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Stroud MP to attend meeting about radiation from mobile phone masts
United Kingdom	Created: 17 May 2013
MP Neil Carmichael will attend a meeting to discuss concerns about microwave radiation. In March, Cambridge University scientist Roger Coghill, co-founder of Powerwatch, spoke to a packed audience at the Old Town Hall in the Shambles, Stroud, claiming that some new technologies can harm health. Now a follow-up meeting has been arranged on Friday at 7.30pm at the same venue. It will be a chance to discuss health fears over microwave radiation from mobile phone masts, smart meters and cordless telephones. Organisers say there are nine masts in Stroud and a growing number of public wifi hotspots. The meeting will discuss: * Protecting homes and using technology safely ie home plugs instead of wifi. * Protecting health - nutrition, remedies, clothing etc. * Protecting children from wifi in schools and helping them to use mobile phones wisely. * The impact on the environment, bees and food. * Campaigning to lower mobile mast radiation to align with EU regulations Healthy House from Ruscombe will be represented to answer questions on personal and home protection. Call Janet Westgarth on 01453 752751 for further information.
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Source: Stroud News and Journal, SNJ Reporter, 17 May 2013

So, this is US! The Old Ones! SO, How Do You Explain the Young Ones (16 to 35) who suffer the same??
United Kingdom	Created: 16 May 2013
First of all please look at what the scientists have just said aboutDimentia in our "Our Young Ones" May 2013, USA: Brain Diseases Affecting More People and Starting Earlier Than Ever BeforeDementia deaths more than double in a decade ** After that look at what "Old Ones" we have to face: The proportion of people dying of dementia has more than doubled in a decade, official figures show, and by 2021 one in eight of all deaths could be due to the brain disease. Every tenth woman in England and Wales now dies of dementia (10.3 per cent), according to mortality figures for 2011 from the Office for National Statistics, up from 4.3 per cent in 2001. In men, the proportion of deaths from dementia has risen from 2.0 to 5.2 per cent over the course of the decade. Should these rises be sustained, it will mean that by 2021 about 12 per cent of all deaths will be attributed to dementia. Experts said the figures were a “scary” reminder of the scale of the dementia timebomb facing Britain. At the moment some 800,000 people in Britain are living with dementia, including about 500,000 from the most common type, Alzheimer’s. Less than half (43 per cent) have received a formal diagnosis. One million are expected to have dementia by 2021. Professor Clive Ballard, head of research at The Alzheimer’s Society, said the increase in deaths attributed to dementia was due both Britain's ageing population and to a greater understanding that the disease did actually kill people. He said: “Dementia is getting more common, because people are living longer. “There’s an exponential increase in dementia with age. One in 20 people at 65 have it, but that increases to one in five at 80, one in three at 90 and one in two at 95. “So once you get more and more people living beyond 80, you will get more people dying from dementia.” He also said doctors were now far more likely to record dementia as the underlying cause of death, due to a better understanding of it. He explained: “In very severe Alzheimer’s, people get bed-bound, can’t clear their chests properly and become very vulnerable to infections like pneumonia. “Whereas 10 years ago a doctors might have put ‘pneumonia’ as the cause of death on the death certificate of someone with dementia, now they are more likely to put ‘pneumonia and dementia’.” People with Alzheimer's were also "much more prone" to strokes because the amyloid proteins associated with the disease in the brain also tended to block blood vessels. Just as doctors had realised for years that people with end-stage cancer were really killed by the disease, rather than the final trigger such as an infection or a heart attack, so they were now accepting a similar thing happened in those with dementia. Given that one in three 65-year-olds will develop dementia during the rest of their lives, Prof Ballard thought predictions that one in eight could be dying of the disease by 2021 might prove on the low side. “If we assume that half of those with dementia will die of it, that suggests a sixth of all deaths could be due to the disease,” he said. “The proportion of the increase is quite scary, and that’s why we need to have a plan now, rather than burying our heads in the sand. “We are moving in the right direction but we have to have more support for research and for managing people with it.” He warned that 85 per cent of people in care homes were now thought to have dementia, up from 20 per cent in 1980, and given the upward trend almost everybody in a care home would soon have it. “What we are going to see soon is that care homes are going to be completely full of people with dementia,” he said. “That will probably happen in the next decade. When that happens the current system is going to break. “Then we will either have to start managing people with more severe dementia in their own homes or there will have to be more care home provision.” For years dementia has been a 'Cinderella' condition but that now seems to be changing. In March, David Cameron declared that tackling the "national crisis" posed by the disease was one of his personal priorities, and said it was a "scandal" that the country had not done more to address it. He announced that research funding would more than double by 2015, compared to 2010, but has been criticised for failing to address the immediate problems faced by those already with it. Earlier this week he said the Government was backing a UK-developed 15-minute test for dementia, to help drive up diagnosis rates. Jerem Hunt, the Health Secretary, said: "We want to make Britain a beacon for dementia care, concentrating on early diagnosis and preventative measures which will help those patients most at risk. The Young Ones: Brain Diseases Affecting More People and Starting Earlier Than Ever Before "The earlier the disease is diagnosed the earlier treatment, care and support can be given which can help a person with dementia live well for longer." May 2013, USA: Brain Diseases Affecting More People and Starting Earlier Than Ever Before And then the Old Ones! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22531066 Dementia diagnosis rates: 'Shockingly low' By Adam Brimelow The NHS in England has been told to push for a rapid rise in dementia diagnosis rates, so that by 2015, two out of three cases are identified. Currently fewer than half of people with dementia have a diagnosis. A senior adviser on public health says dementia cases could be halved if more were done on prevention. He wants wide-scale mental agility testing to identify people at risk, but critics say that would cause unnecessary fear and anxiety. The government says the overall dementia diagnosis rate in England - about 45% - is "shockingly low". The issue was raised as a priority a year ago in the prime minister's "challenge on dementia". This set out a programme to improve care, promote public support and understanding of dementia, and encourage research. Now, in a progress report, NHS England says diagnosis rates should rise by more than 20% over the next two years, so two out of three cases are detected. This would bring overall diagnosis rates in England into line with those in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Focus on prevention The announcement coincides with a call for a greater emphasis on dementia prevention from Dr Charles Alessi. He is chairman of the National Association of Primary Care and an adviser for Public Health England. It is estimated that 670,000 people in England have dementia. That figure is expected to double in the next 30 years. But Dr Alessi says the number of cases could be halved by focussing on the risks for vascular dementia - caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote This condition - which we thought was hopeless, and all we could offer was more dignity and respect and more treatment which is very important - can also be delayed. That is amazing” Dr Charles Alessi Advisor: Public Health England He says a simple mental agility assessment should become part of the range of tests routinely provided in the NHS Health Check after people reach 40. He argues the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCa) could even be used online to allow people to make their own assessment. As well as checking for memory this test looks at "executive function" - the ability to do everyday activities such as organising, planning and making decisions. Dr Alessi says it provides a good indicator of early cognitive impairment. He says people who know they are at risk of vascular dementia can act to help delay or even prevent symptoms if they eat well, take exercise and don't smoke. He emphasises the importance of controlling blood pressure and diabetes - also risk factors for heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease. "This condition - which we thought was hopeless, and all we could offer was more dignity and respect and more treatment which is very important - can also be delayed. That is amazing. We can influence this so I think we should." 'Snapshot' The National Clinical Director for Dementia in England, Prof Alistair Burns, says the MoCa test could be an important component in identifying risk of vascular dementia, but he says by itself it is just a "snapshot", and a lot of other factors should be brought to bear in arriving at a diagnosis. "It's not just one thing. It's looking at the history of the person, it's looking at how they are doing in general, it's looking at the medical history, at brain scans, and that test of cognition, of executive function." However he says the message about the possibility of prevention is important. Dr Chris Fox, an expert in old age psychiatry at the University of East Anglia, says he is very concerned at the idea of people being encouraged to carry out their own cognitive assessments. He says the idea is not supported by the evidence. 'Unnecessary anxiety' "My biggest concern is the impact on patients, creating unnecessary anxiety. I'm also very concerned about the pressure it puts on health and social care with resources being pulled around. We need to spend our health budget in an evidence-based way even more than we used to." He says investing in research about the early stages of dementia my be a "more fruitful" use of funding. Jeremy Hunt MP: "We are not advocating screening" The prime minister has announced the UK will use its presidency of the G8 group of leading industrialised countries to a encourage new international approach on dementia research. This will include a summit, to be held in London in September, which will bring together health and science ministers and leading dementia experts. In a statement Mr Cameron said he wanted to get the "brightest minds" working together on this: "I've said before that we need an all-out fight-back against dementia that cuts across society. Now we need to cut across borders and spearhead an international approach that could really make a difference."
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Source: Agnes Ingvarsdottir.

