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Do You Hear What I Hear? The Quiet Fall of the “Techno-Optimist Manifesto?”

by Patricia Burke of Safe Tech International Image courtesy Floris Freshman 

Commentary responding to Dec. 11 critique by Paris Marx of The Techno-Optimist Manifesto

For an audio version of this blog, click HERE.

As the holidays approach, the seventh wave can be perceived far-off in the distance.

It is quietly building in power and strength, and those who have learned to watch the waters (for example, the tides at the full and new moons, both on earth and in our bodies) will not be startled when this wave hits the shoreline.

Which wave?

The one questioning technocracy.

Lilipoh – Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

I noticed it gaining momentum again recently in an anthroposophist-inspired Lilipoh Magazine. “LILIPOH is an acronym for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness through Health. Life can mean the quality of life, inner life, consciousness, – in other words, living a life enhanced through understanding. Liberty may mean the freedom to choose how one lives. Pursuit of happiness is a high term which has often been used superficially. It can mean the joy of helping each other along the road to inner and outer health and toward a better world.

The fall 2023 sample issue of Lilipoh included the article “Do You Exist Without Your iPlone? Do I? by Mary Lou Sanelli where she noted “there are times when my uneasiness becomes so agitated, I need to intervene.”  She was responding to witnessing two young teen girls taking pictures with their phones of one another’s rear ends in thong bikinis. She asked the girls to please not post the pictures online.

She also relayed a conversation she had with an Apple employee who described “his industry’s intent to make us feel as if we literally don’t exist without our phones. ‘And we’ll get there’ he said, ‘one age group at a time.’”

The seventh wave consists of those who are exiting the cultivated need/demand, which is accompanied by a loss of recognition of the abundance of nature. This loss creates a self-reinforcing evolutionary dead end.

There is an elegant simplicity to recognizing that fire alarms worked very well for decades by being inactive until they were activated, and that we can return to this form of conservation and scale. Virtually every industry-sourced wireless technology now operates by constantly sending signals back and forth to a network that is more concerned with data and surveillance than with health or the environment.  This, increasingly, includes your smoke detector; water, gas, electric, propone systems; dehumidifier, frig, electric toothbrush that talks to your phone, hackable baby monitor, vibrator, smart tv and so on, as well as the ocean floor.

Not even your vibrator is safe from data-mining, hackers prove | Mashable

Catch the Wave

We have insidiously welcomed eavesdropping and its accompanying energy and resource demands into every aspect of our lives.

The seventh wave is the one that sees its way past the industry plans and is extricating itself. If you start to pay attention to where you are and what you are doing, you can catch the wave too.

Here are hints from the last few years about where society has been heading, from many arenas, for those reading between the lines and already surfing the wave. Hop on.

March 2017 Politician, Michigan Republican Senator and NASA Engineer Patrick Colbeck Testimony for a Smart Meter Opt Out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnLZiMMfGI 8 minutes

(Had society at large been paying attention, should we have halted smart meter deployment in 2009, when adverse effects were immediately reported in Texas, California, and Maine?)

See also 2012 The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM)- way ahead of the curve AAEM Calls for Immediate Caution Regarding Smart Meter Installation (aaemonline.org)

2019 Politician, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal at Senate Commerce Hearing Raises Concerns On 5G Wireless Technology’s Potential Health Risks

Senator Blumenthal criticizes the FCC & FDA for inadequate answers on outstanding public health questions, Wireless carriers concede they are not aware of any independent scientific studies on safety of 5G technologies. –Here

(Had society at large been paying attention, should we have halted 5G before we even started?)

2020 Media Watchdog2019 5G Cell Phone Story by New York Times reporter William Broad violated truth and accuracy code of Press Council of Ireland

Professor Tom Butler and The Irish Times – The Irish Times and Who Pay$ When the New York Time$ Serves as a Mouthpiece for the Wirele$$ Industry? – Safe Tech International and Spaceships and Smartphones Oh My, Updates: Rocket Hazards and Hazardous New York Times EMF Smartphone Science – Safe Tech International

2020 Politician, Green Party Member of the European Parliament the Late Michèle Rivasi’

Together with Dr. Klaus Buchner, Michèle released a report in 2020 authored by Hans van Scharen that denounces the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for being under the influence of the telecommunications industry and ignoring the science. In April 2023, she hosted a European Parliament Workshop on Electro-Hyper Sensitivity, and in Feb. 2023, in collaboration with Europeans for Safe Connections, she convened a 5G Health and Environmental workshop in Brussels. -More here

