May 31 Safe Tech International News

Norm Lambe Smart Meter Fires, Shawn Loomis 5G, India Protects Wildlife

TRENDS: There are a number of recent articles explaining why drivers get sleepy in cars - from undiagnosed sleep issues to poor quality sleep - all ignoring the elephants in the room and on the road: tech and brain fog.

FEATURED, NORM LAMBE (INSURANCE INDUSTRY/SMART METER FIRES WHISTLEBLOWER)

Why I write about Smart Meters This second and very tragic story is something that I have remembered each day and it continues to inspire me to stop the Smart Meters. This article is provided by the Associated Press, “An electric malfunction started a barn fire that killed 12 horses and injured 11 at an equestrian complex in suburban Palm Beach, investigators said Wednesday. Palm Beach County fire investigators concluded the blaze at the South Florida Trotting Center was caused by a “catastrophic failure” at the meter, the Palm Beach Post reported. Sparks ignited hay, feed and other combustibles. Sam Stathis, the center’s owner, told the newspaper that all 11 injured horses were taken to a veterinarian. The fire erupted late Tuesday and burned into the early morning Wednesday. “We saved 11 horses, and we lost 12,” Stathis told the newspaper. “God be with us.” Why I write about Smart Meters - by Norman Lambe (substack.com)

SMART METERS, NORM LAMBE (Lithium batteries, the smart meter's weakness To Save Money or Not: While reviewing the written material concerning the use of smart meters in this country I came across some interesting information, and I give credit to the honest reporting of the subject matter. The first issue dealt with the economics of a smart meter in your home, does it function as a money saver at all as advertised?  The following answer was provided what I call a yes and no ---

“Overall, while smart meters themselves don’t directly reduce bills, they facilitate more efficient energy management, which can lead to reduced consumption and lower costs for consumers” How do Smart Meters Work? - Electricity Smart Meter for Your Home (theenergyprofessor.com)

Safety Issues: The next issue I was concerned about was the use of lithium batteries in the smart meters that are placed in homes and businesses. Are the lithium batteries safe for use in the meters? The following was my answer --- ”Lithium-ion batteries were responsible for at least 220 fires in New York City in 2022 alone. According to city numbers, such fires caused at least 10 deaths and 226 injuries in 2021 and 2022. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recorded 25,000 incidents of fire or overheating in lithium-ion batteries between 2012 and 2017.”

The above research was concerning mobility devices and the impact of lithium batteries on them: Scientists make ‘water batteries’ that never catch fire If lithium batteries are susceptible to such damage in mobility devices, then I do not believe I would want them in my home watching over my family and myself as we sleep since the smart meters are on 24/7!

Laws Concerning Removal of Possible Evidence: The response that I usually receive about the problem with smart meters and their power source, lithium batteries, is that nothing conclusive has been proven to show smart meters are responsible for fire loss of property and lives. Well, I believe that I have the answer for that one.  When a fire department unit is responding to a reported fire, it is their responsibility to notify the local utility company to shut off the power to the location that is burning in order to prevent further spread of the fire, which is the right thing to do to prevent further loss.

However, in addition to cutting off the power, it is the utility’s plan of action to remove the smart meter feeding the burning location, as the utility company claims that the meter is their property, which it is.

In many of the claims that I handled, the utility company has responded to the loss location and removed the meter prior to the fire department’s full fire suppression efforts being in place. I have experienced a few instances in which the smart meter feeding the damaged unit had been taken from the loss scene, repaired, and put back into service.

In order to obtain the meter for inspection to determine if it was the source of the problem, we needed to have the named insured issue a written request to the utility company to not dispose, repair or sell the meter as the insurance company is requesting the opportunity to determine if the smart meter was the cause of the fire. My last effort at attempting this for an insured took 18 months to inspect the meter, and testing revealed it was the cause of the fire.

The removal of electric smart meters from a fire scene was a problem and still is. The following information indicates the official position of the fire prevention industry regarding this on-going issue.

According to legal perspectives and guidelines on fire scene documentation, any changes to the fire scene, such as the removal of property during overhaul, must be noted and ascertained. Documenting the fire scene: a legal perspective

The scene must be maintained as close as possible to its original form to avoid destroying or altering evidence. https://nyfireinvestigators.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chapter-23-NYSAFC-Scene-Preservation-PPT-FINAL.pdf

Specific procedures are outlined for covering items or areas containing evidence and isolating them to prevent contamination. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/guide-investigating-fire-and-arson

Insurance companies need to come to the conclusion that it is necessary to review ALL of the potential causes of fire and not to be content when we are advised the utility company has removed the smart meter from the scene. What price a human life. Respectfully, Norman Lambe nwlambe@gmail.com Lithium batteries, the smart meter's weakness (substack.com)

See his other articles here.

