<h2>Pfizer's bioengineered rennet turns your milk into cheese &nbsp;</h2>You may be surprised to learn that the cheese you are eating, if it's not USDA organic, most likely contains synthetic rennet bioengineered by Pfizer. Often referred to as microbial rennet, the source of the rennet is not required to be listed on food labels, so most Americans have no idea that the food they are eating contains non-natural ingredients.&nbsp;Global Research's Dr. Ashley Armstrong, who <a href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/genetically-modified-ingredients-most-us-cheeses/5851277" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">believes</a> that natural rennet is preferable to synthetic rennet, explained that cheese making involves just four ingredients — milk, salt, starter culture, and (traditionally) animal rennet. Rennet is used to curdle the cheese and separate the curds from the whey. Today, rennet comes from more than one source, the others being “vegetable rennet, microbial rennet, and a genetically modified version called FPC (fermentation-produced chymosin). Chymosin is one of the two enzymes found in natural animal rennet, the other being pepsin:<blockquote>Animal rennet is usually 90% chymosin enzyme and 10% pepsin enzyme. The small amount of pepsin will break down the casein protein in milk in a slightly different way compared to just chymosin alone, producing a final product with an enhanced taste.</blockquote><h2>Supreme Court rules new life forms can be patented</h2>The permissibility for manufacturers to make synthetic rennet resulted from a 1980 Supreme Court ruling that new life forms can be patented. As VRG's (Vegetarian Resource Group) research director Jeanne Yacoubou, MS, <a href="https://www.vrg.org/blog/2012/08/21/microbial-rennets-and-fermentation-produced-chymosin-fpc-how-vegetarian-are-they/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">explained</a>, this became pivotal to the development of synthetic rennet FPC (fermentation produced chymosin) when animal rennet started rising in price as a result of the animal rights movement:<blockquote>When calf rennet became scarce and unreliably available in the 1960s and 70s as the veal industry was declining due to the animal rights movement but demand for cheese increased, calf rennet became very expensive. Companies looked for a “rennet substitute.” Recombinant DNA technologies involving microbes were becoming popular and companies turned to it in the 1980s. [Emphases added.]</blockquote><h2>FDA permits bioengineered food products</h2>In 1990 the FDA set a precedent by permitting the inclusion of FPC, the first bioengineered product, in food. Yacoubou explained that the technique used to manufacture the FPC was perfected by Pfizer. Gene splicing, using recombinant DNA technology, enabled the company to remove the genetic material for coding the enzyme chymosin:<blockquote>Pfizer is credited with perfecting the technique in which genetic material (ribonucleic acid, or RNA) coding for chymosin is removed from an animal source and inserted via plasmids into microbial DNA (bacteria E. coli K-12) in a process known as gene splicing (a type of recombinant DNA technology). Through fermentation the microbes possessing the bovine genetic material produce bovine chymosin which is later isolated and purified in quantities much greater than those in calf rennet or in non-animal recombinant DNA microbial rennets.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>FDA-approved GMO rennet received GRAS status</h3>The FDA gave this novel GMO version of chymosin GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status, allowing it to forgo a preapproval process required for new food additives. In order to do this, Yacoubou continued, Pfizer had to show that their product was substantially equivalent to the real thing:&nbsp;<blockquote>What is significant about the FDA approval is that bioengineered chymosin was granted Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status. This meant that Pfizer was exempt from the preapproval requirements that apply to new food additives. Pfizer demonstrated what is often referred to as “substantial equivalence.” FDA concluded that bioengineered chymosin was substantially equivalent to calf rennet and needed neither special labeling nor indication of its source or method of production.</blockquote><blockquote>. . . &nbsp;Pfizer showed “…the introduced chymosin gene encoded a protein that had the same structure and function as animal-derived chymosin; the manufacturing process removes most impurities; the production microorganisms are destroyed or removed during processing and are non-toxigenic and non-pathogenic; and any antibiotic-resistance marker genes (e.g., ampicillin) are destroyed in the manufacturing process.” In effect, the FDA extended calf rennet’s GRAS status to the bioengineered chymosin product.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>Not just Pfizer</h3>Pfizer's rennet wasn't the only rennet given GRAS status, as two other bioengineered chymosin products produced with different bacteria were also given GRAS status. She pointed out that the FDA was never concerned about the process used to generate the enzyme:<blockquote>&nbsp;A few years later, FDA extended GRAS status to two other forms of bioengineered chymosin: that produced from Kluyveromyces marxianus var. lactis and Aspergillus niger var. awamori. In none of these approvals was FDA concerned with the process used to generate the chymosin.</blockquote><h3>Foreign cheese contains GMO rennet, too</h3>Consumers thinking that perhaps the cheese is more natural in <a href="https://frontline.news/post/are-americans-still-evolving-comedian-atsuko-okatsuka-on-the-preponderance-of-food-allergies-among-her-friends-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">other countries</a> may be surprised to learn that even in Europe, where GMOs are largely frowned upon, artificial rennet is used. According to Megan Stevens <a href="https://www.foodrenegade.com/is-your-cheese-made-with-gmos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">writing</a> for Food Renegade, FPC rennet is actually given a pass since it is imported:<blockquote>Even cheeses imported from European countries, where GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are limited in agriculture and food production, likely contain GM rennet.How is this possible? The laws that prohibit GM production within Europe do not hold for exported items. And most European countries (not including France and Austria) now allow the use of FPC for their own citizens, as well.</blockquote>Can't digest cheese? Check back to learn why FPC may be at the root of your digestive issues.Relarted articles:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/are-americans-still-evolving-comedian-atsuko-okatsuka-on-the-preponderance-of-food-allergies-among-her-friends-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">'Are Americans still evolving?' - Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka on the preponderance of food allergies among her friends in U.S.</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-do-you-know-about-the-free-range-eggs-%20and-organic-meat-you-eat">What do you know about the free range eggs and organic meat you eat?</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/gmo-crops-organ-damage-fertility-impact-dna-damage-not-ruled-out" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GMO crops - organ damage, fertility impact; DNA damage not ruled out</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/globalist-free-trade-agreement-to-destroy-mexican-farms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Globalist free trade agreement to destroy Mexican farms?</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/corporatocracy-pushing-trade-partners-to-accept-genetically-modified-sprayed-food" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Corporatocracy pushing trade partners to accept genetically modified, sprayed food</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/mexico-president-denies-us-industry-s-safety-claims-for-gmo-roundup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mexico president denies US industry's safety claims for GMOs, Roundup</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/will-mexicans-lose-the-tasty-tortillas-they-have-eaten-for-centuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Will Mexicans lose the tasty tortillas they have eaten for centuries?</a></li></ul>

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Technology

Pfizer

GMO rennet developed by Pfizer now in 90% of US cheeses

A little bit of Pfizer in your cheese? Fake rennet bypassed additive approval process 

The Dallas Police Department has received the green light from the local city council to use Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition tool.<h2>‘The world’s most controversial company'</h2>Clearview AI hosts a database with an estimated 30 billion facial images scraped from across the web. These include facial images taken from private social media accounts without the knowledge of their owners. This has drawn heavy criticism from privacy watchdogs and civil rights groups and has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com.au/covers/innovation/the-photos-that-speak-volumes/">earned</a> Clearview AI the title of “the world’s most controversial company.”Nevertheless, the company has found success in marketing itself to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of finding the identities of persons of interest. Police officers can submit an image of a face to the Clearview AI database which will return any available matches.<h2>Dallas police: A ‘game-changer’</h2>Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is excited about using the technology. "I can tell you that it will be a game changer for our hardworking detectives to have this technology," Chief Garcia said.Other law enforcement bodies that use Clearview AI include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whose Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/dhs-uses-invasive-ai-technology-says-report">spent</a> approximately $2 million to license the software.&nbsp;But it is unknown for what other purposes DHS — or other agencies, for that matter — may be using Clearview AI or similar tools.&nbsp;<h2>A history of misuse</h2>Dallas Police Major Stephen Williams claims the department will only use the database to investigate official crimes."This is not a license plate reader for humans. We have to have a criminal offense before we start doing things," said Major Williams,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-police-ai-facial-recognition-technology">according</a> to&nbsp;Fox 4.But concerns still remain given past misuse of the software by government agencies.A&nbsp;Buzzfeed&nbsp;report in April 2021&nbsp;<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-local-police-facial-recognition">found</a> that employees at over 1,800 publicly funded agencies have used Clearview AI often “without the knowledge or consent of their superiors.” These included military branches, health organizations, local and state police, state attorneys general, federal law enforcement and even public schools.<h2>Clearview AI used against taxpayers after January 6th</h2>Clearview AI is also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/technology/facial-recognition-clearview-capitol.html">known</a> for being heavily used by law enforcement after January 6th, 2021. Following the rally at the US Capitol, the company saw a surge in the use of its software, according to the company’s chief executive, Hoan Ton-That:<blockquote>There was a 26 percent increase of searches over our usual weekday search volume.</blockquote>This was in part due to law enforcement bodies like the Miami and Oxford Police Departments using it to find taxpaying citizens who had been at the Capitol.

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surveillance

Invasive software has been misused by thousands of publicly funded agencies

Dallas police move forward with controversial AI surveillance tool

<h2>How money has changed over time&nbsp;</h2>U.S. currency has changed over the two-plus centuries the country has existed — from a currency <a href="https://finmasters.com/brief-history-us-currency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> during the nation's early years backed by the “anticipation of tax revenues,” to one backed by gold to the currency we have today backed by faith in the U.S. government. Our faith in the government is what generally gives the dollars in our pockets value. How much the dollar is worth at a given moment depends upon market forces. And whether the dollar will retain value in the future depends on how other countries view the U.S.<h2>The gold standard</h2>All major industrialized countries were on the gold standard from about 1871 to 1914, with a fixed price for an ounce of gold and a fixed exchange rate that helped stabilize currency values and promoted trade and investment, as explained by <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-gold-standard-and-why-does-the-us-benefit-from-a-dollar-that-isnt-tied-to-the-value-of-a-glittery-hunk-of-metal-150340">The Conversation</a>. The crises of World War I and then the Great Depression moved the industrialized countries using the gold standard to first suspend, and then discontinue it.&nbsp;<h3>First crisis</h3>In 1914, at the outbreak of World War 1, in need of more cash, some countries suspended the gold standard. Other nations, such as the U.S. and the U.K., still held to it.<h3>Second crisis</h3>In the 1930s, the Great Depression caused some countries to abandon the gold standard as unsustainable.&nbsp;In the U.S., in April 1933, then-president Franklin Roosevelt was afraid that citizens' lack of confidence in the economy would cause a run on the banks and declared a bank moratorium, as the website History <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-takes-united-states-off-gold-standard">explains</a>. Banks were not allowed to exchange other currency for gold and people were required by May 1st to turn their gold coins and certificates in denominations over $100 for other money at $20.67 per ounce.&nbsp;By May 10th, the government had taken in $300 million of gold coins and $470 million of gold certificates. Two months later, a joint resolution of Congress abrogated the gold clauses in many public and private obligations that required the debtor to repay the creditor in gold dollars of the same weight and fineness as those borrowed.Raising price of gold to “make more money”In 1934, the government increased the price of gold to $35 per ounce “effectively increasing the gold on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheets by 69 percent. &nbsp;The increase in assets allowed the Federal Reserve to further inflate the money supply.” So, although the U.S. dollar was still backed by gold, citizens could no longer hold it and its value was artificially increased.<h2>The U.S. dollar becomes the world’s reserve currency</h2><h3>IMF and World Bank established</h3>In 1944, delegates from 44 countries convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. The delegates at Bretton Woods declared the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, with all other currencies pegged to its value, Investopedia <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brettonwoodsagreement.asp">recounted</a>. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were also established during the conference.&nbsp;<h3>Dollar becomes fiat currency</h3>The Bretton Woods agreement ended in 1971 when then-president Richard Nixon said that the U.S. would no longer exchange currency for gold. By decoupling the dollar from gold, the dollar has no fixed value but depends on the market to give it value. That is called fiat currency and that is the currency we have today.&nbsp;Watch Ben Shapiro as he explains in the video below how moving from the gold standard allowed for massive inflation including the inflation experienced today.<blockquote>Today we are going to explain what the gold standard was, why it mattered and why it has something to do with the massive inflation we are seeing right now, now that no one is on the gold standard.</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGUlc7gs3Po" title="Everything You Need to Know About the Gold Standard" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>&nbsp;<h2>Gold standard returning?</h2><h3>Doesn't look good for the U.S.</h3>Steven Forbes, chief editor of Forbes, explains in the video below that some countries are forming new financial alliances and moving back to a gold standard amidst doubts about the long-term value of the U.S. dollar and the perceived decline of the U.S. &nbsp;<blockquote>Signs of change are here. One is that central banks have been purchasing gold at record levels in recent years. Buyers include China, India, Russia, and a number of other countries, such as Poland. They are reacting to the growing doubts about the long-term value of the dollar, which in turn is a symptom of the perceived decline of the U.S. Another sign is the popularity of cryptocurrencies, originally a high-tech cry for help in the face of increasingly unreliable government fiat currencies.</blockquote>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iq0YQtdiptY" title="Believe It Or Not, The World Is Beginning To Lurch Forward To A New Gold Standard" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

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US News

'Growing doubts about long-term value of dollar' causing some countries to go back to gold

From the gold standard to fiat money - crises were used to change the nature of currency 

By Alex NewmanThe United States, Mexico, and Canada should be united under a European Union-style transnational government, declared far-left Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador last month in barely noticed comments. The controversial remarks come as&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/printmag/creating-a-new-world-order-out-of-regional-orders/">regional governments modeled on the EU</a>&nbsp;proliferate and absorb once-sovereign nations around the world. &nbsp;Speaking during an event marking the 110th anniversary of the U.S. military’s occupation of the coastal city of Veracruz, “AMLO,” as the Mexican president is known, called for the creation of a North American “community” with its northern neighbors. “Blessed Mexico, so close to God and not so far from the United States,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/estados/2024/04/21/bendito-mexico-no-tan-lejos-de-eu-amlo-llama-a-que-america-del-norte-se-una-como-la-ue/">began</a>&nbsp;López Obrador.“The important thing here is how to strengthen that integration and commitment that is helpful for the two nations, benefiting the United States and Mexico to strengthen North America and subsequently strengthen the entire American continent, just as in the beginning the European community was created that later became the European Union,” continued the controversial Mexican leader.Understanding Mexico’s body politic and the population’s historical concerns about possible American domination, AMLO offered obligatory lip service to preserving Mexican sovereignty and independence. However, his remarks and his touting of the EU as a role model made clear to those in the know that his vision would severely infringe on sovereignty, independence, and self-government across the continent.“This is how we must integrate into America, that is what is best for the new generations, but we need a pact of mutual respect for our sovereignties, clear rules, because Mexico does not want to be a protectorate, nor a colony of any foreign country,” he continued, adding that the U.S. government offers “a lot of respect” to its Mexican counterpart and he hopes that will continue.The explosive comments were widely reported in the Mexican press. But so far, there has been absolutely no coverage in the U.S. media, which historically has sought to ignore, downplay and even ridicule conservative concerns about the ongoing regionalization of governance in North America. The Canadian media was also notably absent on the story. &nbsp;It is not the first time AMLO has used such rhetoric. In 2021, speaking at a Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit he convened featuring mass-murdering communist leaders such as the dictators ruling Cuba and Venezuela, the far-left Mexican leader also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bolivian-president-calls-global-debt-relief-poor-countries-2021-09-18/">touted the EU</a>&nbsp;as a model for integration in the Western hemisphere.“We should build in the American continent something similar to what was the economic community that was the beginning of the current European Union,” said AMLO. “In these times, CELAC can become the principal instrument to consolidate relations between our Latin American and Caribbean nations.”But, as this magazine has documented for almost two decades, the push to undermine national sovereignty in favor of an EU-style regime is already well underway. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the first giant step. Among other concerns, the 1994 scheme created North American “tribunals,” regulations, and bureaucracies.The “trade” deal was very similar to similar pseudo-“trade” deals that were used in earlier decades to undermine the sovereignty of European nations. Primarily using “free trade” as the pretext, what began as a mere “Coal and Steel” community after World War II was&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/the-eu-regionalization-trumps-sovereignty/">gradually turned into a full-blown super-state</a>&nbsp;with more power in some areas than even the U.S. government has managed to usurp.Like its European equivalents, NAFTA was merely a steppingstone. In 2001, Council on Foreign Relations luminary Robert Pastor called for a “North American Community” to be achieved by relying on “Lessons From the Old World.” A few years later, writing in CFR mouthpiece&nbsp;Foreign Affairs, Pastor admitted NAFTA was “merely the first draft of an economic constitution for North America.”Pastor, the late frontman for the North American Union (NAU) agenda, famously blamed the efforts of TNA affiliate The John Birch Society and the Eagle Forum for derailing the NAU during the Bush administration. However, like all globalist schemes, it never went away, it just continued under the radar until it could be brought back at a more opportune time.Indeed, the governments of Mexico, Canada, and the United States were all working on just such a scheme behind the scenes. According to&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/wikileaks-confirms-north-american-integration-scheme/">diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks in 2011</a>, U.S. authorities were plotting — as early as 2005, if not earlier — with their North American counterparts an end-run around national constitutions to “integrate” the continent.The 2005 U.S. embassy cable, signed by then-American Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci, outlines the best ways to peddle the subversion of sovereignty to the public. It also discussed the possibility of an eventual “monetary union.” Numerous other topics are broached in the leaked document, too: borders, labor, regulations, and more.By 2014, disgraced former general and CIA chief David Petraeus, also part of the globalist Council on Foreign Relations and the shadowy Bilderberg network, was boasting about the plan to integrate North America using NAFTA. “After America comes North America,” Petraeus said, celebrating the emergence of a “North American decade” now that the three economies had been “put together.” &nbsp;The next year, after repeated attacks on critics of secretive North American integration, the far-left “news” outlet CNN ran a piece calling for the effective elimination of borders between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. “This is not a geographic truism, but a strategic imperative,” two globalists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/01/26/opinion/martinez-kurtz-phelan-north-american-passport/index.html">argued</a>&nbsp;in a piece calling for a “North American passport.”Prior to AMLO, then-Mexican President Vicente Fox was perhaps the most open about the agenda. Asked by Comedy Central host Jon Stewart whether he wanted a “North American Union,” the Mexican leader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrLFYaX75-0">responded bluntly</a>: “Long term, yes!” He echoed those remarks on CNN in an interview with Larry King, including talk of a regional currency such as the euro. &nbsp;&nbsp;That is all imminent — at least if Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians are unable to stop it. Consider the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that drastically expanded the areas under the jurisdiction of “North American” regulations and tribunals. Negotiated by CFR operative and then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the USMCA is effectively NAFTA on steroids.And under Biden, the process is continuing quietly in the background. As this writer noted in an&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/video/north-american-union-back-on-deep-state-agenda/">episode of “Behind the Deep State,”</a>&nbsp;a trilateral meeting about a year ago between Biden, AMLO, and would-be Canadian strongman Justin Trudeau resulted in the Declaration of North America (DNA) vowing more sovereignty subversion and regional governance. &nbsp;&nbsp;Among the recent cross-border developments between the U.S. and Mexican governments is a new military training program. Under the terms of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/02/nlej-d02.html">agreement</a>, the Biden administration is sending elite U.S. military personnel into Mexico to provide training to Mexican special forces.Alarmingly, AMLO and his regime represent the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a member of the dangerous left-wing extremist organization known as the Socialist International. The alliance represents communist and socialist parties from around the world, some of which have the blood of countless innocent victims on their hands.PRI is also a member of&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/resurgent-communism-in-latin-america/">Foro de São Paulo (São Paulo Forum)</a>, a network of Marxist parties across Latin America founded by mass-murdering communist dictator Fidel Castro, Brazilian strongman Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva, the murderous Sandinistas, and communist narco-terrorist organizations such as FARC. The goal, according to its own documents, is to enslave the Americas under communist tyranny.Ultimately, the regionalization process described by AMLO is happening around the world as once sovereign nations are subsumed into regional regimes. While the EU may be the furthest along, similar schemes include the African Union, Putin’s Eurasian Union, the Union of South American States (UNASUR), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and many more.Continue reading at <a href="https://thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/mexican-president-calls-for-eu-style-north-american-union/">The New American</a>.<a href="https://libertysentinel.org/author/admin/">Alex Newman</a> is an award-winning international journalist, educator, author, and consultant who co-wrote the book “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children.” He writes for diverse publications in the United States and abroad.

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Globalism

Controversial remarks come as regional governments modeled on EU proliferate and absorb once-sovereign nations

Mexican President Calls for EU-style North American Union

<blockquote>[Nutt] I only told my mother about my asexuality but … she made a point of saying, “maybe you should stop taking those antidepressants because they can result in zero sex drive.” Has anyone heard this?[Philip027] Gotta love how some parents think, sure, let's have the kid suffer through depression, anything so that they can keep that precious sex drive.</blockquote>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; — recent conversation on the “<a href="https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/183037-antidepressant-effects/?tab=comments#comment-1063244616" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">asexuality.org</a>” forum<blockquote>After my talk, an Australian psychiatrist came up to me and told me about three of his patients, adolescents, who had been about to have relations for the first time, but in the end they didn't, because they weren't physically able to. All three had attempted suicide.</blockquote>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; — <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dr+peter+breggin+pssd&amp;oq=dr+peter+breggin+pssd&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRhA0gEINjkwOWowajeoAgCwAgA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&amp;vld=cid:e1ca117c,vid:uQSyuqJp93Y,st:0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr. Peter Gotzsche</a>, co-founder of the Cochrane Review&nbsp;A is for abnormalAlmost 20 percent of Americans are currently or have recently been taking anti-depressant drugs for depression. Many more are taking SSRIs, the most prescribed class of anti-depressant drugs, for reasons other than depression, such as anxiety or an eating disorder. Among younger Americans, the number of anti-depressant prescriptions issued has risen by almost 70 percent in the last four years alone.Also in the last four years, the “asexual” phenomenon has been gaining attention, publicized by organizations such as Stonewall, which exists to normalize all kinds of divergent ways of being. And yet, the asexual phenomenon is very different from many of the other letters in the alphabet soup, because it describes a person who is not different but rather “less.”&nbsp;&nbsp;Abnormal invariably means miserableStonewall describes people lacking this most basic human drive as a sub-sector of normal; for them, “asexual people hold a minority sexual orientation.” They have been labeled "Ace”:<blockquote>Ace is an umbrella term used to describe a wider group of people who experience little, fluctuating, or no sexual attraction.</blockquote>Stonewall does actually acknowledge some of the problems associated with being Ace, as they write in their 2023 “Ace in the UK” <a href="https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/ace_in_the_uk_report_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report</a>:<blockquote>The UK Government's landmark 2018 National LGBT+ Survey has enabled analysis of asexual people's experiences … asexual respondents had lower life satisfaction, more prevalent mental health needs, were less likely to be out to friends … and those who were out … had a poor experience…</blockquote>&nbsp;How normalizing the abnormal covers up abuseStonewall's report was based on a survey that found that people who are Ace tend more often to be younger and female. Perhaps coincidentally, younger people and females are statistically more likely to be taking SSRIs. Also perhaps coincidentally, younger people and females are more likely to be the targets of sexual abuse. In fact, many of the stories featured by Stonewall and other “pro-Ace” organizations involve individuals who have suffered such abuse. But Stonewall, as well as many self-identifying asexuals, refuse to associate the two, insisting that their asexuality is an innate part of their being and should be respected as such.It should also be noted that much of Stonewall's insistence that asexual people need to be “protected” derives from their very real victimization in a hypersexualized society where modest behavior is seen as a relic of a bygone era. No one, of course, asexual or otherwise, should be subjected to prying comments or unwanted advances.&nbsp;However, for reasons one can only conjecture, Stonewall and other similar organizations have chosen to deny any element of cause and effect and instead normalize the phenomenon, making the leap from how homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness to insisting that it is normal to lack one of the most basic human drives, as if a person who feels no hunger could be on the “food spectrum.”This is a tragic development, as it prevents genuinely damaged people from understanding their predicament and finding ways out of it. And, just as Stonewall &amp; Co. have ended up strange bedfellows with the pharmaceutical companies in the area of trans “medicine,” here too, they have fallen into line with the preferred narrative of Pharma — namely, that SSRIs are “safe and effective,” that they save lives, and that the considerable benefits justify the risks.&nbsp;Decades of deceitRelying on the mainstream media for information will usually bring a person to the same conclusion, unless they are scanning headlines carefully and noticed a single article in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/health/antidepressants-ssri-sexual-dysfunction.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New York Times</a> from last year, or one in the left-leaning <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/02/ssri-antidepressants-sexual-dysfunction-side-effects-consequences-libido" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guardian</a> from earlier this year. Judging by these two articles, one gains the impression that doctors have only recently discovered that SSRIs could be problematic in this area.In fact, it has been known since the 1970s that anti-depressants have a strong negative effect in all areas concerning intimacy. Prof. David Healy, a UK-based psychiatrist and the founder of the RxISK website, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0141076819899299#bibr17-0141076819899299" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">describes</a> how, in the 1980s, doctors came under pressure to find alternatives to benzodiazepines (such as valium) and were encouraged to prescribe anti-depressants instead, which were supposedly non-addictive.At the time, it was claimed, based on clinical trial reports, that less than five percent of those who took SSRIs (such as Prozac) experienced sexual dysfunction. However, pharmaceutical companies are not obligated to submit all their trial results to the FDA, only the cherry-picked studies that provide the data they were looking for. It later became known that, in some early studies, over 50 percent of healthy trial volunteers suffered “severe sexual dysfunction” and that some of these people never recovered full health, even after stopping the drug.Over the years, more and more studies confirmed these disturbing findings, with researchers noting that the reported figures of dysfunction were almost certainly lower than the real numbers, because people are generally reticent and embarrassed to admit to experiencing such personal difficulties.&nbsp;Informed consent?From a perusal of many, or even most popular medical websites today, one would never know any of this. WebMD, for instance, lists possible side effects of SSRI drugs including rash, blurred vision, etc., and no mention of sexual problems. The only hint they give is in a single sentence where they suggest taking the drug once a day right before going to sleep, in the event that it causes problems.There is certainly no indication that people who take SSRIs, even for just a few months, or perhaps just a few weeks, could be left with absolutely debilitating “side”-effects for the rest of their lives.&nbsp;GaslightingThe Times article does acknowledge this can happen, before the author launches on an extended gaslighting trip which includes calling involuntary asexuality a mere “hypothesis.” The Guardian is more frank about the extent of the issue, describing a 20-year-old nurse called Tilli who started out physically healthy (albeit with some anxiety and depression) who ended up numb, even years after withdrawing from the anti-depressant drug her doctor prescribed.<blockquote>When I reached out for help with my local mental health service, I was sectioned and placed involuntarily into psychiatric care as the psychiatrist said I had ‘delusional disorder’, and tried to put me on antipsychotics. It shattered my trust in ever seeking help for my mental health again.</blockquote>There are just 19 comments at the end of the Guardian article; comments were turned off only a day after the article was posted. Yet among those responses are tragic stories that should give anyone considering taking an anti-depressant a sustained pause for thought.<blockquote>I took an antidepressant for depression. It caused ED and genital numbness so I wanted to stop taking it. I tapered off the drug slowly. During the taper, something strange happened. Literally overnight, I experienced profound emotional numbness - I could no longer feel excited or enjoy anything. I also suddenly became basically asexual and could feel nothing for my girlfriend, who I had been in love with. I also had brain fog, memory loss and other cognitive problems. It did indeed feel like I had been lobotomised. 11 years later and no improvements.PSSD is absolutely devastating. I have spent many years being gaslighted by doctors. Many doctors have incorrectly confused PSSD with depression. There is a big difference. Genital numbness is not a symptom of depression. While I was depressed I still had a high libido and had sex regularly. PSSD feels like the connection between my brain and my genitals has been severed.</blockquote>&nbsp;Stolen potentialStonewall describes asexuals as born that way (or perhaps cycling through, for natural reasons of their own). They provide a forum for those who are numb to “celebrate” the way they are, and promote other websites that provide similar services.Meanwhile, people like Vancouver counselor Yassie Pirani, quoted in the Times article, points out that people who were put on anti-depressants at a young age may have had their development thwarted before even knowing what it feels like to be normal:<blockquote>People put on these drugs at a young age may just never know who they might otherwise be if they hadn't been on this drug.</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="681" height="383" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LJrda-xpk8w" title="Conversation with a PSSD Therapist | Interview with Yassie Pirani" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>She also notes that despite decades of reporting and research, most doctors still dismiss their patients' concerns when they seek advice in a panic at finding themselves fundamentally altered after taking a “safe and effective” medication.&nbsp;“Things just didn't feel right…”“<a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19965065/this-is-what-it-s-really-like-to-date-on-antidepressants/?utm_campaign=sharebutton&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lucy</a>” went to her doctor after years of suffering from social anxiety that was preventing her from forming a relationship. She found dating so stressful that she would sometimes flee during an evening out. She allowed herself to be persuaded by her GP to try an anti-depressant. After taking an SSRI, she felt liberated, able to date without pressure.<blockquote>Soon after that, I met Dan (not his real name) online. I found him incredibly attractive, funny, and engaging. I thought he was perfect for me, and we transitioned from dating to a relationship with no panic attacks...&nbsp;As the weeks progressed, though, I started to realize things just didn’t feel right. While my doctor had warned me the medication would likely dampen my sex drive, it wasn’t just my lack of interest in sex that was an issue. The blasé emotional scale I’d initially welcomed dimmed any spark I felt for Dan. And the relationship started to feel the strain.While Dan would constantly text me sweet notes throughout the day, something I’d normally be giddy over, I’d often forget to even look at my phone or think beyond texting the logistics of our dates.&nbsp;</blockquote>Lucy ended up splitting with Dan. Her case is far from being an outlier. Dr. Helen Fisher, quoted in the same article, describes the case of a husband and father who started taking SSRIs and whose feelings simply disappeared. He assumed at first that his love for his wife and children had somehow evaporated; it was only after ceasing the drugs that he realized what was happening.&nbsp;Doctors in denialThe experiences of all these people, unwittingly rendered asexual, now have a name: Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction, or PSSD. Dr. Josef Witt-Doering, a former FDA medical officer, admits that the condition can be permanent and adds that the medical community is largely still in denial:<blockquote>Once PSSD symptoms begin they can last for years and may even be permanent in some people … Despite the public recognition of this condition by major government health authorities, the condition is still under-recognized by the medical community.</blockquote>The FDA has, for the most part, declined to require a boxed (once known as “black-box”) warning for SSRI drugs with regard to PSSD. The European equivalent of the FDA, however, has bowed to the pressure of doctors such as Dr. Healy and does now require patient inserts to include this information, albeit in a very abbreviated form.&nbsp;Feelings wiped out, foreverEven where the information is given, doctors often fail to convey the utter devastation wrought by PSSD. In fact, the emotional blunting is often described by victims as worse than the physical manifestations.<blockquote>I knew, intellectually, that I loved my wife, that she meant the world to me, that I'd do anything for her. But I didn't feel anything. All my feelings were gone. Maybe forever.</blockquote>For Dr. Audrey Bahrick, a former psychologist, “forever” has been 27 years already:<blockquote>I stayed fairly hopeful, all of that time. I thought being healthy and eating well could help me resolve PSSD but nothing did. I continued to hope for months, and then years. It has been 27 years.</blockquote>&nbsp;Slain by PharmaThere is no treatment for PSSD. It strikes people without regard for their general state of health, age, or other factors. It drives people to suicide; Dr. Healy describes being approached by the Swiss euthanasia business Dignitas regarding people so shattered by the loss of their selves that they wanted to end it all.“Yes, but what about depression?” one may ask. Should depression then go untreated for fear of the side-effects? Clearly not, but informed consent about the success rate of any drug under consideration (no better than placebo according to <a href="https://dtb.bmj.com/content/60/1/7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">many</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172306/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">studies</a>) as well as its adverse events (which may lead to even more devastating depression) should, and according to the law must, be given.There have always been people falling through the cracks of society. There have always been non-drug methods of extending a helping hand and setting people back on their feet. As Stonewall notes, asexual people — indeed, all people — need and deserve protection. The question is: From whom?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Disclaimer: Content on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical or legal advice.

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