January 2 Safe Tech International News and Notes
European Business Review re EMF, EMFSA, School on Uncomformed Tips,
FEATURED: EUROPEAN BUSINESS REVIEW: EMFs
The Invisible Poison: Unmasking the Health Risks of EMF Radiation
As our reliance and dependency on technology grows, so does our exposure to Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) radiation. It’s not just our phones and Wi-Fi networks; it’s our smart homes, 5G networks, and even the power lines that run through our neighbourhoods. This omnipresent exposure has led to a surge in concern among scientists, health professionals, and the general public about the potential long-term effects on our health. []Perhaps most concerning are the potential effects of EMF radiation on our brains and nervous systems. A published study has reported that the exposure to electromagnetic waves have an adverse impact on human brain health. New epigenetic studies are profiled in this review to account for some neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral changes due to exposure to wireless technologies. From headaches and sleep disturbances to more serious conditions like cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, the neurological impacts of EMF exposure are wide-ranging and deeply troubling. []Dr. David Carpenter, Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, argues, “We have enough evidence to justify taking steps to reduce our exposure to EMF radiation, especially for vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women.” Fique Foundation also conducts research and development into various EMF protective mechanisms. The organisation has recently launched The Silver Lining short film aiming to educate users on the harmful effects of technology, such as everyday devices and electricity sources. “As we continue to push the boundaries of technology, it’s crucial that we also invest in understanding its potential impacts on our health. The concerns surrounding EMF radiation are not just a matter for scientists and policymakers; they affect each of us in our daily lives” states Devansh Sood, founder and CEO of activist platform Fique.
FEATURED EMFSA NEWSLETTER SOUTH AFRICA:
EMFSA December 2024 Newsletter INCLUDES: Panagopoulos, D.J., et al. (2024). Biophysical Mechanism of Animal Magnetoreception, Orientation and Navigation; 5G Radio-Frequency-Electromagnetic-Field Effects on the Human Sleep Electroencephalogram: A Randomized Controlled Study in CACNA1C Genotyped Healthy Volunteers; 130-years of bioEMF research in Russia; Environmental Sensitivity, EHS, and Proteomics Dariusz Leszczynski's opinion article on environmental sensitivity, EHS, and proteomics has been accepted for publication. A random, unedited fragment of the text is available online, and the full, edited version will soon be published as open access https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1543818/abstract
NEWS AND NOTES:
CELLULAR: INDUSTRY, POTS AND PANS Attributes and Benefits of Good Cellular Coverage Mobility. The original and still primary benefit of cellular coverage is mobility. Kids won’t believe this, but thirty years ago, it was virtually impossible to communicate with others if you were away from a landline. Family members did not communicate during the day. Business travel was massively challenging and there were long lines at payphones. Cellphones introduced the reality of ‘communicate anywhere’ that revolutionized the way that people live and work.
It’s the Newest Utility. I think cellular coverage is the newest utility because everybody expects it. In 2023, 98% of adults had a cellphone. The average American connects to the Internet just over 7 hours per day, with the usage split almost evenly between cellphones and other devices like computers or tablets.
It’s How We Talk. Cellular has displaced landlines. In the 2000 U.S. Census, 97.6% of homes had a landline. At the end of 2023, home landline penetration was under 30%. People don’t just talk using cellular phone calls. We use cellphones for talk-to-text, for one-on-one video connections like Apple’s FaceTime, or for group discussions on apps like Teams. People can also talk directly through various apps.
Public Safety. The ability to locate a 911 caller on a cellphone was a huge technology breakthrough. Public safety got even better when 911 centers began accepting texts. 80% of all calls to 911 in 2023 came from a cellphone.
Payments. Money has moved to cellphones for many people. Some interesting statistics for the U.S. from 2023. 48% of consumers used a digital wallet. 73% of consumers use mobile banking. 45% of all payments to another person were made using a mobile device. 27% of all bills were paid using a mobile device. Contactless payments are estimated at $220 billion.
Health Monitoring. Millions of people routinely monitor sugar levels, blood pressure, and sleep issues with their smartphones. It’s now routine medicine to send people home from surgery with devices and an app to monitor vital signs.
Back-up for Home Broadband. While roughly 90% of homes have broadband, people scramble and use cellar broadband any time there is a glitch or outage in the broadband connection.
Back-up for Communities During and After Disasters. During and after disasters, the cellphone often becomes the only broadband.
For Some, it’s the Only Form of Connectivity. Depending on the community, between 5% and 10% of adults have no access to landline broadband at home or the office, and the cellphone is their only source of connectivity.
