September 19, 2006

10 People Or Groups Who Have Been Microchipped

Previously, we had the post 10 types of people who should be RFID-tagged (and 5 not). Here are ten people (or groups) who have already been microchipped with radio frequency technology - most of them willingly. There's also VeriChip Corp., whose agenda seems clear: implant as many people as they can get away with, including recommending that US soldiers be microchipped. (I guess they think the traditional dog tags aren't enough.)

These are of course the sorts of things that many people, such as the authors of Spychips, have been cautioning against. Such activities have prompted both the US states of Wisconsin and Ohio to pass laws against forced implantation of RFID chips. No doubt other states will follow suit, because while it's certainly a personal choice to get RFID tagged, it's another thing to be forced to do so for work - especially when wearable RFID is more than sufficient.

  1. Amal Graafstra, tech guy. Amal has one chip in each hand, in the webbing between thumb and forefinger. Why? Because he got tired of using keys to open his house doors or turn on his computer.
  2. Jennifer Tomblin, girlfriend of partner of Amal Graafstra. Jennifer thinks it's romantic that they both have RFID chips that share the same resources. Ain't that sweet?
  3. Mikey Sklar, UNIX engineer.
  4. Meghan Trainor, Master's student, for her thesis.
  5. Professor Kevin Warwick, the cyborg himself.
  6. Dr. John Halamka, Harvard Medical School CIO.
  7. Rafael Macedo de la Concha, Mexico's Attorney General.
  8. Supposedly 160 employees of de la Concha, unrevealed numbers of prisoners in some European jails, select mentally ill people and elderly in certain European countries - all likely unwilling, coerced, or misinformed.
  9. Scott Silverman, CEO of VeriChip Corp's parent company. Actually, that's a lie. Silverman has publicly claimed he would get an RFID chip but has yet to do so. VeriChip is the company that wants to tag American soliders, (illegal) immigrants and guest workers, newborn babies, prisoners, sick people in hospitals, old people, dead bodies during disaster recovery, probably any visitor to the United States, and probably everyone else besides. And it's likely not even about xenophobia with him, just commerce.
  10. Tommy Thompson, former US Secretary of Health Services. Actually, that's another lie. He pledged to get microchipped but has yet to do so. And now that he is no longer in his role, the likelihood of his doing so is slim to none.

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