“After having read the reports of a journalistic collective called Investigate Europe, the many articles from Microwave News as well as all the publications from independent scientists from around the world, who for years have all been ringing alarm bells on adverse health effects from the use of mobile phones and EMF, we decided that we needed to dig deeper into this strange, unknown to the public but powerful scientific NGO based in Germany called the ‘International Commission on Non[1]Ionizing Radiation Protection’ (ICNIRP). We very much agree with the title and content of the latest publication on Microwave News, which reads “ The Lies Must Stop, Disband ICNIRP – Facts Matter, Now More Than Ever” . There are two major casualties in this polarised debate: the truth and public health. Both are too important not to protect with all that we have. That is what we consider as our responsibility as elected politicians.” – ICNIRP-report-FINAL-JUNE-2020.pdf (ehtrust.org)

See: Investigate Europe: The 5G Mass Experiment Big promises, unknown risks

Note: The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) is an international commission whose activities include determining (undermining) safety exposure limits for non-ionizing radiation- in favor of the growth of the military-industry complex and the consolidation of wealth. See also: Microwave News | ICNIRP Revamp Closer Ties to WHO EMF Project and Microwave News | ICNIRP Revamp Closer Ties to WHO EMF Project

2021 The Courts, Legal Ruling: EHT Wins in Historic Decision, Federal Court Orders FCC To Explain Why It Ignored Scientific Evidence Showing Harm from Wireless Radiation

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in the historic case EHT et al. v. the FCC that the December 2019 decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to retain its 1996 safety limits for human exposure to wireless radiation was “arbitrary and capricious.”  

The court held that the FCC failed to respond to “record evidence that exposure to RF radiation at levels below the Commission’s current limits may cause negative health effects unrelated to cancer.” Further, the agency demonstrated “a complete failure to respond to comments concerning environmental harm caused by RF radiation.” The court found the FCC ignored numerous organizations, scientists and medical doctors who called on them to update limits and the court found the FCC failed to address these issues.

  • impacts of long term wireless exposure
  • impacts to children, 
  • the testimony of people injured by wireless radiation, 
  • impacts to wildlife and the environment 
  • impacts to the developing brain and reproduction

The FCC and related interests have ignored the ruling.

2021 Health Care; EMF Medical Conference, Ahead of the Curve (all videos now offered free of charge)

EMF – Medical Conference 2021 (emfconference2021.com)

March 2022 Nature Advocate Diana Kordas 5G Cell Towers Cause Massive Insect Decline on the Greek island of Samos

The area where we live had little wireless radiation until 2016, when 4G/LTE networks were installed on Samos and many new cell towers were built, from which time insects and birds began to decline noticeably. A tipping-point was reached in the summer of 2021, after the installation of a new 5G cell tower directly opposite the land. This cell tower is part of a new 5G network on Samos. Since July 2021, when the 5G network on Samos went live, insects on our land have declined between 80-90% depending on species. All orders of insects are affected. The cause of these insect declines can only be RF radiation from the cell towers. No pesticides are used in this area and nothing else can account for the sudden, severe drop in the number of insects in this place since July 2021. Small mammals, especially rodents, are also declining rapidly.

January 2023 The Telecom Industry:  Doug Dawson of Pots and Pans: The Disappointment of 5G

“5G was going to bring us self-driving cars. 5G would enable doctors to perform surgery remotely from across the country. 5G was going to fuel an explosion of smart factories that would bring complex manufacturing back to the U.S. And 5G was going to use millimeter waves to bring us gigabit-speed broadband everywhere, eliminating the need for investing in expensive fiber networks. The hype fired up the general public, which bought into the 5G promises, but the public wasn’t the real audience of the hype. The cellular carriers did a non-stop blitz on federal officials, getting them to buy into the amazing wireless future. The cellular companies launched gimmick networks in downtowns to deliver gigabit cellular speeds using millimeter-wave spectrum as a way to sell the 5G vision. It’s clear in retrospect that the rhetoric and gimmicks were aimed at getting the FCC to release more mid-range spectrum for cellular usage – and it worked. There was pressure on the FCC to move more quickly with proceedings that were examining spectrum availability. The wireless carriers even talked the FCC into allowing cellular carriers to poach free WiFi spectrum in cities. The hype worked so well on elected officials that there was a serious discussion about the U.S. buying one of the big wireless vendors like Nokia or Ericsson so that the U.S. wouldn’t lose the 5G war with China.

The formula seems simple – announce a new G generation every eighteen months and sell a lot of new handsets.”

