Thursday, September 30, 2010

WiFi in Schools and the Health of Children / blog on WiFi / it's the radiation / Dairy in Wisconsin / ground current problems / dirty electricity war / manipulating science

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

1 October 2010

Open letter to the Chief Medical Officer of Health

I write to you as a concerned scientist who has studied the harmful effects of electrosmog for more than 15 years.  Attached is an open letter than I am sending to the Chief Medical Officer of Health in each province.  It concerns the health of children in schools that are installing WiFi or considering the installation of WiFi.  

Please read the brief 2 page letter attached.  If you have any questions or comments I would be pleased to respond.  Ideally I would like to have an open dialogue with each and every one of you about this serious matter.  Would it be possible for me to present some of the scientific information at an annual meeting of MOHs or does this not happen?

At any rate, please read the attached letter and visit my website for more information or email me with your comments.  Please feel free to forward this open letter to others.

Thank you for your time,

-magda havas

____________________________

Dr. Magda Havas, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Environmental and Resource Studies Program, Trent University

Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8, CANADA

email:      mhavas@trentu.ca

phone:     705-748-1011 x7882   

fax:         705-748-1569

www.magdahavas.com (general)

www.magdahavas.org (academic)

____________________________________________________

Worth Reading Tristan Laing's blog on WiFi in Schools.  Tristan is a doctoral student at York University (Toronto) in Philosophy. 

-magda

Wifi in Schools and the Dangers of non-ionizing radiation: crazed anti-science parents, or a Cold War failure of Normal Science?

September 9, 2010 by northernsong

http://northernsong.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/wifi-in-schools-and-the-dangers-of-non-ionizing-radiation-crazed-anti-science-parents-or-a-cold-war-failure-of-normal-science/

The CBC has run stories on parents groups who are concerned about the possible health effects of WIFI in elementary schools. Individual reports of increased heart rate and headaches, from parents and from the children themselves, are are concerning – but intuitively one wishes to trust Health Canada who dismiss the complaints as subjective. The peer reviewed literature, according to Health Canada, overwhelmingly confirms that the thermal effects of WIFI are negligible, and that no causal relation has been found between those thermal effects and any health problems.

The fact that scientists remain opposed to a scientific consensus is not a reason to distrust the consensus - if this were true, the presence of a single reputable climate denier in the peer reviewed literature would be a reason to refrain from belief in global warming. However, there are two reasons why the wifi case is different from climate denial. First: the precautionary principle runs in the opposite direction – whereas a slight doubt that human Co2 output will threaten the survival of the species is not a good reason to take action to stop Co2 emissions, a significant doubt that wifi causes health problems in children is not a good reason to take cheap and easy action to limit children's exposure to wifi. Second, there is a structural bias behind Health Canada's appraisal of the research into the effects of small levels of microwave radiation. This surprising claim comes from a study by Leo P. Inglis,surveyed here by Magda Havas, surveying the literature on microwave radiation's health effects:

"In the U.S., the thermal effects are generally believed to be the only ones of significance; other contentions are usually dismissed as lacking a provable basis.  In the USSR, non-thermal effects are considered the most significant and are overwhelmingly the ones most studied."

This indicates a structural difference between scientific assumptions in US and USSR have swayed the directions of research, determined which studies got funding, what students took interest in, etc… This claim undercuts Health Canada's statements which concern only the thermal effects of microwave radiation – if non thermal effects exist, Health Canada is not even looking for them.

Significant differences in the direction of scientific research between closed off communities are expected by constructivists like Kuhn, who believes that the basic assumptions of a scientific community are determined by the appearance of fruitfulness in future research rather than through normal scientific inquiry itself. In the past I have taken interest in Scientific research done under the Nazi regime, and research done in secrecy for the US military during the cold war. Such research programs demonstrate the power of dollars over freedom – how a research program, even when the researchers are cut off from their peers – can make tremendous strides if given a set of goals and unlimited resources. This gulf between Soviet and American research is an example of the opposite, and much less controversial hypothesis: that a lack of democracy is harmful for scientific research. The lack of proper collaboration between American and Soviet researchers into the effects of microwave radiation allowed Soviet research to ignore the importance of thermal effects, whereas the converse allowed US scientists and regulators to ignore the importance of non-thermal effects.

So, while the Bio-Initiative report is rejected by Health Canada as not being in conformity with the scientific consensus, it might not be rejected by Health Moscow. For example, whereas in 2008 and 2009 Health Canada continued to hold that there was no evidence that cell phone use could have any health effects, the Russian Naitonal Committee on non-ionizing ratiation protection made this statement about risks posed to children's health by cell phone radiation (similar to WIFI, but much stronger)

Potential risk for the children's health is very high:

─ the absorption of the electromagnetic energy in a child's head is considerably higher than that in

the head of an adult (children's brain has higher conductivity, smaller size, thin skull bones,

smaller distance from the antenna etc.);

─ children's organism has more sensitivity to the EMF, than the adult's;

─ children's brain has higher sensitivity to the accumulation of the adverse effects under

conditions of chronic exposure to the EMF;

─ EMF affects the formation of the process of the higher nervous activity;

─ today's children will spend essentially longer time using mobile phones, than today's adults will.

Health Canada continues to hold that the risks from cell phone use do not include any of the risks advised by Russian, British, German, Belgian, Israeli, and Indian health agencies.

The basic question boils down to this: is it up to skeptics to prove that electronic devices are unsafe, or is it up to corporations trying to expand their markets by creating new needs to prove they are safe? If you ask Health Canada – the onus is on scientists to prove that a risk can be statistically proven, i.e. people must already have been hurt by the product. In other words – should the precautionary principle be applied to new electronic devices as it is to new medicine?

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Don't worry about the height, it's the radiation that will kill you

He only has to climb 1768 feet up a tower to change a light bulb. That's taller then the Empire State Building.

http://www.killsometime.com/videos/5982/World's-Most-Insane-Job-Ever

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Dairy in Wisconsin

Is new technology going to end dairy farming in the United States and Canada?

During a recent trip to Wisconsin, Peter Webb, nutritionist, with 20 years of experience in finding solutions for electro pollution, surveyed 4 farms per day, altogether 12 herds, ranging from 200 to 600 milking cows, at the request of farmers, electricians, veterinarians and bankers.

The problem is sick cows. The average cull rate is 45% annually with 29 to 50 lbs of milk per day. In the community of Eden there were 40 wind turbines and many cellular and other radiofrequency and microwave towers.

There is one biological phenomenon that is a mystery: what causes these cows to go into self preservation mode whereby milk production drops. Yet, when the electro pollution is mitigated, they will not increase milk production back to their genetic potential. It is as if a switch is turned "off" in their bodies.

Some farmers clear all the damaged animals out and replace them with first calf heifers. This seems to indicate a method way to bring them back to normal milk production range, especially with vitamin supplements.

Ground current was a major problem. One farmer had the power company disconnect the electricity; and he installed a portable generator at the cost of $12,000 per month.

The first week's milk production increased by 10 lbs per cow. When the ground current returned, production went down. This farmer reports that he lost $3 million dollars.

Cellular, radar towers and many satellite dishes also affect the animals: mostly with feet problems as well as with behaviour, whereby they refused to lay at one end or the other of barns, as well as to flow through the milking parlour. The effect of electro-pollution is noticeable in soils and in crops, with tighter soil and reduced yields. Most farms had a copper wire run around the buildings. On one structure, the electrician ran a wire around the feed bunks – resulting with a jump of 9 lbs of milk production; so it seems that ground current is having a negative effect on stored feed. These farmers have spent $60,000 to $200,000 on electrical solutions that have made no difference and are ready to quit the dairy industry.

Requests for help are coming from Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania.  Similar problems are showing up in Ontario. One 50-cowherd in Ontario had a high producing herd and when a solar farm went on line nearby milk production dropped 400lbs per day!

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Andrew and others,

What you are describing has been documented for decades on dairy farms with ground current problems.  Dave Colling is measuring the same thing (ground current and dirty power) around wind turbines in Ontario.  Dave Stetzer and Don Hillman and Martin Graham have been providing expert testimony on this for decades in both the US and Canada.  Lee Montgomery in Ontario has been fighting this as well for far too long.

We have made slight progress in Ontario that started with a Private Members Bill (Maria Van Bommel) and resulted in a reduction in the amount of ground voltage that is considered "safe" but it has yet to be applied to Ontario farms.  Still not where it should be but getting closer.

Not only does this energy affect cows, but studies show it has the same effect on hogs and sadly on people!

The radiation from wireless technology can flow along the ground and become entrenched on metal objects.  Solar farms and Wind farms produce dirty power and ground current if not properly constructed with appropriate means to provide good power quality.  The utility isn't happy with the dirty power either.  Unfortunately, this is a lose:lose:lose situation!

-magda

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Last year I bought/read "Electrocution of America, Is your Utility Company Out to Kill You?" by US dairy farmer Russ Allen.

This book is a must for any and every dairy/cattle farmer on the globe!

http://www.pr.com/press-release/85731

http://www.amazon.com/Electrocution-America-Your-Utility-Company/dp/0977968502

cheers, Hans.

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Man fighting dirty electricity war

Digby Hildreth | 1st October 2010

http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2010/10/01/dirty-electricity-war-stephen-hall/

STEPHEN HALL is visiting Northern Rivers to educate people about the dangers of electric pollution.

Stephen Hall, from Sydney, with some Stetzerizer 'dirty electricity' filters, which he uses to protect buildings from the dangerous emissions.

STEPHEN HALL crackles with energy when he talks.

Today, he's the picture of clear-eyed good health, but not so many years ago he was at death's door from multiple sclerosis, with pieces of plaque the size of 50-cent pieces on his brain.

The condition was allegedly caused by what has been labelled 'dirty electricity' – aninsidious form of pollution that most of us are exposed to each day," Mr Hall claims.

He was visiting the Northern Rivers from Sydney this week to attend talks on the subject in Byron Bay and to test people's homes for electrical pollution.

'Dirty electricity' is regarded as high frequency voltage that enters our buildings and homes by piggybacking on low frequency currents, Mr Hall said.

"The AC pulsing current is designed to run to our buildings from the utilities and back again at 50 times a second," he said.

"But unfortunately, it's not 50 times, it's 2000 times, or even more, so we get this spiking and surging riding on the 50Hz current.

"And when the switching systems used by many modern electronic devices convert it from AC to DC, they take bytes out of the electrical sine wave, then put them back on to the electrical current as dirty electricity."

As well as running around the walls, ceilings and under the floors of a building, 'dirty electricity' is claimed to emanate from everyday devices in the form of electromagnetic radiation, whose electrons enter the body and oscillate with the cells and cause damage to our immune systems.

Mr Hall links electrical pollution with a wide range of health problems in people with 'electrical hyper-sensitivity', including chronic fatigue, insomnia, depression and headaches, and many forms of cancer.

"There is a lot of research to indicate that this is now at plague proportions, and is the precursor to a lot of cancers," he said.

Some commentators believe it is 'the missing link' that explains cancer clusters.

Mr Hall was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001 after large lesions were detected on his brain and central nervous system.

"My digestive system and bowel function broke down and was getting worse," he said.

He could barely walk and feared he was going to die from the degenerative disease.

After reading about a possible link between electromagnetic radiation and MS, he had his apartment tested for high-frequency energy.

The levels were through the roof.

He installed a number of electricity filters throughout his home and his condition improved immediately.

"Today, my MS is under control and the plaques have diminished in size and prominence." he said.

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Government accused of manipulating science news

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/09/29/federal-scientists-media-government.html

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http://icordless.com/cordless-videos/panasonic-kx-tg9392-cordless-phone-goes-dead-near-iphone-or-gsm-cellphone/

Watch this short (1 minute) video of how an iPhone affects a Panasonic  cordless phone.  Showing that one type of technology can interfere  with another type of technology is known as EMI or electromagnetic  interference and is much easier to demonstrate than the effect these  phones have on brains cells or other cells in the body.

We have evidence that brain waves change when the head is exposed to  the radiation from a cell phone.  This is another type of EMI but with  biological receptors affected instead of electronic receptors.

Imagine what would happen if one brain cell died every time your cell phone received or sent a message!  Yes we have a lot of brain cells  and we don't use them all—that's for certain--but they don't regenerate or at least they don't regenerate quickly.  How many can  you afford to lose?  And how many can your children and grandchildren  afford to lose?

-magda

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Ontario Health Study

"If there are no questions about exposure and proximity to electromagnetic fields, it may be a waste of money. There is enough conflicting science in this area to include this potential health risk.

If governmental officials are so convinced of the "weight" of industry science that says there is no harm, why not take this opportunity to independently verify those conclusions?"

Read more:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/09/29/health-ontario.html#ixzz111bsgu6m

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http://salute.agi.it/primapagina/notizie/201009281319-att-rsa1024-tumori_pediatri_aumentano_quelli_infantili_smog_sotto_accusa

google translation

INCREASE of childhood cancers, SMOG IN ACCUSATION

(AGI) - Rome, September 28 - Not only allergies and respiratory diseases, but also increase in leukemia and cancer, especially in the first year of life, and neuro-psychological disorders have as their prime suspect in the environment and particularly the changes undergone by the fetus in utero. The Societa 'Italian Pediatrics takes the field with a series of environmental initiatives, also in view of the National Congress, scheduled for October 20 to 23 in Rome, where European and national experts will discuss this issue, including Ernesto Burgio, Coordinator of the Scientific Committee of ISDE (International Society of Doctors for Environment) and Dominique Belpomme President ARTAC (Association de Recherche Therapeutique Anti-Cancereuse). The data does not leave many doubts in the last 20 years in Europe and 'recorded an increase of 1, 2% annually of childhood cancer, this rate in Italy and' equal to 2%, nearly double that of the United States and rest of Europe. The highest increase 'has consistently among children under one year of age' (+ 3.2%) and some cancers (lymphomas: + 4.6%, central nervous system tumors: + 2.0%); and 'therefore likely to contribute to tumorigenesis or gamete maternal exposure to toxic substances. It's not 'more' comforting chapter of neuro-psychological. That the diffusion of molecules in a camouflage, heavy metals and other pollutants can interfere heavily on the development of neuro-endocrine embryo, fetal and child risk of producing severe damage and 'a figure that emerges from hundreds of scientific studies. So much so that a few years ago a study published in the Lancet, signed by two prestigious researchers from Harvard School of Health Pubblic raised forcefully the issue of "silent pandemic" of neuro-psychological damage that would be more widespread indifference, now affecting 10% of children. "Our country, in all its aspects, politics, pediatricians, schools, families, must become more 'aware of environmental risks to the health of children," said Alberto Ugazio, President of the Societa' of Italian Pediatrics. "Soon we will start training courses throughout the country turned to pediatricians for the advancement of pediatric diseases linked to the environment, but we think it important to act on education from a very 'young age': ask the Minister Gelmini to introduce sin from elementary school, an hour of environmental education. "

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Encouraging news on the CFL front

Good afternoon, all.

Finally some encouraging news on the CFL front. Three Representatives have introduced H.R.6144 which would repeal the ban on incandescent bulbs.

Our website, http://www.cflimpact.com/
has a news story on the bill.  It is interesting to note that one of the sponsors is an M.D. from Texas.

Rep. Joe Barton, also from Texas, has a story about the bill on his website:

http://joebarton.house.gov/NewsRoom.aspx?FormMode=Detail&ID=617

While (MI) Sen. Levin's office took a "shot" at discussing this with the EPA, the EPA just "stiffed" them with a non-responsive "response".

With the likelihood of a major change in the makeup of the House of Representatives the multitudes, who are adversely impacted by CFLs, may just find some Hope for Change in this ill-conceived ban on incandescent bulbs.

Thank you, all, for your support.
Jerry

Jerry Straub <adggjs@gmail.com

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Temperature changes

associated with radiofrequency exposure near authentic metallic implants in the head phantom—a near field simulation study with 900, 1800 and 2450 MHz dipole

http://iopscience.iop.org/0031-9155/55/19/016

Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org

To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org  (provide name and e-mail address)

W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

Grounding the human body / Scientific studies : Discharge routine / Drew Sinatra, ND, speaks out / The cellphone song / "Scientific American" or Lady Gaga?

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

30 September 2010

GROUNDING THE HUMAN BODY TO NEUTRALIZE BIO-ELECTRICAL STRESS FROM STATIC ELECTRICITY AND EMFs.

A. Clinton Ober

[view Mr. Ober's bio]

Ventura, CA

http://www.next-up.org/pdf/ESD_Journal_Grounding_the_human_body_to_neutralize_bioelectrical_stress_from_static_electricity_and_EMFs.pdf

Robert R

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EMF - Scientific studies : Discharge routine (human physiology, stress, pain, sleep,)
http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/EHS_Discharge.php#1

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Drew Sinatra, ND, speaks out on behalf of people with electrohypersensitivity

at White Rock Council Meeting, September 27, 2010.

From Council Chambers ....27 Sep 2010 

http://healthy360.blogspot.com/2010/09/alarm-signals-from-dr-drew-sinatrand-on.html

Una

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(the cellphone song) Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age by ...

By admin

Lyrics Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age Its like the hissing of pots and the cooking of cells twisting in knots like the book of the kells. its the clotting of minds – its a fight with the heart the rotting of time, ... plan is to leave us high and dry and the FDA policy is to lie and deny it goes one ear – but not out the other. i aquired alzeimers and i doubt ill recover whos responsible for the wear and tear on my brain i know that im here

http://www.confusedtoday.co.uk/the-cellphone-song-invisible-hazards-in-the-wireless-age-by-trillion/

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Who gives better science "Scientific American" or Lady Gaga?

Read all about it at:

http://www.microwavenews.com

Best,
Louis Slesin

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Dear Mr. Wehrle:

I agree with your excellent article except for one blaring fallacy, regarding the extant science and criteria therefor. You say:

"Neither of these influences has anything to do with health, but they are significant factors in any decision Health Canada will make. I suggest that to overcome those two influences there will have to be irrefutable and overwhelming evidence of harm and that level of evidence does not yet exist."

First, how unfortunate that the Precautionary Principle, which is international law, and to which Canadian federal law further subscribes, ought not in your view apply. This said, I have long observed the Precautionary Principle to be disregarded by public officials in all of North America, as if the US and Canada were not signatories, which they in fact are. Do you truly not recognize this law? If so, please tell, whyever not?

Secondly, I am absolutely astonished you would assert that irrefutable and overwhelming evidence of harm does not exist, while admitting this is not your field of expertise, and after I showed you a very full and quantitative literature review of the infrastructural-level scientific literature of the past twenty+ years.

Perhaps you have confused this literature with that relating to cell phone usage, which my former mentor Devra Lee Davis cites as internally inconclusive on account of industry influence?

These respective, very disparate scientific literatures must not be confused, differing as they do by the following essential factors.

Infrastructural studies v. cell phone usage studies:

  a. Primarily far-field v. primarily near-field exposures;

  b. Measured power density exposure levels v. estimated, absorbed dosages as SAR;

  c. Primarily chronic, longterm, even maximal and permanent duration v. primarily short and intermittent durations;

  d. Primarily involuntary, government-forced, unavoidable v. primarily voluntary, avoidable exposures;

  e. All humans, animals and plants v. primarily healthy, financially capable*, competent adults and their older children

* Capable enough to pay a cell phone bill, for example.

When you consider the extreme differences in these important variables, you understand why, as Dr. Dimitri Panagopoulos and others testified this year before Parliament, the scientific literature would indeed and in fact does show irrefutably and with overwhelming evidence the very serious and often permanent harmfulness of pulse-modulated cm-microwave radiation in interaction with the human body.

This well established fact cannot be refuted by the endless industry and industry-driven position statements that continue to use bullying power to overwhelm public opinion.

Anyone can look at the primary scientific papers and witness both their conclusions and their power density numbers. I made those papers available to you and all those who attended my lectures. Sadly, without the slightest review of that science, you made a false conclusion - publicly! - with no knowledge whatsoever, rather than avail yourself of the primary documents.

Nor, to my knowledge, has any other school trustee in Canada so much as inquired of the primary science. I thank you, at least, for attending my lectures, where I provided a basis for understanding this science and the quantitative data on the studies.

All school administrators and teachers, as well as parents working on the matter of school wifi, ought review these studies' conclusions publicly, one by one, with the numbers at which researchers concluded harm at power densities lower than Safety Code 6.

Let us be objective and caring toward both the rigorous RFR bioeffects science performed by many since the late 1920s - and toward our children. Otherwise the cloud of industry smoke-and-mirrors will continue to confuse policy, as you point out. Let us all set a good example for our children and not shrink from learning science. Since you are a physicist, I know you'll agree with me on this!

With gratitude for your initial efforts,

Susan Clarke

Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org

To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org  (provide name and e-mail address)

W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Mobile phone mast effects on common frog / Blackberry Torch / Lady Gaga says no / A Cancer Muckraker Takes on Cell Phones

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

29 September 2010

Mobile phone mast effects on common frog (Rana temporaria) tadpoles: the city turned into a laboratory.

Electromagn Biol Med. 2010 Jun;29(1-2):31-5.

Balmori A.

C/Navarra, Valladolid, Spain. abalmori@ono.com

Abstract

An experiment has been made exposing eggs and tadpoles of the common frog (Rana temporaria) to electromagnetic radiation from several mobile (cell) phone antennae located at a distance of 140 meters. The experiment lasted two months, from the egg phase until an advanced phase of tadpole prior to metamorphosis. Measurements of electric field intensity (radiofrequencies and microwaves) in V/m obtained with three different devices were 1.8 to 3.5 V/m. In the exposed group (n = 70), low coordination of movements, an asynchronous growth, resulting in both big and small tadpoles, and a high mortality (90%) was observed. Regarding the control group (n = 70) under the same conditions but inside a Faraday cage, the coordination of movements was normal, the development was synchronous, and a mortality of 4.2% was obtained. These results indicate that radiation emitted by phone masts in a real situation may affect the development and may cause an increase in mortality of exposed tadpoles. This research may have huge implications for the natural world, which is now exposed to high microwave radiation levels from a multitude of phone masts.

PMID: 20560769 [PubMed - in process]

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Blackberry Torch Product Information

Page 23-24 mentions pregnant women and lower abdomens of teenagers.

http://docs.blackberry.com/en/smartphone_users/deliverables/18620/BlackBerry_Torch_9800_Smartphone-Safety_and_Product_Information-T43156-696706-0806024453-001-US.pdf

Ellie Marks
Emarks@apr.com
925.285.5437

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"Lady Gaga says no to radiation from mobile phones"

http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/DAS_SAR.php#1

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A Cancer Muckraker Takes on Cell Phones

Posted by Bryan Walsh Monday, September 27, 2010 at 6:00 am

2 CommentsRelated Topics: Health , cell phones, cancer, environmental health, Devra Davis, book review, industry science

If anyone would be receptive to the idea that cell phone radiation might play a role in cancer, it would be Dr. Devra Davis. The epidemiologist and toxicologist is an expert in environmental health, and she's made a career out of the idea that cancer often has more to do with what's happening to us than what's going on inside our genes. Her 2007 book The Secret History of the War on Cancer showed that some of the best medical minds in the U.S. played down the environmental factors behind cancer—from cigarette smoke to chemical exposure—far too long, in part because of deception and delay from industry.

But when a colleague raised the possibility that cell phones could be connected to brain cancer, Davis wasn't receptive. "I couldn't believe it and I didn't want to," says Davis. "These were attractive devices. Cell phones were like cars—you couldn't imagine life without them." But as she began to look seriously into the field, Davis began to have doubts that cell phones were harmless. She found evidence of studies, some decades old, showing that the radio-frequency radiation used by cell phones could indeed have biological effects–enough to damage DNA and potentially contribute to brain tumors. She found that other countries—like France and Israel—had already acted, discouraging the use of cell phones by children and even putting warning signs on handsets. She found evidence of  increases in certain kinds of brain tumors among unusually young patients who were heavy users of cell phones. And, just as she saw with tobacco and lung cancer, Davis discovered that the wireless industry—often with the help of governments—had fought independent scientists who studied cell phones, and helped produced questionable science that effectively clouded the issue. "This is about the most important and unrecognized public health issues of our time," says Davis."We could avert a global catastrophe if we act."

