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Pesticide Poisoning, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Lupus, Lyme, Neurological, Mold (Mycotoxin), MS, Metabolic Syndrome & All Manner of Environmental & Legal (System) Assaults Upon Human Health.
Tag Archives: adversarial
This document is: http://poisoningandlegalaction.com.au/essays/essay3-diminishing-returns-of-complexity.pdf
Murray Thompson (BAppSci Environmental Health with Distinction 1998, Hons I Social Ecology 1999, Sociology PhD Postgraduate student: University of Western Sydney)
PO Box 605
New Norfolk TAS 7140
2 August, 2010
Email: email@example.com
Web sites: http://poisonedpeople.com
How far along a path do we proceed as a species, culture and civilization before it is conceded that we are not advancing and are, rather, engaged in an embrace with degenerative and fatal processes? This Essay examines the adversarial justice system and its contribution to compounding world problems.
A previous letter/essay I authored was titled: ESSAY 2: EXHAUSTED PESTICIDE POISONING VICTIM FURTHER ABUSED BY LEGAL PROCESS. That essay has been developed further and can be found at: http://poisoningandlegalaction.com.au/essays/essay2-legal-process-abuse.pdf. In this earlier essay I introduce myself and my then 8-year old son as duel victims of severe pesticide poisoning that occurred in 2000/2001 in my current NSW Dept. of Housing (DOH) unit. This arose when two highly toxic termite pesticide treatments that I had specifically prohibited were forced upon me. The termiticide is called Biflex, a synthetic pyrethroid termiticide containing Bifenthrin. I described my utter exhaustion through multiple negative health impacts that followed the pesticide applications.[i] As well, I emphasized the further insult of 6+ years (and still going) of litigation against a recalcitrant DOH utterly unwilling to admit to any level of negligence. I understand my case will likely be extended by 1-2 years through appeals if I win my 2 week trial set for 15th November 2010 in the Supreme Court in Sydney, Civil List.
Justice Mark Weinberg: "Whatever else can be said, no case, no matter how complex it may seem, should be allowed to run for months and sometimes years"
(Justice Weinberg 2008:17).
I received a response to that essay from the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner. The Commissioner's sympathetic reply noted my concerns regarding litigation being used as a weapon, and the need for legal cases to be independently monitored. The Commissioner's letter included an eye-opening and blunt FACT SHEET #18 titled: OPPOSING LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES (Office of the Legal Services Commissioner, 2005). Thus began my education in the adversarial system of justice. I have evaluated this FACT SHEET, added my personal observations, and arrived at a constellation of 'weird science' concepts expressed by the civil and criminal adversarial justice systems.
According to the Hon Wayne Martin, Chief Justice of Western Australia, "the Australian legal system is generally perceived to be out of touch, expensive, slow, technical, complex, and in many respects incomprehensible"
(Justice Martin 2008:3).
I see the FACT SHEET as briefly and clearly outlining major dysfunctions in our adversarial system of justice, with the implications of these problems deepening further into a hodgepodge of extremes and contradictions. It says (my emphasis):
- your legal representative can be expected to say or do things which go against the interests of other parties, and
- other parties' legal representatives can be expected to say or do things which go against your interests.
You cannot interfere in the professional relationship between another party and their legal representative…
You can only complain about an opposing legal representative's course of action if you have evidence that they are not acting on instructions, or are acting on instructions that they know are untrue or unethical (Office of the Legal Services Commissioner, 2005).
Firstly, I wish to assert that the two bulleted points above represent a massive, in situ and accepted dysfunction. That is, the framing of a monumental waste of time and resources via sets of Plaintiff-Defendant dichotomies at war. This institutionalized combat should not exist in a truly enlightened society. They represent a ridiculously complex and immature striving for supremacy inside a commercial system carrying the taint of vested interests. They also signify stitched-up and prejudiced rules coddling precious corporate egos and greedy attitudes obsessed with an endless summer harvesting of legal fees: the expanding legal task and elastic accounting (Justice Allsop, 2008:2) of the legal system. How did the legal system configure for itself so much benefit? This formalized schoolyard scrap and grab mentality generates a long-winded and exhausting process that conveniently maintains a profitable rage while dancing away from the genuine responsibilities that are demanded by the succinct elucidation of simple truth.
"…truth should be the objective of the system"
(Justice McClellan 2008:4).
Secondly, my legal case has been purposely extended leaving me exhausted, sicker and poorer. If a moneyed opponent plays with you using unethical and abusive tactics, then where does that 'legal' system stand in terms of truth and error, good and evil?
"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself."
(Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, 3rd American President).
"It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry."
(Thomas Paine, 1737-1809, Anglo-American political theorist, writer)
My personal WW2 of litigation against the DOH leaves me with the distinct impression of "a failure of the system" (Justice Allsop 2008:3) and leads me now to question competence and ethics in both government and the legal system.[ii] I do not see any evidence of the mythical "THERAPEUTIC JURISPRUDENCE" inside an adversarial legal workplace that continues to abuse me to a point where I have considered suicide!
The FACT SHEET hints at a compound series of flawed premises upon which the legal process appears to be based. I offer below simple points of contention drawing out the defective nature of these premises, along with disturbing additional material:
- 1. Generally: while theoretically harnessing "the power of self-interest on each side to unearth the best evidence" (Law Reform Commission of WA, no date:25), legal teams, in seeking to establish protection for their clients, may ultimately generate an unavoidable and powerful investment in skewed bias in terms of the essential nature of the argument put forth. For example, we may be left with "perceptions of bias in experts who give evidence" (Justice McClellan 2008:18). This manipulation of knowledge and interpretation can occur to a point where the argument structures a fabricated story, a picture of events and analyses that may not even manage to resemble the somewhat disappointing "approximate truth" (Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, no date:25) that seems to be the rather mediocre goal of the adversarial system. But there is no need for protection and bias if we view the unencumbered truth as being most important. In my case, there exists an abject denial that one can be poisoned from a termiticide application, even though the generation of my symptoms was almost immediate upon exposure to the pesticide vapours entering my unit. You have to wonder at what level intellect is operating when so-called scientific professionals don't even seem to recognize the easy mobility and toxicity of solvents as a component of some pesticides. Points 3. c. and d. provide ideas here.
- 2. Put another way, and looking toward a more ideal concept of resolving the issue of lying conflict[iii], legal teams should not be bound to protect their clients vigorously. This is because protection at all costs automatically invests in an institutionalized form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This disorder ultimately frames the compulsion to protect the client-investment from the unpalatable or difficult historical truth of a matter, while enhancing the reputation of the legal firm via a status-enhancing win. However, if we were to imagine a more efficient and less deceitful legal workplace environment in which to settle disputes, there would be no investment on any level to protect and no corporate profile to defend, advance and polish. There would be no compulsion to win because there would be no schizophrenic and antagonistic legal dichotomy creating opposing realities. The very existence of separate law firms "seeing themselves predominantly as part of big business" (Justice Weinberg 2008:23; quote taken slightly out of context), and exposed to the temptations of "volume litigation" (Justice Allsop 2008:2) is, in the very first instance, a formative insult to what should be the comparatively neutral and incorruptible process of uncovering the unencumbered truth within a simple composite (non-dualistic) format.
- 3. Further toward addressing this profound error, the OCD and income imperatives to protect clients, generate fees, and win the legal brawl ensures that ethical abuses will be accepted and perpetuated inside the legal process:
- a. The Defendant wastes time and resources attacking the injury victim's character, minimizing or denying documented and measurable injury, and serving, sometimes, pointless subpoenas that do not even remotely relate to the litigation issue.
- b. Experts' current and beneficial evidence can be destroyed inside a trial in an infantile attack by the opposing side. Lies can win if the attack is dexterously waged (see Justice McClellan's take on this[iv]). Today, this is especially apparent in terms of "a system that requires us to treat others as adversaries and to battle each other in ineffective dehumanizing formalized forums… [where] we all become casualties of the system and each other" (Redgwell 2009). The degenerative trend of today's (legal) "declining standards" (Justice Weinberg, 2008:1) is obvious here, along with an inevitable and almost universal ""erosion of faith" in the adversarial system" (Justice McClellan 2008:6)[v].
- c. Further, the Defendant in a chemical injury case might hire bias: medical/science professionals who suspiciously declare that chemicals or chemical applications cannot poison people.[vi] More smoke, mirrors and bad science wasting time and failing to address the horrible truth of major issues (such as the growing worldwide tsunami pandemic of pesticide-induced diseases[vii]).
- d. More specifically in terms of the dumbing down of knowledge in my legal case, medical/science experts can lazily appeal to strange forms of amazingly inclusive 'scientific' logic that interprets unmonitored chemical/pesticide behaviour as magically acting precisely according to inflexible chemical doctrines of remarkable immobility in soil and impossibility in terms of human poisoning. This magic excludes current research showing clearly that chemicals or their extended vapours move[viii] and that termite chemical barrier applications kill termites beyond the physical placement of the pesticide.[ix] These 'experts' fail to recognize what a Google search can uncover: that pesticides penetrated my unit's highly porous concrete slab underlying two joined units[x] (this being why my elderly neighbour almost died in 2001 with numerous bouts of bronchitis and double pneumonia requiring hospitalization). "The possibility of gaps or cracks in the slab that may have allowed penetration of the product or its vapours into the interior of your unit cannot be discounted…" (APVMA Adverse Experience Reporting Program Letter/Report, 28 July 2004). My legal team and associated science/medical professionals are steadfastly attempting to elucidate this INCONVENIENT TRUTH, not repudiate it with magical fantasies based in unscientific bias.
