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The city of Santa Monica, CA issued a press release about an event they are holding this weekend:

The American Red Cross of Santa Monica and the City of Santa Monica present: Santa Monica Pet Preparedness Fair & Chip-a-thon on Saturday, August 1st from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Clover Park in Santa Monica.

Admission is free and children and pets are welcome! Fun, food, contests, giveaways, cat and dog adoptions and more!

• FREE microchips and registration while supplies last!*
• Low cost vaccinations
• Learn about the I've Got 7 campaign and how you and your pet can be prepared for an emergency through:
• Dog training demonstrations
• Pet first aid classes and disaster preparedness tips

Animal experts and celebrities including: Karen "Doc" Halligan, DVM
Law and Order's Elisabeth Rohm
Children's character Hip-Hop Harry
Visit more than 20 exhibitor booths for free samples and info about products and services.
* Microchip Information
In conjunction with AVID, Found Animals will be providing FREE microchips and microchip registration while supplies last.

All dogs must leashed and other pets such as cats or rabbits must be in a proper pet carrier.
Want to Volunteer?
If you are interested in volunteering at the event, please contact the City of Santa Monica at Paul.Weinberg@SMGOV.NET.
Directions- Clover Park is located at 2600 Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica, CA 90405. For more information visit http://www.smgov.net/smoaid/

Although their press release mentions the acronym "AVID", nothing is revealed about what AVID is, not even their name, although a quick search revealed it stands for "American Veterinary Identification Devices". Their website avidid.com claims they are the "Worldwide leader in RFID microchip permanent identification technology".

The Red Cross, whose reputation has been sullied ater reports of misappropriation of funds, also had to 'pay a $4.2 million fine for violating blood-safety laws', as reported by Slate.com.

Nearly two years ago in September 2007, mainstream media across the world reported that RFID 'Chip Implants Linked to Animal Tumors'. The coverage also outlined the potential negative consequences to manufacturers; [See 'Possible RFID-Cancer Link Rattles Market']. The press credited Dr. Katherine Albrecht with unearthing this link between cancer and RFID chips. Albrecht has been a tireless advocate of freedom and educating the public on the privacy and health risks of RFID.
[See

• MICROCHIP IMPLANTS CAUSE FAST-GROWING, MALIGNANT TUMORS IN LAB ANIMALS- Damning research findings could spell the end of VeriChip.
• French Bulldog is Catalyst for Investigation of Microchip-Cancer Connection.

This "free" promotion of an increasingly unpopular big brother technology by Santa Monica and the Red Cross is nothing more than a propaganda push to promote this unhealthy and unnecessary RFID chip. In August 2007, California passed a law blocking mandatory RFID implants in workers [See L.A. Times article here. Let's hope the public resists the idea of RFID and opposes both voluntary and mandatory pet chipping.