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About stuartbramhall

Retired child and adolescent psychiatrist and American expatriate in New Zealand. In 2002, I made the difficult decision to close my 25-year Seattle practice after 15 years of covert FBI harassment. I describe the unrelenting phone harassment, illegal break-ins and six attempts on my life in my 2010 book The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee.

The First North American Civilization

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Early American Civilization timeline | Timetoast timelines

Episode 8 Adema Culture and the Early Midlands Period

Ancient Civilizations of North America

Dr Edwin Barnhart (2018)

Film Review

East of the Mississippi, the Archaic period transitioned into the Woodlands period around 1000 BC. Lasting 2,000 years, the Woodlands period is divided into the early (1000 BC – 200 BC), middle (200 BC – 500 AD) and late (500 – 1000 AD) Woodlands period. The late Woodlands period is followed by the Mississippian period (800 AD – European contact).

A major influence throughout the region, the Adena culture produced the first genuine North American civilization around 1000 BC. A sedentary culture, they lived in villages year round and engaged in agriculture, pottery making and mound building.

Residents associated with Adena culture lived in small villages with 10-30 homes per village. The homes had conical roofs covered with tree bark and and supported by wooden poles. The walls were made of woven branches. Each home had a central hearth and the larger ones could house 50 people.

Adena people hunted and collected nuts and berries, as well as growing sunflowers, pumpkin, squash, tobacco, goosefoot, may grass and pigweed. Adena people were the first habitual smokers. Most of their pipes were made of Ohio pipestone, which is soft and easy to carve. Although their first pipes were tubular and straight, they evolved into elbow pipes and the Adena pipe (which added a carved animal or human effigy to the tube).

610: 8 Early Cast Adena Pipes : Lot 610

The first North American pipes (from around 2000 BC) were found in shell middens in Tennessee. Initially only shamans smoked tobacco to aid in trance formation.

The Adena built their conical burial mounds separate from their villages. Groups of bodies, adorned with shell and copper jewelry, would be partially burned, prior to burial with weapons, smoking pipes and carved tablets. New layers would be added to the mound for subsequent burials.

Barnhart uses the last 10 minutes to summarize what other cultures were doing in the first millenium BC:

  • Mesoamerica – building their first cities.
  • South America – emerging Chauvin culture (characterized by cities and pyramids)
  • Europe – dominated by Celtic culture and beginning Iron Age
  • Middle East – Babylonia collapses in 1000 BC while Egypt’s dominion fades, Solomon builds temple 957 BC, 742 BC Assyrians destroy Israel
  • Greece – first city-state formed 500 BC, first Persian wars 490 BC
  • India – Hinduism thrives
  • China – Zhou (2nd Dynasty) takes power 1122 BC, 551 BC Confucius born

Except for clusters of civilization, most of the world was living a lifestyle consistent with the North American Archaic period.

*Goosefoot is a type of wild spinach, maygrass produces starchy edible seed that is higher in protein than most grains, pigweed seed can be ground into flour or popped like popcorn.

Film can be viewed free with a library card.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/5713021/5712752

5G Towers Can Make Healthy People Sick

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5g cell towers microwave syndrome feature

By  Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.

A new case report on two previously healthy men who developed “microwave syndrome” symptoms after a 5G cell tower was installed on the roof of their office, and a similar report published last month, show that non-ionizing 5G radiation can cause health problems in people with no prior history of electromagnetic sensitivity.

According to the report, published Feb. 4 in the Annals of Clinical Case Reports, the men experienced headaches, joint pain, tinnitus, abnormal fatigue, sleep disturbances, burning skin, anxiety and trouble concentrating.

The findings match the results of a similar case report published last month in the same journal — that appeared earlier in the Swedish journal Medicinsk Access — showing a previously healthy man and woman developed similar microwave syndrome symptoms soon after a 5G tower was installed on top of their apartment.

 

Both reports show that non-ionizing radiation from 5G — well below levels allowed by authorities — can cause health problems in individuals who had no prior history of electromagnetic sensitivity (EMS).

The two reports appear to be the first studies in the world on the health effects in humans from exposure to 5G, according to the authors.

The case reports’ lead author, Dr. Lennart Hardell — a world-leading scientist on cancer risks from radiation — said the two reports are “groundbreaking” because they serve as the “first warning of a health hazard.”

[…]

Just the ‘tip of the iceberg’

Hardell told The Defender the two case studies are likely just “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to 5G’s impact on people’s health.

Because research on the health effects of exposure to 5G is lacking, Hardell said, we don’t know how many people get sick from 5G.

Mona Nilsson — managing director of the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation and co-author of the case reports — said it was a “great scandal” that “5G has been rolled out for several years now in Sweden and in the U.S. without any study at all being performed about the health effects.”