Her new book Disconnect is the result of those investigations, and it's convincing enough to give you pause before you fire up that iPhone. I've already covered the possible connections between cell phones and cancer—you can see my February story in TIME for a backgrounder on the scientific debate, and another piece I did recently on the Interphone study, a collection of international studies on mobiles and cancer that was meant to clarify the issue, but only ended up further confusing it. It's a complex subject—mixing electrical engineering, biology and epidemiology—but Davis makes a strong case in her book that we've underplayed the possible threat from cell phones for too long. We're disconnected—even as worrying studies have begun to pile up, however quietly, the message has been slow to reach those in public health and even slower to reach the government. "The fact that we don't know everything about the subject doesn't mean that everything is fine," she says. "I can't tell you that cell phones are dangerous, but I can tell you that I'm not sure they're safe."

The wireless industry has an easy answer for this: in the thousands of studies that have been done on cell phones and health, few of them have shown any effect—and public agencies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the World Health Organization have found no clear health risks. As CTIA, the wireless industry group, says in a statement on its website: "To date, no adverse health effects have been established for mobile phone use."

The magic word there is "established," because as Davis argues in some of the best passages of Disconnect, it could be that we haven't established the dangers of cell phone use because we haven't asked the right questions—and that might be on purpose. "If you don't want to know the answer," Davis says, "don't ask the question." Much of the research into the biological effects of cell phone radiation has been underwritten by the... cell phone industry, and you don't have to be a raging paranoiac to wonder whether that money might have an impact on the conclusions of those thousands of studies. After all, in this case—just as it was with tobacco and lung cancer—doubt is the friend of industry. To hold off the possibility of legislation or regulation—not to mention lawsuits—wireless companies and their advocates don't have to prove that cell phones are safe beyond any doubt. They just have to play defense.

However, as Davis shows in Disconnect, that argument is going to get tougher and tougher to make. In one of the finest passages of her book, Davis details the tale of Dr. Franz Adlkofer, a German scientist who had long been involved in tobacco research. Like many scientists—more than medical science might like to admit—Adlkofer was willing to take money from the tobacco industry to fund his research, without really thinking about how that might constrain his work. He was, in a sense, a company man. But when Adlkofer began working with the wireless industry and produced research showing that cell phone radiation unravels DNA, he suddenly found his work under attack by the industry that had funded it. He was accused of fraud in highly suspicious circumstances (he fought the charges, and they were eventually withdrawn), and says the industry paid other scientists to produce studies that would discredit his own work, as he told Davis in Disconnect:

I can't prove this, but here's what I think they did. The industry never liked this work. From the first they heard about it, they set out to discredit it. I had seen this happen with tobacco science so often, especially at the hands of the American companies. Yet suddenly it was happening to me.

Davis is justifiably suspicious of Adlkofer—he was a tobacco scientist, after all—but ultimately his story seems to check out. He's also far from the only researcher Davis meets whose career suffered after challenging the conventional wisdom on cell phones and cancer. Davis shows that independent studies on cell phone radiation found dangers at more than twice the rate of industry-funded studies—though because the cell phone industry is the source of much of the funding of cell phone studies, there are far more of the latter. And ultimately that is what is truly disturbing about Davis's book. Time and again, she shows the way that industry has been able to twist science just enough to stave off the possibility of any regulation—and finds that researchers are afraid of challenging the status quo, lest they find themselves suddenly out of a job, denied the lifeblood of research money. Most of the few brave researchers who challenge the prevailing wisdom on cell phone radiation—like the electrical engineer Om Gandhi or the bioengineer Henry Lai—are senior scientists, secure in their positions and their tenure. But a young researcher just starting out is far more vulnerable to industry pressure. Science isn't as pristine as we imagine it. "There has not been truly independent research in this field," says Davis. "That has to change."

Davis wants to see the government fund new studies on cell phones and health, independent of government interference—and fortunately the National Toxicology Program will be running its own tests, though not until 2014. The good news in the meantime is that you don't have to throw away your cell phone to minimize any potential risks. Simply using a wired headset should significantly cut down on radiation exposure to the brain, although Davis recommends that children—whose thinner skulls can absorb higher levels of radiation—avoid using phones altogether. "We do so much to protect our children from all manner of threats," she says. "We need to protect them from this as well." Read Disconnect, and you'll be on guard as well.

Read more:

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/09/27/health-a-cancer-muckraker-takes-on-cell-phones/#ixzz10rTJyBXM

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W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Devra Davis on The National / The Undiagnosed Mystery Illness / Thoughts on Wi-Fi / WARNING / Prove Wif-Fi / Like lab rats in school / Cancer is not normal

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

28 September 2010

The video of last night's segment of Cell Phones - Disease - Devra Davis on The National is now posted up to YouTube.

Carl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4bp7Zi_8pk

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The Undiagnosed Mystery Illness

September 27th, 2010
http://www.annlouise.com/blog/2010/09/27/the-undiagnosed-mystery-illness/

Don't wait to discover what's causing unusual—and unwanted—symptoms.

Are you troubled by strange and seemingly unrelated symptoms? Don't just dismiss them. You're not alone, as these examples show, but you don't need to suffer.

• While at work, an emergency room physician experiences blinding headaches, dizziness, and such overwhelming weakness that she's unable to intubate a patient.

• A recent engineering school grad working for the Canadian Navy suddenly begins to experience such severe fatigue that he has to nap on his lunch hour, and he later develops a chronic respiratory infection, digestive distress, heart palpitations, and trouble focusing.

• A high-powered editor who's been taking the train to work for years starts feeling nauseous during every morning and evening commute—debilitating enough to make her consider leaving a job she loves.

• Fresh out of college, a newlywed moves to what ought to be the healthiest place in the world—a farm in America's heartland. Within six months, this bride suffers circulation problems, daily headaches, hot flashes, and can barely walk up the stairs.

These four individuals were diagnosed with everything from chronic fatigue syndrome to stress—and while both fatigue and stress are factors, these "diagnoses" overlook the cause of their mysterious symptoms—electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from electricity, cell towers, and WiFi. Once these people were able to limit their exposure, though, they enjoyed considerable improvement in their symptoms. Scientific research bears this out as well.

One review of the published literature on dirty electricity—high frequency EMFs from computers, electrical appliances, power lines, and wiring—links noticeable improvements in health—balanced blood sugar levels, lessening of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, reduction in asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and fewer reports of anxiety, depression, frustration, and insomnia—when individuals have lower exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

An Austrian investigation finds distinct physical differences—in enzymes that impact glucose metabolism—depending on how near cell phone towers the subjects lived. And an Israeli study shows that people living near cell phone towers had four times the risk of a variety of cancers—breast cancer, Hodgkin's disease, and malignancies of the bone, kidney, and ovary—as the population as a whole.

Dr. Ann Louise's Take:

I wrote my latest book, Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution, to help the others understand the risks we all face from these undiagnosed mysterious symptoms, especially if their cause is not discovered and, as much as possible, removed. The good news is that Zapped offers lots of solutions—1,268 of 'em, to be exact—once we recognize the problem.

Take, for example, "Debbie Roberts" (who asked me not to use her real name when I interviewed her for Zapped). She was eventually diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, an incurable disease that can be managed like diabetes for many years. But it was several years later before Debbie realized that for over 20 years the bedroom where she and her husband slept—or tried to—had EMF readings two to three times higher than what's considered safe. Electropollution levels in the bathroom and home office where she worked every day were also high.

"I was literally bathing in a known carcinogen day and night for two decades," Debbie says. "No wonder I was ill." Some of the EMFs emanated from power lines about six feet from her bedroom window; others came from her electrical and water systems. But the expert who did the testing and discovered electropollution didn't do mitigation, and it took Debbie several tries to find "Mr. Right."

