logo

-Mailing List

    • 23 FEB 16

    The UK’s Science Media Centre model of science communication: An uncensored history

    Excerpt:

    Early in the research for my PhD thesis, The Procrustean Approach: Setting Exposure Standards for Telecommunications Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (2010), I examined the UK’s Science Media Centre (SMC) as an example of how science can be manipulated by a supposedly scientific organisation with a hidden agenda to support vested interests.

    As this was not directly relevant to my thesis topic: RF standard setting, the resulting paper was not used in the thesis. However, I became interested in revisiting the topic when the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) published on their scimex website expert criticisms on a recent Catalyst program “Wi-Fried” , which included statements (in part) from the following organisations:
    SNIP
    And so, with no apologies, here is my 2006 uncensored history of the SMC model of science communication.

    Read more →
    • 20 FEB 16

    IMPORTANT: #TEDxBerkeley

    Published on Feb 18, 2016

    A Silicon-valley engineer turned technology health advocate, Jeromy Johnson discusses our attachment to technology and the health hazards such an addiction may hold.

    Jeromy Johnson is an expert in mitigating the negative impacts of Electromagnetic Field (EMF) exposure. He has a leading website on the topic and consults with individuals, families and organizations around the world to implement solutions that reduce and eliminate EMF pollution. Jeromy has an advanced degree in Civil Engineering and has worked in Silicon Valley for 15 years. After becoming what medical doctors call “Electro-hypersensitive” (EHS) in 2011 after extensive exposure to EMF radiation, he embarked on a journey of regaining his own health and educating others to critically evaluate theirs.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 20 FEB 16

    More on Science Media Centre spin on the Catalyst program-this time from the UK branch

    Excerpt:
    Powerwatch in the UK has just posted an excellent piece covering the recent Catalyst program by Maryanne Demasi. IT seems the Science Media Centre in the UK is running a spin as well. To briefly quote from Powerwatch:

    “On Monday 15th February 2016, the UK Guardian newspaper posted an article by Maryanne. Then on Wednesday 17th they published an opposing pieceby a Dr Grimes”

    Dr David Robert Grimes is a young physicist and cancer researcher at Oxford University. In 2014 he jointly won the John Maddox Prize present by the Sense about Science Charity. They, along with the Science Media Centre, claim to present scientific truths to the public.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 19 FEB 16

    Maryanne Demasi responds to the orchestrated attack on the Catalyst program: Wi-fried

    The Huffington Post, Australia
    19 February 2016

    Sometimes Asking Questions Provides You With Answers That May Be Uncomfortable

    By Maryanne Demasi

    Excerpt:

    The claims that our program “should never have aired” should not sit well with the public. At best, it’s an over-reaction. At worst, it’s a form of censorship.

    Sometimes in science asking questions provides you with answers that may be unsettling. Not because they are conclusive, but because they are inconclusive. It’s the duty of scientists and science reporters to encourage critical thinking on issues that are still up for debate.

    Several other counties around the world have more stringent radio frequency safety thresholds than Australia. Italy, China, Switzerland and Russia have wireless safety limits, which are a hundred times more stringent than our own. In France, they restrict advertising of mobile phones to children. They have also banned Wi-Fi in nurseries and day care centres.

    So I decided to investigate. Why are some countries making these changes and not Australia? To say that this is a fringe view is not sustainable. SNIP

    Read more →
    • 17 FEB 16

    The AusSMC’s expert advice on the Catalyst program, Wi-fried.

    Excerpt

    Now that the Catalyst program has aired, there is a media frenzy attacking the program with a number of experts canning the whole program and even calling for it to be pulled off the Internet althogether. It is illustrative to go to the source of much of this criticism: The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC), who states on their website:

    The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC)is an independent not-for-profit service for the news media, giving journalists direct access to evidence based science and expertise. We aim to increase the quality and accuracy of science reporting in the media, and hence the public understanding of science.

    So, AusSMC provides journalists with expert scientists advice on a wide range of issues on their simex website. When it comes to anything to do with Cell phones, wi-fi etc. the experts are primarily from ACEBR and ARPANSA.

    The BIG question however, what is the selection process for experts at AusSMC? The history of the AusSMC is an interesting story to be explored shortly…..
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 17 FEB 16

    Rodney Croft’s predictable ACEBR response to the issues raised in the Catalyst program, “Wi-Fried”

    As inevitable as “death & taxes” Rodney Croft head of the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR) has a differing opinion about last night’s Catalyst program. He seems to have it in for Devra Davis for some reason….. Croft opinions that “such views are not supported by science (there is no substantiated evidence that these can cause even minor health concerns)”.

    I hear this chant so often coming out of the hallowed ACEBR halls of science that it takes on a life of its own, somewhat like the Hare Krishna mantra that if uttered enough it somehow becomes a reality. SNIP

    Read more →
    • 16 FEB 16

    FOX 5 news coverage of US parents concerned about wireless in schools.

    Following on from the excellent Australian Catalyst program, Wi-Fried? Could wifi-enabled devices be harmful to our health? see US FOX 5 news coverage of parents concerned about wireless in Maryland schools.

    http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.com/2016/02/fox-5-news-parents-concerned-about-wifi.html

    Read more →
    • 16 FEB 16

    Mobile phones and brain cancer: ‘no evidence of health risk’ is not the same as ‘safe’

    NOTE: Dr Maryanne Demasi who wrote the below article in the Guardian is also presenting tonight’s Australian ABC Catalyst program mentioned in an earlier posting. So please tune in to the program – and most likely read the spin on it the next day on the ARPANSA and ACEBR websites.

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

    Mobile phones and brain cancer: ‘no evidence of health risk’ is not the same as ‘safe’
    Maryanne Demasi

    Excerpt

    We exist in a sea of radiofrequency radiation never before seen in human history. Are we lab rats in an experiment with no controls?

    Do mobile phones cause brain cancer? This has been an ongoing debate for decades, but whenever someone asks this question, it’s usually met with scepticism and the debate is shunned. I used to react the same way. But once I started digging into the evidence, it became clear to me that the answer was much more complex than I had imagined.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 14 FEB 16

    Argentine and Brazilian doctors suspect mosquito insecticide as cause of microcephaly

    From The Ecologist:

    Claire Robinson / GMWatch
    10th February 2016

    Excerpts:

    With the proposed connection between the Zika virus and Brazil’s outbreak of microcephaly in new born babies looking increasingly tenuous, Latin American doctors are proposing another possible cause: Pyriproxyfen, a pesticide used in Brazil since 2014 to arrest the development of mosquito larvae in drinking water tanks. Might the ‘cure’ in fact be the poison?

    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 13 FEB 16

    Does the Victorian Radiation Advisory Committee have a conflict of interest issue… and does the government really care?

    I have previously written about this issue on my blog in November 2012 but nothing has changed since at the Victorian Radiation Advisory Committee, so here we go again!

    On January 22, 2016, I received a letter from a Victorian resident who is concerned about the roll-out of smart meters in that state. Attached to his letter was a letter sent to him by Lily D’Ambrosio MP, the Victorian Minister for Industry and Minister for Energy and Resources. D’Ambrosio tried to reassure the resident that smart meters were perfectly safe by quoting advice given to the Victorian government by Victoria’s Chief Health Officer. The VCMO, in turn, relies on the expert advice from the Victorian Ministerial Radiation Advisory Committee, an expert advisory board consisting of doctors and experts in the field of radiation. It would be a brave politician indeed who dares question this expert body. After all they are the experts, not to be questioned by lessor mortals. The advice given by this committee is that “that there is no substantive evidence to suggest that exposure to radiofrequency radiation such as from smart meters can increase the risk of chronic health effects, such as cancer”. SNIP

    Read more →
    • 13 FEB 16

    Science for Sale: Making a cancer cluster disappear (Joel Moscowitz)

    For those on this list who do not get the blog postings from Joel Moscowitz’s site I suggest you do so. Below is his latest which reminds me of a number of possible EMR related cancer clusters in Australia which were conveniently made to disappear, such as the brain tumour cases in RMIT Building 108, in Melbourne (2006). SNIP

    From Joel Moscowitz:

    The following article by the Center for Public Integrity documents how the chemical industry protects its interests by co-opting scientists and the public health establishment. The telecom/wireless industry has employed the same playbook originally developed by Big Tobacco to manufacture doubt about the harm of its products. SNIP

    Science and opinion have become increasingly conflated, in large part because of corporate influence. As we explain in “Science for Sale,” an investigative series by the Center for Public Integrity and co-published with Vice.com, industry-backed research has exploded – often with the aim of obscuring the truth – as government-funded science dwindles.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 11 FEB 16

    Insurance Underwriting Offices across the US are contemplating new rules that will specifically deny coverage for fires and damage caused by ‘smart’ meters.

