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Concept for discussion: Replacing HTTP Signatures with Bearer Tokens for ActivityPub Federation
Curious what other people think about this idea. What if federation security was re-worked to use target-assigned bearer tokens to authenticate GET/POST requests? This would remove the need for complicated signing schemes and reduce system load under heavy traffic bursts (as no cryptography is required).

A basic implementation could look like this:1. When instance A (a.example.com) first attempts to federate with instance B (b.example.com), a POST request is made to a dedicated registration endpoint. (for discussion, we'll say it's https://b.example.com/activity-pub/register-instance). This request includes fields necessary for verification, including the source domain name, target domain name, and a securely-generated verification token. Other metadata could be included to allow instance B to selectively allow/prohibit federation based on other criteria, but this is optional.
2. Instance B makes a POST request back to a dedicated verification endpoint on instance A (for discussion, we'll say it's https://a.example.com/activity-pub/verify-registration). This request must include the target domain name and verification token provided in step 2.
3. Instance A checks the verification token (and verify that it matches the target domain name) and return a successful value. The verification code must be invalidated after this call!4. Instance B, after verifying instance A's request, returns a securely-generated federation key back to instance A. This federation key is a bearer token used to authenticate all requests from instance A to instance B. This key must be unique to instance A!5. Instance A completes the original request with the Authorization header set to Bearer {federation_key}.
6. Instance B receives the request, detects the federation key, and checks it against the list of registered instances.
7. If the key does not exist or A has been defederated, then a 403 Forbidden error is returned.
8. If the key is expired or revoked, then 401 Unauthorized error is returned. Upon receiving a 401 error, instance A should start over from step 1 to re-authenticate and complete the request with a new token. This process should not be repeated for recursive failures!9. If the key is approved, then a 200 OK response or 202 Accepted response is returned, and A can consider the request as successful.

Advantages versus HTTP Signatures:- No cryptography requirements.
- Simple logic, no edge cases around HTTP query parameters or header order.
- Equally effective for all request types.
- Keys can be easily revoked or rotated.
- Supports authorized fetch and defederation use cases "by default".

Disadvantages versus HTTP Signatures:- Breaks the actor model - instances are required as a first-class concept. (but really, the actor model is basically dead already. you can't even federate reliably without a WebFinger server, at minimum.)
- Requires multi-request "handshake" before communication. (but this is already required in practice, since a signature can't be validated without first requesting the signing actor.)
- Out-of-band protocol - communication can't happen over ActivityPub / ActivityStreams because this is a prerequisite to authenticate any request. (but again, we already require WebFinger and some software requires NodeInfo for full support.)

So, what are your thoughts? Good idea? Bad idea? Did I miss something? Please let me know, I welcome replies here!

#ActivityPub #AP #Federation

This entry was edited (2 months ago)


🔗 Performance study of microplastic inhalation risk posed by wearing masks (2020) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/…

Wearing an N95 mask reduces the inhalation risk of spherical-type microplastics by 25.5 times compared with not wearing a mask.

Wearing low-quality masks for longer than 4 h can pose higher fiber-like microplastic inhalation risk than not wearing a mask. When the masks are reused for a long time, only N95 respirators pose less fiber-like microplastic inhalation risk compared with not wearing a mask.


@maskup

This entry was edited (3 months ago)

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🔗 Wearing a mask while exercising indoors improves lung function -- masks not only help protect wearers from virus transmission, but improve the exercise experience in both dry and cold conditions ualberta.ca/en/folio/2025/02/w…

@maskup

Mask Up reshared this.

in reply to trendless

The number of people who went from gobsmacked to curious after I told them I always wear a mask while riding my bike is, well, not that high, but still. Most just avoid asking me about masking because reasons.

But yeah, I'd never go back. way more comfortable breathing even in clear air conditions, and orders of magnitude more comfortable in the cold.

