A toxic effeminizing pesticide contaminating US food and drinking water has been recently discovered to be manufactured by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) assets.Atrazine, one of the most common pesticides used on crops throughout the United States, is designed to confound growth. When applied to agriculture, the chemical enters the weed through the root or leaf, spreads toward new growth and interferes with photosynthesis, killing the plant. Atrazine is also registered for use on turf in residential areas such as homes, daycares, schools, playgrounds, parks, recreational areas, and sports fields.<img class="image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:27.14%;" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1686817015/i_Stock_1405645935_213468c238.jpg">But aside from being an effective weedkiller, atrazine also causes demasculinization and chemical castration.&nbsp;In one peer-reviewed study, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0909519107?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed#sec-1">found</a> that three-quarters of male frogs exposed to atrazine began producing less testosterone, less sperm. They experienced lowered fertility, and many sought to mate with males instead of females. Ten percent of the frogs exposed to atrazine became females producing viable eggs.“Atrazine-exposed males were both demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized as adults,” wrote the research.Tyrone Hayes, the study’s lead researcher,&nbsp;<a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2010/03/01/frogs/">shared</a> the implications of his findings.“When we grow these guys up, depending on the family, we will get anywhere from 10 to 50 percent females,” Hayes said. “In a population, the genetically male females can decrease or wipe out a population just because they skew sex ratios so badly.”Other studies found similar results in fish and reptiles, leading the Berkeley researchers to conclude that the effects of atrazine are the same across vertebrates.“The similarities between these previous findings in fish and in reptiles and the present findings in an amphibian suggest that the demasculinizing effects of atrazine are also not species, genera, family, or even order specific but occur across vertebrate classes,” said the researchers.Another study&nbsp;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263134114_Handbook_of_Pesticide_Toxicology_Vol_1_2_and_3">found</a> that female rats who were exposed to atrazine developed breast cancer. The EPA’s scientific advisory panel (SAP)&nbsp;<a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/pesticides/report/atrazinercdmemooehha2001.pdf">concluded</a> that atrazine may also cause cancer in humans, but it may not be apparent until puberty or later.The “[n]euroendocrine model of carcinogenic action may be relevant to infants and children exposure, but the effects may have a long latency and may not become apparent until puberty or even later,” the SAP concluded.By contrast, the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that the pesticide is not carcinogenic to humans.But a peer-reviewed study&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651323001951?via%3Dihub">published</a> this March found that atrazine does, in fact, promote breast cancer development in humans, partly by suppressing immune function.In 2004, Europe&nbsp;<a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2004/248/oj">banned</a> atrazine over environmental concerns from water contamination. The European Union continues to manufacture and export atrazine to several countries including Ukraine, Sudan, and Pakistan,&nbsp;<a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/09/10/banned-pesticides-eu-export-poor-countries/">according</a> to Greenpeace.The EPA&nbsp;<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0266-1160">acknowledges</a> that atrazine poses developmental and reproductive risks to animals and humans, especially children, who spend more time on the ground and frequently place their hands in their mouths. In France, babies whose mothers were exposed to atrazine during pregnancy&nbsp;<a href="http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/atrazine.html">developed</a> slower than normal. In Texas, babies born to mothers in counties with higher atrazine use were more likely to have birth defects.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also warns of atrazine’s risks to humans, especially in reproductivity. While the agency acknowledges that the toxin’s effects on animals and humans may not be the same, it warns that it can still have harmful effects on the human reproductive system.“Some of the specific effects observed in animals are not likely to occur in humans because of biological differences between humans and these types of animals. However, atrazine may affect the reproductive system in humans by a different mechanism,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp153-c1-b.pdf">explains</a> a CDC fact sheet.Still, atrazine is widely used in the United States. About 80 million pounds of atrazine are used in the US every year, primarily on corn and sorghum.In September, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly <a href="https://archive.is/GrRwX">announced</a> she would side with farmers in a squabble with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over newly proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://cen.acs.org/environment/pesticides/US-EPA-impose-atrazine-restrictions/100/web/2022/07">regulations</a> to further reduce the application of atrazine. Farmers said they need more of the pesticide for their crops, but the EPA expressed concern about levels of atrazine contaminating the soil. Soldier Creek, just upward of where it meets the Kansas River in Topeka, has been found to be particularly polluted with the herbicide.In a 2010 report from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a large environmental group, atrazine was found in 80% of drinking water samples in 153 public water systems.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1686817479/i_Stock_1078617762_0976a3c51a.jpg"><figcaption>Syngenta, Basel, Switzerland</figcaption></figure>“All twenty watersheds sampled in 2007 and 2008 had detectable levels of atrazine, and sixteen had average concentrations above the level that has been shown to harm plants and wildlife,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/atrazine-poisoning-well">added</a> the NRDC report.While the EPA maintains that the levels of atrazine found in food and drinking water are not harmful, the agency stopped monitoring atrazine levels in drinking water in 2018. That year, the EPA concluded that atrazine concentrations were at acceptable levels and continues to rely on those figures. In 2020, the EPA officially abandoned its Atrazine Monitoring Program (AMP).