<h2>Mobile computers</h2>Electric vehicles are more than just cars that run on electric batteries instead of gas; today they may be described as computers capable of functioning like cars or, as Sintrones, a supplier of vehicle computing systems <a href="https://www.sintrones.com/application/understanding-vehicle-computer-system-key-components-and-how-it-works/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">characterized them</a>, mobile computers.<blockquote>Modern vehicles are intricate machines that can be compared to mobile computers. The majority of modern vehicles possess at least one computer system, with many possessing several. . . .&nbsp;</blockquote>McKinsey and Company was more <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/whats-driving-the-connected-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">detailed</a> in its description of the “car as computer,” connected to the internet, and capable of optimizing its own operation and maintenance:<blockquote>Today’s car has the computing power of 20 personal computers, features about 100 million lines of programming code, and processes up to 25 gigabytes of data an hour. Yet while automotive digital technology has traditionally focused on optimizing the vehicle’s internal functions, attention is now turning to developing the car’s ability to connect with the outside world and enhance the in-car experience. This is the connected car—a vehicle able to optimize its own operation and maintenance as well as the convenience and comfort of passengers using onboard sensors and Internet connectivity.</blockquote>As such, electric cars, like computers, have many inherent vulnerabilities that leave them exploitable by bad actors, even without the drunk and impaired driver <a href="https://frontline.news/post/kill-switch-to-be-mandated-in-cars-by-2026-with-software-deciding-if-you-re-too-impaired-to-drive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“kill switch” mandate</a> coming into effect in the U.S. in 2026. Unlike the computer on your desk, however, if your “mobile computer” is hacked it can put your life, as well as your data, at risk.<h3>Cyber security threats</h3>Boye Tranum and Peter Hellström <a href="https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/electric-vehicles-how-much-should-we-worry-about-cyber-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">highlighted</a> cyber security issues unique to electric vehicles in their article published by the UK's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Security ramifications, they said, are not fully considered.<blockquote>From a cyber security perspective, the transition is not one from internal combustion energy to battery electric. It’s one from vehicles with digital extras to fully digitally transformed, fully interconnected vehicles. Dozens of computers and hundreds of sensors operate and optimise brakes, electric flow, charging and many other functions within just one vehicle, always communicating with one another, and connecting via 4G and soon 5G networks to infrastructure, third-party services, and other vehicles.. . . &nbsp;the technology and systems being developed and applied don’t always fully consider the security ramifications.One example would be a control system that ‘sees’ the position of other cars, enabling vehicles to travel in clusters to save energy when they share a travel path. But this means sharing data vividly, and it creates a hefty attack vector. If the data is not anonymised, this could be used to track a person and their behaviour.</blockquote>"Kill switches" bad for business and the economyIn fact, Tranum and Hellström believe that states and car manufacturers would never install kill switches of their own accord since they would damage the automobile industry and the general economy.<blockquote>Particularly, the question of a kill switch, in which an attacker could use a back door to shut down a vehicle completely, has recently made headlines. This is possible if a vehicle is connected to the outside world. And once access to one system in a vehicle has been obtained, there is potential to hack into the others.But looking at this from a risk perspective, what would be the reason for a kill switch or other dramatic hacks on the OT [operational technology] of EVs? States and car manufacturers care about the economy and good business, and if a kill switch was ever used or even discovered, that business and part of the economy would be severely damaged.</blockquote>They are concerned that purposeful disruption of power grids would be used to disable multiple cars and create havoc, rather than acting to disable a single car.&nbsp;<blockquote>From a societal perspective, if an attacker wants to cause widespread disruption, what’s the best way to do this? Is it to shut down individual EVs, or to target wider energy infrastructure, from wind farms to power stations and the grid? If widespread disruption is the attacker’s aim, then energy infrastructure would be their primary target.</blockquote>They also believe that individuals' data is at risk and could be hacked when they recharge their cars:&nbsp;<blockquote>An EV may not even need to be hacked to present a risk. The integrity of data may be the bigger issue. A service station – likely operated by mechanics, not cyber or data specialists – may access systems and download data when servicing a vehicle. There isn’t always transparency about how organisations treat the data, whether it’s the service station, the manufacturer, a component supplier, or an online service provider.&nbsp;</blockquote>Supply chain vulnerabilities&nbsp;Another issue with electric vehicles, they posit, is that most of the electronics come from a small number of Asian manufacturers, so any vulnerabilities in a product will have a great effect:<blockquote>EVs today typically use components from a small number of vendors in Southeast Asia, creating the conditions for any vulnerabilities to have a serious domino effect should they be introduced. There are already moves by the US and Europe to bring home supply chains, which could increase the number of local suppliers and somewhat reduce the risk. But we should remember that supply chains based anywhere can introduce vulnerabilities.</blockquote><h2 style="margin-left:0px;">Bonanza for hackers; dangerous for everyone else</h2>The video below demonstrates some of the ways the software of an electric vehicle can be penetrated by hackers, enabling the tracking of a vehicle's location, the monitoring of conversations in the car, and overriding the navigation system.Titled “Back-connect to the Connected Car. Search for Vulnerabilities in the VW Electric Car," the video shows the presentation made by<a href="https://www.navinfo.eu/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> NavInfo Europe</a> security team members Yuriy Serdyuk and Alexey Kondikov on December 7, 2022 at the<a href="https://www.blackhat.com/eu-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Black Hat Europe 2022</a> conference in London. Serdyuk and Kondikov demonstrated the serious vulnerabilities and security issues they found in the European electric Volkswagen ID3, which can also create problems with other VW models.&nbsp;<blockquote>Our discovered vulnerabilities and security problems in car architecture are also applicable for such Volkswagen models like ID4, ID5 and affect hundreds of thousands of electric cars on the roads.We will demonstrate how hackers can receive root access in Infotainment and Gateway modules in the cars, install backdoors and what hackers can do remotely with hacked cars.</blockquote>NavInfo made the full abstract and materials <a href="https://i.blackhat.com/EU-22/Wednesday-Briefings/EU-22-Serdyuk-Back-connect-to-the-connected-car.