    Excerpt
    Due to the accumulation of fire related damage to homes and businesses from Smart Meter related malfunctions, Insurance Underwriting Offices across the country are contemplating new rules that will reduce the coverage available to you due to fire damage from a Smart Meter failure.

    In the past, only two reasons existed for an insurance company to consider not paying for fire damage to your home or business, they were arson, and the fact the home or business sat vacant for at least 60 days or more before the fire.

    Now a possible third reason can be added to that list, is the malfunction of a Smart Meter. What will most likely take place is that you will receive a notification from your Insurance Company telling you that a new limitation of coverage is now in force on your policy. When fire damage occurs to your home or business and the cause of the fire can be traced to a malfunction of your Smart Meter, then your company would not be held responsible for the financial loss.

    The reason for this type of Draconian action on the part of the Insurance industry is simple, to save money. It appears that as the Smart Meters age, more problems are developing with them. When you couple this with the continued lack of co-operation from the Utility Companies, a reduction in the amount of coverage for an insurance policy is the only remaining answer.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 11 FEB 16

    AGL releases plans for smart meter installation in NSW and South Australia

    From Stop Smart Meters Australia:

    Excerpt
    Victoria was the trial state [in Australia], Tasmania made it optional but didn’t confirm health was at risk with a smart meter installation. Now South Australia and New South Wales seem to be the next states to push smart meters.

    Despite the fact that AGL decided to hide the term ‘smart meters’ in their FAQ page, it is clearly spelled out on their website: Smart meters are coming to SA and NSW! Billing accuracy and monitoring are being sold to their customers as benefits. There have been many stories about raised bills with smart meters and very few of them actually lowering bills, so be careful there.

    It seems the term ‘Smart Meter’, which now has much negativity associated with it, is being avoided as much as possible to not alarm customers. The term ‘Digital Meter’ is used instead.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 10 FEB 16

    Australian ABC Catalyst program examines the wi-fi and mobile phone health controversy

    From the ABC website:

    Coming up

    Wi-Fried? Could wifi-enabled devices be harmful to our health? A growing number of scientists are concerned that the widespread wifi and wifi enabled devices could be slowly making us sick.Dr Maryanne Demasi takes a closer look at the link between mobile phones and brain cancer and explores whether our wireless devices could be putting our health at risk.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 09 FEB 16

    Stop Untested Microwave Radiation of Children’s Brains and Eyes EHT Scientists Urge Google

    From the Environmental Health Trust:
    Excerpt

    Environmental Health Trust (EHT) scientists are calling on Google to stop the spread into schools of wireless virtual reality system Global Expeditions Pioneer Program where middle-school children hold a cell phone encased in a cardboard box in front of their eyes to take virtual expeditions to Mars, the moon, and other special places.

    “Two-way microwave radiation transceivers, in the form of Smartphones, should not be used directly in front of children’s eyes and brains,” cautions University of Utah Distinguished Prof. Om Gandhi, who is one of the original developers of testing to evaluate wireless radiation from cellphones and is a Senior Advisor to EHT.

    Prof. Gandhi added, “We have never tested microwave radiating devices directly in front of the young developing eye. The absence of proof of harm at this point does not mean that we have evidence of safety.”

    “We want to know why is Google encouraging young children to employ a technology that has never been tested for their use when Samsung has a similar system that explicitly advises that no child under the age of 13 should be using it,” asks Devra Davis, President of EHT, and Visiting Professor of Ondokuz Mayis University Medical School and The Hebrew University Hadassah Medical Center.
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 05 FEB 16

    A non-thermal bio-effect: EMR From Cellphone Towers May Amplify Pain in Amputees

    Electromagnetic Field From Cellphone Towers May Amplify Pain in Amputees

    Neuroscience News February 3, 2016

    Open Neuroscience Articles

    For years, retired Maj. David Underwood has noticed that whenever he drove under power lines and around other electromagnetic fields, he would feel a buzz in what remained of his arm. When traveling by car through Texas’ open spaces, the buzz often became more powerful.

    “When roaming on a cellphone in the car kicked in, the pain almost felt like having my arm blown off again,” said Underwood, an Iraq War veteran who was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). His injuries have resulted in 35 surgeries and the amputation of his left arm. Shrapnel from the IED also tore part of his leg and left him with more than 100 smaller wounds. “I didn’t notice the power lines, cellphones on roam or other electromagnetic fields until I first felt them in my arm.”

