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EMFacts Blog

    • 08 MAY 15

    Press release from the Global Union Against Radiation Deployment from Space

    Excerpt:

    Sent in by Sarah Benson for distribution:

    Global Union Against Radiation Deployment from Space

    For Immediate Release

    Date: March 25, 2015
    Who: Global Union Against Radiation Deployment from Space (GUARDS)
    Contact: Ed Friedman, Maine USA, 207-666-3372 edfomb@comcast.net

    Planned Global WiFi from Space Will Destroy Ozone Layer,
    Worsen Climate Change, and Threaten Life on Earth

    Five companies are gearing up to provide high-speed global WiFi coverage from space within the next three to four years. This would be an ecological and public health nightmare, according to a recently-formed international coalition: the Global Union Against Radiation Deployment from Space (GUARDS).

    According to GUARDS, the extensive satellite networks required will endanger the ozone layer and significantly contribute to climate change. Rocket exhaust contains ozone-destroying chlorine, water vapor (a greenhouse gas), and aluminum oxide particles, which seed stratospheric clouds. Complete ozone destruction is observed in the exhaust plumes of rockets.

    The New York Times (May 14, 1991, p. 4) quoted Aleksandr Dunayev of the Russian Space Agency saying “About 300 launches of the space shuttle each year would be a catastrophe and the ozone layer would be completely destroyed.”

    SNIP

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    • 06 MAY 15

    Carrie Bickmore on Brain Cancer: A must see

    Why is brain cancer research on causes underfunded in Australia?

    The other night on Australia’s TV Logie Awards the Gold Logie winner was Carrie Bickmore, a presenter on the TV news program The Project. For her speech she departed from the usual and instead, spoke about the incidence of brain cancer and said it was ludicrous that so little research was going into the disease.

    This is a must- see video!
    SNIP

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    • 22 APR 15

    Recommended Australian website

    I just had a look at the redesigned EMR Aware website from Byron area, in New South Wales, Australia. An excellent resource for Australians concerned about the unintended consequences of wireless technologies.
    Recommended!

    Don
    ************************************************
    Excerpt
    Welcome
    This website is published by EMR Aware, a not-for-profit community association based in Byron Shire on the Northcoast of NSW Australia. We offer technical support to residents and government agencies in our vicinity, and worldwide, regarding the health, social and environmental impacts of technologies that subject users to electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

    We are not anti-technology or anti-corporation. Our premise is simply this. In instances where products or services carry a documented risk consumers have a right to know the benefits vs. potential negative impacts. This enables both a change in habits, and motivation to demand safer products or legislation where appropriate.

    – See more at: http://www.emraware.com/

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    • 20 APR 15

    Does Christopher Portier have a massive conflict of interest when it comes to smart meters?

    If ever there is a need for a precautionary principle for RF technology it would have to be for the massive global roll-out for smart meter technology.

    In the last posting “Dr. Christopher Porter, Fmr. Director of the US CDC, calls for invoking the Precautionary Principle for RF-EMF” it seems that there might be a bit of spin in Porter’s support for a PC for wireless technology. It now appears that Porter’s call does not include health hazards from smart meter RF emissions because of his involvement in an astroturf organisation actively promoting the roll-out of smart meters.

    Consider:
    SNIP

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    • 19 APR 15

    Dr. Christopher Portier, Fmr. Director of the US CDC, calls for invoking the Precautionary Principle for RF-EMF

    From Dariusz Leszczynski’s blog:

    Excerpt:

    Recently, the draft program of the forthcoming BioEM2015 was published. One of the most important opinions, presented in the program, is that on the Precautionary Principle by Dr. Christopher Portier.

    I fully agree with Chris’ opinion as presented in abstract of his forthcoming talk [bold red text by DL]:

    *****

    The Precautionary Principle Should be Invoked for RF-EMF

    Christopher Portier; Research Consultant, Thun, Switzerland

    Biographical sketch

    Dr. Portier is an expert in the design, analysis, and interpretation of environmental health data and has contributed to the development of national and international risk assessment guidelines. He has directed or contributed significantly to numerous scientific reviews including those for dioxins, aflatoxins, electromagnetic fields, diesel particle emissions and climate change. Dr. Portier has served on US NAS committees, has served on USEPA’s Science Advisory Board and USEPA’s Science Advisory Panel, and numerous other scientific committees. He has received numerous awards including the Spiegelman Award from the APHA and the Outstanding Practitioner of the Year Award from the International Society for Risk Analysis. Until 2013, Dr. Portier was the Director of the US National Center for Environmental Health and the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Prior to CDC, Dr. Portier was the NIEHS Associate Director and Associate Director of the National Toxicology Program and has over 250 scientific publications.
    SNIP

