Fascism, that is. > > > For Immediate Release > > *In the dark of night, police back AT&T in clash with Berkeley > neighborhood over 4/5G antennas * > > Stand off! Berkeley police do AT&T’s bidding, forcefully > removing residents who were trying to prevent wireless antenna > installations in the public commons. > > > October 6, 2020, Berkeley, CA > > Long before 1:00 AM on October 5, twenty people arrived for two vigils in > north Berkeley in hopes of stopping installations of “small” cell wireless > antennas on utility poles in the public rights of way at Monterey Market > and near Berkeley Natural Grocery. Workers arrived at 3:30 AM and called > police. Seeing that they would not leave of their own accord, Berkeley > police forcibly removed the people. Grounding wires were installed, but not > the antennas and meters. > > Former Planning Commissioner Clifford Fred who lives nearby said, “I’m > shocked that city officials knew that AT&T violated Berkeley Municipal Code > 16.10.040 by not notifying people within 500 feet of the 1321 Gilman or > 1550 Hopkins poles before the controversial cell towers were approved, but > let AT&T get away with violating the city laws. Officials used to care but > now are keen on letting big telecom companies have their way.” > > Because neighbors and activists had prevented work eight times in recent > months by refusing to leave three sites when workers arrived, ATT had beat > them to the sites on September 21, noisily setting up tall chain link > fences at 2:00 AM, then waiting until 7:00 AM, when Berkeley law allows > work to begin, to install ancillary equipment. Since then, an elder and a > young neighbor have slept in a tent on site. This week, "pole protectors” > beat the workers to both sites, but were dragged across the street by > police. > > Cynthia Papermaster, who wondered if her arm was being broken as she was > hauled off, said, “More important than my pain is that we were removed from > a public sidewalk so that a private multibillion dollar company, with help > from local cops paid by our taxes, could perform non-essential work in the > middle of the night against Berkeley's laws.” > > Jason Winnett wrote of the incident to the City Council, “I exercised my > constitutional rights where crews were attempting to erect a cell tower > which has been protested, clearly unwanted by residents. According to my > understanding, there were actions by private parties as well as Berkeley > police that have questionable legality… 24 hours later, I am experiencing > lingering injuries, pulled muscles from being handled roughly. I was > appalled to witness women in their 70’s, concerned citizens, who after > being up in vigil all night, were roughly handled by a large number of > young, strong officers… We seem to be heading into what is known as > fascism.” > > Sargent Ronnie Hernandez asked a co-founder of WIreless Radiation > Education & Defense (WiRED), Phoebe Sorgen, what the fuss is about. She > replied, “Antennas emit EMF/RF microwave radiation that sickens people and > harms flora and fauna. They increase fire risks, and overloaded, weathered > poles sometimes fall! Business and property values plummet nearby. 5G is an > energy glutton, too. Wired connections—whether copper or fiber—will always > be faster, greener, safer, more reliable, and more secure than wireless. We > need to preserve our right to privacy. Furthermore, there’s no ATT service > gap here, and the people don't want it. It’s only about greed.” > > ATT has permits to install twelve more antennas, many near residences, > schools, and healthcare facilities. Most of the permits expired in August, > but were extended until 2021, though the public had urged the City Manager > to exercise her option of requiring ATT to reapply. WiRED, which has been > lobbying and educating locally for the past three years, hired Ariel > Strauss of Greenfire Law to craft stronger local laws and lobby for them. > > ### > > > Press Contact: Phoebe Sorgen > > *Phones:* 510-528-9428 home/main > > 510-919-6431 cell > > *Email: *[email protected] > > photos available upon request. 90 sec. vimeo: > *https://www.instagram.com/p/CFiKb8oDZb4/?fbclid=IwAR1eK7nctEA2k4kbRbFy7NcHIZIY_V9JXxiTUyC8FZ3x4dR2j2_eGk8gH* > <https://www.instagram.com/p/CFiKb8oDZb4/?fbclid=IwAR1eK7nctEA2k4kbRbFy7NcHIZIY_V9JXxiTUyC8FZ3x4dR2j2_eGk8gH> > > peer-reviewed studies: https://ehtrust.org/science/ > > https://ehtrust.org/science/research-on-wireless-health-effects/ > > WiRED: http://www.GoWiRED.org <http://www.gowired.org/> > > > __._,_.___ > > > > ---
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