Saturday, October 18, 2014

Former Nokia Technology Chief: Mobile phones wrecked my health

Former Nokia Technology Chief: Mobile phones wrecked my health

This is translation of the one of the articles published in the Finnish newspaper Satakunnan kansa. Translation provided generously by Henrik Eiriksson.
For links to Finnish language texts, see earlier blog.
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Updated on Oct. 20, 2014 – story continues in the next blog “Former Nokia CTO’s multiple sclerosis and… Nokia’s patents to prevent it?
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Former Nokia Boss: Mobile-Phones wrecked my health
by Anne Nikka
[English translation Henrik Eiriksson]
Nokia’s former Technology Chief, Matti Niemelä, was involved in the development the world’s first mobile phones, but fell seriously ill himself from mobile-phone microwave radiation.
In addition, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Some studies suggest that radiation may increase the risk of even MS.
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For Tampere-based Matti Niemelä, age 44, life was like in the movies when he as a young man was recruited to work for Nokia in 1997. The brilliant young man quickly advanced to become Nokia’s Chief Technology Officer for ten years, and was involved in developing the world’s first mobile phones, memory sticks and WLAN [Wi-Fi] connections.
In 2007, Niemelä’s career hit a brick wall as his health finally failed. Today, he is only able to move using a walker. Niemelä refuses to use a wheelchair.
– The irony of this is that I’m no longer able to use any of those devices that I had been developing, Niemelä says with a smile.
Niemelä is one of the unfortunate who have experienced severe symptoms of radiation.
– Traveling around the world with a communicator [early model smart-phone] in hand, exposure to radiation was very strong from morning to night, and even at night.
Few people have had such an overload of radiation than me, says Niemelä.
Read more at

Friday, October 17, 2014

FCC Boosts Wireless Broadband by Easing Infrastructure Burdens

FCC Boosts Wireless Broadband by Easing Infrastructure Burdens


NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
445 12th Street, S.W.
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
Washington, D. C. 20554
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
October 17, 2014
Cecilia Sulhoff, 202-418-0587
Email: Cecilia.Sulhoff@fcc.gov
FCC BOOSTS WIRELESS BROADBAND BY EASING INFRASTRUCTURE BURDENS
New rules continue to protect the environment and historic properties, 
safeguard Tribal, State, and local priorities
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order that takes 
critical steps to promote deployment of the wireless infrastructure necessary to provide the public with 
ubiquitous, advanced wireless broadband services. 
The Report and Order updates and tailors the manner in which the FCC evaluates the impact of proposed 
deployments on the environment and historic properties. It also adopts rules to clarify and implement 
statutory limitations on State and local government authority to review infrastructure siting applications—
including a “deemed granted” remedy if a State or local government fails to act on an eligible facilities 
modification request under Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act. Finally, it adopts an exemption from the 
environmental public notification process for “temporary towers” that are in place only for short periods 
of time. 
Taken together, these steps lay the groundwork necessary for delivering more wireless capacity in more 
locations to consumers throughout the United States. At the same time, it adheres to statutory obligations 
to protect the environment and historic properties, and it safeguards Tribal, State, and local land-use 
priorities as well as safety and aesthetic interests.
Action by the Commission October 17, 2014, by Report and Order (FCC 14-153). Chairman Wheeler, 
Commissioners Clyburn, Rosenworcel, Pai and O’Rielly. Chairman Wheeler, Commissioners Clyburn, 
Rosenworcel, Pai and O’Rielly issuing statements
WT Docket No. 13-238
-FCC-
News and information about the Federal Communications Commission is available at www.fcc.gov.