Fewer Dropped Calls or Service Interruptions. Good cellular coverage means a higher quality of connection, meaning fewer dropped voice calls and less interruptions of broadband connections.
Better Battery Life. Cellphones expend a lot of power looking for a stronger signal when coverage is poor. My experience after Hurricane Hellene was that my phone lasted only three hours on a charge when the only cellular was one bar of 4G.
Businesses / Landlords want Good Coverage. Landlords need good cellular coverage to find and keep tenants. Businesses of all types say they lose customers if cellphones won’t work inside their business.
Employees Expect It. Employers with poor indoor cell coverage report they have a harder time finding and retaining employees.
Apps Have Revolutionized the Economy. Entire new industries like Uber and DoorDash only exist because of cellphones. Practically everybody has become reliant on GPS to navigate when driving. A large percentage of smart farming and smart farm machinery rely on cellular connectivity. People who build infrastructure rely on geolocating to document the exact position of objects.
Paperless IDs. One of the newer applications is to use a cellphone app to prove identity and age. This got a jumpstart during the pandemic to prove people were vaccinated but has expanded greatly for other identity purposes.
Entertainment. A huge percentage of entertainment is consumed on cellphones. This includes things like streaming music, gaming, and streaming video. A huge percentage of social media is consumed on cellphones. People now document everything they do with pictures and video clips. There is seemingly an app for everything – you can use a smartphone to identify a constellation, a bird call, a song, or a flower.
FWA Cellular is Now Home Broadband. For the 10 million households using FWA broadband, cellular now also brings the many benefits of home broadband – an entirely other list.CELLPHONES: EPOCH TIMES When Smartphones Get Smarter, Do We Get Dumber?
CELLPHONES: ARTHUR FIRSTENBERG Tomorrow is a new year; choose life! 8 reasons to abandon your cell phone To own a cell phone is to irradiate the whole Earth and everything and everyone on it. The radiation from a cell phone does not stop at the walls of your house; it travels to a cell tower that may be 50 miles away, or to a satellite that may be 22,000 miles away, and it irradiates every person, animal, plant and bird in between. It irradiates your neighbors and it irradiates me; Fifteen Pathways between Electric Vehicles and Public Health: A Transportation–Health Conceptual Framework This paper develops a comprehensive framework to summarize the health outcomes of EVs in urban areas, where the health impacts are more pronounced due to higher levels of traffic congestion and air pollution; An experimental study on the effect of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on honey bees
A cell phone is no more consensual than a cell tower or a smart meter. Your neighbors have not given their consent to be irradiated by your cell phone; neither have the birds and animals on your land or in your neighborhoods; neither have I.
When you call me on your cell phone, the frequencies emitted by your cell phone are what travel through the air and over the wires to my landline phone to irradiate my body from my landline phone. It is not your real voice that travels into my house, but a digital simulation of your voice constructed from those frequencies. Those frequencies do not magically disappear just because they ride on my telephone wire.
Not only does your cell phone expose you, your children, your nearby neighbors, and the birds and animals in your yard to more powerful radiation than any cell towers, but the harm does NOT depend on power level. It is the information in the cell phone signal that is recognized by and harms your cells, NOT the power level. The more information your cell phone transmits, the more harmful it is. Near-zero power levels can be just as harmful as high levels.
Microwave radiation exists in nature only at levels billions of times lower than is emitted by any of our wireless devices. And pulsed, digital frequencies do not exist at all in nature. We evolved without them, and they interfere with our life force.
Because people are irradiated by their cell phones day and night (they emit radiation even when turned off), people do not know or recognize what their phones are doing to them. They think their trouble sleeping, their body aches, their “tinnitis”, their unstable blood pressure, their memory loss, their hair loss, their hearing loss, and their vision loss are “normal”, and that their cancer, diabetes, obesity, or heart disease are due to “something else”.
Because people do not recognize how much of what they feel and experience in the world is caused by their cell phones, they think they can “neutralize” the radiation with various devices. They can’t.
You cannot use a cell phone, even in an emergency, without all the cell towers and satellites on Earth being there at your beck and call.
In sum, to own a cell phone is to choose radiation. To own a cell phone is to choose the destruction of the Earth.
CHILDREN JOHN HAIDT: The Year The Phone-Based Childhood Began To Reverse 2024 Year in Review
CHILDREN, JOHN HAIDT, ANDY CROUCH: Where the Magic Doesn’t Happen How technology can interfere with moral formation at school, church, and home But there are still communities that maintain ties to ancient wisdom, communities in which adults share the work of morally forming the next generation, not just their own children. The clearest examples are religious communities in which home, school, and house of worship are the three main institutions that, when well coordinated, will root children in moral traditions and protect them from anomie. We have already covered the ways that Jewish and Christian communities are doing this, beginning by making their schools, churches and synagogues phone-free zones. Today we bring you one of the deepest thinkers about society, technology, and religion, Andy Crouch. Andy has been an editor at Christianity Today, and he is currently a partner at Praxis, an organization that fosters mission-driven Christian entrepreneurship. He is also the author of several books including The Tech-Wise Family and The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World. I first met Andy in 2022 when we were brought together via the Trinity Forum. We discussed the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, and the role of technology in bringing us into a second post-Babel era. We spoke together again in 2024 at a Veritas Forum event at NYU, titled Hey Siri, How Do I Find Myself? A Conversation on Spirituality & Technology. In these talks and in his books, Andy has developed a way of speaking about technology as “magic” that exposes in an instant the damage done to the moral development (or “formation”) of children when homes, schools, and churches become saturated by smartphones and other technologies. I think his argument is so profound, and so urgent for everyone involved in raising or educating children, that I invited Andy to write up a version of it just for readers of After Babel. ——”And then you read venture capitalist Marc Andreesen’s “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” from 2023 and find alchemy there not as metaphor, but as a straightforward statement of belief: “We believe Artificial Intelligence is our alchemy, our Philosopher’s Stone – we are literally making sand think.” Here is what I think is going on. Alchemy failed as science, but it succeeded as a dream. Magic doesn’t “work,” in the sense that science works, but it does work as a dream. And technology is, after all, applied science. Applied to what? To a dream that was there long before science, the dream of magic. [] This is why we have to draw a bright line between the many contexts where magical tech is truly useful, and the contexts where it is actively harmful.”
CHILDREN SCREENAGERS: Our Best Blogs, Pods and Videos of 2024
CHILDREN: Moms Across America No Cell, Bell-to-Bell in Schools We have the best network. Every day, I get articles, posts, and alerts about news and progress for our movement. I read them all. Today, one of our independent-thinking, Substack-writing supporters, Lauren Ayers, sent out a email asking: Have we reached a tipping point for getting cell phones out of school? Bipartisan support for reducing young people's social media addiction.
CHILDREN: NPR Kids under 14 banned from social media A Florida law that bans children under 14 from having social media accounts, and limits 14 and 15-year-olds to accounts authorized by their parents, takes effect Wednesday. However, Social media companies may not immediately kick those kids off their platforms. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody agreed in November not to enforce the law while litigation is ongoing. In October, parties filed a lawsuit against the Florida law saying that some states have "taken it upon themselves to restrict minors' access to constitutionally protected speech." As NPR has reported, states like Florida may look to Australia to see how that country's new social media ban for kids under 16 shakes out.
Is electromagnetic/RF illness like mud, (especially if you are a woman or a child and not a soldier, which is the modeling basis used to test cellphones) - image source
COMMUNICATIONS, INDUSTRY: Measuring Internet Adoption We supposedly have a decent handle these days of the number of locations that can buy broadband due to the FCC broadband maps and data collection effort. While some folks will argue about the accuracy of the FCC maps, we know a lot more than we did just a few years ago. The maps are supposed to disclose where ISPs are capable of serving but not where they have customers. But we still don’t have a handle on how many homes have broadband connections – particularly by neighborhood and geographic areas. That’s because ISPs are not required to report in that level of detail. And they shouldn’t be, because the identity of customers is probably the most important trade secret for any ISP. []In September, NTIA and the Census Bureau announced the first results of a joint initiative to produce more granular data on broadband adoption. The Local Estimate of Internet Adoption (LEIA) uses a combination of existing data and statistical modeling to improve estimates of adoption by neighborhood. Project LEIA got kicked off by making an estimate of the broadband adoption rate in every county in the country. This was done using 2022 data and was released in September 2024. This first trial used microdata from the Census American Community Survey, ancillary data from the FCC, and new modeling techniques to make more accurate estimates. There is work being considered to change the estimates based on the new realities of the market. Originally the goal was to count landline broadband connections. However, the proliferation of FWA, satellite, and other WISP broadband networks makes it important to count broadband adoption regardless of the network used to deliver it.
COPPER INDUSTRY: Telecommunications companies forecast to reap $10 billion windfall from recycled copper Telephone companies around the world are forecast to collectively make more than $10 billion from the sale of copper over the next 15 years as they remove older cables from their networks, in a boost for the sector as demand for the metal is expected to grow. Operators are forecast to receive as much as $720 million from copper sales in 2025, according to TXO, which helps companies recycle and sell the metal. UK-based BT, Nordic operators Telia and Telenor, and Australia’s Telstra are among the companies to have already booked payments for the recycled metal, which is vital for the transition to clean energy. The industry has been decommissioning legacy copper lines as full-fibre broadband and wireless technology are rolled out, with the groups set to benefit from rising copper prices, which are expected to reach about $12,000 a metric tonne by 2035, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights, up from the present $9,170 a tonne.
FCC INDUSTRY: 2024 Communications Marketplace Report
The Federal Communications Commission is required to publish a Communications Marketplace Report every two years that assesses the state of competition across the broader communications marketplace. The FCC must evaluate competition to deliver voice, video, audio, and data services among providers of telecommunications, providers of commercial mobile service, multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), broadcast stations, providers of satellite communications, Internet service providers (ISPs), and other providers of communications services. As part of its evaluation, the FCC must consider all forms of competition, including “the effect of intermodal competition, facilities-based competition, and competition from new and emergent communications services.” The FCC also must assess whether laws, regulations, regulatory practices, or marketplace practices pose a barrier to competitive entry into the communications marketplace or to the competitive expansion of existing providers of communications service. This 2024 Communications Marketplace Report assesses the state of all forms of competition in the communications marketplace; the state of deployment of communications capabilities, including advanced telecommunications capability; and barriers to competitive entry, including entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses. As the FCC observed in 2022, the U.S. communications marketplace has experienced significant changes in recent years, beginning with fixed broadband. The federal government has directed billions in funding for broadband deployment and adoption, culminating in the $65 billion investment in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and millions have been connected through these and related programs. The FCC’s National Broadband Map now shows the public where broadband is and is not available at a more granular and detailed level than ever before. And new technologies, in particular 5G fixed wireless and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites provide additional intermodal options, especially for consumers in rural areas. Nevertheless, more than a third of Americans have only one provider of high-speed broadband or lack access altogether. For its part, the Commission has acted to increase competition and protect consumers in the marketplace, by mandating easy-to-understand consumer broadband lab. - Benton
HAVANA IN THE NEWS: https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5060036-cia-report-havana-syndrome/
https://www.newsweek.com/senate-says-cia-greatly-complicated-havana-syndrome-treatment-2006889
https://www.unilad.com/news/us-news/cia-whistleblower-americans-scared-havana-syndrome-150885-20241231
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/27/politics/havana-syndrome-cia-senate-report/index.html
HEALTH: Handwriting Increases Brain Connectivity, Study Finds New study finds handwriting increases brain connectivity more than typing.
HEALTH: Confronting 14 risk factors could delay or prevent nearly half of dementia cases, experts say [] That means disease prevention and delay are key to improving older adults’ health and well-being, with the best outlook if efforts to curb these risk factors start early in childhood and reach all segments of the population. For the first time, high cholesterol and vision loss were included in the risk factors cited by the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care, the group of experts who reviewed the latest evidence on the neurocognitive disorder. Their findings were last updated in 2020. An estimated 7 per cent of dementia cases are attributable to poor cholesterol in midlife, beginning around age 40, while two per cent of cases are tied to untreated vision loss later in life. The other 12 risk factors include lower education levels, hearing impairment, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury, air pollution, and social isolation in old age. (They missed wireless and unsafe EMF exposures)
HEALTH: Dr. Stillman’s 14-Day Reset What I Use With Every Patient
This is the exact protocol I use with every single patient starting care in my practice. It's not fancy, it's not complicated, but it works. This is what I count on to get consistently great results with my patients. Dr. Stillman Uncensored is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Here are the seven habits of the 14-day reset:
1. Start your day with the X39 patch. In our practice, we include these in many of our programs because of how powerful they are. I've seen patients try to skip this step or substitute other interventions. Their results suffer. I love these patches because they make my job so much easier.
2. Take time to encourage, inspire, or compliment at least three people. Text message, phone call, postcard, warm handshake - it doesn't matter. Just take the time to send a positive message to three different people. You need social connection for optimal health. Making time for positive social connection is non-negotiable for good health.
3. Take three ten-minute walks, ideally: - Before breakfast/with morning coffee - Before lunch - Before dinner This timing is crucial for metabolic health. I've seen patients try to combine these walks into one 30-minute session. That's fine, if you have to, but it's better to split them up. The timing matters. Each walk resets your metabolic function at key points throughout the day.
