From "Maple Street Co-op News", February/March 2008
By Leigh Robshaw
Hello again friends, As we go to print, a rally to protest Premier Bligh's
plan to mandate water fluoridation in Queensland is being planned for
9am, Tuesday 12 February at Queensland Parliament House, George St,
Brisbane. I dearly hope there's a decent turnout and that the protests
don't fall on deaf ears.
Those people on tank water may not be fazed, but those on town water
will be up you-know-what creek without a paddle. There will be little
point in using a water filter if fluoridation happens, as most filters
don't get rid of the fluoride, and buying bottled water is expensive,
not to mention the possible health hazards of re-using PET bottles (see
story page 11).
Apart from the potential dangers to our health posed by fluoride, there's
a major ethical issue in forcibly mass medicating four million Queenslanders,
and intentionally polluting the basic element we all need for survival.
There's also the scary suggestion that fluoridation is all about sedating
the masses, turning us into compliant citizens. Many reports state the
first large scale fluoridation of drinking water was in Nazi concentration
camps to force prisoners into calm submission. There are also reports
that fluoridation has been used by the military for the same purpose.
Check out Lori's great cover story for more about fluoridation and details
on how you can have your say.
In more positive news, I spoke to prominent Traveston Dam campaigners
at the Woodford Folk Festival this year (see story page 6), and there
was an air of optimism about them. They're taking the campaign to influential
international circles, but let's hope the whole dam idea is dead in
the water when the federal government gives its feedback on the Environmental
Impact Study. Make sure you read Dawn's story on the Eden Project (page
8); so heartening and uplifting to see such a positive project happening
in our world.
Thanks to those who answered my call for new contributors last issue.
Keep those story ideas and contributions rolling in, and I'll do my
best to include them.
[From "Maple Street Co-op News", February/March 2008; published by The
Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny, Qld
4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.co-op@serv.net.au,
website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]