CENSORSHIP: Infowars’ Alex Jones Is ‘One Strike’ Away From A YouTube BAN

YouTube censorship is getting really noticeable in recent days, and honestly, it should bother everyone.  Now, Alex Jones is saying his channel Infowars is one strike away from a YouTube ban with 2.2 million subscribers.

According to The Hill, the YouTube channel said it received an alert from YouTube on Tuesday morning, saying Infowars received a second strike on a video about the Parkland, Florida high school shooting and will temporarily be unable to upload new content.

And for those who say “it’s just Infowars, what does it matter?” Remember, YouTube isn’t taking down videos that are fake, like all those flat earth videos, or others that claim the moon is only 70 miles away.  They are removing videos with content they don’t like and are censoring the information people are exposed to, just like Hitler did in Nazi Germany.

 

“This is the second strike applied to your account within three months. As a result, you’re unable to post new content to YouTube for two weeks,” the alert said to Infowars. “If there are no further issues, the ability to upload will be automatically restored after this two week period.” Infowars’s second strike comes as social media giants like YouTube and Twitter grapple with how to handle non-state media offering alternative views of certain events.

While Infowars has several other ways to promote its videos, (including an online radio show, its own website, Twitter, and Facebook) a ban would cut Infowars off from its YouTube subscribers, which number more than 2 million. CNN reported last week that the channel, which is run by host and owner Alex Jones, had received its first strike for promoting a conspiracy theory about the Parkland shooting. Jones didn’t tow the mainstream media’s line and parrot the official narrative? Oh, the horror!

There sure are a lot of complaints from mainstream media about alternative media lately.  Which we think is a good sign.  It means they are worried they’ve lost control of the minds of the public and have no other option but straight-up Nazi-style censorship.

“They are whittling down online freedom of speech to the point that there will only be allowed one story. The government prescribed official version of reality,” says Melissa Dykes. It should be everyone’s right to search for answers especially when most people don’t trust the mainstream media to be honest with them in the first place. When there are gaping holes in the media’s stories, people will search for the truth and they will then not parrot the official narrative, and be called “conspiracy theorists.”

“What’s a fake video? It’s pretty much anything that would call into question the official story,” Dykes says.  Bingo.  Jones is simply questioning the narrative, and the government and propagandized media can’t have anyone stepping out of line.

On Wednesday, Twitter Safety released a statement regarding the Parkland students. Anyone “harassing” (disagreeing with) the Parkland students demanding your disarmament will be banned. Twitter also said that they are using “anti-abuse tools to weed out malicious automation around these individuals and the topics they are raising.” According to Natural News, in other words, if you dare question or refute anything these teenagers say, you risk being banned from the platform. How dare you question the wisdom of children who didn’t know last week that eating Tide pods is dangerous, but have now decided what kind of gun laws you need to be regulated by. –SHTFPlan

“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

France Gears Up For War?: ‘France Will STRIKE’ Syria If Chemical Weapons Were Used

French president Emmanuel Macron has promised to “strike” Syria, but only if evidence emerges that chemical weapons were used against civilians.  And he has admitted that French intelligence agencies have not yet discovered any evidence.

“On chemical weapons, I set a red line and I reaffirm that red line,” Macron told reporters in Paris on Tuesday, according to RT.  “If we have proven evidence that chemical weapons proscribed in treaties are used, we will strike the place where they are made.”

“Today, our agencies, our armed forces have not established that chemical weapons, as set out in treaties, have been used against the civilian population.” Macron added that he’s all but threatened Russian president Vladimir Putin with war should his agencies find evidence of chemical weapons uses.  “I’ve reiterated it to President Putin, asking to make it very clear to the Syrian regime, which has reaffirmed that it does not use chemical weapons … but we are watching it,” Macron stated.

Although Macron talks a big game on chemical weapons, he also hasn’t taken any action as he awaits proof. “We have some indications of possible chlorine use [in Syria], but we have no absolute confirmation,” the French Defense Minister Florence Parly said last Friday. “So we, alongside the others, are working on trying to confirm this, as we clearly have to get the facts straight.” But according to the French Foreign Minister, the evidence is mounting the Syrian government, stating using chlorine last week.  “All indications show us today that chlorine is used by the regime right now in Syria,” said Parly.

France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has struggled to wield influence on Syria. Critics who accuse Macron of inaction say he has not given a clear definition of whether use of chlorine would for him constitute a chemical attack.

On Tuesday, the vice-president of the Syria Civil Defence, or “White Helmets”, volunteer force said France should stop talking and take real action.

France and the United Nations have repeatedly called in past months for a ceasefire and the opening of aid corridors to alleviate Syria’s humanitarian crisis. Russia, Assad’s most powerful ally, said last week a ceasefire was not realistic. -Reuters

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons and said it targets only armed rebels and militants, according to Reuters.  Last week was one of the bloodiest in the Syrian conflict as Syrian government forces, who are backed by Russia and Iran, bombarded two of the last major rebel areas of Syria. Parts of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus and the northwestern province of Idlib were the hardest hit.

Statistics prof. banned by Google tells story

Statistics professor Salil Mehta, adjunct professor at Columbia and Georgetown who teaches probability and data science and whose work has appeared on this website on numerous prior occasions, was banned by Google on Friday.

What did Salil do to provoke Google? It is not entirely clear, however what is clear is that his repeated attempts at restoring his email, blog and other Google-linked accounts have so far been rejected with a blanket and uniform statement from the search giant.

Here is what happened, in Salil Mehta’s own words.

Don’t do a googol of evil

Freedom is not free unless corporations who exert a large influence in our lives believe in our well-being.  I am a statistics professor and understand that there needs to be reasonable standards to control a large social network and make sure everyone is able to enjoy it freely.  Invariably people disagree (we all see this), but some principles, such as simply showing probability and statistics with the sole hope of educating others, should be acceptable and in the middle of the distribution.  I am for a higher standard, and a higher purpose.  There is great care that I have taken to make sure that people treat one other well, admit faults, and present math and probability education to a wide audience.

On Friday afternoon East Coast Time by surprise, I was completely shut down in all my Google accounts (all of my gmail accounts, blog, all of my university pages that were on google sites, etc.) for no reason and no warning.  A number of us were stunned and unsure, but clearly we know at this point it wasn’t an accident.  Here are some examples commented from best-selling author Nassim Taleb, and they have been retweeted by government officials, and the NYT and WSJ journalists.

Even his email was disabled by Google. https://t.co/Zj9g9MpKzr

— NassimNicholasTaleb (@nntaleb) August 19, 2017

My ads-free blog itself is a probability theory site, with 27 million reads and has somewhere near 150k overall followers.  It’s been read by Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Nobel Laureates, multiple governments, celebrity athletes around the world, deans of many universities (on the syllabi of same), and a number of TV news anchors.  So it’s been a great boon for Google to be noticed so kindly by essentially a charitable site promoting math education.  What great people from all corners of the world and at all levels who can enjoy Google, until it suddenly died Friday afternoon.

My background is clean, and without a political or social agenda.  I am not promoting any specific viewpoint.  I teach probability math and that’s it.  Have worked with both the Obama administration and advised on polling statistics for the Trump campaign, am an adjunct professor at three top universities, an editor of the peer-reviewed journal of the American Statistical Association, and wrote a best-selling statistics book (all the proceeds of which I gave to charity!) https://www.amazon.com/Statistics-Topics-Salil-Mehta/dp/1499273533

The NYT has a popular print article this weekend and they cited my Google blog, but alas it not links to an embarrassing malfunction, for many to see: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/business/the-stock-market-has-been-magical-it-cant-last.html

This doesn’t look good.  Now instead of mathematics, reporters have turned to this latest circus nightmare from Google as an example of how they are compounding bad decisions on good people anywhere and at any time. 

Can they not differentiate me from an evil person?  Can they not see the large and reputable people and institutions that have relied on my work?  Do they have better people who can coach them on how to make decisions with much better taste and finesse?  What’s next, all CEOs and professors and politicians are going to be shut down from social media whenever it is least expected?  Overnight hi-tech lynching squads are a thing of the past.  We can’t have kangaroo courts and hope to lead with moral authority.

There is a lot of energy being spent right now thinking about how this happens to your best customers, just like that.  Fear is running wild about who is next and on what other social media platforms.  Have used Google for 11 years with no issue.  Have driven enormous free traffic to your products and properties.  But now that’s been severely damaged as the trust/reputational value has been crushed, and I have to re-emerge quickly elsewhere and deal with this fall-out.  I have many students, family, coworkers, etc who typically send me e-mails each day and all of it is vanishing with a kicked-back “user doesn’t exist” error.  And that’s totally unacceptable.  Through my many companies have business accounts on different social media and have no issue getting a marketing line, but one needs to know who they are dealing with and not treat them this badly.  The wrongs here are not being done by me.