[…]

5G impacts many organ systems

In the January case report, telecommunication companies replaced a 3G/4G cell tower with a 5G tower on the roof directly above the apartment of a healthy man and woman, ages 63 and 62.

Days after the 5G tower was installed, the two residents began developing acute physical symptoms, causing them to move out.

The residents’ physical symptoms quickly decreased or disappeared when they moved to a building with much lower radiation levels.

Measurements taken in their apartment showed extremely high levels of non-ionizing radiation throughout the apartment. The maximum value measured was more than 2,500,000 microwatts — the highest maximum value that the meter used can measure — so the actual radiation may have been even higher, Hardell and Nilsson said.

The report’s findings contradict assurances from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority that the amount of radiation a cell tower emits is relatively below, behind or above the tower, she added.

The February report discussed the experiences of two men, ages 57 and 42, when a 3G/4G tower was replaced with 5G equipment on the roof of their office where they worked as information technology and management consultants and sometimes slept.

The men displayed symptoms shortly after the 5G tower was installed and chose to relocate — at which point their symptoms lessened or disappeared.

Hardell and Nilsson measured a maximum of 1,180,000 microwatts (μW/m2) in the men’s office.

Both case reports utilized the classic “provocation test” design which is “extremely important in medicine,” Hardell said because it clearly shows the symptoms that occur when a person is exposed to something — such as an allergen or drug or new radiation level.

Commenting on the findings, Hardell said he found it interesting that 5G appears to act as a “fundamental biological mechanism” because it affects “so many organ systems.”

“How is it explained that you get cognitive effects, heart palpitations, sleep problems and so on?” he said.

The individuals in the case reports had no history of EMS, so they were not “primed” to suspect 5G might be causing their illness, Hardell added.

Reports pave way for accurate classification of 5G health risks

This type of research is pivotal in getting the ball rolling toward the appropriate regulatory classification of 5G as posing human health risks, according to Hardell.

In 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) as “possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B).” And in January, the IARC announced it will “coordinate production of a risk assessment on 5G exposures” scheduled to be released in 2025.

Meanwhile, Hardell and Nilsson are already conducting their third case report on the health effects of 5G on humans and hope to publish it next month.

While their first two reports focused on the health effects associated with living underneath a 5G tower, they told the Defender their next case report will document the health effects experienced by individuals living across the street from a tower.

[…]

Nilsson said they have already obtained a measurement of 2.5 million microwatts — “which is the top level that our meter can measure” — at 60 meters away from the tower, so people living within that range of a tower may be affected by radiation.

Hardell emphasized that case reports can have a big impact over time. “It [5G] reminds me of my studies on phenoxy herbicides and dioxins — all started with case reports,” Hardell said.

[…]

RF-EMF guidelines are industry-friendly, not based on science

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) is a private non-governmental organization registered in Munich, Germany, that “managed to get collaborative status” with the World Health Organization to “harmonize the RF-radiation guidelines all over the world,” Hardell said in a 2021 review article.

According to Hardell, ICNIRP appoints its own members and is closed to transparency.

ICNIRP has published only three articles with guidelines on RF-EMF exposure, he said.

“Only thermal (heating) effects from RF radiation are recognized, thereby excluding all studies showing harmful effects at lower non-thermal intensities,” Hardell said.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/5g-cell-towers-microwave-syndrome/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=c90bf6a9-0d6f-431c-b2b0-957a182ea79b

 

New Zealand: Booster Jabs Increase All-Cause Mortality

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Guy Hatchard

NEWLY released New Zealand government figures demonstrate that mRNA boosters have had a deadly impact, increasing all-cause mortality.

The information concerning mortality in 2021, 2022 and 2023 correlated with vaccination status was released by Health New Zealand following a Freedom of Information request. The figures are signed off by Astrid Koornneef, Interim Director of Prevention, National Public Health Service. You can see them here.

The released figures include all NZ registered deaths by month. The figures show that for the last six months of 2022, 80 per cent of all people dying in New Zealand had received Pfizer mRNA booster shots. According to official government figures updated February 14 2023, 73.2 per cent of those eligible (18+ years) have received a booster. Of those dying, 1.8 per cent were under 18, and so had not received a booster. Adjusting for this, recipients of booster shots have at least an 11 per cent increased chance of dying in 2022 compared with all other groups, including the double vaccinated, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated. This equates to 3,040 additional 2022 deaths among the boosted when compared with other groups.

According to the figures, 39,313 persons died in 2022. This number may be subject to increase as the process of compiling 2022 death totals continues. The total number of deaths in 2019 (before the pandemic) was 34,260. The 2022 interim total is an increase of 15 per cent or 5,053 deaths on 2019.

