Joe Biden has taken a keen interest in Israel's internal politics, demanding that the nation's ruling coalition abandon efforts to rein in an activist Supreme Court that routinely nullifies “Israel First” legislation. This despite the coalition parties having campaigned, and having won, on election promises to return legislative power to the Knesset.Biden picks judges, tells Netanyahu not toThe centerpiece of the so named “judicial reform” is a law to transfer the power to select new judges from the extreme left wing judges on Israel's High Court to the popularly elected Knesset. Interestingly, Biden had no problem with legislators choosing judges when, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he presided over hearings and votes to advance or block nominations of all federal judges, including those nominated to the Supreme Court. Now, acting as president, he makes those nominations himself, without ever suggesting that it would be better for the Supreme Court justices to pick their own successors. Yet, Biden in a CNN interview said, “I'm very concerned. I'm concerned that they [Israeli legislators] get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. I've sort of made that clear.”Biden did not clarify what he would do to Israel to ensure that its leaders not “continue down this road” but added that the elected leader of Israel will not be granted a visit to the White House “in the near term,” prompting the prime minister to <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/369457" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">respond</a> to the attack on his nation's independence:<blockquote>Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.</blockquote>Constitutional lawyer Nat Lewin, who “specializes in religious freedom cases before the US Supreme Court,” had this to <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/judges-shouldnt-participate-in-appointing-their-successors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">say</a> about Israel's proposed reforms:<blockquote>This assignment of power to judges to select their successors would be a glaring violation of American constitutional separation-of-powers standards. It would be scandalous in the United States if a president openly asked a sitting Supreme Court Justice who to nominate for a vacancy in the Supreme Court or in any lower federal court.</blockquote>In a subsequent interview, Lewin added:<blockquote>The Israelis have been brainwashed into believing that the judges would select the best people to be judges. That’s ludicrous. If you did that in the US it would be an outrage . . . [Former Chief Justice] Aharon Barak grabbed . . . powers, threw out doctrines so that anybody can come before him and his court, and did away with things that he and the majority of the court that he selected did not approve of.</blockquote>What's really at stake?The extremists on Israel's Supreme Court are consistent in which laws they nullify, opposing attempts to rein in socialist revolutionaries destabilizing Israeli society and endangering Jewish and Arab citizens alike. The main beneficiary of these moves is the Palestinian Authority, a subsidiary of the terrorist PLO which itself is dominated by the Fatah party, a proud "<a href="https://www.socialistinternational.org/committees/middle-east/meeting-of-the-socialist-international-middle-east-committee-ramallah-and-tel-aviv/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">member party</a>" of the Socialist International. The PLO regularly kills Arabs in furtherance of its plans to effect a socialist takeover of Israel, as <a href="http://www.plo.attacreport.com/bd_part2.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recorded</a> in the documentary, "We Are the Next Target; Terrorism and the Betrayal of Israel":<blockquote>Palestinians live in daily terror of these squads. Some one thousand palestinians have been killed by the terror squads, and many others injured.</blockquote>An Israeli NGO <a href="https://www.torah-idf.org.il/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opposing</a> “radical leftist trends handcuffing” IDF soldiers has produced a video highlighting how the High Court has caused the death of Israelis with rules of engagement they <a href="https://twitter.com/Torat_IDF/status/1636398787710132225" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">created</a>:<blockquote>The ONLY way to return the IDF to its glory days - is by restraining the Supreme Court and returning the justice system to the people and to those who support the soldiers, not the terrorists!</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Shocking! This is how the Supreme Court hurts the IDF. The ONLY way to return the IDF to its glory days - is by restraining the Supreme Court and returning the justice system to the people and to those who support the soldiers, not the terrorists! <a href="https://t.co/W5oyYFtH53">pic.twitter.com/W5oyYFtH53</a>— תורת לחימה (@Torat_IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/Torat_IDF/status/1636398787710132225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>Examples of extreme judicial overreach explained in the video include the Supreme Court blocking the government's decisions to:<blockquote><ul><li>Destroy <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/121869" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">abandoned</a> buildings used by terrorists to shoot at Israelis, even after terrorists from the so called “Supreme Court Houses” used those buildings to murder a young soldier, a young woman, and then a woman, her four daughters and her unborn son,&nbsp;</li><li>Deport 400 Hamas terrorists to Lebanon and a suicide bomber to Gaza,</li><li>Send neighbors to knock on the door of a wanted terrorist to reduce the chance of a gun fight that could injure the terrorists' family members,</li><li>Destroy terrorists' homes as a deterrent to would be terrorists.</li></ul></blockquote>The video concludes with an appeal for judicial reform.<blockquote>In 1987 there was only one human rights organization in Israel. By 2002 the number had grown to 26 [each of which are] focusing their efforts on appeals to the Supreme Court against the IDF and the security forces. Today countless organizations are appealing against the IDF and undermining its power.The Chief of Staff can't run the army and certainly can't fight properly. Let's fix the judicial system. Let's let the IDF win.</blockquote>Please see our previous articles on Israel's judicial reform:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/israel-pushes-back-against-biden-moves-to-reign-in-activist-judges">Israel pushes back against Biden; moves to reign in activist judges</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/biden-administration-joins-george-soros-in-financing-violent-uprising-in-israel">Biden administration joins George Soros in financing violent uprising in Israel</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/opinion-don-t-look-to-the-right-or-left-empower-the-people">Opinion: Don’t look to the right or left — empower the people</a></li></ul>

