Story at-a-glance

• Studies show a 45% increased risk of suicidal ideation in patients taking semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) compared to other medications, with even higher risks for those with pre-existing mental health conditions
• Analysis of adverse event reports reveals higher rates of psychiatric issues, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, associated with GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs used for weight loss
• Semaglutide may affect brain chemistry by altering neurotransmitter systems and reward pathways, triggering or exacerbating depression and other mental health issues in some individuals
• Ozempic and similar medications are also linked to severe gastrointestinal side effects, including stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, and bowel obstruction, as well as vision loss and changes in facial and body fat distribution
• Natural alternatives to increase GLP-1 levels include promoting gut health with Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria

Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy, has taken the weight loss world by storm. Originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, its dramatic weight loss effects quickly caught attention. However, a study analyzing World Health Organization data raises serious concerns about its safety.¹

The research reveals a 45% increased risk of suicidal ideation in patients taking semaglutide compared to other medications.² This alarming finding suggests the drug’s effects on mental health are more significant than previously thought.

While the weight loss results can seem miraculous, it’s crucial to understand the many risks before considering this medication. This increased suicide risk warrants urgent investigation.

Alarming Spike in Suicide Risk Tied to Ozempic Use

Individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions may be particularly vulnerable to semaglutide’s psychological side effects. When the analysis focused on patients also taking antidepressants or antianxiety medications, the risk of suicidal ideation was even higher — a 150% to 300% increase in suicidal ideation was found among this group.³

“People with anxiety and depressive disorders may be at higher probability of reporting suicidal ideation when medicated with semaglutide,” the researchers noted.⁴ The drug’s clinical trials often excluded patients with recent major depressive episodes or severe psychiatric disorders. As a result, the full extent of its impact on mental health in vulnerable populations remains unknown.

The popularity of semaglutide has led to widespread off-label use and shortages, and a significant number of reported adverse events involved possible off-label prescriptions. Social media has further fueled its popularity as a lifestyle drug, with many seeking it solely for weight loss.

This trend has even led to illegal trade in semaglutide pens, some of which are counterfeit, posing additional risks to unsuspecting users. “Considering the risk of suicidal ideation in people taking semaglutide off-label, authorities should consider issuing a warning to inform about this risk,” the authors stated.⁵

Suicide: The Weight Loss Wonder Drug’s Sinister Secret

The featured study is not the first time Ozempic has raised red flags about suicide. The Icelandic Medicines Agency received multiple reports of suicidal thoughts and self-injury in people using semaglutide, prompting the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to begin reviewing the connection in July 2023.⁶

With more than 20 million people taking semaglutide and liraglutide, a GLP-1 agonist medication similar to semaglutide, annually, the implications could be devastating to public health.⁷ “Previously, in the approval trials, 9 of the 3384 patients treated with liraglutide (0.27%) had reported suicidal ideation compared with 2 of 1941 patients allocated to the placebo group (0.10%),” researchers explained.⁸

Since then, the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have started similar investigations. The study authors explained, however, that the FDA appears to have known about the suicide risk for some time:⁹

“Although EMA stated that no update to the product information is warranted, based on these findings, we believe that a precaution of use in patients with psychiatric disorders or psychological lability could be added in the semaglutide package insert. Remarkably, the FDA label of semaglutide for obesity warned to monitor for depression or suicidal thoughts.”

Wegovy Users at Risk of Suicidal Thoughts

As Ozempic and similar GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs (GLP-1 RAs) continue to gain popularity for weight loss, a pharmacovigilance study examined 209,354 adverse event reports for these medications, finding a troubling association with suicidal thoughts and self-harm.¹⁰

The analysis revealed higher rates of psychiatric issues, particularly for liraglutide (Saxenda), semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide. So, while the drugs can lead to rapid weight loss, they may paradoxically increase suicide risk in some individuals. Researchers wrote in European Neuropsychopharmacology:¹¹

“Notably, the U.S. prescribing information for liraglutide 3.0 mg already recommends vigilant monitoring for depression or suicidal thoughts, emphasizing discontinuation if these symptoms manifest. Similarly, a parallel cautionary note is present in the U.S. prescribing information for the semaglutide formulation Wegovy®, being administered at higher dosages for weight control than for T2DM [Type 2 diabetes].”

GLP-1 receptors are present in brain regions involved in mood regulation. By altering neurotransmitter systems and reward pathways, these medications could trigger depression or exacerbate existing mental health conditions.

Further, they suggested, “One could wonder if the putative suicidal risk associated with GLP-1 RA may be tied to their impact on the hypothalamus, considering the established association between the hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the occurrence of suicidal behaviors.”¹²

Alarming Rates of Suicidal Thoughts with Newer GLP-1 Drugs

Analysis of the European Pharmacovigilance Database also revealed concerning patterns regarding semaglutide and liraglutide.¹³ Out of 41,236 adverse event reports for these drugs, 230 involved suicidal events — a small but significant number. Liraglutide and semaglutide accounted for the majority, with 88 and 84 cases respectively.

Notably, 68% of liraglutide reports and 13% of semaglutide reports were specifically linked to the higher-dose weight loss formulations. The data showed these newer drugs had two to four times higher odds of suicidal event reports compared to older GLP-1 drugs.

While the absolute numbers are low, this disproportionate reporting is troubling. Most cases involved women aged 18 to 64, with suicidal thoughts being most common. There were 14 fatal outcomes. If you’re considering or using these medications, it’s crucial to be aware of this significant risk.

The precise reasons for increased suicidal thoughts with GLP-1 drugs remain unclear, but their effects on neurotransmitter systems like serotonin may play a role. Additionally, rapid weight loss itself can trigger psychological changes, while underlying conditions like diabetes and obesity are also associated with higher suicide risk, complicating the picture.

European product information for these drugs doesn’t yet include warnings about suicidal thoughts, underscoring the importance of real-world safety monitoring beyond clinical trials.

Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Severe Psychiatric Issues, Suicide Deaths

Ozempic and similar GLP-1 receptor agonist medications continue to be hailed as game-changers for weight loss and diabetes management despite their suicide connection. An additional pharmacovigilance analysis of the EudraVigilance database revealed yet another troubling link between these drugs and psychiatric adverse events.¹⁴

The study examined reports for semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide from January 2021 to May 2023. Out of 31,444 total adverse event reports, 372 (1.18%) were related to psychiatric issues. While this percentage may seem small, the severity of these events is alarming.

Depression topped the list at 50.3% of psychiatric reports, followed by anxiety (38.7%) and suicidal ideation (19.6%). Most disturbingly, nine deaths were reported, with eight linked to liraglutide and one to semaglutide. These fatalities were primarily due to completed suicides, predominantly affecting men aged 18 to 64.

The study uncovered 102 adverse events related to suicide, ranging from ideation to completed acts. Semaglutide accounted for half of these events, while liraglutide was associated with 47%. Even the newer medication tirzepatide, despite fewer overall reports, showed a similar proportion of suicidal events.

Women reported 62% of these incidents, with nearly half occurring in the 18 to 64 age group. This data paints a stark picture of the potential mental health risks associated with these popular weight loss drugs, and the severity of the reported events demands serious attention and further investigation.

Exploring the Neurobehavioral Effects of Semaglutide

Separate research has uncovered additional concerning connections between semaglutide and brain function.¹⁵ GLP-1 receptors, the targets of drugs like Ozempic, are found in brain regions involved in emotion regulation. Animal studies have shown that GLP-1 agonists can initially induce anxiety, which may subside with continued use. However, the long-term impacts on human brain chemistry remain unclear.