Note: The quote “Overall, while smart meters themselves don’t directly reduce bills, they facilitate more efficient energy management, which can lead to reduced consumption and lower costs for consumers” attributed to energy professor appears to have been modified to read: “In essence, while a smart meter itself doesn’t cut costs on your energy bill, it equips you with the necessary insights to make smarter, cost-effective energy choices.” and “These devices record your energy consumption in real-time. And provide a more accurate and detailed view of your energy habits. This information is key to understanding your home’s energy usage patterns. While also allowing you to make smarter decisions when it comes to saving money on your energy bill” The new wording shifts more responsibility to the consumer.

Note: Norm has provided his email address if anyone has smart meter fire info to share.

Note: See pertinent post below about changes in electric code for first responders and the practice of pulling the meter.

NEWS AND NOTES

AI: Gov Gavin Newsom warns against perils of over-regulating AI The Democratic governor of California is a longtime ally of the tech industry. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/29/newsom-california-artifical-intelligence-regulations-00160519

AI AUTOMOBILES: Bio-inspired cameras and AI help drivers detect pedestrians and obstacles faster Artificial intelligence (AI) combined with a novel bio-inspired camera achieves 100-times faster detection of pedestrians and obstacles than current automotive cameras. Most current cameras are frame-based, meaning they take snapshots at regular intervals. Those currently used for driver assistance on cars typically capture 30 to 50 frames per second and an artificial neural network can be trained to recognize objects in their images—pedestrians, bikes, and other cars. "But if something happens during the 20 or 30 milliseconds between two snapshots, the camera may see it too late. The solution would be increasing the frame rate, but that translates into more data that needs to be processed in real-time and more computational power," says Gehrig, first author of the paper. "The result is a visual detector that can detect objects just as quickly as a standard camera taking 5,000 images per second would do but requires the same bandwidth as a standard 50-frame-per-second camera," says Gehrig. According to the scientists, the method could be made even more powerful in the future by integrating cameras with LiDAR sensors, like the ones used on self-driving cars. "Hybrid systems like this could be crucial to allow autonomous driving, guaranteeing safety without leading to a substantial growth of data and computational power," says Scaramuzza. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-05-bio-cameras-ai-drivers-pedestrians.html

AUTOMOBILES: The Cybertruck: A Perfect Symbol of American Political Rot, Elon Musk's take on the pickup truck is a public safety menace, an eyesore and a sign of regulatory decay. All of which begs the question: How are these vehicles street legal in the U.S.? [] As Farrow wrote, “Musk has sought out business opportunities in crucial areas where, after decades of privatization, the state has receded.” This has put him in the enviable position where there is “little precedent” for “the degree of dependency that the U.S. now has on Musk in a variety of fields, from the future of energy and transportation to the exploration of space. [] How many injuries, or worse, will Elon Musk’s newest toy cause before it gets its own movie starring Mark Ruffalo? Given the sorry condition of the American regulatory state, these death traps will only disappear from the road when people stop buying them. Which is entirely possible. “At this point,” Rolling Stone’s Klee wrote in April, “the race is on to identify the one part of the vehicle that isn’t defective.” The Cybertruck: A Perfect Symbol of American Political Rot - Truthdig

CHILDREN/YOUTH/ A Prescription to Heal a Screen-based Childhood The cure may be as simple as opening our back doors. Down the hallway, there were art projects strangely different from those we still have hanging in our kitchen. Very few were made by hand. Instead, most were photos printed from a digital printer, sloppily cut out, and pasted on poster boards.  “Kids do “digital art” these days. They love the computer,“ Kathy explained. As I continued through the building, I asked about the strange “dirt” line along the entire length of the main hallway at waist level. Kathy explained: “When the children walk in single file, they extend their arms to touch the wall so they can get their bearings and not fall over. Their physical balance is off because their core is weak; they are not experiencing enough recess or physical play outside of school.”  I headed to the auditorium, a little distracted to deliver my talk. What I saw in that hallway was disturbing. Was this the norm now, or was this just this school? I began to unravel this elementary school mystery the next day when I called my friend, Cris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist. Cris was not surprised by my description of what I saw. She explained that the average child spends more time on a screen than asleep. They aren’t getting enough time to move and play to build core muscles, hurting their learning ability. Simply put, kids aren’t spending enough time outside experiencing the push and pull of nature. They are experiencing what Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, calls a nature deficit disorder. A Prescription to Heal a Screen-based Childhood (substack.com)

AI: Pause AI:  https://discord.com/invite/YufTgPE9 (I have not joined or investigated)

AI: AI expansion runs into green energy roadblock by Las Vegas Review-Journal (POLITICAL) Many states now have renewable portfolio standards that require the use of renewable energy, no matter how practical. Some go further. California and Hawaii want to reach net zero emissions in only 20 years. AI expansion runs into green energy roadblock (techxplore.com)