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    • 06 APR 15

    Public submissions from Tasmania’s draft energy strategy are now available online

    Notice from Stop Smart Meters Australia:

    Public submissions from Tasmania’s draft energy strategy are now available online
    Posted on April 6, 2015 by Stop Smart Meters Australia

    Submissions from the public on Tasmania’s draft energy strategy paper titled ‘Restoring Tasmania’s Energy Advantage’ are available for viewing online.
    The majority of respondents raised concern regarding Tasmania’s vision, which includes ‘accommodating new technologies (such as smart meters), to ensure that the interests of Tasmanian customers are advanced.’ Stop Smart Meters Australia’s submission is listed as ‘SSMA’.
    SNIP

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    • 01 APR 15

    ICNIRP continues with its Procrustean Approach…keep it on thermal effects only and ignore the rest

    The charade continues….
    ICNIRP/WHO Workshop “A closer look at the thresholds of thermal damage”, 26-28 May 2015

    Scope: In view of updating the guidance on limiting exposure to high frequency (HF) fields, ICNIRP will review the current scientific knowledge on the thresholds of thermal damage. The current workshop will revisit the ICNIRP 1998 concept, namely that the health relevant increase of body core temperature is approximately 1° C and a whole-body exposure with an average SAR of 4 W/kg result in a core temperature increase of less than 1°C within 30 min. Details of this concept as well as thresholds for partial/local body exposures are subjects to review. SNIP

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    • 30 MAR 15

    UK’s Institute of Directors (IoD) issue report critical of the UK government’s “smart” meter program.

    A premier United Kingdom business organization, the 34,500 members strong Institute of Directors (IoD), has just issued a press release announcing their 21 page report critical of the UK government’s “smart” meter program. The report calls for Smart Meters scheme to be ‘halted, altered or scrapped’ to avoid ‘unjustified, over-engineered and expensive mistake’
    “The Government’s rollout of Smart Meters, digital energy meters designed to provide real-time usage statistics, should be “halted, altered or scrapped” to avoid a potentially catastrophic government IT disaster, the Institute of Directors warns today.” …The report places the rollout of Smart Meters within the context of previous large-scale IT fiascos, including the infamous NHS National Programme for IT, the eBorders Programme and the BBC’s disastrous Digital Media Initiative. Furthermore, a recent survey shows that 80 per cent of IoD members rate the ability of government to manage large IT projects as “poor or very poor”.
    SNIP

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    • 25 MAR 15

    Off topic: More on America’s worst plane ever: The F-35

    Apologies to readers of this blog. I know this has nothing to do with the EMF issue but it is relevant to a book I am writing on the revolving door between US government agencies (including FCC, EPA, the Pentagon, etc.) and corporate America. The F-35 may be the worst plane ever to attempt getting off the ground, with massive problems and cost blow-outs but it is a great financial success for the corporations building the thing. For them, the money just keeps rolling in as they keep on finding problems then and charging the US Government and taxpayer to fix it – and on and on it goes.

    And then there are the senior military officers and some congressmen with vested interests in continuing to keep the F-35 project alive for their own benefit, such as getting a plush job with a corporate military contractor after retirement. No wonder why the US deficit is in the order of $17 trillion dollars with the Pentagon now wanting a budget of $1 trillion to pay the corporations to upgrade all their weapons systems.

    The author of the below article concludes with a question: “Can someone tell me why we’re building this thing?” This is the answer….

    SNIP

    SNIP

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    • 21 MAR 15

    Precaution Nixed at the NY Times (Microwave News)

    From Louis Slesin, Editor, Microwave News:

    The New York Times went into damage control mode yesterday after Nick Bilton, a tech columnist and a rising star at the newspaper, suggested that precaution is the best approach to the use of cell phones and wearable electronics.
    No sooner had Bilton’s column hit print that Margaret Sullivan, the Times’ Public Editor, chastised him for his naive analysis. Sullivan targeted the lack of “sophisticated evaluation of serious research.”
    SNIP

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    • 15 MAR 15

    Off topic: America’s F-35 Joint Strike fighter. The worst plane ever but Australia still wants them.

    PREVIOUSLY: In April 2014 the Australian Abbott government gave its approval for the purchase of 58 additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs) at a cost of $12.4 billion – making it the nation’s most expensive Defence asset. The extra aircraft is supposed to bring Australia’s total Joint Strike Fighter force to 72 aircraft, with the first of them to enter service in 2020.

