Story in a flash:<ul><li>Common cereals are contaminated with chlormequat, a plant-growth regulator that harms animal fertility and development.&nbsp;</li><li>The EPA has permitted chlormequat on imported grains. Now, at the behest of industry, the agency wants to allow its use on domestic crops.</li><li>Center for Food Safety responds to industry petition for more toxic chlormequat, citing serious reproductive harm.</li><li>The EPA denies risks to people from chlormequat-contaminated foods yet acknowledges hazards to occupational workers.</li><li>The Environmental Working Group (EWG) believes the EPA is not serving the American people as it should.</li></ul>&nbsp;<h2>Popular cereals contain pesticide associated with reproductive and fetal harm</h2>Although not yet permitted for use on food crops in the U.S., since 2018 the EPA has allowed chlormequat-tainted oats, barley, and wheat to be imported into the U.S. Chlormequat is a plant-growth regulator shown to cause reproductive and developmental harm to animals and their fetuses/offspring.&nbsp;The Environmental Working Group's (EWG) below chart <a href="https://www.ewg.org/research/ewg-investigation-dangerous-agricultural-chemical-chlormequat-found-popular-oat-based" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shows</a> that the pesticide is found in many popular oat-based cereals.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1709648536/image_9640578174.png"></figure><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1709648822/image_d93bfdd159.png"></figure>EWG <a href="https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2024/02/ewg-finds-little-known-toxic-chemical-four-out-five-people-tested" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tested</a> people to determine whether the chemical can be found in the body; 90% of the people studied had chlormequat in their urine.&nbsp;<h2>EPA choosing industry over children?</h2>In April 2023 the EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-proposes-register-new-uses-pesticide-chlormequat-chloride" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proposed</a> allowing chlormequat to be used on domestic crops. The EPA wants “to provide farmers with an additional tool to help increase crop yield.” The agency explained how chlormequat works and its potential benefit to farmers:<blockquote>The pesticide works to control plant size by blocking the hormones that stimulate growth prior to bloom.In small grains like wheat, barley, oats, and triticale, lodging (the bending over or breakage of small grain stems) is a major production issue. Lodging can severely limit grain yield and harvestability and have detrimental effects on grain quality. As a PGR, chlormequat chloride application decreases the height of the grain plant stem, resulting in reduced lodging and potentially increased grain yield. Compared to other PGRs with similar use patterns, chlormequat allows for more flexibility in application timing, resulting in greater ease of use for small grain producers. (Emphases added.)</blockquote><hr>Flowers and ornamental plants are grown by spraying them with chlormequat.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:49.33%;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1709650256/image_e441a1f072.png"><figcaption>A single spray application of products that contain chlormequat chloride inhibited stem extension of salvia. The spray was made one week after transplant to crops grown at 72° F under a 16-hour day with high light. Photo taken four weeks after application, courtesy of Matthew Blanchard.</figcaption></figure>In his article “<a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/using-chlormequat-chloride.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Using Chlormequat Chloride with Success</a>,” associate professor and floriculture extension specialist in Michigan State University’s Department of Horticulture, Erik Runkle explained how to use chlormequat for plant growth. He included the photo at right, to show the difference between plants sprayed with chlormequat, the active ingredient in both Citadel and Cycocel, and the control plant on the left, which was not sprayed.&nbsp;Runkle also wrote a little about chlormequat's history, explaining that the chemical was first tried on wheat and after on flowers:<blockquote>The first experiments were performed and published on wheat, in which applications of the chemical produced shorter plants with thicker stems.. . .The first experiments on floriculture crops . . . showed that the chemical could be used as a drench to inhibit stem extension, increase stem thickness and increase leaf greenness of chrysanthemum and poinsettia.</blockquote><hr><h3>Chemical company behind EPA's new proposal</h3>The EWG isn't the only organization alarmed by chlormequat's presence in the U.S. food supply. In 2021, Bill Freese, the Scientific Director for the Center for Food Safety (CFS) <a href="https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/cfs-chlormequat-tolerance-comments--final-11-22-21_03783.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">responded</a> to the EPA's request for comments on a petition by <a href="https://www.eastman.com/pages/taminco.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Taminco US LLC</a>, a global specialty chemical company bought by Eastman Chemical Company, urging the agency to increase the permitted uses and tolerance levels of the pesticide:<blockquote>Taminco US LLC has petitioned EPA to register new uses of the plant growth regulator, chlormequat chloride, on barley, oat, triticale and wheat grains; and to establish new U.S. tolerances for this compound in or on these raw agricultural commodities, as well as in the meat and meat byproducts of cattle, goats, hogs, sheep and poultry, additionally in eggs and milk.</blockquote><h4>Evidence of harm presented to EPA</h4>Freese cited the following objections to the request for increased tolerance levels:<ul><li>"Chlormequat chloride is extremely persistent. It is . . . not expected to degrade on the surface of sprayed leaves (EPA 3/26/21). Thus, it is not surprising that it turns up frequently not only in raw cereal commodities, but also in processed cereal products."</li><li>It is a low-dose reproductive toxin.</li><li>“The risks to human health of exposure far exceed any minor agronomic benefits. However, even if one were to consider some tolerances justified, those proposed by Taminco are far higher than are “needed” to accommodate the intended use of chlormequat to strength stalks of the pertinent grain crops: wheat, barley, oats and triticale.”</li><li>“High tolerances encourage bad agricultural practice and increase chlormequat exposure.”</li><li>“Co-exposure aggravates adverse effects.” As Freese explained, the increased exposure to the toxin, should Taminco's request be granted, would have additive effects on the exposure to other toxins in the environment.&nbsp;</li></ul><blockquote>. . . Low-level co-exposures to multiple chemicals frequently have additive effects on common target tissues, a result which EPA scientists have found sometimes holds true even if components of the mixture have dissimilar mechanisms of toxicity . . .&nbsp;This means that safety thresholds established for individual substances may well not be protective in the real world of co-exposure to multiple chemicals . . .</blockquote>He noted that this effect is particularly true concerning male reproduction, even at very low levels of exposure.<blockquote>This evidence is particularly strong for anti-androgenic compounds. Numerous animal studies show that in utero exposures to mixtures often have additive and occasionally synergistic adverse effects on a range of male reproductive endpoints, even when components of the mixture are administered at levels at or well below the individual NOAELs . . .&nbsp;As would be predicted from the dose addition principle, EPA research scientists found that the doses of individual chemicals needed to adversely affect male reproductive tract development decrease with increasing number of anti-androgens in the mixture . . .&nbsp;</blockquote>Freese concluded by stating that sperm counts in men in developed countries have been declining for decades, largely attributable to increased exposure to environmental toxins.<blockquote>Sperm counts and quality have been declining for decades, with an over 50% reduction in sperm counts in men in developed countries from 1973 to 2011 . . . Scientists attribute this decline in large part to increasing exposure to environmental chemicals, including pesticides . . . (Emphases added.)</blockquote><h3>EPA denies pesticide has “unreasonable adverse effects on humans”&nbsp;</h3>Before issuing its proposal, the EPA claimed that it assessed chlormequat to ensure that it posed no “unreasonable adverse effects to human health":<blockquote>Before issuing this proposed registration decision, EPA assessed whether exposures to this product would cause unreasonable adverse effects to human health and the environment, as required by the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide, and Fungicide Act (FIFRA).&nbsp;Based on EPA’s human health risk assessment, there are no dietary, residential, or aggregate (i.e., combined dietary and residential exposures) risks of concern. EPA’s ecological risk assessment identified no risks of concern to non-target, non-listed aquatic vertebrates that are listed under the Endangered Species Act, aquatic invertebrates, and aquatic and terrestrial plants. (Emphasies added.)</blockquote><h3>EPA admits “risks of concern” for humans and animals</h3>However, the EPA seems to have immediately contradicted itself as it also proposed the following mitigation measures “to address potential risks of concern to occupational workers as well as birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and terrestrial invertebrates:”&nbsp;<blockquote><ul><li>Requiring personal protective equipment such as long-sleeve shirt, long pants, socks, shoes and waterproof or chemical-resistant gloves to address occupational risks of concern;</li><li>Requiring 24-hour restricted entry intervals, including posting signs at all reasonably expected points of worker entry to the treated area to address occupational risks of concern; and</li><li>Requiring a mandatory and an advisory spray drift management statement to address ecological risks of concern.</li></ul></blockquote>The following are a few examples of occupational hazards that can occur with chlormequat use:<ul><li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26318380/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chlormequat poisoning is not without risk: Examination of seven fatal cases</a></li><li><a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Chlormequat_chloride#section=Safety-and-Hazards" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chlormequat chloride (Compound) - Safety and Hazards&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27020619/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Suicide by self-injection of chlormequat trademark C5SUN(®)</a></li><li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27423755/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fatal poisoning with plant growth regulator - chlormequat</a></li><li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32336166/">Surviving chlormequat poisoning - pharmacokinetics and the role of atropine.</a></li></ul><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h2>EPA not in business to protect Americans</h2>EWG's Alexis M. Temkin and Alex Formuzis discussed the agency's findings in the below video. In his conclusion, Formuzis shares his observation that the agency is not serving the American people:&nbsp;<blockquote>the average American probably believes that the EPA is solely in the business of protecting them and their families from contaminants including pesticides in the foods, but the opposite is actually true.&nbsp;</blockquote>Temkin concludes by stating what the agency should be doing:<blockquote>We need the EPA to protect children's health and use the best available science and data to do that.</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="746" height="419" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6vSHkCfth6c" title="Chlormequat: A Dangerous New Pesticide Now in People and the U.S. Food Supply" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>&nbsp;<h2>Want grandchildren? Make different breakfast and snack choices</h2>Parents who desire healthy children and grandchildren may want to reconsider their breakfast meal plans and the snacks they buy and choose other grains not treated with chloremequat.