Again, a math site.  An academic site that you can see from the various header tabs of the archives (http://web.archive.org/web/20170518181653/http://statisticalideas.blogspot.com/2012/11/statistical-ideas-website.html).  These are applications of formulas and shouldn’t be subject of limitations of free speech.  A lot of great people like it.  Hopefully Google needs to take huge step back and reexamine what went wrong and how the product could be better for others going forward, so that they and all of us grow well.  People’s faith in democracy is on the line.  Faith that technology companies are looking out for our good first.

I have followed their common “appeal” form but no response for three days.  Also connected with one of the VPs over the weekend and it still takes time until receiving this today!  Just more of a reflection of how cold a company can treat someone very poorly: without any information, and lack of ability to move forward in their life (can I get real reasons if any, can I get advance notice, can I get my contact list back from gmail, and why are university properties unrelated to my blog shut down?)

We are going to be looking back on this time in Google’s history and those of other social media and know that they have done some very immoral and confusing things, and it has hurt their public reputation with decent people who wanted to grow into the next future with them.

Via Zero Hedge

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Featured Image: Bailey Cheng/Flickr

White nationalist banned by Facebook over hate speech but Facebook leaves up ISIS vids, other extreme content

Is there really double standards for banning those who engage in hate speech on Facebook?

(INTELLIHUB) — Various Facebook and Instagram accounts connected to a white nationalist who attended the Charlottesville rally were deleted for violating the companies hate speech rules.

White nationalist Christopher Cantwell, who was recently featured in a Vice documentary on the rally’s aftermath, is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist but says that Facebook’s maneuver blatant censorship of free speech.

In a phone interview, Cantwell told the Associated Press: “I’m not surprised by almost any of this because the whole thing we are complaining about here is that we are trying to express our views, and everybody is going through extraordinary lengths to make sure we are not heard.”

“Frankly, whatever you think of my views, that is very scary to me,” he said. “Facebook and Instagram is one thing but not being able to participate in the financial system because of your political opinions is something that, you know, people should worry about in America.”

Interestingly enough, Facebook may have double standards depending on what kind of so-called hate speech one engages in. For example: According to a PJ Media report, Facebook has refused to remove user-flagged (ISIS) videos posted by terror groups and has refused to remove user-flagged graphic sexual content picturing minors.

Featured Image: Acid pix/Flickr

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

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Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

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Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson banned from Facebook over 2016 feminism parody video

Many others also claiming that social media platforms have demonetized them as well for their political views

Alex Jones (Front) and Paul Joseph Watson (back) (Tyler Merbler/Flickr)

(INTELLIHUB) — Infowars editor at large Paul Joseph Watson says he was banned from Facebook over a parody video he did 18-months ago which makes fun of feminism.

Last Thursday the fed up editor posted a video titled “I won’t be around much longer” where he explains why he is so disgusted with corporate controlled social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

“Think that headline sounds like click bait? Well think again,” Watson said. “They banned me on Facebook because of a video I posted eighteen months ago. A parody video making fun of feminism — the target of which, CopperCab, was in on the joke.”

“Making fun of feminism is now a bannable offense on Facebook,” he said. “Remember, this is a guy who wants to be a cult leader and the President of the United States.”

It’s obvious that the recent devilish maneuvers made by top social media giants will affect the income and output of some of the most outspoken people in modern times and it is a blatant form of censorship that is hidden within a politically correct policy.

Adding to his frustration, Watson said that virtually every YouTube video he ever made on “Islam” was demonetized.

To top it all off Diamond and Silk are now claiming that 95% of their pro-Trump YouTube videos, some of which were uploaded over a year ago, have been demonetized by the platform for not being ‘advertiser friendly’ despite the fact that their channel has over 16 million views and its own targeted demographics.

Now the dynamic duo is threatening a class action lawsuit over the matter which may lead to big problems for YouTube in the future.

Featured Image: WNPR/Flickr

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

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Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

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Soros-funded Media Matters Caught Secretly Plotting with Facebook to Stop Alternative Media

In 2010, George Soros announced he would be giving $1 million to Media Matters to “hold Fox News accountable for the false and misleading information they so often broadcast.” Translation: Soros-funded Media Matters to combat Fox News, something it ostensibly labeled as “fake news,” an apparent smear tactic deployed as a result ostensibly progressive agenda. Fast-forward to 2017, and the billionaire trouble-maker is now using his influence at Media Matters to combat “fake news” on Facebook, except this time they’re trying to keep it secret.

When Facebook announced at the end of 2016 it would be working to eliminate “fake news” stories on its social media platform, many news media organizations, including The Free Thought Project, were understandably nervous, and with good reason. Not long after the announcement was made, TFTP was banned by Facebook for over two weeks, only having their account restored just days before the start of the New Year. The Washington Post also put out a hit piece targeting TFTP and others, which has since been retracted, in a blatant attempt at smearing their critics.

Now, it seems, we know who is behind this Facebook crackdown on alternative media, the George Soros-funded Media Matters.

According to The Free Beacon, it was revealed through internal Media Matters documents that Media Matters was quietly working with Facebook to identify and eliminate fake news and propaganda. “Media Matters told current and prospective donors at a retreat in Florida over the weekend that it has been in discussions with Facebook leadership about their policies on inaccurate and partisan news stories on the website that many liberals blame for political losses last year,” the Beacon writes.

READ MORE:  Globalist Billionaire Behind Anti-Trump Protests Holds Urgent Strategy Session with DNC Elite

According to a “briefing book” given to attendees at the Media Matters conference and obtained by the Beacon, the left-wing news organization admitted, “We’ve been engaging with Facebook leadership behind the scenes to share our expertise and offer input on developing meaningful solutions.” Facebook promised that “Media Matters will serve as their partner,” in having a more active role in combating what it will determine is “fake news.” In other words, Facebook, and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are working with the militantly progressive news media organization to silence any organization it deems to be “fake news” which are little more than news sites who challenge the status quo.

If this doesn’t seem fair, that’s because it isn’t. It goes against every principle of journalism, free speech, and freedom of press the country has historically defended tooth and nail. By its own admission, Media Matters is censoring free speech on Facebook, and all with the company’s blessing. The soon to be scandal for Facebook is the latest in a long series of scandals which has targeted the free speech rights of certain individuals, and organizations.

According to the Free Beacon, everything seems to be going as Media Matters planned it. They used a crafty fundraising campaign to put pressure on Facebook to address the newly invented crisis of the proliferation of fake news, forcing an announcement by the company that it would be weeding out purveyors of “fake news.”

Now, Media Matters is confirming what many suspected already, that a Soros-funded organization was attempting to curtail free speech on Facebook. “After Facebook responded to our campaign by acknowledging the problem of fake news and agreeing to do something about it, we began a dialogue,” Media Matters’ brief states. Going further Media Matters confirmed the relationship saying, “It became clear from these conversations that Facebook needed our help in fully understanding the problem and identifying concrete solutions.” Media Matters confirms its goal is to, “adjust its (Facebook) model to stem the flow of damaging fake news on its platform’s pages.”

READ MORE:  BREAKING: RT"s Bank Accounts Frozen, Assange"s Internet Cut In Apparent Move to Silence West"s Critics

Building on their successful relationship with Facebook, Media Matters wrote in their brief that they intend to use their power, money and influence to force Google into following Facebook’s lead on combatting “fake news.” The Soros-funded organization bragged about the success they’re already having at Google. “After Google revised their terms of service in order to prohibit so-called fake news sites from using their advertising network, it was Media Matters that had the information necessary to identify 40 of the worst fake news sites to which this policy applied,” the company wrote promising if they’re successful, “Google will cut off these pages’ accompanying sites’ access to revenue by pulling their access to Google’s ad platform.”

“After Google revised their terms of service in order to prohibit so-called fake news sites from using their advertising network, it was Media Matters that had the information necessary to identify 40 of the worst fake news sites to which this policy applied,” the company wrote. “Google will cut off these pages’ accompanying sites’ access to revenue by pulling their access to Google’s ad platform.”

The pressure to censor free speech on social media platforms is apparently working. The Soros-funded Media Matters not only was successful in getting Facebook and Google to consider “fake news” a problem, but also helped the two companies deprive the targeted organizations from the funding they need to continue publication. The Free Beacon wrote;

Facebook announced on Wednesday that it would change the algorithm behind its popular “trending topics” section, which will now base popularity on the number of Facebook-designated publishers discussing a story, rather than the number of users discussing it. Google also said on Wednesday that it has banned 200 publishers from its advertising network as part of its efforts to combat fake news sites. The company refused to say which sites had been targeted.

11 International Foods That Are Banned In The U.S.

Image source: YouTube

Did you know that there are some foods that are popular in other countries that are banned in the United States? In an effort to keep citizens safe from harm, the government has banned the following food items. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? You decide.

1. Kinder Surprise Chocolate Eggs. Popular in Europe, these eggs contain a non-edible toy hidden inside a plastic capsule.

Since a 1938 federal law prohibits non-edible objects within food products, Kinder Eggs are banned in this country. Each year, U.S. customs officials seize thousands of Kinder Eggs at the border, as travelers attempt to bring these potential choking hazards home.

2. Fugu. If it is not prepared properly, this Japanese puffer fish can kill you. Fugu contains potentially deadly amounts of tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis or asphyxiation.

In the U.S. it is illegal to catch, to harvest, to serve or to eat fugu.

3. Casu Marzu. It may look like a creamy cheese, but Casu Marzu, a delicacy in Sardinia, Italy, is made by placing fly larvae into Pecorino cheese. When the larvae hatch, they speed up the fermentation process and help give the cheese its creamy texture.

That unusual – and unhealthy — means of production has caused it to be banned in the U.S.

4. Haggis. Haggis, a food produced in Scotland, contains sheep lung.

Christian Heroes For Christian Kids: These Amazing Stories Are Putting God Back Into History!

The USDA has prohibited foods containing lungs since 1971, and haggis is no exception.

Image source: Wikimedia

5. Ackee. In Jamaica, this fruit is often boiled and cooked with salted cod. However, when it has not ripened properly, ackee can contain dangerously high levels of hypoglycin A and B, which can lead to coma or death upon consumption.

6. Shark fin. Long a delicacy in China, shark fin has been banned in eight states, largely to support conservation efforts of certain shark species.

Shark finning, which has affected global shark populations, includes finning the shark and then throwing it back into the ocean.

7. Horsemeat. Although there is no official ban of horsemeat, federal law prohibits tax dollars being spent on the inspection of horsemeat and of horse slaughterhouses. Since USDA inspections are required for food that is sold here, this law effectively prevents horsemeat from being sold in U.S. restaurants or supermarkets.

8. Beluga caviar. The U.S. government has banned the importing of beluga caviar as a protective measure against overfishing of beluga sturgeon, primarily in the Caspian Sea.

9. Pig’s blood cake. A popular dish in Taiwan, pig’s blood cake includes pork blood and sticky rice. The USDA has banned it here due to sanitary concerns.

10. Sassafras oil. Sassafras has been banned because it has been linked with certain cancers and with liver and kidney damage. Artificial sassafras flavoring is used for making root beer in the U.S.

11. Queen conch. With overfishing threatening its population, the queen conch has been protected since 2003 by a U.S. law making importation of the large sea snail illegal.

Now that you know some of the foods our government banned, it is interesting to note another piece of food banning information. Since 2011, the French government has banned tomato ketchup in its elementary schools. Apparently, the government was concerned that the condiment, which is so omnipresent in the U.S., would overshadow the taste of French food.

Do you think some foods should be banned in the U.S.? Share your thoughts in the section below:  

Sources:

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/foods-illegal-in-the-united-states-of-america-thrillist-nation

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryankincaid/banned-international-foods?utm_term=.vamn4AXwa#.ohwdQ9w2m

http://www.delish.com/food/g2012/banned-food/

http://www.oola.com/dishes/13793/17-international-foods-that-are-totally-banned-in-the-us-have-you-tried-any-of-these-before/

Tired Of Losing Your Freedoms And Looking For Another Country? Read More Here.

Activists Urge Congress to Require Schools to Test for Toxic PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, have been banned in the United States since 1979, but a new study by researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that up to 14 million students in 26,000 U.S. public schools may still be exposed to the toxic industrial chemicals. [1

The report was published on the same day that former PCB maker and agritech giant Monsanto announced that it would set aside $280 million in PCB personal injury settlements.

Despite the ban, PCBs still persist because of their presence in building materials.

A Little Bit About Toxic PCB Chemicals

PCBs have been around since 1929, but many countries – including the U.S. – began banning them in the 1970s and ’80s because of their potential risks to human health and the environment. [2]

Read: Study Shows PCBs Cause “Severe Impact” on Whales and Dolphins

The chemicals were used as insulating material in electrical equipment, such as transformers and capacitors, as well as heat transfer fluids and lubricants because they are resistant to acids and bases, as well as heat.

PCBs have also been used in a wide range of products, including plasticizers, surface coatings, inks, adhesives, flame-retardants, paints, and carbonless duplicating paper.

Source: Spokane County Water Resources

Potential Health Risks Posed by PCBs

Cancer. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have categorized PCBs as probable carcinogens. [3]

One study found that children’s risk of developing acute lymphocytic leukemia increased 2-fold when PCBs were detected in the dust of a room in which the child spent a significant amount of time.