An article in the NZ Herald erroneously claims that this spike in deaths is due to the effect of Covid 19 on an ageing population. This is not supported by data. According to the Government Covid portal a total of only 1,599 people have died with Covid described as the official cause of death, most of which occurred in 2022. This is insufficient to account for 5,053 extra deaths in 2022. Moreover the article fails to take account of the fact that the extra deaths are disproportionately occurring among people of all ages who have received booster shots. This would not be happening if increased deaths were a result of a knock-on effect of Covid or an effect due to ageing. In either case, death rates would be equally shared among the various vaccination status groups, but they are not. From a statistical point of view nothing could be clearer – booster shots increase your chance of death from any cause.

Corroborating data is available from the UK which we covered in our February 13 release. An analysis of 300 UK administrative districts shows that those with boosters have a progressively increasing risk of death in the months following their shot. Further UK information indicates elevated incidence of heart disease and liver disease are factors.

The latest Freedom of Information figures show that the continued insistence in mainstream media that NZ has benefited from a net reduced death rate due to Government pandemic policy is untenable. The policy of encouraging booster shots should cease immediately. Further investigation into figures of hospital admissions and deaths by category should be undertaken urgently. This will shed light on the mechanisms whereby Covid boosters are causing excess deaths.

[…]

Via https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/booster-jabs-increase-all-cause-mortality-official-figures-show/

Federal Court Asked to Unseal Undercover Police Video Allegedly Showing Officer Inciting Capitol Protesters on Jan. 6

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Two undercover Metropolitan Police Department officers (red circle) follow Ashli Babbitt (blue circle) up the northwest stairs of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (William Pope via U.S. District Court/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)
Two undercover Metropolitan Police Department officers (red circle) follow Ashli Babbitt (blue circle) up the northwest stairs of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (William Pope via U.S. District Court/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)
 
By Joseph M. Hanneman

A Jan. 6 defendant asked U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras to unseal a video allegedly showing an undercover Metropolitan Police Department officer shouting “drain the swamp!” and “our house!” and encouraging protesters to climb barricades and enter the U.S. Capitol.

William Pope of Topeka, Kansas, filed a motion on Feb. 21 that would also unseal video shot by two other MPD undercover officers who trailed Ashli Babbitt up the northwest exterior of the Capitol.

One of those officers repeatedly predicted that someone would get shot on Jan. 6, Pope contended in another motion filed in November 2022.

“While my descriptions of the undercover MPD officers are accurate, the media and the public should not have to rely on my descriptions alone,” Pope wrote.

Micki-Witthoeft
Micki Witthoeft (C), mother of Ashli Babbitt, at a Jan. 6, 2023, protest on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

“It is in the interests of justice that this exhibit in support of my motion be seen by all.”

Pope also asked the court to remove the seal from a wider sampling of the MPD video shot by undercover operatives.

The undercover video is among 41,000 hours of footage held under court seal by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Pope and other Jan. 6 defendants who are representing themselves in court are seeking more complete access to evidence databases controlled by federal prosecutors.

‘Drain the Swamp!’

In his November motion, Pope said that “Officer 1” climbed over a police barricade on the northwest side of the Capitol exterior. The officer joined the crowd in chanting, “drain the swamp!” and “whose house? Our house!”

Officer 1—dressed in goggles, a dark jacket, and a striped face gaiter—pushed protesters in front of him as he cajoled them to keep moving toward the Capitol entrance, Pope wrote.

If these descriptions are borne out on the undercover video, it would be the most direct evidence to date of government provocateurs inciting the crowd to commit crimes on Jan. 6.

It also raises serious questions about what interactions Officer 2 and Officer 3 might have had with Babbitt.

“The fact that Mrs. Babbitt appeared emotional[ly] charged by the time she reached the top of the steps could indicate that undercover government operatives influenced her behavior through their repeated chants and urgings to advance up the steps towards the Capitol,” Pope wrote.

Babbitt entered the Capitol at the top of the northwest stairs and a short time later made her way into a hallway outside of the Speaker’s Lobby.

At about 2:45 p.m., she was shot by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. Babbitt was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later at a D.C. hospital.

“Since the public interest and concern regarding these exhibits is understandably high, and since the government has already hidden these important facts from the American people for more than two years, I ask this honorable court to grant this motion as soon as possible,” Pope wrote.

Pope’s request came a day after disclosure that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave a copy of all 41,000 hours of Jan. 6 security video, body-camera footage, and other videos exclusively to Tucker Carlson at Fox News.

[…]

Via https://www.theepochtimes.com/federal-court-asked-to-unseal-undercover-police-video-allegedly-showing-officer-inciting-capitol-protesters-on-jan-6_5074768.html/

 

Cubans Demand The Return of US-Occupied Guantanamo Bay

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A view of the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba, February 2023.