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">available</a> to the public. Here are a few of the slides:Note the comment at the bottom of this “main components” slide which explains that the diagram is actually a simplified version of a much more complex reality.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714640030/Nav_Info_main_components_291d85189c.jpg"></figure>What they found is shocking, as described in the below slide on the car's vulnerabilities.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714640030/Nav_Info_vulnerabilities_exploitation_7d2ef009a8.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;This security risks slide shows that no one and nothing is secure if the car is hacked:<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714640030/Nav_Info_security_risks_babf10515e.jpg"></figure>Screenshots from NavInfo's presentation:The narrator of the video described the results of a hack:<blockquote>We retrieve the current location, as well as the previous locations from the car. (@28:30).</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714592548/Black_Hat_retrieving_the_car_location_fbec0cdf0a.jpg"></figure>The researchers next show how they can alter the navigation script with wrong instructions.<blockquote>With remote access, we can control the voice of the navigation system of the car. (@29:58).</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714592548/Black_Hat_control_voice_of_the_navigation_system_db98eba059.jpg"></figure>Hackers are also able to obtain data on friends and family, putting them at risk as well.<blockquote>We show how we retrieve contact information from a mobile device and the car. (@31:00)&nbsp;</blockquote><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714640681/Nav_Info_retrieves_contract_info_from_mobile_device_and_car_64d9ed58e6.jpg"></figure>Watch as they demonstrate what they've managed to achieve and how they can remotely access a car's location and record and download what is heard through the car's microphone, change the script of the navigation system, copy all phone contacts from Bluetooth-connected devices, and more.&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4yBKYMKRPbU?si=8DM0PNDQSpzko3H7&amp;start=1576" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>&nbsp;Multiple hacking tests have exposes EV vulnerabilities with concerning results<ul><li>Tokyo hackers <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/01/27/tesla-hacked-as-electric-cars-targeted-in-1-million-hacking-spree/?sh=6792788522e8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">won</a> multiple cash prizes in a hacking contest for hacking Teslas.&nbsp;</li><li>A 19-year-old researcher remotely <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teen-security-researcher-describes-how-he-hacked-into-25-teslas-2022-1?op=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hacked</a> into more than 25 Teslas and gave the manufacturer time to repair the defects before revealing what he found.&nbsp;</li><li>The subtitle of a January 2023 Security Week article <a href="https://www.securityweek.com/16-car-makers-and-their-vehicles-hacked-telematics-apis-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">revealed</a> that “A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car functions and start or stop the engine.”</li></ul><blockquote>Impacted car models include Acura, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Toyota. The vulnerabilities were identified over the course of 2022. Car manufacturers were informed about the security holes and they released patches.&nbsp;</blockquote><ul><li>Just a month ago, in March 2024, “white-hat” hackers easily <a href="https://www.livescience.com/technology/electric-vehicles/white-hat-hackers-carjacked-a-tesla-using-cheap-legal-hardware-exposing-major-security-flaws-in-the-vehicle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">carjacked</a> a Tesla. “Security researchers used a $169 Flipper Zero device and a Wi-Fi development board to obtain a driver's credentials, break into a Tesla Model 3 and drive away.”&nbsp;</li></ul>In the video below, YouTuber Mysk shows how phishing and social engineering can easily enable a thief to steal a Tesla. Tesla doesn't protect its owners against stolen credentials, according to Mysk, who wrote:&nbsp;<blockquote>The major problem with the design is that Tesla only requires an account's email and password as well as being physically near the Tesla vehicle to activate a phone key. With an activated phone key a user, or an attacker, has full control of the vehicle. The flow doesn't require the user to be inside the car or to use another physical factor for authentication, such as a Tesla key card or scanning a QR code that the Tesla's touchscreen displays.&nbsp;</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="964" height="542" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7IBg5uNB7is" title="Cybersecurity: Can a Tesla stop phishing and social engineering attacks?" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>&nbsp;<h3>Hackers look for credit card numbers and other personal information&nbsp;</h3>An article by Patrick George for The Atlantic <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/electric-car-hacking-digital-features-cyberattacks/675284/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">explored</a> reasons why electric vehicles would be hacked. One reason he cited was for credit card information. Credit cards of car owners who pay for add-on features, such as heated seats, may be hacked for their credit card information:<blockquote>The bigger threat, experts told me, is remote software hacks from malicious actors. Each time a car gets a new touchscreen app or subscription feature, it provides a potential way in for hackers who are after your credit-card information, personal data, and more.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>&nbsp;Cars may especially be a target of hacks because of the massive amounts of personal and location data that they now collect. “Cars are the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy,” a recent report from the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation concluded. Depending on what exactly gets breached, a car hacker could see where your home or office is or where you go to spend your money, or even have a window into much more personal matters, such as whether you drove to an abortion clinic.</blockquote><h2>Will mobile computers in the U.S. be more hackable in 2026?</h2>If the above have been vulnerabilities and security concerns until now, how much more will hackers be able to accomplish when all new electric vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to have an open system or at least one back door and technology to disable their operation, in order to comply with the drunk and impaired driver “kill switch” mandate?&nbsp;Related articles:&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/will-hackers-be-able-to-stop-your-car-with-mandated-kill-switch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Will hackers be able to stop your car with mandated 'Kill Switch?'</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/kill-switch-to-be-mandated-in-cars-by-2026-with-software-deciding-if-you-re-too-impaired-to-drive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">'Kill Switch' to be mandated in cars by 2026 with software deciding if you're too impaired to drive</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/cars-to-be-programmed-to-limit-speed-if-california-bill-becomes-law">Cars to be programmed to limit speed if California bill becomes law</a></li></ul>

Car software.jpg

Technology

Cyber

Phone contacts, previous locations, credit card numbers and navigation systems all vulnerable to hacks

Electric vehicles act as 'mobile computers' that place data and safety at risk

Little firms protecting the little guyAn amendment to the New York State constitution that would have severely curtailed the rights of normal New Yorkers has been <a href="https://www.empirecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/000778_2023_Marjorie_Byrnes_et_al_v_Marjorie_Byrnes_et_al_DECISION___ORDER_ON_81.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">taken off</a> the November 5, 2024 ballot, thanks to the concerted efforts of two attorneys from a small legal firm, Cox Lawyers PLCC.The amendment concerned is usually referred to as Proposition One or the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). As things stand, discrimination based on race, color, creed, and religion is already banned in New York State. The ERA would have added ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health care and autonomy (additions to the current constitution are in boldface in the extract below):<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1715854344/ERA_4697ee5496.png"></figure>&nbsp;The only people without a protected category are “normals”While protecting people sounds like a noble intention, the ERA, if passed, would have in practice led to certain people in these categories being “protected” at the expense of others — &nbsp;who, in most cases, would be the majority of New Yorkers. For example:<ul><li>Protecting “gender identity and expression” would lead to an inability to bar men (that is, “transwomen”) from women's dormitories, sports, locker rooms and showers, public bathrooms, etc..</li><li>Banning “age-based discrimination” would potentially allow minors to take charge of their medical decisions and sideline their parents or guardians, barring them from intervening even in the event that they chose to undergo life-altering procedures.</li><li>Protecting “reproductive autonomy” would have the practical effect of enshrining in the constitution the right to have an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, right up to birth.</li></ul>This is why people such as Lee Zeldin, gubernatorial candidate for New York in 2022, have described Proposition 1 as an unprecedented threat to women's rights:<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">In New York, there has been no greater threat to women's and girls’ rights in our lifetimes than Kathy Hochul and the Dems attempting to enshrine their far-left, woke agenda into the State Constitution through Proposition 1, which is on this November’s ballot. To defend your… <a href="https://t.co/NfUzFf7hBK">pic.twitter.com/NfUzFf7hBK</a>— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) <a href="https://twitter.com/leezeldin/status/1787622930593067394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>&nbsp;Arrogance came before a fallGiven that New York is a solidly Democratic state, the ERA will almost certainly pass if it appears on the November ballot. Attorneys <a href="https://attorneycox.substack.com/p/victory-we-just-won-another-big-case?utm_source=substack&amp;amp%3Butm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bobbie Anne Cox</a> and Chris Browne attacked the proposed amendment on procedural grounds, as it was advanced in an unconstitutional manner.<ul class="todo-list"><li><label class="todo-list__label"><input type="checkbox" disabled="disabled">Senator George Borello excoriated politiicians for their arrogance in assuming that they could get away with cutting corners in pushing their agenda:</label></li></ul><blockquote>The Democrats that control state government think the rules don’t apply to them, which is why we repeatedly see them cut legal and ethical corners in order to achieve their political aims. While the Democrats will appeal, I urge the appellate judges who will make the next determination to be guided by the dictates of the state constitution and not politics. We all lose when the authority of our constitution is weakened, which is why I am optimistic this ruling will stand.</blockquote>&nbsp;Those who oppose woke ideology labeled ‘extremist’According to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-new-york-amendment-election-2024-4d3815708ef78c11599e1ebbb35ef896?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">media</a> accounts, Democrats had been “counting on the measure to help generate voter turnout." The Democrats have a $20 million <a href="https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/03/building-strategy-pass-equal-rights-amendment-new-york/395147/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">budget</a> to promote the ERA, and Attorney-General Letitia James has <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/new-yorks-abortion-rights-amendment-knocked-off-november-109994832" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">insisted</a> that her party will appeal the ruling;&nbsp;<blockquote>The Equal Rights Amendment was advanced to protect New Yorkers’ fundamental rights, including reproductive freedom and access to abortion care. This is a disappointing court decision, but we will appeal because New Yorkers deserve to be protected by their Constitution, especially as our basic freedoms and rights are under attack.</blockquote>Governor Kathy Hochul expressed similar sentiments, and also went as far as <a href="https://www.wxxinews.org/new-york-public-news-network/2024-05-07/ny-dems-confident-equal-rights-amendment-will-be-back-on-nov-ballot-after-ruling-strikes-it-down" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">calling</a> the judge who ruled in the case, Justice Daniel Doyle, an “extremist judge”:<blockquote>Our decades-long fight to protect equality and reproductive freedom will not be thrown off track by one extremist judge and I look forward to casting my ballot for the Equal Rights Amendment in November.</blockquote>

atty.jpg

Legal News

US News

Constitutional amendment curtailing freedoms for majority in favor of minorities off the ballot, for now

Small law firm takes on New York State and wins

By Alex NewmanThe dominoes are falling faster on Marxist “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” programs in higher education, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently becoming the first “elite” U.S. university to eliminate DEI considerations in its hiring. Analysts are referring to the decision as a turning point in the battle against “wokeness” in academia.In true Soviet style, MIT applicants were required to provide a statement bending the knee to DEI ideology. As part of that, they were forced to outline their supposed understanding of “challenges related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Polling cited by Fox News revealed that a “large majority” of students and faculty were scared to express their real views.As part of the hiring process, MIT also forced applicants to outline their “track record of working with diverse groups of people.” Finally, all faculty applicants at MIT were coerced into developing a plan for advancing DEI ideology in their role at the university. In short, publicly embrace the “woke” diversity ideology — or find another job.Critics have compared the coerced DEI statements as a tool for screening out independent thinkers, conservatives, Christians, and others from academia. It represents a forced humiliation ritual, too, with all faculty and sometimes even students being coerced to pledge allegiance to a dangerous ideology that they may secretly loathe.The decision to nix the requirements, embraced by MIT’s senior leadership, comes as more and more universities, donors, lawmakers, investors, and other influential figures find the courage to speak out against the draconian ideology. Multiple states including Florida have forced the issue, ordering state colleges and universities to dismantle the DEI apparatus.&nbsp;MIT President Dr. Sally Kornbluth offered a statement on why the decision was made. “My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to MIT, and to make sure they thrive once here,” she said. “We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”According to media reports, the decision to end forced DEI statements was made by Kornbluth in collaboration with all six academic deans, the MIT chancellor, and the MIT provost. It was not immediately clear whether the university would eliminate positions within the sprawling DEI ideological-enforcement bureaucracy.One major group opposing the use of DEI statements, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), explained the danger of DEI policies “compelling faculty to affirm contested views on matters of public debate or to embed specific ideological perspectives in their academic activities.”“This violates faculty members’ individual rights and thwarts values like intellectual freedom, epistemic humility, and open-mindedness that underlie a university’s mission to produce and disseminate knowledge,” the group said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/fire-statement-use-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-criteria-faculty-hiring-and">statement</a>. As such, it cautioned universities to be careful about running afoul of the law.“DEI statement policies can too easily function as ideological litmus tests that threaten employment or advancement opportunities for faculty who dissent from prevailing thought on DEI,” the group added, warning administrators that efforts to stifle free speech, compel speech, or undermine academic freedom may violate the First Amendment.Also urging colleges and universities to stop using DEI statements was the Academic Freedom Alliance in Princeton. “The rapid and widespread dissemination of such statements has proceeded with far too little attentiveness to obvious threats to academic freedom,” the organization warned in 2022, calling on institutions to “desist” in the scheme. &nbsp;“The demand for diversity statements enlists academics into a political movement, erasing the distinction between academic expertise and ideological conformity,”&nbsp;<a href="https://academicfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AFA-DEI-Statement-081822.pdf">the statement</a>&nbsp;continued, warning that even leftists could be ensnared in the DEI regime. “It encourages cynicism and dishonesty.”More and more voices in higher education are finding the courage to dissent against DEI orthodoxy, too. “I am a scholar on the left committed to struggles for social justice,” Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/column/council-on-academic-freedom-at-harvard/article/2024/4/2/kennedy-abandon-dei-statements/">Harvard Crimson</a>. “The realities surrounding mandatory DEI statements, however, make me wince. The practice of demanding them ought to be abandoned, both at Harvard and beyond.”As The Newman Report&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freedomproject.com/2024/03/06/tnr20240306/">documented</a>&nbsp;in March, the University of Florida —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public">widely considered</a>&nbsp;one of America’s top public university — decided to eliminate its entire DEI bureaucracy under pressure from the state. All DEI apparatchiks had their positions ended including the “Chief Diversity Officer.”“DEI really is a cover for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,” explained Florida Board of Education Chairman Ben Gibson, echoing sentiments expressed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other political leaders. “That has no place in our state colleges at all, and our state colleges need to be focused on learning.”<img class="image_resized" style="width:289px;" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.freedomproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/3364780_1225x377_2500.jpg?resize=696%2C214&amp;ssl=1" alt="">It is a good sign that more and more universities including Ivy League schools are rejecting the DEI madness. But the battle is far from over. And as the escalating lunacy infecting college students shows, DEI is more a symptom of the deadly disease than the root cause. Taxpayers, parents, donors, and lawmakers must all do more to restore sanity.<a href="https://libertysentinel.org/author/admin/">Alex Newman</a> is an award-winning international journalist, educator, author, and consultant who co-wrote the book “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children.” He writes for diverse publications in the United States and abroad.Published at <a href="https://www.freedomproject.com/2024/05/15/tnr20240515/">FreedomProject Media</a>.

