The gold-standard for depressionFeeling depressed? How would you like to restart your brain? Maybe that’s the solution to all your problems.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="681" height="383" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/22B2tcn6KmA" title="Innovative Depression Treatments: Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>According to the NIMH (National Institutes of Mental Health), around <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">21 million adults </a>in the United States alone had a period of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in 2021. Anywhere between 30 and 60 percent of people with MDD are considered “treatment-resistant”—that is to say, antidepressants and therapy don’t relieve their symptoms. But, each year, only one hundred thousand of them opt for “<a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies#part_7675" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">brain stimulation therapy</a>,” as the NIMH describes electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), when the pills don’t work. This is despite the fact that within the psychiatric community ECT is commonly referred to as the “gold standard” for so-called treatment-resistant mood disorders.The NIMH states that ECT is usually only used if other treatments have been tried and have failed, and if a person’s situation is potentially life-threatening:<blockquote>ECT is usually considered only if a person’s illness has not improved after trying other treatments like medication or psychotherapy. To be eligible for ECT, a person must have severe, treatment-resistant depression or require a rapid response due to life-threatening circumstances, such as being unable to move or respond to the outside world (e.g., is catatonic), being suicidal, or being malnourished.</blockquote>&nbsp;What is ECT?Electroconvulsive therapy originated in Italy in 1934, where two researchers decided to test an idea they had on a man who was found wandering around and incoherent. They took him to their clinic and (without telling him what they were about to do) subjected him to a strong electric current. When he screamed: “Don’t do it again! It will kill me!” they interpreted this as a measure of success, as the man had uttered an intelligible statement. They proceeded to shock him another dozen-or-so times over the coming days and weeks, and eventually he returned home to his family and his job.A few months later he was once again rambling and incoherent, <a href="https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/health/ect-electroconvulsive-therapy-severe-mental-illness-treatment-baltimore-hospitals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">but</a>:<blockquote>While the patient eventually relapsed, this was a win for science—Cerletti and Bini, who were later nominated for a Nobel Prize ... [had] demonstrated that seizures could be safely induced with electricity and relieve serious symptoms.</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The Italian neuropsychiatrist Ugo Cerletti was born <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OTD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OTD</a> of 1877. He invented and first used electro-convulsive therapy in 1938 on a patient suffering from schizophrenia with symptoms of delirium, hallucination and confusion.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elettrochoc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#elettrochoc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/neurologia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#neurologia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/historiamedica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#historiamedica</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/histmed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#histmed</a> <a href="https://t.co/pj1fUh1uA6">pic.twitter.com/pj1fUh1uA6</a>— StoriaDellaMedicina (@StoriaMedicina) <a href="https://twitter.com/StoriaMedicina/status/1442045127904710659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>How does it work?Since then, almost a hundred years have passed but scientists still don’t know exactly what ECT does to the brain. According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive-therapy/about/pac-20393894#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mayo Clinic</a>,<blockquote>No one knows for certain how ECT helps treat severe depression and other mental illnesses.</blockquote>What they do say is that it changes the brain, as one might expect:<blockquote>What is known, though, is that many chemical aspects of brain function are changed during and after seizure activity. These chemical changes may build upon one another, somehow reducing symptoms of severe depression or other mental illnesses. That's why ECT is most effective in people who receive a full course of multiple treatments [emphases added].</blockquote>&nbsp;Advances!Nonetheless, today’s ECT practitioners reassure potential clients that the procedure is vastly different from what it looked like decades ago. The main difference is that you don’t feel what is being done to you.Today, the person undergoing electric shock will first have an IV line inserted, via which both a muscle relaxant and general anesthesia are administered. Then, electrode pads are placed on the person’s head, sometimes on one side, sometimes both.There are three main ways to position the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Diagram-of-Electrode-Placement_fig1_273120470" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electrodes</a>; bilateral, right unilateral, and bifrontal. Although much is known today about the various regions of the brain, there is apparently no attempt to place the electrodes in any particular localized region. This is because the desired effect is a grand mal seizure (ECT activates over 90 percent of the brain), not a specific action within the brain. That said, the bilateral placement is considered the most effective, although it is also associated with the most memory impairment.The current administered varies from clinic to clinic, but is certainly much higher than the brain is used to dealing with; according to one <a href="https://www.cchr.org/ban-ect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">source</a>, it is over two thousand times greater than the amount of electricity normally flowing thru the brain:<blockquote>... one ECT session assaults the brain with 2,300 times more electricity than it needs to function…</blockquote>Proponents claim that because the electric current is administered in short pulses, it is less harmful than the older, cruder way of delivering an electric shock in sine waves. However, there are no studies that conclusively <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-023-01677-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prove</a> this—and in any case, sine wave therapy is still in use.&nbsp;EfficacyMuch of the scientific literature referring to ECT cites success rates of over 70 percent. The studies such statistics are based on, however, are of exceptionally <a href="https://www.madinamerica.com/2020/06/new-review-finds-lack-evidence-support-ect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">low quality</a> and most have only a few dozen people enrolled. Most date to the 1980s or earlier.In contrast, a more recent <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/36744379" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study </a>from 2023 concluded that people in the ECT group were much more likely to commit suicide than those in the control group:<blockquote>Compared to the reference individuals, patients having received ECT had a substantially elevated suicide rate…</blockquote>&nbsp;Side-effectsMemory impairment is one of the most common side effects of ECT. According to the Mayo Clinic, memory loss following ECT is “usually” temporary:<blockquote>Some people have trouble remembering events that occurred right before treatment or in the weeks or months before treatment or, rarely, from previous years ... For most people, these memory problems usually improve within a couple of months after treatment ends.</blockquote>Other side-effects include confusion, “which can last from a few minutes to a few hours ... Rarely, confusion may last several days or longer...”Occasionally, ECT may result in death, as it did for one patient in England, whose <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160806033723/https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/electric-shock-therapy-led-to-sunderland-patient-having-permanent-fit-1-7786233" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">story</a> can only be found in the internet archive. Elsie Tindle, who was hospitalized involuntarily as a danger to herself, was subjected to ECT because she refused to eat or take medication and would rip out her IV line. Following the third treatment, she went into a permanent epileptic seizure and died. Such a result is considered rare, according to physicians, occurring in “only” one in eighty thousand instances.&nbsp;RelapseRelapse—the return of “severe major depression”—after ECT is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acps.13542#:~:text=After%20successful%20ECT%2C%20high%20relapse,within%20the%20first%206%20months." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">extremely common</a>. Over half of those who undergo ECT relapse within a year, most within the first six months after treatment. Interestingly, this approximately parallels the time frame within which memory loss is allegedly reversed, so much so that it was once believed within the psychiatric community that the primary therapeutic effect of ECT was destruction of the memory and with it, knowledge of all the factors that had been distressing the patient.So, the Mayo Clinic concedes that:<blockquote>Even after your symptoms improve, you'll still need ongoing depression treatment to prevent a recurrence. Ongoing treatment may be ECT with less frequency, but more often, it includes antidepressants or other medications, or psychological counseling (psychotherapy).</blockquote>&nbsp;DissatisfiedFollowing a <a href="https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/06/ect-litigation-patients-not-warned-brain-damage-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lawsuit</a>, Somatics, LLC, a prominent manufacturer of ECT devices, published a disclosure admitting that ECT can cause permanent brain damage:<blockquote>ECT may result in anterograde or retrograde amnesia. Such post-treatment typically dissipates over time, however, incomplete recovery is possible. In rare cases, patients may experience permanent memory loss&nbsp;or permanent brain damage.</blockquote>Many <a href="https://www.academia.edu/9756828/Electroshock_The_Gentlemans_Way_to_Batter_Women" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survivors </a>would agree:<blockquote>I’m missing between eight and fifteen years of memory and skills ... I’m a trained classical pianist, but I don’t have that kind of ability any longer ... People come up to me and I don’t know who they are, even though they tell me about things we’ve done [together] ... Mostly what I had was modified shock and it was seen as effective. By ‘effective’ I know that it means that they diminish the person. They certainly diminished me ... I work as a payroll clerk...</blockquote>Erika Civils wrote an <a href="https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/12/self-stolen-ect-fried-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">article</a> entitled: “How ECT Fried My Brain” in which she writes:<blockquote>I dropped out of CSU in 2013, and having tried over 20 different antidepressants and mood stabilizers since 2011, ECT was recommended to me. I was told that only&nbsp;temporary, minor&nbsp;memory loss was possible, in rare cases, before starting ECT in 2013.The best way to sum up extreme ECT memory loss is it’s like having Alzheimer’s, and being fully cognizant of it. What that does in effect is take away who you are as a person: your self-identity.To those who don’t understand this, who you are, your entire sense of self, ARE YOUR MEMORIES. The way you connect with others through stories, jokes, shared memories, is gone. Socialization skills, along with countless other aspects of life, have to be relearned.</blockquote>Shirley Johnston <a href="https://www.academia.edu/9756828/Electroshock_The_Gentlemans_Way_to_Batter_Women" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described</a> to Dr. Bonnie Burstow how entire periods of her past, including significant events, have effectively disappeared:<blockquote>The damage done to my brain ... is still evident ... The memory loss is especially painful, since I could not remember a lot of times while the children were growing up ... I feel so alien because of this damage ... Finally, when the anxiety got so bad, I would completely avoid people.</blockquote>Another unnamed survivor quoted by Dr. Burstow described “the feeling of being led to the slaughter on treatment mornings.”Sue, another survivor quoted by Dr. Burstow, was “treated” with ECT against her will, and noted:&nbsp;<blockquote>All the therapy in the world is not going to erase the scars of being dragged into a room, having a band on your head, and having your brains fried. People say there’s no torture [today]. That’s pure BS. There is torture being paid for by the Ministry of Health.</blockquote>

ect.jpg

ECT is still considered the 'gold standard' for treating resistant depression, though no one knows how it works

Restart your brain with electroconvulsive therapy?

<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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