Dateline: 10/23/2009

Article Title: Sunflower COO calls on Congress to rein in media conglomerates

Writer: Mike Robuck

Selected Excerpt:

“Sunflower Broadband COO Patrick Knorr testified before a recent House subcommittee that media conglomerates are taking advantage of consumers who are served by small, independent cable operators. In his written testimony, Knorr, who was the immediate past chairman of the American Cable Association, asked Congress to put a halt to programmers’ current contracting practices.

“We hope you will take advantage of this unique moment in time to consider how to improve the rules that govern our marketplace that are nearly two decades old and pre-date the emergence of the Internet,” Knorr wrote. “Consumers deserve better services than can be provided under today’s regulatory regime. We are also concerned about the future of a free and open Internet that is being threatened by the emerging business model that compels consolidated and dominant content providers to leverage their video content in anti-consumer ways.”

Knorr appeared before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, a panel that has jurisdiction over cable operators, broadcasters, satellite TV companies, vertically integrated cable programmers, phone companies and the Federal Communications Commission.

In his remarks, Knorr described a marketplace that he said was being distorted by outdated laws and regulations that unfairly supply media conglomerates with powerful leverage to take full advantage of consumers served by Sunflower Broadband and nearly 1,000 other small- and mid-size cable operators represented by the ACA.”

To read complete article

Which web site was this from? : Communications, Engineering & Design Magazine

Who are they? (as explained on their web site.)

“CED, the premier monthly magazine of broadband communications. Editorial focus is on the technological developments that are shaping existing broadband networks and the communications networks of the 21st century. CED’s target audience is corporate and system management and engineering/technical management at cable TV, telecommunications and wireless operations, as well as data professionals and interactive- multimedia providers and developers.”

Toward informed decisions

The big push is on … for “targeted groups” in the US and across the Earth – to get the new h1N1 vaccine. These target groups include pregnant women, young children, and people older than 65. Aren’t these our most vulnerable citizens?If the vaccine is  not safe, are we then subjecting our very loved ones to peril?

There are reports that the h1N1 vaccines have harmful effects, and it is true that the US Government has granted immunity to  the manufacturers of the h1N1 vaccine – that has been rushed to market. Why?  If there are problems with the vaccines, they will not be held responsible. Who will?

In 1976, the swine flu vaccine was taken off the market in the US after a significant number of its recipients contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a nerve disease that paralyzes and sometimes kills its victims.

Already, people in the United Kingdom, are questioning what is going on.

Here’s what mercola.com reports:

“A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, was leaked to The Daily Mail, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

* More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu
* The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times
* The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear
* The U.S. Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.”

Copies of the disclosure materials that are inserted in the packages of the new vaccine out now  mention Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)  as a possible result.  There are copies of these inserts on the Internet. US doctors and health care workers are being required to track any incidences of  GBS  following h1N1 immunizations.  One may wish to view, or ask to see these inserts.

Right here in the US, health care workers themselves are being forced to get the vaccine.

There are also reports that France and Greece will require mandatory injections. When did any government get the right to tell its citizens that they must put anything into their own bodies against their will?

US doctors, too, have had their medical practices  disrupted in many towns around the U.S., as the number of citizens calling for information and to inquire about getting their family members vaccinated is soaring.

There are questions, too, whether this “pandemic” of swine flu, though nothing to ignore, has and will result in the widespread harm – and deaths – that the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments around the world are predicting. Are we getting hype, or the facts? Is the move to “mass vaccinations” an overreaction?

People, it seems, just want the facts to make an informed decision, and certainly do not wish the pharmaceutical companies to place millions of Americans and other world citizens at risk due to nondisclosure of the possible risks of the new vaccines.

Where and when are human lives more imp0rtant than money?

There are many references on the Internet about the facts to consider in weighing whether to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Or to give it to your kids or elderly relatives.

This Examiner article – which includes links to other sources – gives a good solid overview of the issues – and possible lives – at stake.  Check it out here.

After an open-minded look, what do you think? Register your comments here.