activistpost--2020-08-24--300,000 Job-Eliminating Driverless Trucks That Are Safer Than Drunk or Texting Humans

A study released earlier this summer reported that Automated Vehicles ( AVs ) are safer than drunk and/or sleep humans ; however , they won ’ t prevent 2/3 of accidents .
In fact , many experts have warned that AVs are NOT safe enough for public roads even though they still ARE being tested on public roads .
A recent CBS 60 Minutes segment reveals that many driverless ( and data-collecting ) trucks are also already being tested on American roads without much if any oversight or regulation by the Department of Transportation ( DoT ) .
Also revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their jobs to them .
No wonder tech moguls endorse Universal Basic Income ( UBI ) .
Automated trucking , a technical milestone that could disrupt hundreds of thousands of jobs , hits the road Companies are already testing driverless trucks on America ’ s roads .
The technology will bring untold profits , but it may cost thousands of truckers their livelihoods .
You know that universal sign we give truckers , hoping they ’ ll sound their air horns ?
Well , you ’ re going to be hearing a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with good reason .
The absence of an actual driver in the cab .
We may focus on the self-driving car , but autonomous trucking is not an if , it ’ s a when .
And the when is coming sooner than you might expect .
As we first reported in March , companies have been quietly testing their prototypes on public roads .
Right now there ’ s a high-stakes , high-speed race pitting the usual suspects – Google and Tesla and other global tech firms – against small start-ups smelling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the trucking sector and the 2 million American drivers who turn a key and maneuver their big rig every day .
And the winners of this derby , they may be poised to make untold billions ; they ’ ll change the U.S. transportation grid ; and they will emerge as the new kings of the road .
It ’ s one of the great touchstones of Americana : the romance and possibility of the open road .
All hail the 18-wheeler hugging those asphalt ribbons , transporting all of our stuff across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shining sea .
Though we may not give it a second thought when we click that free shipping icon , truckers move 70 % of the nation ’ s goods .
But trucking cut a considerably different figure on a humid Sunday last summer on the Florida turnpike .
Starsky Robotics , a tech startup , may have been driving in the right lane , but they passed the competition with 35,000 pounds of steel thundering down a busy highway with nobody behind the wheel .
The test was a milestone .
Starsky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truck on an open highway without a human on board .
Everyone else in the game with the know-how keeps a warm body in the cab as backup .
For now , anyway .
If you didn ’ t hear about this , you ’ re not alone ; in Jacksonville , we talked to Jeff Widdows , his son Tanner , Linda Allen and Eric Richardson – all truckers ; and all astonished to learn how far this technology has come .
Linda Allen : I wasn ’ t aware ’ til @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turnpike and that just– it just scares me .
I can ’ t imagine .
But I didn ’ t know anything about it .
Jon Wertheim : No one ’ s talkin ’ about it at work .
Jeff Widdows : Nobody , never , never .
Eric Richardson : I didn ’ t know that it ’ d come so far .
And I ’ m thinking , “ Wow .
It ’ s here.
” He ’ s right .
The autonomous truck revolution is here .
It just isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CB radios ; and not in statehouses .
And transportation agencies are not inclined to pump the brakes .
From Florida , hang a left and drive 2000 miles west on I-10 and you ’ ll hit the proving grounds of a company with a fleet of 41 autonomous rigs .
Jon Wertheim : This is a shop floor ?
Or this is a laboratory In the guts of the Sonoran Desert , outside Tucson , Chuck Price is chief product officer at TuSimple , a privately held , global autonomous trucking outfit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with operations in the U.S. and China .
At this depot , $ 12 million worth of gleaming self-driving semis are on the move .
Jon Wertheim : Right now we ’ ve got safety operators in the cab .
How far away are we from runs without drivers ?
Chuck Price : We believe we ’ ll be able to do our first driver-out demonstration runs on public highways in 2021 .
That ’ s the when .
As for the how… Chuck Price : Our primary sensor system is our array @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top of the vehicle– Jon Wertheim : Heard about souping up vehicles .
This takes it to a new level .
The competition is fierce , so much so their technology is akin to a state secret .
But Price points us to a network of sensors , cameras and radar devices strapped to the outside of the rig , all of it hardwired to an internal AI supercomputer that drives the truck .
It ’ s self-contained — so a bad WiFi signal won ’ t wreak havoc on the road .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ farther than any other autonomous system in the world .
We can see forward over a half mile .
Jon Wertheim : You can drive autonomously at night ?
Chuck Price : We can .
Day , night .
And in the rain .
And in the rain at night .
And they ’ re working on driving in the snow .
Chuck Price has unshakable confidence in the reliability of the technology ; as do some of the biggest names in shipping : UPS , Amazon and the U.S .
Postal Service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in , each unit costs more than a quarter million dollars .
Not a great expense , considering it ’ s designed to eliminate the annual salary of a driver ; currently around $ 45,000 .
Another savings : the driverless truck can get coast-to-coast in two days , not four , stopping only to refuel—though a human still has to do that .
We wanted to hop in and experience automated trucking firsthand .
Jon Wertheim : I feel like it ’ s our turn on Space Mountain .
Chuck Price was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t know what to expect , so we fashioned more cameras to the rig than NASA glued to the Apollo rockets… Maureen Fitzgerald : Is everybody buckled in ?
We sat in the back alongside the computer .
In the front seat : Maureen Fitzgerald , a trucker ’ s trucker with 30 years experience .
She was our safety driver , babysitting with no intention of gripping the wheel , but there just in case .
Riding shotgun : an engineer , John Panttila , there to monitor the software .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in weekday traffic through Tucson .
The route was mapped and programmed in before the run , but that ’ s about it – the rest was up to the computer , which makes 20 decisions per second about what to do on the road .
As we rolled past distracted drivers , disabled cars , slow-pokes and sheriffs , our safety driver kept vigil but never disengaged the driverless system .
John Panttila : Watching the front targets close in a hundred .
Yep .
Got to cut in right now .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Chuck Price : He just really cut us off .
Jon Wertheim : We did not honk at him .
Did we disengage ?
Chuck Price : We did not disengage .
This vehicle will detect that kind of behavior faster than the humans .
Jon Wertheim : How far are we from being able to pick up the specific cars that are passing us ?
“ Oh , that ’ s Joe from New Jersey with six points on his license .
Chuck Price : We can read license plates .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for something like that , we could .
Chuck Price says that would be valuable to the company though he admits it could create obvious privacy issues .
But TuSimple does collect a lot of data , as it maps more and more routes across the southwest .
Their enterprise also includes a fleet of autonomous trucks in Shanghai , as well as a research center in Beijing .
The data collected by every truck , along every mile , it ’ s uploaded and used by TuSimple , they say only to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fitzgerald is convinced that tusimple ’ s technology is superior to human drivers .
Jon Wertheim : You call these trucks your babies ?
What do your babies do well , and what could they do better ?
Maureen Fitzgerald : This truck is scanning mirrors , looking 1,000 meters out .
It ’ s processing all the things that my brain could never do and it can react 15 times faster than I could .
Most of her two million fellow truckers are less enthusiastic .
Automated trucking threatens to jack-knife an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is among the most common jobs for american ’ s without a college education .
So this disruption caused by the driverless truck , it cuts deep .
Steve Viscelli : As truckers like to say , if you bought it , a truck brought it .
Steve Viscelli is a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in freight transportation and automation .
He also spent six months driving a big rig .
Jon Wertheim : What segment do you think ’ s gon na be hit first by driverless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve identified two segments that I think are most at-risk .
And that ’ s– refrigerated and dry van truckload .
And those constitute about 200,000 trucking jobs .
And then what ’ s called line haul and they ’ re somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000-90,000 jobs there .
Jon Wertheim : So you ’ re talkin ’ 300,000 jobs off the top– It ’ s a big number .
The Florida truckers we met represent 70 years experience and millions of safe driving miles .
They say they love the job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they kick around words like vital , honest and patriotic .
Eric Richardson : It makes you feel like you could– should just poke your chest out with the responsibility ( LAUGH ) that you ’ re taking on kinda makes you feel like a– like you ’ re needed .
Asked about driverless trucks , they feel like they are being run off the road .
But another issue troubles them even more .
Jeff Widdows : I think that companies need to keep safety in mind… You have a glitch in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : ( LAUGH ) you can do some damage– Linda Allen : There ’ s too many things that can go wrong .
Eric Richardson : One of them semis hits something that ’ s small , like a car or a passenger car , or anything like that , it ’ s a done deal .
I mean… Linda Allen : I was on 75– last month– through Ocala .
And there was a bad accident So a state trooper came out .
And he was hand-signaling people .
“ You go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s an autonomous truck gon na recognize what the officer is trying to say or do ?
How ’ s that gon na work ?
Jon Wertheim : Sympathy , empathy , fear , code , eye contact– I don ’ t know how you create an algorithm that accounts for all that .
Jon Wertheim : Does the public have a right to know if they ’ re testing driverless trucks on the interstate– Tanner Widdows : That ’ s– well , that ’ s our concern , is — who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s making sure they ’ re not throwing something unsafe on the road ?
Sam Loesche : I think a lot of it– is being done with almost no oversight from– good governance groups , from the government itself Sam Loesche represents 600,000 truckers for the teamsters .
He ’ s concerned that federal , state and local governments have only limited access to the driverless technology .
Sam Loesche : A lot of this information , understandably , is proprietary .
Tech companies wan na keep , you know , their algorithms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can kinda get it right .
The problem is that , in the meantime , they ’ re testing this technology on public roads .
They ’ re testing it next to you as you drive down the road .
And that was consistent with our reporting .
Jon Wertheim : Do you have to tell anyone when you test ?
Chuck Price : No , not for individual tests .
Jon Wertheim : Do you have to tell them where you test ?
Chuck Price : We do not currently have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Jon Wertheim : Or how– how often you test ?
Jon Wertheim : Do you have to share your data with any state department of transportation ?
Chuck Price : Currently , we ’ re not required to share data , we would be happy to share data .
Jon Wertheim : What about inspections ?
Does anyone from the Arizona DOT come by and– and check this stuff out ?
Chuck Price : The DOT comes by all the time .
We talk with them regularly .
It ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wanted to ask Elaine Chao , secretary of the Department of Transportation , about regulating this emerging sector .
She declined an interview , but provided us with a statement which reads in part : “ The Department needs to prepare for the transportation systems of the future by engaging with new technologies to address… safety… without hampering innovation.
” To that point , Chuck Price is emphatic that driverless trucks pose fewer dangers .
Jon Wertheim : Because there ’ s no– no texting while driving when there ’ s a computer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drunk computers .
And the computer doesn ’ t sleep .
So those are large causes of accidents .
He adds that driverless trucks are more fuel efficient in part because they can stay perfectly aligned in their lane and unlike humans , are programmed never to speed , but he admits the profit motive is significant .
Jon Wertheim : You think there ’ s a lot of money to be made here .
Chuck Price : There ’ s certainly a lot of money to be made .
There ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solve a very big problem .
Steve Viscelli says the industry may be imperfect , but he thinks the solution should not depend on driverless technology alone .
Jon Wertheim : What ’ s your response to the technology companies that say , “ Look , I ’ m trying to do something more efficiently , and I ’ m going to improve safety .
This is American enterprise .
What are you gon na get in the way of this for ?
” Steve Viscelli : I ’ d say that– that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But that ’ s not your job .
Right ?
Your job ’ s to make money .
Policy is gon na decide what our outcomes are gon na be trucking is a very competitive industry .
The low-road approach often wins Jon Wertheim : We talk about the internal combustion engine replacing the horse and buggy , and Eisenhower ’ s Interstate System– when we talk about these transformational markers in transportation– Where ’ s driverless trucking gon na rank ?
Steve Viscelli : It ’ s gon na be one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ways to Generate Extra Income Activist Post reports regularly about unsafe technology .
For more information , visit our archives .
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By B.N. Frank
A study released earlier this summer reported that Automated Vehicles (AVs) are safer than drunk and/or sleep humans; however, they won’t prevent 2/3 of accidents. In fact, many experts have warned that AVs are NOT safe enough for public roads even though they still ARE being tested on public roads.
A recent CBS 60 Minutes segment reveals that many driverless (and data-collecting) trucks are also already being tested on American roads without much if any oversight or regulation by the Department of Transportation (DoT). Also revealed – an estimated 300,000 Americans could lose their jobs to them. No wonder tech moguls endorse Universal Basic Income (UBI).
From 60 Minutes:
Automated trucking, a technical milestone that could disrupt hundreds of thousands of jobs, hits the road
Companies are already testing driverless trucks on America’s roads. The technology will bring untold profits, but it may cost thousands of truckers their livelihoods.
You know that universal sign we give truckers, hoping they’ll sound their air horns? Well, you’re going to be hearing a lot less honking in the future. And with good reason. The absence of an actual driver in the cab. We may focus on the self-driving car, but autonomous trucking is not an if, it’s a when. And the when is coming sooner than you might expect. As we first reported in March, companies have been quietly testing their prototypes on public roads. Right now there’s a high-stakes, high-speed race pitting the usual suspects – Google and Tesla and other global tech firms – against small start-ups smelling opportunity. The driverless semi will convulse the trucking sector and the 2 million American drivers who turn a key and maneuver their big rig every day. And the winners of this derby, they may be poised to make untold billions; they’ll change the U.S. transportation grid; and they will emerge as the new kings of the road.
It’s one of the great touchstones of Americana: the romance and possibility of the open road. All hail the 18-wheeler hugging those asphalt ribbons, transporting all of our stuff across the fruited plains, from sea to shining sea. Though we may not give it a second thought when we click that free shipping icon, truckers move 70% of the nation’s goods. But trucking cut a considerably different figure on a humid Sunday last summer on the Florida turnpike. Starsky Robotics, a tech startup, may have been driving in the right lane, but they passed the competition with 35,000 pounds of steel thundering down a busy highway with nobody behind the wheel. The test was a milestone. Starsky was the first company to put a truck on an open highway without a human on board. Everyone else in the game with the know-how keeps a warm body in the cab as backup. For now, anyway. If you didn’t hear about this, you’re not alone; in Jacksonville, we talked to Jeff Widdows, his son Tanner, Linda Allen and Eric Richardson – all truckers; and all astonished to learn how far this technology has come.
Linda Allen: I wasn’t aware ’til I ran across one on the Florida Turnpike and that just– it just scares me. I can’t imagine. But I didn’t know anything about it.
Jon Wertheim: No one’s talkin’ about it at work.
Jeff Widdows: Nobody, never, never.
Eric Richardson: I didn’t know that it’d come so far. And I’m thinking, “Wow. It’s here.”
He’s right. The autonomous truck revolution is here. It just isn’t much discussed – not on CB radios; and not in statehouses. And transportation agencies are not inclined to pump the brakes. From Florida, hang a left and drive 2000 miles west on I-10 and you’ll hit the proving grounds of a company with a fleet of 41 autonomous rigs.
Jon Wertheim: This is a shop floor? Or this is a laboratory
Chuck Price: It’s both.
In the guts of the Sonoran Desert, outside Tucson, Chuck Price is chief product officer at TuSimple, a privately held, global autonomous trucking outfit valued at more than a billion dollars with operations in the U.S. and China. At this depot, $12 million worth of gleaming self-driving semis are on the move.
Jon Wertheim: Right now we’ve got safety operators in the cab. How far away are we from runs without drivers?
Chuck Price: We believe we’ll be able to do our first driver-out demonstration runs on public highways in 2021.
That’s the when. As for the how…
Chuck Price: Our primary sensor system is our array of cameras that you see along the top of the vehicle–
Jon Wertheim: Heard about souping up vehicles. This takes it to a new level.
Chuck Price: It’s a little bit different… yeah.
The competition is fierce, so much so their technology is akin to a state secret. But Price points us to a network of sensors, cameras and radar devices strapped to the outside of the rig, all of it hardwired to an internal AI supercomputer that drives the truck. It’s self-contained — so a bad WiFi signal won’t wreak havoc on the road.
Chuck Price: Our system can see farther than any other autonomous system in the world. We can see forward over a half mile.
Jon Wertheim: You can drive autonomously at night?
Chuck Price: We can. Day, night. And in the rain. And in the rain at night.
And they’re working on driving in the snow. Chuck Price has unshakable confidence in the reliability of the technology; as do some of the biggest names in shipping: UPS, Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service ship freight with TuSimple trucks. All in, each unit costs more than a quarter million dollars. Not a great expense, considering it’s designed to eliminate the annual salary of a driver; currently around $45,000. Another savings: the driverless truck can get coast-to-coast in two days, not four, stopping only to refuel—though a human still has to do that.
We wanted to hop in and experience automated trucking firsthand.
Jon Wertheim: I feel like it’s our turn on Space Mountain.
Chuck Price was happy to oblige. We didn’t know what to expect, so we fashioned more cameras to the rig than NASA glued to the Apollo rockets…
Maureen Fitzgerald: Is everybody buckled in?
ALL: Buckled in.
Maureen Fitzgerald: Three, Two, One….
…and we hit go.
TRUCK COMPUTER: Autonomous driving started.
We sat in the back alongside the computer. In the front seat: Maureen Fitzgerald, a trucker’s trucker with 30 years experience. She was our safety driver, babysitting with no intention of gripping the wheel, but there just in case. Riding shotgun: an engineer, John Panttila, there to monitor the software. The driverless truck was attempting a 65-mile loop in weekday traffic through Tucson.
The route was mapped and programmed in before the run, but that’s about it – the rest was up to the computer, which makes 20 decisions per second about what to do on the road. As we rolled past distracted drivers, disabled cars, slow-pokes and sheriffs, our safety driver kept vigil but never disengaged the driverless system.
John Panttila: Watching the front targets close in a hundred. Yep. Got to cut in right now. 55 mile an hour. Bad cut-off.
