After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, the <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.tr/lausanne-peace-treaty-part-i_-political-clauses.en.mfa">Treaty of Lausanne</a> purposely split the Kurdish people placing them in four separate nation states: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The treaty failed to mention any possibility for the Kurds to obtain an independent homeland; a policy still followed by the US State Department.<figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1684750201/i_Stock_643140626_83c16d8491.jpg"></figure>No family reunifications at this borderLeft as one of the world’s largest stateless peoples, the Kurds face persecution as a minority ethnic group in each of those four nations, denied equal rights and restricted in their movement. ‌Kurdish activist Himdad Mustafa says that these restrictions, and the artificial border piercing the Kurdish homeland, have resulted in family separations.<blockquote>A wall apart: Kurdish mom and daughter reunite through the fence at the border separating southern Kurdistan from the Turkish occupied northern Kurdistan.</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A wall apart: Kurdish mom and daughter reunite through the fence at the border separating southern Kurdistan from the Turkish occupied northern Kurdistan. The apartheid Turkish state doesn't even allow them to hug each other. Rudaw <a href="https://t.co/bBo5VHagbc">pic.twitter.com/bBo5VHagbc</a>— ‌Himdad Mustafa (@HimdadaMustafa) <a href="https://twitter.com/HimdadaMustafa/status/1656610344154824704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>MassacresFrom time to time, the persecution of the Kurds has escalated into outright massacres. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) <a href="https://www.cfr.org/timeline/kurds-long-struggle-statelessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>, for example, that Ayatollah Khomeini declared, “a&nbsp;holy war against the Kurds.&nbsp;. . . A military campaign to exert control over Kurdish regions results in hundreds of deaths, systematic arrests, and the banning of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).”&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kurdish woman stands like a lioness in front of Iranian delegation headed by Ayatollah Taleghani, Khomeini's special envoy to Kurdistan, and the future presidents Rafsanjani &amp; Banisadr, 1979, a few months before Khomeini issues a firman authorizing the massacre of the Kurds. <a href="https://t.co/4YDIAVfUqJ">pic.twitter.com/4YDIAVfUqJ</a>— ‌Himdad Mustafa (@HimdadaMustafa) <a href="https://twitter.com/HimdadaMustafa/status/1657372708366086150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>Iraq's treatment of the Kurds was no better, according to the CFR report.<blockquote>Saddam carries out the al-Anfal (“the spoils”) campaign [in 1988], known as the&nbsp;Kurdish Genocide, which includes mass killings, the destruction of thousands of villages, and the use of chemical weapons against civilians. An estimated&nbsp;50,000 to 180,000&nbsp;Iraqi Kurds are killed and tens of thousands displaced. On March 16,&nbsp;as many as five thousand Kurds are killed in a sarin and mustard-gas attack on the town of Halabja.</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1684750614/i_Stock_518504353_05d839cf16.jpg"><figcaption>Erbil, Kurdistan; Refugees from Mosul and Karakosh</figcaption></figure>In Syria, the limitations on Kurds' daily lives is overwhelming.<blockquote>Syria Strips 120,000 Kurds of CitizenshipIn a [1962] census of Syria’s Al-Hasakah Governorate, Kurds who cannot prove their residence in Syria prior to 1945 and those who fail to participate are&nbsp;stripped of their citizenship, rendering them stateless and unable to travel. These Kurds and their descendants are unable to vote, own property or businesses, or legally marry …</blockquote>Tens of thousands of Kurds have been killed in Turkey as well, as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/babylon-beyond/story/2010-07-19/turkey-kurdish-teenager-convicted-as-terrorist-for-attending-demonstration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described</a> by the Los Angeles Times.<blockquote>Four thousand villages have been destroyed since the 1990s, 35,000 Kurds and 5,000 Turks have died, 119,000 Kurds are incarcerated and more than 17,000 Kurds have disappeared.</blockquote>Future hopeToday numbering <a href="https://www.institutkurde.org/en/info/the-kurdish-population-1232551004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over 36 million</a>, with sufficient international support, the Kurds could easily create an independent homeland by carving out the adjoining parts of each of those four nations in which they are the majority. Kenyan presidential candidate Dan Ojowa tweeted his support for doing so with an accompanying map.