- 4. Ever noticed? Within any adversarial system or framework institutionalized OCD engineers a massive and wasteful paper shuffling exercise on two ridiculously opposing and combative fronts. In politics two main parties shuffle advertising and waste precious dollars. In the legal system we first notice uncooperative "discovery and preliminary matters" (Chief Magistrate Judge Grimm [USA], 2008:2)[xi] resulting in years where arguments and positions are advertised. Interestingly, very deep sociological aspects of this fanaticism may be viewed subliminally and ontologically as a neurotic and inadequate 'purification' device: a religious-like obsession with scrupulosity framed inside detailed and burdensome activity ultimately generated as a function of almost primal guilt. This unavoidable and unresolvable guilt springs from an uncomfortable awareness of a cascade of formative, developmental and normalized inadequacies within a toxic legal framework. This type of phenomenon is a widespread occurrence within human society.
- 5. My injured health status (pesticide poisoning) was not immediately and intelligently factored into the genesis and functionality of the legal inquiry process in my case when it started. Nor does the legal system appear to be capable of therapeutically doing so. As a result, the original problem of the Defendant's indifference, negligence and failure of Duty of Care (not acting appropriately on the basis of repeated health alerts), the subsequent negligent deployment of pesticide on two occasions, my mounting shock as a result of these 'invasions', and the consequent generation of a raft of compounding physical and psychological injuries all became synergized and absorbed by a further insult, this being MY DEATHLY ENSHROUDING AS A POISONING AND BRAIN DAMAGED VICTIM INSIDE A PROCESS THAT NOW FAILS TO RECOGNISE AND COMPENSATE FOR AN AGGRAVATED AND LAYERED HEALTH EVENT: LEGAL STRESS AMPLIFYING POISONING SYMPTOMS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SHOCK LAYERED OVER THE STRESS OF POISONING AND SHOCK AMPLIFYING POISONING SYMPTOMS. When bureaucracy attacks! Error overlays error, insult binds to insult, incomprehension follows incomprehension, and scrambled complexity builds on scrambled complexity. A dynamically flawed legal system takes an injury, and then magnifies it further via stupidly mandated argument and 'protection' inside an exhausting and insanely expensive fee-harvesting process x 2. Shades of Bleak House and justice delayed and denied[xii], while I have also suffered a 'minor' stroke on top of all my poisoning symptoms and outcomes (and been prescribed Aspro Protect)! But, who cares if the litigant is that compromised? Certainly not a legal system that blunders monstrously and monolithically toward its light at the end of the black tunnel imposed upon me. At least I still have half a brain to think with and help rationalize the unending trauma.
- 6. Almost anything can be justified within a precious legal framework because the "professional relationship" between each client and their legal representatives has in real terms been placed above ethics and health. What the legal process accepts as normal, and what the combatants can potentially do, has established as a format superior to basic ethics, human rights and a form of Duty of Care that appears all but invisible to the process. What is apparent here is an in-built dispensation for the 'holy' professional relationship and elongated litigation process. This is not dissimilar to stating that God is on your side… Therefore, if a legal system is dependent upon justifying itself, then that system will tend to disregard most other concerns. It wants what it wants because it sees itself as being more important than anything else. Elevated. Worse still, pathological justification within authority structures leads ultimately to forms of fascism.[xiii]
- 7. Further, the formative design flaws in the adversarial legal process have ultimately made possible and legal: PROTECTED (even required) psychological abuse or bullying of the opponent across the inflamed legal divide. This dangerously verges on PROTECTED assault and a repudiation of essential human rights. SUICIDES ARISE OUT OF THIS ADVERSARIAL PERVERSITY![xiv] What if a legal team actually hoped for a suicide in order to make their opposition go away? That these gross dysfunctions exist as realities or potentials and are, at least in part, encouraged and used by the adversarial justice system, should be a source of absolute outrage amongst all thinking persons. This demonstrates the dysfunctional realities and pathological potential of a negative and destructive system reliant upon the establishment and preservation of conflict.
- 8. If you know that a chemical or other injury makes a person suicidal, and if you hide behind a legal process that allows you to call a Plaintiff a liar, a miscreant or worse; and if you prolong legal action (thus making the extended process into an abusive prison sentence) because a government department's bottom line is more important than human physical or mental health, or life; then how can this not be called fascism? 'Professional' fascism? This is just one way in which complexity falls over itself.
- 9. More generally, the adversarial legal system enables too many to participate in bad character: legal dummy spitting over minor or inappropriately amplified issues, comments and insults resulting in too many suing too many.[xv] Add to this the prominent catastrophe of the well funded stifling of opinion and activism through suing opponents. Then arises the consequent exhausting, bankrupting and destruction of those sued.[xvi] What we are witnessing in the above and other general examples of litigant immaturity and fascism is the wrecking of the 'democratic' fabric of society and a disturbing contribution to a growing environmental holocaust. This pathological burden of fractious and totalitarian corporate litigation ultimately establishes the repudiation of truth[xvii] by suppressing information, education, freedom of speech, and environmental recovery (especially when truth is cocooned inside a settlement). In other words, "legal gamesmanship in tricks of discovery and trial tactics that weaken the prospects of getting to the truth" (Justice Rudolph J. Gerber, no date). The legal process, then, has become so warped and loaded that it has misrepresented denial and repudiation as discovery, and turned inquiry and true justice into a TV power-play money game. It has made the defamation of medical professionals, corporate sponsorship and bias in science and medicine, the failure of legal process Duty of Care, litigation fascism and human rights abuses, the suppression of PEACE, and prevention from education… legal. "The abnormal has become normal" (McGraw, P. 2010).
What a monumental internal contradiction for a society that espouses, today, so much aversion for racism, totalitarianism, environmental damage, bad sports behaviour, vandalism, inordinate bank profits, golden handshakes, and paedophilia! Hiding contextual truth from an argument is fraud. Repudiating truth is book burning. Promoting arguments and conflict for the sake of making money… is industrial and political[xviii]. How did the legal system manage to abrogate Duty of Care on all levels? This obscene encumbrance that denies medical context and essential human rights means that:
Therefore, our adversarial system is ultimately a functionally illegal, incomprehensible, unethical, inhumane, inefficient and destructive way of conducting an investigation. The imperatives to advance and extend conflict, and create and substantiate stories, makes justice a game[xix] resulting in the stripping of real context from real situations and issues. Games delude and destroy. We are paying the burdensome price of "a highly regulated and complex society [that] cannot function without a capacity to obtain quality legal advice" (Justice Weinberg 2008:9; footnote 2). HOWEVER, if our society is complex and degenerate (typical features of most empires before they implode[xx]), and if the legal process is likewise overly "complex" (as Justice Martin noted previously) and corrupted from the obsessive and unmanaged "diminishing returns to complexity [that] have made societies vulnerable to collapse" (Tainter 2006:94, citing Tainter, 1988, 1999), then WHERE IS THIS "QUALITY" EXPECTED TO BE FOUND?
"We can't avoid the fact that the adversary system of jury trial does make justice a game, in which sometimes the worst team wins, because it has a dream team of lawyers, or because there's something gone wrong in the jury room, or because the judge is biased"
(Geoffrey Robertson QC, 1998).
Danger to all is perpetuated because we are internally culturally embattled and conflicted via legal, political and economic adversarialism.[xxi] We are unable to learn from error because adversarial conflict 'protects', repudiates and hides truth. This general political child of the human condition has typically established as cycles of historical degeneracy leading to collapses of whole civilizations. Because we can't incontrovertibly learn across generations, we are now immersed inside a miasma of critical and compounding civilisation-scale problems.
"…we are increasingly confronted with complex, interconnected social and environmental problems that span disciplines, knowledge bases and value systems" (Emeritus Professor Valerie Brown AO, BSc MEd PhD 2010).
We are under siege by a plague of modern physical and psychiatric disorders arising out of displaced and shattered natural environments. Public health on a planetary scale is threatened. We are now toxicologically and psychiatrically handicapped through destructive human activities, including worldwide chemical poisoning[xxii] and insane adversarial systems attacking employment, freedom of thought, knowledge and generational learning. We are "monitoring our own extinction" (Professor Stuart Hill, 1999, pers. comm.) because locking up knowledge about chemical toxicity inside legal settlements (or by way of threats) is advancing generational amnesia. KNOWLEDGE THAT COULD SAVE LIVES AND REPAIR AND ADVANCE CIVILIZATION IS BEING LOCKED AND LOST INSIDE COMBATIVE LITIGATION. THIS REPRESENTS A SOCIOLOGICAL EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT AND MORE…
"History shows that degeneration of the criminal justice system contributes greatly to the downfall of states, and is a sign of rot within a political system" (Aulich 2006).
"…in the absence of the truth, all of us stand helpless to defend ourselves, our families and our health"
(Erin Brockovich)
There is more at stake inside this legal issue than we can possibly imagine. We need a better way to discover fuller, context-dependent truth.[xxiii] TRUTH is what matters, not protecting clients, winning arguments, establishing careers, or multiplying fees on the crucible of an injured litigant's misery. We need to be thinking INTEGRATIVELY on deep ontological levels. We should be aiming for a global society with more peaceful systems of politics, economics and justice, and a better prospect of truth, understanding, health and sustainability: "mutualism replac[ing] adversarialism." (Karlberg & Ronald 2004)
We cannot continue to fight – legally and in any other domain – the way we do now, and somehow expect to prosper and survive as a species.
Please write or email me should you wish to offer any advice or comments regarding my manifold concerns.
Murray Thompson, BAppSc Environmental Health with Distinction 1998 (Australian Institute of Environmental Health [NSW] Division Award for Best Overall Graduating Student), Hons I Social Ecology 1999, Current Sociology PhD Postgraduate Student: University of Western Sydney
NOTE: This essay or a notification of the online location of this essay has been sent to numerous other recipients (see: http://poisoningandlegalaction.com.au/letters/essay3complexity-letter-recipients.htm).
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Tainter, J.A., 1999. Post-collapse societies. In: Barker, G. (Ed.), Companion Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Routledge,
London, pp. 988–1039.
Tainter, J.A. 2006 [online]. 'Viewpoint: Social complexity and sustainability', in Ecological Complexity 3 (2006) 91 – 103 (sciencedirect.com [http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecocom]), Global Institute of Sustainability and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, PO Box 873211, Tempe, AZ 85287-3211, USA. Source: https://campus.fsu.edu/bbcswebdav/users/jastallins/public_htm/courses/complexity/readings/Tainter.pdf; accessed: 26th April 2010.
Weinberg, M. [Judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria] 2008 [online]. The Australian Justice System – what is right and what is wrong with it? National Judicial College of Australia, Conference on the Australian Justice System in 2020, Sydney, Saturday 25 October 2008. Accessed: 4 April 2010. Source: http://njca.anu.edu.au/Professional%20Development/programs%20by%20year/2008/Sydney%20conf%2008/Weinberg.pdf.
Yeoh, B.-H. & Lee, C-Y. 2007 [online]. "Tunneling Responses of the Asian Subterranean Termite, Coptotermes gestroi in Termiticide-Treated Sand (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)", in Sociobiology Vol. 50, No. 2, 2007, pp. 464-5. Source: http://idisk.mac.com/chowyang/Public/091.pdf, accessed: August 2009) See: http://poisonedpeople.com/bifenthrin.htm.
[i] Body-wide joint pains (polyarthralgia); incoordination; massive fatigue; dizziness; muscle spasms/pain; markedly diminished eyesight; hearing loss; immune dysfunction; lung congestion; considerable heat sensitivity and intolerance; EMF sensitivity (Electromagnetic Frequency radiation from TVs, mobile phones, machinery); SPERM (motility & morphology) IMPACTS; chronic: headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, kidney stones, gastric reflux, nosebleed, skin irritation, bone density loss, eye discharge; and actual brain damage (defined in brain MRI and Ceretec/SPECT scans) and memory/organization/sequencing dysfunctions that destroyed my University of Western Sydney Sociology PhD thesis' progress, and which have made me largely incompetent, work-wise. I am slow, inefficient, and prone to considerable errors in all manner of judgements. The effect of these exposures on my emotions (especially fear and anger) has been catastrophic. Finally, I am left with a permanent condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), a profound sensitivity and negative reaction to chemical odours and medications (including vaccinations).
[ii] "The first key to wisdom is constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth". Peter Abelard, French philosopher, priest; 1079-1142).
[iii] "In an adversarial system creating business is best done by creating + maintaining conflict and unfortunately in our society this appears to be supporting the liar" (The Richard Hillman Foundation, 2008 [online]. Article: Only VICTIMS Cry Out! Source: http://www.rhfinc.org.au/article/familylaw.html. Accessed: 18th March, 2010).
[iv] "I have previously written of the reluctance and, for many, the complete refusal of experts to give evidence in an adversarial trial where as they perceive it, probably correctly, the objective of the parties, or perhaps one of them, is not to identify the true position but to reward a winner in a contest. They refuse to subject themselves to a process where a skilful advocate is briefed to destroy the expert's opinion, who is confined to answering the advocate's questions which have been carefully crafted to expose the client's case and obfuscate or deny the opponent's position. Whatever be the benefits of the adversary process, we ignore the response of contemporary experts at the risk of the loss of public confidence in the civil justice process." (Justice McClellan 2008:19)
[v] Citing himself in an earlier article: "ADR – An Introduction", Speech delivered to the Chinese National Judges' Conference, China, in April 2008, wherein he cited Sir Anthony Mason (the former Chief Justice of the Australian High Court), "The Future of Adversarial Justice", a paper given at the 17th AIJA Annual Conference on 6-8 August 1999.
[vi] Of interest here: "Helen Seabrook, of Unisearch, an offshoot of the University of NSW, says it is part of her job to negotiate with lawyers who pressure an expert to "modify a choice of phrase and emphasis in the report". She does not find lawyers' manoeuvres unethical. "It is very rare that you can't find a solution that the expert will find ethically acceptable."" (Bacon 2003)
Also see: 1. http://www.secretariat.unsw.edu.au/acboardcom/minutes/cor/CORm8_04.pdf [p. 3];
2. http://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/publications/reports/financial/2005/vol2/18-0454_University%20of%20New%20South%20Wales.pdf [p. 57];
3. http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/Committee/EET_CTTE/completed_inquiries/2002-04/research_agencies/report/d01.htm (do word search on: "conflict of interest"; and
4. http://www.auqa.edu.au/qualityaudit/reports/auditreport_unsw_2006.doc [p. 16]. This document is no longer available online. My downloaded copy of this document states on page 16: "The Audit Panel notes the introduction of a University Conflict of Interest Policy, a revised Protected Disclosures Policy and revised grievance procedures as evidence of organisational follow-up from issues raised by the investigation of allegations of research misconduct, including a recommendation for the appointment of a University Grievance Manager. While the matter in relation to research misconduct has been finalised, the University is awaiting a report from the NSW Ombudsman on its management of complaints prompted by the particular case." All accessed: August 2009.
[vii] "Hundreds of thousands of people are dying around the world each year from the effects of the use, or misuse, of pesticides" (Konradsen, van der Hoek, Cole, Hutchinson, Daisley, Singh & Eddleston 2003:249-261).
"Another 200 chemicals are known to cause clinical neurotoxic effects in adults [p.2167]… Solvent neurotoxicity in adults is well known from acute poisoning cases and from occupational studies [p.2172]… The five substances recognised as causes of developmental neurotoxicity show similar patterns in the development of scientific documentation of their risks. This pattern of discovery started in each instance with recognition of adult neurotoxicity, typically in people with occupational exposure, and of episodes of acute, high-dose poisoning in children.
The combined evidence suggests that neuro developmental disorders caused by industrial chemicals has created a silent pandemic in modern society. Although these chemicals might have caused impaired brain development in millions of children worldwide, the profound effects of such a pandemic are not apparent from available health statistics. Additionally, as shown by this Review, only a few chemical causes have been recognised so the full effects of our industrial activities could be substantially greater than recognised at present.
The consequences of a pandemic of developmental neurotoxicity extend beyond descriptive data for incidence and prevalence of clinically diagnosed disorders.1,3 Increased risk of Parkinson's disease97 or other neurodegenerative diseases98 is a further potential consequence of the pandemic" [p.2174] (Grandjean & Landrigan 2006).
[viii] "…it is only recently that it has been generally recognized that there is a second contaminant transport process which will occur even through a very low hydraulic conductivity clay liner: that process is chemical diffusion… diffusion may be the dominant contaminant transport mechanism in a well-constructed clay liner. Furthermore, contaminants can escape from a waste disposal site, by diffusion through a liner, even if water flow in the liner is into the landfill" (Rowe, R.K. 1994).
[ix] "Termites were killed in bifenthrin treatments, and this suggested the movement of the chemical from treated into untreated sections. Su & Scheffrahn (1990) reported the movement of a pyrethroid (tralomethrin) from treated sand to the agar layer in their experiment against R. flavipes, causing high mortalities even though the termites did not reach the treated area. Many other researchers also reported the role of vapour phase in their experiments. Ebeling & Pence (1958) noticed that the vapour phase of chlorinated hydrocarbons had penetrated into areas beyond the treated soil and was killing the termites… Although bifenthrin has low volatility when applied on dry soil, it possesses a higher migration potential in wetter conditions (Fecko 1999). The movement of the termiticide (and emulsifier) was probably facilitated by water solubility (Smith & Rust 1990; 1991) and vapor pressure (Su et al. 1982; Smith & Rust 1990; 1991). When the vapor pressure is high enough, some of the termites might have satisfactory amounts of toxicant deposited on the cuticle. Penetration of the toxicant through the cuticle will slowly affect the termites without direct termiticide contact (Su et al. 1982; Smith & Rust 1991). This may explain the death of the termites in the untreated section." (Yeoh & Lee 2007)
[x] "Though fairly impervious to water movement, concrete is easily penetrated by vapors and solvents. It is also prone to cracking. For these reasons, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that concrete alone may not provide an effective barrier to pesticide movement and has proposed that concrete in pesticide secondary containment structures be sealed or coated to reduce its permeability." (Broder & Nguyen 1995)
[xi] Note also: "It has recently been estimated that in one case currently being brought in the Federal Court, the cost of discovery alone will exceed $20 million. That is both outrageous and intolerable. It matters not in the least that the parties to that litigation are large corporate entities, presumably able and willing to ensure that they leave no stone unturned in pursuing their interests." (Justice Weinberg, 2008:10).
[xii] "The phrase 'justice delayed is justice denied' applies to all aspects of the legal system…" (P. Dodd [solicitor] 2009.
[xiii] "In very broad terms, there can be said to be two main concerns that have been debated in this journal: the "what" and the "how" of lawyers' ethics. The first of these focuses on the content of lawyers' ethics, both empirically and normatively, examining issues such as whether lawyers should act for any client irrespective of the morality of their objectives, …how far lawyers should go in pursuing client interests, …how to reconcile conflicts of interest, …whether there should be limits to the lawyer's duty of confidentiality, …how to safeguard clients' money …and how best to ensure access to justice… The second concern of legal ethics raises the question of how to ensure that lawyers actually uphold whatever norms are regarded as appropriate; or, for those who recognise that there are no categorically correct answers to ethical dilemmas, with the question of how to ensure that lawyers at least care about and are committed to acting morally." (Nicolson, D. & Webb, J. 2004)
[xiv] For example, the Canadian "government has already been presented with studies linking the adversarial system of justice to suicides by parents going through it" (Eckert, T., 2003). Also: "The Equal Parenting Network estimates that as many as 100 people (mostly dads) suicide each year as a direct result, and another 200 people (mostly dads) suicide each year as an indirect result, of the injustice and prejudice against fathers, and against non-custodial parents due to the Family Court system and the Child Support Agency regime… These factors together with the lies and distortions of truth generated in an adversarial system, not to mention the huge legal fees and the extended period of stress and uncertainty, constitute a powerful driver of suicide and murder-suicide" (Equal Parenting Network, 2007).
[xv] See: http://www.dallasfortworthinjurylawyer.com/2009/01/california_to_rescue_good_sama.html#more in terms of rescuers being sued (Malik, S. 2009).
Also: "On 14 December 2004, Gunns filed a 216-page, $6.3-million claim against a group of conservationists and organisations who became known as the Gunns 20. The writ was an extraordinary document that sought to sue a penniless grandmother who had opposed logging in her district; a national political leader, Senator Bob Brown; a doctor who had raised public-health concerns about woodchip piles; prominent conservationists; Australia's leading wilderness-conservation organisation, the Wilderness Society; a film-maker; and several day protesters." (Flanagan, R. 2007).
Is this not an example of disguising motives "by the formalities of justice" (Gibbon, E. 1776); 'justice' used as a litigation weapon in favour of corporate fascism?
[xvi] How do we arrive at "a fair process between parties who may have unequal resources"? (Justice McClellan 2008:14). Also: "despite strenuous efforts currently being undertaken, there will be little, if any, improvement in access to justice" (Justice Weinberg 2008:4). "Questions of access to justice and fairness may be mentioned and inadequacies lamented but the identified problems are accepted as incapable of an effective response" (McClellan 2008:6).
[xvii] "The trouble with lying and deceiving is that their efficiency depends entirely upon a clear notion of the truth that the liar and deceiver wishes to hide. In this sense, truth, even if it does not prevail in public, possesses an ineradicable primacy over all falsehoods" (Arendt, H. 1969).
[xviii] See: Keen, no date: "trade may also fuel war by providing incentives for violence and the means of carrying out violence."
[xix] "This highly paid, upstanding member of the community said "if I am defending a bloke I want to make life difficult for their witnesses". He went on to argue "I'm not there to find the truth … no one's there to find the truth". An adversarial legal system is never going to force people to behave well" (Biggs, 2009).
[xx] Like "the Western Roman Empire [that] could no longer afford the problem of its own Existence" (Tainter, 2006:97). Also see: An Eruption Of Reality: Has our society become too complex to sustain? (Monbiot, 2010).
[xxi] "Robert Kagan has described the American approach to regulation as "adversarial legalism" to reflect a legal style that is more complex, formal, adversarial and costly than that of other countries. He attributes adversarial legalism to a "vicious cycle." While "Americans want government to do more," government is also "mistrusted." Thus, "Americans seek to achieve their goals by demanding more of government while controlling it still further." Bureaucracies, as a result, are "constrained by formal requirements and buffered by threats of litigation and judicial review."2" (Shapiro, 2002)
[xxii] "Pollution causes some people to commit violent crimes: In our myopia, we've neglected this obvious possibility. Yet a rapidly expanding body of research shows that heavy metals such as lead and pesticides decrease mental ability and increase aggressiveness" (Hatherill, 1999).
[xxiii] "Rosenbaum calls for a "morally inspired transformation of the legal system," a "massive attitude adjustment" that would replace the sterile formality of the law with conscience and spirituality." (Reed Business Information, no date).
This document is: http://poisoningandlegalaction.com.au/essays/essay2-legal-process-abuse.pdf
Murray Thompson (BAppSci Environmental Health with Distinction 1998, Hons I Social Ecology 1999, Sociology PhD Postgraduate student: University of Western Sydney)
PO Box 605, New Norfolk, TAS 7140 Australia
8 July, 2010
Email: email@example.com
Web sites: http://poisonedpeople.com
The legal system can be viewed as a negligent regime when it fails to recognize and accommodate injury victims. Further, when that system adds extra layers of abuse and magnifies the injuries already suffered by the victim, the system can be viewed as fascist. This Essay examines my loss of innocence within the adversarial justice system.
My name is Murray Thompson. I am a 54-year old professional artist and Sociology PhD student at the University of Western Sydney. My Degree is in Applied Science, Environmental Health. Unfortunately, I am also a 12-year Dept. of Housing (DOH) tenant. I would like to bring to your attention an extensive public health, ethics, human rights and environmental issue regarding pesticide toxicity. I wish to specifically address the issue of the severe pesticide poisoning of myself and my then 8 year-old son in 2000/2001 in my current Bligh Park DOH unit, and my utter exhaustion via the further insult of 6+ years (and still going) of litigation against a recalcitrant DOH.
When I moved into my DOH ground floor unit in 1998 I noticed that the wooden fences throughout this block of 16 DOH units were infested with termites. A number of tenants (including myself) brought this to the DOH's attention. However:
1. Despite having advised the DOH in writing for at least 3 years prior to accepting this unit that I suffered from chemical-sensitive asthma;
2. Despite having written to the DOH declaring that I did not want my DOH property treated with orthodox chemical treatments for termites (and that safer, alternative treatments were available);
3. Despite having phoned the DOH declaring the same as the above;
4. And despite having informed the very first pest technician contractor (who only inspected and reported on my DOH property) that I did not want a chemicalized treatment of my unit…
despite all the above, on Dec. 7th 2000, just one year into my now almost destroyed PhD studies, an external chemical barrier pyrethroid pesticide treatment was forced on me by a second pest contractor, at the behest of the DOH. My profound decline into never-ending health problems started just 10 minutes after the pesticide was applied.
With the impact of the pesticide's strong odour forcing its way indoors, I became very ill with headache, incoordination (dizziness/stumbling) and massive fatigue. Within around 2 weeks after this acute episode I began an intimate relationship with a developing kaleidoscope of symptoms: body-wide joint pains (polyarthralgia); muscle spasms/pain; markedly diminished eyesight; hearing loss; immune dysfunction; lung congestion; heat sensitivity; EMF sensitivity (Electromagnetic Frequency radiation from TVs, mobile phones, machinery); SPERM (motility & morphology) IMPACTS; chronic: headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, kidney stones, gastric reflux, nosebleed, skin irritation, bone density loss, eye discharge; and actual brain damage and memory dysfunction that destroyed my PhD thesis' progress, and which has made me largely incompetent, work-wise. Then, a second pest treatment! The effect of these exposures on my emotions (especially fear) has been catastrophic. Finally, I am left with a permanent condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), a profound sensitivity and negative reaction to chemical odours. And yet, I look normal. But, normal and pesticide-poisoned can produce children with birth-defects and lymphoma (Montague, 2001[1]), so where does that leave my potential future offspring?
I have medical reports substantiating my most prominent symptoms: x-rays showing joint impacts and kidney stones; blood tests: pesticide impact on my liver; ultrasound: echogenic liver; sperm test (Sydney Andrology): unusual sperm problems (Perry, et. al., 2006:114[2]; Bian, et. al., 2004:999[3]); psychiatric reports: depression/suicidal ideation (Parron, et. al., 1995:54[4]); MRI and RPAH SPECT/Ceretec scans: physical brain impact (Heuser, G. et. al., 2003[5]); neuropsych tests: cognitive abnormalities (memory, adaptive ability & info processing speed) leading to the abandonment of my studies; and an industrial hygienist report: MCS. Literature links psychiatric/memory/intellectual/suicidal problems to pesticides and their solvents (Müller-Mohnssen, 1999:161[6]; Wood & Liossi, 2005:663[7]; Parron, et. al., 1995:60-62). This is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue.
It took a great deal of time and expense to professionally validate both poisoning events (the poor can't afford to prove their injuries). While I slowly gathered this information, my then 8 year-old son became wracked with abdominal pains every morning after sleep. This was confirmed by a pharmacologist as a classic symptom of pesticide poisoning in children (Dr. B. Grabau, 2005, pers. comm.). The kerosene-like odour of the pesticide was inside my unit 24/7 for 15 months after the unit's slab was saturated by the chemical barrier application, just long enough for the DOH to finally answer 20 months of complaints with an absolute refusal of culpability. The odour was now gone, but the damage was done. My son then later became extremely withdrawn and aggressive after a further exposure to herbicide from a neighbouring golf club.
About 3 years after the pest treatments (after I gave up on study because my brain didn't work properly anymore), I began work on a poisoning web site and started legal action. And despite knowing from my medical reports that:
1. Pesticide exposure "is a significant causative and contributing factor to Mr. Thompson's current condition" (Dr. B. Grabau 2005, Medical Report);
2. Stress amplifies all symptoms, which then generate depression (Dr. M. Donohoe 2004, Medical Report)…
my solicitor said the DOH's legal team was told to promote the length of my legal case… until the economy improves.
Why must an injury victim suffer 9+ years of illness and misery (6+ years inside legal action) to still not see a legal matter resolved? Why would the DOH's legal team serve an abusive and irrelevant subpoena, one described by my solicitor's senior assistant as stupid? Why would the DOH leave an argument with their former insurer (in terms of who covers a compensation payout) to the sixth year of legal action? This has added many more months and a separate court hearing to my issue, further delaying an outcome! If repeated actions amplify injury to a person, does that create an ETHICS and a VICTIMS OF CRIME issue? Do I have a basic human right to not be treated this way? Do any of us? This now becomes an extended HUMAN RIGHTS issue because my GP has also just confirmed the possibility that I have had a stroke! How much time and 'health' and life must I be forced to surrender to an unending and abusive legal process in love with itself?
Is litigation used as a weapon of psychological assault to generate a desired 'failure' of the legal process through the exhausted capitulation of the injury victim and complainant? If so, what if the injured complainant's reaction manifests as a stroke, or heart attack, or suicide? If bullying in schools is an issue, then why not this 'legal' cause and effect? These dynamics embody vast ethical deficiencies within the legal system. It is imperative that an entirely independent body monitor the course of legal action in the context of the kind of injury suffered by a plaintiff. This form of management or oversight is also needed to see if the extraction of extra legal fees is being indulged via excessive paper shuffling. The legal system obviously enjoys far too much freedom. How did the legal profession and process become so abusive, unethical, perverse and sacrosanct? What is untouchable and unaccountable automatically becomes fascist.
I have never been offered within the legal system ongoing support from an independent legal advocate or an independent medical professional informing the legal process with the power to force changes. What an innovative concept! And yet, various trauma victims in other circumstances will get needed support. I have never been specifically instructed in how to mentally address the dog-eat-dog nature of the legal process. My injuries have severely affected my personality and emotions, leaving me with a stress load I cannot sustain. All this from two pesticide treatments I specifically didn't ask for! And, I get regular emails from DOH tenants who complain of similar problems.
The pesticide poisoning issue is so universal that I originally sent out a 12-page letter to 250 recipients worldwide. The vast potential for poisoning symptoms to be misdiagnosed as having other causes (Reeves, et. al., 1999:17-18[8], citing Solomon & Mott, 1998 and Zweinerd & Ginsburg, 1988; Reeves, et. al., 2002:14[9], citing Goldman, 1998) means this is a GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE. Below are details of professional responses to that letter.
1. Professor Wai-on Phoon, A.M., M.B., B.S., F.R.C.P.,(London, Edin. & Glasgow), F.F.P.H., F.R.A.C.P., F.F.O.M., Hon.F.A.C.O.M., Hon.F.A.F.O.M., D.I.H., D.C.H., D.I.H.S.A., F.R.F.P.S., F.A.F.R.M., F.A.M.S., Occupational & Rehabilitation Consultant, Emeritus Professor of Occupational Health, described my letter as "well-researched and interesting", and the problem addressed by my letter as one of "an appalling nonchalance about the possible ill effects on human health from toxic exposures in the general and work environments" (Prof. Wai-on Phoon, Letter, 12 December 2008).
2. Dr. Chris M. Reading, B.Sc., Dip.Agr.Sc., M.B., B.S., F.R.A.N.Z.C.P., F.A.C.N.E.M., Environmental & Orthomolecular Psychiatrist, described my letter as an "excellent article" (Dr. Chris Reading, Letter, 31 December 2008).
3. The SOMA Health Association of Australia Newsletter stated in response to my letter: "We have received a most impressive set of papers describing the predicament a family find themselves in as a result of environmental contamination… As Murray Thompson's research wisely points out – chemical contamination targets the brain… If the brain is not centred or balanced correctly, then behaviour is out of kilter" (SOMA Newsletter: Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, SOMA Health Association of Australia, Vol. 30, Number 3, April 2009).
Feel free to write or email me should you wish to follow up on this issue.
Murray Thompson, BAppSc Environmental Health with Distinction 1998 (Australian Institute of Environmental Health [NSW] Division Award for Best Overall Graduating Student), Hons I Social Ecology 1999, UWS Hawkesbury
NEW SOUTH WALES CO-COORDINATOR, MCS-GLOBAL WEBSITE: www.mcs-global.org
Postal Address: PO Box 605, New Norfolk, TAS 7140 Australia; Email: email@example.com; Websites: http://poisonedpeople.com & http://poisoningandlegalaction.com.au
This letter has been sent to:
David Bradbury M.P., Federal Member for Lindsay, PO Box 712 Penrith, NSW 2751
The Hon Nicola Roxon MP – Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT, 2601
NSW Department of Health, LOCKED BAG 961, North Sydney NSW 2059
Ian Cohen MLC (NSW Legislative Council), Parliament House Macquarie St. Sydney, NSW 2000
Ms. Sylvia Hale (Greens MP), NSW Parliament, Macquarie St. Sydney, 2000
Ms. Lee Rhiannon MLC, (NSW Legislative Council) Parliament House Macquarie St. Sydney, NSW 2000
Senator Bob Brown, GPO Box 404, Hobart, TASMANIA 7001
AHEC – Australian Health Ethics Committee, NHMRC, GPO Box 1421 Canberra ACT 2601
NSW Department of Health – Justice Health, PO Box 150, Matraville NSW 2036
Environmental Defender's Office New South Wales (Ltd), Level 1, 89 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000
The Executive Director, Australian Law Reform Commission, GPO Box 3708, Sydney NSW 2001
New South Wales Bar Association, Selborne Chambers, 174 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000
The Law Society of New South Wales, 170 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, 133 Castlereagh St., Sydney NSW 2000
ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of NSW Inc., Suite 204, 10 Help Street Chatswood NSW 2067
The Australian Chemical Trauma Alliance Inc., 309 East Bonville Road, Bonville NSW 2441
Legal Aid NSW (Civil & Family), 91 Philip St., Parramatta NSW 2150
NSW Ombudsman, Level 24, 580 George St., Sydney NSW 2000
Rural Press Limited, Bells Line of Road, Nth. Richmond NSW 2754
60 Minutes, PO Box 27, Willoughby NSW 2068
Hawkesbury Gazette, 291 Windsor Street, Richmond, NSW 2753
Penrith Press, 407 High Street Penrith NSW 2750
The Sydney Morning Herald, GPO Box 506 SYDNEY NSW 2001
The Daily Telegraph, 2 Holt Street Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
702 ABC RADIO NATIONAL SYDNEY, GPO Box 9994, Sydney NSW 2001
2UE 954 NEWSTALK, PO Box 954, St. Leonards NSW 1590
Mr. Ray Hadley, The Ray Hadley Morning Show, 2GB, GPO Box 4290, Sydney NSW 2001
Mr. Alan Jones, The Alan Jones Breakfast Show, 2GB, GPO Box 4290, Sydney NSW 2001
Hawkesbury Radio, 11 Fitzgerald Street, Windsor, NSW, 2756
Attorney General's Department of NSW, Victims Services NSW, Victims of Crime Bureau, LOCKED BAG 5118, Parramatta NSW 2124
Attorney General's Department of NSW, Office of the Legal Services Commissioner, GPO Box 4460, Sydney NSW 2001
The Hon. John Della Bosca, BA MLC, Minister for Health, Level 30 Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney NSW 2000
Civil Liberties Australia, PO Box 7438 Fisher ACT 2611
Prof. Wai-on Phoon, Pymble Medical Consultants P/L, PO Box 818, Pymble NSW 2073
Dr Chris Reading, PO Box 587, Dee Why NSW 2099
Dr. Brendan J. Grabau, Centre Manager and Course Leader for Biotechnology and Animal Sciences, Box Hill Institute of Technical and Further Education, Private Bag 2014, Box Hill VIC 3128
Dr. Mark Donohoe, PO Box 328, Mosman NSW 2088
The Human Rights Council of Australia, PO Box 1071 North Sydney NSW 2059
SOMA Health Association of Australia, PO 915, Leichhardt NSW 2040
Diana Buckland, Founder & Global Coordinator, Global Campaign for Recognition of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, 4 Mia St. Kallangur QLD 4503
Mr Sam Albassit, Psychologist, Yagoona Medical Centre, 552 Hume Hwy, YagoonaNSW 2199
Dr. Nagwa Morris, South Windsor Medical Practice, 508a George St, South Windsor NSW 2756
[1] Montague, P. (National Writers Union) 2001, '#726 – Science, Precaution and Pesticides, 06-Jun-2001', in http://www.rachel.org/en/node/5340; accessed: 16 July 2008. Reference [2] cited: Susan Osburn, RESEARCH REPORT: DO PESTICIDES CAUSE LYMPHOMA? Available by U.S. mail from Lymphoma Foundation of America, P.O. Box 15335, Chevy Chase, MD 20825. Tel. (202) 223-6181. ISBN 0-9705127-0-8. Available at: http://www.lymphomahelp.org/docs/research/researchreport/rr_2000.pdf. Reference [4] cited: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by the U.S. in 1948, says (Article 3), "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person." Article 4, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution obligates the federal government to protect the citizenry against "domestic violence" which arguably includes modern forms of domestic violence such as toxic assault. See http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/Constitution/article04/, or http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A4Sec4.
[2] Perry, M.J., Venners, S.A., Barr, D.B., Xu, X., 2006, 'Environmental pyrethroid and organophosphorus insecticide exposures and sperm concentration', Reproductive Toxicology 23 (2007) 113–118, Elsevier Ltd.