Why UK slid £150m to tax-exempt phone-mast master Arqiva
United Kingdom	Created: 15 May 2013
How does one fairly distribute £150m to extend Blighty's mobile coverage? Give the whole lot to a private company that has paid no corporation tax for four years and effectively holds a monopoly. That company is Arqiva, which owns the vast majority of the UK's TV, radio and mobile phone transmitters. It will get £150m of taxpayers' cash with which to extend its network of sites, which are rented out to broadcasters and phone operators. We're told the money will extend coverage to 60,000 premises and "sections of road", but it will certainly help Arqiva maintain its billion-pound annual revenue. Not that the revenue leads to profit, thanks to a system of loans and repayments that ensure shareholders make money and the company avoids paying UK corporation tax - as revealed by a Financial Times investigation last year. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. John Cresswell, Arqiva’s CEO, told the FT: "Arqiva has invested heavily in the UK’s infrastructure, including £630m in the digital [TV] switch-over. In recognition of this considerable investment in the UK’s communications infrastructure, the government has agreed a tax exemption for Arqiva from 2009." Meanwhile, said government has thrown a pot of public cash at improving the nation's mobile internet connectivity, showering Arqiva with the gold. But how else was it going to distribute the money without upsetting the mobile industry? The network operators would have taken the cash and complained bitterly about the amount the other operators were given, and Arqiva's dominance means there isn't really anyone else who could use the nine-figure sum. When the funding was announced by Chancellor George Osborne, back in October 2011, even the network operators said they weren't interested in the cash, but instead wanted planning laws relaxed to allow the construction of bigger and beefier phone masts and the trenches of cabling needed to serve them. In rural areas, the trenches are generally the expensive bit: the technology keeps getting cheaper but the cost of digging across someone's land costs an arm and a leg. Microwave links can reach anywhere with line of sight, but there's still power cables and access for regular maintenance which can involve building roads and all sorts. The Mobile Operators' Association pulled up extreme examples - £350,000 to connect one Welsh base station, for instance - but pegged typical costs of delivering power to a site on a farm at £25,000, making it the most expensive part of the process. But the association was more concerned with planning laws, and how to mitigate them. Fortunately that appeal was also heard and existing masts can now be hoiked up to 20m and fattened up by a third without additional planning permission. That enables Arqiva to stick antennas for multiple operators onto the same set of steel, which is important with 4G networks rolling out as network operators combine their 3G systems and strip redundant radio gear from masts. Giving £150m of government cash to a private company to extend its near-monopoly may seem weird, but really the Ministry of Fun (Department for Culture, ed.) had little other option once Osborne had made his 2011 promise.
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Source: The Register, Bill Ray, 15 May 2013