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World News

Legal News

Demands Leftist judges continue picking their successors

Biden sides with socialists; pressures Israel to protect activist judges

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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surveillance

Cameras can also detect 'anti-social behavior,' social distancing

UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations

The European Union (EU) is considering subjecting foreign travelers to lie detector tests administered by AI technology.&nbsp;<h2>How would it work?</h2>Authorities at airports and ferry ports would use cameras equipped with machine-learning software to detect whether a person is being untruthful. As travelers fill out their entry applications, their eye, facial, and behavioral movements would be analyzed. If the camera indicates the traveler is lying, the software will send an alert to an immigration officer who will investigate.The technology has already been successfully tested in trials conducted by EU countries in the last few years. iBorderCtrl and TRESPASS, two such trials, explored how to create an automated border control system. Several features were tested, including the lie detector tests described above. They also piloted a feature in which AI software scans the social media accounts of travelers before granting them entry.Critics of the lie-detection scheme include Patrick Breyer, a German MEP. Breyer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13534215/Outrage-British-tourists-going-away-EU-countries-face-lie-detector-test-carried-artificial-intelligence-granted-entry.html">told</a> The Mail on Sunday that the technology is “pseudoscience” that threatens to profile the wrong people.&nbsp;“It will discriminate against anyone who is disabled or who has an anxious personality. It will not work,” said Breyer.<h2>Part of the Entry-Exit System</h2>If the EU decides to implement AI-powered lie detection, it will likely be introduced as part of the new Entry-Exit System (EES) due to take effect on October 6th. EES will replace the passport-stamping process by having foreign travelers apply for entry through self-service kiosks. These kiosks will collect the travelers’ biometric data, including their fingerprints and facial images.These data will eventually be stored in the Common Identity Repository (CIR), a massive database being built by the EU. The CIR will be capable of storing biometric files on 300 million individuals.&nbsp;<h2>EES for outsiders, digital ID for insiders</h2>While the EU prepares to roll out the EES for foreigners, including British citizens, it is also rolling out a digital ID program for EU citizens .Regulations that took effect last month&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/europe-launches-digital-id-scheme/">require</a> EU&nbsp;Member States in the European Union to provide a digital ID wallet to their citizens by 2026 which must conform to the European Union Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet specifications. These specifications include the ability to store a taxpayer’s identity papers, such as driver’s licenses, health insurance cards, diplomas and other official documents.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>How will the wallet be used?</h2>The digital wallet will allow access to both public and private services. Uses include making payments, opening a bank account, getting prescriptions, signing contracts, traveling, accessing government services, receiving social security benefits, logging into social media accounts, and more.&nbsp;“It can also be used to facilitate the freedom of movement by storing documents such as the European Health Insurance Card,” explains the European Commission (EC) on its&nbsp;<a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eudi-wallet-implementation">website</a>.Under the current rules, the EUDI wallet will be optional for taxpayers.&nbsp;<h2>Critics raise concerns about the wallet</h2>The EUDI wallet’s main selling point is that users will be able to share only the details necessary to authenticate themselves for a given service. All other personal information will remain hidden. The EC expects this feature to satisfy widespread privacy concerns.But concerns about the wallet remain. The main worry is that while users only share those details that are necessary, the government can decide at any point which information is “necessary” to share. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the European Commission made proof of vaccination necessary to access services and establishments. Prior to that, each taxpayer’s health information was considered confidential.

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Technology could be introduced with new biometric entry system

Europe may subject travelers to lie detector tests

Biden sides with socialists; pressures Israel to protect activist judges

Demands Leftist judges continue picking their successors

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British taxpayers cheer vigilante group destroying climate cams

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UK tests emotion recognition cameras in train stations

Europe may subject travelers to lie detector tests