    SNIP
    From the Was is Boring blog, March 15, 2015:

    F-35 Still Years Away From Being Ready for Combat

    by MANDY SMITHBERGER

    Excerpt
    The F-35 continues to fail the most basic requirements for combat aircraft and common sense. Despite reforms, the F-35 continues to be unaffordable, its engines continue to be susceptible to fire, and the Pentagon continues to misrepresent its performance.

    Below are just a few of the issues identified in a recent report from the Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation: SNIP

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    • 14 MAR 15

    Remarkable New RF-Animal Study

    From Louis Slesin, Microwave News:

    The RF–cancer story took a remarkable turn a few days ago. A new animal study challenged many of the assumptions which lie at the heart of claims that RF radiation –whether from cell phones, cell towers or Wi-Fi– are safe.

    The new study, from Germany, a replication of an earlier experiment, also from Germany, found that weak cell phone signals can promote the growth of tumors in mice. It used radiation levels that do not cause heating and are well below current safety standards. Complicating matters even further, lower doses were often found to be more effective tumor promoters than higher levels; in effect, turning the conventional concept of a linear dose-response on its head.

    And for those with the stamina to have stayed tuned to the slow-moving RF–health soap opera, the new paper offers an unexpected surprise.

    Read the full story at:
    http://www.microwavenews.com/news-center/rf-animal-cancer-promotion

    Best,
    Louis

    ______________________
    Louis Slesin
    Editor, Microwave News

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    • 12 MAR 15

    What will happen when the internet of things becomes artificially intelligent?

    From The Guardian:

    Excerpt

    When Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and Elon Musk all agree on something, it’s worth paying attention.

    All three have warned of the potential dangers that artificial intelligence or AI can bring. The world’s foremost physicist, Hawking said that the full development of artificial intelligence (AI) could “spell the end of the human race”. Musk, the tech entrepreneur who brought us PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX described artificial intelligence as our “biggest existential threat” and said that playing around with AI was like “summoning the demon”. Gates, who knows a thing or two about tech, puts himself in the “concerned” camp when it comes to machines becoming too intelligent for us humans to control.

    What are these wise souls afraid of? AI is broadly described as the ability of computer systems to ape or mimic human intelligent behavior. This could be anything from recognizing speech, to visual perception, making decisions and translating languages. Examples run from Deep Blue who beat chess champion Garry Kasparov to supercomputer Watson who outguessed the world’s best Jeopardy player. Fictionally, we have Her, Spike Jonze’s movie that depicts the protagonist, played by Joaquin Phoenix, falling in love with his operating system, seductively voiced by Scarlet Johansson. And coming soon, Chappie stars a stolen police robot who is reprogrammed to make conscious choices and to feel emotions.

    An important component of AI, and a key element in the fears it engenders, is the ability of machines to take action on their own without human intervention. This could take the form of a computer reprogramming itself in the face of an obstacle or restriction. In other words, to think for itself and to take action accordingly.
    SNIP

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    • 12 MAR 15

    Hacked dog, a car that snoops on you and a fridge full of adverts: the perils of the internet of things

    From The Guardian

    Excerpt

    If we think of today’s internet metaphorically as about the size of a golf ball, tomorrow’s will be the size of the sun. Within the coming years, not only will every computer, phone and tablet be online, but so too will every car, house, dog, bridge, tunnel, cup, clock, watch, pacemaker, cow, streetlight, bridge, tunnel, pipeline, toy and soda can. Though in 2013 there were only 13bn online devices, Cisco Systems has estimated that by 2020 there will be 50bn things connected to the internet, with room for exponential growth thereafter. As all of these devices come online and begin sharing data, they will bring with them massive improvements in logistics, employee efficiency, energy consumption, customer service and personal productivity.

    This is the promise of the internet of things (IoT), a rapidly emerging new paradigm of computing that, when it takes off, may very well change the world we live in forever.

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    • 07 MAR 15

    New paper: Tumor promotion by exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields below exposure limits for humans

    From Science Direct

    Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

    Available online 6 March 2015

    Researchers: Prof. Dr. Alexander Lerchla, Melanie Klosea, Karen Grotea,Adalbert F.X. Wilhelmb, Oliver Spathmannc, Thomas Fiedlerc, Joachim Streckertc, Volkert Hansenc, Markus Clemensc

    Abstract

    The vast majority of in vitro and in vivo studies did not find cancerogenic effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), i.e. emitted by mobile phones and base stations. Previously published results from a pilot study with carcinogen-treated mice, however, suggested tumor-promoting effects of RF-EMF (Tillmann et al., 2010). We have performed a replication study using higher numbers of animals per group and including two additional exposure levels (0 (sham), 0.04, 0.4 and 2 W/kg SAR). We could confirm and extend the originally reported findings. Numbers of tumors of the lungs and livers in exposed animals were significantly higher than in sham-exposed controls. In addition, lymphomas were also found to be significantly elevated by exposure. A clear dose-response effect is absent. We hypothesize that these tumor-promoting effects may be caused by metabolic changes due to exposure. SNIP

