<h2>Social justice — boon or bust?</h2>The pursuit of the goals of the social justice movement reflected by the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in companies and colleges is facing increasing backlash. Frontline News, for example, <a href="https://frontline.news/post/medical-school-only-if-you-re-willing-to-disrupt-power-imbalances-suffered-by-racialized-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> on the recent bill put forward by Representatives Greg Murphy, a medical doctor, and Brad Weinstrup to eliminate federal funding for medical schools that enact DEI policies and programs. Murphy, concerned that students accepted to medical school for reasons other than merit may not make the best doctors, asked the question:<blockquote>Imagine you are the patient and you're looking up because tomorrow you're going to have your chest cut open because you're going to have bypass. Who do you want as your doctor? Someone who is skillful or someone who got into medical school because of identity politics?&nbsp;</blockquote>As Murphy is looking ahead at the potential consequences of DEI policies introduced in medical schools, it is imperative to ask: Will a cultural shift to social justice improve society for everyone, just for those it claims to help, or for no one at all?&nbsp;<h3>You can't correct “defects of the cosmos”</h3>To answer that question, we can look to economist, social critic, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution for Public Policy Research Thomas Sowell, whose discussion in the Harvard Club in 1999, titled “The Quest for Cosmic Justice," is as relevant today as it was then.&nbsp;Sowell contrasted traditional justice with social justice, or cosmic justice as he calls it since they're trying to correct not only the inequities that they see in society, but even the ”oversights of God" or “the defects of the cosmos." Traditional justice requires everyone to be judged by the same rules and standards. Social justice means equalizing the prospects for everybody to have the same outcome.&nbsp;People come from different backgrounds, varied skills and abilities, and with different opportunities and handicaps; everyone doesn't start from the same place. Traditional justice would provide them all the same opportunity even though there will be winners and losers. Social justice attempts to give those deemed handicapped a leg up to ensure that everyone can “win.”&nbsp;<h3>The way up from poverty</h3>Sowell used a personal example to demonstrate that judging everyone by the same rules and standards is the only way to lift up people from poor circumstances so that they can achieve equal standing with those who came from more affluent and educated envirnments.&nbsp;That is how, as After Skool <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WYi-64MejU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">depicted</a> in the cartoon representation of his talk below, growing up in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, the son of parents who never finished seventh grade, Sowell became a Harvard professor and was able to stand in the Harvard Club in New York City and say:<blockquote>Whenever I hear the notions of fairness in education, I think back to my own education and I think, “Thank God my teachers were unfair to me.”</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1711546091/image_39f9cd3cd5.png"></figure><h3>Self-esteem doesn't matter</h3>Sowell described how he was essentially forced to excel by one of his teachers who never expected anything less of him than she would of students from wealthier homes:&nbsp;<blockquote>When I was a kid growing up in Harlem one of these teachers was a lady named Miss Simon who belonged to what might be called the General Patton School of Education. I cannot even imagine that Miss Simon gave a moment's thought to my self-esteem. Every word that we misspelled in her class had to be written 50 times, not in class but as part of our homework, and there was always plenty of other homework from her and other teachers. And so you misspelled four or five words and you had quite an evening ahead of you. Very little chance of listening to the Lone Ranger. . . .</blockquote><blockquote>Like many of the children in Harlem at that time I came from a home where nobody had gone beyond elementary school. I still remember what a big fuss was made when I was promoted to the seventh grade because I'd gone further than anyone else. In later years when I graduated from Harvard there was no such fuss; they expected me to.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>Fairness vs make-believe fairness</h3>Circumstances beyond anyone's control did not garner Sowell preferential treatment, laying the groundwork for his success.<blockquote>But fairness was never an option. There was nothing that Miss Simon or anybody else could do about the fact that we came from homes where we did not have books and magazines and were not as familiar with those words as people from other neighborhoods might have been. So that was never an option. Nothing that schools could have done would have changed that.&nbsp;It would have been an irresponsible self-indulgence for them to have pretended to make things fair. If there's anything worse than unfairness it is make-believe fairness. They could, like the College Board apparently is trying to do, pretended that we knew more than we did, and that would have made them feel good. It would not have done much for us. Instead they forced us to meet standards that were a little harder for us to meet than they were for some other kids, but far more necessary for us to meet because that was the only way out of poverty.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>Unequal treatment but equal results?