<blockquote>It's time the world accepts Kurds were wrongfully divided and the map be redrawn to accommodate Kurdistan Republic in the yellow area. UN should handle this. Give Kurds what rightfully belongs to them.&nbsp;</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It's time the world accepts Kurds were wrongfully divided and the map be redrawn to accommodate Kurdistan Republic in the yellow area. UN should handle this. Give Kurds what rightfully belongs to them. <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/unfoundation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@unfoundation</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UN_Spokesperson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN_Spokesperson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UN_News_Centre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN_News_Centre</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kurdistanflagday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kurdistanflagday</a> <a href="https://t.co/1Wvbg8eyg2">pic.twitter.com/1Wvbg8eyg2</a>— Dan Ojowa for President (@DanOjowa) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanOjowa/status/1608297538586566657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>Such international support, though, has not been forthcoming, particularly from the US.US oppositionThe State Department heavily pushes independent states for Marxist “National Liberation Movements,” even in the absence of civilian massacres, as covered by Frontline News in, “<a href="https://frontline.news/post/state-department-pressing-foreign-nations-to-concede-to-marxist-revolutionaries">State Department pressing allies to concede to Marxist revolutionaries</a>.” The State Department might therefore be expected to echo Ojowa's call for an independent Kurdistan. The Kurds themselves overwhelmingly desire independence, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/30/world/middleeast/kurds-iraq-independence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">93%</a> of Iraqi Kurds voting in favor of independence in a 2017 referendum.In fact, however, the State Department condemned the Kurds for holding the referendum and “encouraged many other countries to join in a veritable chorus of condemnation,” according to an <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/united-states-policy-and-the-kurdistan-referendum-compounding-the-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">analysis</a> by the Wilson Center.<blockquote>Not surprisingly, Iraq and other countries with Kurdish minorities—Turkey, Syria, and Iran – have condemned the referendum, fearing it will encourage their Kurds to follow the example. The United States, whose interests are not directly affected by the fate of Kurdistan, has been equally vociferous in its condemnation, predicting it will create instability and undermine the fight against ISIS. . . .&nbsp;U.S. rejection has encouraged many other countries to join in a veritable chorus of condemnation, with only Israel . . . supporting the Kurds’ decision to hold the referendum . . .&nbsp;[B]y rejecting the referendum in an uncompromising and inflammatory manner, the United States is working against its own interests: it is not bringing the Kurdish issue closer to a solution, but is instead contributing to the strife that will certainly follow the demise of the ISIS caliphate . . .&nbsp;</blockquote>State Department's self-fulfilling prophecy&nbsp;The analysis went on to accuse the federal government of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of increased conflict.<blockquote>And yet, it would be foolish to expect that the Kurds will give up a goal they have pursued for several generations, no matter the level of international condemnation. . . . The U.S. policy of rejecting the referendum as forcefully as it did is thus bad policy and bound to fail. Worse, the U.S. warning that the referendum will hamper the war against the ISIS caliphate and create conflict with neighboring countries and with non-Kurdish minorities internally is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy . . .&nbsp;Washington has warned that the referendum will hamper the fight against ISIS, but it has also ensured such an outcome. On the eve of the referendum, Washington did not discourage the Iraqi government, which is heavily dependent on U.S. airpower for all its operations, from launching the final assault on Hawija, one of the last ISIS strongholds adjacent to Kirkuk. The Kurdish pesh merga had announced it would be ready to join in the fight the day after the referendum, but it was deliberately left out when the assault started earlier, a decision that will weaken anti-ISIS forces.&nbsp;Missing another opportunity to decrease tensions, Washington pressured Erbil to renounce the referendum and enter into negotiations with Baghdad, but did not pressure Baghdad to do the same. And while declaring the referendum unconstitutional, it did not say anything about the implementation of the referendum on Kirkuk mandated by Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, undermining Washington’s concern for constitutionality.Washington created a self-fulfilling prophecy with its warning that the referendum would increase tensions with Turkey, Iran, and Syria. Iran decided to terminate flights into Kurdistan, partially closed its border with Turkey, and threatened to also terminate flights into Turkey. Washington greeted each step with a kind of “we told you so” shrug rather than a warning about the need for restraint.</blockquote>Ungrateful foreign policyThe lack of support for the Kurds is problematic on its own, but particularly when considered in the light of the assistance the Kurds provided to the US.&nbsp;<blockquote>[I]t is callous for Washington to oppose what Iraqi Kurds have demanded for generations, despite the crucial role the Kurds played in stopping ISIS’ advance in 2014 and the help they provided the United States in the battle against the caliphate . . .</blockquote>Turning the nation's back on its allies can, of course, decrease the chances for future cooperation. An investigative <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/237174" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">piece</a> by Arutz Sheva likewise found a betrayal by the US, as well as by Israel, with quotes in the name of Middle East scholar Dr. Eddy Cohen.<blockquote>'The Kurds are calling us - but we're ignoring them.' N. Iraq Kurds disappointed with Trump, Israel abandoning their cry for help: 'We raised Israeli flag in Europe, now we're punished for it.' . . ."The media doesn't talk about the massacre of our allies that's taking place, and it's in our interest to cleanse the area of terrorists and Shi'ite elements. When it comes to a hunger-striking terrorist, the media doesn't stop talking about it, but when Kurds are being slaughtered it barely makes the news . . ."The Kurdish attitude toward Israel can be summed up in one word: disappointment."They are very disappointed with us; they tell me that they raised our flag in Europe and apparently because of that they are hated in Europe …</blockquote>The State Department's lack of support even translates into a disadvantage on the battlefield, with US arms making it to the Kurds' enemies, but not to the Kurds. &nbsp;<blockquote>The Kurds have no weapons and the pro-Iranian militia has weapons left by the US in Iraq, including the Abrams tanks.&nbsp;</blockquote>Even economic independence deniedIts hopes for political independence dashed by the State Department, the pro-US Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), exercising limited control over the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, lacks the clout to independently sell the oil emanating from its own land. Forced to accept a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b4837b44-a646-4d91-8f86-45a51612dad3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decision</a> in March, 2023 by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration that its oil sales contracts are unconstitutional and must be cancelled, and facing a budget cut from the Iraqi government, the KRG found itself unable to pay public sector salaries.&nbsp;To enable the payment of those salaries and other local government expenses, the KRG had no choice but to relinquish even economic independence and allow Iraq to control its natural resources, as <a href="https://nrtenglish.com/2023/04/20/kurdish-oil-independence-hopes-dim-as-baghdad-tightens-energy-control/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> by NRT News, Kurdistan’s first independent news channel.<blockquote>[T]his development also effectively extinguished the KRG’s economic independence aspirations . . . Economic independence was seen as vital for eventual Kurdish independence. However, after the ill-fated 2017 independence referendum, KRG’s leverage further weakened, ending its de facto state-to-state relationship with Baghdad . . . Following the ICC International Court of Arbitration’s decision, the KRG was forced to cooperate with Baghdad to maintain oil sales . . .it appears the KRG is moving towards a more federal arrangement, fostering closer relations between Baghdad and Erbil but also relinquishing control of natural resources and reversing independence plans.</blockquote><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1684750718/i_Stock_458961259_2609d5a612.jpg"></figure>

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World News

Hopes for Kurdish independence 'effectively extinguished' 

State Dept against family reunification, open borders . . .  in Kurdistan

<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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US News

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

UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations

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