FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK         
http://www.FluorideAlert.org
    
FAN Bulletin 937: Networking success in NZ
  
March 4, 2008
 
Dear Supporter,

First, some heartening news: over 21,000 people have now watched the Bill Osmunson video (over 3,000 in the last three days alone), which probably explains why since Feb 26, we have obtained another 50 signers to the Professionals' Statement (current total 1552). Also, may I urge any one who knows a Vet to send them a link to David Kennedy's "Poisoned Horses" video and recommend that they sign the Professionals' Statement to End Fluoridation.

Networking success in NZ.

The Thursday Feb 28 edition of The Dunedin Star (Dunedin, NZ) did us (and themselves) proud. They carried a 5-page article on a local fluoridation battle which started on the front page and carried over to pages 9 -13. In all the article featured 12 sections and each section can be accessed via the Latest News section on the FAN website.

The original articles (with photos) can be accessed here.

Shortly after the 5-page article appeared we received emails from Mary Byrne (Wellington) and Yvonne McDonald (Christchurch) giving us more details about the articles and the meeting which gave rise to them.

All in all it is a very good example of the excellent networking being stimulated by FAN New Zealand (or FANNZ). Everyone is helping everyone else - especially on the South Island - either via email or actually going to each others' meetings. In my view this is a winning strategy and we are seeing the same kind of thing in Australia, particularly with the residents of Warrnambool, Ballarat and Geelong joining forces in several different ways to fight forced fluoridation in the state of Victoria.

Here are the emails from Mary and Yvonne:

Dear Paul,

Thought I'd share this with you since it's not often we get into the main stream media, particularly with unbiased reporting.  "The Star" is the community paper for the whole of Dunedin (on the South Island of New Zealand) which has a population of 114,000.  See here.

Would be good for people to write to the editor
(editor@star-times.co.nz) to voice some opinion.
 
For those who don't know - the background is that there are some small communities north of Dunedin, Waitati and Warrington, that are losing their bore water as a pipeline from Dunedin is being built to supply these areas. These communities were consulted about the pipeline (they said "no" but the council is doing it anyway) but weren't consulted at all about the fluoride. Olive McRae has picked up the fight and has organised a petition, a local meeting and is taking the case to the Community Board and then the Dunedin City Council.
 
Waitati and Warrington communities are opposing the fluoride and going by the front page of the community paper, Olive has obviously won some support from the greater Dunedin area too.  The article appeared in this week's paper after the local meeting.

Mary Byrne,
Wellington, NZ

There is a nice photo (on page 10) of the five FAN New Zealand members who went to the meeting. From left to right, Olive McRae (Waitaki, local organizer), Don Church (Ashburton), Imelda Hitchcock (Timaru), Dr. Bruce Spittle (Dunedin) and Yvonne McDonald (Christchurch).

According to Yvonne, the five "put the case against fluoridation very convincingly" and

 "At the end of the presentation to about 45+ locals, only one was game enough to say he still favoured fluoridation, with I think one or two sitting on the fence.

The one person for, stated he was from a pro-fluoride family, and was the son of the ex Mayor of Dunedin, in office when Dunedin was fluoridated in 1967.

Olive is a gutsy young lady, with a big fight on her hands but is gaining tremendous support from both the locals and the wider Dunedin community.

This is the biggest anti-fluoridation stir Dunedin has seen for quite some time and it can only go from strength to strength with help from us all."

This battle has a large significance for the whole of New Zealand, because Dunedin is the bastion of fluoridation promotion in NZ. It is home to the University of Otago, which has both a Medical and a Dental School - in fact, this is the only dental school in the whole country. There is little evidence that the dental professors there treat this issue with an open mind. When I visited New Zealand in 2000, Dr Bruce Spittle tried to get someone from the medical or dental school to debate me. Not one person was willing to do so. In 2003, Dr. Spittle organized a symposium for the International Society for Fluoride Research (ISFR) in Dunedin. Again he invited people from the Medical and Dental school to debate me - no one would do so. In fact, very few members of either school even bothered to attend. Ironically, the motto of the school is "Sapere aude." I am told that can be translated as "Dare to be wise, have the courage to think for yourself rather than blindly accepting the opinions of authorities."

On page 9 in the Star, Dr. Spittle, gives some of the the arguments against fluoridation. Bruce is the Managing Editor of  Fluoride, the journal for ISFR. He has recently circulated an expanded version of his booklet  "Fluoride Poisoning" (an abridged version of this is available entitled "Fluoride Fatigue"). The book has received two reviews in the latest issue of Fluoride, one by Peter Meiers from Germany and the other from FAN's research director Chris Neurath (See http://www.fluorideresearch.org ).

If you would like to order either of these booklets here are the details supplied to us by Dr. Spittle:

For orders placed directly with me, by FAN members and others, the revised 2nd printings of my books are available, including shipping, for: Fluoride Poisoning (78 + vi pages) US$9.99m CAN$9.99, AUS$10.99, NZ$11.99, Euro6.99, GBP4.99, JapanYEN1099  and the abridged version, Fluoride Fatigue (62 + vi pages) US$5.99, CAN$5.99, AUS$6.99, NZ$7.99, Euro4.99, GBP3.99, JapanYEN599. Payment may be made by cash or check made out to B Spittle or by PayPal to spittle@es.co.nz after registering at PayPal www.paypal.com. My address for orders is Email: spittle@es.co.nz or Bruce Spittle, 727 Brighton Road, Ocean View, Dunedin 9035, New Zealand.

Commenting on the articles in the Star, Dr. Albert Burgstahler wrote to Bruce Spittle, "What struck me in the articles is the persistence of the mistaken belief held by so many people that there really is no solid or hard evidence to question the claim for the safety of water fluoridation. How much more than what you and others have assembled do they need? They can certainly find it in abundance in your new book Fluoride Poisoning and the abridged version Fluoride Fatigue."

I endorse Mary Byrnes' suggestion that some of us write to the Star congratulating the editor and Bruce Munro on their coverage of this issue and perhaps throwing in your favorite argument at the same time. You may email the editor at editor@star-times.co.nz

Paul Connett