A view of the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba, February 2023. | Photo: Twitter/ @mldezicapcmg

teleSUR

Since 1903, Washington has been exercising factual control over a part of the Cuban territory that was rented “to perpetuity.”

The International Day of Action Against Us/Nato Military Bases will be held on February 28. Regarding this occasion, the Cuban people demanded the return of the Caimanera territory in Guantanamo province, where the U.S. has held a naval base for 120 years.

“The illegally-installed naval base is a place of arbitrariness, torture, and abuse where laws have been suspended and justice rejected,” citizen Arbel Cortiñas tweeted, recalling that Cuba has demanded the Caimanera territory devolution since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959.

Washington gained control over this area after Cuba’s first president Tomas Estrada-Palma and President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Cuban-American Treaty on February 1903.

Their agreement provided that Cuba would lease Guantanamo Bay to the United States in perpetuity so that Washington could establish naval and shipping stations there.

The treaty was part of the Platt Amendment, which determined the conditions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Cuba after the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898.

On the Guantanamo naval base, the U.S. fleet prepared attacks on neighboring countries, including Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama, and Nicaragua.

In April 1961, during the invasion carried out by Cuban exiles to Bay of Pigs, Washington concentrated reinforcement troops and bellict material in Guantanamo. It also arranged for a frigate to hold 100 counter-revolutionaries to support the raid.

Since Jan. 11, 2002, the base has hosted the Guantanamo detention center, where some 780 Muslims, who were captured during the U.S. invasion to Afghanistan and accused of belonging to the Islamic State or the Al-Qaeda organization, have been tortured.

“As long as this territory remains occupied, the possibility of justifying an aggression or military intervention against Cuba is latent. The U.S.-Cuban relations cannot be normalized while that illegal base imposed by force remains,” historian Elier Ramirez considere.

Via https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cubans-Demand-The-Return-of-US-Occupied-Guantanamo-Bay-20230223-0006.html

Senator Accuses FAA of Ignoring Potential Vaccine Dangers to Pilots

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Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee on Feb. 9, 2021. (Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images)
By Janice Hisle

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is expressing dismay over how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to his questions about the agency’s handling of pilot health issues.

“How can the FAA maintain safe skies when it turns a blind eye toward pilots experiencing COVID-19 vaccine injuries?” Johnson said in an email sent exclusively to The Epoch Times on Feb. 21.

“Is it willful ignorance that the FAA is aware of only four active pilots experiencing adverse events connected to the COVID-19 vaccine? The American people are not getting the full transparency and honesty from federal agencies that they deserve.”

Johnson made those remarks in response to how Susan Northrup, the FAA’s federal air surgeon, answered eight questions surrounding pilot health.

Not the FAA’s Role

In his Jan. 27 letter to the FAA, Johnson provided specific information about five named pilots with suspected COVID-19 vaccine ill effects; one of the pilots died 17 days after being vaccinated.

Numerous other accounts of pilots with suspected vaccine injuries are included in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, as The Epoch Times reported previously.

Johnson wanted to know what steps the FAA has taken or planned to take to investigate whether the five named pilots and others had suffered adverse effects after COVID-19 shots.

Northrup wrote that her agency isn’t in charge of that.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the responsible agency for tracking and follow up of suspected vaccine adverse events,” she wrote.

Northrup noted that pilots experiencing any medical issues are required to “ground themselves,” seek medical help and report any “significant medical events.”

“FAA is responsible for determining whether that event will have an adverse safety effect,” Northrup wrote.

She also said the agency was “aware of only four potentially vaccine-related adverse events in active pilots.”

Among those four, “only one has provided medical documentation through the normal process,” Northrup wrote. She gave no further information on what that process involves.

Justification For Shots

Johnson noted that, on Dec. 12, 2020, the day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 vaccines for “emergency use” among the general public, the FAA declared pilots were permitted to take the shots, too.

That action surprised many in aviation because pilots are forbidden from taking other emergency-use-authorized drugs.

To justify the drugs’ use in pilots, Northrup listed nine websites about the general safety of the various brands of vaccines. Aviation experts have questioned whether any studies were done on pilots specifically. There were no such studies immediately apparent among the list Northrup provided.

Asked whether the FAA evaluated whether any changes should be made to guidance on COVID-19 vaccines for pilots, Northrup responded that the agency has “continued to monitor the data and determined no change in policy was indicated.”

Heart Standard Change Pre-COVID

Finally, Northrup addressed concerns about the FAA’s decision to change the acceptable range for the “PR Interval,” an indicator of heart health, on pilots’ electrocardiogram tests.

The PR Interval measures how long it takes for a pulse to travel from one part of the heart to another. A longer PR Interval could be benign, but it also could be an indicator of heart damage; further tests have traditionally been warranted for readings above 200 milliseconds.

Johnson noted that the FAA cited “new scientific evidence” as a rationale for expanding the acceptable PR Interval to 300 ms in a medical examiners’ guide in late 2022.

That change stirred controversy earlier this year after a researcher from an advocacy group, US Freedom Flyers, discovered it.

Some questioned whether spike proteins from the COVID-19 vaccines or the virus itself might be damaging pilots’ hearts and if the change in standard might cause potential issues to go untested.

Even though the revised standard was never added to the FAA’s guide for medical examiners until 2022, Northrup says the FAA made the change in 2017, “after discussions with our cardiology panel, which included FAA doctors as well as external practicing cardiologists.”

Aviation medical examiners were “alerted” to the change in 2018 and 2019, Northrup said, with a link to a video.

The 2022 revision to the PR interval was the first change to that specific part of the guide since 2016, Northrup said.

The change made on Oct. 26, 2022, was made as a clarification “to match existing training and instructions,” Northrup wrote.

Although some people suspected that the 2022 change may have been designed to hide a growing number of pilots diagnosed with PR Intervals above 210 ms, data from Northrup showed that number actually went down, not up.

Last year, there were 1,712 such cases; in contrast, there were 2,889 cases in 2021 and 2,642 cases in 2020, Northrup wrote.

Asked how many pilots are certified to fly with PR Intervals at the elevated levels, Northrup replied, “We do not know who was currently flying.”

[…]

Via https://www.theepochtimes.com/exclusive-senator-accuses-faa-of-ignoring-potential-vaccine-dangers-to-pilots_5073387.html

Ohio Train Disaster Exposes Dark Side of Plastics

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ohio train toxic plastics chemicals feature

Photo credit: @ninaturner/Twitter

By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

When officials decided on Feb. 6 to burn off the hazardous chemicals in Norfolk Southern’s derailed freight train in a “controlled burn” in East Palestine, Ohio, the fire released a plume of highly toxic chemicals — many of which are key elements in plastics production.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that of the 20 railcars transporting toxic chemicals, at least five contained vinyl chloride — a carcinogenic gas used to make PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic.

The other railcars contained other chemicals used to make plastic, including butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate, which were all burned and released into the air, surface water and surface soils.

As of Feb. 16, a “chemical plume of butyl acrylate” was moving from the Ohio River toward Virginia, according to the Ohio EPA and Gov. Mike DeWine.

Norfolk Southern, the company that owns the train, and the EPA, which is monitoring toxins released in the spill, repeatedly assured residents that levels of chemicals in the air and water are at levels below those deemed safe for human consumption.

But there is widespread concern about safety, especially given the confirmation that 3,500 fish died in local streams, numerous reports of other dead animals, and resident complaints about lingering headaches and irritated eyes.

There are still many unknowns about how many chemicals were released and how they may be affecting the environment.

“As with most environmental spills, it is difficult to determine the exact amount of material that has been released into the air, water, and soil,” James Lee, an Ohio EPA spokesperson, told BuzzFeed.

Crews have been digging up soil and pumping out water from a 1,000-foot swath around the track. Norfolk Southern on Monday said 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of tainted water had been removed.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), prominent environmental activists and local residents have been calling for an investigation into the chemicals released. Bowman tweeted:

The Ohio Environmental Council also underscored the need to continuously monitor the situation in order to fully understand the extent of the environmental and health effects.

“We know from decades of environmental injustices that Ohioans and Americans have experienced, that it takes time to understand the full picture of health impacts a community faces in the event of an environmental disaster,” Ohio Environmental Council said in a statement.

DeWine announced plans to open a medical clinic early next week in East Palestine to evaluate those who are worried and to analyze their symptoms.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan on Tuesday announced the EPA would “take control” of the disaster response. That means the EPA is using its authority under the federal Superfund law to require Norfolk Southern to clean up the contamination, the Associated Press reported.

[…]

How dangerous are these chemicals?

According to the National Cancer Institute, vinyl chloride, the chemical released in the greatest quantity in the controlled burn, is associated with lymphoma, leukemia, brain and lung cancers, and angiosarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer.

It also can cause a nonmalignant liver disease known as TASH, or toxicant-associated steatohepatitis and may cause neurological symptoms, such as dizziness and light-headedness.

Vinyl chloride’s health risks have been known since the 1970s when several workers at a B.F. Goodrich factory in Rubbertown, a Louisville, Kentucky, neighborhood, developed the rare liver angiosarcoma, which led to the worldwide recognition of vinyl chloride as a carcinogen.

Vinyl chloride has been found in the air near PVC factories and hazardous waste sites, and can leach into groundwater.

The gas can be consumed by humans through inhalation. Outdoors, sunlight can break it down within 11 days of being released. But it can also be dispersed in water. If a water supply becomes contaminated with vinyl chloride, it can infiltrate homes that use that water source for drinking, showering, cooking or laundry.