U.S. FCC to look into new-generation wireless networks

U.S. FCC to look into new-generation wireless networks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the words of Buzz Lightyear, and U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on Friday, U.S. regulators will look "to infinity and beyond" to harness new technology that can help build a new generation of mobile wireless connections.
The FCC on Friday voted unanimously to open a so-called "notice of inquiry" into what it and the industry can do to turn a new swath of very high-frequency airwaves, previously deemed unusable for mobile networks, into mobile-friendly frequencies.
The FCC's examination would serve as a regulatory backdrop for research into the next generation of wireless technology, sometimes referred to as 5G and which may allow wireless connections to carry a thousand times more traffic. 
"Today we’re stepping in front of the power curve," FCC AaChairman Tom Wheeler said on Friday at the meeting.
In question are frequencies above 24 gigahertz (GHz), sometimes called millimetre waves, that have previously been deemed technically unwieldy for mobile connections, though have the potential to carry large amounts of data and give the promise of lightning-fast speeds.
Millimetre waves work best over short distances and have required a direct line-of-sight connection to a receiver. They are now largely used for point-to-point microwave connections.
The FCC said it will study what technologies could help get around the technological and practical obstacles and what kind of regulatory regime could help a variety of technologies to flourish on those airwaves, including the potential for services other than mobile.
The U.S. wireless industry continues to work on deploying the 4G connections, though some equipment manufacturers, such as Samsung are already testing data transmission on the higher frequencies. 
"While we will always work to locate more cleared licensed spectrum under 3 GHz, we also need to expand our search to find other complementary spectrum bands, and this Notice is an important step in that effort," Meredith Attwell Baker, head of CTIA-The Wireless Association, said in a statement.
Google on Monday asked the FCC for permission to conduct tests on some of the extremely high-frequency airwaves, which experts say may provide the foundation for a wireless version of its high-speed fibre Internet service. 
Rosenworcel said growing data demand made it necessary for next-generation wireless networks to carry heavy traffic, quickly and without draining the phones' batteries. 
“How do we meet these demands? We look up. Way, way, up. To infinity and beyond,” she said at the meeting.
(Reporting by Alina Selyukh and Marina Lopes; editing by Andrew Hay)

Britain 'Sleepwalked' into Becoming a Mass Surveillance State

Britain 'Sleepwalked' into Becoming a Mass Surveillance State

By David Gilbert | IB Times – Fri, Oct 17, 2014

The UK has "sleepwalked" into a mass surveillance state where a huge majority of people are worried about the actions of the government but just a tiny percentage has done anything about it.
Published to coincide with the launch of Laura Poitras' documentary about Edward Snowden called Citizenfour, the report entitled "Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?" was commissioned by Finnish security firm F-Secure and focuses on the concern about surveillance being undertaken by the UK government on its own people, as well as foreign nationals.
"We are in uncharted territory and we appear to have sleepwalked here," said Allen Scott, managing director of F-Secure UK & Ireland. "Little by little, our rights to privacy have been eroded and many people don't even realise the extent to which they are being monitored. This isn't targeted surveillance of suspected criminals and terrorists – this is monitoring the lives of the population as a whole."

Concerned, but doing nothing about it

According to a survey carried out in early October, of the 2,000 UK adults questioned, an overwhelming majority of 86.5% disagree with the British government conducting mass surveillance - with over 82% saying they were concerned about it.
The problem is also one of education, with less than a third of respondents realising that the UK government is tracking their digital data.
However, despite all the media coverage of mass surveillance in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks and the tabloid phone hacking scandals, just 3% of people in the UK have taken any practical steps to ensure the government cannot track them.

GCHQ has "no limits"

Snowden himself addressed the issue of UK government surveillance - in particular the scope of its spying arm GCHQ - when he appeared at the Observer Ideas festival earlier this month.
Snowden said there are "really no limits" to the GCHQ's surveillance capabilities, adding:
"In the UK... is the system of regulation where anything goes. They collect everything that might be interesting. It's up to the government to justify why it needs this. It's not up to you to justify why it doesn't... This is where the danger is, when we think about... evidence being gathered against us but we don't have the opportunity to challenge that in courts. It undermines the entire system of justice."
Highlighting the rapid increase in data collection about private individuals by companies and state agencies, Privacy International's founder Simon Davies updated research he carried out a decade ago on the number of databases in which a typical person has their information held.
In 2004 it was estimated to be around 70. In 2014, Davies estimates this number has increased tenfold to 700.

It's getting worse

This is only set to increase during the final months of 2014 when the National Health Service (NHS) rolls out its Care Data programme that will collate intimate, confidential, lifelong health care details of each patient - identified by NHS number - and store it with the new Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).
While the NHS claims it will provide better care for patients, critics have warned it could lead to major problem relating to a person's privacy and even their identity.
Graham Stringer MP, a member of the Science and Technology Committee overseeing the Digital by Default programme, told researchers:
"There are two big risks as far as security is concerned. One is the risk to the whole system – whether it's medical records, National Insurance records – anything where they access public services – could be stolen and used for illegal purposes or for commercial benefit.
"It's very difficult when you've got an open system to keep it really secure. Secondly there is the possibility of ID theft and there is also the difficulty in establishing a person's identity within the system – so those are all problems that have to be overcome."


Two important petitions

Two important petitions


 
Since the early 1980s, Olle Johansson has worked tirelessly to document the dangers of electromagnetic radiation, and has been the world's foremost advocate for people with electrical sensitivity. He is a scientist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. In 2012 he was forced to move to a much smaller workspace and had to throw away more than ten cubic meters of books, records, and equipment. Now the Institute is proposing to move him into an even smaller workspace. Please circulate this petition worldwide.
 