dei (2).jpg

wokeness

The dominoes are falling fast on Marxist “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” programs 

MIT Drops Forced DEI Statements: “They Don’t Work”

<h2>Will Tamiflu be the new Remdesivir?</h2><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Failed drug repurposed as Covid-19 therapy</h3>Readers might remember that the FDA gave remdesivir emergency use authorization as a therapy for COVID-19. It was prioritized as the remedy of choice, even though the NIH <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/horowitz-the-science-of-remdesivir-vs-ivermectin-a-tale-of-two-drugs">acknowledged</a> liver and renal (kidney) failure as adverse events and the NIH <a href="https://frontline.news/post/why-is-emergency-use-authorization-being-used-to-increase-big-pharmas-coffers-without-any-regard-for-patient-safety">failed</a> to determine its benefit for Ebola patients during trials since it killed more patients than Ebola.Despite the drug increasing the the risk of death by 3% and the chance of renal (kidney) failure by 20%, Dr. Paul Marik <a href="https://frontline.news/post/undue-and-unaccountable-influence-of-fact-checkers-on-medical-science-and-freedom-of-speech#fn:19">testified</a> before Senator Ron Johnson’s panel that hospitals were incentivized to prescribe it giving “a 20% bonus on the entire hospital bill for Medicare patients who were prescribed remdesivir.”<h3>Adverse events mistaken as disease symptoms&nbsp;</h3>Worse yet is that adverse events associated with remdesivir had been mistaken for features of COIVID-19, as Dr. Bryan Ardis <a href="https://frontline.news/post/why-is-emergency-use-authorization-being-used-to-increase-big-pharmas-coffers-without-any-regard-for-patient-safety">told</a> Attorney Reiner Fuellmich, who had been investigating human rights violations related to the Covid-19 pandemic:&nbsp;<blockquote>"Gilead’s “cohort study” conducted for “compassionate use” on patients with COVID-19 was only 28 days long. It reported that of 61 patients treated with the drug, eight were excluded for missing information, 32 (60%) of 53 remaining patients reported adverse events including increased liver enzymes, diarrhea, rash, and kidney function impairment. Twelve patients (23%) had “serious” adverse events including multiple-organ-dysfunction syndrome, septic shock, acute kidney injury, and hypotension (low blood pressure).…Each of these symptoms – multi-organ failure, septic shock, acute kidney injury and hypotension – are described in medical literature as features of COVID-19 itself. (Emphasis added.)</blockquote><h2>Next pandemic in the works</h2>The FDA has started warning about a potential bird flu pandemic, despite listing it as a low probability, as Frontline News has <a href="https://frontline.news/post/not-to-worry-we-know-how-to-prevent-and-treat-bird-flu-dr-zelenko-s-brother" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>:<blockquote>FDA is sounding an alarm about the potential for such a pandemic, for which it is “drawing up plans to roll out tests, antiviral drugs and vaccines in the event the [bird flu] virus jumps to humans,” as reported by The Gateway Pundit. Even though FDA head Robert Califf says that the probability of this happening is low, they are taking these measures with the rationale that it's best to be prepared for a scenario where the virus jumps to humans.&nbsp;</blockquote>Dr. Peter McCullough, on the Chief Medical Board of The Wellness Company, said the board voted to add Tamiflu to its “Contagion Kit” in the event that bird flu pandemic materializes, as WLT Report <a href="https://wltreport.com/2024/04/19/chief-medical-board-wellness-company-adds-tamiflu-contagion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>:<blockquote>“Out of an abundance of caution, we are adding Tamiflu to the Contagion Kit. Tamiflu is a safe medication approved treat Influenza type A, viruses like avian flu. We will continue to closely monitor this situation and make further recommendations as warranted.”</blockquote>The Wellness Company also sells Dr. Zelenko's Z-Stack, which Dr. Zelenko <a href="https://frontline.news/post/not-to-worry-we-know-how-to-prevent-and-treat-bird-flu-dr-zelenko-s-brother" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recommended</a> for multiple viruses and will help inhibit bird flu.Dr. Jane Ruby criticized Dr. McCullough for recommending Tamiflu, a pharmaceutical drug with a black box warning for neuropsychiatric side effects, for a non-existent disease.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Wow! Peter McCullough is hyping a disease that does not exist, to drive you to buy a pharmaceutical product, TAMIFLU antiviral, that has an FDA black box warning for serious neuropsychiatric side effects. "You will know them by their fruits" <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeTalkShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeTalkShow</a> <a href="https://t.co/NmMUkBmCxW">pic.twitter.com/NmMUkBmCxW</a>— DR JANE RUBY (@RealDrJaneRuby) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealDrJaneRuby/status/1788185679714759133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h2>Is Tamiflu a good choice? &nbsp;</h2>The government generally <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/12/21/hhs-increases-access-to-tamiflu-through-the-strategic-national-stockpile.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stockpiles</a> Tamiflu for release in the event of a flu epidemic as it did in 2022. Many people may also try to get as much of it as they can get their hands on, in anticipation of the currently improbable event. Yet, Tamiflu does not have such a good track record. &nbsp;<h3>No real benefits, serious rates of adverse events</h3><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/apr/10/tamiflu-saga-drug-trials-big-pharma" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to an April 2014 article about Tamiflu, published by The Guardian, the drug’s manufacturer, Roche, had withheld critical trial information. The independent Cochrane Collaboration's initial positive reports on the drug were, therefore, found to be based on incomplete data. After the mistake was recognized in 2008, it took Dr. Thomas Jefferson, the lead reviewer, six years to get the full information and perform a new review with complete data.After “ceaseless questions from Cochrane and the British Medical Journal, after half a decade, Roche finally gave Cochrane the information it needed,” which author Dr. Ben Goldacre summed up in his article. The Cochrane report showed that not only was there little, if any, benefit from Tamiflu, but the “mild” adverse effects are actually quite significant, all of which he detailed:&nbsp;<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>It does not reduce the number of hospitalizations</li><li>There isn’t enough data to know if it reduces death</li><li>It reduces self-reported undiagnosed pneumonia, but there is no significant benefit according to detailed diagnostic forms for pneumonia.</li><li>It might help prevent flu symptoms, but not asymptomatic spread&nbsp;</li><li>It may take a few hours off the duration of flu symptoms</li></ul>Dr. Goldacre put numbers to the adverse events percentages demonstrating what would happen if a million people took Tamiflu in a pandemic:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>45,000 will experience vomiting,&nbsp;</li><li>31,000 will experience headache and&nbsp;</li><li>11,000 will have psychiatric side-effects.&nbsp;</li></ul>These numbers, he warns, are only for 1 million people.&nbsp;<blockquote>Remember, though, that those figures all assume we are only giving Tamiflu to a million people: if things kick off, we have stockpiled enough for 80% of the population. That's quite a lot of vomit.</blockquote><h3>Tamiflu saga reverberations</h3>Pandemic fear and scientific misconduct&nbsp;In 2015, the Indian Journal of Pharmacology reviewed the Tamiflu saga to learn how to avoid a similar situation in the future. Problems they found included pandemic panic, propaganda, and scientific misconduct.<blockquote>A cocktail of pandemic panic, publicity propaganda, and scientific misconduct turned a new medicine with only modest efficacy into a blockbuster. It appears that the multiple regulatory checks and balances gave way as science lost its primacy and pharmaceutical enterprise lost no time in making the most of it. This reminds one of Prof R. P. Feynman's statements after Challenger space shuttle disaster. (Emphasis added.)</blockquote><blockquote>“Reality must take precedence over public relations as nature can’t be fooled”</blockquote>Tamiflu saga should have prevented remdesivir catastropheBMJ <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4701" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published</a> an editorial, in 2022, criticizing the use of remdesivir and lamenting “the lost lessons of Tamiflu.” Editor-in-chief Fiona Godlee pointed out that Tamiflu's and Remdesivir's stories share many common features, including both having failed in previous settings and being hyped on poor research:<blockquote>. . . How one such treatment reached its costly prominence, despite the already available evidence of its inadequacies, stands as a cautionary tale. It also shows how little or how slowly we learn. The remdesivir story shares many common features with the saga of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), the drug that cost the world billions of dollars during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Both drugs had failed in earlier settings. At the start of the pandemics both were hyped on limited, poor quality research, mainly funded by drug companies. Both were bought in large amounts by governments without data to back up their purchase. Both have harms that have been inadequately researched and reported. (Emphasis added.)</blockquote>Problems with remdesivir were also covered in <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/very-very-bad-look-remdesivir-first-fda-approved-covid-19-drug" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The ‘very, very bad look' of remdesivir, the first FDA-approved COVID-19 drug</a>: The Food and Drug Administration held no advisory meeting on antiviral, and the European Union signed contract without knowing of failed trial.It may seem incredible, yet despite the Tamiflu saga and remdesivir catastrophe, Tamiflu is still being considered a safe and effective antiviral to combat the bird flu, not just by Dr McCullough, but by the FDA as well, as Frontline News <a href="https://frontline.news/post/not-to-worry-we-know-how-to-prevent-and-treat-bird-flu-dr-zelenko-s-brother" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>.<h2>Can it happen again?</h2><h3>Tamiflu pandemic? Tamiflu adverse effects mimic bird flu symptoms</h3>Is it possible to create a bird flu pandemic by mistaking Tamiflu adverse events for bird flu, as occurred when Remdesivir adverse effects were written up as features of COVID-19? Like Tamiflu's adverse events, bird flu symptoms include nausea and vomiting.[fn]<a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22401-bird-flu">Symptoms</a> of bird flu per the Cleveland Clinic - fever, fatigue, cough, muscle aches. sore throat. nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stuffy or runny nose. shortness of breath (dyspnea), and pink eye (conjunctivitis).[/fn]&nbsp;The US population <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/">today</a> is 341,586,555. During the COVID-19 “pandemic” 80% of the population got at least one mRNA shot. 80% of the population today is 273,269,244. While many more people might question a new bird flu vaccine, Tamiflu is a drug most people have heard of and still believe to be safe — like Dr. McCullough, apparently.&nbsp;<h3>Bye-bye freedom</h3>Tamiflu isn't as dangerous as Remdesivir, which is perhaps why even normally cautious physicians are willing to promote it, “to be on the safe side.” However, the real danger lies not in the mass administration of Tamiflu, but in the potential consequences. In the event of hundreds of thousands of people being stricken with debilitating, if non-life-threatening, adverse events that are mistaken for bird flu, mass hysteria could erupt, providing certain vested interests with the perfect opportunity to rush through emergency use authorization for an all-new, untested “wonder drug” to cure "bird flu," not to mention lockdown restrictions so restrictive we may long for the COVID era. &nbsp;Related articles:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/not-to-worry-we-know-how-to-prevent-and-treat-bird-flu-dr-zelenko-s-brother" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Not to worry! We know how to prevent and treat bird flu - Dr. Zelenko's brother</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/cheap-drugs-cheap-nutrients-treat-disease-say-fauci-baric-fda#fnref:8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cheap drugs, cheap nutrients treat disease say Fauci, Baric, FDA</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/why-is-emergency-use-authorization-being-used-to-increase-big-pharmas-coffers-without-any-regard-for-patient-safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Why is Emergency Use Authorization being used to increase big pharma coffers with no regard for patient safety?</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/zelenko-on-next-pandemic-zinc-ionophores-and-zinc-inhibit-all-covid-influenza-rsv-ebola-marburg-hantavirus-strains">Zelenko on next pandemic: Zinc ionophores and zinc inhibit all COVID, influenza, RSV, Ebola, Marburg, hantavirus strains</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/flashback-60-minutes-mike-wallace-exposes-1976-swine-flu-pandemic-vaccine-injuries">Flashback: 60 Minutes - Mike Wallace exposes 1976 Swine Flu Pandemic vaccine injuries</a>&nbsp;</li></ul>