The largest vinyl chloride train spill prior to East Palestine happened in 2012 when a train derailed in New Jersey releasing about 20,000 gallons of vinyl chloride. Hundreds of nearby residents and emergency workers went to local hospitals reporting coughs and neurological symptoms.

But in that case, the vinyl chloride did not burn.

When vinyl chloride burns, it releases hazardous chemicals phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air.

Phosgene is a colorless gas with a pungent odor that can cause vomiting and breathing difficulties, and was once used as a weapon in World War I.

Hydrogen chloride is a colorless to yellowish gas with a strong odor and is known to cause skin, eye, nose and throat irritation.

Neil Donahue, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, told the AP he worries the burning may have formed dioxins, which are created from burning chlorinated carbon materials.

“Vinyl chloride is bad, dioxins are worse as carcinogens and that comes from burning,” Donahue said.

Dioxins are a group of toxic chemical compounds classified as persistent organic pollutants, meaning they take a long time to break down once they are in the environment. The EPA reports they can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, immune system damage and can interfere with hormones.

“The thing about dioxins is they’re potent at really low levels, and are persistent and bioaccumulative,” Ted Schettler, science director of the nonprofit Science and Environmental Health Network, told Wired.

“You don’t want dioxins deposited in the soil around East Palestine that are not going to go away, and are going to bioaccumulate in people who are exposed to it.”

EPA head Regan said he isn’t sure if the EPA is testing for dioxins.

The flames and the plume could have spread toxicants well beyond the disaster site. There have been numerous unconfirmed reports of fallout from the event across the northeast. The Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club is tracking the fallout.

PVC plastic, a ‘toxic time bomb’

“Sadly, this is yet another painful reminder of the dangers of making, transporting, using, and disposing of chemicals in plastics, especially polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic” Toxic-Free Future, a nonprofit, said in a statement about the unfolding East Palestine catastrophe.

Thousands of research papers have linked chemicals used in plastics to a host of environmental and health impacts. These include endocrine-disrupting compounds that cause problems in the body’s hormonal systems and are linked to reproductive issues, obesity, diabetes, ADHD and autism.

[…]

Despite the EPA’s announcement that it has taken control of the cleanup, Norfolk Southern is still the entity entirely responsible for carrying it out.

[…]

In East Palestine, there were several reports that residents having their homes tested by CTEH have been asked to sign waivers saying they would not hold Norfolk or their affiliates, including CTEH, responsible for any future liabilities.

One resident told Glenn Beck that 340 residents signed the contracts.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/ohio-train-disaster-toxic-chemicals-pvc-plastic/

Employee of rail company involved in East Palestine disaster makes stunning revelation

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Employee of rail company involved in East Palestine disaster makes stunning revelation after accident
JD Heyes
Newstarget

An employee of Norfolk Southern, the rail carrier whose train derailed earlier this month in East Palestine, Ohio, dumping tons of harmful chemicals and sending poisonous gases and smoke into the air and surrounding waterways, has made a stunning claim in a newly filed legal action.

A train carrying over 150 cars, measuring 9,300 feet in length, and weighing 18,000 tons met a tragic fate as it was filled with hazardous chemicals that spilled and needed to be addressed. It has been almost two weeks since the derailment occurred in eastern Ohio, causing the evacuation of numerous residents, and Norfolk Southern is now facing a multitude of lawsuits.

Last week, the law firm Morgan & Morgan filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in Ohio, representing two women residing in East Palestine. The town, with a population of around 4,700 people, is located near the Pennsylvania border and approximately 50 miles west of Pittsburgh, according to CBS News.

“Norfolk Southern discharged more cancer-causing Vinyl Chloride into the environment in the course of a week than all industrial emitters combined did in the course of a year,” the suit alleges, which noted further that the rail company chose to burn the vinyl chloride, which then turned it into a highly toxic gas, rather than disposing of it safely. It’s not clear why the Environmental Protection Agency would have ever approved that.

“From chemicals that cause nausea and vomiting to a substance responsible for the majority of chemical warfare deaths during World War I, the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities are facing an unprecedented array of threats to their health,” Morgan & Morgan attorneys said in a statement, according to Republic Brief.

CBS News noted further that the recently filed class-action lawsuit claims that the negligence of the company has led to the potential exposure of hazardous chemicals for “thousands of residents” living in rural eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Additionally, at least six other lawsuits have been filed against the company, demanding payment for damages to property, economic losses suffered by business owners, and exposure to toxic chemicals.

The size and structure of the train operated by Norfolk Southern are being scrutinized for their potential contribution to the derailment. Some individuals claim that the train’s immense size and weight could be responsible for the accident.