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Medical

US News

'The risks to human health of exposure far exceed any minor agronomic benefits' - Center for Food Safety's Bill Freese

Chemical giant petitions EPA for wider use of chlormequat. Will government ignore reproductive harm?

<h2>Move over book burning, hello de-platforming?</h2>Closed out of your Facebook or Instagram account? Maybe your website suddenly disappeared, or your YouTube channel was demonetized or deleted? Perhaps you lost access to thousands of hours of posts and videos you produced, and your years of work were gone in an instant? That's de-platforming; the modern version of book burning, a “punishment” for going against the mainstream narrative. And, the censorship doesn't stop with social media, it includes PayPal accounts and more.<h3>Getting up again</h3>How do individuals who went afoul of the globalists, who didn't keep quiet and let others do their thinking for them, respond when they find themselves de-platformed by social media companies and other services? Here's what London Real's Brian Rose, Americas Frontline Doctor founder Dr. Simone Gold, and independent researcher James Roguski did to pick themselves up and continue their work despite the heavy-handed censorship they experienced.Brian RoseWhen London Real YouTuber Brian Rose publicly began trying to understand COVID-19 and its countermeasures, he soon found his entire life seemingly deleted from the internet by the social media giants.&nbsp;Not only did he lose all his years of work, amounting to thousands of videos which he had uploaded to the internet. He also lost access to his Paypal account, and more, because in his search for the truth about the pandemic; his counter-narrative interviews with David Icke were too dangerous for the globalists to allow. &nbsp;In his below documentary, Rose&nbsp;recounts his experiences and how he ultimately started a channel of his own. He explains that he was wholly unprepared for what happened on May 3, 2020, even though he knew that many would want to stop the interview (@about 3:36):<blockquote>Over the past few weeks, our entire world has been transformed. Everything we took for granted has now been taken away and our freedoms have been replaced with fear. All those rights we fought centuries for have been handed over without a second thought.&nbsp;We all process fear in different ways. I cope by immersing myself in my work and today my job is to ask questions. One million people will be watching and they all want answers.&nbsp;Countless others are trying to stop this from happening. At any moment they can walk through that door or lock this broadcast. I'm scared but I don't know what else to do. I prepared my whole life for a moment like This. But nothing would prepare me for what happened next. . .</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WATCH THE MOVIE THAT YouTube DOES NOT Want YOU TO SEE (and SHARE IT Far And Wide ) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LondonReal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LondonReal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeWillNotBeSilenced?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeWillNotBeSilenced</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StopCensorship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StopCensorship</a> <a href="https://t.co/txcVpjPDWz">https://t.co/txcVpjPDWz</a>— Brian Rose, Founder &amp; Host of London Real (@LondonRealTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonRealTV/status/1796285778517221575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>&nbsp;Dr. Simone GoldDr. Simone Gold, founder of <a href="https://www.aflds.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">America's Frontline Doctors</a>, was one of the first doctors to understand that how she was being told to treat COVID patients wasn't normal. Very alarmed at what was taking place she, along with other doctors, held the “<a href="https://www.whitecoatsummit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">White Coat Summit</a>” on July 27, 2020, as well as a press conference on the Supreme Court steps. As she tweeted below, the press conference went viral, garnering millions of views before Big Tech and Big Media took the video down.She concluded by explaining their purpose and the result:<blockquote>Our fight was to show America the propaganda vs the truth, and then we were censored.</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our press conference in front of the Supreme Court on July 27th, 2020 was a turning point in the fight against COVID Tyranny. After 20 million views in 8 hours, Big Tech colluded to wipe the video from online platforms. We knew in this moment that we would win the fight. <a href="https://t.co/9CP0Ogpnfp">pic.twitter.com/9CP0Ogpnfp</a>— Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) <a href="https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1610416861723729921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Dr. Gold continues to <a href="https://aflds.org/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advance</a> the mission of America's Frontline Doctors, to protect medical freedom and civil liberties.'James RoguskiIndependent researcher James Roguski who, <a href="http://jamesroguski.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to his website, has been calling out lies and propaganda for decades, found years of work gone when the company that hosted most of his websites terminated his account for what they said were “terms of service” violations. It did not deter him from continuing his work, either.<blockquote>They deleted many of my websites, but they ignited my passion to burn even brighter. I now have most of my work on Substack.&nbsp;</blockquote>Roguski is interested in building a holistic alternative to the WHO and <a href="https://jamesroguski.substack.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recruits</a> others to join him.<blockquote>The old system is crumbling, and I intend to help speed its demise, but we must build its replacement quickly.If you are fed up with the government, hospital, medical, pharmaceutical, media, industrial complex and would like to help , then feel free to contact me directly anytime.</blockquote>&nbsp;The information contained in this article is for educational and information purposes only and is not intended as health, medical, financial or legal advice. Always consult a physician, lawyer or other qualified professional regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition, health objectives, or legal issues.&nbsp;Related articles:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/covid-sceptics-won-out-globalists-fear-an-increasingly-disbelieving-public" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">'COVID skeptics won out' — Globalists fear an increasingly disbelieving public</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/colorado-governor-signs-off-on-bill-establishing-state-ministry-of-truth-students-atarget-of-new-law">Colorado governor signs off on bill establishing state 'ministry of truth'? Students a target of new law</a></li></ul>

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Censorship

Globalism

How three individuals got up again after being de-platformed

Who's afraid of Big Bad Tech? 

A British vigilante group known as the “Blade Runners” is receiving widespread support from British taxpayers as it continues to destroy climate surveillance cameras across London.<h2>The ULEZ mandate</h2>By order of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the city is peppered with ultra-low emission zones (ULEZs), areas accessible only to low-emission vehicles. Cars that do not meet the city’s environmental standards are charged £12.50 ($16) for entering the ULEZ. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras positioned around the zones read license plates and check them against the vehicles’ make and model in real time. If a vehicle does not meet the environmental threshold, a fine is levied against the car owner.&nbsp;The ULEZ climate mandate has drawn heavy&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/london-hundreds-protest-against-climate-mandates">protests</a> from residents, including&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/british-veteran-launches-hunger-strike-as-unrest-grows-over-climate-mandates">hunger strikes</a> and refusals to pay fines. Taxpayers have also taken to disabling the ANPR surveillance cameras which Transport for London (TfL), the city’s transportation department, said will be used both for climate and law enforcement.<h2>Taxpayers cheer the ‘Blade Runners’</h2>Since the climate restrictions were expanded last year, the Blade Runners have taken to disabling and destroying hundreds of cameras. Between April and September 2023, Metropolitan Police recorded 200 reports of cameras being stolen and 595 reports of cameras being vandalized.TfL began placing black boxes around ULEZ camera wirings to protect them from being cut, but taxpayers found other ways to disable the cameras — like removing them completely.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"> MUST SEE: Blade Runners topple THREE ULEZ cameras in a coordinated strike… The people are fighting back! <a href="https://t.co/Yvr2Xr7Lun">pic.twitter.com/Yvr2Xr7Lun</a>— David Morgan #StayFree (@david_r_morgan) <a href="https://twitter.com/david_r_morgan/status/1802726912050995623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In response, the city&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/london-taxpayers-attack-surveillance-vans-in-continued-revolt">deployed</a> mobile surveillance vans mounted with ANPR cameras across London in the hopes of evading attacks, but Blade Runners soon began targeting those as well. Some surveillance vans have been spotted covered in graffiti with their tires slashed, while others have been completely covered in tarp.Last month, 21 cameras were destroyed in the hours after Sadiq Khan was re-elected mayor of London, the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13538797/Moment-Blade-Runner-uses-power-tool-cut-ULEZ-camera-traffic-light-latest-attack-Sadiq-Khans-hated-scheme.html">reported</a>. Last weekend, Blade Runners used power tools to topple a ULEZ camera and traffic lights to the delight of some fellow taxpayers. In a video that was posted to social media, passing cars can be heard honking in support.The video received over 37,000 likes. Comments on the post were largely supportive, with users writing that, “When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty,” and “Fair play to them, it's a complete scam that does nothing.”Blade Runner Matt Hardy told the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;that the Blade Runners are “people pissed off about the tyranny reigning over us and getting out and doing things about it – real votes, real boys here.”<h2>‘These cameras are not about the climate. They are about control’</h2>British actor and influencer Laurence Fox said this week he was just given back his electronic devices by police after being arrested earlier this year for cheering on the Blade Runners:<blockquote>These cameras are not about the climate. They are about control. They are the primary infrastructure for all sorts of things that ideologues like the midget dictator [Sadiq Khan] would like to impose upon us.I can now finally say the word ‘Bladerunners’ again. One of the ridiculous restrictions on free speech imposed by the police.It’s a dreadful shame to see so many of these cameras dying suddenly. I’m not at all thrilled about it. Just because I am smiling like a Cheshire Cat, it doesn’t mean that I am over the moon that these scameras continue to topple in high winds.&nbsp;Vive la résistance!</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">POLICE UPDATE Following 6 coppers bursting into my house earlier this year to arrest me for saying how pleased I was that the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULEZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ULEZ</a> scam was meeting such robust resistance, this morning the <a href="https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@metpoliceuk</a> were ordered by the magistrate to hand back all my devices, including my…— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1803030521095622912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div> &nbsp;

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Pushback_Resistance

Climate Change

‘Pissed off about the tyranny reigning over us’