AI: INDUSTRY U.S. vs. Europe: The new AI economic divide AI's potential to reshape the American job market and boost productivity in the decades ahead could result in a widening economic divide with Europe, Axios Macro co-author Courtenay Brown writes. Why it matters: The U.S. and Europe are on divergent paths for generative AI adoption, according to a new paper by the McKinsey Global Institute. That's predictable, given that most of the technology has come from Silicon Valley. Europe has typically moved more cautiously with all kinds of tech innovations, regulating them more heavily amid worries about labor-displacing technology. https://www.axios.com/2024/05/28/us-europe-ai-economy-growth and The race to deploy generative AI and raise skills | McKinsey

CELLPHONES SCHOOLS CANADA: Provinces divided on classroom cell phone ban, NB latest to impose restrictions "New Brunswick has become the latest province to implement a full-on ban or strict restrictions around cell phone use in Canadian elementary and secondary schools.... New Brunswick joins Ontario, Quebec, and BC in imposing cellphone bans in schools.  Students will be required to turn their phones on silent mode and stash them in a “designated area of the classroom,” the policy states.... “They can be a great learning tool when used appropriately, but there are also concerns about privacy and distraction, and certainly concerns about mental health as well,” he said per the Telegraph-Journal. https://www.westernstandard.news/news/provinces-divided-on-classroom-cell-phone-ban-nb-latest-to-impose-restrictions/54194 (Courtesy Sharon/Barb)

CHILDREN/YOUTH/SOCIAL MEDIA: Your Boyfriend Isn't Your Camera Man “Her need for me to catalogue her life is slowly draining my soul" (FREYA INDIA (Girls) is a writer based in London, England with 20,000 Subscribers, also working with Jon Haidt After Babel

CHILDREN/YOUTH/SOCIAL MEDIA JEAN TWENGE: Parent drug overdoses: The true cause of the adolescent mental health crisis? Probably not. Here’s why. Citing the new papers and other evidence, clinical data scientist Craig Sewall argued that “the crisis among parents that has unfolded over the past 2 decades is the #1 contributor” to the much-discussed adolescent mental health crisis. Could drug overdoses among parents be the primary cause of the teen mental health crisis? [] I’ll show why that is very unlikely, based on the number of children affected, trends in drug use among parents vs. non-parents, increases in depression and poor mental health within racial groups and regions, and mental health among middle-aged parents. Drug abuse and drug overdoses have soared among American adults, primarily due to the opioid crisis, and I do not deny that is an enormous public health issue. Here, I focus on whether those issues among adults can explain the rise in depression, self-harm, and suicide among teens that began around 2010-12. Parent drug overdoses: The true cause of the adolescent mental health crisis?

CHILDREN/YOUTH/ A Prescription to Heal a Screen-based Childhood The cure may be as simple as opening our back doors. Down the hallway, there were art projects strangely different from those we still have hanging in our kitchen. Very few were made by hand. Instead, most were photos printed from a digital printer, sloppily cut out, and pasted on poster boards.  “Kids do “digital art” these days. They love the computer,“ Kathy explained. As I continued through the building, I asked about the strange “dirt” line along the entire length of the main hallway at waist level. Kathy explained: “When the children walk in single file, they extend their arms to touch the wall so they can get their bearings and not fall over. Their physical balance is off because their core is weak; they are not experiencing enough recess or physical play outside of school.”  I headed to the auditorium, a little distracted to deliver my talk. What I saw in that hallway was disturbing. Was this the norm now, or was this just this school? I began to unravel this elementary school mystery the next day when I called my friend, Cris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist. Cris was not surprised by my description of what I saw. She explained that the average child spends more time on a screen than asleep. They aren’t getting enough time to move and play to build core muscles, hurting their learning ability. Simply put, kids aren’t spending enough time outside experiencing the push and pull of nature. They are experiencing what Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, calls a nature deficit disorder.

A Prescription to Heal a Screen-based Childhood

EMF RESEARCH: NOW OPEN for EXPRESSION of INTEREST in SUBMISSION: Research Topic on Individual Sensitivity to Wireless Radiation If interested, please contact the journal ASAP. For details see here: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/64593/individual-sensitivity-to-wireless-radiation To all potential submitters, please remember this is an open-access journal, and publication fees apply. For details see here: https://www.frontiersin.org/about/fee-policy

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: New electrochromic films could be used in smart windows that regulate indoor temperatures Advances in electrochromic coatings may bring us closer to environmentally friendly ways to keep inside spaces cool. Like eyeglasses that darken to provide sun protection, the optical properties of these transparent films can be tuned with electricity to block out solar heat and light.In demonstrations, Xu's MOF electrochromic film took two seconds to switch from colorless to green with an electric potential of 0.8 volts, and two seconds to switch to dark red with 1.6 V. The film maintained the green or red color for 40 hours when the potential dropped, unless a reverse voltage was applied to return the film to its transparent state. The film also performed reliably through 4,500 cycles of switching from colored to clear. With further optimization, the researchers say their tunable coatings could be used in smart windows that regulate indoor temperatures, as well as in smaller scale intelligent optical devices and sensors. New electrochromic films could be used in smart windows that regulate indoor temperatures (techxplore.com)

