Claiming to suffer from "electromagnetic sensitivities", man sues neighbor over Wi-Fi. - Polidicks

[url]http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-santa-fe28-2010mar28,0,2528354.story[/url] [quote]Arthur Firstenberg, who says he is hypersensitive to certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, saw the house at the end of a narrow lane as a refuge from physical and neurological symptoms that have plagued him for three decades. "It's been difficult because of my electromagnetic sensitivities," he said. "I had a lot of difficulty finding a house that I could be comfortable in." So in September 2008, he bought the home on Barela Street, a few blocks from the newly redeveloped downtown rail yard here. But last October, when a friend of his rented a house on the next block that backed up to Firstenberg's property, the familiar waves of nausea, vertigo, body aches, dizziness, heart arrhythmia and insomnia returned -- all, he says, because she was using an iPhone, a laptop computer, a wireless router and dimmer switches. Firstenberg, 59, wanted Raphaela Monribot to limit her use of the devices. "I asked her to work with me," he said. "Basically, she refused." So he sued Monribot in state district court, seeking $530,000 in damages and an injunction to force her to turn off the electronics. "Being the target of this lawsuit has affected me very adversely," Monribot said Friday in response to e-mailed questions. "I feel as if my life and liberty are under attack for no valid reason, and it has forced me to have to defend my very basic human rights." Firstenberg's claim has occasioned plenty of only-in-Santa-Fe eye-rolling. This is, after all, a town as known for its abundance of New Age healers, anti-nuclear activists and wealthy, turquoise-wearing expatriates as it is for spectacular sunsets and centuries-old adobe architecture. "It makes me miss living in Santa Fe more than I have in a long time," one former resident wrote on a local newspaper blog. "When my brother sent me this link I wanted to cry from laughing so hard. I wonder if Blu-Ray players send him into convulsions? Would Bluetooth give him nosebleeds?" Not everyone was laughing. Nearly 400 people signed an online petition that Firstenberg helped organize against plans to add Wi-Fi antennas around town. The City Council postponed the project last month. Dr. Erica Elliott, who treated Firstenberg and testified at a hearing on a preliminary injunction, said she signed the wireless petition because she's convinced electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a real disorder that may affect the nervous system. Mainstream scientists object to the notion that microwaves and radio waves emitted by consumer electronics could cause the reported health problems. Bob Park, a University of Maryland physics professor who has published a book on the subject, says that although such radiation can heat tissue, it lacks the energy to knock loose electrons and alter human DNA or otherwise cause the reported symptoms. "It's totally implausible," Park said. The varied complaints, he said, are likely psychological in origin. District Judge Sarah Singleton is expected to rule soon on a defense motion to dismiss the case, as well as the preliminary injunction sought by Firstenberg. She already dismissed a claim involving Monribot's iPhone because federal law prevents state courts from taking up cellphone issues. On Friday, Monribot declined to step outside her home -- barely 30 feet from Firstenberg's house -- but agreed in a phone call to answer questions via e-mail. She keeps in touch, she said, with relatives in the U.S., Asia, Europe and the Middle East. "Because my family members live in different time zones, I have always made myself available to them at all hours," she said. "We communicate often through Skype, Gmail chat, video and audio sessions." Firstenberg knew this when he mentioned to her that the Casados Street house was for rent, but after Monribot moved in, he and a friend insisted that she turn off her Wi-Fi router and other equipment. She tried to comply, but felt harassed. "I decided to bring it all to an end, stop trying to accommodate a neighbor and attempted to start concentrating on my own life again," she wrote. Firstenberg said he was staying with friends and occasionally sleeping in his car. He finds the attention surrounding the lawsuit embarrassing, he said. "I'm not after publicity," he said. "I just want to live. I want my home." [/quote] The fucking retard suing needs to go get bent. [quote][highlight]Mainstream scientists object to the notion that microwaves and radio waves emitted by consumer electronics could cause the reported health problems.[/highlight] Bob Park, a University of Maryland physics professor who has published a book on the subject, says that although such radiation can heat tissue, [highlight]it lacks the energy to knock loose electrons and alter human DNA or otherwise cause the reported symptoms.[/highlight] [/quote] Just putting this here.

So this man has a possibly real medical disorder, you are telling him to "go get bent"? Nice sensitivity there. Really.

I really, really hope that the judge throws it out of court.

[QUOTE=Nipa;21028918]So this man has a possibly real medical disorder, you are telling him to "go get bent"? Nice sensitivity there. Really.[/QUOTE] RTFA. It's a fake disorder. [quote]Mainstream scientists object to the notion that microwaves and radio waves emitted by consumer electronics could cause the reported health problems. Bob Park, a University of Maryland physics professor who has published a book on the subject, says that although such radiation can heat tissue, it lacks the energy to knock loose electrons and alter human DNA or otherwise cause the reported symptoms. [/quote]

It sounds like some whiny person who feels the need to annoy others to gain some satisfaction and attention. [QUOTE=Nipa;21028918]So this man has a possibly real medical disorder, you are telling him to "go get bent"? Nice sensitivity there. Really.[/QUOTE] [quote]because she was using an iPhone, a laptop computer, a wireless router and [B]dimmer switches.[/B][/quote] The rank smell of bullshit is wafting through the air. If this was the case a traffic light would give him a seizure.

[QUOTE=Nipa;21028918]So this man has a possibly real medical disorder, you are telling him to "go get bent"? Nice sensitivity there. Really.[/QUOTE] Except there's zero scientific evidence that this is a real disorder. There's not even a plausible mechanism, never mind a substantial body of evidence supporting the notion that it would be unable to actually cause the symptoms as described.

I hope he wins. I am going to get so rich in my neighborhood.

Wonder what happens when he walks into an electronics store...

Ah. Well, I was purely judging off the article where it mentions one of the doctors suggesting it was real. That's what you get for skimming over the article, I guess. So, reasons why he may be faking it?

While the guys claims are bullshit it does make me stop to think about all the stuff getting beamed through us at this very moment. Thousands of radio signals, cellular signals, microwave, beta, gamma, and solar radiation and all that other noise. It does worry me some times :ohdear:

[QUOTE=Nipa;21029076]Ah. Well, I was purely judging off the article where it mentions one of the doctors suggesting it was real. That's what you get for skimming over the article, I guess. So, reasons why he may be faking it?[/QUOTE] [img]http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/money.jpg[/img]

If it gets thrown out of court I hope the neighbour erects a huge radio mast in his yard solely to broadcast a loop of himself laughing 24/7

[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21028901][URL]http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-santa-fe28-2010mar28,0,2528354.story[/URL] The fucking retard suing needs to go get bent. Just putting this here.[/QUOTE] There was an Intervention on this.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;21029128]If it gets thrown out of court I hope the neighbour erects a huge radio mast in his yard solely to broadcast a loop of himself laughing 24/7[/QUOTE] Point a big satellite dish at his house. Cover it in flashing lights powered by a 9V battery. Have neighbor shit bricks.

Oh dear, "[i]CELL PHONES WILL MELT YOUR BRAIN![/i]" "Oh wait, it turns out the small amount of microwave radiation can only [i]slightly[/i] heat up the outer layer of your skull while you talk on a mobile which doesn't affect your brain at all.. "

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl7QqoPH9c[/media]

:tinfoil:

If this were true, he'd be in pain no matter where he lives because of TV, Radio, and cellphone signals. So, basically he's a dumbfuck who wants to make a quick buck.

Rofl, this guy is a retarded idiot. My grandma believes in "electromagnetic allergy" and I facepalm every time we talk about it. She always pulls the "I'm older than you and old people know more than younger people :downs:"

[QUOTE=Zeke129;21029128]If it gets thrown out of court I hope the neighbour erects a huge radio mast in his yard solely to broadcast a loop of himself laughing 24/7[/QUOTE] Everyone in my family is a licenced radio amateur and we look after a repeater, shame we're not his neighbour he would love us. Oh and everyone in america should build a series of wifi dishes aimed at this persons house.

[QUOTE=Fippe;21030158]Rofl, this guy is a retarded idiot. My grandma believes in "electromagnetic allergy" and I facepalm every time we talk about it. She always pulls the "I'm older than you and old people know more than younger people :downs:"[/QUOTE] Come back with "You're older than me and old people are more likely to have Alzheimer's than younger people."

[QUOTE=Fippe;21030158]Rofl, this guy is a retarded idiot. My grandma believes in "electromagnetic allergy" and I facepalm every time we talk about it. She always pulls the "I'm older than you and old people know more than younger people :downs:"[/QUOTE] Ask if she can even define electromagnetism

I know some sys-admins who had people at work complain about the wifi and how it gave them negative flow and that they should turn it off. The did turn all the wifi points off, and forwarded every e-mail complaining about why the wifi was down to her. After a few days she begged if they could turn it on again.

I actually have some sympathy for him but 500,000 is too much, seriously.

Light kills

[QUOTE=GunsNRoses;21031748]Light kills[/QUOTE] very very slowly

I met a guy like this once. My roommate's mom came to visit us once and brought her new boyfriend. The boyfriend spent most of the time curled up on the couch, moaning that the electromagnetic energy was too strong in our apartment and that he wanted to go home. Yeah, it was weird. I didn't believe him then, and I don't believe this guy now.

Why are there people who sue because of everything (no I don't think it's a real disorder)

[QUOTE=Glitch360;21028960]Wonder what happens when he walks into an electronics store...[/QUOTE] "A man suffering from electromagnetic sensitivities walks into an electronics store. Man dies"

[QUOTE=Zeke129;21031820]very very slowly[/QUOTE] [media][URL]http://youtube.com/watch?v=9VDvgL58h_Y[/URL][/media] [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VDvgL58h_Y"][/URL]