4. Drink 64 ounces of spring water daily. Not tap water, not filtered water - spring water. The mineral content matters. Your cells need these minerals for proper function. I see this in my practice every day - patients who switch to spring water see improvements in energy, mental clarity, and overall function.
5. Every meal needs: - One fist of protein (eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, pork, lamb, bison) - One fist of root vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, turnips, rutabagas, beets, parsnips, carrots) - One fist of green vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, spinach, collards, chard, broccoli, fennel) - One handful of nuts/seeds (chia, flax, walnuts, pecans, pistachios) This isn't a suggestion - this is the foundation of every meal. Yes, every meal. No, you can't skip components. Each serves a specific biological function.
6. At sundown, make your environment as dark as possible.
7. Be in bed by 9:30 PM - no exceptions. This isn't about sleep hygiene - it's about hormone regulation and cellular repair.
These habits work because they address the fundamental aspects of human biology that most people are missing in modern life. This reset works because it's based on fundamental biological principles, not trends or theories. I use it in my practice because it gets results, consistently and predictably. Stick to these habits for 14 days. Don't modify it, don't "improve" it, don't get creative. Just follow it exactly as written. Until next time, be well, Dr. Stillman
HEALTH: Experts confused but delighted by low rates of teen drug use
INSPIRATION CROWD SOURCED: Technology Use (reducing, altering, removing, replacing) Simple Acts of Sanity: A Seed Catalogue By Ruth and Peco Gaskovski All the actions listed here, are practices that readers shared in the comments section of Sowing Anachronism: How to be Weird in Public, and Private. Please Note: We are not suggesting that you need to follow all these practices or any of them. Use them simply as inspiration from other readers. Pick the ones that speak to you, or come up with your own. Technology Use (reducing, altering, removing, replacing) DOWLOAD LIST AT THE LINK
INSPIRATION re TECH: Simple Resolutions for Healthier Screen Time in 2025 New year, new habits for the whole family (even you!) 5 Simple Low-tech Resolutions 1. Replace the Smartphone 2. Pause the Video Games 3. Introduce New Hobbies 4. Start New Traditions 5. Take a Year to Slow Down
INSPIRATION RE: HEALING: CAROL BEDROSIAN SPIRIT OF CHANGE Consciously Creating Healing In The New Year When you want to see something change, focus on the resolution as boldly, bravely, and consistently as you can. Just like the fire, your thoughts are like smoldering smoke wisps, fanned one by one by one into life. The resonance theory of consciousness recognizes that every thought you think vibrates at a specific frequency, triggering other resonant thought frequencies around it into manifestation — like attracts like — ultimately weaving the detailed tapestry of your life into place. Not only does this apply to your own thoughts, but also to the larger network of thought frequencies around you, known as the group mind. We are both individual and collective creators here on Earth, with access to an unlimited supply of creative thoughtform energy, but we are only just beginning to grasp the nature of this awesome human superpower roosting in our brains. For well over a decade, an oft-quoted statistic from the National Science Foundation (NSF), refers to a 2005 article citing 60,000 thoughts per day for the average person, with 80% of them negative and 95% repetitive. Wow — what a heavy load of negativity to chew on and regurgitate daily! Although the existence of this article was hilariously debunked just this year, it’s not too hard to concede that at least 80% of our daily thoughts probably are negative, driven by instinctual fears, long-held anxieties, petty worries and prejudices. Even a minute of mindfulness awareness demonstrates how quickly negative thoughts fill up the space — and those don’t even include all the subconscious thoughts we have no awareness of. [] No matter who is in the White House or who is in your own house, your work remains the same. Grab hold of your consciousness with both hands, the most powerful instrument of manifestation on Earth, and double down on committing to your positive future with harmony as your focus. Bring out the best in yourself and the world around you by showing up for love.
INSURANCE: Norman Lambe from Norman’s Substack Additional Living Expense For the fire victims
POLITICS: Trump Asks Supreme Court to Delay TikTok Ban Until After Jan. 19 The President-elect wants the Supreme Court to pause the potential ban on Jan. 19, 2025, so his administration can pursue 'political resolution'.
TOWERS AND ANTENNAS CHILDREN’S HEALTH DEFENSE: Minden, NV - temporary win against Verizon towers
WARFARE The US military is now talking openly about going on the attack in space "We have to build capabilities that provide our leadership offensive and defensive options."
"A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others." - Jimmy Carter
Thank you for helping to address cultural blinders towards unsafe tech, telecommunications, and energy, with an opened mind and an opened heart. Where the magic doesn’t happen is not only via social media.
“Giving thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.”