“While having monitoring data specific to community water systems is useful, given the conclusions of the 2018 draft triazine human health risk assessments, EPA discontinued the requirement for atrazine drinking water monitoring (the AMP),” <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/atrazine#registration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">says</a> the EPA.The decision has raised concerns, particularly since atrazine manufacturer Syngenta in 2012 <a href="https://archive.is/20211116114049/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304840904577426172221346482" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">paid</a> a $105 million settlement for contaminating thousands of water systems with the pesticide.Furthemore, while the EPA has insisted for decades that atrazine levels are acceptable, a 2016 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0266-0315" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study</a> by the agency does not seem so sure.“EPA levels of concerns for chronic risk are exceeded by as much as 22, 198, and 62 times for birds, mammals, and fish, respectively,” says the study.The EPA's repeated claims that atrazine levels are below the toxic threshold are largely based on conclusions by its scientific advisory panel, which currently <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sap/fifra-scientific-advisory-panel-members" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">comprises</a> six academics. The SAP is chaired by Robert Chapin, PhD, a former senior research fellow at Pfizer Global Research and Development.In 2006, the NRDC sued the EPA after the agency failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The thousands of documents that were subsequently released&nbsp;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6822822_European_Union_Bans_Atrazine_While_the_United_States_Negotiates_Continued_Use">showed</a> that the EPA had been ignoring its own transparency regulations regarding atrazine and its manufacturer Syngenta.&nbsp;This was most evident in 2003, when the EPA approved Syngenta’s re-registration request for atrazine. The agency based its approval of atrazine on the recommendations of two advisory committees, both of which contained only EPA and Syngenta representatives. There were no representatives from the public.That year, the EPA held at least 50 private meetings with Syngenta that were also hidden from the public eye.Following Tyrone Hayes' findings on atrazine's effect on frogs, Syngenta decided to attack the scientist. Not only did the corporation hire academics to try to discredit Hayes, but documents show that then-Syngenta Communications Manager Sherry Ford had plans to investigate Hayes' wife and paint him as “paranoid schizo and narcissistic”. Another proposal involved purchasing Hayes' name as a search word online.When Hayes would give lectures or perform speaking engagements, Syngenta operatives would follow him and ask pointed questions to mock him. A Syngenta spokeswoman <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/02/tyrone-hayes-atrazine-syngenta-feud-frog-endangered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">confirmed</a> that “[a] Syngenta representative does try to attend events where Dr. Hayes is speaking. It’s in our best interest, and farmers’, that we have the opportunity to counter his outrageous accusations.”According to reports, Syngenta also purchased Google ads discrediting Hayes which would appear when his name was searched.Syngenta is a large agrichemical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and owned by ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company owning dozens of international subsidiaries.One of those subsidiaries is Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd, an Israeli company which manufactures atrazine and other herbicides and fungicides. It sells the chemicals in about 100 countries and has facilities across the world. In 2017, ChemChina became the sole owner of Adama through its subsidiary, Hubei Sandona Co. Ltd.One of Adama's key executives is Chen Lichtenstein, an Israeli national who served as the company's president and CEO during its acquisition by ChemChina and continues to sit on its board. He also served as president and CEO of ChemChina's strategic business division, China National Agrochemical Corporation (CNAC). In 2020, Lichtenstein came over to join Syngenta as chief financial officer.Syngenta is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.syngentagroup.com/en/about/governance/board-of-directors">chaired</a> by Li Fanrong, a veteran in the Chinese energy industry who also sits on the board of Sinochem Holdings, another company owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).Other executive and supervisory board members also have strong ties to the CCP such as Jiao Jian, the director and president of Sinochem Holdings and Yang Lin, former CFO and current deputy CFO at Sinochem Holdings.In 2020, Sinochem was one of the corporations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-military-idUSKBN25O2PT">designated</a> by the Trump administration as owned by the People’s Liberation Army, the armed wing of the CCP. Due to an executive order&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/17/2020-25459/addressing-the-threat-from-securities-investments-that-finance-communist-chinese-military-companies">signed</a> by President Trump and extended by Joe Biden, American companies and individuals are prohibited from owning shares in companies like Sinochem.But while Americans are not swimming in China’s pool, China and its atrazine are certainly swimming in theirs. President Trump’s executive order raises questions, therefore, about why the federal government shuns Syngenta for American citizens while working closely with its CCP operatives.The EPA, Department of Homeland Security, House Foreign Affairs Committee and relevant lawmakers failed to comment.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1686817353/i_Stock_1327852146_ff9c47f079.jpg"></figure>

