29 brain tumor lawsuits move toward trial in Washington, DC
Arthur Firstenberg, Cellular Phone Task Force, 11 August 2014
Twenty-nine high-profile lawsuits brought by people whose brain tumors were caused by their cell phones are finally moving toward trial. Six of these cases were originally filed in 2001 and 2002. Many of the plaintiffs are no longer alive.On Friday, Judge Frederick H. Weisberg, in the D.C. Superior Court, admitted the testimony of five expert witness for the plaintiffs, and the 12- and 13-year-old cases will now move into the discovery phase. Each of the plaintiffs is asking for more than $100,000,000. There are 46 defendants including Motorola, Nokia, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Cellular One, Cingular Wireless, SBC Communications, Verizon, Vodafone, the Telecommunications Industry Association, the IEEE, ANSI, the CTIA, and the FCC. The plaintiffs are represented by Jeffrey B. Morganroth of Morganroth & Morganroth, a law firm in Birmingham, Michigan.For over a decade the industry and the plaintiffs have played tug-of-war with the oldest cases, sending them back and forth between federal and state courts, and fighting over whether the plaintiff’s claims were preempted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
In 2009 the D.C. Court of Appeals, in Murray v. Motorola (982 A. 2d 764), ruled that the telecommunications companies could not be sued over brain tumors caused by cell phones manufactured after 1996. But since all of these plaintiffs had used pre-1996 phones, their lawsuits were allowed to go forward. They were also allowed to go forward on their claims that the defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose information about the dangers of cell phones. These claims were brought under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act.
In December 2013 and January 2014, testimony was heard from:
DR. SHIRA KRAMER, a Maryland epidemiologist;
DR. MICHAEL KUNDI, professor of epidemiology and occupational health at the Medical University of Vienna;
DR. VINI KHURANA, a neurosurgeon and professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University in Canberra;
DR. IGOR BELYAEV, head research scientist at the Cancer Research institute at the Slovak Academy of Science in Bratislava, Slovakia;
DR. WILHELM MOSGOELLER, professor and medical doctor at the University of Vienna Medical School’s Institute for Cancer Research;
DR. DIMITRIS PANAGAPOULOUS, founder of the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at the University of Athens;
DR. ABRAHAM LIBOFF, professor emeritus of physics at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; and
DR. LAURA PLUNKETT, pharmacologist and toxicologist in Houston.
On Friday, August 8, 2014, the testimony of Drs. Kramer, Khurana, and Panagopoulos was disallowed. But the testimony of Drs. Kundi, Belyaev, Mosgoeller, Liboff, and Plunkett was admitted. They will testify at trial about “general causation,” i.e. that cell phones can cause brain tumors.
The lawsuits now move into the discovery phase, in which each side is compelled to produce documents and answer questions. This is the first time that the industry has had to turn over data. There will then be a fight over the admission of the testimony of witnesses on “specific causation,” i.e. doctors and others who will testify that these specific cell phones caused these specific tumors.
Friday’s decision by Judge Weisberg allowed 13 of the cases, which have been consolidated in one action, to go forward. The other 16 cases are being tried separately, but the parties in those cases agreed to be bound by Friday’s decision.
In allowing the experts to testify, Judge Weisberg wrote:
“Federal law is the supreme law of the land, but there is no constitutional provision that says federal facts are the supreme facts of the land. Federal law can preempt state law, but it cannot preempt scientific fact. The scientific truth, whatever it may be, lies outside of the FCC’s regulations about what is “safe” or “unsafe.”
http://boilthefrogradio.com/29-brain-tumor-lawsuits-move-toward-trial-in-washington-dc/
30 September 2014
22 September 2014
iPhone 6 SAR: Radiation Levels and Separation Distance
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Lines of people wait to get in the Apple store on Fifth Avenue on 19 September 2014 in New York City. (Photo: CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) |
The minimum separation distance that the phones should be kept from the body is approximately two-tenths of an inch (5 millimeters). The SAR values are very close to the legal limit.
iPhone 6 SAR: Radiation Levels and Separation Distance
20 September 2014
What are the SAR levels for Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus? What is the minimum body separation distance? How should the consumer use this information?