[3] Bian, Q., Xu, L.C., Wang, S.L., Xia, Y.K., Tan, L.F., Chen, J.F., Song, L., Chang, H.C., Wang, .XR., 2004, 'Study on the relation between occupational fenvalerate exposure and spermatozoa DNA damage of pesticide factory workers', Occup Environ Med 2004;61:999–1005, Elsevier Ltd.
[4] Parron, T., Hernandez, A.F. & Villanueva, E., 1995, 'Increased risk of suicide with exposure to pesticides in an intensive agricultural area. A 12- year retrospective study', Forensic Science International 79 (1996) 53-63, Elsevier Ltd.
[5] Heuser, G., Axelrod, P. & Heuser, S., 2003, Defining Chemical Injury: A Diagnostic Protocol and Profile of Chemically Injured Civilians, Industrial Workers and Gulf War (IPPH, Volume 13, Fall 2000; Pages 1-16 [ISSN # 8755-5328]), International Institute of Concern for Public Health, http://iicph.org/ipph_Defining_Chemical_Injury; accessed: 16th Feb. 2010.
[6] Müller-Mohnssen, H., 1999, 'Chronic sequelae and irreversible injuries following acute pyrethroid intoxication', Toxicology Letters 107 (1999) 161–175, Elsevier Ltd.
[7] Wood, R. & Liossi, C., 2005, 'Long-term neuropsychological impact of brief occupational exposure to organic solvents', Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 20 (2005) 655–665, Elsevier Ltd.
[8] Reeves, M., Schafer, K., Hallward, K. & Katten, A., 1999, Fields of Poison: California Farmworkers and Pesticides, Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) Regional Center, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, United Farm Workers of America and Californians for Pesticide Reform (Publishers), http://www.panna.org/files/fields.pdf; accessed: 15th Feb. 2010; citing Solomon, G.M. & Mott, L.M. 1998, Trouble On The Farm: Growing Up With Pesticides In Agricultural Communities, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY, USA; also citing Zweiner, R. & Ginsburg, C. 1988, 'Organophosphate and carbamate poisoning in infants and children', Pediatrics 81:121-126.
[9] Reeves, M., Katten, A. & Guzmán, M., 2002 [update of 1999 original version], Fields of Poison 2002 California Farmworkers and Pesticides, Californians for Pesticide Reform, http://www.ufw.org/white_papers/report.pdf; accessed: 15th Feb. 2010; citing Goldman, L. 1998. 'Health care workers need training to recognize pesticide illness'. Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News 4.


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The Philippines Disaster Relief project continues to help local communities
Projects Abroad's Disaster Relief project in the Philippines is moving on to its next mission: to reconstruct the grade two section of Banban Elementary School, which was greatly affected by the 2013 Typhoon. Banban Elementary School is 2km away from Bung-aw Elementary School where Projects Abroad volunteers have rebuilt six classrooms.
With the help of dedicated volunteers, this reconstruction effort will begin in the middle of June 2014 and it is expected to be completed in two months.
Projects Abroad established the Disaster Relief project in the Philippines in response to the devastating Typhoon Haiyan disaster in 2013. The project focuses on the northern part of Cebu Island where 874 classrooms were destroyed. The main aim of this project in to bring educational facilities back to working order so that the children are able to have classrooms to learn in again.
'It was amazing being able to be a part of a project and see it come to life so quickly. With so many people helping and constantly working the school had a dramatic turnaround even in the short week that I was there,' said a volunteer named Franceska Rolda.
The Disaster Relief project will be running until at least the end of 2014.
Read more about Disaster Relief in the Philippines

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hi All
Hi All,
I am trying to use one of the jar files. The porgram compiles fine but when I try to run the program it gives me this error. I have put the jar file into the class path. I have put the location of dierctory containing the jar file into path but still its not working. Can anyone suggest what can be the cause of the problem?
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: no jxi in java.library.path
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java :1709)
at java.lang.Runtime.loadLibrary0(Runtime.java:823)
at java.lang.System.loadLibrary(System.java:1030)
at ukbpa.Xi.XiProxy.<clinit>(XiProxy.java:11)
at ukbpa.Xi.XiFunctions.<clinit>(XiFunctions.java:10)
at ScratchPad.main(ScratchPad.java:34)


text:
Cannabis Seeds
With cannabis seeds you can cultivate your own plant. So it is possible to make your own top, but you have to remember that there are many types of seeds available. So it's very important that you make the right choice. We would like to explain the difference between the different seeds.
What do you have to pay attention to when buying cannabis seeds?
If you want to cultivate cannabis seeds it's very important that you cultivate feminine plants. The male plant only produces pollen and ultimately seed, so these aren't any good. A feminine plant produces the flower, your top. So if you want to cultivate for personal use, you only need to cultivate feminine plants.
Types of seeds and plants
There are numerous cannabis seeds on the market but you can divide these into three groups:
- Regular cannabis seeds: the plants from these seeds can both be male and feminine. If you have for instance ordered 10 ordinary cannabis seeds, you can't know if the plants will become male or feminine.
- Feminised cannabis seeds: the plants from these seeds are in at least 95% of cases feminine. This offers a great advantage as only feminine plants can produce flowers.
- Autoflowering cannabis seeds: the plants from these seeds are also in at least 95% of cases feminine. That's one advantage, but you also have another. The autoflowering seeds automatically bloom after 2 or 4 weeks. The plant needs little attention and can easily be cultivated outside.
Do you opt for a cutting plant or a seed plant?
The purchase of cannabis seeds is rising in Europe. This is only logical, as more and more growers prefer seed plants over cutting plants. The cultivation of seeds has become simpler the last few years due to the improved quality of seeds. The advantages of seed plants compared to those of cutting plants:
- Seeds are cheaper.
- Seeds are genetically of better quality.
- Cutting plants often have spint or trip eggs.
- Seed plants are stronger and are more self-regulating
- With cutting plants you often don't know what the genetic origin is.
- Cutting plants have a lot of additional growth, which does not produce actual tops.
- Seeds are almost always ready for delivery the entire year long.
- Seed plants produce a higher yield.
Bubble Chum GumThe original Bubble Gum was developed by growers in Indiana (USA). Fro...Add to CartAdd to CartAdd to Cart


text:
It takes a special kind of lawman to carry on for 20 years in the Wild West of TV.
Matt Dillon, the mythical marshal of Dodge City, stood tall _ all 6 feet, 6 inches of him _ on "Gunsmoke" from 1955 to 1975. He outlasted dozens of other Western heroes while making history on TV's longest-running dramatic series, a record that held until NBC's "Law & Order" tied the CBS Western's record in 2010.
Through all those gunslinging years, James Arness, who died Friday, kept Marshal Dillon righteous, peace-seeking and, most of all, believable.
Fickle viewers can kill a TV hero as surely as a bullet from an outlaw's six-gun. But Arness knew how to maintain order not only in circa-1870s Dodge City, but also among the TV audience, whose itchy fingers on their channel changers he knew how to calm.
In an era when TV actors typically chewed the scenery, Arness had a credible, commanding presence by hardly uttering a word. A typical scene found a dozen cowboys riding up to the town jail intent on busting out a prisoner pal.
Dillon faces them all down.
"The first move anybody makes," he says, with a slight shake of his head, "I cut you in two."
Arness' defiant but rueful delivery is so understated, he makes Clint Eastwood seem like a loudmouth.
No wonder "Gunsmoke" wore so well. And became the last word on a programming craze that some seasons found as many as 30 Westerns on the air. When "Gunsmoke" went off in 1975, it was the only Western left.
By the end of his career, Arness, who was 88 when he died at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, seemed almost indistinguishable from Matt Dillon in the audience's mind.
Befitting Marshal Dillon's dignity and composure, Arness wrote, and left behind, a simple, straight-from-the-heart farewell which, at his request, was posted posthumously Friday on his official website.
"I had a wonderful life and was blessed with ... (so) many loving people and great friends," he said, then went on to thank his multitude of fans.
In life, Arness was a quiet, intensely private man who preferred the outdoor life to Hollywood's party scene, rarely gave interviews, and refused to discuss his personal tragedies (his daughter and his former wife, Virginia, both died of drug overdoses).
"He's big, impressive and virile," co-star Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty) once said of Arness, adding, "I've worked with him for 16 years, but I don't really know him."
The actor was 32 when friend John Wayne declined the lead role in "Gunsmoke" and recommended Arness instead. Afraid of being typecast, Arness initially rejected it.
"Go ahead and take it, Jim," Wayne urged him. "You're too big for pictures. Guys like Gregory Peck and I don't want a big lug like you towering over us. Make your mark in television."
Then Wayne filmed an introduction for the first episode of "Gunsmoke" to give the largely unknown Arness the proper send-off.
"I predict he'll be a big star," Wayne told viewers. "So you might as well get used to him, like you've had to get used to me."
Arness' 20-year, prime-time run as the marshal was tied only in recent times, by Kelsey Grammer's 20 years as Frasier Crane from 1984 to 2004 on "Cheers" and then on "Frasier."
The years showed on the weathered-looking Arness, but he _ and his TV character _ wore them well.
"The camera really loved his face, and with good reason," novelist Wallace Markfield wrote in a 1975 "Gunsmoke" appreciation in The New York Times. "It was a face that would age well and that, while aging, would carry intimations of waste, loss and futility."
Born James Aurness in Minneapolis (he dropped the "u" for show business reasons), he and younger brother Peter enjoyed a "real Huckleberry Finn existence," Arness once recalled.
Peter, who changed his last name to Graves, went on to star in the TV series "Mission Impossible." (He died in 2010.)
A self-described drifter, Arness left home at age 18, hopping freight trains and Caribbean-bound freighters. He entered Beloit College in Wisconsin, but was drafted into the Army in his 1942-43 freshman year. Wounded in the leg during the 1944 invasion at Anzio, Italy, Arness was hospitalized for a year and left with a slight limp. He returned to Minneapolis to work as a radio announcer and in small theater roles.
He moved to Hollywood in 1946 at a friend's suggestion. After a slow start in which he took jobs as a carpenter and salesman, a role in MGM's "Battleground" (1949) was a career turning point. Parts in more than 20 films followed, including "The Thing," "Hellgate" and "Hondo" with Wayne. Then came "Gunsmoke," which proved a durable hit and a multimillion-dollar boon for Arness, who owned part of the series.
His longtime co-stars were Blake as saloon keeper Miss Kitty, Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, Dennis Weaver as the deputy, Chester Goode, and his replacement, Ken Curtis, as Deputy Festus Haggen.
The cancellation of "Gunsmoke" didn't keep Arness away from TV for long: He returned a few months later, in January 1976, in the TV movie "The Macahans," which led to the 1978-79 ABC series "How the West Was Won."
Arness took on a contemporary role as a police officer in the series "McClain's Law," which aired on NBC from 1981-82.
Despite his desire for privacy, a rocky domestic life landed him in the news more than once.
Arness met future wife Virginia Chapman while both were studying at Southern California's Pasadena Playhouse. They wed in 1948 and had two children, Jenny and Rolf. Chapman's son from her first marriage, Craig, was adopted by Arness.
The marriage foundered and in 1963 Arness sought a divorce and custody of the three children, which he was granted. He tried to guard them from the spotlight.
"The kids don't really have any part of my television life," he once remarked. "Fortunately, there aren't many times when show business intrudes on our family existence."
The emotionally troubled Virginia Arness attempted suicide twice, in 1959 and in 1960. In 1975, Jenny Arness died of an apparently deliberate drug overdose. Two years later, an overdose that police deemed accidental killed her mother.
AP Television Writer David Bauder and Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle in New York, and Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this story.


text:
Apparently Joe Jonas isn't aware of the TSA's new screening techniques, because he might have packed a little lighter on his latest trip.
While returning to the U.S. from a trip to Abu Dhabi, the Camp Rock star was stopped for carrying a set of knives in his luggage, reports US Weekly.
Jonas' girlfriend, Twilight star Ashley Greene, was along on the trip and explained what happened. Apparently Jonas, who is an avid cook, purchased a set of cheese-cutting knives and packed them in the wrong bag.
U.S. & World
"We were going from the Middle East to New York, so [there was] tons of security, tons of screenings," she said on the November 23 episode of Lopez Tonight. "We got through one, surprisingly enough."
However they weren't so lucky at the second checkpoint. She said the screeners "looked at us with these stern faces like, 'What's in your bag?'"
She then asked Joe if he had the knives in his bag, to which he replied, "Whoopsies!"
"Whoopsies doesn't cut it," she said, laughing. "We were going to get arrested!"
After explaining the situation, they were allowed to board the plane for home.
"It was embarrassing," Greene said.
Selected Reading: US Weekly, NY Daily News, Yahoo


text:
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As industrial robots are freed from their enclosures on the manufacturing floor and begin to work alongside human operators, a new, human-centric design process is needed. IRIM is a leader in human-robot interactions, developing robots that can learn from human demonstration, as well as human-robot teams that can assemble and manipulate objects together. Where flexible and advanced manufacturing solutions are required, IRIM focuses on designing user interfaces that allow quick and easy programming by human operators through both software generation and learning by demonstration.


text:
Tagged: Siskiyou Mountains
Return of the Mac
Many people utilize blogs as a means of archiving life, the same way a chronic photographer observes experience through a pinhole and bisects it into truncated moments printed in silver or ink. But when life intervenes with these mediums of examination and reflection, the hobbies of writing and photographing are forced to clamber into the backseat and keep quiet while the driver attempts to navigate a slippery reality without these artistic chains fortifying their tires.
In less analogical terms, due to an adult-sized helping of work these past several months, my artwork–including the writing that I swore to revive via daily practice–has been sorely neglected. This blog and the numerous saved drafts in my post repository were put on hold in favor of tearing my hair out trying to transcribe inscrutable Welsh accents and rephotographing what seemed like an endless procession of holiday menorahs. Apparently that's the life that happens when we're too absorbed with our individualized distractions, so to all you ornery teenagers whose parents heckle you about your technological obsessions, simply retort, "Would you rather me join the real world and get a job trying to make photos of Peter Max's comeback collection look decent?" Cause even your parents know you'll get more enrichment out of "practicing your grammar" updating Facebook statuses than staring at something like this all day:
Thus, I owe this incredibly latent blog entry to a Las Vegas vacation that both commemorated my sister's birth and ushered in the free time necessary to dust off my artistic skill set–just in time for the New Year. As such, I concede to the hackneyed tradition of auld lang sine meditation and dedicate this entry to the year 2013.
In my adult life I've taken a cue from the Chinese calendar and assumed the habit of naming each year that passes based on its overarching character. For example, the year one of my houses was burglarized, my mom broke her leg on Mother's Day, and my childhood home went up in flames was deemed The Year of the Happenstance Shit Fest. Likewise, the year I immersed myself in the stress of college, endured a nightmarish relationship that culminated in an equally inimical break-up, and met a N'awlins-scale parade of freshmen jackasses was christened The Year of Building Character Out of Tears, Eraser Shavings, and Godawful Cafeteria Food. As noted in a previous entry, zeitgeist symbols of misfortune seem to have an inverse effect on my family, and the thirteen attached to the end of this year's moniker was no different. Thus, as 2013 comes to a close, I hereby declare it The Year of the Lucky Bastard.
For some reason, 2013 was all about close calls and seemingly unfortunate situations that miraculously paid off. Sure there were some irrevocable bumps along the way, such as the Transportation Security Administration damaging a plaque that served as the lone reward for my tireless four-year pursuit of a 4.0. And all those cockroaches that liked to host evening soirees under the sink of my very first apartment? That too was unpropitious. But beyond the fleeting disappointment of fruitless job hunts and undercooked pasta, I've been remarkably lucky, and figure I ought to thank the Fates in writing to hopefully remain in their favor.
At the very opening of 2013, I found myself illicitly holed up in my friend's dorm room after her roommate unexpectedly transferred schools and invited my room change request to hang in the slow-paced limbo that is bureaucratic decision making. With a Residential Assistant just several neurotransmissions away from discovering my ploy and a roomful of my actual assigned roommates starting to ask incriminating questions, I was undeniably in one of Ulysses Everett McGill's reputed tight spots. But somehow, a horde of angels must have possessed the pen that finally checked off my room application just before my fugitive fever could reach a critical degree and Dave Matthews (because that was actually the RA's name) could sniff me out like a Tommy Lee Jones-bloodhound hybrid and hand me over to the authorities. It was my first utter relief of many to come this year, and as if one heavenly miracle wasn't enough it segued into what will most likely be the nicest living situation of my adult life and the cherished friendships of my Peruvian-Chinese bosom friend and what has got to be the sweetest, golden-eyed girl in both Arkansas and the whole country over.
Thus, my college career came to a close on a very positive note. I managed to secure all the classes I wanted, I got to reap the mental benefits of working myself to the bone one last time, I got to accumulate some funny anecdotes about the unnerving process of valedictorian interviews, and I got to gaze proudly upon a shiny graduation plaque, sans the impending scratches it would procure and the future realization that Los Angeles employers don't look at your summa cum laude portfolio unless you happen to know Jim in accounting. The last few months of college were a gloriously bittersweet time in my life, and somehow, despite the anxieties, the few atrocious professors, and the awful consistency of Southern grits, it all worked out perfectly.
The next big risk that I took in 2013 was the decision to move out to Los Angeles as soon as I graduated, despite the fact that the only thing I'd secured in that town was a mere interview with a digital teching company in need of unpaid labor. Thus, with no apartment and no assurance that said potential internship would even be worth while, I packed my bags, kissed my family goodbye as soon as I got home, and headed south to the city of opportunity, my boyfriend, and smog.
And there she was, Lady Luck waiting for me in the guise of a 2000-car pile up on the I-10 East. Within two days of the big move I'd secured my first internship and within two weeks my very own back seat of a sedan-sized apartment two miles from the Arts District of downtown LA. My situation certainly didn't merit boasting on the SCAD alumni forums, but I had a home, I had resume-worthy responsibilities, and I had a tan. Based on the numerous post-college alternatives, things were definitely coming up Milhouse.
The rest of my time in Los Angeles was speckled with an array of auspicious occurrences: from the fact that my brand new and wonderfully endearing step-cousin just happened to live several blocks away from my boyfriend; to the instance in which a club owner eschewed his own rule of no open-toed shoes and welcomingly admitted me into the bar he'd hidden behind a barbershop storefront; to the glorious sunshine that beat down on us while we waited in line to see Flight of the Conchords and Dave Chappelle at the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival; to the unprecedented ease with which we moved my boyfriend to Hollywood; to the remaining tickets for Nick Offerman's stand-up book tour that we learned about one day in advance; to the miraculous parking spots I always found after work in my boyfriend's reputedly over-crowded neighborhood; to the incredibly friendly corporate Christmas party host who invited four of us strangers in and gave us the huge roll of remaining free drink tickets; to the fact that we always got front row seats at Upright Citizens Brigade's free Sunday show; and to my boyfriend's friend's sister who just happens to know Hugh Hefner's chef and got us an exclusive free tour of the Playboy Mansion and the cutest monkeys centerfold money can buy.
And that doesn't even begin to cover everything that went so well in Los Angeles. Sure the basement of my apartment building was covered in literally thousands if not millions of dead flies, like a scene from a Dario Argento film, but there was something nice about the simplicity of living with naught but a bed, fridge, armoire, and hotplate. And when a new job called for me to stay with my boyfriend in Hollywood (another stroke of luck, considering the beau's very graciously accommodating roommates), the hardest part about breaking the lease–an unnerving concept considering my stingy, suspicious landlord–was sitting in three hour's worth of traffic to get from Inglewood to downtown. Even more surprising still, Mr. Conniving Landlord even uncharacteristically called me "sweetheart" when he signed my ending contract with a kindly flourish.
Finally, when spending more than two days with my family for the first time in a year became a priority, I was lucky that my dad and sister's Las Vegas vacation timed perfectly with all my settled LA arrangements so that they could simply shuttle me home upon their departure. And even if we did run into massive ice-storm traffic just outside of Medford and sit at a standstill for the duration of a whole movie and three-quarters, we're all very lucky that my dad's skillful driving kept us from sliding off the side of the Siskiyou mountains. Thank the cliff-side ice gods.
So even with the ups and downs promised to accompany life after college, some deity with a thirteen fetish has looked kindly upon me yet again. I may not have discovered the secret to post-grad billionaire status, but the overarching sentiment of 2013 was one of providential happiness. I'm no where near to surfacing victoriously from this transition into adulthood, but with a little luck-overflow and the same sense of positivity that carried me through the major changes of the past twelve months, perhaps 2014 will prove to be just as felicitous.


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Gluten-Free Tuesday: Palm Sugar
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Previously, in Gluten-Free Tuesday
Millet »
Gomaiso »
Juniper Berries »
All gluten-free recipes on SE »
As I sat at the computer, trying to wrestle a sentence to the ground, my husband came in the room. From behind me, he said, "Close your eyes."
Of course.
I felt him move up behind me, his breath on my neck. "Open your mouth."
Like a baby bird, waiting, I opened. He put a paste on my tongue, fragrant and unknown to me. A little ginger, some coconut, maybe vanilla? I like these games we play—guess the taste. What new baking combination had he created?
"What is it? Something for the cookies?" I said as I opened my eyes.
He smiled at me. "It's palm sugar."
"What? That's sugar? It's not a bunch of foods together? All that taste in one ingredient?" I got up from the computer and moved with him to the kitchen.
"Let's play."
Palm sugar is nothing like the sugar in the pink and white bag, or the fluff of powdered sugar we sift over pancakes, or the molasses-drenched brown sugar for holiday baking. It is singular, far more complex in flavor than any sweetener I have ever tasted.
I'm going to tell you now, however, that I don't know much about it. I've learned, mostly from Pim's primer on palm sugar and this entry from Viet World Kitchen, written by the wonderful Andrea Nguyen, that palm sugar is made by collecting the sap from the flowering stalks of the sugar palm tree. Afterward, it is boiled, crystallized, and then hardened into various shapes. We've been grating our Thai palm sugar on the microplane, which gives it a fine consistency. Put it in your mouth and it forms a natural paste, far more delicious than the paste your dentist puts on your teeth.
Types of Palm Sugars
However, there is much confusion about palm sugar. Some folks call it coconut palm sugar, but that's not the same as traditional Thai palm sugar. Indonesian palm sugar is darker in color and smokier in taste than Thai palm sugar, as is Malaysian palm sugar. All kinds sold to American consumers can be adulterated with white sugar, since it's cheap, and so not what palm sugar is supposed to be. (Looking at the photo I took of palm sugar, with its white patches, I'm wondering if that's true of ours.)
Uses for Palm Sugar
Many folks are turning to palm sugar because they feel it's healthier than traditional American sugars, claiming it's lower on the glycemic index than cane sugar. (Not if it's palm sugar cut with cane sugar, however.) In the world of alternative sweeteners to sugar, palm sugar is becoming quite the darling.
For me, however, it's the taste that's intoxicating. Once I went gluten-free and decided to explore every food I can eat, I let flavor be the guide as to what shows up in our kitchen. Danny and I both imagine airy-high frostings for gluten-free cupcakes made with palm sugar instead of powdered sugar. A palm sugar caramel sauce might be the perfect accompaniment to roast pork loin. What about cream puffs with a star-anise/palm sugar pastry cream filling?
I wish I could try the kuih ketayap featured on Eating Asia: "a sort of pancake tinted green with pandan leaf and rolled around a filling of grated coconut and palm sugar." And these steamed palm sugar custards look pretty wonderful too.
However, I'd love to know how you use palm sugar. Do you include it in your baked goods? Is it relegated to the Asian foods section of your pantry? Or have you found an inventive new way to use palm sugar in your kitchen?
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text:
Market preems of DeAPlaneta Intl. laffer "Que se mueran los feos" and Imagina Intl. Sales astronaut docu "Son & Moon" are among highlights at the fifth edition of Madrid de Cine.
Event also screens Jordi Llompart's "Magic Journey to Africa," Europe's first live-action film shot entirely in stereoscopic 3D, which Filmax Intl. sells worldwide.
Also on tap is the domestic market debut of new sales agent Vertice Sales, which presents David Serrano's musical comedy "With or Without Love."
Organized by Spain's FAPAE producers lobby, Madrid de Cine has carved out a niche in the international calendar.
It enjoys strong public backing, including support from Spain's Icex foreign trade institute, the ICAA film institute, Madrid's regional government and town hall, the Madrid Film Commission and Spain's producers rights protection society, Egeda.
Minimart's new dates, two weeks later than usual, have been well-received by Spanish sellers. "The longer time frame allows us to follow up on Cannes and resume contacts aiming to close deals in Madrid," says Imagina Intl. Sales film topper Beatriz Setuain.
Participants and major events will be announced by early June.


text:
Boris Johnson would commit a betrayal of the referendum if he enacted a no-deal Brexit by listening to the "unelected" saboteurs "who pull the strings" of his Government, former chancellor Philip Hammond has argued.
Mr Hammond, who resigned in anticipation of Mr Johnson becoming Prime Minister, urged the Tory leader to take the UK out of the European Union with a deal in place.
But he said early signs for that "are not encouraging", warning that demands to abolish the backstop had become a "wrecking" stance over a deal.
"The unelected people who pull the strings of this Government know that this is a demand the EU cannot and will not accede to," the Tory backbencher wrote in The Times on Wednesday.
Mr Hammond said he was busting two "great myths" over a no-deal Brexit, arguing it will be damaging to the nation – both economically and to the union – and that voters do not back the move.
"Most people in this country want to see us leave in a smooth and orderly fashion that will not disrupt lives, cost jobs or diminish living standards, whether they voted Leave or Remain in 2016," he wrote.
"Parliament faithfully reflects the view of that majority and it will make its voice heard. No-deal would be a betrayal of the 2016 referendum result. It must not happen."
Mr Hammond also accused "some key figures in the Government" of "absurdly" suggesting no-deal would boost the UK's economy.
According to The Sun, Mr Hammond and 20 other senior Tories have written to the PM to say his demands to abolish the backstop "set the bar so high that there is no realistic probability of a deal being done".
And The Sun reported that a separate letter with a similar sentiment was sent to the PM with the signatures of Mr Hammond and 20 other senior Tory MPs, including former Cabinet ministers David Lidington, David Gauke, Rory Stewart and Greg Clark.
A Government source accused Mr Hammond, who went on to deny the claim, of having done "everything he could to block preparations for leaving and undermined negotiations" when chancellor.
"We are leaving on October 31 and we will be ready to do so despite the former chancellor's best efforts to the contrary," the source added.
Meanwhile, Speaker John Bercow warned he "will fight with every breath in my body" any attempt by the PM to suspend Parliament to force through no-deal against MPs' wishes.
And Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she would urge Mr Johnson not to take that controversial move as part of his "do or die" commitment for Brexit by the October 31 deadline.
Mr Bercow told an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe festival that he "strongly" believes the House of Commons "must have its way", in remarks reported by the Herald newspaper.
"And if there is an attempt to circumvent, to bypass or – God forbid – to close down Parliament, that is anathema to me," he said.
"I will fight with every breath in my body to stop that happening."
Ms Rudd warned that the Government must not work against MPs by proroguing Parliament.
"I will play my part in Cabinet and privately with the Prime Minister and with ministers in arguing strongly for respecting parliamentary sovereignty," she told the BBC.
"And you know, I'm a Member of Parliament, the Prime Minister and all Cabinet members are Members of Parliament, we need to remember where our authority comes from."
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Mr Johnson conceded he expects negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal with the US would be a "tough old haggle".
But he said he remains confident that the UK "will get there".
His remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, who said the UK would be "first in line" for a deal.
John Bolton added that it could occur on a "gradual sector-by-sector" basis.
But Mr Johnson's Brexit plans may be jeopardised early next month after a court agreed to fast-track a hearing on whether he can legally prorogue Parliament.
A judge in Edinburgh agreed to expedite a legal challenge from anti-Brexit campaigners including more than 70 MPs and peers.


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