FAA: Amazon gets FAA approval to expand drone deliveries Amazon's goal is to deliver 500 million packages a year by drone by 2029. First, it will start delivering to more densely populated areas of College Station, Texas (one of its initial test markets). Later this year, Amazon will begin drone deliveries in Phoenix — using a faster, lighter next-generation drone that will be integrated alongside trucks and vans into an existing fulfillment center. Amazon gets FAA approval to expand drone deliveries (axios.com)

FCC: Broadband Labels for Small ISPs The FCC recently issued a detailed Compliance Guide that describes the rules associated with the creation of broadband consumer labels. ISPs with more than 100,000 customers were required to publish a label by April 10, 2024. All other ISPs have until October 10, 2024. Here are a few of the key requirements – but there are others,,,You need a separate label for each broadband product. Broadband Labels for Small ISPs (Disclosing Speeds and Latency instead of RF exposures)

FCC: Rosenworcel Defends FCC's Authority to Expand E-Rate to WiFi Hotspots (will include school buses) The FCCs responsibility is to keep universal services in line with evolving telecommunications, Rosenworcel says. “It is time for an E-Rate program that supports the educational needs of students and library patrons and permits them to learn without limits,” Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said in a letter to Capitol Hill lawmakers posted to the FCC’s website on May 22. Rosenworcel Defends FCC's Authority to Expand E-Rate to WiFi Hotspots (broadbandbreakfast.com) see also: Ed Tech Magazine What Schools Should Know About Using E-Rate Funds for Bus Wi-Fi Upgrades Extending Wi-Fi to buses supports after-school learning and reduces the homework gap. chools can use this time to learn more about how to apply for those funds and have bus Wi-Fi installed by summer 2025. Bus Wi-Fi Serves as Foundation for Other Essential Technology. Connecting to learning tools while on the bus is only one of the benefits of mobile Wi-Fi. It also serves as a foundation for other essential technologies, such as surveillance cameras, GPS for wayfinding, fleet maintenance, and student badges enabled by radio-frequency ID. HERE

5G: URGENT APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA to Suspend the 5G Rollout and to Choose Safe and Reliable Fibre Connections
https://www.appel5gappeal.ca/

5G: Japan tests world’s first 5G comms tech 2.48 miles up in the sky The first-of-its-kind demonstration was conducted using a small Cessna aircraft to simulate the eventual use of High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) Japan tests world's first 5G comms tech 2.48 miles up in the sky (interestingengineering.com)

5G INDUSTRY DOGMA UK: Common Myths About 5G Myth 1: 5G Causes Health Issues Myth 9: 5G Requires an Overwhelming Number of Towers Common Myths About 5G - TechRound

5G SHAWN LOOMIS DEEP DIVE w/REFERENCES: 5G- Internet of Things (Citizen Scientist, naturopath, herbalist and published researcher) At present, smartphones emit a maximum of about two watts, and usually operate at a power of less than a watt. That will still be true of 5G phones. They will still emit a maximum of 2 watts and operate at less than 1 watt. However, inside a 5G phone there may be as many as 8 tiny arrays of 16 tiny antennas each, working together to track the nearest cell tower and aim a narrowly focused beam at it allowing the government to track you. The FCC has recently adopted rules allowing the effective power of those transmitted beams to be as high as 20 watts. (4) [] The Earth’s electromagnetic envelope, the magnetosphere is being massively polluted. Millions of pulsed, modulated digital signals covering 80 GHz of spectrum will be emitted day and night into the magnetosphere by tens of thousands of satellites. Each will be emitting multiple laser-like beams directed at the surface of the Earth. This will have several kinds of effects: 1. the direct radiation arriving at the ground; 2. pollution of the global electrical circuit; and 3. alteration of the magnetosphere itself.

5G- Internet of Things

HEALTH OT Why do we get sleepy while riding in cars? Low-frequency vibrations and white noise mimic the conditions in the womb, making you instinctually drowsy https://qz.com/cars-driving-tired-sleepy-reason-science-1851451853 AND Dangers of drowsy driving: Don't underestimate that sleepy feeling (msn.com)

HEALTH: Why obesity isn't about food Why most food gurus are wrong | Vitamin A | circadian fitness & leptin Why diets don't help obesity - by Roman S Shapoval (substack.com)