PRLog - Sep. 20, 2014 - BERKELEY, Calif. -- For both Apple iPhone 6 models, the SAR level for the head is 1.18. When using a body-worn accessory to keep the phone five millimeters from the body, the SAR level is 1.18 for the iPhone 6 and 1.19 for the iPhone 6 Plus. (1, 2) Thus, the minimum separation distance that the phones should be kept from the body is approximately two-tenths of an inch (i.e., 5 millimeters).
PRLog - Sep. 20, 2014 - BERKELEY, Calif. -- For both Apple iPhone 6 models, the SAR level for the head is 1.18. When using a body-worn accessory to keep the phone five millimeters from the body, the SAR level is 1.18 for the iPhone 6 and 1.19 for the iPhone 6 Plus. (1, 2) Thus, the minimum separation distance that the phones should be kept from the body is approximately two-tenths of an inch (i.e., 5 millimeters).
iPhone 6 SAR Nearly Exceeds Legal Radiation Limits for Simultaneous Rating
iPhone 6 SAR Nearly Exceeds Legal Radiation Limits for Simultaneous Rating
rfsafe.com
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus is bigger, but bigger is absolutely no excuse for radiation exposure levels that are only .01 under the FCC’s legal limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg).
It’s easy to dismiss Apple’s new iPhone 6 Plus as merely catching up to Android in size, but Apple is still nowhere near catching up with regards to cell phone radiation safety. The new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, holds the same position on cell phone radiation as did the late Steve Jobs who remained in denial through to his last breath.
It’s a well known fact that the genius behind the iPhone, Steve Jobs himself, made it clear he was ” Not Interested” in having an app in the Apple app store which alerted iPhone users of excessive exposure to potentially cancer causing cell phone radiation. The company named Tawkon developed an application to measure the amount of radiation coming from your iPhone. Jobs wanted no part of it, in a twist of irony, it was cancer that took Steve Jobs from this world; he may have been a genius in many ways, but not in cancer prevention. Click here to read the email exchange between Jobs’ and Tawkon.
rfsafe.com
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus is bigger, but bigger is absolutely no excuse for radiation exposure levels that are only .01 under the FCC’s legal limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg).
It’s easy to dismiss Apple’s new iPhone 6 Plus as merely catching up to Android in size, but Apple is still nowhere near catching up with regards to cell phone radiation safety. The new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, holds the same position on cell phone radiation as did the late Steve Jobs who remained in denial through to his last breath.
It’s a well known fact that the genius behind the iPhone, Steve Jobs himself, made it clear he was ” Not Interested” in having an app in the Apple app store which alerted iPhone users of excessive exposure to potentially cancer causing cell phone radiation. The company named Tawkon developed an application to measure the amount of radiation coming from your iPhone. Jobs wanted no part of it, in a twist of irony, it was cancer that took Steve Jobs from this world; he may have been a genius in many ways, but not in cancer prevention. Click here to read the email exchange between Jobs’ and Tawkon.
17 September 2014
Tablets Could Be Harming Kids' Health, Study Says
Tablets could be harming kids’ health, study says
CityNews, Toronto, 16 September 2014
They are being embraced by educators as important learning tools, but some health experts are warning that tablets and smartphones can have harmful health effects, especially on young, developing children.
CityNews, Toronto, 16 September 2014
They are being embraced by educators as important learning tools, but some health experts are warning that tablets and smartphones can have harmful health effects, especially on young, developing children.
Dr. Devra Davis, President of Environmental Health Trust, says microwave radiation from the devices pose significant risks to children.
“The radiation from a cellphone, which is a two-way microwave radio, gets twice as deep into the head of a child as an adult,” she said.
“Those who begin to use cellphones before the age of 20 have four to eight times more brain cancer 10 years later.”
“The radiation from a cellphone, which is a two-way microwave radio, gets twice as deep into the head of a child as an adult,” she said.
“Those who begin to use cellphones before the age of 20 have four to eight times more brain cancer 10 years later.”
15 September 2014
The Electrosensitive: When Waves Ravage Lives
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Electrohypersensitive persons at an international gathering which took place from 25 August to 1st September 2014 in the Gorges du Riou-Froid (Hautes-Alpes) (Jéromine Santo-Gammaire/France TVInfo) |
The Electrosensitive: When Waves Ravage Livesby Jéromine Santo-Gammaire, francetvinfo.fr, 8 September 2014 (translated from French by the Editor of this blog)
Persons intolerant to electromagnetic waves militate for recognition of their illness and for the creation of a protected place to live. Report from the forest of the Hautes-Alpes where a number of these persons have gathered.
Attached to trees, hand-written signs request hikers and drivers to "imperatively switch off" their mobile phones. The narrow route which penetrates the forest ends in a clearing where there are groups of tents. In the center, is a large tent. It is here, in the Gorges de Riou Froid (Hautes-Alpes) that the international gathering of electrohypersensitive (EHS) persons – victims of disorders attributed to electromagnetic waves - took place from 25 August to 1st September.
Persons intolerant to electromagnetic waves militate for recognition of their illness and for the creation of a protected place to live. Report from the forest of the Hautes-Alpes where a number of these persons have gathered.
Attached to trees, hand-written signs request hikers and drivers to "imperatively switch off" their mobile phones. The narrow route which penetrates the forest ends in a clearing where there are groups of tents. In the center, is a large tent. It is here, in the Gorges de Riou Froid (Hautes-Alpes) that the international gathering of electrohypersensitive (EHS) persons – victims of disorders attributed to electromagnetic waves - took place from 25 August to 1st September.
13 September 2014
Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) - A Personal Case Study
"The main problem being faced by people who are suffering from EHS is that they are left in a tenuous position where there is a complete absence of government support. EHS is declared to be “not a medical diagnosis” by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and so sufferer’s symptoms are ignored by government health authorities and often misdiagnosed by the medical profession. This then can lead to the prescription of unnecessary and ineffective medication."
A Personal Case Study
A briefing on EHS for Health Professionals, Research Scientists, Government Officials and concerned members of the Public
A briefing on EHS for Health Professionals, Research Scientists, Government Officials and concerned members of the Public
by Steven Weller, Bachelor of Science, Monash University, 11 April 2014
Introduction
I felt compelled to write this personal case study because through my own personal experiences I have found that there is a serious lack of understanding of what Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), also commonly referred to as Electrosensitivity (ES), is and its cause. For some people EHS can be completely disabling and in some extreme situations can lead to hospitalisation due to aggravation of pre-existing medical condition(s), development of tachyarrhythmia, which at times can result in a loss of consciousness, and other acute effects on the neurological system.
Introduction
I felt compelled to write this personal case study because through my own personal experiences I have found that there is a serious lack of understanding of what Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), also commonly referred to as Electrosensitivity (ES), is and its cause. For some people EHS can be completely disabling and in some extreme situations can lead to hospitalisation due to aggravation of pre-existing medical condition(s), development of tachyarrhythmia, which at times can result in a loss of consciousness, and other acute effects on the neurological system.
The Cell Phone: "Intimate Friend" of Over 900 Million Indians - and a Slow Poison
Talking on Cell phone for over 24 minutes is dangerous
by Manish Upadhyay, freepressjournal.in, 10 September 2014
Indore : The device that has become intimate ‘friend’ of over 90 crore [900 million] Indians, Cell phone, could lead to brain tumor if the holder uses it for more than 24 minutes a day. But, more hazardous is radiations of mobile towers, which affects nearby residents for 24 hours.
Unfortunately, neither the residents nor the Union Government is taking any efforts towards this slow poison, whose consequences are dangerous.
The US and European countries have taken adequate measures to contain the problem but in India there is no serious move in this regard, said Dr Girish Kumar, Prof at IIT-Bombay, Department of Electrical Engineering, while talking to this correspondent. Dr Kumar is considered a crusader against hazardous effects of mobile phone and tower radiations in the form of microwaves. Dr Kumar also proved the dangerous consequences of radiation on animal kingdom through his researches. Dr Kumar, who arrived here to address a lecture, said that his researches had proved that excessive talk on cell phone is dangerous and it may lead to brain tumor.
