Dept. of Homeland Security: "You'll get a National ID and you'll Like it", page 5

Originally posted by teleonaut

Originally posted by Stormrider
Now, however, they are ready to start beta testing the chip and probably can have FDA approval for a full rollout by next year.

I take issue with that statement. The article on which you based that comment is nearly six years old -- the date on it says June 14, 2001. So it is misleading to suggest that "now" beta testing is about to begin. It appears as if you are saying this will happen this summer, which is, according to your source, not true. That article was followed up two days later by this article, which essentially stated that the implants were not being pursued.

Do you have a more recent source to suggest they are moving forward with human implantation of these devices?

/tn.

Yeah, sorry about that. The google reference page showed it updated May 11, 2007 and the date of May 14, 2007 was posted at the top of the article; somehow I overlooked the dateline. No worries, though, because they haven't abandoned their program of human implementation. Here's an article about the Digital Angel strategy that was written in 2002 and shows that chipping was already underway:

The people business model is based, according to Applied Digital, on Digital Angel's HomeAgain animal identification system. Vets and animal shelters were given free scanners, and there you go, some kind of critical mass brewing. It's also significant that three of the company's execs have been chipped, not because they have any ailments (not disclosed ones, anyway), but because they wanted "to demonstrate to the world our complete confidence in the success of this exciting, life-enhancing technology."

So although vertical markets are being targeted initially, really they want people to accept it as natural on the basis that's it's entirely positive, and everybody should have it done. The security potential is substantial, and the privacy issues come clanking along behind. It'd sure as hell be a pretty good way of expediting airline ticketing in these security-conscious days, and once we were on that particular slippery slope. You could chip the military, Saddam could chip his whole cabinet, inhabitants of secure communities could voluntarily chip themselves... First people injected with ID chips

There are also some very interesting bits of information included in their 2007 first quarter earnings report

Here's a story from 2004 detailing the Deal forged to equip VeriChip with GPS Verichip, Verisign & Digital Angel are all subsidiary companies of the same corporation, Applied Digital.

Here's another story from 2004 explaining that Digital Angel's chip cleared for use in humans

This one is more recent and reports on a Interfaith Prayer Vigil to Protest MicroChipping of Alzheimer's Patients taking place in Florida today.

Let's face it, the Digital Angel and Verichip implants have been used to track livestock, fish and even a few company personnel for several years now. They have failed to market the implant to the average person on the street for obvious reasons; the government is in love with the technology and ihas already given the go-ahead to incorporate GPS and satellite tracking technolgy with the digital angel and verichip products; and they are gearing up to use the implant in military personnel. How long before being "chipped" or "implanted" becomes mandatory for you and me? If they can get away with injecting tracking chips into 200 Alzheimers patients, what makes you think they can't get away with doing the same to you, without your knowledge, say while getting your routine flu vaccination or your childs booster shots? Putting RFID chips in drivers licenses and credit cards is just the beginning.