Yesterday, I made contact with Dr. Attaran, professor of law and public health at the University of Ottawa, here in Canada. He is one of the authors responsible for the must-read open letter to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO (which was copied to the International Olympic Committee): http://rioolympicslater.org As of June 2nd, 2016, the letter has been signed by 214 scientists and health experts. He put me in touch with Ishbel Taromsari who also began a petition. She is keeping the door open for the Olympic Committee to (as aptly titled) Postpone or Move Rio Olympics 2016 due to Zika: https://www.change.org/p/postpone-or-move-rio-olympics-2016-due-to-zika As mentioned in a brilliant May 31st, 2016 Triple Pundit post by Leon Kaye: "The world will not end if the Olympics are held in an odd-numbered year. It is not unreasonable to give Brazil a year or so to contain the virus. And if Brazil cannot get its act together, plenty of cities, from Paris to Los Angeles to Seoul, have the facilities to hold these games. The evidence suggests that Brazil has not been able to manage this crisis, and the world needs to step up so that Zika can be contained ..." Source: http://www.triplepundit.com/2016/05/doctors-insist-moving-postponing-rio-olympics-business Think deeply about this fact: over 10,000 athletes and 500,000 visitors are expected to visit Rio de Janeiro. Keep in mind that every one of those people (mostly spectators) can potentially carry the more deadly strain of the Zika virus back to their home country and infect – not only humans – but local mosquitoes. Every one of those people will need to quarantine themselves (including children who attend the Olympic games) for 6 months. Most people with Zika will feel no symptoms! Men will need to either abstain from oral, vaginal, and anal sex for two to six months OR hope that every condom doesn't break in the meantime. But this STILL does not keep local mosquitoes from biting these men, right? So, men will also need to quarantine themselves for two to six months. Every medical person I've seen interviewed on mainstream media is doing a disservice by NOT mentioning the above facts. The focus on 'women who want to conceive' is a dangerous partial truth. By not mentioning men, it gives the unspoken indication that men have nothing to worry about. Please read the response to the World Health Organization who rejected the advice of these scientists and health experts: http://rioolympicslater.org/health-experts-response-to-who-on-zika-and-the-olympics-may-30-2016 FACT: It is not true that 60 countries have the new, more dangerous strain of virus that is causing microcephaly and brain damage [and other, not yet discovered problems] in children (and adults) in Brazil. FACT: Rio’s official data show that the rate of mosquito-transmitted disease is three times higher in early 2016 than early 2015, including a surprising increase in the precise neighbourhood of the Olympic Park. Notably, the IOC's Ethics and Compliance Office was created in 2015. Take a good look at the Code of Ethics: https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/IOC/What-We-Do/Leading-the-Olympic-Movement/Code-of-Ethics/Book-Code-of-Ethics-2016.pdf#_ga=1.232824795.411222591.1464669593 and then fill out this form to report a breach (you can remain anonymous): https://secure.registration.olympic.org/en/issue-reporter/report?type=integrity Here are examples of possible breaches to cite (taken from the 115-page IOC Code of Ethics): Article 1.4 Respect for international conventions on protecting human rights insofar as they apply to the Olympic Games’ activities and which ensure in particular: – respect for human dignity; – rejection of discrimination of any kind on whatever grounds, be it race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status; – rejection of all forms of harassment, be it physical, professional or sexual, and any physical or mental injuries; 1.5 Ensuring the participants’ conditions of safety, well-being and medical care favourable to their physical and mental equilibrium. If I was an Olympic athlete, it would not help my well-being (especially my "mental equilibrium") to know that I am helping to draw hundreds of thousands of spectators to an event that can affect millions of people worldwide. One estimate I read: 4 million deaths or lives negatively affected (but it's impossible to calculate). Full disclosure: the Olympic Committee has been hard at work trying to limit my efforts to raise funds for Zika research: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107889574670988423996/posts/YETUMweFz9Z I designed three Zazzle products. So far, the Olympic Committee has been successful in having one T-shirt pulled off the marketplace. The T-shirt had precisely the same design as this mug: http://www.zazzle.com/stop_zika_support_research_mug_by_rosewrites-168770053577172774 Yet it's okay for consumers to purchase a T-shirt that states: "I survived the Zika virus". Sure, the person who wears the T-shirt survived the Zika virus, but he may not be aware of the local mosquito that bit him and went on to infect the pregnant lady next door. Speaking of which, at no point in pregnancy (all nine months) is it safe for a woman to contract the Zika virus. Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/study-finds-zika-damages-babies-all-stages-pregnancy-n532086 Note the following: "Tests show that Zika goes straight into developing brain cells and turns them into virus factories before killing them." "One important finding was that there were problems with pregnancy in the third trimester as well, which was surprising to us." ~ Dr. Karin Nielsen, professor of clinical pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles In Canada, we have a dozen species of mosquitoes that are capable of transmitting it. Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/02/19/canadian-scientists-to-study-zika-virus-to-see-if-mosquitoes-here-can-spread-it.html So, even if an Olympic athlete goes to Rio, returns to the U.S. or Canada, and gets pregnant, some stranger who attended the games in Rio could be the true reason her baby is born with microcephaly. Even if her family and husband stayed home! Are women all over the world (who get pregnant or are trying to conceive) going to quarantine themselves for 9 months? Because the most effective mosquito repellents are also harmful to a developing fetus. Now onto Air Canada . . Air Canada is "the Official Airline of the Canadian Olympic Team, they are entrusted with the safety and well-being of Canada’s Olympic heroes" – I assume they extend that pledge to all Canadians. Source: http://olympic.ca/partners/air-canada As such, I am asking Air Canada to permit anyone seeking a full refund on their flight to Brazil to honour it. This Air Canada 'Let Us Know' form gives you a 30-minute window of time to fill out online: https://help-aircanada.com/aircanada-help/createIssue.do?lang=ENU Under the prompt which states "In order to ensure the efficient handling of your issue, we ask that you choose one of the following" scroll down and pick "Other". After filling out your info, you will also see a 'Message' box (with a subject line to fill out). At the end, you can add a file. I suggest sending http://rioolympicslater.org or https://www.change.org/p/everyone-in-the-world-including-but-not-limited-to-change-org-users-participating-countries-athletes-and-citizens-boycott-the-2016-rio-summer-olympics Here is a screenshot I took with a suggested format (that I am hoping Air Canada will approve): https://plus.google.com/u/0/107889574670988423996/posts/YngtWA78sQK Bottom line: It is a matter of life and death for millions of people all over the world if the Olympic games are held in August. Please sign and share this petition (you do not have to donate). Authors note: I cannot use italics, hyperlink, or change petition updates. Ergo, my links are not hidden. CC Dr. Attaran