Your brain’s delicate balance of neurotransmitters could be affected by these medications, leading to mood changes. While some patients report improved mood and reduced depressive symptoms with weight loss, others experience the opposite effect. This variability highlights the complex interplay between semaglutide, brain function and individual neurochemistry.

In a case study of a 54-year-old woman, doctors suspected semaglutide was responsible for depressive symptoms, which disappeared when the drug was discontinued:¹⁶

“After four weeks of treatment with semaglutide, the patient reported feeling more irritable and anxious than usual. She also experienced difficulty sleeping and a loss of interest in activities she previously enjoyed. These symptoms persisted over the next two weeks and began to interfere with her daily life. We suspected that her negative mood changes were consistent with major depressive syndrome.

… Given her worsening depressive symptoms, which temporally correlated with starting on semaglutide, we decided to discontinue semaglutide and switch her to a different medication. Over the next several weeks, the patient’s mood symptoms improved, and she reported feeling more like herself again.”

Understanding the Mechanism: How Ozempic Affects Your Mood

Research published in Frontiers in Psychiatry has shed light on how semaglutide could influence your mood and mental health.¹⁷ As mentioned, the drug’s active ingredient targets GLP-1 receptors, which are found not only in your digestive system but also in key areas of your brain. These brain regions, including the lateral septum and hypothalamus, play crucial roles in regulating mood, reward, and food intake.

When semaglutide interacts with these receptors, it can alter the activity of neural pathways involved in these processes. Of particular interest is its effect on dopamine, a neurotransmitter closely linked to mood and reward. Studies suggest that GLP-1 receptor stimulation can increase dopamine transporter expression, reducing free dopamine levels in certain brain areas.

This alteration in dopamine signaling could contribute to changes in mood, motivation and even the experience of pleasure. If you’re considering Ozempic, it’s important to understand that its effects extend beyond appetite suppression and weight loss, impacting your brain chemistry in ways that scientists are still working to fully understand.

Real-World Experiences with Semaglutide-Associated Depression

Two additional case studies highlight semaglutide’s ability to trigger or exacerbate depression in some individuals.¹⁸ In one case, a 54-year-old man with no prior history of mood disorders developed depressive symptoms about a month after starting semaglutide for weight loss. He experienced fatigue, decreased interest and motivation, and difficulty concentrating.

Importantly, his symptoms improved significantly within days of discontinuing the medication. In another case, a 40-year-old woman with a history of recurrent depression experienced a severe relapse about a month after adding semaglutide to her diabetes treatment. Her symptoms, including suicidal ideation, also improved after stopping the medication.¹⁹

Mental Health Risks and Suicidal Thoughts

People using Ozempic and other GLP-1 RAs also reported severe psychiatric side effects in a study published in Brain Sciences.²⁰ One user warned, “Ozempic can cause suicidal thoughts … Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Suicidal thoughts, etc. Not all people will experience this side effect, but please remember that if you do feel you are depressed, more anxious, etc., please check your medication.”²¹

Many users also reported new or worsened anxiety after starting Ozempic. One individual described “crazy anxiety” after increasing their dose. Another experienced “severe anxiety, constant panic attacks, insomnia, hypoglycemia.” Some users found their existing mental health conditions exacerbated, with reports of increased irritability, mood swings and even manic episodes.²²

One user shared, “This IMMEDIATELY threw my hormones and emotions into a downward spiral. I’m infuriated that they don’t list anxiety and depression as an official side effect yet it’s all over the internet.”²³

Another user recounted, “Within a few weeks, I was so depressed, I wasn’t leaving my room, or spending time with my kids. I did the bare minimum.” Another stated, “Yep it gave me the worst anxiety and depression. I had no choice to get off it after 5 kg weight loss only. Life was not worth living at that point.”²⁴

Weight Loss with Ozempic Could Wreck Your Health

Along with suicidal ideation, Ozempic and similar medications are also linked to a number of other side effects, including serious gastrointestinal issues. Research from the University of British Columbia revealed that GLP-1 agonists are associated with an increased risk of stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, and bowel obstruction.²⁵ A study of 25,617 people also found use of GLP-1 agonists increases the rate of intestinal obstruction by 3.5-fold.²⁶

In other cases, those who have taken the injections experience life-changing side effects making them wish they never touched the drugs. Joanne Knight had been taking Ozempic for about two years when she became unable to swallow food.²⁷ The reason? Her stomach was full of food. Violent vomiting and constant nausea followed, along with a diagnosis of severe gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis.

Meanwhile, reports underscore the drug’s effects on facial fat — when too much fat is lost from your face, it can lead to a gaunt appearance, dubbed “Ozempic face.” An article in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery — Global Open²⁸ highlights that similar changes can also occur elsewhere in your body, including leading to deflated breasts and backside, conditions now known as “Ozempic breast” and “Ozempic butt.”

Ozempic Linked to Vision Loss

A Danish-Norwegian cohort study has revealed another reason to reconsider Ozempic — it’s linked to a rare eye condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).²⁹

NAION is a serious condition that leads to sudden, painless vision loss in one eye. It occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is disrupted, causing damage that is often irreversible. While NAION is uncommon, its severe impact on vision makes any increase in risk a matter of concern for those using medications like Ozempic.

The study, which analyzed data from national health registries in Denmark and Norway, compared new users of Ozempic with those taking sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is), another class of diabetes medication. Researchers aimed to determine whether there was an association between Ozempic use and the incidence of NAION. They included 44,517 Ozempic users in Denmark and 16,860 in Norway, monitoring them for up to five years.

Findings from the study indicated that individuals using Ozempic had a higher risk of developing NAION compared to those on SGLT-2is. Specifically, the pooled hazard ratio was 2.81, meaning there was almost a threefold increase in risk. However, the absolute risk, which refers to the actual number of additional cases per 10,000 person-years, was relatively low — about 1.41 extra cases among Ozempic users.

That being said, the study’s results were consistent across various analyses, reinforcing the reliability of the association. The findings also back up an earlier Harvard University study, which also linked Ozempic with NAION. This matched cohort study evaluated 16,827 patients and revealed a pronounced association between semaglutide prescriptions and the onset of NAION.³⁰

In this study, patients with Type 2 diabetes and those who were overweight or obese were closely monitored. Individuals prescribed semaglutide exhibited a hazard ratio of 4.28 for developing NAION in the diabetes cohort and an even higher hazard ratio of 7.64 in the overweight or obese group. These figures suggest that semaglutide users were over four to seven times more likely to experience NAION compared to those on other treatments.

The temporal association observed — where the risk of NAION peaked within the first year of semaglutide initiation — adds weight to the argument that the medication plays a direct role in the development of this serious eye condition. Combining insights from both studies paints a concerning picture — there appears to be a consistent link between semaglutide use and an increased risk of NAION that cannot be ignored.

A Natural Alternative to Ozempic

Instead of turning to GLP-1 RAs, you can safely increase your GLP-1 levels by increasing Akkermansia muciniphila in your gut. Akkermansia is an effective alternative to GLP-1 RAs like Ozempic, as these beneficial bacteria produce a protein that stimulates GLP-1 production. Research published in Nature Microbiology found that A. muciniphila increased thermogenesis and GLP-1 secretion in mice fed a high-fat diet.³¹

Akkermansia, which ideally should make up 3% to 5% of your gut microbiome, is crucial for intestinal health. However, many people lack sufficient levels due to impaired mitochondrial function and oxygen leakage in the gut.

One of Akkermansia’s key roles is producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate. These fats fuel your colonocytes, which create mucin, a protective gel-like substance that coats your gut lining. They also help eliminate oxygen from your colon to allow the beneficial bacteria to thrive. Mucin shields intestinal cells from damage, harmful microbes and digestive irritants.

Mucin boosts your immune system too, as it contains antibodies and antimicrobial peptides that help fight infections. It also traps pathogens for elimination through digestion. However, Akkermansia’s role in naturally reducing hunger and regulating blood sugar by boosting GLP-1 makes it particularly intriguing for those interested in weight loss.

Akkermansia Boosts Your Body’s GLP-1 Gut Hormone

While drugs like Ozempic are synthetic versions of GLP-1, a healthy gut microbiome rich in Akkermansia naturally boosts your body’s GLP-1. This hormone, produced by L cells in your colon, is a key player in regulating your appetite and blood sugar.

As a central coordinator, GLP-1 is intricately involved in directing your body to release insulin, delaying stomach emptying and informing your brain that you’re full. These factors naturally reduce hunger, which is why drug companies have created synthetic GLP-1 in the form of Ozempic and Wegovy.

But, unlike synthetic GLP-1 drugs, which are cost-prohibitive and dangerous, you naturally elevate your GLP-1 levels by increasing the presence of Akkermansia in your gut. In my interview with Dr. Colleen Cutcliffe, a molecular biology scientist and the CEO and co-founder of Pendulum, a company that creates probiotics, she explains:

“So, what’s been found is that if you are low or missing Akkermansia, your body is not naturally producing as much GLP-1 as it’s supposed to be. By giving people back Akkermansia, you now have these physiological benefits of reducing A1C and lowering blood glucose spikes.

To be clear, the natural GLP-1 you produce is different from the drug. The drug is a mimic. It’s an analog. It looks like GLP-1. It gets injected into the bloodstream directly, which means that rather than the natural spike after you eat [followed by a decline], the [drug] is keeping those levels really high all the time.

So, this signaling of ‘we got to metabolize sugar in the blood and we’re full, we just ate’ is going on constantly. That’s why people experience these incredible, amazing overnight effects because that’s how those drugs are working. But if you actually have the right microbes, you generate your body’s natural GLP-1 and get back into this natural cycle.”

Why Mitochondrial Function Is Key to Successful Akkermansia Supplementation

When your cellular energy decreases, your body struggles to effectively eliminate oxygen from your colon. This has serious consequences for the normal inhabitants of your colon, which can be killed when oxygen levels rise. This is why Akkermansia supplementation alone is not a complete solution.

It is crucial to commit to a program designed to decrease mitochondrial toxins. This is because reduced mitochondrial function needs to be compensated for to ensure oxygen can be removed from the colon. If you fail to address this issue, even the best Akkermansia supplement with the most effective delivery system will have limited benefits. The newly introduced Akkermansia bacteria will likely be killed soon after arriving in your oxygen-rich colon environment.

This is one of the primary reasons why it’s vital to eliminate all seed oils from your diet for at least six months before starting an Akkermansia supplementation program. This preparatory period allows your body to recover mitochondrial function and create a more hospitable environment in your colon for the beneficial bacteria.

By taking these steps, you can maximize the benefits of Akkermansia supplementation and support overall gut health. Remember, addressing the root cause — mitochondrial function and colon oxygenation — is essential for the success of any gut health intervention.

Probiotic Potency Explained: CFU, AFU, and TFU

When evaluating the potency of probiotics, three units of measurement often come into discussion: Colony Forming Units (CFU), Active Fluorescent Units (AFU), and Total Fluorescent Units (TFU). Understanding the distinction between these units is crucial for both consumers and healthcare professionals to assess the effectiveness and quality of probiotic supplements accurately.

•Colony Forming Units (CFU) — This is the most widely recognized and utilized metric for quantifying the number of viable bacteria or fungal cells in a probiotic product. One CFU represents a single microorganism capable of dividing and forming a colony under specific laboratory conditions. This measure is important because the therapeutic benefits of probiotics are directly related to the number of live microorganisms that reach your gut.

Probiotic manufacturers typically list CFU counts on product labels, indicating the number of live organisms per serving. Higher CFU counts are often marketed as more potent, though the optimal CFU dosage can vary depending on the specific strains and the health outcomes targeted.

It’s important to note that not all CFUs are equal; the efficacy of a probiotic also depends on the strains used and their ability to survive the acidic environment of the stomach to colonize the intestines.

•Active Fluorescent Units (AFU) — This unit is a less conventional and not widely standardized measure in the context of probiotics. While CFU shows the number of bacteria that are alive, AFU refers to the total number of bacteria present, both dead and alive. It is primarily a unit used to measure enzymatic activity.

For instance, AFU could be used to evaluate the activity levels of specific enzymes produced by probiotics, which contribute to their health benefits, such as breaking down lactose or producing vitamins. In some specialized applications, AFU is also used to assess the metabolic activity or functional potency of probiotic strains beyond mere viability.

However, because AFU is not a standardized metric in the probiotic industry, its use can lead to confusion and inconsistency in product labeling and efficacy claims.

•Total Fluorescent Units (TFU) — This unit measures the total bacterial mass including both live and dead cells through fluorescent labeling, and is typically used only for pasteurized products.

The primary difference between CFU, AFU, and TFU lies in what they measure: CFU quantifies the number of live microorganisms; AFU assesses the functional activity of those microorganisms; and TFU measures the total bacterial mass.

While CFU provides a clear indicator of the potential for colonization and survival of probiotics in the gut, AFU could offer additional insights into the functional capabilities of the probiotic strains.

However, due to the lack of standardization and widespread recognition of AFU in the probiotic market, CFU remains the gold standard for assessing probiotic potency. Consumers are generally advised to focus on CFU counts and the specific strains included in a probiotic supplement to ensure they are selecting a product with proven efficacy for their health needs.

Akkermansia Clinical Trials: Dosages and Applications

Clinical trials published in 2024 investigating Akkermansia have yielded promising results,³² highlighting its potential across a range of health conditions, including infectious disease,³³ immune-related disease,³⁴ liver fibrosis,³⁵ stress management,³⁶ intestinal-related diseases,³⁷ metabolic health,³⁸ and brain function.³⁹

These studies, which include both animal and human trials, have primarily used therapeutic doses ranging from 100 million to 10 billion CFU per day. The dosage selected often corresponds to the specific health condition being targeted, ensuring optimal therapeutic effects.

Again, for metabolic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, doses of 10 billion CFU per day have been commonly administered. This elevated dosage aims to significantly influence gut microbiota composition and enhance metabolic functions, leading to improvements in insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism, and overall metabolic health.

Conversely, lower doses of 1 billion CFU per day, have proven effective for gut-specific conditions like leaky gut syndrome, as well as liver health, by promoting intestinal and immune homeostasis, improving intestinal barrier function and alleviating inflammation.⁴⁰

This lower dose is sufficient to leverage Akkermansia’s anti-inflammatory properties and support gut barrier integrity without the need for higher bacterial concentrations. The studies have shown that even at these reduced levels, Akkermansia can effectively reduce intestinal inflammation and enhance the mucosal lining, contributing to improved gastrointestinal health.