INDUSTRY: DOCSIS 3.0 is Obsolete (Data Over Cable Interface Specification) Most State Broadband Offices have decided that DSL is an obsolete technology, regardless of the bandwidth that it can deliver. This means that for purposes of BEAD grants, homes and businesses served by DSL are considered to be unserved even when the DSL is providing speeds greater than 25/3 Mbps (underserved) or 100/20 Mbps (served). The reasons for ignoring DSL for purposes of BEAD is that DSL is an obsolete technology. Copper networks are old and dying. Telcos are working diligently to back out of the copper business. Even where DSL might still be working well for customers today, nobody expects those connections to still be functioning a decade from now. States want to make sure that customers whose only choice today is DSL will have a broadband option going into the future. I think that NTIA and the States should make the same determination for cable networks still using DOCSIS 3.0 technology. DOCSIS technology (Data Over Cable Interface Specification) was created by CableLabs to give cable companies the ability to deliver broadband over a hybrid fiber-coaxial network. There have been several generations of DOCSIS technology. The first generation of the technology was DOCSIS 1.0, released in 1997. This technology allowed cable companies to offer broadband download speeds of 1 Mbps, and was eventually used to boost download speeds to around 6 Mbps broadband. I’m sure that a decade ago, nobody would have believed that there would be telcos still claiming 100/20 Mbps broadband speeds for DSL today – but I’ve seen pockets of this across the country. State Broadband Offices and the NTIA have recognized that the technology is not sustainable to meet future broadband needs and decided to ignore DSL when defining BEAD-eligible locations. If they apply the same logic to DOCSIS 3.0 networks, I’m positive they will draw the same conclusion. DOCSIS 3.0 is Obsolete | POTs and PANs (potsandpansbyccg.com)

INSPIRATION OT: Vanessa Andreotti: "Hospicing Modernity and Rehabilitating Humanity” Vanessa Andriotti is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia at Victoria. on Vancouver Island. Today, we discuss Vanessa's work on projects related to global justice and citizenship, indigenous knowledge systems, and nature, as well as her book, Hospicing Modernity, Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implication for Social Activism “I am following a little bit of the work of Zach Stein, who works with Daniel around this, who talks about screen time as, Low grade child abuse, right? Because it is algorithmically, occupying that infrastructure and exploiting it and extracting value from it. So if we look at schools today, the education sector across the board globally is in trouble.” HERE 1 1/2 hours at 46:29 - Oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine (with written transcript 34 pages) Courtesy Kate

INTERNET: Is the internet really forever? Link rot requires infrastructure changes and human collaboration to solve Earlier this month, Pew Research Center released a report digging deep on the issue, finding that a third of web pages that existed in 2013 can no longer be accessed. "23% of news web pages contain at least one broken link, as do 21% of webpages from government sites." "54% of Wikipedia pages contain at least one link in their "References' section that points to a page that no longer exists." "Nearly one-in-five tweets are no longer publicly visible on the site just months after being posted." "We knew, for instance, that URLs are not maintained very well. If you're an organization or a company and you decide to reorganize or decide you are going to change platforms, all the URLs typically break."These issues go beyond infrastructure and human collaboration challenges. There are also issues around copyright concerns and what legal protections individuals have in working to preserve the web, Regale adds. That's where the federal government could help play a role. "I could imagine [Congress] passing a law that for instance gave people safe harbor provisions to people that were archiving content for purposes of education or research," he says. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-05-internet-link-requires-infrastructure-human.html (I have encountered many dead links from smart meter activist sites that are no longer active. I have also seen the industry purposefully “disappear” their info. I am grateful to those who continue to fund and maintain sites and chronicle history)

LANDLINES CA: 1. The Application of Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a/ AT&T California (U1001C) for Targeted Relief from its Carrier of Last Resort Obligation and Certain Associated Tariff Obligations is dismissed, with prejudice. 2. Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a/ AT&T California (U1001C) shall not file another application for relief from its Carrier of Last Resort obligations until at least one year after the issuance of a decision closing the new Order Instituting Rulemaking discussed in Section 14. https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M531/K085/531085885.PDF

MINING/POLITICAL Biden's EV Push Runs Headlong Into a Harsh Reality: Copper Doesn't Just Grow on Trees To put those numbers in perspective, it takes three to five times more copper to produce an EV than it does a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, as the website Engineering and Technology noted in a report on the copper study.  Adding EV government mandates — like California’s push to get rid of internal combustion powered vehicles by 2035 or President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order to electrify the entire government fleet by the same year — will be almost impossible. “We show in the paper that the amount of copper needed is essentially impossible for mining companies to produce.” https://www.westernjournal.com/bidens-ev-push-runs-headlong-harsh-reality-copper-doesnt-just-grow-trees/

SATELLITES; AST SpaceMobile and Verizon Plan 100% Continental U.S. Coverage AST SpaceMobile and Verizon Plan 100% Continental U.S. Coverage - Inside Towers

SMART METERS DIRTY ELECTRICITY UK (NORWAY, TRANSLATED) (w/ SMART METER INJURY LOG) AMS: What is the similarity between a fighter jet and a new electricity meter? The answer to the question in the headline is "Dirty electricity" – or "line-bound voltage noise" as it is more formally called. It shows the personal experiences of a British electrical engineer, Andrew R Brearley, who is a specialist in ... Yes, exactly: Finding dirty electricity in fighter jets. But then he got a new electricity meter ... Brearley had been working for years to identify EMC problems in British fighter jets because such problems can create technical faults and danger. In his technical world, EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) is used as a term for "dirty current". There are norms and clear requirements for EMC to prevent different technical equipment from interfering with each other. [] he unexpectedly became seriously ill when he got a new electricity meter in the house. It also lasted after he had the transmitter removed. AMS: What is the similarity between an airplane and a new electricity meter? | I have something on my mind... (einarflydal.com)

SMART METERS OHIO: The Smart Meter Rollout Continues: Who is for You? After speaking with the company in a pursuit to opt out of the change, Allan was informed he would need to reach out to his local municipality who then referred him to Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, or PUCO and the City of Toledo Water Utility. While his local municipality accepted no responsibility for the situation, PUCO and the Toledo Water Utility essentially informed Allan that if he refused to allow workers into his house to upgrade the meter, his water would be shut off.“And I said well how are you going to do that,” Allan said. “I am up to date on all of my bills and I have never missed a payment.”  What happened next was an odyssey that lasted around 16 months as Allan attempted to send reports and data to any and all interested parties who could have the potential to intervene, speaking much to the deleterious effects of the meters. William Bathgate was one such expert who provided Allan with data points and had been an expert in the field of Smart Meter technology and an avid opponent of the technology. Bathgate is the president of two separate companies, Val-IT, Inc and DE Filters LLC and has worked on a contract basis with the Department of Defense and other government agencies. Despite his expertise, there was not much he could do to assist. “There is not a damn thing he can do about it,” Bathgate said. “The city can shut off his water and there isn't anything he can do about it. It’s all local and all administrative authority. You can’t appeal to any board anywhere. You are a peon, they do not care they are going to do what they want to do regardless of your water meter is in the basement and the damn thing radiates in the basement right next to your damn head.” [] According to Bathgate, the devices are often installed in basements, which most families, including Allan’s, have remodeled to become family spaces. These devices radiate in excess of 2 watts and radiate frequently. “It’s much stronger than a cell phone, about eight times stronger,” Bathgate said. “Cancer, anxiety, tinnitus is the biggest problem. People hear crickets in the ears. There is no safe space you can get away from it. It’s atrocious. The signal reaches around 1400 feet. Municipalities don’t care at all because they think they are saving money by getting rid of the meter readers.” According to Bathgate, the issue is far more pronounced though. Municipalities and public utilities actually get a cut from the profits of the devices used and the method in which they function is designed to generate far more revenue than standard manual meters.  “In the smart meters there is a circuit that creates the transient voltage, very similar to a cell phone charger. Everytime there is a flicker there is a momentary increase in voltage. So if you go turn on your lights on and off as fast as you can there is a slight tick in voltage. Old meters used to average this out. These new meters are Real Time, they sense every kind of increase that exists whatsoever and they check it every 15 minutes they call it peak value. So every 15 minutes they look at the peak value and they charge you for that entire 15 minutes for that peak value.” [] During a publicly held meeting by DTE Energy not long ago, Bathgate sat in attendance, unbeknownst to the company's administration. According to Bathgate, the then vice president let slip one of the most telling statements a machine could make.  “I sat in the meeting with DTE where they discussed rates and one of the executives in that meeting said their intent is to make your electric bill larger than your mortgage, the vice president of DTE,” Bathgate said. “The state and municipalities that regulate these things get a cut of the revenue from these systems.” The Smart Meter Rollout Continues: Who is for You? (substack.com)

SMART METERS SMART THERMOSTATS OHIO: AFP-OH Urges Legislators to Vote ‘No’ Vote on Bill that Harms Consumers, Increases Energy Costs Columbus, OH – Yesterday, Americans for Prosperity-Ohio (AFP-OH) issued a key vote alert urging legislators to oppose House Bill 79, which creates a new utility program that will increase energy costs and harm consumers. [] In the alert, sent to all House members, AFP-OH said that House Bill 79 “furthers the Ohio legislature’s poor track record on cronyist energy policy” because it gives Ohio consumers fewer choices and traps them in a new program that could ultimately increase their utility costs. In the alert, AFP-OH outlines several concerns with the bill, noting that it is not a voluntary program because consumers must opt out of the program, rather than opting in. AFP-OH also points out that the bill does not include a clear cost cap and limits consumer control over “smart meters” in their homes and businesses. https://www.theohiopressnetwork.com/news/ohio/listen-savings-plan-or-cash-grab/article_a37401aa-fdf8-11ee-ab95-0b9dcbe6aa4f.html

SMART METERS OREGON TESTIMONY VIDEO: Oregon smart meters, meeting video 5-8-24 - EWEB At the May 8, 2024 meeting of Eugene's municipal utility EWEB, several of us commented on the change in policy, now forcing smart meters on the public, and the need for ADA disabled accommodation for those disabled by electromagnetic sensitivity (EMS).  Video here. 12:14 - Public comments begins (Courtesy Nina B.)

