November 24, 2011

Wifi protest in Aurora

Yesterday, a group of concerned parents held a protest at the local school board offices, demanding to have wifi internet routers removed from public schools in York Region. Click here to watch video news coverage from the local media. Happily, it appears there was a very small turn-out, perhaps 5 or 6 mothers with their children in tow. That's a positive sign that the majority of local residents have their heads screwed on straight, and aren't fooled by the silly mumbo-jumbo being spewed by these anti-EM radiation groups.

The video shows three people addressing the camera. The first is what appears to be a concerned parent who has simply been mis-informed by her peers about the issue. The second woman has all the smug, self-satisfaction of the true activist. She has all her talking points down, and her rant so smoothly practiced that she can effectively prevent anyone from getting a word in edgewise to rebut her claims. This is a standard tactic of those who do not have the facts on their side. If you do not ever let your opponents speak, they can never correct you.

The third person to speak is one of the children. This is the part that brings tears to my eyes, and rage to my heart. "It's our human rights," he says. "They're experimenting on us," he says. "In ten years, we're all going to have cancer," he says. Can you believe that? This poor child has been told, by his mother no less, that he's going to get cancer if he goes to school. That's abuse, as far as I'm concerned. The kid's going to have nightmares for the rest of his life. Who does that to a child? Number one: it's a lie. Number two: it doesn't matter if it's a frickin' lie, or not; it's an horrific thing to say to a child. That's a parent whose own personal crusade is more important to her than her child's emotional health, and it makes me insane.

End of rant. We now return control of your internet to you.


11 comments:

Call me Paul said...

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/11/24/national-post-editorial-board-getting-a-whiff-of-wifi-paranoia/

Beth said...

Good grief. I agree...what a horrible thing to say to a child. I hope the kid gets to the point where he can start to think for himself and become a valuable citizen rather than a half-baked conspiracy theorist like his mom.

Marc said...

I have also been writing about this whole "controversy" on my blog, my latest article is at:

http://www.atomsandnumbers.com/2011/york-region-wifi-concerns-continue/

I have updated my latest entry with a link to your articles, I hope that's ok with you. Your articles are well-written.

The best we can do is continue to put the facts out there - I think some people are genuinely fearful of all that is "radiation", and they need to be reassured that there is no danger from WiFi. On the other hand, some people will never see beyond their conspiracy theories, and will double down when shown facts. I want this parents group to present us with the evidence that it is harmful - not anecdotes, not debate tactics, but actual data showing that children are harmed from exposure to WiFi. Heck, I wonder how many people who are fighting to remove WiFi in public areas also believe that the UV rays from the Sun are perfectly safe, and that it's the sunscreen causing the cancer...

ck872 said...

"perhaps 5 or 6 mothers with their children in tow"

News reports all over reported 40-ish.

"the majority of local residents have their heads screwed on straight"

Rather, the size of the group is astonishingly large for complacent acquiescent Ontario, and any so-called smallish numbers reflect the broad lack of acquaintance with the issues -- mainstream telecom-connected media is going tell you the truth about the dangers of wireless?!

"silly mumbo-jumbo" is this blog misleading innocent readers.

Call me Paul said...

Well, ck872, I wasn't there, so all I could do was estimate from the video. It didn't look like 40 to me. As for the accusations of me misleading my readers, I'd be pleased to examine any evidence you would care to present to support your claim.

ck872 said...

my claim about what? the dangers of wireless, obvious to any clear-eyed view of the history behind it all and the copious sci. lit. (but "outweighed" by industry-$ studies showing "no harm") corroborated by innumerable accounts of personal suffering? which variety would interest someone like yourself? if you are truly working in the public interest, you should have already before commenting closely examined what these parents would have referred to as supporting their feeling about the dangers, and not relied on info filtration by deniers of rf harm

Call me Paul said...

ck872, I'm not familiar with the "copious" science literature demonstrating harm from wi-fi. Can you point me at some? I've looked at many web sites out there claiming harm from wi-fi, but I have not come across any that quoted any actual science to support their assertions. Please enlighten me. I'd love it if you could provide links to studies supporting your position.

ck872 said...

Would you love it? Start by reading the 2007 compendium (online)Bioinitiative Report; browse some helpful study lists e.g. at
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/science/studies.asp .

Call me Paul said...

Thanks, ck872. I'll have a look.

Call me Paul said...

Just dropping in to say I've had a quick look at some of the information presented by ck872. There's a fair amount if it, and I'm still researching some of it, but on his first recommendation, the 'Bioinitiative Report', some science organizations around the world have commented on it:

The Health Council of The Netherlands said: "In view of the way the BioInitiative report was compiled, the selective use of scientific data and the other shortcomings mentioned above, the Committee concludes that the BioInitiative report is not an objective and balanced reflection of the current state of scientific knowledge."

The Australian Centre for Radiofrequency Bioeffects Research said: "Overall we think that the BioInitiative Report does not progress science... and it does not provide an analysis that is rigorous-enough to raise doubts about the scientific consensus."

The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection said that the Bioinitiative Report "...had clear scientific shortcomings."

A commentary in the newsletter of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, to which several Bioinitiative Report contributers belong, and which is generally supportive of the group said: "an analysis of the biological database reveals no consistently reproducible (independent) LLNT effect after about 50 or 60 years of research."

So, forgive me if I dismiss the opinions expressed in the Bioinitiative Report, but they cannot be shown to reflect an evidence based exploration of the way the real world works.

I'm still looking at the other list of studies ck872 referenced. I'll get back to you.

ck872 said...

So you did not look at all at the report, accepting words instead from your info-filterers. Very bad avoidance form, Paul. The whole point in co-opting such bodies is just what you seem to have fallen for. How about just read ch14 by Blackman, get a glimpse of the complexity steamrolled over by your regulators & pushers of mass wireless, Blackman an expert retained at IARC -- why exclude him? Because industry-connected hacks say so and fool you with some fancy Org name? btw know what happened at iarc, the backstory etc?You are not "forgiven", rather something else is indicated...Would you even know to recognize corruption if you saw it?