As per CBS News, Norfolk Southern workers have reportedly acknowledged that they were concerned about the train’s size before the incident and that this concern may have contributed to both the derailment and an earlier failure that occurred after the train left Illinois on February 1. One worker expressed that “it’s highly probable the impacts of the derailment would have been avoided” if the train had not been so long, adding that “we shouldn’t be running trains that are 150 car lengths long.” Two employees who spoke with Motherboard suggested that the train could pose a safety hazard.

The former director of the Federal Railroad Administration, Sarah Feinberg, agrees that the size of the train would have been a concern, per WayneDupree.com:

“I was not satisfied with the lengths of the trains, and they were 80 or 90 cars long,” she says of her tenure at the FRA. The derailed one had 151 cars. Even while adding more cars might make trains more efficient overall for railroad firms, it takes more time for staff to examine such a train. Shorter inspection times in the name of such efficiency, according to Jared Cassity, national legislative director for one of the Norfolk Southern workers unions, made it likely that the car that derailed earlier this month hadn’t been examined “in some time.”

[…]

Via https://www.newstarget.com/2023-02-20-employees-rail-company-east-palestine-disaster-stunning-revelation.html

FDA’s Long Overdue Warning Against Dental Amalgram

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Mercury Dental Amalgams Are Linked To Chronic Illness, Fatigue, Depression And Anxiety – Green ...

By Dr Mercola

Story at-a-glance

  • September 24, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its long-overdue safety communication on amalgam
  • The FDA warns mercury fillings may adversely affect people in certain high-risk groups and should be avoided
  • Groups identified as being at increased risk for harmful effects from dental mercury fillings include pregnant women and their developing fetuses, nursing women, women who are planning to become pregnant, infants and children under the age of 6, people with neurological diseases, impaired kidney function or heightened sensitivity to mercury or other amalgam components
  • After years of pressure from Consumers for Dental Choice and its allies, the FDA finally agreed to reopen the amalgam issue, and now admits dental amalgam releases mercury vapor that can cause health problems in some individuals
  • The FDA also advised against use of the misleading term “silver fillings,” and urges patients to discuss all dental filling options with their dentist

[…]

In an astounding about-face to its previous stance, the FDA issued a warning that mercury fillings may adversely affect pregnant women, children and other susceptible individuals, and should be avoided by these groups.

The safety communication1 was posted September 24, 2020, and with this, we have suddenly achieved an incredibly important goal that we’ve had our sights on for the last decade!

Goal Achieved: FDA Releases Amalgam Safety Communication

[…]

Groups identified by the FDA as being at increased risk for harmful effects from dental mercury fillings include:

  • Pregnant women and their developing fetuses
  • Women who are planning to become pregnant
  • Nursing women and their newborns and infants
    Children, especially those younger than 6
  • People with pre-existing neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease
  • People with impaired kidney function
  • People with known heightened sensitivity (allergy) to mercury or other components of dental amalgam

FDA Admits Amalgam Dangers

After years of pressure from Consumers for Dental Choice and its allies, the FDA finally admits the unvarnished truth about amalgam, noting3 that “Dental amalgam is a mixture of mercury and a powdered alloy made up of silver, tin and copper” that “releases small amounts of mercury vapor over time.”

The agency also admits there are “uncertainties” and risks associated with this mercury vapor release, especially for the high-risk groups listed. In particular, there is “the potential for mercury in dental amalgam to convert to other mercury compounds in the body,” and mercury could potentially accumulate in body fluids and tissues, resulting in “unintended health outcomes.”

[…]

While the FDA downplays the importance of its changed recommendation by stressing that the benefits of dental amalgam likely “outweigh their risks for most patients,” this update is nothing short of monumental, and opens the door, finally, for the elimination of dental mercury for all patients in the U.S., as has been done in many other countries already.

[…]

Consumers for Dental Choice put an end to FDA’s negligence when, in 2008, this dynamic nonprofit organization assembled plaintiffs and sued FDA, demanding that amalgam be classified. The judge agreed and told FDA to sit down with Consumers for Dental Choice to determine a deadline. FDA was compelled to commit to classifying amalgam by July 2009.

But when July 2009 came around, it was clear the FDA had not considered the science — especially the evidence of harm amalgam can cause vulnerable populations like children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

Its abysmal rule reflected this shortcoming, as it did not restrict the use of amalgam for these most vulnerable individuals. The rule did not even require that patients be told that amalgam is made of mercury. Nonetheless, FDA’s 2009 rule did acknowledge that amalgam could be harmful, and that there was no proof of safety for the populations most susceptible to this toxin.