British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

Fisker is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the electric vehicle (EV) company announced Tuesday.<h2>‘Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry’</h2>“Fisker has made incredible progress since our founding, bringing the Ocean SUV to market twice as fast as expected in the auto industry and making good on our promises to deliver the most sustainable vehicle in the world,” a spokesperson <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/cghen8gr8e1n/6W19OiEBJDVIFVEmo4feHA/df902c5cb2b067251a300efb0b35f611/Fisker-Filing-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a>.The California-based company added it is not the only EV maker that has been struggling to stay in business.“We are proud of our achievements, and we have put thousands of Fisker Ocean SUVs in customers’ hands in both North American [sic] and Europe. But like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.”Fisker’s collapse is the latest indication that the EV industry is folding due to sinking demand. Other EV industry players are also cutting their losses as they jump ship.<h2>Hertz</h2>In March, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motorfinanceonline.com/news/hertz-ceo-resigns-amid-ev-investment-setback/#:~:text=Scherr's%20departure%20coincides%20with%20Hertz's,electric%20vehicle%20(EV)%20rentals">resigned</a> after his bet on EVs cost the car rental giant its biggest quarterly loss since 2020. Hertz had been praised by the Biden administration for its ambition to convert 25% of its fleet to EVs by the end of this year. In January, however, the company announced it would instead be selling its 20,000 EVs — including Teslas — at heavily discounted prices and replacing them with gas-powered cars.<h2>Mercedes-Benz</h2>Mercedes-Benz also recently had to give up its ambition to only sell electric cars by 2030. Instead, EVs are expected to make up only 50% of the German carmaker’s sales over the next decade.<h2>Apple</h2>In February, Apple abandoned its multi-billion dollar effort to create an electric car. Despite being a decade in the works and employing 2,000 people, Project Titan was axed due to falling consumer demand.<h2>Aston Martin</h2>A lack of consumer demand is also partly to blame for Aston Martin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13138123/Aston-Martin-puts-brakes-new-electric-supercar-2026-bosses-say-drivers-want-engines-throaty-roar.html">placing</a> its battery-operated “supercar” on hold until 2026.“Demand, certainly at an Aston Martin price point, is not what we thought it was going to be two years ago,” said Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll.&nbsp;<h2>Ford</h2>In December, Ford slashed production of its flagship EV at its assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan by half. The automaker cut the monthly production quote for the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck from 3,200 units to 1,600 units per month.<h2>Biden administration continues to force EV production</h2>Nevertheless, the Biden administration in March issued new climate mandates aimed at forcing more EV production. The new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contain tight emissions standards that will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/epa-electric-vehicles-emissions-limits-climate-biden-e6d581324af51294048df24269b5d20a">require</a> 56% of new vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2032, with an additional 13% required to be hybrids.

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Biden administration continues to force EV production

Electric car company files bankruptcy as EV market folds

For the last two years, British authorities have been testing AI-powered emotion recognition cameras on travelers in train stations, according to recently disclosed documents.<h2>What can the cameras see?</h2>In each of eight train stations around the UK, five to seven cameras or sensors scan the passing crowds. Using AI software from Amazon, the cameras use object recognition algorithms to spot criminal activity, trespassing, weapons, wet floors, overcrowding, and overstuffed trash cans.&nbsp;They can also alert authorities when passengers engage in “unusual behavior,” such as shouting, running, smoking, or skateboarding.&nbsp;A combination of existing cameras and newly installed smart cameras are being used for the surveillance project. All are equipped with Amazon’s Rekognition surveillance system.<h2>Emotional recognition</h2>Through a combination of facial and behavioral analyses, the Rekognition software allows officials to also <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-ai-cameras-emotions-uk-train-passengers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">analyze visitors’ emotions</a>. Internal documents note that the cameras can detect whether a passenger is “happy, sad [or] angry.” They can also recognize passenger satisfaction, which “could be utilized to maximum advertising and retail revenue.”<h2>Anti-social behavior</h2>Authorities can also detect passengers who exhibit “anti-social behaviour,” which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/asb/asb/antisocial-behaviour/what-is-antisocial-behaviour/">according</a> to London’s Metropolitan Police Service means “behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to persons not of the same household as the person.”<h2>Social distancing, face masks, and demographics</h2>Other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24757655-usecases_dpas_review_managed_stations?responsive=1&amp;title=1">use cases</a> for the surveillance cameras include detecting whether passengers are keeping to social distancing rules and wearing face masks. The cameras can also scan for demographics by identifying people’s age profiles and “socio-economic classification,” which the documents note can create “revenue opportunities for better targeted advertising and product placement.”<h2>‘Quite a concerning step’</h2>The documents were obtained by Big Brother Watch, a civil rights and government watchdog group, in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Network Rail, a body within the Department of Transportation which manages most of the country’s train network, has been overseeing the surveillance project.&nbsp;“The rollout and normalization of AI surveillance in these public spaces, without much consultation and conversation, is quite a concerning step,” Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-ai-cameras-emotions-uk-train-passengers/">told</a> Wired.As of now, the surveillance systems do not use facial recognition technology, which analyzes faces and matches them against facial images stored in certain databases.

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