</h3>The opportunity Sowell had to work hard to bring himself up out of poverty is one that is being denied to many students today. Instead, those embracing DEI policies are espousing what Sowell would call “make-believe fairness,” changing the admission criteria for those students who they claim are at a disadvantage.&nbsp;Sowell's concerns turned out to be well-founded, as seen in dramatic changes to medical school admissions policies as covered by Frontline News, which referenced a medical journal article which argued that DEI policies, including special considerations for enrollment, are necessary in medical schools.&nbsp;<blockquote>With greater understanding that cognitive tests have racial biases, many medical schools have adjusted perspective to incorporate experiential and personal attributes important to professional success into the selection and recruitment process. In addition, medical schools across the country have taken action with the adoption of offices, administration, and education curricula specific to these needs.</blockquote>The social justice policies do not end with admission to medical school. Even after graduation, when hospitals choose residents, DEI is at work, as described by Congressman Murphy:<blockquote>A paucity of diversity in training program environments has been adversely associated with attrition and poor performance. In order for general surgery residencies to navigate the ever-diversifying group of students and attract the best talent, it is incumbent that general surgery residencies adapt and adopt deliberate recruitment strategies . . . (Emphases added.)</blockquote><h3>A decent education goes a long way</h3>In the video clip below, Sowell argues that equal standards, without preference, will work just fine since “people can do remarkable things with a decent education” despite disadvantages.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8WYi-64MejU?si=8GqKz3C74y9TxTxZ&amp;clip=UgkxuC7OtxjD1zPs5i1M6OtmCBaIzdkO0BMT&amp;clipt=EIuSMxjr5jY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>However, Sowell stated earlier in his lecture that proponents of social justice are generally not drawn to the idea of working hard and the letting chips fall where they may. Instead, he contends, social just activists tend to want to feel that they are doing good regardless of the outcome.&nbsp;<blockquote>. . . the vision of cosmic justice is very beneficial to the people who hold it even if it's not beneficial to those whom it's intended to benefit. And I think that's one of the reasons that there are people so reluctant to give it up because they feel wonderful.&nbsp;</blockquote>Sowell therefore concludes that although change can occur in the absence of preferential treatment, it is unlikely to happen under the present circumstances:<blockquote>These things can be done but they're not going to be done as long as third parties think that the purpose of the educational system is to make them feel good about themselves.</blockquote>Watch Sowell's Harvard discussion dramatized below and/or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkDMVdEci4Q&amp;t=14s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">watch</a> the full speech as he presented it.&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="964" height="542" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8WYi-64MejU" title="Equity: The Thief of Human Potential - Thomas Sowell" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>Related articles:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/medical-school-only-if-you-re-willing-to-disrupt-power-imbalances-suffered-by-racialized-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Medical school? Only if you're willing to 'disrupt power imbalances' suffered by 'racialized people'</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/medical-school-takes-bold-stand-against-dei-ideology">Medical school takes bold stand against DEI ideology</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/new-university-promising-free-discourse-opens">New university promising free discourse opens</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/american-medical-schools-suffer-from-diversity">American medical schools suffer from ‘diversity’</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/disney-diversity-managers-required-employees-to-keep-virtue-diaries-says-report">Disney ‘diversity’ managers required employees to keep ‘virtue diaries’, says report</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/chartered-bank-considers-diversity-in-home-loans">Chartered bank considers ‘diversity’ in home loans</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/corporations-sack-diversity-operatives-first-amid-layoffs">Corporations sack ‘diversity’ operatives first amid layoffs&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/california-requires-venture-capital-firms-to-record-ventures-races-sexuality">California requires venture capital firms to record ventures’ races, sexuality</a></li></ul>

iStock-1357522666.jpg

Education

wokeness

'Thank God my teachers were unfair to me' - Thomas Sowell

The injustice of social justice 

<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>

account suspended.jpg

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.

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.

The injustice of social justice

'Thank God my teachers were unfair to me' - Thomas Sowell

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Who's afraid of Big Bad Tech?

British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

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UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations