How much should government be involved in our daily lives?&nbsp; In a just society those who have more help those who have less.&nbsp; Should this be left to individual choice, or should it be government-mandated?&nbsp; This is part of a larger question regarding the purpose of government.&nbsp; Does government exist to help create a just society, distributing wealth equitably and protecting the most vulnerable?&nbsp; Or does government exist to create a safe space in which individuals are free to live their lives as they see fit without having to worry about attacks from without or within?The first school of thought manifests as “big government”.&nbsp; Government is seen as the vehicle through which societal problems can and should be solved.&nbsp; The second school of thought manifests as limited government.&nbsp; According to this school, government is at its best when it is not noticed.The problem with the first school of thought, is that many “solutions” proposed and implemented by government are not thoroughly thought through.&nbsp; Many times they simply don’t work.&nbsp; Many times there are unintended consequences.&nbsp; And many times these unintended consequences are disastrous.The assumption here is that national governments and world bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) in proposing and implementing various solutions are honestly trying to solve a problem.&nbsp; They are not trying to use “solutions” to further a meta-agenda.&nbsp; For example, the purpose of COVID-19 vaccines is to prevent the disastrous effects of COVID-19 and not depopulation.&nbsp; The purpose of Net-Zero Carbon Emission policies is to prevent global warming, not to advance the WEF’s 2030 agenda in which we own nothing and are totally dependent on a technocratic elite.&nbsp; The purpose of LBJ’s War on Poverty was to raise minorities out of poverty, not to make them dependent on government and create an automatic voter base for the Democrat party.These are major assumptions.&nbsp; It is not at all clear that governments and world bodies are honestly promoting various solutions to solve problems instead of to further agendas. Be that as it may, let’s assume for the purpose of this exercise that governments and global bodies are being honest.&nbsp; Then we need to consider policies implemented to solve various problems, whether they were effective and whether they created unintended consequences.Here are several examples in no particular order:<ul><li>Woke university officials at Edinburgh University <a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2022/07/24/university-of-edinburgh-sees-2m-slump-in-donations-after-cancelling-great-scottish-enlightenment-philosopher-david-hume/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">changed the name</a> of one of its buildings honoring the great Scottish philosopher David Hume because of a “racist” (by today’s standards) footnote he wrote.&nbsp;</li></ul>Woke people apparently do not understand the word anachronism.&nbsp; They judge everything that’s come before by their relatively new ideology.&nbsp;Unintended consequences: Donors cancelled donations to the tune of GBP 2 million.<ul><li>&nbsp;Lockdowns across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic were instituted at first to “flatten the curve”, that is, to relieve pressure on countries’ health care systems from the expected inundation of COVID-19 patients.&nbsp; They were subsequently extended to reduce the spread of the virus.</li></ul>Effectiveness: Recent studies&nbsp;<a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/11/draft-report-by-bundestag-expert-committee-finds-no-evidence-that-lockdowns-did-anything/">show</a> that the lockdowns were ineffective.&nbsp; <a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2022/03/03/faroe-islands-the-tiny-country-that-rejected-lockdown-and-proved-it-made-no-difference/">Here</a> is one example among many.&nbsp; They did not stop the spread of the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unintended consequences:&nbsp;Lockdowns&nbsp;<a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/15/lockdowns-killed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-children-says-the-un-was-it-really-worth-it/">damaged</a>&nbsp;children’s speech and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10933827/Covid-lockdowns-caused-global-crisis-mental-health-children-school-closures.html">mental&nbsp;development</a>.&nbsp; A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/features/195263/too-weak-to-walk.-5-year-olds-in-nappies.-revealed-the-lost-children-of-lockdown">landmark investigation</a> in the UK revealed the devastating toll of lockdowns on children.&nbsp; Lockdowns&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/covid-virus-mostly-spared-children-dr-fauci-not-evil-dr-fauci-killed-300000-900000-children-lockdowns-mostly-africa/">were responsible</a> for hundreds of thousands of child deaths mostly in Africa.&nbsp;The economic meltdown we are currently experiencing&nbsp;<a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/11/cost-of-living-crisis-a-result-of-lockdowns-experts-tell-mps/">is the direct result of</a> the lockdowns.&nbsp; Many thought “governments could just&nbsp;<a href="https://brownstone.org/articles/the-economic-meltdown-has-roots-in-lockdown/">shut down an economy</a> and turn it back on without consequence.”&nbsp; They could not have been more misguided.Thousands of small businesses were shut down never to open again but mega businesses like Amazon and Target were allowed to remain open.&nbsp; In fact, the lockdowns resulted in one of the biggest transfers of wealth in recent history.&nbsp; The likes of Amazon grew in value by billions of dollars while small business owners were impoverished.Now researchers in the UK are blaming the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-61269586">severe pediatric hepatitis global outbreak</a> on lockdowns.&nbsp; Very young children develop immunities to common viruses through interaction with other children.&nbsp; The lockdowns prevented this crucial stage from happening.&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li>Face masks&nbsp;were mandated to protect the wearers from contracting COVID-19 and transmitting the virus to others.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul><a href="https://brownstone.org/articles/more-than-150-comparative-studies-and-articles-on-mask-ineffectiveness-and-harms/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">There are hundreds</a> of studies showing that face masks are ineffective and cause harm. &nbsp;<ul><li>COVID-19 vaccines.&nbsp; We were told that the vaccines would stop the pandemic in its tracks.&nbsp; We were told the vaccines would prevent infection and transmission.&nbsp; We were told the vaccines are safe.&nbsp; We were told the spike proteins that the mRNA instructs the body to create stays at the injection site and last only a few hours, maximum a couple of days.</li></ul>Effectiveness: The vaccines did not stop the pandemic.&nbsp; They did not prevent infection nor transmission.Unintended consequences: More adverse events reported in VAERS for these vaccines since the vaccine roll outs than all other vaccines for the entire thirty-two-year history of VAERS combined.&nbsp; In Europe a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://zenodo.org/record/6629551#.YuAL5i8Rr0q">study</a> found 0.2-0.3% with at least one shot suffered an a serious adverse reaction. The spike protein proliferates throughout the body.&nbsp; There are more COVID-19 infections among the vaccinated than among the unvaccinated.&nbsp; The vaccines are causing an uptick in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10928-z">cardiovascular events</a> and other diseases including cardiac arrests and strokes, sudden death among young adults, myocarditis and pericarditis.<ul><li>Pandemic Economic Relief: The U.S. federal government implemented a plan to provide economic relief to all citizens.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>Creating money when the economy is not expanding is the very definition of inflation (more money for the same amount of goods and services).&nbsp; Inflation that results from an overheated economy can be mitigated with higher interest rates.&nbsp; However, artificially created inflation, when the economy is not growing produces stagflation: money has less buying power and people have the same amount or less money.&nbsp; Indeed, the US GDP has contracted for the past two quarters indicating the beginning of a recession.<ul><li>Climate Change Policies:&nbsp;</li></ul>The Biden administration cancels the Keystone oil pipeline on day 1 of his administration and subsequently makes it very difficult for oil and gas companies to drill for new oil.&nbsp;&nbsp;So far, there is no noticeable difference in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and no difference in the global average temperature.Unintended consequences: Energy prices skyrocket.&nbsp; Since the entire economy needs affordable energy to run, this has had a direct effect on prices in all segments of the economy fueling the worst inflation in 40 years.Greenhouse gas emission restrictions.&nbsp; The purpose is to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is supposed to result in lower average global temperatures.It is too early to know if this will be effective.Unintended consequences: A draconian move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a move from affordable and reliable energy to unaffordable and unreliable energy.&nbsp; The results in countries that have already implemented this are catastrophic.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Sri Lanka there has been social unrest.&nbsp; Government leaders have been forced to resign.&nbsp; Some have had to flee the country.&nbsp; People are starving and cannot get fuel.&nbsp;&nbsp;Germany is experiencing record high energy prices.&nbsp; Because it has weaned itself off coal, it has become more dependent on Russian gas and oil.&nbsp; In fact, 50% of its energy needs are being supplied (until recently) by Russia.&nbsp; Russia in response to NATO sanctions has cut down the amount of gas it is supplying Europe.&nbsp; As a result, Germany is going back to coal!The Netherlands, Canada and Ireland are planning to implement greenhouse gas restrictions on farmers.&nbsp; As a result, a significant number of farms are expected to go bankrupt affecting the world’s food supply.&nbsp; The Netherlands is the second biggest food exporter on the planet.This is a partial list but it gives an idea of how wrongheaded government policies, even if they are made in good faith create avoidable catastrophes. &nbsp;It also should give us pause. &nbsp;Maybe individual citizens working with regional and local bodies are more likely to solve problems efficiently than overblown national and global bureaucracies.As I mentioned earlier, this article assumes that governments and world bodies are acting in good faith and suffer merely from incompetence. &nbsp;It is quite likely, though, that they are also <a href="https://www.technocracy.news/technocracy-a-digital-slave-system-where-no-dissent-is-allowed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acting</a> to promote an insidious agenda whose goal is a one world government run by technocrats.&nbsp;

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Opinion

Maybe individual citizens working with regional and local bodies are more likely to solve problems efficiently than overblown national and global bureaucracies

Unintended Consequences - Commentary

<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.

Unintended Consequences - Commentary

Maybe individual citizens working with regional and local bodies are more likely to solve problems efficiently than overblown national and global bureaucracies

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Who's afraid of Big Bad Tech?

British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

Electric car company files bankruptcy as EV market folds

UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations