The World Health Organization (WHO) is approaching revisions to its constitution. The International Health Regulations (IHR) is considered a legally binding international instrument, applicable to 196 countries. Initiated in January 2022, these modifications have been under deliberation within the World Health Organization’s governing body, the World Health Assembly, during both its May 2022 and May 2023 sessions.

TL;DR: Contrary to their stated goals, centralized solutions and globalism are poised to increase disaster risk, undermine knowledge production, impede economic growth, and hinder scientific progress. They should also be rejected on ethical grounds. The drawbacks of extensive centralization (globalism) have been discussed previously, including the fact that it empowers the wrong individuals.

TL;DR: The contemporary world is displaying an increasing resemblance to the less favorable aspects of feudal historical periods. Individuals are increasingly being bound by obligations to adhere to specified ’terms of use’ and ‘core values’, which undermine our freedoms. Elon Musk opted to change the well-known blue bird logo of the social media company Twitter to an “X” in July of 2023.

TL;DR: today’s censorship enthusiasts can’t know what’s true or not when dealing with complex systems, which should make them more cautious before reaching for their black markers. Earlier this summer, Slovakia’s current president warned that “Russian narratives find fertile ground” 1 in her country. In France, there are claims of an extensive “Russian disinformation campaign” 2 that undermines “the conditions for democratic debate.

Elon Musk asserted earlier this year that the media is “racist against white people.” This came after the creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams, was accused of “spewing racism,” which resulted in his comic strip Dilbert being removed from the country’s newspapers. Musk was quickly labeled as a racist. But is it even possible for the media to be racist against white people?

Did you know that the Riksbank, the Swedish central bank, decided last year to burn 2.6 million kronor (Swedish currency) in cash that was found in a deceased person’s estate? That the central bank confiscated half a million kronor from a 95-year-old woman? That bank customers - individuals and businesses - are being de-platformed from banking services after trading in cryptocurrencies, that a major bank closed the account of a Swedish journalist last year, or that British banks are denying their customers the ability to transfer their own money to cryptocurrency exchanges?

In the iconic scene from the 1999 film The Matrix, the protagonist Neo is presented with a choice between two pills - the red pill, which reveals true reality, or the blue pill, which allows him to remain in his mundane existence, unaware of the choice he has made. This metaphor has become a popular trope on social media over the past decade, with the term “pill” being used to describe a sudden realization or enlightenment.

“What is going on!?” my three-year-old exlaimed at the breakfast table the other day. And it’s indeed a valid question. Energy and food prices have been skyrocketing, yet another epidemic (monkeypox) has recently appeared to be spreading - at least it was declared a global emergency this past summer, and the world’s central bankers are changing their minds so quickly one suspects that they might soon land on their buttocks (perhaps in butter).