W.E.E.P. News
Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News
14 October 2010
Dear CASPIAN Members and Supporters,
I have big news! A lawsuit has been filed against pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. and implant maker Digital Angel over a cancerous tumor that formed around a HomeAgain pet ID microchip. The victim was a cat named Bulkin, who miraculously survived the ordeal after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. We are breaking the news today on our brand new www.ChipMeNot.com website, featuring Bulkin's story, along with a copy of the lawsuit. Our press release, which has already gone out to thousands of media outlets and personal press contacts, is posted below, and at
http://www.chipmenot.org/mercksued.htm
The Boston Globe has already picked up our story:
As has Bruce Sterling of Wired:
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2010/10/arphid-watch-rfid-implant-lawsuit-for-a-cat/
Steven Wise, the attorney who filed the suit, will be a guest on my radio show tomorrow (Thursday 10/14) at 5:00 PM Eastern to discuss the case.
(See: www.KatherineAlbrecht.com for details on how to stream the show live online, or catch the archives afterwards.)
Our new website, ChipMeNot.com, is an adverse reaction registry where pet owners can report harm caused by implanted microchips. It features Bulkin's story and the stories of other other cats, dogs, mice, rats, and small animals that have been injured -- and even killed -- by implanted chips. Our inspiration for the website came from Seamus and Scotty, the two brave dogs that died from microchip-induced tumors earlier this year, Charlie Brown, the adorable chihuahua who bled to death in his owners' arms last year, and Leon the bulldog whose owner first alerted us to the cancer problem. We pay tribute to their memory through this new website, and pray that by telling their stories we can help protect other pets from their fate.
As you can imagine, it has taken months of hard work to put the website together. I want to thank our unflappable graduate intern Lidiya Prorochuk, tenacious pet owners Howard Gillis and Linda Hawkins, our steadfast volunteer Brian Wiegand, our fountain of knowledge Jeanne, and our cheerful webmaster Robin Abbate for a job extraordinarily well done.
I also want to thank each of you -- the CASPIAN members, supporters, and radio show listeners who regularly send prayers, encouragement, and financial support to keep us going. You guys are what makes it possible for us to work on important issues like this.
In freedom,
Katherine Albrecht, Ed.D. ________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2010
MERCK SUED: HomeAgain® PET CHIP IMPLICATED IN CANCER
New website, ChipMeNot.com, features details on cancer case and other adverse reactions
Online at:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2100/01/prweb4643884.htm
and
http://www.chipmenot.org/mercksued.htm.
Nashua, NH -- Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has been served with a lawsuit over claims its HomeAgain® pet microchip induced cancer in a cat. Animal rights attorney Steven Wise seeks "reasonable compensatory damages" for a malignant tumor "likely" induced by a HomeAgain® ID chip implanted in his client's cat, Bulkin.
The complaint, "Andrea Rutherford v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. and Digital Angel, Inc." (case # 1052CV1147) was filed last week in Cambridge (MA) District Court. The complaint named implant maker Digital Angel Corporation as a co-defendant. "Based on the alarming number of microchip-linked cancers we're discovering, I predict this lawsuit will be just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Katherine Albrecht, a consumer advocate and expert on adverse reactions associated with implantable microchips.
Bulkin's case is featured at www.ChipMeNot.com, a new website launched by Albrecht's consumer group CASPIAN to bring attention to the plight of animals who have developed cancer and other adverse reactions from ID microchips.
Albrecht documents several of these cases in "Microchip-Induced Tumors in Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990–2006," a peer-reviewed academic paper she presented at a June conference of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers devoted to concerns about implantable microchips.
Albrecht's paper and a copy of the complaint are also posted at www.ChipMeNot.com. The site, co-developed with graduate intern Lidiya Prorochuk, spotlights a growing number of adverse reactions to microchips, including the chip-related cancer deaths of two dogs within the past year. The site also features a form where pet owners can report adverse microchip reactions, since there is currently no official registry in the US to collect such data.
"Merck and organizations that advocate pet chipping should take this lawsuit seriously and start warning pet owners of the risk of microchip-induced cancer," Albrecht advised. "As Andrea Rutherford and other pet owners can tell you, it's not a statistic when it's your pet."
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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.
You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who may find it of interest.
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Houston schools monitor students with 'cattle-tracking' radio frequency devices
http://www.khou.com/news/local/Houston-schools-track-students-with-radio-frequency-104701094.html
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October 7, 2010
Dear Ms. St Clair-Moniz,
As the Chair of the Standing Committee on Health, I would like to thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the impact of Wi-Fi in public schools.
I want to assure you that the health of Canadians is of utmost concern to Standing Committee on Health and I appreciate the information you have forwarded to Committee members on this topic.
On Tuesday, October 5, 2010, the Standing Committee on Health met to set the agenda for the fall session. I am pleased to inform you that the Committee has allocated Tuesday, October 19, 2010, to hear from witnesses in relation to the study on the impact of microwaves on human health.
Should you be interested in attending or testifying before the Committee, I would encourage you to contact the Clerk of the Committee, Christine Holke David at 613-995-4108. Further information can be found on the Committee website:
Thank you again and I look forward to working with you to build a healthier Canada.
Sincerely yours,
Joy Smith, MP
Kildonan-St. Paul
Chair of the Standing Committee on Health
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Dr. Devra Davies will speak in Niagara Region
Monday, November 22nd, between 11:30 and 2:30.
Location and further details to be announced later.
WEEP readers are invited to attend.
Karin
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Are Cell Phones and Wi-Fi Hazardous to Your Health?
Hyla Cass M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist and nationally recognized expert on integrative medicine
Posted: October 13, 2010 08:56 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com:80/hyla-cass-md/cell-phone-and-wifi-dange_b_758167.html
Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org
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W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution
