Project Censored report: Global PR firms shape the news and manage public perception

Posted on March 15, 2017 by admin

Why are websites such as this necessary?

Dive into different state or country Smart Meter controversies, and you see Smart Meters are a terrible fraud and scandal, and many people are being hurt. However, the mainstream news rarely covers this except at the local level. Local news stories stay local. Rarely are these stories given even regional coverage. As a result, people in Georgia won’t find out that people in Ohio or California or Australia or Quebec or Netherlands are having problems with accuracy and overbilling or fires or health. So, the perception is “it’s just a local problem with our utility; everyone else is really fine. Smart Meters are really okay”

Further, there is a virtual news blackout on wireless radiation hazards, research, and related international news.

One example of utility company marketing: PR firm Edelman was hired by PG&E to monitor Smart Meter groups and media coverage, and assist in positive news stories and messaging. 

From Project Censored

By Peter Phillips
March 15, 2017

The expansion of  public relations and propaganda (PRP) firms inside news systems in the world today has resulted in a deliberate form of news management. Maintenance of continuous news shows requires a constant and ever-entertaining supply of stimulating events and breaking news bites. Corporate media are increasingly dependent on various government agencies and PRP firms as sources of news.

The PRP industry has experienced phenomenal growth since 2001. In 2015, three publicly traded mega PR firms—Omnicom, WPP, and Interpublic Group—together employed 214,000 people across 170 countries, collecting $35 billion in combined revenue. Not only do these firms control massive wealth, they also possess a network of connections in powerful international institutions with direct links to national governments, multi-national corporations, global policy-making bodies, and the corporate media.

In The Practice of Public Relations, Fraser P. Seitel defined public relations as “helping an organization and its public adapt mutually to each other.” Propaganda can be defined as the dissemination of ideas and information for the purpose of inducing or intensifying specific attitudes and actions. Both PR and propaganda seek to change behaviors and ideas among the masses in support of the agendas of public and private institutions. (For an early history of state propaganda, see Jacuie L’Etang, “State Propaganda and Bureaucratic Intelligence: The Creation of the Public Relations in 20th Century Britain,” Public Relations Review 24, no. 4 (1998): 413-41.)  As Douglas Kellner and other researchers have documented, since 9/11 public relations firms have contributed to increased levels of media propaganda.

…Brand enhancement and sales are undoubtedly among their key services. However, companies offer much more, including research and crisis management for corporations and governments, public information campaigns, web design and promotions, and corporate media placement. WPP’s Hill & Knowton proudly brags on its website that they service 50% of the Fortune Global 500 companies from their offices in forty countries. Along with Omnicom’s Fleishman and Hillard, Hill & Knowlton have been the key PRP firms working with Monsanto to protect its brand Roundup, which contains the herbicide glyphosate. Roundup is the most widely-used herbicide in the world, being sold in over 130 countries, but the World Health Organization recently declared glyphosate a human carcinogen [now California has added it to its list of carcinogens against massive industry opposition]. As countries begin to restrict its use, PRP firms gear up to protect Monsanto’s profits.

WPP’s Hill & Knowton is also well known for its early involvement with the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR), originally established in 1954 to counter the 1952 Reader’s Digest report linking cancer to tobacco smoking. In 1993, the Wall Street Journal described CTR as the “longest-running misinformation campaigns in U.S. business history” (A.M. Freedman and L.P. Cohen, “Smoke and Mirrors: How Cigarette Makers Keep Health Questions ‘Open’ Year after Year,” Wall Street Journal, February 11, 1993.)

…Among some recent positive steps taken by activists to limit the power of PRP, Quebec has become one of the first regions to ban commercial advertising targeting children under the age of 13. For that matter, three generations of people in Cuba have grown up without product advertising in their lives. A group of graduate students from the Univeristy of Havana simply laughed when I asked them five years ago if they ever wanted a “Happy Meal.” It seemed absurd to them to even consider the idea. We too need to understand the absurdity of the PRP industry, and to move to eliminate its influence from our lives, our cultures, and our world.

For the entire article: http://projectcensored.org/propaganda-fake-news-media-lies/

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Research finds human sweat ducts are antennas for millimeter waves (5G), resulting in high levels of radiation absorption by sweat ducts; presented at NIH/NIEHS sponsored conference

Posted on March 14, 2017 by admin

Potential Risks to Human Health Originating from Future Sub-MM Communication Systems, Paul Ben Ishai and Yuri Feldman
presented at Expert Forum: Wireless Radiation and Human Health
Hebrew University Medical School, January 23-26 2017

Sponsored by The Israel Institute for Advanced Study and Environmental Health Trust
With Support from National Institutes of Health/ National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and Dr. Lucy Waletzky

Important video, partial transcript starting about 20:00

And what we see shows us that there’s a change here in this layer, this is true, but there’s something happening over here and over here, which is because of the sweat duct, where it is working truly like an antenna.

We showed this to industry, Professor Feldman showed this to industry in the 2014, was it? 2015 Bio-Wireless conference. And we cannot say they were happy; that would be an understatement. And I think it’s safe to say they’ll sweep this one under the carpet as far as they possibly can.

But, what does it all mean? Experimental confirmation. Have we measured anything similar? Yeah, we have.

We used time domain terra spectrometry[?] to do this, and this is from a real person who we sent out running. And you can see basically what happens. Here he is. So we’ve sent a guy out running Before then, we’ve measured him and we’re showing the reflection coefficient normalized to what we had before he went out running. And this is directly after he comes back, this red line. So right about where we saw an effect, we see a quite strong effect here. This is a differential sequence It looks big instead of looking smaller. And it goes down until we get to about half an hour after he’s come back, and it almost goes back to the straight line of a calm person. So there’s definitely an effect.

When we compare to the actual measurement, – this is the measurement, that’s the simulation – you can see they are pretty similar.

So, it’s not just a algorithmic trick. We measured it. There’s something there, something happening. And it seems to work the way we would expect it to work, if the mechanism for absorption is in the fact the sweat duct in that skin layer.

Now we’re using very low power levels here. So we’re basically just looking at what comes back. We’re probing. We’re not influencing or anything along those lines.

So, what can it tell us? Well, the next thing you have to do, once you look through all this and noted the differences between everything, is to ask yourself: what would it be in terms of SAR? Can you then take the db absorption, change that into a temperature result, and ask what can be done?

With our great luck, it wasn’t long ago that CST brought out a SAR module for the electromagnetic software so we could use that. And we do. So, this is the picture we get. And if we just strip away layers a little bit from this one, here we go, so now we’re trying to actually cut down through the layers and see where the absorption is. Wherever you see a little bit close to the red, that’s where the high absorption is in terms of. In the stratum corneum – that will be where the sweat ducts actually terminates on the skin’s surface — it’s not particularly great. As you go down one layer more, you can see actually the absorption is concentrated in the sweat duct itself, not in the dermal layer or the epidermal layer itself.

As you go down to four, this is the mixture layer before we get to the lower epidermis, you can even make out where the sweat duct is. There’s the twist of the sweat duct in terms of the SAR level, and that simply goes down even more so until eventually there’s a dispersion along the boundary between what we make[?] the dermis and the epidermis – basically the reflection pane itself.

So definitely, the sweat duct is where the absorption is happening. And this actually tallies quite nicely with what Guy Sheperstein[?] has found way back in 2011 as well. So it’s happening there. And this is ignored by industry where they’re making the 5G recommendations. Nobody’s looking at this. Nobody’s even really aware of this.

Okay, let me push a little further for you. If you slice through so you can see the sweat duct, planar now, you can see quite clearly where the absorption is happening.

So it’s concentrated there, it’s pretty clear.

So let’s have a little bit of look at this in terms of db. It’s still very much there, it’s still quite strong. But if we now actually look at the maximum level of absorption we’re got, and this is with no duct – that’s what we should have got — and that’s with a duct. So you can see there is a specific frequency here which actually tallies quite nicely with what would be the end fire mode of an axial antenna of the same dimensions. And it tallies rather too nicely in fact. And you can see the differences is actually quite significant.

[Slide: IEEE 802.15 WPAN Specifications, working group]

Well, that’s the panel that’s making specifications for 5G. What worries me is that is basically an industry panel and it is NOT independent. And as you can see, they are making quite good progress and within two years, you said guys? two years we should have this everywhere, all over us, and this has not been looked at. Nobody’s really considering what health effects could be because of that mechanism which would prove to exist at least there. Nobody’s really considering what it can be.
[Slide; These standards do not consider SkinRad effect when assessing possible health risk issues]

And with that rather frightening message, I will leave you.

During Q&A:

…I didn’t go into the depths of the research we did do. We’ve got about 8 papers published on this.

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NIH/NIEHS co-sponsors international wireless radiation expert forum; scientists question the safety of untested 5G technology

Posted on March 14, 2017 by admin

 

From Environmental Health Trust

Expert Forum: Wireless Radiation and Human Health
Hebrew University Medical School, January 23-26 2017

Sponsored by The Israel Institute for Advanced Study and Environmental Health Trust
With Support from National Institutes of Health/ National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and Dr. Lucy Waletzky

Replicated research shows that Millimeter waves – used by the Department of Defense in crowd control weapons – interacts with human skin and eyes.

February 15, 2017

Israeli research studies presented at an international conference reveal that the same electromagnetic frequencies used for crowd control weapons form the foundation of the latest network – branded as 5G – that will tie together more than 50 billion devices as part of the Internet of Things. Current investigations of wireless frequencies in the millimeter and submillimeter range confirm that these waves interact directly with human skin, specifically the sweat glands. Dr. Ben-Ishai of the Department of Physics, Hebrew University, Israel recently detailed how human sweat ducts act like an array of helical antennas when exposed to these wavelengths. Scientists cautioned that before rolling out 5G technologies that use these frequencies, research on human health effects needed to be done first to ensure the public and environment are protected.

“If you are one of the millions who seek faster downloads of movies, games and virtual pornography, a solution is at hand, that is, if you do not mind volunteering your living body in a giant uncontrolled experiment on the human population. At this moment, residents of the Washington, DC region – like those of 100 Chinese cities – are about to be living within a vast experimental Millimeter wave network to which they have not consented – all courtesy of American taxpayers,” stated Dr. Devra Davis, President of the Environmental Health Trust. Davis proposed that the Trump Administration could provide funds for research and training by implementing a 2 cents per month fee on all wireless devices, their manufacturers and network providers. “Training and research in bioelectromagnetics including the evaluation of new technologies is essential before universal deployment”.

“This work shows that the same parts of the human skin that allow us to sweat also respond to 5G radiation much like an antenna that can receive signals. We need the potential adverse health impacts of 5G to be seriously evaluated before we blanket our children, ourselves and the environment with this radiation.”

Research studies from the Dielectric Spectroscopy Laboratory of the Department of Applied Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, headed by Dr. Yuri Feldman, indicate that millimeter and submillimeter waves may lead to preferential layer absorption. The number of sweat ducts within human skin varies from two million to four million. The researchers pointed to replicated peer research of these biological effects in laboratory research conducted in other countries and considered this mechanism of action well proven.

Today’s cellular and Wi-Fi networks rely on microwaves – a type of electromagnetic radiation utilizing frequencies up to 6 gigahertz (GHz) in order to wirelessly transmit voice or data. However, 5 G applications will require unlocking of new spectrum bands in higher frequency ranges above 6 GHz to 100 GHz and beyond, utilizing submillimeter and millimeter waves – to allow ultra-high rates of data to be transmitted in the same amount of time as compared with previous deployments of microwave radiation.

“Most people are unaware that these waves are cycling several billion times per second. 75 GHz is in fact 75,000,000,000 cycles per second,“ stated Davis about these frequencies rapidly penetrating the skin.

For years, the U.S., Russian and Chinese defense agencies have been developing weapons that rely on the capability of this electromagnetic technology to induce unpleasant burning sensations on the skin as a form of crowd control. Millimeter waves are utilized by the U.S. Army in crowd dispersal guns called Active Denial Systems[1]. Dr. Paul Ben-Ishai pointed to research that was commissioned by the U.S. Army to find out why people ran away when the beam touched them. “If you are unlucky enough to be standing there when it hits you, you will feel like your body is on fire.” The U.S. Department of Defense explains how: “The sensation dissipates when the target moves out of the beam. The sensation is intense enough to cause a nearly instantaneous reflex action of the target to flee the beam.”

The conference at the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies at Hebrew University (IIAS) was organized in cooperation with the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Environmental Health Trust (EHT).

Verizon just announced that 5G networks will be tested in 11 U.S. cities. 5G Networks will involve the deployment of millions of antennas nationwide, thousands in each city, because millimeter waves cannot easily travel through buildings or other obstacles. Proposed installations have lead to public outcry in residential areas where homeowners do not want antennas mounted at their yards or near schools.

Several researchers at the conference raised concerns that current regulations are not adequate to protect public health.

“There is an urgent need to evaluate 5G health effects now before millions are exposed…. We need to know if 5G increases the risk of skin diseases such as melanoma or other skin cancers,” stated Ron Melnick, the National Institutes of Health scientist, now retired, who led the design of the National Toxicology Program study on cell phone radiofrequency radiation.

Dariusz Leszczynski, PhD, Chief Editor of Radiation and Health, stated that the international organization – called ICNIRP – developing recommendations for public exposure limits of these higher frequencies was planning to classify all the skin in the human body as belonging to the limbs rather than to the head or torso. Leszczynski cautioned that, “If you classify skin as limbs – no matter where the skin is – you are permitted to expose it more than otherwise.” 

“The use of sub-terahertz (Millimeter wave) communications technology (cell phones, Wi-Fi, network transmission antennas) could cause humans to feel physical pain via nociceptors,“ stated Dr. Yael Stein, MD, who wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission about 5G Spectrum Frontiers.

Medical experts worldwide are calling for action. Dr. Cindy Russell detailed the state of science in a recent Santa Clara Medical Association article and concluded, “Do not proceed to roll out 5G technologies pending pre-market studies on health effects. 2. Reevaluate safety standards based on long term as well as short term studies on biological effects”.

Videos of Lectures and Presentation Slides from the Conference

SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES

Human Skin as Arrays of Helical Antennas in the Millimeter and Submillimeter Wave Range

The Helical Structure of Sweat Ducts: Their Influence on the Electromagnetic Reflection Spectrum of the Skin

Circular polarization induced by the three-dimensional chiral structure of human sweat ducts

Tissue Morphology and Bio-metamaterials as the Driving Mechanism of Human Electromagnetic Response in the sub-THz frequency Range

Research Study Summaries at Hebrew University Department of Applied Physics

PDF of Abstract for January 24, 2017 IIAS Presentation

Letter from Dr. Yael Stein to Federal Communications Commission on Spectrum Frontiers

Modelling millimetre wave propagation and absorption in a high resolution skin model: the effect of sweat glands.

Terahertz Channel Characterisation Inside the Human Skin for Nano-scale Body-Centric Networks

See also 5 G Wireless Future, by Dr. Cindy Russell: WILL IT GIVE US A SMART NATION OR CONTRIBUTE TO AN UNHEALTHY ONE? Page 20-21

REFERENCES

US Department of Defense Non-Lethal Weapons Program FAQS
[1] h ttp://jnlwp.defense.gov/About/Frequently-Asked-Questions/Active-Denial-System-FAQs/

A Narrative Summary and Independent Assessment of the Active Denial System The Human Effects Advisory Panel
h ttp://jnlwp.defense.gov/Portals/50/Documents/Future_Non-Lethal_Weapons/HEAP.pdf

Everything You Need to Know About 5G
[from spectrum.ieee.org]

Potential Risks to Human Health from Future Sub-MM Communication Systems: Paul Ben-Ishai, PhD Video Lecture Presentation

https://ehtrust.org/internet-things-poses-human-health-risks-scientists-question-safety-un tested-5g-technology-international-conference/

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Copper line vs. VoIP; Ohio Fioptics customers get surprise after storm

Posted on March 14, 2017 by admin

From WCPO Cincinnati, Ohio

By John Matarese
March 4, 2017

Thousands of Tri-Staters have made the switch to Cincinnati Bell Fioptics, as an alternative to cable TV.

It includes your internet, home phone (with the same number you always had) and TV channels, often at a lower price than Spectrum Cable offers.

But some of those customers got an unwelcome surprise during this past week’s big storms.

Landline was a lifeline

Since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, a home phone was a lifeline during a crisis, with that copper line always on even when the electric was out.

Not anymore.

Sheryl Pockrose recently signed up for a Fioptics package, assuming her phone would remain the same — even though her internet service changed from Spectrum (formerly Time Warner) to Cincinnati Bell.

“To me, having a home phone is not a luxury. It’s a necessity during an emergency,” she said.

But the Covedale, Ohio woman claims only after she switched to Fioptics did she learn her phone would not work in a power outage. When her new fiber setup was installed, her old copper landline wire was disconnected.

But she claims no one told her at the time, until she received a letter a month later.

“We all received a letter saying your telephone will not work if the power goes out. Even though it is still a landline connected to the wall,” she said.

Cheryl says several friends of hers lost power and phones in this past week’s storms and got a real surprise.

“They were using their devices and laptops to say, ‘Hey we’re OK, there’s trees down, but we just found out our phones don’t work.'”

All VOIP phones need electric power

In fairness, it is not just Cincinnati Bell. Time Warner Cable, now Spectrum, also has Voice over internet Protocol, or VoIP, telephones that require a modem and electric power to work.

Last year, Chantel Oliver of Fairfield, Ohio asked me why fiber phones are considered an advancement.

“I consider it a downgrade, because when the power goes out, you have no phone,” she said.

Cincinnati Bell tells us most customers now have a cell phone for backup, but if you are concerned, they can sell you a battery backup kit for $100 [which only gives a limited amount of calling time].

Pockrose thinks it should be standard.

“I think that upgrade should include a battery backup for all customers,” she said.

But at this point it’s not, so if your phone line is now Fioptics or cable phone, make sure you have a charged cell phone in a storm; that way, you stay connected and you don’t waste your money.

_____________________

“Don’t Waste Your Money” is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. (“Scripps”).

http://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/some-fioptics-customers-get-surprise-after-storm

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Paris to adopt stricter EMF radiation standards; most protective European city

Posted on March 10, 2017 by admin

From Telecom Paper

Monday 6 March 2017 | 09:40 CET | News

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has reached an agreement with France’s four main mobile network operators aimed at introducing stricter network radiation norms. The EMF (electro-magnetic frequency) exposure limit is to be lowered to 5V/m from the current 7V/m for indoor spaces, representing a 30 percent reduction at the frequency reference of 900 MHz.

Announcing the news, Hidalgo said that Paris was to become the most protective across all the main European cities in terms of exposure from wireless network antennas, setting a lower limit than the one adopted in Brussels (6V/m). The new agreement, expected to be approved by the municipality of Paris at the end of March, also includes plans for a new monitoring service to help measure EMF levels within buildings.

———————————————————————

For comparison’s sake: 5 V/m is approximately a power density of 7.5 microWatts/cm2.

0.1 microWatts/cm2 is the recommendation of the European Council — European Council Resolution 1815 (2011).

600 to 1,000 microWatts/cm2 is the exposure standard in North America.

I measured 15 microWatts/cm2 next to a California schoolyard. That’s 2X higher than the Paris standard. I measured 150 microWatts/cm2 outside a training center for teenagers.

Exposure is to get worse with the 5G tech (already being tested in Canadian towns) and with driver-less cars, etc. – with transceivers every 30 metres or less.

Existing wireless tech power densities are still doubling every few months or so.  Health stats are indicating expected effects, especially in children..

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UK: EDF customers heading for surprise winter bills after smart meters failed to send data for four months

Posted on March 9, 2017 by admin

EDS deflected responsibility for its faulty equipment on to customers. EDF told Computing that it is the responsibility of the customer to check if payment amounts are correct. Furthermore, we were also told that customers should be using a ‘belt-and-braces approach’, and should continue to take manual meter readings – all of which completely defeats the point of smart meters for the customer.

…And, though it pains us to say this, we have to echo what EDF advised us. If you have a smart meter, with any supplier, don’t assume it’s working. For peace of mind, take manual readings twice a year and submit them, just as you did before.

From Computing.co.uk

March 9, 2017
By Chris Merriman

EDF customers to be made to pay for smart meters found to be not so smart

Smart meters installed in the homes and businesses of EDF Energy customers have failed to send meter data back to the company since November last year. In consequence, customers could be hit with surprise winter bills.

The problem stems from a faulty firmware update released last on 5 November that EDF has admitted will have affected “a lot” of its smart meter customers.

The meter is supposed to sync with the paired electricity meter using the Zigbee protocol. This is meant to upload meter readings at regular intervals over the mobile network using a SIM card. However, this has been failing to pass the information on.

As a result, EDF is being told by its customers’ smart meters that no gas being used.

It is, Computing has been told, a known problem, but one with no resolution in sight.

However, affected customers have not been proactively informed about the issue. When questioned this week why EDF smart meters, which are supposed to be designed to take the guesswork out of billing, had left customers with massive debits over the winter, EDS deflected responsibility for its faulty equipment on to customers.

EDF told Computing that it is the responsibility of the customer to check if payment amounts are correct.

Furthermore, we were also told that customers should be using a ‘belt-and-braces approach’, and should continue to take manual meter readings – all of which completely defeats the point of smart meters for the customer.

EDF have said that they did warn customers at the time that there might be temporary errors on their display but that it would not affect their bills. However, the problem has now been running for four months.

Although the company claimed that 85,000 customers were successfully updated and less than one per cent failed, it hasn’t divulged the exact number of potentially affected customers.

All homes in the UK are due to have smart meters installed by 2020 under government legislation, but the scheme has been beset by a plethora of problems, including incompatibility between meters installed by different suppliers, leading to forecasts that the target will be missed by miles.

Unless they meet the SMETS1 standard (which current EDF meters do not by default) by changing provider, the meter may fail to function as “smart” and customers will end up taking their own meter readings anyway – just as EDF customers are being advised to do now.

In a statement, EDF claimed: “We are aware that in some rare cases the meters no longer communicate with our systems. We are in the process of identifying whether there are additional actions we can take to fix this issue, and will ensure that all efforts will be taken to ensure the smart meters work as they should. This may include replacing the smart meter if necessary.”

The company added that when a firmware drop fails, it will be re-sent until it works.

In March 2016, GCHQ was forced to intervene over the poor security in smart meters leading to the new standard. IoT devices have been beset by problems of security, and although smart meters are isolated from the rest of the home, this provides even less chance of the end user detecting a fault.

The current advice we can offer is that if you’re offered a smart meter, check with your provider that the models they are currently installing are SMETS1 compliant. If not, decline until they are. If you have a smart meter, check regularly online that your bill is being updated (you can opt for readings as often as twice-hourly with some companies) or if you’ve been given an energy meter, check that.

EDF have told us that they will be rolling out SMETS1 compliant meters later in the year, but existing smart customers won’t have their meters replaced as they intend to add SMETS1 compliance via the borked firmware update (slightly ironically).

And, though it pains us to say this, we have to echo what EDF advised us. If you have a smart meter, with any supplier, don’t assume it’s working. For peace of mind, take manual readings twice a year and submit them, just as you did before.

Some of the information in this article was given to us by EDF’s customer service team who were dealing with us as customers, rather than journalists.

We have asked EDF for a statement in our official capacity, particularly asking why it had failed to inform customers after the firmware drop borked their meters, especially over winter when the largest bills will be ratcheted up.

Their initial response from a spokesperson was: “Our aim is to install a smart meter for every single customer that wants one, helping them to save energy and money.

“Unfortunately, in a small number of cases, smart meters can experience problems that result in limited functionality. Where we have identified smart meters working with limited functionality, we are working to resolve these for customers as quickly as possible.”

EDF also pointed out that some meters have been affected by a secondary problem, as well as the upgrade failure, although the symptoms and outcomes are the same.

Smart meters also don’t have a great track record for reliability and, unofficially, customer services has admitted that re-attempting a firmware drop is a manual, not automatic, process that could take up to two weeks.

What’s more, the success rate of resends has, thus far, not been good either.

http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/3006131/edf-customers-heading-for-surprise-winter-bills-after-smart-meters-failed-to-send-data-for-four-months

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Michigan: Sen. Patrick Colbeck talks about security problems and other threats with Smart Meters

Posted on March 9, 2017 by admin

8 minute testimony by Michigan Senator Patrick Colbeck on the vulnerabilities of smart meters. He has a highly technical background in aerospace and states what many of us have said for years regarding their threats to individuals and the grid.

His testimony was in support of House Bill 4220 for opt-outs.

At the end of his testimony Rep. Darrin Camilleri asked:

…I guess my question revolves around the issue of national security. So if other states are using Smart Meters, which they are, and they’re already susceptible to hacking the grid, as they are — this is the concern we’re raising today — what would change if Michigan were to go away from Smart Meters, having only analog meters? And how would that impact national security?

Sen. Colbeck:

Well, first of all, it would take one point of failure out of the equation. So that’s the Smart Meter, which is that basic building block.

http://www.senatorpatrickcolbeck.com/speeches/

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Radiotelemetry and wildlife: Highlighting a gap in the knowledge on radiofrequency radiation effects

Posted on March 7, 2017 by admin

From Science Direct

Science of The Total Environment

Volume 543, Part A, 1 February 2016, Pages 662–669

Review
Radiotelemetry and wildlife: Highlighting a gap in the knowledge on radiofrequency radiation effects

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.073

Highlights

  • Radiotracking may induce negative effects that can bias the results.
  • Effects have been documented on survival, reproduction and behaviour.
  • The only causative factors considered were the weight and the attachment type.
  • Radiofrequency radiation (RFR) has not been considered to date.
  • The possibility that RFR may be responsible should be investigated.

Abstract

Radio transmitters and associated devices may induce negative effects that can bias the results of ongoing research. The main documented effects of radio transmitters on animals include reduced survival, decreased productivity, changes in behaviour and movement patterns and a biased sex ratio. The only factors that have claimed responsibility for these possible damages are the weight of the radio transmitter and associated devices, and the attachment type. The electromagnetic radiation produced by radio transmitters has not been considered so far in research. There have been no studies evaluating the effects of non-ionising electromagnetic radiation (radiofrequency signals) necessary for tracking, although the problems found were significantly associated with the length of time that animals had been carrying their radio transmitters. Similar problems as those in radiotracked animals have been found in numerous studies with animals exposed to radiofrequency radiation for a sufficient amount of time. Laboratory scientists investigating the orientation of animals know they have to shield the place where experiments are performed to prevent interference from man-made radiation, as anthropogenic signals may distort the results. It is paradoxical that, at the same time, field scientists investigating the movements and other aspects of animal biology are providing animals with radio transmitters that emit the same type of radiation, since this may affect the results concerning their orientation and movement. This paper identifies gaps in the knowledge that should be investigated in-depth. The possibility that the radiofrequency radiation from radiotracking devices is responsible for the findings should be considered. Considering this factor may allow researchers to best understand the long-term effects found.

Image for unlabelled figure

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969715310548

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UK: ‘Error’ causes SSE smart meters to tell customers they’d spent £20k on gas and electricity in just one day

Posted on March 5, 2017 by admin

From the Sun

March 5, 2017
By Kathryn Cain

The company said no one would be charged extra due to the fault.

CUSTOMERS were being quoted thousands of pounds for one DAY’s worth of gas and electricity due to a cock up with one energy company’s smart meters.

Panicked consumers began posting pictures of their devices, given to them by energy provider SSE, on social media – with one showing a charge of almost £20,000 for a single day’s usage.

Smart meters send information on energy usage directly back to the supplier letting people know how much gas and electricity they are using each day as they use it.

SSE apologised and said none of its customers would be charged the extra amounts, which apparently were down to an “error”, reports the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39169313

Posting on Twitter, one customer, Usman Hussain, said his meter had suggested he had used £9,576.98 worth of energy on Friday.

He said: “Think my SSE Smart Meter for energy and gas may be having slight problems! Either that [or] a neighbour has started nicking my leccy or gas.”

According to the Beeb, for the reading to be accurate, Mr Hussain would need a home bigger than Buckingham Palace – which, with 775 rooms, was billed £1m for a year.

The average annual bill for a large house in the UK is £1,486.

A spokesman for SSE told the broadcaster: “SSE is aware of the issues affecting a small number of our smart meters.

“The issue will be investigated as a matter of urgency and no customer will be charged the extra amounts resulting from errors with the smart meters.

“We would like to apologise to any customers if this has caused distress.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3013040/error-causes-sse-smart-meters-to-tell-customers-theyd-spent-20k-on-gas-and-electricity-in-just-one-day/

Posted under Fair Use Rules.

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Netherlands: 750,000 Liander smart energy meters may give wrong readings, errors of up to 600%

Posted on March 5, 2017 by admin

Leferink told the paper he had reported his initial findings to Liander in 2015.

From Dutch News
March 5, 2017

Some 750,000 ‘smart’ electricity meters installed in Dutch homes over the past few years may not work properly, according to researchers at Twente University and Amsterdam’s hbo college.

They found that in some cases, the electricity usage measured by the devices in laboratory tests was wrong by almost 600%.

‘The inaccurate readings are due to the energy meter’s design, together with the increasing use of modern (often energy-efficient) switching devices,’ Twente University said in a statement. ‘The energy meters we tested meet all the legal requirements and are certified.

These requirements, however, have not made sufficient allowance for modern switching devices,’ Twente professor Frank Leferink said.

Network company Liander has admitted there are problems but says it impossible to determine where the meters have been installed, the Volkskrant said.

Solar panels

Liander says the problem centres on meters installed between 2012 and 2014 and that large companies are the most likely to be affected. However, households with solar panels and electric cars are also likely to have been hit.

Consumers association Consumentenbond said it is ‘absurd’ that Liander is leaving the problem with consumers. ‘They should be actively looking for the faulty meters and looking at eventual compensation,’ the organisation told the Volkskrant.

Leferink told the paper he had reported his initial findings to Liander in 2015.

The Dutch government wants all homes to have a smart meter by 2020.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/750000-smart-energy-meters-may-give-wrong-readings-errors-of-up-to-600/

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