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    • 07 MAR 15

    Study Suggests Wi-Fi Exposure More Dangerous To Kids Than Previously Thought

    From Forbes online

    Excerpt

    Most parents would be concerned if their children had significant exposure to lead, chloroform, gasoline fumes, or the pesticide DDT. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRIC), part of the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO), classifies these and more than 250 other agents as Class 2B Carcinogens – possibly carcinogenic to humans. Another entry on that same list is radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF/EMF). The main sources of RF/EMF are radios, televisions, microwave ovens, cell phones, and Wi-Fi devices.

    Uh-oh. Not another diatribe about the dangers of our modern communication systems? Obviously, these devices and the resulting fields are extremely (and increasingly) common in modern society. Even if we want to, we can’t eliminate our exposure, or our children’s, to RF/EMF. But, we may need to limit that exposure, when possible.

    That was among the conclusions of a survey article published in the Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure entitled “Why children absorb more microwave radiation than adults: The consequences.” From an analysis of others studies, the authors argue that children and adolescents are at considerable risk from devices that radiate microwaves (and that adults are at a lower, but still significant, risk). The following points were offered for consideration:
    SNIP

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    • 05 MAR 15

    Fukushima Meltdown 4 Years Later

    Excerpt

    From Fairewinds Energy Education

    Excerpt:

    Four years have passed since the tragic triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants, and the hits keep on coming as massive amounts of radioactively contaminated water continue to flow into the Pacific Ocean and no solution exists for safely containing the ongoing accumulation of radioactive debris contaminating the prefecture. Created in two parts, Fairewinds Energy Education presents you with a 5-minute retrospective followed by a 25-minute in-depth reflection on the Fukushima Meltdown 4 Years Later. (Click on the link below)
    SNIP

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    • 03 MAR 15

    Dariusz Leszczynski: The Power of the Industrial Lobby: The case of tobacco – how about telecom?…

    Excerpt:

    On February 24, 2015, BMJ published document ““Massive” tobacco industry third party lobbying for revised European Directive” about industry lobbying efforts to affect EU legislation. The full document is available here with additional links in it. The BMJ document deals with tobacco, classified by IARC to be human carcinogen (Group 1). According to the IARC monograph there are 1 billion of smokers.Knowing that the tobacco smoke is carcinogenic, the enormous efforts of the tobacco industry, successfully lobbying against EU regulation of tobacco, are astonishing and shocking. Money talks, even if it is against human health. What is more, the EU law was not about forbidding of smoking but but merely about “…an increase in the size of graphic health warnings, a ban on certain flavourings, restrictions on the size and shape of cigarette packs, and regulation of e-cigarettes…” This reminds the cell phone package labeling-wars with the telecom industry – e.g. San Francisco… Industry makes profit but the costs of health care for the people made sick by the industry product is left for us – the taxpayers.
    SNIP

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    • 16 FEB 15

    WHO follows the procrustean approach!

    Looks like time is approaching for a need to update my 2010 thesis, especially considering Dariusz Leszczynski’s latest blog.

    Don
    ******************************************************************************************************************

    Excerpt

    Handling an Inquiry – The WHO-style
    Posted on February 15, 2015
    Dariusz Leszczynski

    On December 27, 2014, I sent an e-mail message to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO. In this message I expressed my concern about the process of preparation of the Environmental Health Criteria by the WHO EMF Project.

    Today, on February 15, 2015, I received response to my message. However, my surprise was great when it appeared that the response was sent to me by the Head of the WHO EMF Project, Dr. Emilie van Deventer.

    It seems “strange” that, at the WHO, when expressing concern about the actions of a person, the person in question handles the response to the inquiry/complaint… This means that, of course, the response will “clearly demonstrate” that there is absolutely no reason for any concern.

    Matter closed – the WHO-style.

    SNIP

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    • 14 FEB 15

    Samsung warns customers not to discuss personal information in front of smart TVs

    Samsung has confirmed that its “smart TV” sets are listening to customers’ every word, and the company is warning customers not to speak about personal information while near the TV sets.

    The company revealed that the voice activation feature on its smart TVs will capture all nearby conversations. The TV sets can share the information, including sensitive data, with Samsung as well as third-party services.

    The news comes after Shane Harris at The Daily Beast pointed out a troubling line in Samsung’s privacy policy: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party.”
    SNIP

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