SMART METERS AND PERTINENT NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE CHANGES: change to NEC code that went into effect 4/15/2024, As of 4/15 the new NEC2023 code requires electricians who install a new service panel also install a main disconnect beside the meter on the exterior of the home to control service panel on the inside. This new code language ensures that first responders will have a suitable exterior disconnecting means in the event of natural disaster, fire, flooding and the like. Pulling the electrical meter because the main service disconnect is located on the inside of the home is not acceptable. Existing residential service installations will likely be allowed to remain as they are, but new installations and service upgrades performed after the adoption of the 2020 NEC^® will be required to incorporate a readily accessible exterior emergency disconnect. A service disconnect switch or main circuit breaker located outside of the home can serve this purpose. This code change will have a huge impact in some states and may not be that big of a deal in others. In the warmer states, the most common type of residential electric service installation includes an exterior all-in-one type meter/service panel, having a main circuit breaker (service disconnect) and the branch circuit breakers underneath (see image). The homeowner must run outside to reset a tripped circuit breaker. These service configurations will comply with the new code language. In many of the colder states, a main breaker type service panel is located inside the home and supplied by a short run of service conductors from the utility meter, just on the opposite side of the exterior wall. It’s no fun to venture outside in the cold to reset a circuit breaker should one trip. These types of service configurations will only comply with the new code language if an emergency disconnect is installed outside. https://www.electricallicenserenewal.com/Electrical-Continuing-Education-Courses/NEC-Content.php?sectionID=847.0 and
https://www.ecmag.com/magazine/articles/article-detail/outdoor-emergency-disconnecting-means-installing-and-marking-this-equipment-for-one--and-two-family-dwellings Courtesy Monique (It is likely that the homeowner will be required to pay for this. Does this pertain to the installation of smart meters?)

SMART METERS LAWSUIT EUGENE OREGON: Stop Smart Meters in Eugene OR: legal fund info; attorney hired; history; pls. donate; The only so-called “option” EWEB offers in place of a “smart meter” (radio on or off) is to have our electricity shut off. As unbelievable as that may sound, it’s true. In early May, EWEB cut off electric service to the homes of two elderly disabled women because they refused “smart meters.” More customers have been cut off since then and others have been given notice they will be cut off if they do not “comply.” We need help paying for a lawyer because the state public utility commission does not have the authority to help us. Our wonderful lawyer is a champion for people’s right to protect ourselves from possible harm from “smart meters,” and your donations will help us to stop EWEB from violating our rights. One lawsuit has already been filed. If we succeed, it may help people in other communities, too, and we hope it will. Crowd Funder: https://www.givesendgo.com/sueEWEB?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3a2N3uEg1klI02R5DtHh6qDiU2d_d2MPQVLTbtTrFPfxiQVQPpasXWHbo_aem_AbLmYBj0yxstY16zlB_feSPZ5liM4J_uWN0GpGcSBc-4N8SrM0dNSd9Ylx5yzFwIbxSDzxSAKf_qD2M6hV9vtJbL About $10,000 raised before this fund-raising campaign set up in May. About 20 plaintiffs have signed on to the legal action so far.  Pls. note that 'Families for SAFE and Ethical Technology' new name for Families for SAFE Technology, initially Families for SAFE Meters started 2011, pivotal in coordinating the community to craft the first wireless digital smart meter Opt in rather than Opt out in the USA. (Facebook page still says Families for SAFE Technology) (See: Smart Meter Health Hazard Dr Paul Dart Unpaid Expert Part 1 Here 1/2 hour vs. Paid tobacco scientist Peter Valberg Here 1 hour 10 years ago and Cell Phone Tower Health Hazards Dr Paul Dart Eugene Oregon December 2014 part 1 36 minutes, more at this page: youtube page RadiationReport - YouTube

SPACE SATELLITES: Verizon joins AT&T’s 5G satellite orbit, extends coverage to hard-to-reach areas Verizon has committed $100 million toward satellite-based communication services from AST SpaceMobile, putting the carrier in partnership with rival AT&T in using the nascent satellite broadband provider as a proxy to extend 5G coverage to hard-to-reach geographies. Verizon joins AT&T’s 5G satellite orbit, extends coverage to hard-to-reach areas - SDxCentral

SURVEILLANCE: Body scanners finally going in federal prisons Body scanners finally going in federal prisons (westernstandard.news) courtesy Sharon

SURVEILLANCE: 'Ring' has a new mission: 'Hey, there's raccoons in my backyard' For years, "Ring" touted its crime-fighting bona fides, selling smart doorbells that let homeowners remotely monitor their residences—and sometimes share what they recorded with local police. Now the Amazon.com Inc. unit is looking to transform itself into a smart-camera business with a cheery social-media side hustle, sort of a mashup between Nextdoor and TikTok. "Reduce crime in neighborhoods" was Ring's original mission statement. Now it's "Keeping people close to what's important." "One vestige of Ring's crime-fighting days lingers on, a flying indoor drone that can zoom around the home and investigate suspicious noises. When it was unveiled in 2020, Ring released a video of the drone chasing off a would-be burglar as the resident watched on a smartphone. The challenge of navigating uncommon floor plans also delayed Amazon's Astro home robot, which remains an invitation-only product. 'Ring' has a new mission: 'Hey, there's raccoons in my backyard' (techxplore.com)

SURVEILLANCE/CENSORSHIP: Key misinformation “superspreaders” on Twitter: Older women. Some of our fellow citizens seem to voluntarily do the work of spreading fake news. The work, done by Sahar Baribi-Bartov, Briony Swire-Thompson, and Nir Grinberg, relies on a panel of over 650,000 Twitter accounts that have been associated with voting registrations in the US, using full names and location information. Those voting records, in turn, provide information about the individuals, as well as location information that can be associated with the average demographics of that voting district. All of these users were active on the platform in the lead-up to the 2020 elections, although the study stopped before the post-election surge in misinformation. The main difference the researchers detected was that most of the superspreaders' activity came in the form of retweets. Three-quarters of the superspreaders' content were retweets. Key misinformation “superspreaders” on Twitter: Older women | Ars Technica

TOWERS AND ANTENNAS: Not In Our Subdivision, Say Geneva Residents Residents in the Eagle Brook development countered with a video presentation challenging Dolan’s claims. Their material demonstrated that property values would potentially be lower if the cell tower were approved. Residents, led by homeowner Emily McCafferty, also decried the appearance of the tower, stating, “This tower belongs in an industrial or commercial area that is not closely surrounded by residential homes.” Fellow resident Dale Rathunde attacked from another angle, saying that a cell tower at the proposed location was not necessary, according to the Daily Herald. Rathunde shared his opinion that Verizon wanted to build a cell tower not because demands on the current system required it, but because it aimed to get people to switch from cable to Verizon’s home internet product. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Commission voted 6-0 against the Verizon cell tower. Not In Our Subdivision, Say Geneva Residents - Inside Towers

TOWERS AND ANTENNAS: Parents of students enrolled in the Rock Academy church school in San Diego, CA, were upset to discover that concealed small cell antennas had been installed on the building without their knowledge. The issue has been complicated by a thorny relationship between T-Mobile and the megachurch. The two were in discussions to remove the cell site equipment in March 2023, but the school barred T-Mobile from coming on to the property. A writ of mandate was filed by parents the following month asking the city of San Diego to stop the cell site installation at the school. That action is currently on appeal. In January 2024, T-Mobile filed a lawsuit against Rock Church claiming breach of contract. T-Mobile also asked the court to allow it to activate the cell site equipment. Secret Antennas Rock Church Group - Inside Towers

TOWERS AND ANTENNAS INDIA: Balancing the need for connectivity versus protecting its wildlife residents, India has chosen to uphold the safety of its tigers. While it will continue to erect towers near big cat communities, it will prohibit the construction of cell towers in core or critical tiger habitats, reports Microsoft Start.  The country’s Environment Ministry has set up guidelines to help protect not just tigers, but other animals as well. The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife met with the Ministry to express its concerns about the potential encroachment of digital connectivity in areas frequented by wild animals. An order issued by the Ministry stated that “the protection and conservation of wildlife habitats should not get affected” by communications installations. “The core/critical tiger habitat, notified under the Wildlife [Protection] Act, 1972, should be avoided” for both cell towers and fiber optic projects. While the focus is on core habitats, the corridors, buffer zone, and peripheral area also need to be safe for the animals, reports Microsoft Start.  “Installing mobile towers in core tiger habitats would mean laying power cables, deploying generator sets and movement of people which could disturb the wildlife,” stated Jose Louies, the chief of enforcement at the Wildlife Trust of India. “Mobile towers outside the tiger reserves also provide good connectivity.” In addition to steering clear of tigers, the ministry also proclaimed that new cell towers in otherwise acceptable areas cannot be within one kilometer (.62 miles) of an existing cell tower. “If new towers are required to be built,” explained the ministry, “These should be erected with utmost care and precautions so as not to obstruct the flight path of birds, and also not to increase the combined radiations from all towers in the area.” No Towers For Tigers - Inside Towers

TOWERS AND ANTENNAS Virginia Pumps the Brakes on Two School Property Cell Tower Proposals - Inside Towers

TOWERS AND ANTENNAS Vice Mayor of Vetoed Tower Build: “Akin to Putting Lipstick On a Pig” - Inside Towers

EVENT

EUROPE: Live: My Life in Airplane Mode This Tuesday, June 4th, at 10 AM EST, join a live interview with David Steinmetz, co-founder of the Channel My Life in Airplane Mode. My Life in Airplane Mode is a web series created to explain the possible symptoms of exposure to electromagnetic waves through testimonials, expert interviews, and explanations of solutions to implement at home. Learn more about this amazing project at: https://en.mavieenmodeavion.com/news HERE: Live Minha Vida em Modo Avião - YouTube (although the youtube placeholder is not in English, the interview will be in English)

In case you missed it: EMF/RF/5G – ‘Balance’ is Every Child’s Birthright Fixing bikes and fixing childhood HERE