Jon Wertheim: This guy just flagrantly cut off–
Chuck Price: He just really cut us off.
Jon Wertheim: We did not honk at him. Did we disengage?
Chuck Price: We did not disengage. This vehicle will detect that kind of behavior faster than the humans.
Jon Wertheim: How far are we from being able to pick up the specific cars that are passing us? “Oh, that’s Joe from New Jersey with six points on his license.
Chuck Price: We can read license plates. So if there was an accessible database for something like that, we could.
Chuck Price says that would be valuable to the company though he admits it could create obvious privacy issues. But TuSimple does collect a lot of data, as it maps more and more routes across the southwest. Their enterprise also includes a fleet of autonomous trucks in Shanghai, as well as a research center in Beijing. The data collected by every truck, along every mile, it’s uploaded and used by TuSimple, they say only to perfect performance on the road. Maureen Fitzgerald is convinced that tusimple’s technology is superior to human drivers.
Jon Wertheim: You call these trucks your babies? What do your babies do well, and what could they do better?
Maureen Fitzgerald: This truck is scanning mirrors, looking 1,000 meters out. It’s processing all the things that my brain could never do and it can react 15 times faster than I could.
Most of her two million fellow truckers are less enthusiastic. Automated trucking threatens to jack-knife an entire $800 billion industry. Trucking is among the most common jobs for american’s without a college education. So this disruption caused by the driverless truck, it cuts deep.
Steve Viscelli: As truckers like to say, if you bought it, a truck brought it.
Steve Viscelli is a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in freight transportation and automation. He also spent six months driving a big rig.
Jon Wertheim: What segment do you think’s gonna be hit first by driverless trucks?
Steve Viscelli: I’ve identified two segments that I think are most at-risk. And that’s– refrigerated and dry van truckload. And those constitute about 200,000 trucking jobs. And then what’s called line haul and they’re somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000-90,000 jobs there.
Jon Wertheim: So you’re talkin’ 300,000 jobs off the top– It’s a big number.
Steve Viscelli: It is a big number.
The Florida truckers we met represent 70 years experience and millions of safe driving miles. They say they love the job and when asked to describe their work they kick around words like vital, honest and patriotic.
Eric Richardson: It makes you feel like you could– should just poke your chest out with the responsibility (LAUGH) that you’re taking on kinda makes you feel like a– like you’re needed.
Asked about driverless trucks, they feel like they are being run off the road. But another issue troubles them even more.
Jeff Widdows: I think that companies need to keep safety in mind… You have a glitch in a computer at that speed–
Linda Allen: Yeah.
Jeff Widdows: (LAUGH) you can do some damage–
Linda Allen: There’s too many things that can go wrong.
Eric Richardson: One of them semis hits something that’s small, like a car or a passenger car, or anything like that, it’s a done deal. I mean…
Linda Allen: I was on 75– last month– through Ocala. And there was a bad accident So a state trooper came out. And he was hand-signaling people. “You go here. You go there.” How’s an autonomous truck gonna recognize what the officer is trying to say or do? How’s that gonna work?
Jon Wertheim: Sympathy, empathy, fear, code, eye contact– I don’t know how you create an algorithm that accounts for all that.
Linda Allen: You can’t.
Jon Wertheim: Does the public have a right to know if they’re testing driverless trucks on the interstate–
ALL: –absolutely–
Tanner Widdows: That’s– well, that’s our concern, is — who’s watching this? Who’s making sure they’re not throwing something unsafe on the road?
Sam Loesche: I think a lot of it– is being done with almost no oversight from– good governance groups, from the government itself
Sam Loesche represents 600,000 truckers for the teamsters. He’s concerned that federal, state and local governments have only limited access to the driverless technology.
Sam Loesche: A lot of this information, understandably, is proprietary. Tech companies wanna keep, you know, their algorithms and their safety data– secret until they can kinda get it right. The problem is that, in the meantime, they’re testing this technology on public roads. They’re testing it next to you as you drive down the road.
And that was consistent with our reporting.
Jon Wertheim: Do you have to tell anyone when you test?
Chuck Price: No, not for individual tests.
Jon Wertheim: Do you have to tell them where you test?
Chuck Price: We do not currently have to tell them where we test in Arizona.
Jon Wertheim: Or how– how often you test?
Chuck Price: No.
Jon Wertheim: Do you have to share your data with any state department of transportation?
Chuck Price: Currently, we’re not required to share data, we would be happy to share data.
Jon Wertheim: What about inspections? Does anyone from the Arizona DOT come by and– and check this stuff out?
Chuck Price: The DOT comes by all the time. We talk with them regularly. It’s not a formal inspection process yet.
We wanted to ask Elaine Chao, secretary of the Department of Transportation, about regulating this emerging sector. She declined an interview, but provided us with a statement which reads in part: “The Department needs to prepare for the transportation systems of the future by engaging with new technologies to address… safety… without hampering innovation.”
To that point, Chuck Price is emphatic that driverless trucks pose fewer dangers.
Chuck Price: We eliminate texting accidents, no distraction–
Jon Wertheim: Because there’s no– no texting while driving when there’s a computer.
Chuck Price: There are no drunk computers. And the computer doesn’t sleep. So those are large causes of accidents.
He adds that driverless trucks are more fuel efficient in part because they can stay perfectly aligned in their lane and unlike humans, are programmed never to speed, but he admits the profit motive is significant.
Jon Wertheim: You think there’s a lot of money to be made here.
Chuck Price: There’s certainly a lot of money to be made. There’s a– there’s an opportunity to solve a very big problem.
Steve Viscelli says the industry may be imperfect, but he thinks the solution should not depend on driverless technology alone.
Jon Wertheim: What’s your response to the technology companies that say, “Look, I’m trying to do something more efficiently, and I’m going to improve safety. This is American enterprise. What are you gonna get in the way of this for?”
Steve Viscelli: I’d say that– that’s wonderful. (LAUGH) But that’s not your job. Right? Your job’s to make money. Policy is gonna decide what our outcomes are gonna be trucking is a very competitive industry. The low-road approach often wins
Jon Wertheim: We talk about the internal combustion engine replacing the horse and buggy, and Eisenhower’s Interstate System– when we talk about these transformational markers in transportation– Where’s driverless trucking gonna rank?
Steve Viscelli: It’s gonna be one of the biggest.
Activist Post reports regularly about unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives.
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activistpost--2020-08-24--US Default Bomb Goes Off: 2020 Will Have A Record Number Of Large Corporate Bankruptcies

The disconnect between the all-time highs in the stock market and the broader economy has never been greater ( with even Janet Yellen , one of the main architects of this disconnect , agreeing ) , and one of the places where this chasm is most glaring , is in the staggering number of major corporations filing for bankruptcy in 2020 .
Indeed , this year large US corporate bankruptcy filings are running at a record pace and are set to surpass levels reached during the financial crisis in 2009 ( when the S & P was far from an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calculations , as of August 17 , a record 45 companies each with more than $ 1 billion in assets has filed for Chapter 11 this year ; this compares with 38 for the same period of 2009 during the depths of the financial crisis and is more than double last year ’ s figure of 18 over the comparable period .
In total , 157 companies with liabilities over $ 50 million have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year and as we warned several months ago , many more are coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innings of this bankruptcy cycle .
It will spread far across industries as we get deeper into the crisis .
It ’ s going to be a bumpy ride , ” said Ben Schlafman , chief operating officer at New Generation Research .
See : 177 Different Ways to Generate Extra Income The spike in bankruptcies comes despite trillions of dollars in government aid to mitigate the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses , highlighting the catastrophic and lasting impact Covid-19 is having on the US economy .
Or perhaps those trillions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrong recipients , and as a result companies that stand to benefit from mass defaults are now sporting record market caps .
In fact , the irony is that in its pursuit to crush monopolies such as Amazon and Google , the government has made them bigger and stronger than they have ever been .
Meanwhile , with the US economy driving right over the fiscal cliff as Congress failed to extend emergency Covid benefits , sending spending by those receiving Unemployment Insurance sharply lower… … and millions of Americans about to lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new default wave is just waiting to be unleashed .
“ Ending the $ 600 per week federal unemployment benefits will push tens of millions of Americans into , or uncomfortably close to , poverty .
They won ’ t have the money to buy billions of dollars worth of goods and services .
As a result , the entire economy will suffer .
Small businesses will continue to suffer the most because they ’ re already precarious , ” said Robert Reich , Bill Clinton ’ s labor secretary .
For now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been felt by oil and gas companies as low ( and on one historic occasion , negative ) crude prices crippled dozens of businesses .
There have been 33 filings to date according to the Oil Patch Bankruptcy Monitor from Haynes and Boone , including Chesapeake , Whiting Petroleum and Diamond Offshore Drilling .
There were only 14 last year .
While not quite as bad as the E & P sector , retail businesses with assets of more than $ 50MM have also been severely affected with 24 filing for bankruptcy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They have been among the hardest hit by the government-mandated lockdowns , which prevented stores from opening and drove consumers to online retailers such as Amazon .
Burdened by debts , some of which were built up under private equity ownership , several prominent retailers have been forced to file for Chapter 11 .
Some of the most iconic names that have filed this year include Neiman Marcus , which struggled for years with a heavy debt burden from its 2005 leveraged buyout by TPG and Warburg Pincus , and which finally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 6.7bn .
JCPenney , also saddled with billions in debt , filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May .
Brooks Brothers , the venerable suit retailer that once counted Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy among its clients , did the same in July .
“ The Covid-19 pandemic is reshaping consumer buying habits .
Therefore , we will continue to see large retail , energy , and transportation businesses taking advantage of the tools provided by a formal bankruptcy to restructure to be more profitable and competitive in the long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Connor , managing director of corporate restructuring at legal services group Epiq .
And while several businesses tried to reopen in late May and June ( and some amusingly tried to unfile for bankruptcy just so they were eligible for bailout loans ) , a recent flare-up in coronavirus cases and deaths in several US states choked the recovery , forcing many business owners to close again .
“ It pains me to say this , but bankruptcy is a growth industry in America , ” New Generation ’ s Schlafman dismally concluded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , peace , and freedom news .
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By Tyler Durden
The disconnect between the all-time highs in the stock market and the broader economy has never been greater (with even Janet Yellen, one of the main architects of this disconnect, agreeing), and one of the places where this chasm is most glaring, is in the staggering number of major corporations filing for bankruptcy in 2020. Indeed, this year large US corporate bankruptcy filings are running at a record pace and are set to surpass levels reached during the financial crisis in 2009 (when the S&P was far from an all-time high).
According to FT calculations, as of August 17, a record 45 companies each with more than $1 billion in assets has filed for Chapter 11 this year; this compares with 38 for the same period of 2009 during the depths of the financial crisis and is more than double last year’s figure of 18 over the comparable period.
In total, 157 companies with liabilities over $50 million have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year and as we warned several months ago, many more are coming.
“We are in the first innings of this bankruptcy cycle. It will spread far across industries as we get deeper into the crisis. It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” said Ben Schlafman, chief operating officer at New Generation Research.
The spike in bankruptcies comes despite trillions of dollars in government aid to mitigate the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses, highlighting the catastrophic and lasting impact Covid-19 is having on the US economy. Or perhaps those trillions in government aid are going to the wrong recipients, and as a result companies that stand to benefit from mass defaults are now sporting record market caps. In fact, the irony is that in its pursuit to crush monopolies such as Amazon and Google, the government has made them bigger and stronger than they have ever been.
Meanwhile, with the US economy driving right over the fiscal cliff as Congress failed to extend emergency Covid benefits, sending spending by those receiving Unemployment Insurance sharply lower…
… and millions of Americans about to lose their job (again), a new default wave is just waiting to be unleashed.
“Ending the $600 per week federal unemployment benefits will push tens of millions of Americans into, or uncomfortably close to, poverty. They won’t have the money to buy billions of dollars worth of goods and services. As a result, the entire economy will suffer. Small businesses will continue to suffer the most because they’re already precarious,” said Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s labor secretary.
For now, the brunt of the default wave has been felt by oil and gas companies as low (and on one historic occasion, negative) crude prices crippled dozens of businesses. There have been 33 filings to date according to the Oil Patch Bankruptcy Monitor from Haynes and Boone, including Chesapeake, Whiting Petroleum and Diamond Offshore Drilling. There were only 14 last year.
While not quite as bad as the E&P sector, retail businesses with assets of more than $50MM have also been severely affected with 24 filing for bankruptcy, a three-fold jump from last year. They have been among the hardest hit by the government-mandated lockdowns, which prevented stores from opening and drove consumers to online retailers such as Amazon. Burdened by debts, some of which were built up under private equity ownership, several prominent retailers have been forced to file for Chapter 11.
Some of the most iconic names that have filed this year include Neiman Marcus, which struggled for years with a heavy debt burden from its 2005 leveraged buyout by TPG and Warburg Pincus, and which finally filed for bankruptcy in May with liabilities of $6.7bn. JCPenney, also saddled with billions in debt, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. Brooks Brothers, the venerable suit retailer that once counted Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy among its clients, did the same in July.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is reshaping consumer buying habits. Therefore, we will continue to see large retail, energy, and transportation businesses taking advantage of the tools provided by a formal bankruptcy to restructure to be more profitable and competitive in the long term,” said Deirdre O’Connor, managing director of corporate restructuring at legal services group Epiq.
And while several businesses tried to reopen in late May and June (and some amusingly tried to unfile for bankruptcy just so they were eligible for bailout loans), a recent flare-up in coronavirus cases and deaths in several US states choked the recovery, forcing many business owners to close again.
“It pains me to say this, but bankruptcy is a growth industry in America,” New Generation’s Schlafman dismally concluded.
Source: Zerohedge
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activistpost--2020-08-27--World Rising Up Against the Lockdowns As Protests Mount — New World Next Week

Welcome back to New World Next Week — the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some @ @ @ @ @ in open source intelligence news .
This week : Watch this video on BitChute / @ @ @ @ @ or Download the mp4 • PDF : “ Broadening the GMO Risk Assessment In the @ @ @ @ @ In Agriculture ” • Australian Drones to Find People Not Wearing Masks , Driving Too @ @ @ @ @ Injectable Microrobots One Day Run In Your Veins ?
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By The Corbett Report
Welcome back to New World Next Week — the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:
Watch this video on BitChute / LBRY / Minds.com / YouTube or Download the mp4
Story #1: “Unite for Freedom” Protest on August 29th
Story #2: The Carney/Freeland “Green Reset” Shapes Canada’s ‘New Normal’
Story #3: NEWS ROUNDUP
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activistpost--2020-08-27--After Hundreds of Thousands Rally Against Pandemic Measures, Berlin Bans Covid Protests

Earlier this we reported on a major protest in Berlin against Covid-19 mandates , which many feel are infringing upon basic civil rights .
Mainstream media reports had the number of participants pegged at around 20,000 , while independent sources said the number was easily over one million , potentially up to 1.3 million .
Furthermore , the mainstream media news coverage of the event went out of the way to demonize and pigeonhole all of the participants as ‘ far-right ’ extremists and such , effectively demonizing them .
Photos and first-hand accounts of the event show people from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming together to end the lockdown , the Draconian mandates , and get back to work .
Several more protests have been planned ; however , Berlin just decided to ban protests and events which speak out against the CV-19 measures .
In further developments , organizers canceled plans for a large concert with Bryan Adams in Duesseldorf on Sept. 4 , while in Berlin authorities banned several protests planned for the weekend against coronavirus pandemic measures .
Officials said that those protesting would likely have breached rules on social distancing designed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany has seen an upswing in new confirmed cases in recent weeks , and the government is considering whether to impose fresh restrictions again .
Authorities in the capital cited a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Aug. 1 during which participants ignored mask-wearing and distancing rules and other conditions imposed on the protest .
[ Source ] Andreas Geisel , the Berlin interior senator commented on the banning of such protests , and is quoted by Reuters : About 20,000 people , including libertarians , constitutional loyalists , far-right supporters and anti-vaccination activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
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- Trends & Strategies for Maximum Freedom Geisel said the organizers of that protest had deliberately broken rules they had previously agreed with police , including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing .
“ Such behaviour is not acceptable .
The state can not be given the runaround , ” he said , adding he did not want Berlin to be a stage for conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politician suggests that being opposed to lockdowns and severe Covid measures is not only a political issue , but one only championed by ‘ extremists.
’ Such rhetoric is incredibly dangerous in a world that is sliding faster than ever into global tyranny .
Isaac Davis is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com .
He is an outspoken advocate of liberty and of a voluntary society .
He is an avid reader of history and passionate about becoming self-sufficient to break free of the control matrix .
Follow him on Facebook , here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rally Against Pandemic Measures , Berlin Bans Covid Protests ) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Isaac Davis and WakingTimes.com .
It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution , author bio , and this copyright statement .
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By Isaac Davis
Earlier this we reported on a major protest in Berlin against Covid-19 mandates, which many feel are infringing upon basic civil rights. Mainstream media reports had the number of participants pegged at around 20,000, while independent sources said the number was easily over one million, potentially up to 1.3 million.
Furthermore, the mainstream media news coverage of the event went out of the way to demonize and pigeonhole all of the participants as ‘far-right’ extremists and such, effectively demonizing them. Photos and first-hand accounts of the event show people from all walks of life, however, coming together to end the lockdown, the Draconian mandates, and get back to work.
Several more protests have been planned; however, Berlin just decided to ban protests and events which speak out against the CV-19 measures.
In further developments, organizers canceled plans for a large concert with Bryan Adams in Duesseldorf on Sept. 4, while in Berlin authorities banned several protests planned for the weekend against coronavirus pandemic measures. Officials said that those protesting would likely have breached rules on social distancing designed to stop the spread of the virus. Germany has seen an upswing in new confirmed cases in recent weeks, and the government is considering whether to impose fresh restrictions again. Authorities in the capital cited a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Aug. 1 during which participants ignored mask-wearing and distancing rules and other conditions imposed on the protest. [Source]
Andreas Geisel, the Berlin interior senator commented on the banning of such protests, and is quoted by Reuters:
About 20,000 people, including libertarians, constitutional loyalists, far-right supporters and anti-vaccination activists, marched in Berlin on Aug. 1. Geisel said the organizers of that protest had deliberately broken rules they had previously agreed with police, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. “Such behaviour is not acceptable. The state cannot be given the runaround,” he said, adding he did not want Berlin to be a stage for conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists.” [Source]
Again, a leading politician suggests that being opposed to lockdowns and severe Covid measures is not only a political issue, but one only championed by ‘extremists.’ Such rhetoric is incredibly dangerous in a world that is sliding faster than ever into global tyranny.
Read more articles from Isaac Davis.
Isaac Davis is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com. He is an outspoken advocate of liberty and of a voluntary society. He is an avid reader of history and passionate about becoming self-sufficient to break free of the control matrix. Follow him on Facebook, here.
This article (After Hundreds of Thousands Rally Against Pandemic Measures, Berlin Bans Covid Protests) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Isaac Davis and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.
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activistpost--2020-08-27--Cops Admit Putting on Disguises, Destroying Elderly Man’s Cars for Filing a Complaint Against Them

Asbury Park , NJ — On a regular basis , individuals contact the Free Thought Project and ask us how they can go about exposing cops who have violated their rights .
TFTP often responds to these individuals by advising them to gather evidence and seek out an attorney or file a complaint with another department .
Because of the nature of so many of our stories that we cover , many of these folks tell us that they are scared to file complaints with the departments out of fear of retaliation .
As the following incident illustrates , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by cops on innocent people for attempting to hold them accountable .
Two Asbury Park police officers Stephen Martinsen , 29 , and Thomas Dowling , 26 , were charged last year with conspiracy , criminal mischief and weapons offenses .
The officers were caught dressing up in disguises and vandalizing two vehicles belonging to 70-year-old Ernest Mignoli .
This week , they both pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal mischief and as part of their plea deals they must forfeit any future public employment in the state , according to a statement from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Spiteful retaliation from law enforcement officers towards a citizen for any reason is an unacceptable option .
This is in no way condoned at any level , for any reason , ” Gramiccioni said in the statement .
“ All members of the law enforcement community must maintain the public ’ s trust by conducting themselves at the highest level of integrity and decency.
” The officers will also have to pay for the damage they caused to the man ’ s cars and will likely be put on probation after they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported at the time , last September , Mignoli found his Jeep Liberty and Toyota Prius with their tires slashed and their windows smashed in .
Mignoli told reporters that his “ jaw dropped ” when he found out that the perpetrators of these crimes were cops .
They weren ’ t just any cops , however .
Earlier in the week , Mignoli filed complaints against the two officers who have now pleaded guilty to the crime .
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“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be in the scope of police officers to do something like that , ” Mignoli said .
“ I ’ m a concerned citizen , outspoken critic of Asbury Park Police Department .
But this goes behind the pale.
” Mignoli explained to NJ.com that his police accountability activism has put a target on his back and has led to him constantly being harassed .
Although he wouldn ’ t elaborate on the nature of the complaints , Mignoli explained that he has been keeping a watchful eye on police in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago .
“ I ’ m constantly harassed by police wherever I go , ” he said .
“ It ’ s just the nature of my work.
” The department released a statement praising the job they did in holding these cops accountable .
“ The cooperative efforts of the Asbury Park Police Department ’ s Internal Affairs Unit and the Monmouth County Prosecutor ’ s Office ’ s Professional Responsibility Unit is a clear example of how effective our current internal affairs policies are , ” Asbury Park Police Chief David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These officers were held accountable for their actions and misconduct and we will continue to hold our officers responsible to build upon the trust of the community that we serve.
” The idea that two police officers—whose ostensible duties include serving the citizens of Asbury park—would dress up in disguises and destroy a man ’ s cars for filing a complaint against them , is shocking .
However , it is not uncommon .
As we previously reported , a deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff ’ s Office was allowed to quietly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his retaliatory actions against an innocent family .
Deputy Lance Chambers was caught on video throwing nails into a family ’ s driveway over a series of complaints they filed against him .
Also , former officer William Dukes Jr. of the Providence Police Department was sentenced to four years in a cage for the horrifying treatment , abuse , and kidnapping of an innocent man—all for filing a complaint against him .
According to the DoJ , upon arriving at the victim ’ s home after 1 a.m. , Dukes attempted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone calls he had made complaining about Dukes .
When the victim insisted he had done nothing wrong and retreated into his home , Dukes entered the victim ’ s home without a warrant .
Dukes then tased the victim , sprayed him in the face with pepper spray , struck him repeatedly with a police baton , and punched him in the face , breaking the victim ’ s nose .
Next , Dukes handcuffed the victim and charged him with four crimes , including a charge of property damage because blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got onto Dukes ’ police uniform .
How many other innocent people have had their property vandalized , been arrested , and had their lives ruined by cops retaliating for a complaint ?
We ’ re betting that number is likely pretty high .
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA .
This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state .
Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world .
Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project .
Follow @ MattAgorist on Twitter , Steemit , and now on Minds .
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By Matt Agorist
Asbury Park, NJ — On a regular basis, individuals contact the Free Thought Project and ask us how they can go about exposing cops who have violated their rights. TFTP often responds to these individuals by advising them to gather evidence and seek out an attorney or file a complaint with another department. Because of the nature of so many of our stories that we cover, many of these folks tell us that they are scared to file complaints with the departments out of fear of retaliation. As the following incident illustrates, this retaliation is real and is carried out by cops on innocent people for attempting to hold them accountable.
Two Asbury Park police officers Stephen Martinsen, 29, and Thomas Dowling, 26, were charged last year with conspiracy, criminal mischief and weapons offenses. The officers were caught dressing up in disguises and vandalizing two vehicles belonging to 70-year-old Ernest Mignoli.
This week, they both pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal mischief and as part of their plea deals they must forfeit any future public employment in the state, according to a statement from Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
“Spiteful retaliation from law enforcement officers towards a citizen for any reason is an unacceptable option. This is in no way condoned at any level, for any reason,” Gramiccioni said in the statement. “All members of the law enforcement community must maintain the public’s trust by conducting themselves at the highest level of integrity and decency.”
The officers will also have to pay for the damage they caused to the man’s cars and will likely be put on probation after they are sentenced in October.
As TFTP reported at the time, last September, Mignoli found his Jeep Liberty and Toyota Prius with their tires slashed and their windows smashed in. Mignoli told reporters that his “jaw dropped” when he found out that the perpetrators of these crimes were cops.
They weren’t just any cops, however. Earlier in the week, Mignoli filed complaints against the two officers who have now pleaded guilty to the crime.
Become an Activist Post Patron for $1 per month at Patreon.
“I just wouldn’t think it would be in the scope of police officers to do something like that,” Mignoli said. “I’m a concerned citizen, outspoken critic of Asbury Park Police Department. But this goes behind the pale.”
Mignoli explained to NJ.com that his police accountability activism has put a target on his back and has led to him constantly being harassed. Although he wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the complaints, Mignoli explained that he has been keeping a watchful eye on police in the area since he moved there 12 years ago.
“I’m constantly harassed by police wherever I go,” he said. “It’s just the nature of my work.”
The department released a statement praising the job they did in holding these cops accountable.
“The cooperative efforts of the Asbury Park Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s Professional Responsibility Unit is a clear example of how effective our current internal affairs policies are,” Asbury Park Police Chief David Kelso said in a statement. “These officers were held accountable for their actions and misconduct and we will continue to hold our officers responsible to build upon the trust of the community that we serve.”
The idea that two police officers—whose ostensible duties include serving the citizens of Asbury park—would dress up in disguises and destroy a man’s cars for filing a complaint against them, is shocking. However, it is not uncommon.
As we previously reported, a deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office was allowed to quietly resign last month amid an investigation into his retaliatory actions against an innocent family. Deputy Lance Chambers was caught on video throwing nails into a family’s driveway over a series of complaints they filed against him.
Also, former officer William Dukes Jr. of the Providence Police Department was sentenced to four years in a cage for the horrifying treatment, abuse, and kidnapping of an innocent man—all for filing a complaint against him.
According to the DoJ, upon arriving at the victim’s home after 1 a.m., Dukes attempted to arrest the victim based solely on the phone calls he had made complaining about Dukes. When the victim insisted he had done nothing wrong and retreated into his home, Dukes entered the victim’s home without a warrant. Dukes then tased the victim, sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, struck him repeatedly with a police baton, and punched him in the face, breaking the victim’s nose. Next, Dukes handcuffed the victim and charged him with four crimes, including a charge of property damage because blood from the victim’s broken nose got onto Dukes’ police uniform.
