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Money Talks: From ‘smart’ meters to power politics

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

The greenwash bait-and-switch: how deep does it go?


By now, everyone who has been paying attention has realized that within our broken socio-political system, virtually every decision from top to bottom is based on money, corruption and greed.

The 3-part presentation below, filmed in British Columbia in April 2016, will help us all see what’s really going on at a deeper level. I will uncover:

  • how the biggest shareholders in the most destructive (but profitable) companies are the very governments that set the rules so those companies don’t pay taxes, destroy whatever they can for money and violate our core human values,
  • how these entities are actually twisting our intentions of saving our planet into serving their own economic agendas, and to further their control / diminish our rights, and
  • how so-called ‘smart’ meters are a key tool for all of this — and why they’re still being deployed despite a ridiculous level of obvious problems.

Part 1: ‘Smart’ meter fires


Our starting point on this journey is the widespread problem of ‘smart’ meter fires – an important precursor for what follows. You will see forensically why they cause fires and explosions (thousands to date), then financially why the collateral damage they cause is considered to be “worth the risk.” Hint: ‘smart’ meters are a keystone in the Big Data pyramid…

Youtube video

Part 2: Big Data, Big Power, Big Government


The insane drive of Big Data is being propelled by the energy industry. Within the popular paradigm, all eyes are on Big Oil as the “bad guys” in an environmental context. Certainly they are not doing the planet any good. But by keeping us within this narrow focus without deeper thought, they have a nice distraction for the world’s largest energy companies to move in on their data/carbon/currency endgame.

Youtube video

Part 3: Pensions, Power, Politics and Climate


This is where the pieces will connect, and it will all simply make sense. The the biggest root of all evil is not money itself, but how the people behind these agendas are after our money (and support of their agendas) for their insane ends.

Youtube video

So the next time you hear a politician talk about “climate”, you will have the keys to see how this all connects. And you will realize on this issue, like virtually everything else, they are probably lying.

Cellphone Radiation Linked to Cancer in Major Rat Study

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

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Results of the largest, most expensive animal study on the link between cellphones and cancer are in. And the link is positive—weak, but positive.


The much-anticipated two-year study led by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) has found low incidences of brain and heart tumors in male rats that were exposed to the radio frequency radiation commonly emitted by cellphones.

Exposed rats had higher rates of two malignant cancers: glioma of the brain and schwannoma of the nerves in the heart. But none of the unexposed control rats developed them. And these brain and heart tumors are similar to the ones found in previous epidemiological studies of cellphone use, the NTP report states, so “these findings appear to support the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conclusions regarding the possible carcinogenic potential of” radiofrequency radiation.

In 2011, the IARC, which is part of the World Health Organization, convened an international panel of experts that concluded that exposure to RF radiation including that used by cellphones is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The panel analyzed available scientific papers and concluded that even though evidence was limited and incomplete, epidemiological studies had shown increased risks of 40–200 percent for gliomas and acoustic neuromas (benign tumors of the auditory nerve) among heavy and/or long­ term cellphone users.


With a price tag of US $25 million, the peer-reviewed NTP study released today is the largest animal study to date on the effects of cellphone radiation. The project suffered from complications and huge budget overruns and these results are years overdue. The NTP commissioned the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute in Chicago to perform the study back in 2005. There have been no updates until this report, which only gives partial data. Only findings from the brain and heart have been reported and studies on mice are still being evaluated. The NTP plans to release two more reports by 2017.

The reason NTP released the rat brain and heart data early? “Given the widespread global usage of mobile communications among users of all ages, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to RFR could have broad implications for public health,” according to the researchers. Statistics show that the number of mobile phone users will pass the 5 billion mark by 2019.

The NTP study was designed to mimic human exposure and look at effects on all parts of the body. Researchers conducted the experiments in an underground lab with specially designed radio-frequency chambers to house the rats. The animals were exposed to 900 megahertz radio waves modulated using Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) modulation. These are cellphone frequencies and modulations currently used in the United States.

The animals’ bodies were exposed in utero and over their two-year lifetimes to CDMA or GSM-modulation radiation at different dose levels: 0 (control group), 1.5, 3 and 6 watts per kilogram of tissue mass. That’s seven test groups for each sex with 90 animals in each group. The animals were irradiated over a period of about 18 hours per day, with exposure for 10 minutes followed by 10 minutes without radiation, for a total daily exposure time of nine hours.

Gliomas appeared in around 2–3 percent of male rats in each group while schwannomas appeared in 1–6 percent. The incidence of schwannomas was significantly higher in the male animals that were exposed to the 6 W/kg levels. There were no similar results in females. And, for some unexplained reason, the researchers found that the unexposed rats died younger than exposed animals.

So what does this all mean? The results are fairly weak and confounding but provide the first positive evidence in animals and will grab the attention of health agencies, says Kenneth R. Foster, a bioengineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

First, animal studies are very hard to translate to humans, he says. The exposure levels used in the study are much higher than what’s typically allowed for humans. The exposure limit for occupational users is 0.4 W/kg and for non-occupational users is 0.8 W/kg. “The results are only in male rats, the incidence numbers were very small, and there’s no clear dose response,” he says. Also, he asks, “did the control rats not live long enough to naturally develop these tumors?”

Nonetheless, an NTP study is the gold standard for animal cancer assays. And health agencies look at both epidemiological and animal studies to make recommendations. “Past epidemiological studies are weak but suggestive,” says Foster, “and here you have the first borderline positive result in animals. So now you have a stronger case.”

In response to WHO’s 2011 “possible carcinogen” classification, Belgium adopted regulations to pro­mote cellphone radiation safety and banned the sale of cellphones to children, Foster points out. The French Health Agency recommended that children and vulnerable groups should take measures to reduce their cellphone RF exposure. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, states that no evidence points to a direct link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses. And the Food and Drug Administration advises that if there is a risk, it is very small.

With the NTP study results, Foster expects more governments to put out cautionary guidelines and radiation labeling for cellphones. He says he wouldn’t be surprised if California adds RF radiation to its Proposition 65 list of carcinogenic chemicals, and if the IARC ups its classification rating from 2B: possibly carcinogenic to humans to 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans. “And they wouldn’t be out of line in doing that,” he says. “This is going to change the rhetoric in the field. People can point to much more hard evidence that [cellphone RF exposure] really is a problem.”

Investigative documentary that explores the long-term health effects of cell phone radiation

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

MOBILIZE


Mobilize is an investigative documentary that explores the long-term health effects of cell phone radiation, including cancer and infertility.

Clear Light Ventures is sponsoring free viewing of Mobilize from May 21 to June 25, 2016 - enter promo code "ClearLight".


FILM SYNOPSIS


In 2011 the World Health Organization stated, “The electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The cell phone industry has vigorously disputed these findings.


MOBILIZE is an explosive investigative documentary that explores the potential long-term health effects from cell phone radiation, including brain cancer and infertility. The politically charged film examines the most recent scientific research and the harsh challenges politicians face trying to pass precautionary legislation. Featuring interviews with expert researchers, mobile phone industry representatives, and prominent politicians, MOBILIZE illuminates how industry’s economic and political influence can corrupt public health.


Featuring Gavin Newsom Lt. Governor of California, Lawrence Lessig, Esq., Steve Wozniak, Richard Branson, Devra Davis, PhD, MPH and many more.
INSTRUCTIONS TO VIEWERS FOR FREE STREAM:


To stream Mobilize compliments of Clear Light, simply click the Rent button, enter your email address and password (create one if need to) and then click APPLY PROMO CODE. When that field opens, enter "ClearLight" and hit APPLY. The rental fee will be waived. You DO NOT need to enter your credit card information.


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Activist is Sued for Requesting Public Smart Meter Records

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

Image 43The sysadmin-activist at the center of a bizarre legal battle over a smart meter network in Seattle, Washington, says he never expected a simple records request to turn into a lawsuit.


Phil Mocek told The Register that when he asked Seattle City Light, a public power utility, to provide details on the designs and rollout of its smart power meter grid, he was simply hoping to find out what security safeguards the city and hardware providers Landis+Gyr and Sensus USA planned to use.

"We all assume these meters simply monitor the amount of energy usage in the home," Mocek explained. "But they monitor it in real time in ways that other meters did not."

The worry, Mocek said, is that the city may have been convinced by the suppliers to install a network with poor security protections or insecure protocols that could place citizens at risk of having their energy-use remotely spied on or their personal information stolen.

To find out more about the meters that the city was planning to install and the security measures in place to protect those meters, Mocek filed a request for documents under the Washington Public Records Act (PRA) via the MuckRock investigations website.

This, says Mocek, is where things started to get real odd.

The free-software advocate said that after an email exchange with Seattle City Light officials, he obtained some of the records and uploaded them to the web – only to be told that the smart meter suppliers objected to the release of the information on the grounds that the unredacted documents would disclose their trade secrets and open the public to terrorist attacks on their infrastructure.

Mocek was given a mix of unredacted and redacted documents by the city, the meter makers complained, whereas he should only have received and published files they had censored. Seattle officials said they were not skilled enough to know for sure which parts to redact, so left it to the suppliers to edit the files – yet, unredacted information managed to make its way into Mocek's hands and onto the internet.

Landis+Gyr and Sensus promptly sued the city, Mocek and Muckrock, and filed for an injunction: ultimately, the suppliers wanted the documents taken down, and the unredacted copies banned from public view.

On Thursday, a temporary restraining order was granted by the King County Superior Court in Washington – and Muckrock founder Michael Morisy confirmed the unredacted documents have been taken down pending the outcome of the case.
Backing

The legal showdown has also attracted the attention of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which says it will lend their legal expertise to MuckRock's defense.

"We are incredibly grateful for the support of the EFF, our users and readers, and the many individuals and organizations that reached out with support and advice," MuckRock founder Michael Morisy said.

Mocek says he has yet to be formally served court papers. He argues that he has no interest in exposing the trade secrets of the smart meter providers nor the nitty-gritty financial details of the companies that are working with the city. He even said he was willing to accept documents with sensitive areas redacted.

Crucially, though, he wants those redactions to be made by the city to remove data it is required by law to censor – rather than information the companies themselves don't want to share.

"I'm not likely to put up a fight over the line item cost, but I do want to know what kind of security they have on this system," Mocek explains. "I'm worried that we as a city are going to pay a lot for a system whose security relies on people not knowing how it works."

In the meantime, however, Mocek also has some additional problems to deal with, thanks to the legal wrangling. Though he has filed similar information requests in the past, he says he has never had to face a lawsuit simply because he wanted to look at public records and keep a local utility honest.

"I don't think [Seattle City Light] are going to put a device on my house to spy on me," he quipped. "I think they are being bamboozled by vendors who want to make a lot of money by replacing thousands of meters."

As well as a restraining order, the meter makers are demanding damages for the publication of the unredacted blueprints, and are asking for a list of everyone who downloaded the dossiers.


Original Source

Federal Study Finds Radiofrequency Radiation Boosts Cancer Rates in Animals

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • updated 9 years ago • 0

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According to Microwave News, results of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) have shown that exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation has resulted in statistically significant increases in cancer among rats. These rats were subjected to whole body exposure from RF signals as used for GSM and CDMA-type cell phones over a period of two years [1].


As reported by Microwave News:

“Discussions are currently underway among federal agencies on how to inform the public about the new findings. NTP senior managers believe that these results should be released as soon as possible because just about everyone is exposed to wireless radiation all the time and therefore everyone is potentially at risk.”


“The NTP findings show that as the intensity of the radiation increased, so did the incidence of cancer among the rats. ‘There was a significant dose-response relationship’, a reliable source, who has been briefed on the results, told Microwave News.”

Continue reading article...

Smart Meter Fires: Burning meters, burning questions, shocking answers

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

This new video from Brian Thiesen is quite literally explosive information that every homeowner needs to know.


So-called “smart” meters have caused thousands of fires and explosions — such as this fire on Wednesday in Ontario. But corrupt politics and money have swept the whole thing under the rug.
Brian now explains how and why this is all occurring, including whistleblower testimony, reams of new evidence and court documents. This is exactly what your utility does not want you to see:

Youtube video

Previously-documented “smart” meter fires have caused fatalities (see here, here, here, and here).


And millions of “smart” meters have been recalled and or replaced (see here, here, here, and here).

The most terrible thing is this: most people simply don’t know. It’s been covered up, worldwide.


And most still don’t know that “smart” meters are part of a global corporate agenda of unprecedented in-home surveillance, systemically increasing utility bills, facilitating hacking and remote shut-offs, and are causing widespread human functional impairment from pulsed microwave radiation hundreds to thousands of times stronger than a cellphone.


We’ve had a hell of a time getting this info out. This clandestine agenda, however, is beginning to crack.


And those causing or allowing “smart” meter deployments will be individually held to account.
A note from Brian on this video:

“For brevity, I did not even mention the issues with batteries in the meter or the advanced corrosion caused by meters (discussed in previous video here) — which BC Hydro is now admitting is happening with their very own power poles. The laws of electricity tell us this is not going to go away and in fact now may even be getting worse. It is up to us to educate our firefighters as utilities won’t and top brass are only concerned about getting their pensions."