An alarming "hidden epidemic" caused by Environmental changes, f.inst rise in background non-ionising radiation
United Kingdom	Created: 14 May 2013
Modern life causing dementia earlier, study finds. Modern life is causing people to suffer dementia earlier than ever before, a study has found, with PCs, mobile phones, chemicals and electronic devices to blame. Researchers found a sharp rise in the deaths from dementia and other neurological disease in under-74s, and believe that the figures cannot be explained away by the fact we live longer. Instead the “epidemic” is down to the environmental and social changes in the modern world, the authors claim. Of the 10 biggest Western countries the US had the highest increase in all neurological deaths between 1979 and 2010. The UK hadthe fourth largest increase, according to World Health Organisation statistics, with men up 32 per cent and women up 48 per cent – representing a rise from 4,500 deaths to 6,500. Within the figures there is an alarming "hidden epidemic" of deaths in adults under 74, especially the UK, according to the study published in Public Health Journal Total neurological deaths in both men and women rose significantly in 16 of the countries covered by the research, which is in sharp contrast to the major reductions in deaths from all other causes. Women's neurological deaths rose faster in most countries. Professor Colin Pritchard, from Bournemouth University, said: "These statistics are about real people and families, and we need to recognise that there is an 'epidemic' that clearly is influenced by environmental and societal changes.” That people suffer more brain diseases, and from younger ages, is illustrated the creation of two new charities - The Young Parkinson's Society and Young Dementia UK – which would have been inconceivable 30 years ago, he said. "Considering the changes over the last 30 years - the explosion in electronic devices, rises in background non-ionising radiation - PCs, microwaves, TVs, mobile phones; road and air transport up four-fold increasing background petro-chemical pollution; chemical additives to food, et cetera,” Professor Pritchard said. "There is no one factor rather the likely interaction between all these environmental triggers, reflecting changes in other conditions." By Hayley Dixon http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10052486/Modern-life-causing-dementia-earlier-study-finds.html
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Source: Agnes Ingvarsdottir.

Cell Phones Linked to Acoustic Tumors for the Fourth Time
United Kingdom	Created: 13 May 2013
If you still doubt that cell phone tumor studies are free of political agendas, take a look at a new paper from the U.K. This is the fourth epidemiological study to show arisk of developing an acoustic neuroma, a tumor of the auditory nerve, following long-term use of a cell phone. Yet, the authors neglect to highlight this keyfinding in the conclusion section of their abstract, focusing instead on the absence of an increase in brain cancer. The research team, which includes Valerie Beral of Oxford University and Joachim Schüz of IARC, also touts the study as prospective. We disagree. It is really no better than previous retrospective studies. The controversy continues, with no end in sight. Read our latest post at: http://microwavenews.com/uk-study-points-acoustic-neuroma Best, Louis Slesin
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Source: Microwave News, Louis Slesin, 10 May 2013

Secrets of 27m mobile phones offered to police
United Kingdom	Created: 13 May 2013
THE data of 27m mobile phone users has been offered for sale to the Metropolitan police, private companies and other bodies, enabling them to track users’ movements. Ipsos Mori, one of Britain’s biggest research firms, has been caught offering text and call records for sale. The company has claimed in meetings that every movement by users can be tracked to within 100 metres. This weekend the Met, which has been in talks with Ipsos Mori about paying for some of the controversial data, shelved any deal after being contacted by The Sunday Times. Documents to promote the data reveal that it includes “gender, age, postcode, websites visited, time of day text is sent [and] location of customer when call is made”. They state that people’s mobile phone use and location can be tracked in real time with records of movements, calls and texts also available for the previous six months. Richard Kerbaj and Jon Ungoed-Thomas Published: 12 May 2013
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Source: Agnes Ingvarsdottir.

Pupils given free iPad minis
United Kingdom	Created: 12 May 2013
A school is giving a tablet computer worth £269 to all of its 1,200 pupils. Cherry Ridgeway, headteacher at Pleckgate High School in Blackburn, said it was hoped that the iPad mini scheme would improve results at the comprehensive by "bridging the gap between the classroom and home study". Parents will be asked to make a £30 contribution to insure their child's iPad and for a case, which usually retails at £40, to keep it protected. The rest of the money is coming from the school's reserves and this year's budget. Extra funding may also come from grants. When children leave the school, if the iPad is more than two years old and the pupil has good behaviour and attendance, they will be allowed to make a contribution and keep the tablet. Mrs Ridgeway said: "Rest assured, this is not a gimmick. "We are giving our pupils access to modern technologies that will allow them to learn independently and prepare them for life in the modern world.
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Source: Agnes Ingvarsdottir.