Get a Ghostbuster
"You want to select an electrician who is a craftsman, who cares about the quality of his work, and is open to learning new things and solving problems," says Charles Keen, principle of EMF Services in Florida, a mitigation firm with a nationwide clientele. But "you're probably not going to find someone who knows anything about electromagnetic fields," he adds.

You're more likely to be successful with a local, independent electrical contractor—look for someone who's been in the community for a long time and has a small shop. "You need someone who is scrupulous about code compliance," Keen adds. Just bringing electrical wiring up to code—"fixing problems another electrician caused"—can eliminate many of your EMF problems. Zapped is jam-packed with additional tips on reducing dangerous electropollution in your home or workplace.

Recognize the Growing Risks
WiFi in public buildings—including schools—is another rapidly growing threat to public health. A recent German study shows that fatigue is the most common symptom of EMF exposure in children and adolescents. Other research finds that kids' brains absorb twice as much radiation from cell phones as adults do. Not only do youngsters have thinner skulls and smaller heads than adults, but their brains also continue developing throughout childhood and adolescence—increasing their risks of harm. No wonder that research by Magda Havas, PhD, at Trent University in Canada, demonstrates that reducing electropollution in the schools reduces a number of behavior and health problems.

For a complete picture of the risks from EMFs and what you can do to protect yourself and your family—from using today's technology wisely to zap-proof foods and supplements—pre-order Zapped, which will be released October 5th.

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Candidate's Corner: Wehrle Shares Thoughts on Wi-Fi

Monday, 27 September 2010 06:22 By Paul Wehrle- Candidate for School BOard Trustee

http://www.themeafordindependent.ca/home/candidates-corner/899-candidates-corner-wehrle-shares-thoughts-on-wi-fi

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WARNING: Never carry your cell phone in your pocket!

How many of you have seen this warning???

http://knol.google.com/k/warning-never-carry-your-cell-phone-in-your-pocket#

Robert R

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Prove Wif-Fi isn't dangerous to our children

27 Sept 2010

http://www.mykawartha.com/opinion/article/878857--prove-wif-fi-isn-t-dangerous-to-our-children

To the editor:

I find it worrisome that in spite of vast scientific evidence about the harmful effects of microwave radiation, that WiFi is going to be allowed in schools. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't need to be convinced by 100 per cent conclusive scientific evidence telling me WiFi is dangerous, when common sense is my guide. Anyone willing to Google "WiFi in schools" or "electromagnetic radiation" or "microwave/ electronic device radiation" will find a plethora of experts concluding that any radiation is harmful, even at low frequencies, and particularly when it is radiating all the time, as it would be in schools with WiFi.

That's six hours of radiation per day for students.

Yes it is low level. But we are already being exposed to radiation daily from cell towers, cell/cordless phones, computers and other electronic devices inside and outside of our homes – all of which can produce long-term harmful effects. Must we also have it in our schools – making the youngest and most susceptible members of our species exposed to its dangers? 

It was reported in a WiFi report on CBC recently that no studies have been done to claim WiFi is safe for children. None. And yet, our public school board is willing to put our children at risk, relying on the Ministry of Education, which relies on Health Canada, which says that there is no substantive evidence to support such claims. When cigarettes and asbestos were touted as dangerous by many experts more than 50 years ago, it took decades to get the 'powers that be' to admit their danger and take action.

Do we want to wait that long?  Is it acceptable to use our children as guinea pigs while policymakers rest on their laurels until they can no longer ignore the evidence of increased brain tumours, cancers, leukemia, reproductive disorders, et cetra?

Based on scientific evidence to date, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have pulled WiFi out of hundreds of schools; many EU countries actively discourage the public from using WiFi; and Sweden even recognizes 'electromagnetic sensitivity' as a disability.  If they are taking a pre-emptive, precautionary approach to this issue, shouldn't we also give our children the same protection?

Let's put the burden of proof on school boards, government and industry to show us why WiFi is not harmful rather than make citizens prove why it is.

It seems that we are bombarded with so much in our daily lives that we almost expect that our best interests will be taken care of by 'others.'

So, we think, of course Health Canada and our school boards have our children's best interests at heart, right? Or, are cost and ignorance overriding our rights to safe schools? I feel it is the latter.

M. Menon
Peterborough

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Children like lab rats in school WiFi test

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2774436

Why is our public school board going to be allowing WiFi in schools when the jury is still out on their long-term effects? Anyone who Googles the subject will find many experts concluding that microwave radiation is harmful, and particularly when radiating all the time, as it would be in schools with WiFi -six hours per day minimum.

We're already exposed to radiation daily from cell towers, cordless/cell phones, computers and other electronic devices inside and outside of our homes. Must we also have it in our schools -dousing the youngest and most susceptible members of our species with more?

A CBC report recently stated that no studies have been done to claim WiFi is safe for children. Do we really need to wait until all the studies prove what enough experts are already telling us? Is it acceptable to use our children as "guinea pigs" until policymakers can no longer ignore the evidence of increased brain tumours, cancers, leukemia, reproductive disorders, etc. -like cigarettes, decades later? Europe follows the "precautionary principle," which states that if an action/policy is suspected of causing harm to the public or environment, those taking the action have to prove it is not harmful. Many EU countries have actually pulled WiFi out of schools and actively discourage the public from using WiFi until the science is clear.

If we can write or call our schools, the Ministry of Education, our MP/MPPs, and Health Canada, the message will get through that parents are concerned and that proper, safer action needs to be taken.

M. MENON Champlain Dr.

Robert R

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Cancer is not normal

http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/Cancer.php#1

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protecting-people-from-electrosmog+noreply@googlegroups.com

Ellen Marks <emarks@apr.com> Sep 26 12:53AM -0700 ^

I bought the Blackberry Torch yesterday which comes with a small safety and product information guide. The font is actually larger than the iphone guide.

Also, on page 4 when it gives the spiel about when wearing the device close to your body keep a distance of at least .98 in. or it may cause your device to exceed rf exposure standards, it also states:

THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF EXCEEDING RF EXPOSURE STANDARDS MIGHT PRESENT A RISK OF SERIOUS HARM.

Page 23:
Use in areas when there is a strong signal....... A reduced signal might indicate increased power output.

...Use hands- free if available and keep the Blackberry at least .98 in. from your body IINCLUDING THE ABDOMEN OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND THE LOWER ABDOMEN OF TEENAGERS!!!

More to come as it has many pages on SAR but how interesting is this? And CTIA denies/ignores/spins all of this? Although Snowden repeated how many times "I am not telling you they are safe"? I think my son added that to top of www.cabta.org<http://www.cabta.org> today. "Let me be very clear, the industry has not said once, not once, that cell phones are safe". Quote from CTIA on Sept. 20, 2010.

In all fairness he was saying it is the governing agencies that claim they are safe. Let's not go there! The FCC actually changed the website the day of the Burlingame meeting. It had stated as a precaution one should buy a lower sar phone (seen on Sept. 19). On Sept. 20 that was gone! What a coincidence!

Also, for those of you that watched the Burlingame hearing, the Maine legislator spoke to Senator Brannigan and Representative Stuckey yesterday and NO ONE from the CTIA (including Mr. Snowden) ever got back to them about the language in the user guides as Mr. Snowden claimed he did.

Please share with others. People need to know.

Thanks, Ellie
Director of Government & Public Affairs
Environmental Health Trust
www.environmentalhealthtrust.org

Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org

To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org  (provide name and e-mail address)

W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The bad environment brings new diseases / Last incandescent light bulb factory in U.S. closes / CFL bulbs and Climate Change / Magnetic Power / WiFI alert

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

26 September 2010

The bad environment brings new diseases

http://www.vglobale.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12260%3Ail-malambiente-fa-emergere-nuove-malattie&catid=5%3Aultime&Itemid=121&lang=it

Sabato 25 Settembre 2010

Roma

25 sept 2010

In a meeting we talked about multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia to explore new paradigms of toxicology and environmental medicine, such as epigenetic.

"The new environmental illness," was the subject of the conference that Italy has organized together with the values Amica Association (Association of chronic diseases, poisoning and / or environmental).

Domenico Scilipoti (IDV), in reference to the event held in Palazzo Marini said: "We have all the new products in environmental health, beginning with emerging diseases such as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) Fibromyalgia and up to explore new paradigms of toxicology and environmental medicine, such as epigenetics, which may help to understand the development of diseases as a result of chronic exposure to low doses, to chemical pollutants and electromagnetic fields. "

"The citizen is exposed to too many environmental risks of chemical and electromagnetic especially since our public health policies are to prevail over that of the interest of primary prevention, said Dr. Francesca Romana Orlando, Vice President, Amica .

"The increase in diseases related to chemistry teaches us that our society does not set economic interests and we must build together a new paradigm based on Ecology and deep respect for life in all its forms," concludes Mr . Scilipoti, holistic doctor, rapporteur of a draft law on environmental diseases and disabilities and a bill for the banning of dental amalgam.

The speakers were Professor. Joseph Genovesi of the Policlinico Umberto I and Dr. Chiara De Luca. Dr. Dino Pisco NTERNATIONAL President of the Academy of Dental Medicine and Dr.. Gianpaolo Guzzi, dentist, Italian Association for Research on metals and biocompatibility (Airmeb) have explained the risks of chronic toxicity of metals in dental amalgam fillings.

Among the foreign guests were Dr. Peter Ohnsorge Berlin, President of the European Academy of Environmental Medicine, and Professor. Olle Johansson of the Karolinska Institute and a member of the Research Group BioInitiative, world leading expert on the effects of electromagnetic fields and especially on the EHS.

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Last incandescent light bulb factory in U.S. closes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1rO2LeOy4w

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CFL bulbs and Climate Change

Albert Nerenberg just wrote an excellent article in the Montreal Gazette on CFL bulbs and Climate Change. 

We have certainly turned the corner in Canada with some excellent reporting!

-magda

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Shedding+light+miracle+bulbs/3571340/story.html#ixzz10RyIx8sY

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Magnetic Power Offers Energy-Saving Alternative

Designed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology and fine-tuned by researchers at MERSTech in partnership with the ONR Global's office in Tokyo, the Magnetic Energy Recovery Switch (MERS) harnesses and recycles residual magnetic power that is produced by electrical current.

http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2010/Magnetic-Energy-Recovery-MERS.aspx

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Parents should be on WiFI alert

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2773365

September is here and the children are back in school.

Same as every other year, right?

No, not if your child's school has had wireless network (WiFi) installed for laptops. Never before have these children experienced so many waves of electromagnetic radiation passing through their bodies, and they need to be watched carefully.

So please follow these two steps: Make a note of any allergies your children have had up till the start of school. Monitor your children over the next six months to see if any of their allergies get worse, or if any new ones develop.

Many support the claim that WiFi cannot harm the kids, but if they are wrong it is best to have well-documented evidence.

WENDA ATKIN Young's Cove Rd.

Ennismore

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Nearly 30,000 Americans Get Cancer From This One Procedure EVERY Year: Will You?

The reckless overuse of this medical procedure not only causes escalating rates of cancer, but will be responsible for 1,000 times MORE deaths over the next 25 years. And studies now show the damage is far greater than you're being told. Discover the sinister truth and spare your body irreparable harm by just saying "no".

http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2010/09/25/high-ct-scan-radiation-is-deadly.aspx

Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org

To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org  (provide name and e-mail address)

W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

Significantly increased health risk / CBC interview with Devra Davis / Mastsanity.org/health/clusters / EMF-Omega News

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

26 September 2010

Significantly increased health risk in the vicinity of cell phone base stations

Please distribute and share Dr. Horst Eger and Dr. Manfred Jahn's English-language translation of their peer-reviewed study, "Spezifische Symptome und Mobilfunkstrahlung in Selbitz (Bayern) – Evidenz für eine Dosiswirkungsbeziehung," originally published in umwelt·medizin·gesellschaft, Feb. 2010: 130-139.

The study shows a significantly increased health risk in the vicinity of cell phone base stations and underscores the inadequacy of the currently accepted exposure limits. Discussion includes references to several past studies since the 1960s that supports their findings.

"Specific Health Symptoms and Cell Phone Radiation in Selbitz (Bavaria, Germany)—Evidence of a Dose-Response Relationship" is now available to download at:

https://sites.google.com:443/site/nocelltowerinourneighborhood/home/horst-eger-manfred-jahn-study-feb-2010

Thanks to this new English translation, this study can reach an even wider audience.

Special thanks to: Dr. Horst Eger and Dr. Manfred Jahn and the publisher for making this English translation possible; Ms. Katharina Gustavs for her English translation; Nancy Evans for recommending Katharina Gustavs translate this important study.  The publishers affirm that this study has been peer-reviewed by their scientific board.

Ms. Kiku Lani Iwata

Burbank ACTION, California

www.nocelltowerinourneighborhood.com

CHE EMF

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CBC interview with Devra Davis

http://www.cbc.ca/day6/promote/2010/09/24/episode-3-commonwealth-games-bloggers-do-battle-cell-phones-and-cancer/

Brent Banbury's new show "Day 6" gave a good interview with Devra Davis, introduced as an epidemiologist, about her new book DISCONNECTED, concerning the relationship of length of use and risks of brain cancers. She also mentioned the fact that the cell phone industry pulls strings to try to keep independent scientists from being published.

There is an audio link for the show, and this interview starts at 37 minutes and 53 seconds.  You can adjust the pointer to find the correct place to listen to this segment of the show.

Dr. Davis is not a first-time author; I've found other listings for her work. There are also review pages and comments online. E.g.

http://www.librarything.com/author/davisdevra

The above CBC page for this show as well as the program's Facebook page both offer the opportunity for CBC-registered listeners and Facebook users to post comments. The first negative comment was posted before the show even finished. So there's both a need and an opportunity to back up the information given on the program.

MSH

----------------------------------------

From: Devra Davis <devra.davis@gmail.com>

Date: September 25, 2010 2:59:37 PM EDT

Subject: please help get the information out about my new book, which is encountering the expected tricks..This Sunday in Canada the National will have a 12 minute expose....

News Articles

The Globe and Mail | 10 Books You Have To Read This Fall | September 17, 2010
Jackson Hole Weekly | Davis's Disconnect Divulged | September 8, 2010
JH Weekly News & Guide | Ad of Sneak Preview of Disconnect | September 8, 2010

Blogs

The Low Radiation Blog | The Truth about Mobile phone Radiation | September 22, 2010

Videos

CBC The National | Cell Phones and Insurance Companies | September 21, 2010
Dutton Books | Disconnect by Devra Davis | September 1, 2010 
Founder, Environmental Health Trust
P.O.Box 58
Teton Village, WY 83025
www.environmentalhealthtrust.org
http://twitter.com/devraleedavis

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Mastsanity.org/health/clusters.

http://www.mastsanity.org/health/clusters.html

Robert

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EMF-Omega News

Dear Sir, Madam, Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, for your information.

Best regards,
Klaus Rudolph
Citizens' Initiative Omega
http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/OmegaNews.php
http://www.mastsanity.org/health.html

http://mast-victims.org/index.php?content=news&action=view&type=newsitem&id=2569

http://weepnews.blogspot.com/search/label/Omega%20News
Member of the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society)
Protectorate Union of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog
http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/57/70/
Radiation Hazards from Cell phones and Cell towers
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1518/
Increasing rates of head melanoma
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1494/
On health effects of electromagnetic radiation in residential areas and schools
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1503/
Wi-Fi Impacts teacher's Health and Career
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1498/
Stuart Cobb's Brain Tumor
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1506/
Losing sleep? Blame it on mobile towers
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1514/
The dangers and risks to children and staff from Wi-Fi in schools
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1530/
The New Wireless Commons
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1512/
Cellphones and the Insurance Industry
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1519/
Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion releases Report on WiFi and Health
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1524/
NY town enacts tough cell tower limits
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1525/
Cell Phone Warning Label Discussion at Burlingame City Council
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1516/
Canada: Teacher's Federation has their eyes open on WiFi
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1515/
The studies at the National Toxicology Program have started
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1513/
ICNIRP's safety limits may be exceeded
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1528/
Homeowner fights corporation over private cell tower
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1495/
Call for restrictions on mobile phone masts
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1504/
Leitrim Council to seek judicial review on planning issue
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1505/
Residents ready to fight cell phone tower
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1509/
WALTHAMSTOW: Mobile phone mast 'could be harmful to children'
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1523/
Resident: Power line electromagnetic fields a health concern
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1521/
Women's Health is Environmental Health
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1497/
"FULL SIGNAL" Wireless Hazards Documentary to Screen at San Francisco Library 11-10
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1522/
Next-up News Nr 1410
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/8358187/
Next-up News Nr 1411
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/2415/
Next-up News Nr 1412
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/2454/
News from Mast Sanity
http://tinyurl.com/2vhcbl6
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3

--------
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________________________________________________________________________

Note: EMF-Omega News belongs to the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), Umbrella Organization of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog.

Editor and responsible for the content: Citizens' Initiative Omega, member in the Buergerwelle. Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), which works on non-profit base. Our messages are the result of many hours of daily research, roundup and editing. If you would like to support our activity for people around the world with a donation or an aid fund unique or on regular base, you can do it:

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If you have information which you would like to share with your friends and colleges around the world and which are from common interest, please send us this information, we will send them out.

Disclaimer: The information in our EMF-Omega-News are derived from sources, which we believe to be accurate but this  cannot be guaranteed. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions and disclaims any liability incurred as a consequence of any of the contents of this resources.

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W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Children & Wi-Fi / Texts, phones kill 16,000 / Transmitters & Insurance / Not scientific / Brain tumor / Wi-Fi impact / Eye Cancer / Cellphones

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

25 September 2010

The dangers and risks to children and staff from Wi-Fi in schools

Last night, Citizens for Safe Technology (CST) presented to the Surrey School District (SSD) here in British Columbia on the dangers and risks to children and staff from Wi-Fi in schools.

I am pleased to say that we were very well received and that the trustees were very appreciative of the information we shared with them. CST member Liz Walker (who spoke last night) has been speaking out to and educating the SSD about EMR since she was involved in a successful bid to cancel a cell tower contract on top of her son's school in 2004.

Una St. Clair put together a binder the size of a small phone book full of studies and information. Una is both brilliant and a saint - like all of us she puts in hundreds of hours, fueled by her passion to make a difference on the planet and keep our children safe.

The questions that some of the trustees asked indicated that they were truly concerned by the info we shared. We did our absolute best to build a bridge with them and we offered our expertise and a collaborative approach to dealing with the issue, even if that initially means that there are Wi-Fi free classrooms in part of the school or that a few schools are selected initially to be Wi-Fi free. There was a commitment to get back to me. We shot some video - if it is available, I will post it. Una suggested that if a few schools went Wi-Fi, there should be a study on the impact of Wi-Fi on grade averages.

CST member Lynda Honing, who also spoke last night has done a great job of educating the principal at her daughter's school in the district- the principal followed the happenings in Barrie all summer and put together a hard wired computer lab at the beginning of the summer after school ended. At this point, the principal does not want any publicity about this, which I completely understand - I think it could jeopardize the changes she has quietly made and possibly her position 

One point I made last night was that I was clear that the SSD did not knowingly roll out Wi-Fi with awareness of the risks, and pointed out to them that I used Wi-Fi extensively for five years until I was diagnosed with EHS. There was no finger pointing!

I also told the SSD about my brain tumor during the question period after our presentation. In Jan. 2008 I had an MRI to check my pituitary gland due to hormone imbalances. My pituitary was fine, but a smallish glioma (1.5 x 2.5 cm)  showed up close to my skull on the top left side of my head. I've had followup MRI's - the growth has been slow and my neurosurgeon has said that by all appearances, the glioma is benign and very slow growing. That said, after we noticed some small growth last May (3mm in 2.5 years) I decided to have surgery - I am looking at November. I consider myself blessed - had I not become EHS, I would have never found out about my tumor.

My neurosurgeon has said that he believes that recovery will be complete - that in his experience the surgery is very well tolerated and I should be back to normal in a few weeks.

I will follow up on what future communications we have with the district - I don't know what that is going to look like.

I can tell you that with the relationship we have forged with the BC Teachers Federation, invites to speak at to other school districts I can honestly say that we are gaining ground people are slowly waking up! I had a disastrous experience with the French School Board here in BC in 2008/2009 and learned a lot from that experience.

Carl Katz

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Texts, phones kill 16,000: study

Maggie Fox  Washington— Reuters
Published Friday, Sep. 24, 2010

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/texts-phones-kill-16000-study/article1722964/

Drivers distracted by talking or texting on cell phones killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

The estimate, one of the first scientific attempts to quantify how many people have died in accidents caused specifically by mobile telephone distractions, also suggests a growing number of these drivers are under 30.

"Our results suggested that recent and rapid increases in texting volumes have resulted in thousands of additional road fatalities in the United States," Fernando Wilson and Jim Stimpson of the University of North Texas Health Science Center wrote in the American Journal of Public Health.

Wilson and Stimpson used details on road deaths from each state, on cell phone ownership and data on text message volume from the Federal Communications Commission.

They got reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on deaths attributable to distracted driving.

"Since roughly 2001-2002, texting volumes have increased by several hundred per cent," Wilson said in a telephone interview. In 2002, 1 million texts were sent every month; this rose to 110 million in 2008.

"Since 2001 our model predicts that about 16,000 people have died since then that we attribute to the increase in texting volume in the United States."

Just talking on a cell phone can distract a driver, and several studies have demonstrated that, even with a hands-free device. But Wilson said texting and using so-called smart phones that provide e-mail access and other distracting applications take the problem to a new level.

U.S. traffic deaths are down – in 2009 the Transportation Department said they hit their lowest level since the mid-1950s in 2009 at 33,963.

But for every 1 million new cell phone subscribers, Wilson and Stimpson estimate a 19-per cent rise in deaths due to distracted driving.

"Distracted deaths as a share of all road fatalities increased from 10.9 per cent to 15.8 per cent from 1999 to 2008, and much of the increase occurred after 2005," they wrote.

"In 2008, approximately 1 in 6 fatal vehicle collisions resulted from a driver being distracted while driving," the report said. It found 5,870 people died in accidents attributed to distracted driving.

Cellphone ownership and the number of text messages sent rose sharply over the same time, Wilson and Stimpson found.

Wilson said 30 states ban texting while driving, and some cities and states require hands-free devices for drivers using mobile telephones

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Radiation-emitting transmitters & Insurance

Dear HESA Committee Members,

Please  find below an article from a major American business magazine by the managing director of New York-based Vogel Capital Management warning that radiation from radiation-emitting transmitters may result in insurance claims similar to those from asbestos.

http://www.businessinsurance.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100912%2FISSUE0401%2F309129980

She advises, "The insurance industry seems oblivious to this emerging risk, as it long ago added exclusionary clauses, installed aggregate limits, or carved out RF radiation risk, but only from telecom coverage. Insurers have never considered RF radiation as it relates to the properties that host RF-transmitting antennas. The real risk to insurers lies in those third-party workers" (residents)  "who are being overexposed to RF radiation at such properties."

It is telling that it seems to be taken for granted that users of cellphones will have high claims, but new to the argument are those people living and working near antennae. She is warning that the insurance companies must insulate themselves against these inevitable future claims as well.

I would ask that you consider this warning, and help prevent these future claims from occurring by requiring Safety Code 6 be discarded and new biologically-based regulations be implemented.

Yours truly,

Sharon Noble

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Poor quality reporting

Hi All

Just a warning that this non scientific article is coming out in the October magazine of Scientific American.

I was going to place a comment but I am not willing to register on a site with this poor quality of reporting.

Martin

Can You Hear Me Now?: Scientific American
Physics shows that cell phones cannot cause cancer. ... or meningioma [the two most common types of brain tumors] was observed with use of mobile phones. ...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-you-hear-me-now

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Eleanor Mondale says brain tumor has stopped growing

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=872984&catid=14

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Radio talk show host Eleanor Mondale says her chemotherapy regimen has stopped the growth of her cancerous brain tumor.