November 2023 International Children’s Declaration

ICD Header photo V2.jpg

The dramatic transformation of our world into one increasingly enmeshed with digital technology is having a significant, and often negative, impact on the lives of our children. In this International Declaration, we posit three fundamental legal rights of children regarding the deployment and use of technology: their right to be free from intentionally addictive devices, platforms and apps; their right to be free from excessive exposure to wireless radiation; and their right to be free from commercial exploitation. The Declaration is a joint project of the Broadband International Legal Action Network and Americans for Responsible Technology,  and an international team of medical, legal and mental health experts. 

November 2023 The Telecom Industry, Light Reading AT&T and T-Mobile are in a heated race to space

“SpaceX (T-Mobile’s partner) and AST SpaceMobile (AT&T’s partner) are both rushing to launch satellites that can connect to customers’ existing phones. But cash and federal approvals are just some of the problems they’re facing.” :Getting cellular-capable satellites into orbit poses substantial challenges.” “Regardless, AT&T appears keen to prevent T-Mobile from getting any possible space-based advantage. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is undoubtedly hoping that its partner, SpaceX, will pull off yet another regulatory victory in the next few weeks.” “At stake is a leadership position in a developing market. And bragging rights, of course” “The value of the phone-to-satellite market remains unclear. Apple just sidestepped plans to begin charging for its own emergency satellite messaging service by announcing that its Globalstar-powered offering will remain free for new iPhone customers to use for another year. Separately, Android smartphone makers like Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi recently signaled disinterest in investing in a similar, proprietary version of the technology, thereby shattering Qualcomm’s early phone-to-satellite partnership with Iridium.”

Should we still be worshiping rushing satellite launches and colonizing Mars?

December 2023 Industry Critic Paris Marx: Tech Won’t Save Us and Disconnect “The religion of techno-optimism, Tech billionaires are using faith to solidify their power”

“Marc Andreessen wants you to believe you’re being lied to. “We are told to be angry, bitter, and resentful about technology,” he writes. But his Techno-Optimist Manifesto is going to wake people up. “Technology is the glory of human ambition and achievement, the spearhead of progress, and the realization of our potential.” If we trust the prophets of techno-optimism, Silicon Valley will deliver a future of wonders far beyond what we could ever imagine.

Fifteen years ago, this might have been a compelling pitch — indeed, a less megalomaniacal version was all the rage. Coming out of the Great Recession, the tech industry promised us convenience, prosperity, and empowerment. The smartphone revolution, the rise of the gig — I mean, sharing — economy, and all the other tech wonders like self-driving cars and advanced AI were going to irreversibly transform society for the benefit of all. But it didn’t play out as they claimed.

Inequality soared, life became more precarious, and bosses used tech to disempower workers, all while the kings of Silicon Valley became billionaires many times over and began to believe their riches were due to their inherent superiority, not the mix of privilege and dumb luck that really got them there. It should come as no surprise that the tide eventually turned on them and their companies. Now they feel aggrieved and they’re back to make similar promises all over again, but this time instead of an open hand, they’ve extended a fist with the threat that if we don’t accept their future, there will be hell to pay. For Andreessen and his effective accelerationist (or e/acc) buddies, you have to choose: you’re either a techno-optimist who won’t question the faith, or you’re one of their enemies: the Communist boogeymen, the rising neo-Luddites, or the wider array of decels (decelerationists) arrayed to stop a supposedly better future from being realized. But the future they want to create is one we should all want to stop.

There’s ample evidence that neither Andreessen, nor Musk, nor any of the rest of them will be able to realize the futures they promise. Those visions only exist to keep us distracted from the real harms caused by their companies. We must challenge the industry’s power and succeed in discrediting its titans before it’s too late. – Source

“Resistance is essential” – Paris Marx

What if the resources being devoted to construct global satellite networks were devoted to solving problems for all of humanity and nature, here on earth?

Rather than being enamored with our ability to manipulate reality so that our environment is available to indulge our every whim with the touch of a button 24/7/365 anywhere on the planet, and/or building the infrastructure to support virtual reality, many are already turning back the clock to immerse themselves deeply into the generativity, beauty, and abundance of the real world.

Many are remembering when the sky served as the clock, calendar, and planting and navigation guide. They are re-establishing real relationships in real time, honoring diversity, learning how to respectfully agree to disagree, and safeguarding rather than exploiting one another’s integration and wholeness. They do not view another’s distract-ability or addiction as a resource ripe for exploitation, but instead uplift one another’s potential. They are exiting the unexamined extent of their relationship with technology. From schools to dinner tables to driving without depending on a satellite, they are rediscovering the joy of informed guardianship, compassion, unity, and the freedom that the ancient mystics pursued.

Everywhere, it’s a beautiful day.

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