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Possible COVID-19 remake? Remdesivir adverse events were identified as COVID-19 features

Will our next pandemic be a Tamiflu pandemic? Tamiflu's adverse events mimic bird flu

A bill that has been described as “the worst children's health bill ever” has been <a href="https://teachersforchoice.substack.com/p/success-minor-consent-bill-in-albany" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stricken</a> in Albany, after the Senator who sponsored it, Rachel May, moved to withdraw it from the Senate docket.The bill would have granted children the right to make medical decisions for themselves, without parental involvement, as long as they appeared to comprehend what was involved.&nbsp;Intentionally misleading?The one-line description of Senate Bill S8352 that appears on the <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S8352" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NY Senate website</a> states that it:<blockquote>Allows certain minors to consent to certain medical, dental, health, and hospital services.</blockquote>However, there is no evidence in the text of the bill itself that ability to give consent will be confined only to “certain” minors, although many lawmakers poised to vote on the law had allegedly gained the impression that it would only apply to “homeless” children.&nbsp;In an undefined state of emergency, anything goesClicking on the link on the Senate's website to access the entire bill currently leads nowhere, now that the bill has been stricken, but the full text still exists in the internet <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240426230259/https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2023/S8352" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">archive</a>.The bill includes a provision that, in a state of “emergency,” parents may be totally sidelined when it comes to treating their children:<blockquote>Medical, dental, health, and hospital services may be rendered to persons of any age without the consent of a parent, legal guardian or person possessing a lawful order of custody when, in the practitioner's judgment, an emergency exists and the person is in immediate need of medical attention and an attempt to secure consent would result in delay of treatment which would increase the risk to the person's life or health.</blockquote>Nowhere in the bill is an emergency defined. Nor does the bill specify how much of an increased risk will be needed to justify “emergency” treatment.&nbsp;Can minors truly give informed consent?The bill would also seek to place a child in control of his or her health treatment, regardless of any state of emergency:<blockquote>Any person, including a minor, who comprehends the need for, the nature of, and the reasonably foreseeable risks and benefits involved in any contemplated medical, dental, health, and/or hospital services, and any alternatives thereto, may give effective consent to such services for themself, and the consent of no other person shall be necessary.</blockquote>The bill does not describe any mechanism for determining the level of comprehension of the child concerned.&nbsp;Brought to you by the Letter P(fizer)It appears that a large and well-organized public campaign was effective in exerting pressure on New York lawmakers, and many are now celebrating the decision of Senator May to withdraw the bill. However, it seems likely that the bill will resurface next January with different wording.Meanwhile, children continue to be bombarded by messaging that promotes medical interventions such as COVID shots, in the media, in schools, and elsewhere.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">It's okay to have questions about COVID-19 vaccines for children! Elmo's dad Louie talked to their pediatrician, and learned that Elmo getting vaccinated is the best way to keep him and his whole neighborhood safe and healthy! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CaringForEachOther?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CaringForEachOther</a> <a href="https://t.co/aWkCfysJPE">pic.twitter.com/aWkCfysJPE</a>— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) <a href="https://twitter.com/sesamestreet/status/1541775926014492672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>&nbsp;Teachers tempted to abuse their positionsSo far, efforts to pass legislation to require students in NY schools to receive COVID shots have failed. Many shots are mandated, but not all those that the CDC recommends.At times, pressure on children comes from teachers, especially if they fear that their students will infect them with a dangerous virus. The motives of a New York teacher (with no medical credentials) who administered a COVID shot to a student herself are unclear, but the case illustrated the potential for teachers to abuse their position in the area of health; Laura Parker Russo <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/laura-parker-russo-plea-deal-unauthorized-covid-vaccine-injection-long-island/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pled guilty</a> to a misdemeanor in a plea bargain and ended up avoiding prison time, despite giving her 17-year-old student a J&amp;J shot without his parents' consent.&nbsp;They want to bring up your childrenIn her State of the State <a href="https://www.amityvillerecord.com/articles/special-report-schools-speak-out-against-states-potential-covid-vaccine-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Address </a>in January this year, Governor Hochul insisted that,<blockquote>The Legislature makes the determination in consultation with health experts … We're not talking about mandating the COVID vaccine in schools at this time.</blockquote>However, in his speech at a freedom rally in Albany on May 7, 2024, Dr. James Lyons-Weiler of the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge insisted that,<blockquote>Their goal is that parents do not have a say over the biological realities of their children.</blockquote>

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'The worst children's health bill ever'

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Will our next pandemic be a Tamiflu pandemic? Tamiflu's adverse events mimic bird flu

NY bill granting minors full power over medical decisions withdrawn. Defeat, or tactical retreat?