Revolt news214 of 27.9.06 and other issues are sent bcc and free. To subscribe or unsubscribe simply email me. Email addresses which fail for three consecutive issues will be removed in any case. For further information please see . For your convenience ... these news issues are usually in plain text because attachments may take time to receive and may be difficult for some to open. We try to keep it simple. 1. Revolt's AGM will be held on Thursday 26 October at 7.30 p.m. provisionally at Sessay near Thirsk. It will be helpful if members can let me know if they are likely to attend. 2. Events have taken a dramatic and alarming turn over the problems Dermot Finnigan has had with National Grid lines on the boundary of his property which had raised fundamental questions about wayleaves and compensation (news208.8 and three items in news202 and many before). Now he has circulated a message (APPENDIX A) saying he started a hunger strike yesterday and left unattended is likely to die very quickly because of his medical conditions. 3. The Scottish Executive has on 14 September 2006 (the "relevant date" for procedural purposes) issued details of the Beauly-Denny line public inquiry. A general pre-inquiry meeting will be held in Aviemore on 3rd October and local pre-inquiry meetings in Inverness, Perth and Stirling on 25th, 27th and 31st October respectively, concerning three sections of the line: Beauly to Cairngorms; Cairngorms National Park and Perth & Kinross; and Stirling and Falkirk areas. The person in the Inquiry Reporters Unit dealing with this inquiry is Scott Mackenzie . 4. The Countryside Agency is disappearing. Issue 41 (Autumn 2006) of Countryside Focus is the last. Two new bodies come into operation from October: the Commission for Rural Communities and Natural England . 5. Arising out of our work for SAGE, Professor Denis Henshaw and I, assisted by his team at Bristol, have compiled a survey of power- frequency EMF health evidence drawing from the major formal reviews and newer scientific evidence. This is still "work in progress" but is already substantial. It provides a new focus on diseases other than childhood leukaemia and, for the first time, gives an indicative cost- benefit assessment of the total risk based on different scenarios supported by formal reviews. The (draft) paper is freely available at . It can also be traced through the main web site through "recently posted items". 6. The European Commission, in consultation with the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR), is now inviting stakeholders to comment on the scientific opinion on "Possible effects of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) on Human Health" which has just been finalised: . The consultation will run until 3 November 2006 and the outcome will be published on the SCENIHR website: 7. The Canadian Cancer Society (B.C. and Yukon Division) has called for precaution in locating new powerlines approved for British Colombia (APPENDIX B), particularly where the approved route would go over homes and schools. 8. September 15, 2006, news from scotsman.com via wind-watch.org "Fight is on for pylon compensation" article re. Beauly-Denny by John Ross: "Efforts to win compensation for communities affected by controversial plans to build a 137-mile overhead electricity power line through Scotland are being stepped up. Members of Highland Council say they will lobby MSPs on the issue in the run-up to next year's elections. ..." ***** ***** APPENDIX A Dermot Finnigan on dangerous hunger strike. Letter from Dermot Finnigan to Sir John Parker, Chairman of National Grid titled "David versus Goliath" circulated by email Saturday 23 September 2006. Dear Sir John and Mr Urwin. You have decided to slay David. He is to die. Your refusal to see or to speak with him regarding his plight will be corporate manslaughter. Under the Electricity Act I am entitled to compensation for the affect of your power line and pylon on my property which currently sits at a loss of £750,000. You have destroyed everything I worked for. You now have confirmation from your own specialist that your line is in trespass. You have my proposals for settlement. Yet you remain silent. I will arrive in London on Monday morning at 09.10 at Euston railway station and make myself available to you. On Tuesday morning staring at 9.00am I will remain in my hotel and start a hunger strike. My medical conditions of which you are fully aware of 1. Cancer, 2. Diabetes and 3. Heart disease will result in me going into a diabetic coma within 24 hours which left unattended will result in my death within the following 24 hours. I have copied this email all your officers at National Grid, The DTI, MPs, The press, and interested parties as way of evidence that will result in your arrest and prosecution for manslaughter Yours truly, Dermot Finnigan. ***** ***** APPENDIX B Canadian Cancer Society calls for powerline precaution. Inconclusive evidence suggests practical avoidance: Canadian Cancer Society statement to Environmental Assessment Office on Tsawwassen power line project, 12 September 2006. VANCOUVER - The Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon Division, has submitted a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) to clarify its position on electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and its possible link to cancer. The BCUC accepted public input until September 8 on the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement Project running through the community of Tsawwassen to Vancouver Island; the EAO is accepting comments until September 15, 2006. In July, the BCUC approved a plan to install overhead power lines along a right-of-way through central Tsawwassen despite concerns raised by residents over health and safety risks to children, posed by the power lines' EMF. Critics of the project have pointed to advice on EMF available on the Canadian Cancer Society's website. "There is insufficient scientific evidence to either rule out or confirm a definitive link between exposure to EMF and childhood leukemia," says Barbara Kaminsky, CEO for the Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon Division. "But we absolutely understand the public concern generated by potential carcinogens, particularly where children are involved. We recommend the EAO revise the transmission plan, if it is practical, in relation to power line routes directly over private residential property and school property." The Canadian Cancer Society also suggests individuals limit their exposure to EMF by taking precautionary actions, which include limiting the amount of time children spend playing directly beneath power lines, updating household wiring in an older home, and sitting at arms length from a computer terminal. "In many cases we don't know how cancer develops and we need more information," says Kaminsky. "In the absence of 'hard science,' the Society promotes the precautionary principle, which recognizes the value of taking common sense steps to prevent harm to human health or the environment." The Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) is a provincial agency that coordinates assessment of the impacts of major development proposals in British Columbia. The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and to enhance the quality of life of people living with cancer. When you want to know more about cancer, visit our website www.cancer.ca or call our toll-free, bilingual Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333. For more information, please contact: Marcelo Dominguez Communications Officer B.C. and Yukon Division Phone: 604.675.7340 Cell: 778.999.2592 ***** ***** -- Mike O'Carroll