
http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/139/6210/sin.asp?wid=139&nid=6210
posted by Dani @ 8:03 AM
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