How many other innocent people have had their property vandalized, been arrested, and had their lives ruined by cops retaliating for a complaint? We’re betting that number is likely pretty high.
Source: The Free Thought Project
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.
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activistpost--2020-08-27--Teachers “Bruised, Bloodied, Traumatized” After Being Shot by Cops with Pellet Guns in Shooting Dril

Teachers “Bruised, Bloodied, Traumatized” After Being Shot by Cops with Pellet Guns in Shooting Drill

Last year , some 30 teachers at the Meadowlawn Elementary School in Monticello underwent ALICE training which encourages teachers and students to be proactive when facing an active shooter , including rushing the attacker .
Shooting teachers with plastic pellets does not typically feature in ALICE training , however , and now those teachers are suing .
Eight schoolteachers from Meadowlawn Elementary School in Indiana have sued the local sheriff ’ s department after a traumatizing course of “ active shooter ” training left them physically and psychologically scarred .
According to the Indy Star , the lawsuit , filed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal court , claims that four White County Sheriff ’ s Deputies subjected teachers “ verbal threats , expletives , and screaming , ” in addition to being struck with the plastic pellets fired from airsoft guns .
“ The teachers displayed obvious signs of anguish and physical pain , but were humiliated to find the law enforcement officers joking and laughing at them , ” the complaint reads .
“ The terrifying and inexplicable experience left the teachers with lasting physical and emotional injuries.
” The experience was so horrific for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop teaching .
A first-grade teacher was also diagnosed with PTSD after the shooting drill .
When the White County Sheriff ’ s Department was exposed for the horrific treatment of the teachers in the shooting drill last year , Sheriff Bill Brooks said his deputies stopped when the teachers became upset .
“ We were made aware that one teacher was upset , ” he said in a phone interview last March .
“ And we ended it.
” But according to the teachers , it had already gone too far .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ police who are shooting you at point blank range with a pellet gun , while hurling expletives at you in a deliberate attempt to incite fear — all to teach you about mass shootings — something has gone terribly wrong .
Become an Activist Post Patron for $ 1 per month at Patreon .
According to the Indy Star : Eight teachers , out of approximately 35 that were present for the Meadowlawn training , have signed on to the lawsuit , each with claims of being left with bruises , welts and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guns from “ point-blank range.
” According to the complaint , the teachers were broken up in small groups and told by sheriff ’ s deputies to line up facing a wall and kneel .
Once they were kneeling , an officer shot the teachers across their backs .
They were told not to tell the other teachers , waiting in another room for their turn , what had happened .
Later in the day , teachers were also subject to a series of drills in which they were instructed at different times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and barricade doors from potential intruders and to throw tennis balls at the officers .
During each drill , officers shot the teachers with the airsoft guns , according to the complaint .
The lawsuit states that each drill started out with a cop “ striding quickly down the hallway , loudly banging on walls while screaming furiously , yelling out numerous obscenities and threats , such as… ‘ I ’ m going to kill you all !
’ ” One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit , a kindergarten teacher , reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at point blank range as she hid under a table in the fetal position .
Exactly what the cops were attempting to prepare her for by doing this remains a mystery .
The injuries suffered by teachers were so significant , according to the lawsuit , that they took days and weeks to heal and a first-grade teacher was left permanently scarred .
Several of the teachers say the experience has left them fearing law enforcement and report constant anxiety while at work while others have sought psychiatric help .
School shootings are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like this one seem to be counterproductive to preventing or acting during them .
Attempting to train teachers like military personnel by subjecting them to such violent and traumatizing experiences is not the answer to the problem of mass shootings .
It is , however , a great way for sadistic cops to inflict pain and suffering on innocent people for personal joy .
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA .
This prior experience gives him unique insight into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police state .
Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world .
Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project .
Follow @ MattAgorist on Twitter , Steemit , and now on Minds .
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE !
Follow us on SoMee , HIVE , Parler , Flote , Minds , and Twitter .
Provide , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming !
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By Matt Agorist
Last year, some 30 teachers at the Meadowlawn Elementary School in Monticello underwent ALICE training which encourages teachers and students to be proactive when facing an active shooter, including rushing the attacker.
Shooting teachers with plastic pellets does not typically feature in ALICE training, however, and now those teachers are suing. Eight schoolteachers from Meadowlawn Elementary School in Indiana have sued the local sheriff’s department after a traumatizing course of “active shooter” training left them physically and psychologically scarred.
According to the Indy Star, the lawsuit, filed last week in Indiana’s northern federal court, claims that four White County Sheriff’s Deputies subjected teachers “verbal threats, expletives, and screaming,” in addition to being struck with the plastic pellets fired from airsoft guns.
“The teachers displayed obvious signs of anguish and physical pain, but were humiliated to find the law enforcement officers joking and laughing at them,” the complaint reads. “The terrifying and inexplicable experience left the teachers with lasting physical and emotional injuries.”
The experience was so horrific for the teachers that two of them had to stop teaching. A first-grade teacher was also diagnosed with PTSD after the shooting drill.
When the White County Sheriff’s Department was exposed for the horrific treatment of the teachers in the shooting drill last year, Sheriff Bill Brooks said his deputies stopped when the teachers became upset.
“We were made aware that one teacher was upset,” he said in a phone interview last March. “And we ended it.”
But according to the teachers, it had already gone too far. When you are left physically injured by police who are shooting you at point blank range with a pellet gun, while hurling expletives at you in a deliberate attempt to incite fear — all to teach you about mass shootings — something has gone terribly wrong.
Become an Activist Post Patron for $1 per month at Patreon.
According to the Indy Star:
Eight teachers, out of approximately 35 that were present for the Meadowlawn training, have signed on to the lawsuit, each with claims of being left with bruises, welts and abrasions from being shot with the airsoft guns from “point-blank range.” According to the complaint, the teachers were broken up in small groups and told by sheriff’s deputies to line up facing a wall and kneel. Once they were kneeling, an officer shot the teachers across their backs. They were told not to tell the other teachers, waiting in another room for their turn, what had happened. Later in the day, teachers were also subject to a series of drills in which they were instructed at different times to hide in classrooms, to try and barricade doors from potential intruders and to throw tennis balls at the officers. During each drill, officers shot the teachers with the airsoft guns, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit states that each drill started out with a cop “striding quickly down the hallway, loudly banging on walls while screaming furiously, yelling out numerous obscenities and threats, such as… ‘I’m going to kill you all!’”
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a kindergarten teacher, reports being repeatedly shot with the pellet gun at point blank range as she hid under a table in the fetal position. Exactly what the cops were attempting to prepare her for by doing this remains a mystery.
The injuries suffered by teachers were so significant, according to the lawsuit, that they took days and weeks to heal and a first-grade teacher was left permanently scarred.
Several of the teachers say the experience has left them fearing law enforcement and report constant anxiety while at work while others have sought psychiatric help.
School shootings are an unfortunate reality in America but drills like this one seem to be counterproductive to preventing or acting during them. Attempting to train teachers like military personnel by subjecting them to such violent and traumatizing experiences is not the answer to the problem of mass shootings. It is, however, a great way for sadistic cops to inflict pain and suffering on innocent people for personal joy.
Source: The Free Thought Project
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.
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activistpost--2020-08-27--Facebook FactCheckers Bought and Paid for By Gates Foundation?

Who are these supposedly independent factcheckers that are deciding what information can and can ’ t be seen on Facebook @ @ @ @ @ to take a closer at Facebook and the Gates Foundation ’ s role in managing @ @ @ @ @ Post Patron for $ 1 per month at Patreon .
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By Ben Swann
Who are these supposedly independent factcheckers that are deciding what information can and can’t be seen on Facebook.
Join Truth in Media to take a closer at Facebook and the Gates Foundation’s role in managing information.
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Facebook FactCheckers Bought and Paid for By Gates Foundation? – powered by ise.media
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activistpost--2020-08-27--One Database to Rule Them All: The Invisible Content Cartel That Undermines The Freedom of Expressio

One Database to Rule Them All: The Invisible Content Cartel That Undermines The Freedom of Expression Online

By Svea Windwehr and Jillian C. York Every year , millions of images , videos and posts that allegedly contain terrorist or violent extremist content are removed from social media platforms like YouTube , Facebook , or Twitter .
A key force behind these takedowns is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism ( GIFCT ) , an industry-led initiative that seeks to “ prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms.
” And unfortunately , GIFCT has the potential to have a massive ( and disproportionate ) negative impact on the freedom of expression of certain communities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the problem of extremist or violent content on their platforms .
Platforms may have an intrinsic interest in offering their users an online environment free from unpleasant content , which is why most social media platforms ’ terms of service contain a variety of speech provisions .
During the past decade , however , social media platforms have also come under increasing pressure from governments around the globe to respond to violent and extremist content on their platforms .
Spurred by the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ belief that censorship is an effective tool against extremism , governments have been turning to content moderation as a means to fix international terrorism .
