Warning: This article mentions COVID-19. To better protect yourself from government misinformation, please visit the <a href="https://frontline.news/pedia/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Frontline Pedia</a>.<hr>Israel’s Health Ministry Wednesday revealed its strategy for vaccinating its population during the COVID-19 pandemic.In late 2020 Israel’s Ministry of Health signed a contract with Pfizer to be “<a href="https://frontline.news/post/israel-tested-unapproved-pfizer-booster-on-hospital-staff-boasts-former-pm">the world’s lab</a>” for COVID-19 vaccines. Based on Israel’s data, international agencies, including the US FDA, approved the vaccines for their own populations.But Israel knew that in order to successfully roll out the injections, it would have to overcome a major hurdle: Most rational people, when asked to inject themselves with an unknown serum, refuse — and the group most known for vaccine hesitancy is healthcare workers.A 2010 study in Beijing&nbsp;<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20418403/">found</a> that less than 18% of healthcare workers took the flu vaccine. A 2007 US study&nbsp;<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17276792/">revealed</a> that even after an intensive vaccination campaign, less than 35% of healthcare workers received their flu injections. An Italian study&nbsp;<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19139813/">showed</a> that in 2005, a flu vaccination campaign was able to raise vaccination rates among healthcare workers from 10.4% to 36.6%, which dropped to 23.3% a year later.Even when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the swine flu an epidemic in 2009, seasonal flu shots among healthcare workers in Spain&nbsp;<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20471438/">rose</a> to 50%, but still less than 17% took the H1N1 vaccine.A 2013 study&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667920/">found</a> that less than half (42%) of Israeli nurses received whooping cough vaccines over the previous five years, and only 44% had received their flu shots the previous year. Even though the Health Ministry had ordered nurses working with infants to take the whooping cough shots, only 2% did so.They felt "that the risk associated with contracting diseases and the severity are not worth the risk of getting vaccinated with a vaccine that has not been used long enough to know what its side effects are. It was a direct statement regarding the swine flu vaccine and the pertussis vaccine, and they felt that the authorities were using them as guinea pigs,” the researchers wrote.The nurses held a deep distrust in the medical system. "What, we are in Soviet Russia? I am not taking the vaccine this year," said one. "If I want, I'll get vaccinated. I'm an adult, I'm responsible, and if I want, I'll get the vaccine,” said another.Similarly, Israel’s Health Ministry&nbsp;<a href="https://www.health.gov.il/PublicationsFiles/Quality_National_Prog_Vaccine-healthcare-workers-Israel-2014-2018.pdf">reported</a> in 2019 that Israeli healthcare workers are even more hesitant to be vaccinated than those in other countries around the world. In 2018-2019, 46% of nurses received their flu shots while only 35% of doctors were vaccinated.When Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Israel in late 2020, a government survey found that only a third of the public was willing to get vaccinated. Officials toyed with the idea of using social media influencers to sway the public, but a Health Ministry propaganda chief, Information Department Deputy Director General Einav Shimron, devised a better plan."I knew the vaccines were going to arrive but only a third wanted to be vaccinated," Shimron said in an interview. "I was thinking about how to properly explain it. In Britain they vaccinated adults first and I thought it was right to vaccinate medical staff first. I managed to convince [officials] that it was necessary to start with the medical team.”&nbsp;Without a vaccinated healthcare force, Shimron understood, the majority of the public would not take the shots. So she turned healthcare workers into unwitting influencers.“It should be remembered that when they saw that members of the medical staff were standing in line to receive a vaccine, it influenced the majority of the public to get vaccinated,” she said, and created a campaign to get the healthcare workers on board.&nbsp;“We invited the Medical Association, the Nurses Association, the Association of Family Physicians, the Association of Pediatricians, we held webinars for doctors. The idea was to start with internal information for doctors. This is a lesson we learned from managing the swine flu crisis from 2009, when we launched a new vaccination campaign to the public without first explaining to the doctors. . . . If doctors are convinced, it will be easier to convince the public, it would be a game changer. An idea came up to use influencers, but I insisted on contacting the professionals first. The doctors are the biggest skeptics and as soon as they were convinced, everyone followed them."But still, holdouts among healthcare workers and the public remained; so the government settled on forced vaccinations as a strategy, and imposed harsh mandates throughout the country. Vaccine passports were quickly rolled out, accompanied by militant rhetoric from Israeli officials.Then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/bennett-lockdown-over-the-high-holidays-depends-on-vaccination-levels/">accused</a> the unvaccinated of "walking around with a machine gun firing Delta variants at people,” at one point proposed mandating bracelets which would publicly identify those who had not received the injections. He also proposed forcing the unvaccinated to pay for their own healthcare.&nbsp;When Pfizer developed its first COVID-19 booster, most countries were hesitant to offer up their populations without any prior data. But, as it had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/295134">done</a> with the first Pfizer vaccines, Israel volunteered. The government again looked to kick off its booster campaign with healthcare workers — and Sheba Medical Center eagerly stepped forward.Then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/israel-tested-unapproved-pfizer-booster-on-hospital-staff-boasts-former-pm">gave</a> a batch of the newly developed boosters to Sheba Medical Center Infectious Disease Unit Head Professor Galia Rahav to experiment on 2,000 members of the hospital’s medical staff. The experiment was apparently not conducted under the official auspices of Israel’s Health Ministry.“She tried it first, on their doctors, on the hospital staff, 2,000 people,” said Bennett. “She sampled the decrease in antibodies and mortality.“So [Galia] was the first in the world. So every day I would call and ask, ‘What's going on, Galia?’ and she would update me.”After the third dose, the mandate was dropped and vaccination rates among healthcare workers fell along with it. Data&nbsp;<a href="https://rtmag.co.il/health/doctors-and-nurses-stopped-vaccinating-after-3rd-dose?fbclid=IwAR1okgHt_RSjux1M9wgamlxbQqcoIaMLNF7eoAkL8Msh79nmIV-fNrl5hzs">reported</a> by&nbsp;Zman Magazine&nbsp;show that a vast majority of medical staff at Assaf Harofeh Hospital, Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Shmuel Harofeh Hospital and Ichilov Hospital — Israel’s second-largest — did not receive the fourth or fifth COVID-19 doses.

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Vaccines

Medical

Most healthcare workers did not receive fourth, fifth shots, says report

Israel used healthcare workers as influencers to vaccinate public

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;

ulez sign camera.jpg

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

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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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

Israel used healthcare workers as influencers to vaccinate public

Most healthcare workers did not receive fourth, fifth shots, says report

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British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

Electric car company files bankruptcy as EV market folds

UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations

Europe may subject travelers to lie detector tests