<h2>Do it for your convenience (and privacy)</h2>In what some might consider Orwellian doublespeak, federal officials are rolling out facial recognition technology at airports with a claim that they are “strengthening privacy.” The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an agency of the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS), posted a “Facial Recognition Technology” <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/factsheets/facial-recognition-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fact Sheet</a> using that term as it announced the expansion of its new screening technology from nearly 30 airports to more than 400:<blockquote>(TSA) strives to enhance security effectiveness and improve operational efficiency, while creating an enhanced traveler experience and strengthening privacy . . .&nbsp;The agency is using second-generation Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2) scanners as travelers enter the screening process . . .The CAT-2 units are currently deployed at nearly 30 airports nationwide, and will expand to the more than 400 federalized airports over the coming years . . . [Emphases added.]</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">TSA installing facial recognition tech in over 400 airports, despite major privacy concerns <a href="https://t.co/GuDkCdChFl">https://t.co/GuDkCdChFl</a>— BlazeTV (@BlazeTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlazeTV/status/1753495038297084235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>The Fact Sheet repeatedly refered to "privacy" in a positive light while using additional terms like enhancement, convenience, and respect:<blockquote>TSA introduced facial recognition technology into the screening process at select airports. The facial recognition technology represents a significant security enhancement and improves traveler convenience . . .&nbsp;All digital IDs eligible for use at select TSA checkpoints follow the current, international open standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization and provide enhanced security and privacy by design.TSA policy requires that TSOs show each traveler respect and ensure their privacy is protected. [Emphases added.]</blockquote><h2>App exempts illegal aliens</h2>Some have taken to X to point out that if the technology was truly for the security of passengers there would be no exceptions, particularly not for those who break the law entering the U.S. and refuse to identify themselves.&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">RED FLAG: TSA Rolls Out New Facial Recognition Technology at Airports Across America Officers at 400 airports and growing will order you to stand in front of a camera that will measure your facial features and compare them to your photo ID. But get this: TSA is assuring illegal… <a href="https://t.co/IE6pKbdX5I">pic.twitter.com/IE6pKbdX5I</a>— The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1754675271959978316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>The NYPost <a href="https://nypost.pressreader.com/article/281921662917816" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">publicized</a> the TSA sign, referred to in the above post, adding that almost half a million illegal aliens can use a government app allowing them to fly without any picture at all and they can even refuse a request that they take a picture on the spot:<blockquote>IF you’re rushing to the airport and forget your photo ID, good luck being allowed on the plane. But many migrants without “an acceptable form of identification,” according to airport signs, don’t need a photo. They get special treatment.Migrants who have entered the country using President Biden’s new CBP (Customs and Border Protection) One app — at least 422,000 — can fly domestically without photo ID.A sign posted in Miami International Airport tells migrants, “1. Notify the TSA officer that you are a migrant. 2. The TSA officer will take a photo (optional). 3. If requested, provide your alien identification number or biographic information.”Taking a photo would allow the Transportation Security Administration officer to confirm the person boarding matches the person pictured in the CBP app. But the airport sign repeats, “Photo capture is voluntary.” The migrant trying to board could be anybody. [Emphases added.]</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">If you’re an American citizen you have to run the TSA gauntlet and you better have all your ducks in a row to fly, but if you’re an illegal???? No worries and no ID needed, Welcome Aboard!<a href="https://t.co/UK9Tx99O5z">https://t.co/UK9Tx99O5z</a> <a href="https://t.co/r3yXGWLGsS">pic.twitter.com/r3yXGWLGsS</a>— 1st Cav (@Cav1Cav) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cav1Cav/status/1750110100495519999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Doublespeak</h2>All this raises the question of whether the government's description of its facial recognition technology as convenient and ensuring privacy is political doublespeak. Helpful Professor <a href="https://helpfulprofessor.com/doublespeak-examples/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">defines</a> that term while also providing the background to its entry into the English language:<blockquote>The term “doublespeak” derives from two concepts in George Orwell’s famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four … The terms “doublethink” and “Newspeak” frequently occur in the novel, but “doublespeak” does not . . .&nbsp;Doublespeak is the language that deliberately distorts, disguises, obscures, hides, or reverses the meaning of words.It may also refer to intentional ambiguity or inversion of meanings. In the latter case, doublespeak is used to hide the truth or distort it.Here’s how George Orwell describes political speech in Nineteen Eighty-Four:<blockquote>“In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness… the great enemy of clear language is insincerity. Where there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms…” [Emphasis added.]</blockquote></blockquote>William Lutz was the communications consultant who convinced President George Bush in 2002 to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2003/mar/04/usnews.climatechange" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">abandon</a> the phrase global warming “in favour of ‘climate change’" in a marketing ploy. Lutz <a href="https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/doublespeak/chapter/doublespeak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described</a> "doublespeak" in more detail:<blockquote>“Doublespeak is language that pretends to communicate but really doesn’t. It is language that makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant appear attractive or at least tolerable. Doublespeak is language that avoids or shifts responsibility, language that is at variance with its real or purported meaning.&nbsp;It is language that conceals or prevents thought; rather than extending thought, doublespeak limits it…Basic to doublespeak is incongruity, the incongruity between what is said or left unsaid, and what really is."The power of doublespeak is that it allows the speaker to disavow or deny that a concept has negative traits or connotations. [Emphases added.]</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. -George Orwell 1984 <a href="https://t.co/bXXmchF5zj">https://t.co/bXXmchF5zj</a>— Craig Kelly (@CKellyUAP) <a href="https://twitter.com/CKellyUAP/status/1752066622280569055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Trust them anyway?</h2>The TSA's Fact Sheet notifies passengers that they may opt out of passing through the facial recognition station without any consequences:<blockquote>Travelers who do not wish to participate in the facial recognition technology process may decline the optional photo in favor of an alternative identity verification process, which does not use facial recognition technology to verify their identity. This action will not take longer and passengers will not lose their place in line for security screening. [Emphasis added.]</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">ID verification is an essential element of transportation security. <a href="https://twitter.com/TSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSA</a> is using facial recognition technology to help identify fraudulent IDs. The camera portion is completely optional &amp; you may decline the photo. You will not lose your place in line. <a href="https://t.co/hKwavw01sS">https://t.co/hKwavw01sS</a> <a href="https://t.co/6vzraKzU7e">pic.twitter.com/6vzraKzU7e</a>— David P. Pekoske (@TSA_Pekoske) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSA_Pekoske/status/1735761445952864554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>One concern not addressed is whether TSA will keep a list of those opting out of facial recognition and, if so, how that listing will be used in the future. TSA does say that the photos taken with facial recognition technology are not normally stored, but then lists an exception:&nbsp;<blockquote>Photos are not stored or saved after a positive ID match has been made, except in a limited testing environment for evaluation of the effectiveness of the technology.</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">This facial recognition technology is VOLUNTARY. DECLINE IT, LIKE THE ArriveCAN app <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24CAM&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$CAM</a>!!! <a href="https://t.co/m6qSe4Uuhi">https://t.co/m6qSe4Uuhi</a>— ULTRA xaoHdivoC (@Futbol5inco) <a href="https://twitter.com/Futbol5inco/status/1628265013306687489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>Could be worse</h2>The TSA adds that facial recognition technology is not used for general surveillance.<blockquote>Biometrics are not used for surveillance – Facial recognition technology is solely used to automate the current manual ID checking process and will not be used for surveillance or any law enforcement purpose.</blockquote>Nextgov/FCW <a href="https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2024/01/government-needs-regulate-facial-recognition-tech-says-national-academies/393411/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">notes</a> that this "one-to-one verification" is less of a threat to privacy than a system that uses a database to flag a person to be prevented from traveling.&nbsp;<blockquote>The agency’s CAT-2 units employ so-called one-to-one verification, where photos are generally compared against a government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, and then deleted from the scanner. This is often considered less privacy-invasive than so-called one-to-many matching, where a photo is compared against a larger database compiled of known individuals’ images to determine if there is a match. [Emphases added.]</blockquote>In this sense, travelers can be expected to accept this “less privacy-invasive” screening procedure as it doesn't sound so bad compared to China's “one-to-many matching.”&nbsp;<h2>Creeping control?</h2>The question remains, though: Once facial recognition becomes commonplace, at airports and possibly at malls, sporting events, concerts, public squares, office buildings, and hotels, how likely is it that "one-to-many matching" will not be introduced? And if it is, will it be for your “convenience" and even “strengthened privacy?” Or perhaps an even stricter version, modeled after China's facial recognition screening, for your "enhanced security" following a terror attack?&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">China's 15-minute cities are checkpoint cities. Everywhere you go, you need to pass facial recognition gate in order to enter and leave the neighborhood zones. If you are a trouble maker (protester) or on social credit blacklist, immediately an alarm goes off... <a href="https://t.co/HqjOoOt4AX">https://t.co/HqjOoOt4AX</a> <a href="https://t.co/7BXpJLVMtg">pic.twitter.com/7BXpJLVMtg</a>— Songpinganq (@songpinganq) <a href="https://twitter.com/songpinganq/status/1752455831835259266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>And how many would oppose the surveillance as creeping totalitarianism and, instead of the government's freedom-limiting solution, demand that federal officials properly secure the border and cease providing foreign aid that winds up in the hands of terrorists?<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Have you heard about the Boiling Frog Syndrome? It serves as a poignant metaphor for the gradual erosion of citizens' rights to governmental authorities. <a href="https://t.co/76GfSPLyEc">pic.twitter.com/76GfSPLyEc</a>— Cow Momma (@Cow__Momma) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cow__Momma/status/1751947949821562985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h3>Related articles:</h3><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/cars-to-be-programmed-to-limit-speed-if-california-bill-becomes-law">Cars to be programmed to limit speed if California bill becomes law</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/update-fcc-approves-orwellian-equity-plan-to-control-internet-in-narrow-3-2-vote">Update: FCC approves 'Orwellian equity plan to control Internet' in narrow 3-2 vote</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/googles-self-interest-attack-on-aflds/">Google exploits immunity to attack AFLDS</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/awaken-with-jp-shadow-banned">AwakenWithJP shadow banned</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/elong-musk-shocks-twitter-users">What is Elon Musk thinking?</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/law-professor-first-amendment-protects-government-s-free-speech-not-yours">'Law professor': First Amendment protects government's free speech, not yours</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fcc-to-vote-today-on-sweeping-unprecedented-expansion-of-internet-control-under-guise-of-inclusion">FCC to vote today on 'sweeping, unprecedented' expansion of internet control under guise of ‘inclusion’</a></li></ol>

facial recognition.jpg

US News

Are malls and stadiums next? 

Orwellian? Federal officials roll out airport facial recognition technology with promise of 'strengthening privacy'

<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;

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.

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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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