    Until a recent study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas was published online last month in PLOS ONE, there was no scientific evidence to back up the anecdotal stories of people, such as Underwood, who reported aberrant sensations and neuropathic pain around cellphone towers and other technology that produce radio-frequency electromagnetic fields.

    “Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain,” said Dr. Mario Romero-Ortega, senior author of the study and an associate professor of bioengineering in the University’s Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. “Our study also points to a specific nerve pathway that may contribute to our main finding.”
    SNIP

    Read more →
    • 04 FEB 16

    Science for Sale by David Lewis: recommended reading

    Following a similar vein as the last blog message,”Report from the Science and Wireless 2015 event in Australia” the 2014 book, Science For Sale by David Lewis PhD is relevant reading. The sub title is:

    How the US government uses powerful corporations and leading universities to support government policies, silence top scientists, jeopardize our health, and protect corporate profits.

    However the title would be just as accurate if it alternatively read: How powerful ‘US corporations use the government, etc’- considering the “revolving door” between corporate America and the government where govt. agencies are effectively given over to corporate control in exchange for large election donations. If it was in a 3rd World country it would be condemned as outright corruption. In the USA however, its just accepted as business as usual…

    From the book:

    The government hires scientists to support its policies; industry hires them to support its business; and universities hire them to bring in grants that are handed out to support government policies and industry practices. Organizations dealing with scientific integrity are designed only to weed out those who commit fraud behind the backs of the institutions where they work. The greatest threat of all is the purposeful corruption of the scientific enterprise by the institutions themselves. The science they create is often only an illusion, designed to deceive; and the scientists they destroy to protect that illusion are often our best…

    Review by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:

    “David Lewis has been a beacon of integrity against the apocalyptical forces of ignorance and greed endeavoring to divert science from the noble pursuit of truth and pervert it into a tool that supports the most destructive policies of industry and government.”

    Read more →
    • 30 JAN 16

    Report from the Science and Wireless 2015 event in Australia

    This, must read, report analyzing the various presentations from SCIENCE & WIRELESS 2015 was prepared for the Pandora Foundation and for the Kompetenzinitiative by Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD, DSc (biochemistry) & Kirsti Leszczynski, PhD (physics). Science and Wireless 2015 was hosted at the RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on December 8, 2015.
    Excerpt:

    Dariusz concludes in part:

    Unfortunately, enthusiastic opinion of the Science & Wireless event has vanished. The S&W events organized in 2014 at the Wollongong University and in 2015 at the RMIT have not much to do with the community interaction between scientists, industry and users. S&W events in 2014 and 2015 were just presentations of science by scientists for the benefit of the industry. The real users of wireless technology, some of whom are concerned with possible/probable health risks, were clearly marginalized in 2014 and 2015. The community participants had no presentations to express their views and opinions and the opportunity to voice opinions in the discussion was severely limited by the time constraints. As of now, the Science & Wireless event cannot be called anymore a ‘Community Interaction’ event.

    Read more →
    • 29 JAN 16

    Screens Versus Brains: Are We Robbing Our Children Of The Ability To Think?

    Here’s an interesting article sent in by Richard Giles. It is written by Sue Palmer who writes and speaks about child
    development and education in the modern world. Her concerns mirror those of of Baroness Susan Greenfield on IT’s impacts on children

    Don
    ****************************************
    Have you been in a primary school classroom recently? Did you notice that a large white screen has replaced the old-fashioned blackboard? And have you any idea how much of the day the children spend staring at it? In the classrooms I’ve visited, the ‘interactive whiteboard’ features in almost every lesson. Children sit, with blank zoned-out faces, staring at brightly coloured shapes and figures zooming around the screen……”As children engage in more screen activity, they definitely read less – and the effect is likely to be permanent…..Ultimately, screen images render the printed word simply boring, at a crucial phase when the child’s
    brain and mind are developing. SNIP

    Read more →
    • 24 JAN 16

    Did CELLRAID do ‘volkswagen’ to the telecom industry?

    From Dariusz Lesczcynski’s blog “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”:

    Jan 22, 2016

    Excerpt:

    Did a small Finnish company, CELLRAID, Ltd, do ‘volkswagen’ to the telecom industry by showing lack of compliance? In this story, for the first time, are shown measurements results indicating that placing a cell phone in a pocket might cause radiation exposures higher than permitted by the current safety standards.
    SNIP

    Read more →