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In the unlit corridors of global commerce, where apparitions of data flicker between smoke and ledger, the latest release of China’s official economic metrics has not merely unsettled markets — it has unnerved them with a spectral chill that suggests an underlying rot far deeper than surface indicators can capture.

What has emerged from Beijing’s statistical crypt this May is an anomaly so grotesque it threatens the very assumption of economic continuity. Numbers once massaged to reflect rosy panoramas of inexorable growth now convey a labyrinthine descent into implosion. Fixed-asset investment, which by its constitutional nature signals long-term confidence, contracted by 1.6 % in the first four months of 2026 compared to the previous year, defying every forecast and institutional projection. Industrial production grew by a mere 4.1 %, the slowest pace in nearly three years, and retail sales — the heartbeat of domestic demand — rose a paltry 0.2 %, their weakest reading since the final months of the lockdown era. These are not gentle decelerations; they are the tremors preceding structural collapse.

Wall Street, secularly insulated from the deeper rot beneath East Asian markets, recoiled. Typically buoyed by export surges — particularly in technologically strategic sectors — global investors were confronted instead with the jarring revelation that all the outward signs of economic vitality belied an interior hemorrhage. Fixed-investment figures that once brought to mind growth engines now resemble defunct organs, while consumption patterns hint at an irrecoverable malaise rather than a mere cyclical downtick. Notably, even the vaunted export machine, though still exhibiting growth, cannot compensate for the hollowing of domestic demand.

In academic terms, this convergence of weak investment, subdued industrial output, and stagnating household consumption might be framed as a ‘demand collapse shock’ — a phenomenon wherein the aggregate demand vector shifts downward so sharply that conventional fiscal and monetary policy responses lose their efficacy. What makes China’s predicament academically riveting and disturbingly dark is the possibility that these figures are not aberrations but rather calibrated disclosures, permitted by authorities precisely because the underlying reality is even more calamitous than reported. If true, this would imply a conscious decision by the central state to allow markets to confront a grotesque truth, as if dragging the world’s second-largest economy by its heels into the light.

From a conspiratorial perspective, the narrative deepens into something almost mythic. For decades, China has cultivated the reputation of mastering economic alchemy: transforming peasant villages into megacities and fiscal hardship into growth statistics that defy Western predictive models. The global financial elite, reliant on these metrics, have treated them not as data but as incantations. Yet now, the invocation has faltered. The specter of a “hard landing” — long whispered in the corridors of hedge funds and central banks — has surfaced with quantifiable force, and with it the unsettling question: what if the economic engine that underwrites a significant portion of global demand is not merely slowing but irreversibly decaying?

To appreciate the profundity of this shift, one must consider the psychological weight carried by statistical representation. China’s National Bureau of Statistics once stood as a fortress against pessimism, its figures bastions of steadfast optimism. That the latest releases are now routinely cited by seasoned analysts as “materially below expectations” signals a rupture in that edifice of confidence. Historically, Beijing has stood ready to deploy aggressive policy tools at the first sign of economic contraction; yet in this instance — amid a war-induced energy shock and latent global instability — policymakers have adopted a conspicuously muted posture.

The literal interpretation of these figures already portends tangible ramifications: stock indices exhibiting fragility, property markets continuing their inexorable decline, and credit contraction that reinforces the collapse of private investment. But beyond these measurable effects lies an intangible phenomenon that economists rarely quantify — a pervasive and self-reinforcing loss of belief in the possibility of rebound. When consumers cease to spend and investors abdicate risk, the very infrastructure of growth becomes untenable. And yet, the most unsettling implication is not merely economic; it is epistemological: the possibility that the data itself, once sacrosanct and curated with ideological precision, is now a semiotic cipher for a reality that China’s political apparatus can no longer hide.

In the annals of economic history, moments of such profound divergence between reported statistics and lived material conditions have often preceded epochal transformation. Whether China now stands on the cusp of such an inflection — where the myth of invulnerability yields to the stark calculus of rebalancing — remains to be seen. But the emerging narrative is already unmistakable: what was once an engine of global growth now resembles a phantom limb, twitching with the last vestiges of systemic inertia.

This account transcends mere financial reportage; it is a case study in the dark symbiosis between perception and reality, between the metrics by which nations gauge their vitality and the unsettling truths that those metrics can no longer conceal.

They Took the Water, the Power, and the Land First — Then the Data Centers Became More Important Than the People Living Beside Them

“ONE VIDEO EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD WATCH”

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Europe is now openly admitting it faces a stagflation shock, but this crisis did not suddenly appear because of the Iran war. The war merely accelerated a collapse that was already well underway due to years of catastrophic policy decisions. Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, described the situation as a “stagflationary shock” as oil prices surged again on fears the conflict could drag on and destabilize energy markets further.

I have warned repeatedly that Europe was heading into a depression long before a single missile flew in the Middle East. Germany was already in industrial decline. Manufacturing across Europe was already contracting. Energy costs had already exploded after the sanctions war against Russia. The politicians destroyed their own energy security and then pretended green energy fantasies would somehow replace reality.

Now they act shocked that oil moving above $110 a barrel is feeding inflation again. Reuters reported that G7 borrowing costs have surged from roughly 3.2% to nearly 4% since the war began as markets fear inflation will remain entrenched. The International Energy Agency also warned global oil supply could fall short of demand by 1.78 million barrels per day this year because of the conflict.

This is precisely how stagflation unfolds. Economic growth stalls while the cost of living continues rising. The average person gets crushed from both directions simultaneously. Wages cannot keep pace with food, fuel, transportation, and housing costs. Washington Post noted US inflation has already climbed to 3.8%, the highest since 2023, largely driven by energy prices. Europe faces even worse structural problems because its economy is far more dependent on imported energy and heavily burdened by regulation and taxation.

The political class keeps pretending this is temporary. That is exactly what governments said during the 1970s oil crisis before stagflation spiraled into years of economic misery. The difference now is governments are entering this crisis carrying record sovereign debt levels. They cannot raise rates aggressively without detonating their own bond markets.

The stagflation wave was already in place before the first bombs fell because governments destroyed productive economies through sanctions, climate mandates, reckless spending, and endless monetary manipulation. The Iran conflict merely exposed how fragile the global economy had already become.

Our Economic Confidence Model has been projecting this European stagflationary collapse for years because the ECM is not merely an economic model, it tracks shifts in public confidence and capital concentration. Europe entered a declining confidence wave years ago as capital began fleeing toward the United States. The 2026 Panic Cycle targeted Europe specifically because of war risk, sovereign debt instability, and the collapse in industrial competitiveness. This is why the euro continues weakening structurally despite short-term rallies. Capital no longer trusts European leadership. Once confidence breaks, governments respond with more regulation, more taxation, more debt, and eventually capital controls, which only accelerates the decline further. That is exactly what unfolded during previous sovereign debt crises throughout history from late-stage Rome to the collapse of socialist regimes in Eastern Europe.

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During a Q&A segment on CHD.TV’s “Pediatric Perspectives,” retired pediatrician Paul Thomas challenged the common accusation that unvaccinated children put others at risk. “That is actually a completely false narrative,” Thomas said. “It is the vaccinated, not the unvaccinated, who are getting sick at much greater percentages.”

For many parents who decline childhood vaccines, criticism often comes in the form of a blunt accusation: Your unvaccinated children are putting everyone else in danger.

That claim took center stage during an upcoming episode of CHD.TV’s “Pediatric Perspectives,” set to air May 23.

During the monthly Q&A segment, Dr. Paul Thomas answered questions from parents navigating vaccine decisions and public backlash.

CHD.TV Director Polly Tommey read a submission from a mother asking how to respond to people who accuse her of endangering others by not vaccinating her children.

Thomas, a retired pediatrician who practiced for 35 years, rejected the premise outright. “That is actually a completely false narrative,” he said. “It is the vaccinated, not the unvaccinated, who are getting sick at much greater percentages.”

Thomas said his own research and clinical observations support that conclusion.

“We’re talking all kinds of infections, not just chronic diseases,” he said. “So the more vaccinated you are, the more sinus infections, ear infections, lung infections, GI [gastrointestinal] infections, skin infections you will have.”

By comparison, unvaccinated children are “rarely sick,” Thomas said. “It’s sick people who get other people sick,” he said. So it is the vaccinated who “are actually putting others at greater risk.”

“It’s exactly opposite of what we’re taught to think,” he said.

To support that claim, Thomas cited a Cleveland Clinic study involving thousands of employees during the COVID–19 pandemic. The study found that “the more vaccines you got for COVID, the more likely you were to get COVID.”

“So who was making other people sick?” he asked.

‘Knowing what I now know, there’s no vaccine I would consider’

Asked which vaccines parents should consider for their children, Thomas said, “Knowing what I now know, there’s no vaccine I would consider almost under any circumstance.”

He argued that vaccination risks outweigh benefits, in part because vaccine safety testing is fundamentally flawed.

“You have to understand that none of the vaccines, not a single one, was properly tested for safety,” he said. “They never used saline placebos. The testing was very brief, so they would not pick up any medium-term or long-term consequences of vaccination.”

Although Thomas acknowledged that “some vaccines have benefits,” he said parents must weigh those benefits against significant risks.

Referring to his book, “Vax Facts: What to Consider Before Vaccinating at All Ages & Stages of Life,” he said, “For every single vaccine on the childhood immunization schedule, your child is more likely to die from the vaccine than from the disease you’re vaccinating against.”

He noted that fear surrounding measles and other diseases drives many parents’ vaccination decisions. “Parents largely vaccinate because they’re afraid of death,” he said.

However, he noted that last year’s measles-related deaths in Texas were caused by improper medical management, not the measles itself.

“The truth of the matter is, those girls would still be alive today if they’d been treated properly in hospital,” Tommey said.

Thomas added that vaccine availability does not necessarily translate into lower mortality.

“Every once in a while, there will be a death from a disease for which we have a vaccine,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that vaccinating is going to reduce deaths overall.”

Vaccines, not illnesses, deemed ‘huge threat to the immune system’

Thomas encouraged parents not to fear routine childhood illnesses.

He said families can support children’s health by reducing exposure to environmental toxins and avoiding vaccinations. He called vaccines “a huge threat to the immune system.”

Thomas described childhood illness as part of normal immune development.

“Illness is how we exercise our immune system,” he said. “A healthy, unvaccinated child with an innate immune system that’s robust will handle those illnesses much better than your highly vaccinated kids.”

“So let them get sick,” he added.

Despite that view, Thomas said newborns require special protection during the first months of life.

He advised families to keep sick people away from infants younger than 2 or 3 months old, not because the illnesses themselves are necessarily dangerous, but because fever in very young infants often triggers aggressive medical interventions.

“We’re talking spinal tap to rule out meningitis, IV antibiotics, hospitalization for a couple of days,” Thomas said. “Let’s just avoid that by protecting our newborns so they don’t get sick at all.”

Thomas also criticized recommendations that parents, grandparents and caregivers receive whooping cough vaccinations before visiting newborns. He said later studies on transmission failed to support the practice, known as “cocooning.”

“Vaccinating adults or caregivers and visitors and grandparents … makes it more likely they will bring pertussis to your newborn,” he said. “The unvaccinated or minimally vaxxed people are actually more protective to you and your children than highly vaccinated people.”

‘Benefits of the shot are negligible … risks are high’

The discussion also turned to fears surrounding hepatitis B (Hep B) and tetanus vaccines.

Tommey asked whether children needed the vaccines to protect against hazards such as discarded needles on beaches or rusty nails on sidewalks.

Thomas called the Hep B vaccine “the worst vaccine on the market,” particularly for infants and young children.

“There hasn’t been a single proven case of a child getting hepatitis B from a needle stick in a park or running on the beach,” he said. Hepatitis B transmission occurs almost exclusively through sexual contact or IV drug use.

As evidence that child-to-child transmission is rare, Thomas pointed to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance stating that students with hepatitis B “should not be excluded” from school.

By contrast, he noted that unvaccinated children are barred from school in some states. “This is the insanity of the push for hepatitis B vaccine,” he said.

On tetanus, Thomas argued that properly cleaned wounds rarely lead to serious illness. “In practice, as long as you know what to do, it won’t happen,” he said.

Thomas advised parents to clean wounds thoroughly. He noted that tetanus immune globulin is available for severe cases. There “has not been a death from tetanus under the age of 55 in the U.S. in over 20 years,” he added.

He also criticized the combined Tdap vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. “The benefits of the shot are negligible or minimal,” he said. “The risks are high.”

‘Vaccines, vaccines, vaccines — the only way to save ourselves’

Thomas said he understood how difficult it can be for parents to question mainstream medical advice. Even his own mother received multiple COVID-19 vaccines despite his objections.

“I remember talking to her when I was trying to convince her not to take any COVID shots,” Thomas said. “And she said, ‘How can you be right? And all these other doctors are wrong?’”

Thomas emphasized that public health messaging relies heavily on fear. “You hear the narrative being just pounded — fear, fear porn, if you will,” he said. “Vaccines, vaccines, vaccines — the only way to save ourselves.”

“And nothing could be further from the truth,” he added. “It’s a healthy immune system that saves us. And vaccines are actually destroying that immune system.”

Related articles in The Defender

• Dr. Paul Thomas: Why I Don’t Vaccinate Kids — and What Parents Should Know
• Don’t Kiss the Baby! AAP Pushes Adults to Get Vaccinated Before Visiting Newborns — Doctors Explain Why That’s Dangerous
• Authors of ‘Astonishing’ Study Showing Unvaccinated Kids Are Healthier Refused to Go Public With Results
• Exclusive: ‘Just Normal Doctoring’ — a Texas Doctor’s Eyewitness Report on Measles Outbreak
• CDC Hit With Lawsuit Over Failure to Test Cumulative Effect of 72-Dose Childhood Vaccine Schedule

The post Watch: Is Your Unvaccinated Child Putting Others at Risk? ‘It’s Exactly Opposite,’ Pediatrician Says appeared first on Activist Post.

The US wants to rehabilitate its “post-war” economy.

Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.

President Trump’s visit to China raised several questions among international analysts. Some believe Trump was trying to pressure China on the Iranian issue. Other experts, however, believe that Trump acted out of desperation, trying to reach a mutual understanding with his Chinese counterpart to save the American economy.

In a recent interview, geopolitical analyst Danny Haiphong stated that Trump attempted to alleviate the pressure on the American economy – generated by the illegal war of aggression against Iran – by visiting China and establishing high-level dialogue with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Haiphong believes that the US is not in a position to demand anything from China, since the American economy is fragile and the country’s international image is weakened due to the results of the war. In this sense, the negotiations took place in a situation more favorable to China.