Judge gaves church in Kilburn the green light to install nine mobile phone antennae
United Kingdom	Created: 12 May 2013
A judge has given the go-ahead for a mobile phone antennae to be installed in a church in Kilburn and branded opposition to the plan as “ludicrous and ill-informed.” Despite fierce opposition, the Church of England’s Consistory Court judge gave the controversial plans for nine antennae to be installed at the Grade I listed church of St Augustine in Kilburn Park Road, the go ahead today. Judge Nigel Seed QC, the Chancellor of the Diocese of London, said the scheme will provide a much needed boost to church funds and the opposition bore the hallmarks of an orchestrated and ill-informed local campaign. He said in his decision that the church had very limited income with which to maintain “an important Grade I listed building.” Rejecting fears that emissions from the antennae will impact on local residents in nearby homes and schools, he said : “There was nothing to distinguish this application from 11 others I have granted over the last two years, two of them in the City of Westminster, where the City Council had raised no objections or queries. “I point this out to put some of the ludicrous and ill-informed correspondence with which the registry was bombarded in this case into context as complaint is made about the proximity of this installation to schools and residential units”. He added that the emails and other correspondence “bore all the hallmarks of having been orchestrated as part of some ill informed local campaign”. He also, despite objection from Westminster City Council, gave the go-ahead for replacement of existing lead covered oak louvres with glass reinforced plastic louvres. In March 2012, the Parochial Church Council (PCC) resolved to enter into negotiations with the proposed licensee, New Edge Telecommunications (NET) Limited, but the works required final approval from the Consistory Court.
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Source: Agnes Ingvarsdottir.

Phone for 4-year-olds launched, kids' groups are unsure
United Kingdom	Created: 12 May 2013
A mobile phone aimed at four-to-nine-year-olds has gone on sale, promising to help protect nippers from being bullied or exposed to harmful images and videos. Called the 1stFone, it's the size of a credit card, doesn't have a screen, and can't connect to the Internet. It costs just £55, and is made by OwnFone, the company that also makes phones for the elderly. Sounds like a good idea? Some people aren't so sure. Because of 1stFone's basic functionality, its maker believes it'll reduce the risk of its owner being cyberbullied, sexted, seeing what they shouldn't online, or being mugged. For example, parents can enter 12 numbers into the memory, along with an entry for 999, and the child won't be able to call anyone else. "In a world dominated by smart phones, parents face a difficult choice when it comes to finding a first phone for their child," said Tom Sunderland, founder of OwnFone. "We wanted to design a fun product that appeals to children but puts parents in complete control and minimises usage while still providing a vital connection between parent and child." Critics like Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, acknowledge kids do want phones, and that a more limited mobile could be a positive step. But she told the Telegraph that marketing a phone to kids so young is "just another way of trying to make money out of children and their parents."
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Source: Agnes Ingvarsdottir.

People power triumphs after Orange mast uproar
United Kingdom	Created: 10 May 2013
Mobile provider, Orange, have made a U-turn on their decision to switch OFF a Derbyshire Dales mast following uproar from customers. Residents of Monyash and surrounding areas were left without signal for weeks after Orange – who recently merged with T Mobile to become EE – decommissioned the transmitter on April 22. Sean Driscoll, who set up a Facebook group, called Orange Mast Switchoff, said: “They told me they switched it off as T-mobile was covering the same area, and since they have merged, this was no longer needed. The only reason most people in this area are with Orange are that they are the only network that works here. Only the orange mast was able to reach us. We currently have zero mobile coverage in Monyash area.” Another customer, Gina Bernhoeft, of Church Street, said: “My other half is a plumber and he relies on people calling him to book jobs. I am sure there are lots of other people in similar situations.” But yesterday, EE said they had made the decision to switch the transmitter back on permanently. A spokesperson for the company, said: “EE offers customers the UK’s biggest network. In some locations there are sites where mobile phone masts are duplicating coverage for the same customers. After switching off a mast in the Derbyshire Dales area however, our research showed that a small number of customers were adversely affected and the mast has therefore been restored. We apologise for any inconvenience this work has caused.” Responding to the news, Sean Driscoll posted on the Facebook group: “People Power! Anna has just had a phone call from Orange saying the transmitter has been switched back on, and is staying on!!! Good work.”
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Source: Derbyshire Times, 10 May 2013

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