Commercial content moderation is the process through which platforms—more specifically , human reviewers or , very often , machines—make decisions about what content can and can not be on their sites , based on their own Terms of Service , “ community standards , ” or other rules .
During the coronavirus pandemic , social media companies have been less able to use human content reviewers , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ algorithms to moderate content as well as flag it .
Those algorithms , which are really just a set of instructions for doing something , are fed with an initial set of rules and lots of training data in the hopes that they will learn to identify similar content But human speech is a complex social phenomenon and highly context-dependent ; inevitably , content moderation algorithms make mistakes .
What is worse , because machine-learning algorithms usually operate as black boxes that do not explain how they arrived at a decision , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the basic assumptions underpinning their technology or their training data sets , third parties can do little to prevent those mistakes .
This problem has become more acute with the introduction of hashing databases for tracking and removing extremist content .
Hashes are digital “ fingerprints ” of content that companies use to identify and remove content from their platforms .
They are essentially unique , and allow for easy identification of specific content .
When an image is identified as “ terrorist content , ” it is tagged with a hash and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future uploads of the same image to be easily identified .
This is exactly what the GIFCT initiative aims to do : Share a massive database of alleged ‘ terrorist ’ content , contributed voluntarily by companies , amongst members of its coalition .
The database collects ‘ hashes ’ , or unique fingerprints , of alleged ‘ terrorist ’ , or extremist and violent content , rather than the content itself .
GIFCT members can then use the database to check in real time whether content that users want to upload matches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sounds like an efficient approach to the challenging task of correctly identifying and taking down terrorist content , it also means that one single database might be used to determine what is permissible speech , and what is taken down—across the entire Internet .
Countless examples have proven that it is very difficult for human reviewers—and impossible for algorithms—to consistently get the nuances of activism , counter-speech , and extremist content itself right .
The result is that many instances of legitimate speech are falsely categorized as terrorist content and removed from social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the GIFCT database , any mistaken classification of a video , picture or post as ‘ terrorist ’ content echoes across social media platforms , undermining users ’ right to free expression on several platforms at once .
And that , in turn , can have catastrophic effects on the Internet as a space for memory and documentation .
Blunt content moderation systems can lead to the deletion of vital information not available elsewhere , such as evidence of human rights violations or war crimes .
For example , the Syrian Archive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sharing and archiving evidence of atrocities committed during the Syrian war reports that hundred of thousand videos of war atrocities are removed by YouTube annually .
The Archive estimates that take down rates for videos documenting Syrian human rights violations is circa 13 % , a number that has almost doubled to 20 % in the wake of the coronavirus crisis .
As noted , many social media platforms , including YouTube , have been using algorithmic tools for content moderation more heavily than usual , resulting in increased takedowns .
If , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ content that depicts Syrian human rights violations , but has been tagged as ‘ terrorist ’ content by YouTube ’ s algorithms to the GIFCT database , that content could be deleted forever across multiple platforms .
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The GIFCT content cartel not only risks losing valuable human rights documentation , but also has a disproportionately negative effect on some communities .
Defining ‘ terrorism ’ is a inherently political undertaking , and rarely stable across time and space .
Absent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or even violent and extremist , content , companies look at the United Nations ’ list of designated terrorist organizations or the US State Department ’ s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations .
But those lists mainly consist of Islamist organizations , and are largely blind to , for example , right-wing extremist groups .
That means that the burden of GIFCT ’ s misclassifications falls disproportionately on Muslim and Arab communities and highlights the fine line between an effective initiative to tackle the worst content online and sweeping censorship .
Ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christchurch in March 2019 , GIFCT has been more prominent than ever .
In response to the shooting , during which 51 people were killed , French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern launched the Christchurch Call .
That initiative , which aims to eliminate violent and extremist content online , foresees a prominent role for GIFCT .
In the wake of this renewed focus on GIFCT , the initiative announced that it would evolve to an independent organization , including a new Independent Advisory Committee ( IAC ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , government , and inter-governmental entities .
However , the Operating Board , where real power resides , remains in the hands of industry .
And the Independent Advisory Committee is already seriously flawed , as a coalition of civil liberties organizations has repeatedly noted .
For example , governments participating in the IAC are likely to leverage their position to influence companies ’ content moderation policies and shape definitions of terrorist content that fit their interests , away from the public and eye and therefore lacking accountability .
Including governments in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of civil society organizations as many are financially dependent on governments , or might face threats of reprisals for criticism government officials in that forum .
As long as civil society is treated as an afterthought , GIFCT will never be an effective multi-stakeholder forum .
GIFCT ’ s flaws and their devastating effects on the freedom of expression , human rights , and the preservation of evidence of war crimes have been known for years .
Civil societies organizations have tried to help reform the organization , but GIFCT and its new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leads to the final problem with the IAC : leading NGOs are choosing not to participate at all .
Where does this leave GIFCT and the millions of Internet users its policies impact ?
Not in a good place .
Without meaningful civil society representation and involvement , full transparency and effective accountability mechanisms , GIFCT risks becoming yet another industry-led forum that promises multi-stakeholderism but delivers little more than government-sanctioned window-dressing .
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front lines of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on SoMee , HIVE , Parler , Flote , Minds , and Twitter .
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Get a free issue of Counter Markets today .

By Svea Windwehr and Jillian C. York
Every year, millions of images, videos and posts that allegedly contain terrorist or violent extremist content are removed from social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. A key force behind these takedowns is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an industry-led initiative that seeks to “prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms.” And unfortunately, GIFCT has the potential to have a massive (and disproportionate) negative impact on the freedom of expression of certain communities.
Social media platforms have long struggled with the problem of extremist or violent content on their platforms. Platforms may have an intrinsic interest in offering their users an online environment free from unpleasant content, which is why most social media platforms’ terms of service contain a variety of speech provisions. During the past decade, however, social media platforms have also come under increasing pressure from governments around the globe to respond to violent and extremist content on their platforms. Spurred by the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and guided by the shortsighted belief that censorship is an effective tool against extremism, governments have been turning to content moderation as a means to fix international terrorism.
Commercial content moderation is the process through which platforms—more specifically, human reviewers or, very often, machines—make decisions about what content can and cannot be on their sites, based on their own Terms of Service, “community standards,” or other rules.
During the coronavirus pandemic, social media companies have been less able to use human content reviewers, and are instead increasingly relying on machine learning algorithms to moderate content as well as flag it. Those algorithms, which are really just a set of instructions for doing something, are fed with an initial set of rules and lots of training data in the hopes that they will learn to identify similar content But human speech is a complex social phenomenon and highly context-dependent; inevitably, content moderation algorithms make mistakes. What is worse, because machine-learning algorithms usually operate as black boxes that do not explain how they arrived at a decision, and as companies generally do not share either the basic assumptions underpinning their technology or their training data sets, third parties can do little to prevent those mistakes.
This problem has become more acute with the introduction of hashing databases for tracking and removing extremist content. Hashes are digital “fingerprints” of content that companies use to identify and remove content from their platforms. They are essentially unique, and allow for easy identification of specific content. When an image is identified as “terrorist content,” it is tagged with a hash and entered into a database, allowing any future uploads of the same image to be easily identified.
This is exactly what the GIFCT initiative aims to do: Share a massive database of alleged ‘terrorist’ content, contributed voluntarily by companies, amongst members of its coalition. The database collects ‘hashes’, or unique fingerprints, of alleged ‘terrorist’, or extremist and violent content, rather than the content itself. GIFCT members can then use the database to check in real time whether content that users want to upload matches material in the database. While that sounds like an efficient approach to the challenging task of correctly identifying and taking down terrorist content, it also means that one single database might be used to determine what is permissible speech, and what is taken down—across the entire Internet.
Countless examples have proven that it is very difficult for human reviewers—and impossible for algorithms—to consistently get the nuances of activism, counter-speech, and extremist content itself right. The result is that many instances of legitimate speech are falsely categorized as terrorist content and removed from social media platforms. Due to the proliferation of the GIFCT database, any mistaken classification of a video, picture or post as ‘terrorist’ content echoes across social media platforms, undermining users’ right to free expression on several platforms at once. And that, in turn, can have catastrophic effects on the Internet as a space for memory and documentation. Blunt content moderation systems can lead to the deletion of vital information not available elsewhere, such as evidence of human rights violations or war crimes. For example, the Syrian Archive, an NGO dedicated to collecting, sharing and archiving evidence of atrocities committed during the Syrian war reports that hundred of thousand videos of war atrocities are removed by YouTube annually. The Archive estimates that take down rates for videos documenting Syrian human rights violations is circa 13%, a number that has almost doubled to 20% in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. As noted, many social media platforms, including YouTube, have been using algorithmic tools for content moderation more heavily than usual, resulting in increased takedowns. If, or when, YouTube contributes hashes of content that depicts Syrian human rights violations, but has been tagged as ‘terrorist’ content by YouTube’s algorithms to the GIFCT database, that content could be deleted forever across multiple platforms.
Become an Activist Post Patron for $1 per month at Patreon.
The GIFCT content cartel not only risks losing valuable human rights documentation, but also has a disproportionately negative effect on some communities. Defining ‘terrorism’ is a inherently political undertaking, and rarely stable across time and space. Absent international agreement on what exactly constitutes terrorist, or even violent and extremist, content, companies look at the United Nations’ list of designated terrorist organizations or the US State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. But those lists mainly consist of Islamist organizations, and are largely blind to, for example, right-wing extremist groups. That means that the burden of GIFCT’s misclassifications falls disproportionately on Muslim and Arab communities and highlights the fine line between an effective initiative to tackle the worst content online and sweeping censorship.
Ever since the attacks on two Mosques in Christchurch in March 2019, GIFCT has been more prominent than ever. In response to the shooting, during which 51 people were killed, French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern launched the Christchurch Call. That initiative, which aims to eliminate violent and extremist content online, foresees a prominent role for GIFCT. In the wake of this renewed focus on GIFCT, the initiative announced that it would evolve to an independent organization, including a new Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) to represent the voices of civil society, government, and inter-governmental entities.
However, the Operating Board, where real power resides, remains in the hands of industry. And the Independent Advisory Committee is already seriously flawed, as a coalition of civil liberties organizations has repeatedly noted.
For example, governments participating in the IAC are likely to leverage their position to influence companies’ content moderation policies and shape definitions of terrorist content that fit their interests, away from the public and eye and therefore lacking accountability. Including governments in the IAC could also undermine the meaningful participation of civil society organizations as many are financially dependent on governments, or might face threats of reprisals for criticism government officials in that forum. As long as civil society is treated as an afterthought, GIFCT will never be an effective multi-stakeholder forum. GIFCT’s flaws and their devastating effects on the freedom of expression, human rights, and the preservation of evidence of war crimes have been known for years. Civil societies organizations have tried to help reform the organization, but GIFCT and its new Executive Director have remained unresponsive. Which leads to the final problem with the IAC: leading NGOs are choosing not to participate at all.
Where does this leave GIFCT and the millions of Internet users its policies impact? Not in a good place. Without meaningful civil society representation and involvement, full transparency and effective accountability mechanisms, GIFCT risks becoming yet another industry-led forum that promises multi-stakeholderism but delivers little more than government-sanctioned window-dressing.
Source: EFF.org
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activistpost--2020-08-27--Libraries, Town Halls And DMVs To Use Facial Recognition/Thermal Imaging Kiosks

Advanced Kiosks growth is tied to giving the public an illusion of safety .
Government agencies want to install “ Guardian Kiosks ” in town halls and DMVs across the country .
As the article mentions , the Guardian Kiosk measures body temperature using thermal imaging .
Since this can be done from 3 to 5 feet away , it ’ s a safe way to screen people without having to break social-distancing requirements .
But there is more to this story than government agencies and businesses using thermal imaging kiosks and enforcing social distancing .
Advanced Kiosks website reveals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identify whether or not a person is wearing a mask and observing social distancing .
This is a perfect example of how facial recognition/thermal imaging machines give the illusion of public safety .
If a device can identify a person using facial recognition and remember who they are , then everyone ’ s privacy is at risk .
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A standard feature of Guardian Kiosks is that they come with a “ facial recognition library of 30,000 faces ; with optional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Northfield , NH , where LaBlanc ’ s wife works , is using Guardian Kiosks to identify and screen patrons .
A Guardian Kiosk brochure boasts that its “ facial recognition feature can be used for added security .
It can even tie in to existing access controls.
” Advanced Kiosks made it easy for government agencies and businesses to access the cloud .
In other words , Guardian Kiosks will have access to any number of facial recognition databases .
Below is list of where Advanced Kiosks wants to put Guardian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using Guardian Kiosks , they will no doubt think that libraries , schools , hospitals , department stores , restaurants and movie theaters care about their safety by checking everyone ’ s temperatures .
But that feeling of safety is quickly exposed as just another way to identify and track the public through facial recognition .
Advanced Kiosks “ Don ’ t Touch !
Touchless Interactions in the Post-COVID World ” webinar exposes how they use facial recognition to identify unique faces .
The webinar is basically an in-house sales pitch on how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognition/thermal imaging kiosks .
According to the video , Advanced Kiosk plans to use Guardian Kiosks at hospitals that will identify a patient or visitor and give them directions .
It could also be used to automatically call elevators for them .
If you take one thing away from this story , I hope it is this : don ’ t trade your privacy and identity for a false hope of safety .
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Send resources to the front lines of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on SoMee , HIVE , Parler , Flote , Minds , and Twitter .
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By MassPrivateI
The Concord Monitor’s article about 50 businesses and 50 solutions on automated kiosks, is really an article praising a corporation for exploiting peoples fears during a pandemic.
When the pandemic hit, the team at Advanced Kiosks realized that they had more opportunity for growth than ever before. With social distancing quickly becoming the norm, all sorts of businesses that had previously resisted automation were looking for innovative ways to deliver services without person-to-person interactions.
Advanced Kiosks growth is tied to giving the public an illusion of safety.
“We’ve been seeing people realize that they want to provide goods and services, but need to do it in a way that’s safe for patrons and staff,” said Jeff LeBlanc, director of user experience for Advanced Kiosks.
Government agencies want to install “Guardian Kiosks” in town halls and DMVs across the country.
Entities ranging from government branches like town halls and DMVs to ski resorts began reaching out to Advanced Kiosks to see what solutions were available to keep them and their customers safe.
As the article mentions, the Guardian Kiosk measures body temperature using thermal imaging. Since this can be done from 3 to 5 feet away, it’s a safe way to screen people without having to break social-distancing requirements.
But there is more to this story than government agencies and businesses using thermal imaging kiosks and enforcing social distancing.
Advanced Kiosks website reveals that Guardian Kiosks do more than just identify whether or not a person is wearing a mask and observing social distancing.
Facial recognition, built on state of the art artificial intelligence methods, can optionally be used to see if a person is known to the kiosk.
This is a perfect example of how facial recognition/thermal imaging machines give the illusion of public safety. If a device can identify a person using facial recognition and remember who they are, then everyone’s privacy is at risk.
Become an Activist Post Patron for $1 per month at Patreon.
A standard feature of Guardian Kiosks is that they come with a “facial recognition library of 30,000 faces; with optional stranger detection.”
The Hall Memorial Library in Northfield, NH, where LaBlanc’s wife works, is using Guardian Kiosks to identify and screen patrons.
A Guardian Kiosk brochure boasts that its “facial recognition feature can be used for added security. It can even tie in to existing access controls.”
Advanced Kiosks made it easy for government agencies and businesses to access the cloud. In other words, Guardian Kiosks will have access to any number of facial recognition databases.
Below is list of where Advanced Kiosks wants to put Guardian Kiosks:
Schools and Academies
Government and Military Locations
Department Stores and Malls
Restaurants and Movie Theaters
Libraries and Public Spaces
Hospitals and Doctor’s Offices
Transportation Services
When the public sees businesses using Guardian Kiosks, they will no doubt think that libraries, schools, hospitals, department stores, restaurants and movie theaters care about their safety by checking everyone’s temperatures.
But that feeling of safety is quickly exposed as just another way to identify and track the public through facial recognition.
Advanced Kiosks “Don’t Touch! Touchless Interactions in the Post-COVID World” webinar exposes how they use facial recognition to identify unique faces.
The webinar is basically an in-house sales pitch on how to convince customers to purchase their facial recognition/thermal imaging kiosks.
According to the video, Advanced Kiosk plans to use Guardian Kiosks at hospitals that will identify a patient or visitor and give them directions. It could also be used to automatically call elevators for them.
If you take one thing away from this story, I hope it is this: don’t trade your privacy and identity for a false hope of safety.
Source: MassPrivateI
Top image: The Mind Unleashed
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activistpost--2020-08-27--Finally! Someone in the MSM Exposes Bill Gates

Derrick Broze covers a recent exposé by the Columbia Journalism Review which examines Bill Gates ’ influence on mainstream media @ @ @ @ @ of TCRN .
The Conscious Resistance Network is an independent media organization focused on empowering @ @ @ @ @ , health , and community organizing .
We work to create a world where corporate @ @ @ @ @ rule over the lives of free human beings .
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By The Conscious Resistance
Derrick Broze covers a recent exposé by the Columbia Journalism Review which examines Bill Gates’ influence on mainstream media.
Sources:
Journalism’s Gates keepers
Bill Gates’s Charity Paradox
Jeffrey Epstein’s Harvard Connections Show How Money Can Distort Research
Derrick Broze’s investigation: Bill Gates’ Web Of Dark Money And Influence
Derrick is the founder of TCRN.
The Conscious Resistance Network is an independent media organization focused on empowering individuals through education, philosophy, health, and community organizing. We work to create a world where corporate and state power does not rule over the lives of free human beings.
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Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE! Follow us on SoMee, HIVE, Parler, Flote, Minds, and Twitter.
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