Haiphong emphasized that it was the US, not China, that requested the bilateral meeting. The fact that the US took the initiative indicates that there was more American than Chinese interest in the meeting. This suggests a fragile, and perhaps even desperate, position on the American side. The analyst believes that Trump’s main objective is to find some way to deal with the post-Iran war scenario, with the American private sector desperately trying to reverse losses and establish profitable projects amidst a situation of instability and unpredictability.

“[The Americans came] hoping to essentially get saved from the crisis of their own making (…) The US was the one who requested this meeting, and it’s the US economy as a whole and the global economy that is suffering because of [its] aggressive and illegal war on Iran that produced an overheated global economy and an oil crisis that is now blowing up (…) [Trump] really needed this meeting to find some way to cool this overheating economy (…) What it amounted to was the Trump administration and all of these executives coming with their hands out hoping that China will give them deals that will ease some of this tension (…) The world has changed. The US is in a far weaker position. China is in a far stronger position. It really is the US that has to hold on to the ties that it has with China in order to try to save face and strengthen its hand” he said.

Interestingly, Trump was accompanied on the trip by several CEOs and top executives from technology companies, indicating strong pressure from the country’s private economic sector for the meeting. According to some reports, Trump tried to convince the Chinese to halt or reduce energy cooperation with Iran in exchange for relief in the export of certain technological products, such as microchips, used by the Chinese AI industry. However, negotiations in this regard failed, as China is far more advanced in AI than the US and does not depend on American imports – while, on the other hand, the import of Iranian oil is vital for Chinese energy security.

Similarly, Trump said that China pledged not to send weapons to Iran; however, this cannot be considered an American victory since, to date, there is not much active military cooperation between China and Iran. Beijing is already neutral in the conflict (despite openly condemning American aggression), which is why this promise is merely a reaffirmation of a previous position. In practice, the US does not seem to have managed to “convince” the Chinese to change their stance towards Iran in any aspect.

All of this shows how wrong the American decision was to fight against Iran. The country emerged weakened, with a damaged economy and at a diplomatic disadvantage compared to its biggest commercial competitor, China. The effects generated by this war will take time to reverse.

And if the US does not completely change its foreign policy, returning to the initial MAGA agenda, focused on economic nationalism and an end to global interventionism, it will definitely not be possible to rehabilitate the American economy in the short term. The biggest beneficiary of all this will be China, which will be in a position of great advantage in the “trade war” and technological and industrial competition.

The US-China summit, however, was friendly in a certain sense. The Chinese side showed a willingness for dialogue and peace, as well as an active interest in seeking mutual understanding. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s US will be able to manage this situation successfully to achieve a win-win understanding.

You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

infobrics.org

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Today is first day of the World Health Organization’s 79th annual World Health Assembly, where delegates come together to set policies and priorities for global health.

Essentially, it’s a week-long exercise in saying, as loud and long possible, “We’re really important.”

And thank goodness it came along when it did, because…wow.

The hantavirus outbreak is tearing through the world at the unstoppably terrifying rate of five whole deaths every two months.

That’s about 30 deaths in a year or about  0.25% of the number of people who’ll died from falling down stairs.

In Africa, the Ebola virus went from zero to “emergency” in no time at all, and the African CDC  had no choice but to go into panic mode.

A new strain of Ebola virus has been declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organisation.

More than 300 suspected cases have been identified – with at least 80 deaths reported. The outbreak is mostly confined to the Democratic Republic of the… pic.twitter.com/LIP0LG6MtD

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 18, 2026

These twin outbreaks, combined with a “growing anti-vaccine movement”, and funding cuts to research   show the world is “not ready for the next pandemic”, according to Al Jazeera.

And – of course – climate change might mean more hantavirus outbreaks could happen!

And “Experts” are now saying the world is becoming more vulnerable to these infectious disease outbreaks.

Be afraid – be very afraid!

And, oh yes –    with all this chaos out there…maybe this would be a good time to finally start ratifying that Pandemic Treaty, what do you think guys?

It’s sort of like last year, when the weeks leading up the 78th Assembly saw the world afflicted with fresh rushes of monkeypox cases, along with outbreaks of measles, cholera, anthrax and polio.

Which may or may not have helped them secure a 30% budget increase for 2026, not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars in extra funding pledges.

You have to say, if nothing else,  “panic mode” is going to secure a lot of bucks.

Cash the WHO might “need”, given the United States officially pulled out of the organization back in January.

This plays into the multipolarity narrative.

On the one side, you’ll have the “sensible” WHO countries, working together and being nice and preventing diseases. Then, on the other, you’ll have the silly backwards MAGA US, being individual and selfish and backwards.

OR

On the one side, you’ll have the tyrannical collectivist WHO, enforcing conformity and stifling competition and stepping on freedoms. Then, on the other, you’ll have the rugged, lone-wolf US taking care of business.

Your side determines your view. Pick one. It won’t make much difference in the end.

The policies each employs will be almost identical.

Speaking of policies, more “experts” (different ones from before) are calling on the WHO to formally declare climate change a “public health emergency of international concern” (Pheic) and…

trigger coordinated international response that could help avoid millions dying

And check out this art installation/advertising campaign outside the Assembly…

Fifty (totally real and not at all potentially made up) lives lost “following harm linked to social media”. That’s terrible.

I guess age verification, smartphone bans and digital ID are all public health policies too.

What an interesting ten days we’re in for.

The post WHO in “panic mode” as World Health Assembly kicks off appeared first on Activist Post.

Bitcoin Depot, the largest bitcoin ATM operator in North America and publicly listed on Nasdaq, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

What to know:

• Bitcoin Depot, once the largest bitcoin ATM operator in North America and publicly listed on Nasdaq, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• The Atlanta-based company has blamed increasingly stringent state regulations and enforcement for making its business model unsustainable.
• Bitcoin Depot faces a high-profile lawsuit from the attorneys general of Massachusetts and Iowa over alleged facilitation of crypto scams.

Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin Depot, which once operated the largest network of bitcoin ATMs in North America, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is shutting down.

The Atlanta-based company filed voluntarily in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Monday, saying it would wind down operations and sell its assets in an orderly, court-supervised process. Its entire ATM network has already been taken offline.

At one point last year, the company operated 9,276 kiosks, allowing customers to convert cash into bitcoin in retail locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. The company went public on Nasdaq in 2023.

The writing was perhaps on the wall after the preliminary first-quarter earnings report showed a 49% collapse in revenue from a year earlier. The company swung from a $12.2 million profit to a $9.5 million loss in the same period. Gross profit also fell 85% to $4.5 million.

The company blamed regulation for its decline. “States have imposed increasingly stringent compliance obligations, including new transaction limits, and in some jurisdictions, outright restrictions or bans on BTM operations; and operators have faced increasing litigation and regulatory enforcement,” Alex Holmes, CEO of Bitcoin Depot, said in the press release.

“These developments have materially affected Bitcoin Depot’s business and financial position. Under these circumstances, the Company’s current business model is unsustainable,” he added.

Bitcoin Depot is facing a high-profile lawsuit led by attorneys general in Massachusetts and Iowa over allegations that it facilitated crypto scams. Crypto ATM fraud hit a record $389 million in reported losses last year, a 58% increase from 2024, drawing increased scrutiny from regulators and prosecutors.

The company’s Canadian entities are included in the U.S. court-supervised bankruptcy process. Other non-U.S. entities will wind down operations in accordance with the law in their respective countries.

The company’s collapse comes at a moment when the broader industry is riding a wave of institutional adoption through alternative investment vehicles such as ETFs and the recent progress of the Clarity Act.

UPDATE (May 18, 13:14 UTC): Changes lead image.

The post Bitcoin Depot, North America’s largest bitcoin ATM operator, files for bankruptcy appeared first on Activist Post.

Please note: this post is also available on my Substack.

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BRICS-based multipolarity will save us from The Technocratic Dark State by making the rollout of an oppressive global surveillance state much better. This will be the result of “improving global governance.” At least, that is according to the BRICS Outcome Document published by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs after the latest riveting meeting of BRICS foreign ministers.

Centralised global dictatorship will be a happier, fluffier kind of new world order tyranny under the BRICS’ multipolar model because it will be “more just, equitable, agile, effective, efficient, responsive, representative, legitimate, democratic and accountable.” Fantastic news, doubtless welcomed by those Hrvoje Morić refers to as the “Multipolaristas.”

Though the BRICS’ document reads like the worst kind of globalese dross imaginable, it is important to remember that the BRICS are offering us the promise of a “beautiful multi-polar world order defined by win-win cooperation.” Presumably, this is because humanity must have some sort of centralised, oligarch-led global dictatorship enslaving it for any of us to have a chance to “win.”

By all means, feel free to wade through the BRICS turgid propaganda (link above), but hopefully I’ve saved you the time. The quotes I’m about to share really were collectively published by the BRICS foreign ministers—I haven’t made it up, though you may wish I had.

The BRICS are going to strengthen “multipolarity” by upholding the “Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) in their entirety.” The entire purpose the UN Charter is to centralise global political authority, primarily in the hands of the UN Security Council, over all nation states.

The brainchild of oligarchs, the UN is a public-private partnership where national governments are reduced to mere enabling partners whose task it is to enable multinational corporations to get whatever they want. Apparently, the imminent multipolar global dictatorship will be nicer when the BRICS “play a greater role” in telling everyone else what to do through the UN Security Council. Sounds enticing, I have to say.

The BRICS are fully committed to global technocracy—sorry, I mean sustainable development—but are a bit worried that “current global challenges are complex and interlinked” and that this globally interlinked complexity might “impede economic growth and sustainable development.” The solution to this is, of course, to recognise the “contemporary realities of the multipolar world” and push ahead with more “equitable global governance.” This must be true because that’s exactly what the World Economic Forum wants, and who could argue with the WEF? Certainly not the BRICS’ foreign ministers, that’s for sure.

The BRICS ministers are also fretting about “peace and security.” Seeing as Iran is a BRICS member state that was just attacked by the US and Israeli governments for no immediately apparent reason, you might think that this war crime would be resoundingly condemned by our multipolar BRICS saviours. However, as recently reported by Edward Slavsquat, internal BRICS politics meant actually speaking out against warmongering tyrants was a bit tricky. So the BRICS delegates decided not to mention Iran by name to avoid any embarrassment. Instead, the foreign ministers “expressed deep concern on the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region” and noted the “differing views among some members.”

Though there was no specific mention of the attack on Iran—for diplomatic reasons you understand—Cuba, Syria, Sudan, and Lebanon all got honourable mentions. The BRICS foreign ministers emphasised the need for “peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue,” “UN peacekeeping missions,” and “post-conflict reconstruction and development”—like in Gaza, for example.

With regard to genocide in Gaza, collectively, the BRICS ministers expressed their “grave concern.” Though they stressed that some BRICS member states “had reservation” about Palestinian statehood.

Fiercely opposing genocide slightly, The BRICS politicians “called for the implementation of the relevant UNGA and UNSC Resolutions.” This, they observed, includes UNSC 2803 which welcomes and endorses both the 29th September 2025 “Comprehensive Plan” for peace in Gaza and the subsequent 13th October “Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity.” This is the UN resolutions the Trump administration is using to turn Gaza’s child graveyard into a deregulated Special Economic Zone playground for multinationals and billionaires.

Supporting the technocratic “post-conflict reconstruction” of Gaza, the BRICS foreign ministers ultimately settled on trotting out the same platitudes that every other government—other than Israeli government—trots out. BRICS ministers advocated a return to a “State of Palestine within the internationally recognized 1967 borders.” Well, kind of, at any rate.

Yeah! That’s sticking it to ‘em.

The UN’s dystopian “Pact for the Future,” including its “Global Digital Compact and the Declaration of Future Generations,” shouldn’t just ruin the lives of people living in developed nations. No, no, according to the BRICS, populations in “Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs), as well as Least Developed Countries (LDCs), especially from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean” must also be walled up inside the digital Panopticon. What’s the point of global governance unless everyone is controlled by it?

This, of course, is why the transnational capitalist oligarch crowd invented multipolarity in the first place. But I digress.

Like the US, Israeli, and UK governments—and just like all the other EU, Five Eyes, and Commonwealth member states—the BRICS governments are equally agreed that “Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)” are the key drivers for “socio-economic growth.” Therefore, the global “digital transformation” must surge ahead. Again, the WEF and its partners—such as the UN—must be cock-a-hoop that the BRICS enthusiastically endorse the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The BRICS are offering beautiful multipolarity, not the awful authoritarian technological control grid currently being served up by ugly Western governments and their corporate sponsors. So the snappy Schwabian acronym “4IR” is not in the BRICS’ lexicon. The 4IR is called “Industry 4.0,” lest there be any confusion.

In BRICS globalese, the entirely separate and distinct “Industry 4.0” digital transformation necessitates establishing a vibrant technology company “start-up ecosystem.” This is also completely different from the Silicon Valley oligarchs’ Dark Enlightenment inspired accelerationism because reasons. You can tell it’s not the same because “digital public infrastructure, leveraging emerging technologies” will “aim at accelerating innovation-led economic growth,” you see.

It’s important to understand that BRICS-led multipolarity has arrived to save us all from the insidious schemes of the transnational capitalist oligarchs. It is not simply the next logical and long-planned step on the path toward the envisaged “new world order.” And anyway, even if it is, many Multipolaristas say that the Rhodes/Milner “new world order” model doesn’t mean anything, other than serving as a general term for global governance. . . . Oh, and that global governance is necessary.

Multipolarity is regional not global.

The multipolar world order is about delivering fairness and healthy regional competition, promoting peace, and stimulating innovation and better international trade relations. Multipolarity is good, and anyone who says otherwise is merely shilling for “Western Empire” and is probably a conspiracy theorist who thinks they’re all in it together.

The BRICS governments say the “ICT environment” they are building will be “interoperable.” The multipolar Industry 4.0 digital transformation will be “more inclusive, accessible, sustainable and interoperable” than the 4IR digital gulag on offer from the Western Empire. This is because, say the BRICS foreign ministers, their digital Panopticon will be based upon “globally interoperable common rules and standards.”

Globally interoperable rules and standards? Interoperable with what?

IBM—reportedly the largest industrial research organisation in the world—stresses why “interoperability,” especially between ICT systems, matters:

Interoperability is made possible by using common standards that define how data is formatted and exchanged between systems. [. . .] Interoperability is important because it optimizes data sharing between separate information systems, which helps prevent data silos, [. . .] so disconnected datasets can be easily accessed to achieve a common objective.

“Globally interoperable” means global, not regional.

You can call it “multipolar” if you want, but exerting global governance over that unified, interoperable digital system, to achieve “common objectives,” is the centralised control of a global system. In a world where everything, from the information we share to the management of global supply chains and the control of the international financial and monetary system, is digital and interoperable, all “multipolarity” suggests is global dictatorship.

Multipolarity is a sales gimmick. The Multipolaristas have created a fake dialectic, seemingly on behalf of transnational capitalist oligarchs. They suggest that one model of global dictatorship is better than another. They’re inviting people the world over to embrace their own enslavement within a global, digital surveillance state. They are seriously arguing that multipolar dictatorship is preferable. But then, the Multipolaristas would say that I’m just a Western imperialist analysing everything from my western perspective, guilty of binary thinking and failing to see the potential beauty of multipolar win-win cooperation.

Highlighting where I have gone so awry, the BRICS foreign ministers add that “strengthening digital financial security” is essential for better multipolar global governance. This can be achieved by enhancing “cross-border cooperation among customs authorities, financial intelligence units, law enforcement agencies, tax authorities and supervisory bodies.” To this end, the BRICS governments are ready to step up and take “leadership of the IMF and the WB [World Bank].”

Luckily, the multipolar world order will “enhance the legitimacy of the World Bank Group, as a better, bigger, and more effective development finance institution.” So that’s an end to global debt trap diplomacy, apart from expanding it and centralising control over it even further.

The BRICS governments are particularly looking forward to deepening their “cooperation in global health initiatives, including within the World Health Organization (WHO).” The BRICS seem quite keen on the “WHO Pandemic Agreement” and hope the “BRICS R&D Vaccine Center” can contribute effectively to the next global public-private pandemic.

It comes as a relief, then, that all of this oppressive, global technocratic tyranny will “ensure the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.” This is because, unlike Western governments that peddle exactly the same propagandist crap, the multipolar BRICS-led new world order places “humanity and people at the centre.” This leaves humanity—notably led by the Multipolaristas at the moment—the freedom to big-up the multipolar new world order. Or, as the BRICS foreign ministers put it, “people to people contacts” can amplify “the voice for greater BRICS representation in global governance.”

There are few people around the world who aren’t yet entirely convinced that the beautiful multipolar world order is that attractive. Indeed, some go so far as to publicly question why we need any kind of oligarch-led world order at all. Fear not! The BRICS governments can stamp that nonsense out.

Worried that “promoting BRICS cooperation” might face some opposition, the BRICS ministers say that “the challenges stemming from and within the digital realm” can be overcome. By adopting “a comprehensive, balanced, and objective approach” to information “security,” and by deploying “globally interoperable common rules and standards,” BRICS governments are confident they can tackle the scourge of whatever they determine to be “misinformation, hate-speech, [and] disinformation.”

Phew, better global censorship at last! Perhaps the beautiful multipolar new world order is alluring after all.

What do you reckon?

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Parents in Washington state got wind of AI ‘experiment’ at their children’s pre-school and were able to stop it, but how many other similar programs are being run without parents’ knowledge?

If you appreciate these updates, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation of any size via GiveSendGo. Those preferring to send a check can do so c/o Leo Hohmann, P.O. Box 291, Newnan, GA 30264. Thank you for the much-needed support of my work.

There’s a new and dire threat to privacy that parents of school children need to be aware of and be prepared to fight against.

AI surveillance in the classroom.

Frank Landymore of Futurism.com reports, in a May 18 article, on a sinister plan hatched by the University of Washington to film pre-school children during class time. If this is going on in Washington, you have to believe it’s going on, at least in the planning stages if not already happening, across the 50 states.

The article reports that a planned University of Washington study would’ve had preschool teachers wear cameras to “record first-person footage of everything in the classroom,” including the children they were instructing, and use that footage to train AI models.

Remember, those behind the global technocracy movement believe the only value a human being will hold in the new society they are trying to create, is the data sets they produce. This was stated in the wide open a few years ago by World Economic Forum adviser Yuval Noah Harari. Without your personal data to be stolen, manipulated, and sold for profit, you are nothing to them but a useless eater.

Part of the plan is to create a “digital twin” of every person on earth as an anchor to the new digital control grid.

So why wouldn’t the Epstein class of entitled billionaire elites who harbor perverted, twisted views of children, want a daily video record of everything your child does in school? Every word uttered. Every facial expression. Every action and reaction. Year over year for comparison’s sake. Then they can use this data to create algorithms that predict everything your child will grow up to become before he or she is 10 or 12 years old?

Harari, an Israeli historian and chief adviser to the WEF, has said that if he had access to artificial intelligence when he was younger, he believes he would have discovered he was a homosexual at age 11 or 12 instead of at 17. In fact, a Newsweek article from September 8, 2017, made the case that AI can predict “with startling accuracy” whether a person is gay or straight.

But this particular story, in the case of Washington State, has a positive outcome. It exemplifies the kind of parental awareness and bold activism that is needed to shut down the illegitimate use of AI technology in the classroom.

Below is an excerpt from the Futurism article:

If a parent was uncomfortable with all that, they had to manually opt-out — meaning that unless the researchers were given a formal no, a parent’s child would’ve been automatically opted into the experiment.

“With your permission, your child’s lead teacher may wear a small teacher-worn camera that captures the teacher’s approximate first-person perspective, and/or we may place a fixed video camera in the classroom,” reads a document given to parents and obtained by 404 Media in a new investigative piece. “These videos simply capture the normal interactions between teachers and children during regular classroom activities.”

The parents did a little more than opt out, however. They revolted, and the backlash was so heated that the University of Washington called off the experiment entirely, according to 404.

The documents given to parents sometimes used nebulous language and left key questions open-ended. They stated that the footage would’ve been used to “develop and evaluate AI models for assessing classroom interaction quality,” and that the “video data may be processed using cloud-based AI services.” But they didn’t specify what AI models or what AI companies would be involved.

Thorny questions abounded. What about the parent of a child who didn’t give consent? Would only they be blurred out in the footage? How would that realistically work? The documents only said the researchers would censor faces and names “whenever possible,” but that meant your child was still being filmed.

These looming uncertainties rattled parents.

“I am troubled by the idea of using my child’s likeness in unknown AI tools and how this could be abused,” one parent who chose to remain anonymous told 404.

“I was particularly concerned about families’ ability to give informed consent,” she added. “As a native English speaker, the vague language in the handout left me with a slew of questions. Many families in our school are migrants and non-native English speakers, but forms were not provided in any of their native languages.”

Experts in education were also raising eyebrows at the document’s language.

“Who may the data may be shared with? How long will it be maintained? Who is funding the research? Those are questions that I would want answers to, and the answers could exist,” Faith Boninger, co-director of the National Education Policy Center, told 404.

The University of Washington said it was putting the research on ice after parent backlash.

“Given the early responses from parents, we have terminated the study and are no longer seeking participation at any site,” a spokesperson told 404, noting that it’s “not unusual to terminate a study in the early stages as we receive feedback from community partners.”

The cancelled study marks the latest evolutionary stage of AI’s inroads into education. Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft are pouring millions of dollars into teacher’s unions and providing training on how to use their AI tools. Universities are partnering with AI companies to give students free access to AI, in what essentially amounts to putting a rubber stamp on how students are already dependent on AI to write essays and complete assignments — or, in other words, cheating. Now, with that massive drive to inject AI into the classroom, there’s apparently a consequent demand to gather data to fuel the building of specialized models.

Its demise is also an example of how parents have been spearheading the mounting AI backlash. A planned AI-powered high school in New York was cancelled, for instance, after more moms and dads protested outside City Hall last month.

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