Original Source

Occasional Catastrophic Digital Meter Failures ‘Worth the Risk’, According to Industry Executive

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

Image 39A utility industry document written in 2006 has been discovered that reviewed costs and benefits related to solid-state (digital) utility meters used for residential customers [1]. In that document, a senior vice-president for National Grid was quoted as follows:


“We lost several nights sleep worrying about catastrophic failures, but it was worth the risk.”

In November 2015, I wrote a revealing article that catastrophic failures were expected with ‘smart’ meters [2]. In fact, I carefully worded the introductory sentence to that article stating, “Smart Meters are expected to occasionally fail catastrophically while analog meters do not have that failure mode.”

I recall choosing the word “occasionally” after considerable thought and was not aware of anyone having previously used that descriptive term as applied to digital utility meters. The term was the best one I could objectively choose given the intermittent yet persistent reports of digital utility meters burning/exploding in areas across the United States, Canada, and Australia where smart meters have been deployed.

To my surprise, the 2006 document uses the same term “occasionally” where it was written:

“The three utilities were quite frank that solid-state meters do fail occasionally while electromechanical meters rarely fail completely.” [emphasis added]


Continue reading article...

Smart Meter Remote Disconnect: An ‘Unnecessary Risk’ for Significant Damage to the Grid

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

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...


"It’s easy to imagine a rogue programmer working for a meter manufacturers being able to insert malicious code which would turn millions of meters off at the same point in the future. That’s possible, because all of the smart meters being installed ... allow the utility to remotely disconnect your electricity and gas at the flip of a switch. If hackers turned off a million electricity meters in one go, that would cause serious damage to the grid. Turning them all on again a few days later would do even more damage, as restoring power when demand is unknown is particularly problematic and can burn out equipment on the grid, which gives a rogue programmer lots of scope to bring large parts of the country to its knees. …"


"I don’t actually think this is complacency – I suspect it is mostly naivety. Our electricity companies are not high tech. They care passionately about reducing outages, but it’s a largely manual concern – it’s about sending people out to cut down foliage, repair power lines and clear up after the occasional unlucky fried squirrel. It’s why they like the squirrel analogy – they understand squirrels, whereas they don‘t really understand hackers. Utilities have a very physical mindset, not a technical or intellectual one and probably don’t realize the firmware risks. Their concept of smart meter security is about people fiddling their meter readings, not terrorists bringing down the entire grid."

(Quotes are from Nick Hunn, of WiFore Consulting Ltd., who presented testimony at the UK House of Commons’ Science and Technology’s “evidence check” and inquiry into the country’s smart metering initiative.)


A network of actors continues to push for the deployment of smart meters. This network of actors, representing a combination of policy makers, utility personnel, and meter manufacturers, does not acknowledge the tremendous risks and costs associated with the technology. One of the most obvious risks relates to the remote disconnect feature which has the capability to be used by hackers as a means to inflict significant damage upon the electric grid. As inferred by Nick Hunn above, the current smart meter deployments should be halted due to the unaddressed risks.


Continue reading at original source...

Smart Meter Dangers, Who Knew and Did Not Sound The Alarm?

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

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Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) is pushing for the deployment of 4,000,000 smart meters despite the fact that government agencies and the military have known for decades that Radio Frequency/microwaves can cause serious health effects.


This information is not new; it is just being brought to the forefront as a health crisis is emerging in Illinois. ComEd is using the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, also known as the “smart grid modernization bill” (written by ComEd lobbyists), and the Illinois Commerce Commission’s interpretation of that bill, as justification for installing millions of wireless smart meters.

The RF/microwave emissions from smart meters are listed by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer ‘IARC’ as a Class 2B Carcinogen. That makes this the first time in history a known carcinogen has been mandated on ALL homes, schools, and government buildings.

Barrier Trower, a retired British Secret Service Microwave Weapons specialist, states:

“The paradox is how Radio Frequency/microwave radiation can be used as a weapon to cause impairment, illness and death; and at the same time be used as a communications instrument [such as in smart meters].”

Trower continues, “By 1971 we knew everything that needed to be known.”

“A 1976 document summarizing U.S. Defense Intelligence research lists all of the health hazards caused by wireless devices and concludes: This should be kept secret to preserve industrial profit.”