In response, Consumers for Dental Choice challenged FDA’s rule, while simultaneously pursuing other opportunities to advance mercury-free dentistry, like defeating pro-mercury state dental boards, fighting for amalgam fact sheet laws for patients at the state level, and getting amalgam into the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

As Consumers for Dental Choice racked up win after win — regaining licenses for mercury-free dentists persecuted by state boards, gaining fact sheets to protect dental patients, achieving an amalgam reduction requirement in the Minamata Convention — the FDA’s rule was looking increasingly archaic.

Decade-Long Wait Is Over

Nearly a decade after the FDA issued its flawed amalgam rule, Consumers for Dental Choice launched a nonstop campaign focused on getting the FDA to move on amalgam.

They assembled an accomplished team of experts to approach the FDA, and in 2018, unveiled the “Chicago Declaration to End Mercury Use in the Dental Industry” at the University of Illinois School of Public Health.

This declaration, signed by more than 50 heavy-hitter environmental groups, called on the FDA “to bring its policies in line with the Federal Government as a whole and with its responsibilities under the Minamata Convention and to publicly advise a phase down of the use of mercury amalgams with the goal of phasing out entirely.”

The declaration also called for the immediate ban on amalgam use in children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. Working with key signatories to the “Chicago Declaration,” Consumers for Dental Choice were able to secure meetings with top officials at the FDA, during which they were able to submit scientific studies for the FDA to review.

[…]

FDA Reverses Stance on Amalgam

Consumers for Dental Choice also organized a strong showing of public support from you. Its online petition, which had nearly 50,000 signatures, was presented to the FDA in person at its first meeting with the agency. Many of you also submitted public comments on patient preferences to the FDA.

FDA was also made aware of the changes to amalgam rules in other parts of the world, such as amalgam phase-out dates set by the Philippines, Ireland, Slovakia, Finland, Nepal, Moldova, Czech Republic and New Caledonia, and the bans on amalgam use in children issued by the European Union, Vietnam and Tanzania.

[…]

Final Step Ahead

Now that the FDA has finally broken its silence on the dangers of mercury for pregnant and nursing mothers, children and people with certain underlying conditions, the final step — a full ban on amalgam for all — looms near.

The American Dental Association, which has long defended amalgam’s safety, is now running out of allies. For now, however, the ADA still maintains its contrarian view.

[…]

In its September 24, 2020, safety communication on dental amalgam,7 the FDA specifically advises dentists against using the term “silver filling,” “as this may imply the filling is made solely from silver and does not accurately convey the mercury component of this restorative material.” The FDA also highlights this in its Dental Devices description page for amalgam, which received its last update September 29, 2020, noting that:8

[…]

What’s Lurking in Your Silver Fillings?

That 50% to 60% of Americans don’t know amalgam fillings are half mercury is no accident. The American Dental Association, an amalgam patent-holder, popularized the deceptive term “silver fillings” so consumers would think amalgam is made mainly of silver when actually it has twice as much mercury as silver.

[…]

Via https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/02/22/fda-dental-amalgam-warning

Medicine Wheels of the Great Plains

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Bighorn kerék | Medicine wheel, Native american medicine wheel, Big horn medicine wheel

Episode 7 Medicine Wheels of the Great Plans

Ancient Civilizations of North America

Dr Edwin Barnhart (2018)

Film Review

Medicine wheels, found throughout the Great Plains of Canada and the US are difficult to date (by Carbon 14 and and/or Optically Stimulated Luminescence – see Unkown Story of Ancient North America) because many are still in use. Most are found in Canada and are shaped like a wagon wheel, with a central cairn, spokes and outer rim. However some are ovals, rectangles or even the likeness of animals or human beings. Located away from habitation, usually on a mountain or high plateau, in some legends they’re associated with vision quests, a supernatural experience in which an individuals seeks to interact with a guardian spirit.

Medicine wheels are strongly connected to the modern day Ojibwa nation, as well as medicine lodges, bison, dream catchers, vision quests and the The Great Hoop of Life. The latter is a collection of traditional learning and wisdom first published in 2000.

The largest in the US, the Big Horn medicine wheel in the US is 88 feet in diameter with a 120-foot diameter central cairn and 28 spokes. There’s also a 28-spoke medicine wheel (still in use) in Majorville Alberta dating from 5200 BP (before present). A 30-foot diameter medicine wheel in Moose Mountain Saskatchewan had a 14-foot diameter central cairn (before it was vandalized) and only five spokes.

At least five of the medicine wheels that have been studied have astrological alignments with summer and winter solstice sunrise and sunset points. Others seem to be monuments to past chiefs or even burial sites. Sun lodges, used by many Plains nations for annual gatherings, tend to have the same shape as medicine wheels with 28 roof poles radiating out from a center post. Temporary shelters that were rebuilt annually, the sun lodges were used for grueling sun dances associated with fasting and tests of physical endurance.

Cheyenne Sun Dance Lodge Photograph | Indigenous peoples of the ...

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/video/5713021/5712750