Indore : The device that has become intimate ‘friend’ of over 90 crore [900 million] Indians, Cell phone, could lead to brain tumor if the holder uses it for more than 24 minutes a day. But, more hazardous is radiations of mobile towers, which affects nearby residents for 24 hours.
Unfortunately, neither the residents nor the Union Government is taking any efforts towards this slow poison, whose consequences are dangerous.
The US and European countries have taken adequate measures to contain the problem but in India there is no serious move in this regard, said Dr Girish Kumar, Prof at IIT-Bombay, Department of Electrical Engineering, while talking to this correspondent. Dr Kumar is considered a crusader against hazardous effects of mobile phone and tower radiations in the form of microwaves. Dr Kumar also proved the dangerous consequences of radiation on animal kingdom through his researches. Dr Kumar, who arrived here to address a lecture, said that his researches had proved that excessive talk on cell phone is dangerous and it may lead to brain tumor.
Legal and Public Health Problems of the Wireless Age
"Notwithstanding a media blackout in the US, Americans eventually may figure out what some European governments and officials openly acknowledge; continuous exposure to certain levels of microwave radiation is impairing peoples’ health."
Guest post by Deborah Kopald, pubcit.typepad.com, 8 September 2014
[Deborah Kopald (BA, Harvard; MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management) is an environmental health and public policy consultant and author who has developed and overseen the passage of legislative initiatives and has served as a guest expert at various media outlets. In 2013, she organized and moderated The Conference on Corporate Interference with Science and Health in New York City. The conference proceedings were published in Reviews on Environmental Health.]
The use of Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies has created problems. “An Open Letter to Phillips Exeter Academy about Wi-Fi”, which I wrote to my alma mater, details the public health problem Wi-Fi has created and some legal ramifications of its use.
Some people who lived too close to TV broadcast and radar towers developed symptoms of Microwave Sickness, a condition observed in military and industrial occupational settings during the Cold War. The next wave of microwave-emitting infrastructure, cell towers, lived up to the billing of their military and industry-owned cousins with subsequent studies (none were commissioned in the United States) showing elevated numbers of people within 1,500 feet experiencing symptoms of Microwave Sickness. (Twenty-one years ago, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) had recommended siting towers away from schools and hospitals; some municipalities used their zoning rights under the 1996 Telecom Act to create setbacks from these institutions as well as residences, places of worship and recreation areas in the name of protecting property values.)
11 September 2014
Monsanto Loses GMO Permit in Mexico - Judge Sides With the Bees
Monsanto Loses GMO Permit In Mexico – Judge Sides With The Bees
by Arjun Walia, collective-evolution.com,
27 August 2014
A number of countries around the world have now completely banned GM food and the pesticides that go with them, or have severe restrictions against them. This comes after the world has experienced a massive resistance against Monsanto and other biotech giants that manufacture GMOs and pesticides.
It’s (the resistance) also a result of numerous studies that have emerged showing the environmental and health dangers that are associated with pesticides, as well as health dangers that could be associated with GMOs.
The latest country to make headlines with regards to banning Monsanto products is Mexico, as a group of beekeepers was successful in stopping Monsanto from the planting of soybeans that are genetically modified to resist their Round-up herbicide.
A number of countries around the world have now completely banned GM food and the pesticides that go with them, or have severe restrictions against them. This comes after the world has experienced a massive resistance against Monsanto and other biotech giants that manufacture GMOs and pesticides.
It’s (the resistance) also a result of numerous studies that have emerged showing the environmental and health dangers that are associated with pesticides, as well as health dangers that could be associated with GMOs.
The latest country to make headlines with regards to banning Monsanto products is Mexico, as a group of beekeepers was successful in stopping Monsanto from the planting of soybeans that are genetically modified to resist their Round-up herbicide.
09 September 2014
10 Facts About Wireless Microwave Radiation Every Parent Should Know
Wi-Fi is Microwave Radiation
10 Facts Every Parent Should Know...National Association for Children and Safe Technology
FACT #1 Children absorb more of this radiation than adults.
“The average exposure from use of the same mobile phone is higher by a factor of 2 in a child’s brain and higher by a factor of 10 in the bone marrow of the skull.”
-The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) 2011 Monograph on Radio Frequency Fields; the complete monograph is downloadable on the IARC web site.
The picture below shows how wireless radiation penetrates the brain of a five year old deeper than an adult.
FACT #1 Children absorb more of this radiation than adults.
“The average exposure from use of the same mobile phone is higher by a factor of 2 in a child’s brain and higher by a factor of 10 in the bone marrow of the skull.”
-The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) 2011 Monograph on Radio Frequency Fields; the complete monograph is downloadable on the IARC web site.
The picture below shows how wireless radiation penetrates the brain of a five year old deeper than an adult.
FACT #2 US exposure standards do not protect children.
07 September 2014
6 Reasons Not to Buy a Smartphone
6 reasons not to buy smartphone
bankrate.com
bankrate.com
Smartphones can be deadly
Beyond possibly killing the planet slowly with radiation and radio waves, your smartphone could actually be an actor in your own untimely demise.
Studies have shown that mobile phones impact the behavior of bees and could be contributing to the worldwide decline of bee populations. If one of the main pollinators ceases to exist, the world's food supply will plummet. Honey bees pollinate about $15 billion worth of crops in the U.S. annually, including some of the most common fruits and vegetables such as apples, oranges, blueberries, cherries, broccoli and carrots, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
And humans, as the main users of cellphones, are also potentially at risk of any number of ills, from reduced sperm count to brain tumors. In 2011, scientists from the World Health Organization declared that mobile phones are potentially carcinogenic.
Beyond possibly killing the planet slowly with radiation and radio waves, your smartphone could actually be an actor in your own untimely demise.
Studies have shown that mobile phones impact the behavior of bees and could be contributing to the worldwide decline of bee populations. If one of the main pollinators ceases to exist, the world's food supply will plummet. Honey bees pollinate about $15 billion worth of crops in the U.S. annually, including some of the most common fruits and vegetables such as apples, oranges, blueberries, cherries, broccoli and carrots, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
And humans, as the main users of cellphones, are also potentially at risk of any number of ills, from reduced sperm count to brain tumors. In 2011, scientists from the World Health Organization declared that mobile phones are potentially carcinogenic.
05 September 2014
Sleeping With the Enemy? Why Smartphones Might Not Make the Best Bedfellows
Sleeping with the enemy? Why smartphones might not make the best bedfellows...
Rhodri Marsden, independent.co.uk,
Rhodri Marsden, independent.co.uk,
27 August 2014
A couple of months ago I discovered a sleeping aid that seemed to work. A 30-minute audio recording on YouTube of someone reenacting a mundane spa treatment turned out to have unique tranquillising properties – I still haven't got even halfway through without falling asleep.
If I wake up in the middle of the night, I reach for my phone, stick it on again and within 15 minutes I'm out like a light. As a consequence, my phone has become an essential overnight companion, lying on my bed or close by, within reach and within earshot. Which would be the happy end to a scintillating tale featuring me as the peacefully slumbering hero, were it not for the fact that having a phone as your night-time pal appears to be a very bad idea.
A couple of months ago I discovered a sleeping aid that seemed to work. A 30-minute audio recording on YouTube of someone reenacting a mundane spa treatment turned out to have unique tranquillising properties – I still haven't got even halfway through without falling asleep.
If I wake up in the middle of the night, I reach for my phone, stick it on again and within 15 minutes I'm out like a light. As a consequence, my phone has become an essential overnight companion, lying on my bed or close by, within reach and within earshot. Which would be the happy end to a scintillating tale featuring me as the peacefully slumbering hero, were it not for the fact that having a phone as your night-time pal appears to be a very bad idea.