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Edit: @ABScientist shared ccnse.ca/sites/default/files/F… !

hey Covid-Competent, well-informed folks! I have a favour to ask!

has anyone bookmarked a good reference for what % of SARS-CoV-2 cases are due to fomite transmission?

the US CDC was at one point saying:

each contact with a contaminated surface has less than a 1 in 10,000 chance of causing an infection [1]


but that's not a % of infections, it's per contact with contaminated surface. That's supported a few ways, eg. by a sampling that included counting touchpoints:

The estimated risk of infection from touching a contaminated surface was low (less than 5 in 10,000) by quantitative microbial risk assessment [2]


but that study didn't actually culture virus, they checked RNA levels and counted touches (and again, is per contaminated touch, not per case)

Try as I might, I can't actually find a grounded estimate of how many actual infections have been fomite-driven at any point in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

[1] archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/co…
[2] pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/…

@askazero

#SARSCoV2 #COVID #COVID19 #COVIDIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCompetent #AirborneAware

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in reply to datum (n=1)

Took a quick look and this is the best I could find. The others kind of vague/hand wavey "it lasts on surfaces for x days" stuff

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.e…

German summary pointed out big picture which is that you can find it on surfaces but transmission is very inefficient.

bfr.bund.de/en/service/frequen…

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in reply to Jonathan

@jmcrookston
And the virus won't go through the skin, so for transmission people first need to touch their mouth, inside of their nose or eyes. Maybe some transmission is possible by first touching food and eating it? Then there is still the acid of the stomach. It all does not sound like very efficient transmission if you can also just breathe it in.

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:questionbox: :vflex: 🇺🇸 🧑‍⚖️

Does anyone have recommendations for a USian called for jury duty if they're prevented from masking up?

@askazero @maskup

:BoostOK:

#MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #StillMasking #CovidIsAirborne

This entry was edited (3 months ago)

reshared this

in reply to trendless

Thanks everyone for your responses!! 🙌 ✊

@askazero @maskup

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🔗 “I pretty much haven't worked since 2020”: How the effects of Long COVID have harmed professional musicians and DJs musicradar.com/music-industry/…

@pandemicene

#longCovid

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“One thing that can make a significant difference in reducing illness is masking,”

“While it received mixed reactions...one of the greatest missed opportunities in public health...has been acknowledging the effectiveness of masks at reducing spread of airborne illness.”


stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360735673/…

@maskup

This entry was edited (3 months ago)

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🇨🇦 CSA Z94.4:25 -- Selection, use, and care of respirators, draft review (comments open June 20, 2025 - Aug 19, 2025)

This Standard sets out requirements for the selection, use, and care of respirators and for the administration of an effective respiratory protection program in the workplace.


publicreview.csa.ca/Home/Detai…

@maskup

:xplore1900: :aura: :n95:

#CovidIsAirborne

This entry was edited (4 months ago)

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in reply to trendless

Might be some of the best news we've had in a long long time... Hope it survives.🥳

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🔗 Respirator Types and Use cdc.gov/niosh/ppe/respirators/

@maskup

This entry was edited (4 months ago)

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🔗 Decreases in chimpanzee respiratory disease signs and enteric viral quantity following implementation of anthroponotic disease prevention protocols at a long-term research site sciencedirect.com/science/arti…

Following a fatal outbreak of anthroponotic respiratory disease among chimpanzees at the long-term field site of Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, research personnel implemented more stringent disease prevention protocols (e.g., use of face masks in the presence of chimpanzees). Furthermore, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a 7-day quarantine period prior to any exposure to chimpanzees was implemented for all Ngogo research personnel.

Chimpanzees were observed to cough less frequently following the implementation of more stringent disease prevention protocols compared to the period prior. Coughing frequencies were even lower following the implementation of the quarantine period.


@maskup

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🔗 Measurements of Surrogate Respiratory Sessile Droplet pH and Implications for Exhaled Respiratory Aerosol and Airborne Disease Transmission pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/…

@maskup

#CovidIsAirborne

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Illinois could become the first state in the country to ban mask bans. Here’s how we created the bill to do it. thesicktimes.org/2025/05/27/il…

@maskup

#MaskUp

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🔗 Minimal Influenza Virus Transmission From Touching Contaminated Floors and Metal Door Levers: Laboratory Study II onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10…

In our previous paper, we demonstrated through a series of experiments that the probability of influenza virus transmission from touching contaminated surfaces of face masks is minimal (Sci Rep 2024, 14, 20211). In the present study, we expanded upon this study by conducting an experimental evaluation of the likelihood of influenza transmission from dried fomites under three specific scenarios... We found that viable viruses were rarely transmitted to fingertips from the above fomites even when the viral loads in the viral fluid contaminating the fomites far exceeded that seen in real life. Consequently, we conclude that the probability of contact transmission of influenza via dried fomites is negligible or minimal under the scenarios studied here.


@maskup

#CovidIsAirborne

Mask Up reshared this.

in reply to trendless

That's good news, because cleaning groceries is a pain (every tried to wipe off a loaf of bread?).

Mask Up reshared this.

in reply to Another concerned scientist

@ABScientist Though I expect one should make a distinction between "on the groceries" and "in the groceries".

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🔗 Here’s an Inconvenient Truth: Disease Is in the Air thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/05/16/…

We ignored the science of airborne transmission for a century. Carl Zimmer tells us why.


@maskup

#CovidIsAirborne

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in reply to trendless

1905 aerosol / droplet experiment U.K. parliament

What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic?

doi.org/10.1111/ina.13070

Estimating the population-level effects of nonpharmaceutical interventions when transmission rates of COVID-19 vary by orders of magnitude from one contact to another

openread.academy/paper/reading…

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Hey there @zeroes people! What's the best resources these days for how to put on a Covid-competent event? What's the best resources for why to make an event Covid-competent? #CovidIsNotOver #covid #WearAMask


Why are you taking sarscov2/covid seriously when others like you didn't?

(presumably there are a number of discrete subtypes of people like you and for which there may be many distinct 'whys'; feel free to share any/all of them)

#CovidIsNotOver

@pandemicene @askazero

This entry was edited (6 months ago)

reshared this

in reply to trendless

If I had to make a full list, I would probably start with these:
1) I was able to do the math, and was willing, long before 2020.
2) I read Ontario's SARS Commssion report, and realized Dr. Henry had abandoned the precautionary principle, and was not intrinsicly trustworthy. A whole lot of "two truths and a lie", unfit for office.
3) I learned that humans do not develop any lasting immunity to SARS-nCoV2, so each infection puts your immune system / brain / cardiovascular system / liver / kidneys (and so on (and on and on)) in harm's way.

I was able to understand that public health messaging was not directed at supporting public health, but rather brr "Line Go Up."

And yeah, "people like me" has the potential for a lot of axes.

reshared this

in reply to trendless

Self-employed with Epstein-Barr floating dormant in my bloodstream. Yeah, no.

That said, I know people with severe asthma who stopped masking b/c peer pressure. "Oh you still mask? I should too."

@pandemicene @askazero

reshared this



🔗 Indoor Air Pollution: Understanding Harmful Substances in the Indoor Air air-fanta.com/blogs/all/unders…

@maskup

#CovidIsAirborne

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🔗 NorthBox 6XL review — the only PC fan air purifier made in Canada
An excellent PC fan-powered air purifier developed by North Box Systems, a father and son company based in Ontario housefresh.com/northbox-6xl-re…

@maskup

#CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsAirborne

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goodmenproject.com/featured-co…

Respirators are so effective that United Kingdom research has indicated their use by the public would have dropped the rate of COVID transmission by an estimated factor of 9, compared with 0.6 for surgical masks. A factor of 9 is enough to put SARS-COV-2 into exponential decay, meaning the virus would have been highly suppressed for as long as respirator use continued. The exponential math of viral spread also means that perfect masking compliance would not have been required to achieve suppression.


@maskup :xplore1900:

#CovidIsAirborne #WearARespirator

This entry was edited (6 months ago)

Mask Up reshared this.

in reply to trendless

And that's still true. We could do this to most viral infections if we wanted. Fairly easily.
Sigh.

Mask Up reshared this.

in reply to trendless

Yes-but-my-sovereign-rights-etc 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

Mask Up reshared this.



@violetblue heya! In the recent COVID newsletter, you wrote, “… I don’t see anyone covering the public health developments as a whole picture, rather than fragments.”

There is “Health Security Decoded” by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: centerforhealthsecurity.org/ou…

Apologies if this came from you, and my inbox and I both forgot; felicitations if this is new and useful! You’re the fuckin’ best, keep on keeping on

@pandemicene #CovidIsNotOver

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🔗 Why Masks-Required Concerts Still Sell Out in the Bay Area

“I think most non-COVID-cautious musicians think about COVID precautions only being for the sake of disabled and immunocompromised folks, and don’t realize that these are real issues that the musicians themselves can be impacted by and are all at risk for.”


@pandemicene

This entry was edited (7 months ago)

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in reply to trendless

It's a mystery...

"Why Masks-Required Concerts Still Sell Out in the Bay Area"

Pandemicene reshared this.



"Respirator" means a facemask that seals around the mouth and nose for the purpose of filtering all the air the wearer inhales.

Respirators can be constructed of either:

a) an elastomeric body designed to be reused many times with replaceable electrostatically-charged, glass fibre, charcoal and/or gas filters, straps, etc

b) an electrostatically-charged fabric designed to be disposed of after one or a small number of uses.

Most reusable elastomeric respirators (N95, FFP2, FFP3, P100) have exhalation valves, but some don't.

Most disposable fabric respirators (KN95, KF94, N95, FFP2, FFP3) don't have exhalation valves, but some do.

🧵

@maskup

#MaskUp #MaskMeansRespirator #WearARespirator #N95 #P100 #Respie #Elasto #CovidIsAirborne

This entry was edited (8 months ago)

Mask Up reshared this.




🔗 Stanford must end its complicity in COVID harms

It’s unconscionable that Stanford School of Medicine and the Freeman Spogli Institute hosted a conference in October led by architects of the disablement of 100 million people and the preventable deaths of tens of millions more. It’s even worse that University President Jonathan Levin lent institutional support by volunteering to make the opening remarks. It’s worse yet that the apparent success of this conference may have influenced President Donald Trump to tap at least two conference participants for top health posts.


@pandemicene

#CovidIsNotOver

This entry was edited (8 months ago)

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in reply to trendless

what an incredible display of maturity and restraint for a college newspaper op-ed discussing a gore-flecked nightmare conference of vultures and hyenas and dung beetles.

It’s a feat to experience disability and still have this article inside you five years on. Elite academia voice is a trip in an internet of polemics.

and furthermore, lmao at the perhaps unintended pun in “being fêted at Stanford.” Blessed is Nurgle’s garden.

#CovidIsNotOver

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🔗 Developing chlorine-based antiseptic by electrolysis pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/319055…

> This paper examined the possibility of using hypochlorite water as a chlorine-based antiseptic for handwashing in public buildings and healthcare facilities. The electrolysis method was used, which produces Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) from mixing drinking water with small amounts of sodium hydroxide. Hypochlorous acid is usually produced by blood cells to surround pathogens when the skin is cut and exposed to pathogens. The methods used were based on hydrolysing drinking water at a different salt concentration (from 0 up to saline water 0.9% NaCl) under the different power supply. The results showed that 0.005-0.01% hydrochloride water can be a perfect antiseptic that can kill most bacteria and pathogenies within 12 s. In one prototype set up one liter of the prepared solution needed the only 2 g of NaCl, 12 V and 3 amps' power. However, the pH value should be maintained to be around 5-6. The results also showed that the most efficient way was to produce the solution on-site. However, if stored properly it can be used for 7-10 days after production.

@pandemicene

#HOCl #HOCLowerCaseL

This entry was edited (9 months ago)

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in reply to trendless

I make HOCL a couple of times a week at home (~250-300ppm) and use it for everything including spraying in public washrooms, sanitizing masks, washing produce, cleaning and sanitizing bathrooms, toothbrushes, cat litter boxes, counters, work surfaces. So cheap, too - ½tsp salt and water with ¾tsp white vinegar makes 750ml.

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🔗 The Long COVID Game helloworlds.ca/the-long-covid-…

> This short (<5min) instructional game can help illustrate the risks of repeated COVID infections and the chance of acquiring Long COVID. It was designed for large groups, such as a classroom of students. The goal is to communicate the benefits of wearing a respirator, such as an N95, to reduce the number of COVID infections and thus the risk of contracting Long COVID.

@pandemicene

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#PlusLife folks: is there a specific point in the cycle when power draw is maxed out (and/or >2.4a)?

@askazero

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in reply to trendless

I suspect that maximum power draw is when the device is activating the heating (it needs to heat up to ~60 degrees celsius internally).

After switching it on (while blinking red), it needs to go up from 20 to 60, so there is some continuous heating. After that, I guess it will pulse the heater to stay at 60.

I didn't measure that, just educated guessing.

Ask A Zero reshared this.



to re-up -- about masking and protection against gaseous chemicals which are deleterious to your airways/lungs, such as might be contained in wildfire smoke 👇

zeroes.ca/@trendless/113227130…

@maskup

#LAFires #LAFires2025 #California #Wildfire #Wildfires #MaskUp #N95 #P100 #OV


To everyone wearing masks as protection against chemicals from the plant on fire in Conyers, GA [edit: or the wildfires in CA]:

Gases permeate particulate filtration. Use organic vapour / charcoal filters or full-on [chlorine] gas cartridges to keep it out of your respiratory system.

Masks work -- but they have to be the right kind of mask.

🔗 ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/more-t…

@maskup

#MaskUp #P100


This entry was edited (9 months ago)

Mask Up reshared this.

in reply to trendless

This post contains a 3M cheatsheet with most of the filters they offer, what they're designed to filter, and their part numbers: zeroes.ca/@trendless/112215285…

Some of these filters and the elastomeric [reusable] respirators on which they fit can be found at hardware and industrial supply stores.

@maskup

This entry was edited (9 months ago)

Mask Up reshared this.



🔗 “I’ve Never Felt So Confused”: A Mixed-Method Study of Managing Family-to-Work Conflict During the Tripledemic link.springer.com/article/10.1…

> This mixed-methods study incorporates online survey data from the January 2023 Alberta Viewpoint Survey (N = 1196) and interview data collected from May-August 2023 (N = 23) to study the strategies families and caregivers used during the tripledemic to manage FWC in a time of high uncertainty.

> Caregiving struggles were exacerbated during the fall of 2022 with the circulation of RSV, influenza, and COVID-19

> This mixed-methods study highlights the strategies families and caregivers used during the tripledemic to manage family-to-work conflict (FWC) in a time of high uncertainty

> Parents, especially mothers, were most likely to miss work for extended periods, leading to a greater potential for FWC among these groups

> Caregivers who were able to take advantage of workplace, relationship, and network resources were better able to limit FWC during these uncertain times

@pandemicene

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🔗 Digital Download: Request for Covid Accommodation in Health Care Facilities covidsociety.ca/priorities/saf…

@maskup

This entry was edited (10 months ago)

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🇨🇦 @maskup

United Canada Inc sale 👇

Kimtech/Kleenguard/KimberlyClark pouch N95 small 50pk (54066)
$80 -- great for little kids / small faces
unitedcanadainc.com/products/k…

3M Aura trifold N95 440pk (9205+)
$275 -- great for adults with average faces
unitedcanadainc.com/collection…

Free shipping over $99 (before tax)

This entry was edited (10 months ago)

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Sooo buying a PlusLife in CAD is about 2x the price of in euros or USD, instead of 1.4x or 1.5x from the nominal exchange rates. Ouch!

I've emailed and hope the CC-community discount is significant, but would welcome advice or tips for getting it cheaper without needing a trip to the USA or Europe.

[edit: the discount is significant! The discounted price is still a factor higher than the currency-converted discounted price in EUR or USD though.]

@askazero

#Pandemic #PlusLife #askfedi

This entry was edited (10 months ago)

Ask A Zero reshared this.

in reply to datum (n=1)

tbh I would be concerned about trying to bring it across a US Land border. If they search you, they might get, uh, edgy.

But then again this is Canada. You could probably enter the country with a moose literally sitting in the passenger seat.

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🔗 Testing and Masking Policies and Hospital-Onset Respiratory Viral Infections jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

> stopping universal masking and SARS-CoV-2 testing was associated with a significant increase in hospital-onset respiratory viral infections relative to community infections. Restarting the masking of health care workers was associated with a significant decrease.

> Nosocomial respiratory viral infections remain associated with increased length of stay and higher mortality in hospitalized populations. Our data suggest that masking and testing were 2 potentially effective measures to protect patients who are hospitalized, particularly when community respiratory virus incidence rates were elevated.

@maskup

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The next head of the US NIH 👇

🔗 Republican Witness In COVID-19 Misinformation Hearing Has Been Repeatedly Discredited By Courts For Promoting Misinformation krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media…

> In an October 2021 ruling that Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates violates federal law, U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw wrote that Dr. Bhattacharya "offered opinions regarding the pediatric effects of masks on children, a discipline on which he admitted he was not qualified to speak," adding "his demeanor and tone while testifying suggest that he is advancing a personal agenda. At this stage of the proceedings, the Court is simply unwilling to trust Dr. Bhattacharya." Judge Crenshaw also added that Dr. Bhattacharya's testimony was "troubling" and "problematic." Similarly, a Manitoba Judge found the same month that Dr. Bhattacharya's testimony public health restrictions was contradicted by a range of evidence, including his own sources.

@pandemicene

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