 
A few weeks ago I sent out information on New York's plan to turn 10,000 phone booths into WiFi hotspots.  Please circulate this petition widely also.
 
Arthur
-- Cellular Phone Task Force info@cellphonetaskforce.org

EMF Technology and Your Car

EMF Technology and Your Car


Ladies & Gentlemen,

 There is a proposal in the U.S. to mandate vehicle to vehicle communications (V2V) using microwave technology. Naturally, what happens in the U.S. will radiate around the world. 

 At first glance it may appear harmless, using technology to protect drivers. Safety, like security, is being used as a Trojan horse to impose corporate ideology and control individual rights to travel.

 Additionally, as pointed out by a colleague in France:

1. The danger of the use of microwave in a vehicle to radiate the person while driving thus causing potential accidents.

2. The dangers of imposing a Class2B Carcinogen and potential Alzheimers cause on someone who drives over a period of time.

3. The prohibition of those who are sensitive to pulsed microwave radiation from driving.

 The imposition of this system further expands the use of microwave technology which is a proven danger to all living things.

 The following is my submission:

 A plan to impose vehicle to vehicle communications by private enterprise is an invasion of the long-recognized human right to freedom of movement and personal privacy.
 For a government to mandate such a plan which favors private enterprise is an incursion against the rights of all travelers.
 Not only does it allow for inter-vehicle communications, the back-haul technology allows for the tracking of individual vehicles.
 The technology also allows for controlling a vehicle by private companies. Thus, while an individual may have paid for a vehicle, ultimate control would rest beyond his or her ownership. 
 In other words, automobile companies can say, “Pay us, but we still control you.” It is also well known that private companies can share personal information about their customers with government. This is part of the prevailing concept of “public-private” partnership.
 WWII Was fought against the concept of Fascism. According to Wikipedia, Fascist movements shared certain common features, including the veneration of the state, a devotion to a strong leader, and an emphasis on ultranationalism and militarism. Fascism views political violence, war, and imperialism as a means to achieve national rejuvenation, and it asserts that stronger nations have the right to expand their territory by displacing weaker nations.
 For any government to consider imposing such a system is antithetical to the precepts of the U.S. Constitution and the Articles of  Confederation. (See below.)
Freedom of movement under United States law
The U.S. Supreme Court in Crandall v. Nevada73 U.S. 35 (1868) declared that freedom of movement is a fundamental right and therefore a state cannot inhibit people from leaving the state by taxing them. In United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 (1920), the Supreme Court reiterated its position that the Constitution did not grant the federal government the power to protect freedom of movement. However, Wheeler had a significant impact in other ways. For many years, the roots of the Constitution's "privileges and immunities" clause had only vaguely been determined.[5] In 1823, the circuit court in Corfield had provided a list of the rights (some fundamental, some not) which the clause could cover.[6][7] The Wheeler court dramatically changed this. It was the first to locate the right to travel in the privileges and immunities clause, providing the right with a specific guarantee of constitutional protection.[8] By reasoning that the clause derived from Article IV of the Articles of Confederation, the decision suggested a narrower set of rights than those enumerated in Corfield, but also more clearly defined those rights as absolutely fundamental
Privacy Rights and Personal Autonomy
The U.S Constitution safeguards the rights of Americans to privacy and personal autonomy. Although the Constitution does not explicitly provide for such rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution protect these rights, specifically in the areas of marriage, procreation, abortion, private consensual homosexual activity, and medical treatment.
State and federal laws may limit some of these rights to privacy, as long as the restrictions meet tests that the Supreme Court has set forth, each involving a balancing of an individual's right to privacy against the state's compelling interests. Such compelling interests include protecting public morality and the health of its citizens and improving the quality of life.
 The potential for abuse is too great to even entertain vehicle to vehicle communications - never mind the tracking devices already installed in mobile phones and along roads and highways.
 Not since the Nazi government of Germany used IBM’s Hollerith machine to enumerate everything and everybody have human rights been so under threat. This time it is global. Already drivers; licenses in the EU have RFID chips. Why? New cars have electric control units under the dashboards. Thus the capability to place individuals in their cars is already in place. Some automobile manufacturers can diagnose a malfunction in a specific car thousands of miles away.
Your comments build the basis of a legally actionable record.  Without them, this ordeal will never end.  Below is the link to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public notice about the proposed rule to mandate vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication in ALL VEHICLES. 

Please register your comments now. 

The deadline is October 20, 2014!

Please take a moment to let NHTSA know what you think of their rule to require V2V communications systems in all vehicles  

You can submit your input at http://www.regulations.gov/#%21docketDetail;D=NHTSA-2014-0022 by pushing the "comment now" button.

 As London’s Guardian newspaper noted about the internet, “Mass internet surveillance threatens international law.” So too does the proposal to monitor vehicular use. Note that the proposal comes from a non-elected governmental body. Any political figure who would dare sponsor legislation to mandate vehicle to vehicle communications would be driven from office which is why the mandate is being proposed in this way.

KInd regards,

John Weigel

Victorian Government to fight electricity price rises over smart meter cost overruns (Victoria Australia)

Victorian Government to fight electricity price rises over smart meter cost overruns (Victoria Australia)


Excerpt

Updated 11 Oct 2014

ABC News

A plan by the state’s electricity suppliers to make households pay for a blowout in the budget for the installation of smart meter across the state has been rejected by the Victorian Government. The state’s Energy Minister was responding to a report by News Limited that suppliers had asked the Australian Energy Regulator to approve household price increases to cover hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cost overruns by the companies. That could add hundreds of dollars to yearly power bills.

SNIP

Read the post here.

The man allergic to the modern world : Electromagnetic hypersensitivity means Peter, 42, can't use ANY electric gadgets - and can't go outside his house in case he walks near a wifi network

The man allergic to the modern world : Electromagnetic hypersensitivity means Peter, 42, can't use ANY electric gadgets - and can't go outside his house in case he walks near a wifi network 

  • Peter Lloyd is unable to use any electrical gadgets like TV or mobile phone
  • He cannot use mains electricity to heat or light his home in case he gets ill
  • Former personal fitness trainer first noticed symptoms in his mid-twenties
  • His condition has gradually deteriorated and he is now unable to walk
  • Mr Lloyd faces eviction by landlord who is unhappy he does not heat home
  • He is fighting campaign to be moved to wooden hut in an isolated location 

By Gemma Mullin for MailOnline
Published: 19:47 GMT, 16 October 2014 | Updated: 06:16 GMT, 17 October 2014

A man suffering from a rare and cruel condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity cannot go outside his house in case he walks near a wifi network.

Peter Lloyd, 42, has been confined to a sofa in his home in St Fagans in Cardiff, and is unable to use any electrical gadgets like TVs, phones and CD players in case it causes a severe reaction.

Visitors have to leave mobile phones and watches outside and he cannot use mains electricity for heating or lighting his home – forcing him to wash with water heated on a gas cooker.

Scroll down for video  
Peter Lloyd has been confined to a sofa bed in his home and is unable to use mains electricity for heat or light

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Peter Lloyd has been confined to a sofa bed in his home and is unable to use mains electricity for heat or light

When Mr Lloyd, who is now unable to walk, moved to his current home in 2009, he had to be wheeled up the Taff Trail at night to minimize the chance of contact with electricity sources.

Leaving the house could cause him to come into contact with someone on a mobile phone, a passing car, a power drill or even a wifi zone.

To pass the time he reads around 100 books a year – often by candlelight when it gets dark.

The former personal fitness and nutrition trainer said: ‘I first began to experience what I now know were early symptoms when I was in my mid-twenties.


Mr Lloyd, who gets through about 100 books a year, has to use candles for light because of his condition

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Mr Lloyd, who gets through about 100 books a year, has to use candles for light because of his condition
His conditioned is worsened by digital cameras, so these pictures had to be taken on a disposable camera

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His conditioned is worsened by digital cameras, so these pictures had to be taken on a disposable camera

‘I would get a foggy feeling in the head after looking at a computer screen and had an inability to think straight.

‘I had difficulty talking – what I called “thought block”.’

Mr Lloyd added that he remembers trying to write out a cheque in a nutrition shop and ended up messing it up six times.
The former personal fitness instructor first noticed symptoms in his mid-twenties (pictured in 1998)

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The former personal fitness instructor first noticed symptoms in his mid-twenties (pictured in 1998)
‘I had an early brick-type mobile phone linked to a network called GSM that affected me.
‘As time went on I realized it was becoming sensitised to more and different frequencies and devices.

‘My natural reaction was to believe I could cope, but the situation just got worse. I would get intense headaches in the front of my head.’

As a keen reader he regularly looked at magazines like New Scientist and Scientific American.

‘I came across some articles that described my symptoms and I found out as much as I could about electromagnetic hypersensitivity,’ he said.

After spending three years living in Spain, Mr Lloyd returned to Cardiff, where he eventually lost the ability to walk.

His landlady, who lives in London, has taken a possession order against him after becoming unhappy that the house is not being heated and he now faces eviction.

Cardiff Council, which has legal responsibility to rehouse him, has not come up with an accommodation offer that is suitable for his medical needs.

It is likely that after his eviction date on Tuesday, Mr Lloyd will end up in a hospital – an outcome which fills him with dread because of the severe ill-effects he knows he will suffer from proximity to medical machines.

Instead he wants to be rehomed to a purpose-built isolated wooden hut because of the severe pain he suffers.]

His brother Stephen Lloyd has been supporting him with his campaign along with Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan.

Cardiff Council said it would not discuss individual cases.


Mr Lloyd, pictured from outside his home with his dog Iggy Pop, now faces eviction from his home after his landlord became disgruntled that he had not been heating the house in St Fagans, Cardiff

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Mr Lloyd, pictured from outside his home with his dog Iggy Pop, now faces eviction from his home after his landlord became disgruntled that he had not been heating the house in St Fagans, Cardiff

WHAT IS ELECTROMAGNETIC HYPERSENSITIVITY? 

The term 'electrical hypersensitivity' was first used in 1989, while 'electromagnetic hypersensitivity' - EHS for short - was coined in 1994 to reflect sufferers’ sensitivity to magnetic as well as electric fields.

As early as the 1930s, however, EHS symptoms were observed in people working with radio and electricity, and with military radar in the 1940s.

Environmental EHS appeared in the general population from the 1970s with computers.
It increased in the 1980s with mobile and cordless phones, and with wifi from 2000.
Thousands of people are now linked with EHS support groups in 30 countries.The first started in Sweden in 1989; the UK group began in 2003.

Sweden recognised EHS as a functional disability in 2002. The Canadian Human Rights Commission did likewise in 2007.

In 2009, the European Parliament voted for persons with EHS to be recognised as disabled.
Despite having official recognition, many doctors still know little or nothing about the condition.

The NHS does not recognize it as an official condition and neither is it recognised as a disability in the UK.

Up to 5 per cent of the general population believe themselves to be affected by electro- or radio sensitivity and experience flu-like symptoms, headaches, lethargy and nausea when exposed to various electrical appliances. 

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
Electromagnetic waves are everywhere and we are constantly bombarded by them from space.

Although there is no evidence of any permanent damage to the body from electromagnetic waves, some people have reported that they feel unwell when they are within reach of wi-fi or, occasionally, other types of electromagnetism.

Wi-fi uses the same type as mobile phones, TV and radio signals
They are all different in wavelength, so have different properties.

Wi-fi waves are higher in frequency than mobile phones and are intense due to the amount of info they carry.

So far research has not provided any official statistics.

Alasdair Philipps on measuring and using cordless phone

André

The posting below, “as it is”, is meaningless.

At what distance were the measurements taken?  
(a)    Even with specialist meters, which the HF38B is not, they should be in the far field which at 1900 MHz is about 15 cm (or more properly about 30 cm / 1 foot) away and for 2450 MHz is 12.5 cm or, better, 25 cm away.  If the readings were taken closer than this to the base unit or handset using a normal meter then they are fairly meaningless as regards the actual values displayed. In the near field you have to separately and instantaneously take 3-axis readings of both the electric and magnetic field vectors and do ridiculous maths in order to estimate the overall level. That is why SAR is used (however misleading that can be!). 




I suspect that the units were measured much closer than 2 metres away!
Also, the reading value units from the HF38B meter are not in uW;  they are in uW/m^2 
Also, DECT phone base units pulse 1% duty cycle when on standby and 4% when making a call. 
Were the values quoted meant to be peak or average? – a 100-fold or 25-fold difference

Also the Gigaset phones need to be set to Eco-DECT-PLUS mode (not just Eco-DECT mode) to switch off fully between calls.

Also, we need to see the effect (at a given distance – at least 2 metres using the HF38B) of the phone base in normal mode and in ECO-DECT mode to see if the reduction is active and actually working.

Well meaning people lacking detailed technological training and understanding about how to measure EMFs and RF/microwave energy can cause a lot of dis-information. It is not like taking a ruler to a piece of wood and simply noting the length next to the edges.

Finally, ES people should not use any wireless/mobile/DECT/Eco-DECT-PLUS phone. They should only use a wired phone.
All RF/microwave phones are all FAR too active for ES people. They always will be.

Best wishes

Alasdair