Mondale recently had a brain scan at the Mayo Clinic. The daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale was first diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and has had two major surgeries and various drug treatments. The 50-year-old Mondale says she'll return to Mayo for another brain scan next month.

The WCCO radio host tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the drugs she's taking to fight the cancer make her very tired and that the chemo has been hard on her body.

Mondale says she's looking forward to a February vacation in Mexico with her husband, musician Chan Poling, and her parents.

With information from the St. Paul Pioneer Press/http://www.TwinCities.com

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War of words erupts over Wi-Fi impact on health

Some parents alarmed about effect on their kids

Published September 23, 2010

http://www.lavalnews.ca/articles/tln1818/Wi-Fi-impact-on-health-181808.html

By Martin C. Barry • NEWSFIRST

Seemingly taking his cue from a British scientist who claims that wireless networks in schools could cause genetic defects, a St. Catharines, Ont. university dramatic arts department head has issued a warning of his own, while denouncing government denials of the problem as "false and misleading statements."

Health Canada: safe

The British scientist, Barrie Trower, who specialized in the development of microwave as a mass weapon during the Cold War, spoke at the University of Toronto on Aug. 25 about his safety concerns over the use of Wi-Fi systems in a public school setting. Prof. David Fancy of Brock U in St. Catharines was among those at Trower's lecture. Since then, Health Canada has responded to Trower's statements, maintaining that the technology is safe.

Trower says that the radio wave frequencies he was experimenting with as weapons are the same as are being used today for transmitting wireless Internet through schools, or anywhere for that matter where a wireless hub has been set up. He is especially concerned that small children are more susceptible to genetic damage, which could lead to deformed offspring when those children grow up.

Kooky claims?

The spreading controversy has made a local impact and prompted Montreal computer pioneer Lorne Trottier, founder of Matrox Graphics Inc., to fire off a "dismayed" letter to this city's leading English-language daily, wondering why Trower's "assertions of a kook" were being uncritically repeated in the media.

On a web page Trottier set up with some colleagues on issues concerning Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and health, he maintains, "there is no credible scientific evidence that Wi-Fi or any other source of EMF can cause EHS" (Electrohypersensitivity), whose symptoms are similar to those reported by a group of parents in Barrie, Ont.

Children's health

Fancy's assertions on the perils of Wi-Fi, contained in a statement he distributed across the country on Aug. 30 via the Canada News Wire service, came on the heels of demands made by parents with children at a Barrie school about two weeks before, that the wireless Internet service be switched off because they are concerned it is making their children sick.

The parents say their children are exhibiting a multitude of symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, nausea and accelerated heart rates. Since the symptoms go away on weekends when the children aren't in school, the parents suspect the wireless system is to blame.

The parents have said they are willing to pay for installing a wired Internet distribution system throughout the school if that would mean shutting off the wireless system for good.

Questions the government

"There have been press reports in the last two weeks with false and misleading statements from government officials that there is no public health risk," Fancy, who sat on a staff and administration committee at Brock U that issued a warning on Wi-Fi to the university's 2,000 employees, said in his statement.

In a phone interview with the Laval News earlier this week, he said the reason he was speaking out about the issue was to respond to statements from Ontario's chief medical officer, Dr. Arlene King, that there are no health threats from wireless. "I think that her assertions are patently false and quite misleading," said Fancy, citing reams of research he has read about the effects of a range of radio frequencies from microwaves to X-rays.

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Eye Cancer and EMR

http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/IrradiationOeilCemRadiofrequences.php#1

English translation -

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/IrradiationOeilCemRadiofrequences.php&autotranslate=on&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8

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The disturbing truth about cellphones
Martin Mittelstaedt
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Sep. 24, 2010
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-disturbing-truth-about-cellphones/article1724983/

Is that cellphone at your ear giving you cancer? U.S. public-health advocate and epidemiologist Devra Davis takes a close look at the science of cellphones in her new book, Disconnect, and discovers that while researchers haven't yet found a definitive answer, there are chilling clues that these ubiquitous devices are far from benign.

More related to this story

Tumours on the rise

Several studies, including an exhaustive review released this year by the World Health Organization's cancer-research agency, find that people who have used cellphones for half an hour a day for more than a decade have about twice the risk of glioma, a rare kind of brain tumour, on the side of their head where they hold the phone. Glioma is usually fatal. Dr. Davis says brain cancers typically take decades to develop, and the fact that they're being found after 10 years in cellphone users after relatively light exposure by today's usage standards is worrisome. "For such a risk to show up in cellphone users within 10 years given what we know about brain tumours, which is that they can have a latency of 40 years, is deeply, deeply disturbing," she said in an interview.

Your brain on microwaves

Cellphones operate on microwaves, sent and received by antennas on the back of the devices. Some people compare holding these phones to pressing tiny microwave ovens next to our heads. Nearly everyone is exposed to cellphone radiation: There are an estimated five billion subscriptions worldwide.

There is no doubt that more powerful types of radiation – think X-rays – cause cancer. But microwaves, known as non-ionizing radiation, were long thought to be benign because they weren't strong enough to bump electrons from atoms. Nonetheless, Dr. Davis writes that experiments indicate these waves do pack a biological punch. Rats exposed to just two hours of microwave radiation had broken strands of DNA, the damage known to occur in cancer. The rats also had brain-cell alterations, memory lapses and fluids leaking from their brains into their blood, indicating a breach of the blood-brain barrier.

Safe for whom?

Dr. Davis writes that cellphone-safety tests are based on the amount of radiation absorbed into the head of man who is in the top 10 per cent of U.S. military recruits, a 200-pounder with an 11-pound brain standing at 6 feet, 2 inches. The standards were based on early analog phones used no more than six minutes at a time, not the digital models now in use. They were set to prevent the head from overheating. The tests don't account for the smaller head sizes of women and children.

Don't touch that phone

According to the fine print of the safety and product information brochure accompanying every cellphone, pressing the phone to your ear is a no-no, Dr. Davis writes. BlackBerry instructions, for example, couldn't be more explicit. The phones should be used in a hands-free operation if available and people should "keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 in. (25 mm) from your body (including the abdomen of pregnant women and the lower abdomen of teenagers) when the BlackBerry device is turned on and connected to the wireless network."

Safer cellphone use

* Using headsets and wireless gadgets such as Bluetooth cuts the amount of radiation to the brain.

* Store your cellphone in a backpack or purse. Or, if you must carry it mounted on your belt, turn the keypad to face your body because the antenna is on the back. Because radiation drops exponentially by distance from the antenna, holding devices away from the body cuts doses dramatically.

* Don't sleep with your cellphone on next to the bed or under a pillow.

* Pregnant women should keep the phones away from their abdomen.

* Talk in an area with good reception. Poor reception increases the radiation dose because the phones must power up to send the signal.

* Children should text instead of speaking on the phone, and limit use to emergency situations.

Tobacco, asbestos and cellphones

"Science on this complicated topic remains uncertain, for two reasons. First of all, science is truly complex and not easily understood by most of us. But a very large part of that uncertainty on this issue has been manufactured by those with deep pockets whose bottom line remains their primary focus. Many of those engaged in efforts to study cellphone radiation have … made up their minds in advance. The fact that ready money has been there to support those who cast doubt on the dangers of radio-frequency radiation certainly plays some role in the perpetuation of their views, as it did with tobacco, asbestos, benzene, and hormone-replacement therapy." – from Disconnect

Out with the old science

"Cellphones have become as essential to modern life as cars and trucks and jet planes. We spend billions of dollars, euros, yen and won making vehicles safer for us to drive or fly in and checking to see if they are safe as used. We need to do the same things with cellphones. Rather than parroting assurances of safety based on old science, outmoded theories of physics, and bullied scientists, we need to invest in cellphones' safety as we do with other modern technologies.

"Of course, more research is needed. On that we are all agreed. But the need for research should not be allowed to become an excuse to carry on as though everything is fine, until we have incontrovertible proof that it is not." – from Disconnect

The two above excerpts are from Disconnect by Devra Davis. Reprinted by arrangement with Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. Copyright © 2010 by Devra Davis

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