VeriChip Kept Quiet On Cancer Link... Yet Were Pretty Vocal On Fake FDA Approvals

from the well,-look-at-that dept at Techdirt.com

The Associated Press has a story that got plenty of attention this weekend, pointing out that a series of studies which found that VeriChip's RFID products induced malignant tumors in animals. This information was not made public as the company continued to hype the devices for implant into humans. The article notes that the devices were approved by the FDA... but leaves out a rather revealing bit of history. VeriChip and its parent company Applied Digital have done an amazing job generating publicity for the company, but often in very questionable ways. It might help to go through some of the history.

Back in 2002, prior to getting FDA approval, there was the too good to be true story of an entire family that just couldn't wait to get themselves chipped. The whole thing sounded sketchy from the beginning, and many suspected that the entire thing was merely created by VeriChip to get publicity. Soon afterwards, VeriChip announced that the FDA had said that implantable RFID chips were not regulated medical devices, and therefore could be used for chipping humans. Note that the announcement came from VeriChip. That's because the FDA did not say what VeriChip claimed it said. VeriChip had asked the FDA to declare the chips unregulated devices, and the FDA simply requested more information. VeriChip, in turn, took that request for more info and claimed that the devices were unregulated, leading to a rather unhappy FDA.

A few months later, the FDA finally gave conditional support for the device, saying that VeriChip could be used, as long as it was not advertised as a "medical device." VeriChip, of course, once again put out a press barrage claiming that it had FDA approval. And, not surprisingly, it kept advertising the chips as medical devices, leading the FDA to warn the company to knock it off. Then, the company went south of the border, and started focusing on convincing people in Mexico to get chipped for the safety of the children. See? Down in Mexico, you don't have to worry about the pesky American FDA. Two years later, we were a bit surprised that the FDA finally did approve the device for medical purposes -- but would you really want a company like that sticking stuff in your body?

Oh yeah, if that wasn't enough, the company had borrowed a bunch of money from IBM, and when IBM tried to collect, Applied Digital sued. Yes, they sued the company who gave them money when they were unable to pay back the loan. This latest article on the cancer link plays up the fact that former FDA head Tommy Thompson later joined the board of VeriChip, but leaves out his own reluctance to have a VeriChip RFID installed in his own body. Anyone else feel safe having this company stick RFID chips under your skin?

Original Post

Airport visual trick..

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
- AA Milne

Do you use more than one computer?

In today’s computer centric environment it is now quite common for people to have more than one computer that they work on and often find the need to keep the data current between the two computers.

Recently on the Real Deal podcast: Synchronizing two computers. If you want to know how to keep yourself sane if you regularly use more than one PC, tune into this show for a rundown of my tips on how to keep files, bookmarks, and email synchronized over the Web.

foldershare

simplify media

orb although both the me and the real deal podcast consider this to be buggy, I think that it is worth the mention here.

logmein

foxmarks

goodsync

C42 Mride

"Meteorites will rain down invoking memories of biblical stories of fire and brimstone" - The Carl Sagan Institute

Mount Palomar, California (IP) - The Carl Sagan Institute reports that the Aurigid meteor shower will occur for an hour and a half in the early morning hours of September 1st along the west coast of the U.S.A. and Hawaii. Large boulder sized meteorites will rain down invoking memories of biblical stories of fire and brimstone falling from the heavens in past times.

Giant metallic and asbestos nets are being erected over major metropolitan areas to serve as a protective umbrella to protect the citizens of those cities from certain doom. The only place not protected will be the sections of Los Angeles where gangs reside.

People are lined up outside of grocery stores and home improvement stores in an attempt to pick up water and food to survive on after the the impending conflagration. Civil defense forces are opening up old bomb shelters from the 1960's and tunnels are being outfitted with portable toilet facilities, cots, water, and meals for the flood of refugees that will take shelter there.

In order to be admitted into the shelters you must have an income of at least $100,000 a year or be a politician or family member of same.

Folks not eligible for admittance into the shelters are busy digging their own back yard shelters. One popular shelter design is a large culvert pipe buried in the back yard under a layer of dirt and gravel. The shelters are filled with gallon jugs of water and canned food. A five gallon bucket lined with a large plastic trash bag is used as an improvised toilet. A small amount of chlorine is poured into the bucket and then the bag is doubled tied with wire and stored in a garbage can with a tight lid for disposal later on when the coast is clear.

Animal behavior also indicates that something dire is imminent. Whales have been seen heading for deeper waters. Bears, buffalo, mountain lions, cattle, and other large animals are on the move and so are birds.

U.S. military forces are setting up large laser guns and will use the meteor shower as a test of their new weapon's capabilities. Static test results just made public indicate the laser cannons are capable of destroying large boulders set up as targets. The true effectiveness of the gun's capabilities will be made manifest when rapidly moving targets are introduced into the equation. An old Titan missile was destroyed in mid flight recently by one of the weapons as was an old F-4 Phantom jet fighter that was operated by remote control.

One group from a doomsday cult known as the Aurigid Brotherhood of the Conflagration Times consisting of 417 members committed mass suicide and they believe that the impact of the meteorites will release their souls which will then be scooped up by Comet Kiess and they will be whisked away and be relocated on a large ice covered planetesimal member of the Oort cloud. The only member to survive the mass suicide was the cult's leader, Tom Delay.

The path of the meteorite's impact field is only 25 miles wide but no one is sure where exactly that will occur nor are they sure of the exact hour-and-a-half period within which the flaming boulders of death and doom will fall.

Hordes of looters in the larger cities are sitting in strategic locations under overpasses and parking garages waiting to make their move. Sales of ammunition and weapons are sharply higher and in many areas these items are completely sold out. Chlorine, bottled water, generators, and canned food are also in short supply. One weary store employee yawned and said he hates it when these disasters come and go and then the hordes of what were once panicked buyers return to the stores wanting a refund for items they no longer feel they have any use for.