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US News

China

Toxins can 'wipe out a population just because they skew sex ratios so badly'

Effeminizing toxin in US food, water supply found produced by China: EPA ignores query

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.

car market decline.jpg

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.

crowd surveillance.jpg

surveillance

World News

Cameras can also detect 'anti-social behavior,' social distancing

UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations

The European Union (EU) is considering subjecting foreign travelers to lie detector tests administered by AI technology.&nbsp;<h2>How would it work?</h2>Authorities at airports and ferry ports would use cameras equipped with machine-learning software to detect whether a person is being untruthful. As travelers fill out their entry applications, their eye, facial, and behavioral movements would be analyzed. If the camera indicates the traveler is lying, the software will send an alert to an immigration officer who will investigate.The technology has already been successfully tested in trials conducted by EU countries in the last few years. iBorderCtrl and TRESPASS, two such trials, explored how to create an automated border control system. Several features were tested, including the lie detector tests described above. They also piloted a feature in which AI software scans the social media accounts of travelers before granting them entry.Critics of the lie-detection scheme include Patrick Breyer, a German MEP. Breyer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13534215/Outrage-British-tourists-going-away-EU-countries-face-lie-detector-test-carried-artificial-intelligence-granted-entry.html">told</a> The Mail on Sunday that the technology is “pseudoscience” that threatens to profile the wrong people.&nbsp;“It will discriminate against anyone who is disabled or who has an anxious personality. It will not work,” said Breyer.<h2>Part of the Entry-Exit System</h2>If the EU decides to implement AI-powered lie detection, it will likely be introduced as part of the new Entry-Exit System (EES) due to take effect on October 6th. EES will replace the passport-stamping process by having foreign travelers apply for entry through self-service kiosks. These kiosks will collect the travelers’ biometric data, including their fingerprints and facial images.These data will eventually be stored in the Common Identity Repository (CIR), a massive database being built by the EU. The CIR will be capable of storing biometric files on 300 million individuals.&nbsp;<h2>EES for outsiders, digital ID for insiders</h2>While the EU prepares to roll out the EES for foreigners, including British citizens, it is also rolling out a digital ID program for EU citizens .Regulations that took effect last month&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/europe-launches-digital-id-scheme/">require</a> EU&nbsp;Member States in the European Union to provide a digital ID wallet to their citizens by 2026 which must conform to the European Union Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet specifications. These specifications include the ability to store a taxpayer’s identity papers, such as driver’s licenses, health insurance cards, diplomas and other official documents.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>How will the wallet be used?</h2>The digital wallet will allow access to both public and private services. Uses include making payments, opening a bank account, getting prescriptions, signing contracts, traveling, accessing government services, receiving social security benefits, logging into social media accounts, and more.&nbsp;“It can also be used to facilitate the freedom of movement by storing documents such as the European Health Insurance Card,” explains the European Commission (EC) on its&nbsp;<a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eudi-wallet-implementation">website</a>.Under the current rules, the EUDI wallet will be optional for taxpayers.&nbsp;<h2>Critics raise concerns about the wallet</h2>The EUDI wallet’s main selling point is that users will be able to share only the details necessary to authenticate themselves for a given service. All other personal information will remain hidden. The EC expects this feature to satisfy widespread privacy concerns.But concerns about the wallet remain. The main worry is that while users only share those details that are necessary, the government can decide at any point which information is “necessary” to share. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the European Commission made proof of vaccination necessary to access services and establishments. Prior to that, each taxpayer’s health information was considered confidential.

face scanning.jpg

Technology could be introduced with new biometric entry system

Europe may subject travelers to lie detector tests

Effeminizing toxin in US food, water supply found produced by China: EPA ignores query

Toxins can 'wipe out a population just because they skew sex ratios so badly'

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British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

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UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations

Europe may subject travelers to lie detector tests