This past June, a St. Louis Circuit Court jury ordered Monsanto, Solutia, Pharmacia, and Pfizer to pay $46.5 million to three people who alleged that the companies’ mishandling of PCBs had caused them cancer.

Immunity. PCBs suppress the immune system and thyroid function.

Heart disease. The chemicals increase a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

Hormonal problems. PCBs can alter a person’s sex hormone system. They have been linked with early puberty in girls and reduced testosterone levels in boys.

Asthma. Asthma and infectious respiratory diseases have all been linked to PCBs, particularly in children.

Birth weight and infant motor skills. Women exposed to PCBs during pregnancy have a higher risk of having babies that weigh slightly less than babies from women who have not been exposed. Furthermore, children born to mothers who ate PCB-contaminated foods tend to have more problems with motor skills and short-term memory in infancy.

Learning disabilities. PCBs are associated with cognitive problems and a lower ability to learn and remember in children. Reduced alertness and increased tiredness have also been noted in children exposed to PCBs.

Lower intelligence. The chemicals are known to lower IQ.

Taking Action

The Harvard report finds that anywhere from 13,000 to 26,000 public schools in the United States could be plagued by lingering PCBs. That’s quite a range, but no one knows the exact number. It’s the researchers’ best guess. [4]

Many schools don’t test for PCBs, and such testing is not required under federal law. Activists want that to change, so they’ve begun lobbying Congress to close a dangerous loophole that they say could be putting millions of children’s lives at stake. [5]

Jennifer deNicola, a parent in Malibu, California, who helped lead a years-long effort to rid that community’s schools of PCBs in window caulk and other materials, eventually filing a lawsuit against the school district, says:

“Parents have the right to know what their children are being exposed to in school.”

PCBs are pervasive. Touching surfaces contaminated with the chemicals can transfer them to a person. They can be inhaled via contaminated dust in the air, or consumed in contaminated foods.

The caulk in the posh Malibu schools had concentrations of PCBs that in some instances were thousands of times higher than the federal limit. Supermodel and businesswoman Cindy Crawford even pulled her children out of the schools over the issue, and became a spokesperson for the cause.

A federal judge last month ordered the school district to remove PCBs from its schools by December 31, 2019.

Fortunately, activists have an ally.

On 5 October 2016, Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, released a report on the extent of the problem, and called on Congress to provide money that would allow schools to test for the toxins. He is also calling on such testing to be mandatory. [4]

And should unsafe levels of PCBs be detected in a school, Markey wants parents to be notified immediately.

Lastly, the lawmaker is calling for the EPA to begin urging inspections of schools built or renovated prior to PCBs being banned.

According to Markey’s report, 286 reports have been submitted to the EPA concerning PCB contamination in 22 states during the past decade, affecting thousands of schools. But because testing is random and spotty, those reports likely represent just a fraction of the schools affected by PCB contamination.

The report states:

“Absent a requirement to test or inspect schools for PCB contamination, the discovery of PCB hazards in schools occurs by chance.” [5]

Melanie Benesh, a legislative attorney for the Environmental Working Group, which also analyzed the EPA data the Markey report was based on, says:

“We need to know more. There’s already a legal limit for the amount of PCBs that can be used, but the problem is that it’s hard to enforce that if no one has to look.

There needs to be a duty to look for PCBs just like there is a duty to look for asbestos.” [4]

She went on to say:

“Schools could actually be violating the federal law right now because they’re violating the federal legal limit of 50 parts per million legal limit. But they don’t know that if they haven’t looked.”

What Can Parents Do?

Schools must keep PCB levels below the threshold of 100 to 600 nanograms per cubic meter. According to the EPA, where in that range depends on the age of the students. Benesh says that when levels exceed that limit, schools have a duty to inform parents. [5]

But parents can be proactive by asking a few key questions:

• Was the school built or retrofitted between 1950 and 1979? That is the period in which school building materials contained Monsanto-made PCBs.

• Has the school district done testing, and is there a management plan?

• Has the school coordinated with the regional EPA office? [4]

Says Benesh:

“One thing’s for sure, our kids really shouldn’t be exposed to it, it has no place in our schools, and it’s not something that parents should have to worry about.”

Sources:

[1] EcoWatch (Article image source)

[2] GreenFacts

[3] Center for Health, Environment & Justice

[4] The Christian Science Monitor

[5] The Washington Post

EcoWatch

Spokane County Water Resources

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.