Jerry Flynn, is a retired Canadian Armed Forces captain with specialized training and 22 years of experience in Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence. Flynn has worked with U.S. and NATO armies in this specialized capacity. He writes:

“The U.S. military has known for decades that the RF/microwave frequencies most harmful to man are those within the band 900 MHz to 5 GHz. These frequencies penetrate all organs of the body, thus putting all human organ systems at risk. Smart meters emit these precise frequencies which, when combined with certain pulsed modulation characteristics and power densities, are most harmful to the brain, central nervous system, immune system, and can cause cancers. This is precisely why these frequencies are used in Microwave weapons of war.”

ComEd smart meters contain two transmitters emitting high-intensity pulsed signals every few seconds in two frequencies within the “most harmful” range mentioned by Flynn. One frequency is 900 MHz used for the wireless network that relays data from the smart meter on one house to the smart meter on another house and then on to a collector which sends the data to ComEd. The second frequency, 2.45 GHz, is used for appliances inside the house to transmit data to the smart meter.

Although ComEd claims that data is only transmitted six times a day, what they neglect to mention is that smart meters also emit high-intensity RF/microwave pulses each time they perform network management functions. According to California court documents, a single smart meter can emit these pulses on average 10,000 to 190,000 a day. The number of pulses depends on where in the mesh network the smart meter is located and how often it is relaying data from other neighbors’ meters.

It is these around-the-clock, high-intensity pulses within the frequency range “most harmful” to humans that make smart meters so damaging. Consider 4,000,000 ComEd smart meters blanketing Illinois with billions of pulses in these frequencies being emitted every day, forever.

Basis for FCC guidelines: Health or Profits?

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) knew decades ago, for according to Gittleman, “back in the 1950’s there were growing concerns as to the dangers of these low-level microwaves, so the U.S. military had sought safety limits.”

The current FCC safety limits are based on thermal exposure alone. The FCC guidelines are ten times more lenient than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have permitted to protect the general population from the health hazards of RF/microwave radiation.

In the late 1980’s, the EPA radiation division, staffed with practicing biologists and epidemiologists, decided on a safe limit for human exposure. Before the announcement was made, industry intervened, federal funding for that division of the EPA was cut, and the FCC was given the task of setting the RF/microwave guidelines for the public. The FCC, made up of bureaucrats and engineers, had no experience or training in setting “health related” guidelines. Therefore, from the beginning, FCC guidelines were set at a limit that was too lenient to protect the general population.

Don’t Fly Planes with Wi-Fi Says EMF Health Advocate

Robert Daniel 9 years ago • 0

Image 36Avoid airlines with in-flight wireless, says EMF health advocate Camilla Rees, who notes an airline is a “metal cage” and is “an especially high risk environment for radiation.” One airline providing on-board Wi-Fi is Delta.


The small windows don’t do much to dispel the radiation, she notes in a list of 54 “safety tips and insights” that is the most complete discussion of this topic that we have seen. She is the founder of Electromagnetic Health.

Lloyd Burrell of electricsense.com, explains why cellphones are especially dangerous in metal enclosures such as cars.

“Using your cell phone in your car is dangerous and not just because it can cause an accident,” he writes. “There’s also a direct effect on your health.

“The radio frequency radiation from your cell phone reflected back by the car’s metallic structure magnifies the radiation. It’s called the Faraday cage effect. Would you consider sticking your head in a microwave oven when it’s turned on? I don’t think so.

“But using a cell phone in a car works on the same principles as a microwave oven. Both cars and microwave ovens are essentially metallic enclosures where RF radiation is magnified. This radiation from your cell phone bounces around your car and is absorbed by your body at a much higher level than would otherwise be.”

Delta is Airline with Wi-Fi

We recently flew to Washington, D.C., and were surprised to find a Wi-Fi graphic offering Wi-Fi access facing us in the space above the seat where the usual messages are “Fasten your seat belt” or “No smoking."

In all flights we have ever been on, attendants had warned passengers to make sure cellphones were turned off or on “airplane mode.”

Calls and emails have been sent to Kevin Shinkle, chief communications officer of Delta, who was business editor of the AP until 2014, and Elizabeth Wolf, general manager of corporate communications, asking how Wi-Fi can be permissible on airlines when it previously was prohibited. No replies had been received by press time.


Excerpt from Camilla Rees' list:

39. Airlines. Avoid airlines with in-flight wireless. As the airplane is in effect a metal cage, other than the small windows, this is an especially high-risk environment for radiation from any source, including cell phones. Ask flight attendants to contact the Association of Flight Attendants regarding this matter.


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