04 September 2014
10 Reasons Not to Use Technology for Learning in Grade School
Left to their own devices?
Cris Rowan, mercatornet.com,
1st September 2014
Cris Rowan, mercatornet.com,
1st September 2014
Ten reasons not to use technology for learning in grade school.
Refuse to Use is a world-wide Movement by responsible and futuristic thinking parents and teachers to ban all school-based technology for children under 12 years of age, and bring back tried and true methods of teaching. The 0-12 years are formative for brain and body development, and are a fragile time when deprivation and damage can be permanent.
Four critical factors for enhancing child development, behaviour, and learning are movement, touch, connection, and nature. Technology stops children from engagement in these critical factors. Technology is sedentary, isolating, overstimulating, and results in child neglect, causing delays in child development, problematic and difficult to manage behaviours, as well as limited attention and learning ability. Teachers teach, not technology. Join the Refuse to Use Movement by reading “Ten reasons to NOT use technology in schools for children under the age of 12 years”, and signing the petition to show your support.
Refuse to Use is a world-wide Movement by responsible and futuristic thinking parents and teachers to ban all school-based technology for children under 12 years of age, and bring back tried and true methods of teaching. The 0-12 years are formative for brain and body development, and are a fragile time when deprivation and damage can be permanent.
Four critical factors for enhancing child development, behaviour, and learning are movement, touch, connection, and nature. Technology stops children from engagement in these critical factors. Technology is sedentary, isolating, overstimulating, and results in child neglect, causing delays in child development, problematic and difficult to manage behaviours, as well as limited attention and learning ability. Teachers teach, not technology. Join the Refuse to Use Movement by reading “Ten reasons to NOT use technology in schools for children under the age of 12 years”, and signing the petition to show your support.
02 September 2014
Are Bluetooth Headsets Safe?
Are Bluetooth Headsets Safe?
by Alex A. Kecskes, care2.com,
by Alex A. Kecskes, care2.com,
30 August 2014
Bluetooth headsets are now used with cellphones, keyboards, printers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal media players, GPS, gaming equipment, the list goes on and on—over 6,000 products. But are they safe? A growing body of evidence suggests they may be damaging your body.
Your Head’s a Great Antenna
Your head is an ideal EMF (ElectroMagnetic Frequency) antenna. The blood vessels in your brain are low resistance pathways filled with conductive, salty fluids. The same holds true for your cell membranes, which may have a high resistance to direct current, but freely allow radio‐frequencies to enter. So while using a Bluetooth may significantly reduce the amount of radiation you pump into your head—compared to placing a cell phone next to your ear—there are still safety concerns. First, there’s the matter of power output. Bluetooth headsets basically come in three power output ranges. Most manufactures are gun-shy about including the power output in their specifications, but many will indicate the effective transmission range, which gives you a clue as to how much radiation they pump into your head. These transmission ranges fall roughly into 100 meters (330 feet), 10 meters (33 feet) and less than 10 meters. Opt for the “less than 10 meters” brands and just stay closer to your main device.
Bluetooth headsets are now used with cellphones, keyboards, printers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal media players, GPS, gaming equipment, the list goes on and on—over 6,000 products. But are they safe? A growing body of evidence suggests they may be damaging your body.
Your Head’s a Great Antenna
Your head is an ideal EMF (ElectroMagnetic Frequency) antenna. The blood vessels in your brain are low resistance pathways filled with conductive, salty fluids. The same holds true for your cell membranes, which may have a high resistance to direct current, but freely allow radio‐frequencies to enter. So while using a Bluetooth may significantly reduce the amount of radiation you pump into your head—compared to placing a cell phone next to your ear—there are still safety concerns. First, there’s the matter of power output. Bluetooth headsets basically come in three power output ranges. Most manufactures are gun-shy about including the power output in their specifications, but many will indicate the effective transmission range, which gives you a clue as to how much radiation they pump into your head. These transmission ranges fall roughly into 100 meters (330 feet), 10 meters (33 feet) and less than 10 meters. Opt for the “less than 10 meters” brands and just stay closer to your main device.
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