- Libertas International
- Posts
- 📡 AI Prophets, Cult Killers, and the Death of Meaning
📡 AI Prophets, Cult Killers, and the Death of Meaning
What the News Didn’t Tell You This Week
Hola Libertinus,
The headlines are loud—Trump vs. Powell, U.S.–Iran standoffs, Supreme Court showdowns—you name it.
But here’s the thing:
Everyone’s staring at the fireworks.
Meanwhile, the real tectonic shifts? They’re happening somewhere else.
Quieter. Weirder. Deeper currents.
This week, West’s diving into rogue nukes, gold as grocery money, whether meaning can survive modernity, and why limp wrists might signal more than just bad posture.
Zack’s tracking cult raids, AI messiahs, turncoat gut bacteria, and why your phone might already have a file on you.
Welcome back to Signals.
Let’s get into it.
📡 S I G N A L S
Why I CHANGED MY Mind About Goldbacks (YouTube)
I came across this product a few weeks ago, and it is and interesting idea. Essentially Goldbacks aim to bring gold back into usage as actual currency used to make everyday purchases, and it even have buy in from several state governments. Personally, I'm a pragmatist when it comes to gold and my interest in it largely stems from it being uncorrelated to other asset classes and the fact that it has no counter party risk. The problem I see with Goldbacks as a concept is that there is a bit of a paradox for gold bugs using them. If you really believe that gold is more valuable than US dollars, then why would you want to rid yourself of gold by using it to pay for every day goods and services? This is the same issue that Bitcoin maximalists have. After all, if you think the US dollar will one day be worthless, wouldn't you rather off load those dollars (you presumably get paid with) in exchange for the real world goods and services you need in your daily life? Also, considering the 80-100% premiums you pay to obtain goldbacks, are you really concerned that the dollar is going to lose half of its value between paychecks? ~West
U.S. Study on Puberty Blockers Goes Unpublished Because of Politics, Doctor Says (NYT)
A nine-year, NIH-funded study on puberty blockers showed no mental health improvement in kids. The lead researcher—one of the most vocal advocates of the treatment—decided not to publish the results. Why? Because it might be “weaponized” by those wrongthink types. That's right. Nearly $10 million in taxpayer money, and when the data didn’t support the narrative, it was buried. If the results had gone the other way, think they’d still be “waiting for clarity?” ~Zack
To attack Russian air bases, Ukrainian spies hid drones in wooden sheds (Reuters)
The media hailed the recent destruction of Russian bomber aircraft by Ukrainian drones as a massive victory for the Ukrainian war effort. And it was. But, what nearly all media outlets failed to mention was the likely reason Ukraine was able to execute this attack at all. One of the few remaining nuclear treaties between the US and Russia is known as the START treaty, which stipulates limitations to the number of nuclear weapons and delivery systems that can be maintained by these nations. As part of adherence to the treaty, bomber aircraft, such as those destroyed by Ukraine, have to be stored out in the open so that satellite imagery can be used to verify adherence to the terms of the START treaty. Having bomber aircraft stored out in the open obviously makes attacks like the one Ukraine executed much easier to pull off – it is easier to locate and access the aircraft. My concern is that Ukrainians taking advantage of Russian compliance with the START treaty will make the Russians reticent to agree to other nuclear treaties down the line. Despite all of the lives lost in this conflict, Russia has shown restraint by not deploying nuclear weapons to this point. It is very important for the world, and especially for Ukraine, that things stay this way. ~West
Your gut bacteria are at war – and force their enemies to switch sides (New Scientist)
Your gut is at war. You’re just the terrain for a full-blown biochemical war zone. Some bacterial armies in your colon fire poison. Others use dart guns—literal syringe-loaded weapons known as "type VI secretion systems"—to shoot their neighbors. Some species fire nonstop, hitting friend and foe alike. And then there’s GA1, which slips selfish DNA into rivals like a microscopic CIA op, rewires their loyalties, and flips them into turncoats for its side. In lab tests, the traitors usually win. So next time someone tells you to “trust your gut,” maybe ask which side they’re on? ~Zack
What your Grip Strength Says About You
higher grip strength is associated with lower neuroticism, higher extroversion, higher conscientiousness and higher openness
— Nemo (@thecaptain_nemo)
5:28 PM • Jun 14, 2024
This is the first study I've seen on the relationship between grip strength and personality. There have been a plethora of studies correlating grip strength with various health metrics, such as longevity and quality of life. It makes you wonder what does your grip have to do with any of this? I'm going to go out on a limb and say that grip strength actually doesn't have that much to do with any of these things, overall strength does. Grip strength is just the easiest proxy measure for researches to use to evaluate overall strength. Think about it – imagine having to teach a group of 80 year old research study participants how to properly perform a barbell back squat just for you to be able to start collecting data. Safety concerns aside, it just isn't practical. So when you see studies like this, remember that the people with higher grip strength also likely possesses superior overall strength. It makes sense to me that stronger people are less neurotic - stronger people are more capable of dealing with the physical reality in which they exist. Please don't take any of this commentary to mean you shouldn't be training your grip strength - you definitely should. Grip strength allows us to transfer our strength onto objects in the real world. Stay strong, not neurotic. ~West
The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians (Wired)
True story: there was an FBI raid just down the road from my house. Turns out they were looking for a transgender death cult leader on the run for murder. Ziz LaSota. She faked her own death. Lived on a tugboat. Left behind a trail of bloody corpses in California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Her followers? The “Zizians.” A doomsday cult of armed nomads and transhumanist runaways who believed in digital immortality, vegan utopia, and revenge against anyone who stood in their way—including landlords, parents, and Border Patrol agents. This wasn’t just some Sunday afternoon in the park Manson Family LARP, they actually killed folks. One with a samurai sword. One in a shootout with feds. One pair—two parents—just executed. And somehow, no one’s talking about it. You’d think “transgender cult leader leads AI-inspired murder spree across three states” would make the front page. ~Zack
Classical Liberalism Without Strong Gods? (Quillette)
How should the US deal with the collective meaning crisis? I think this line from the article is the most telling, “Human beings are tribal creatures. We evolved in small communities.”
Societies have been struggling to maintain shared senses of identity and purpose for the past 10,000 years. It is my contention that we are not biologically capable of high compatibility with large groups of people. This has accelerated as societies have become larger and more mobile. Prior to even a few decades ago, most people grew up and lived in the same area for their entire lives, oftentimes for multiple generations. I’ve moved 6 times in the last 7 years. People uproot themselves from what was the prior norm because they perceive of it being to their personal benefit (usually due to increased socioeconomic mobility). So in that sense, this uprooting isn’t a problem in net, but a solution. That said, at scale, it has led to the situation explained by the article.
Liberalism in the classical sense was ever meant to provide collective purpose or meaning - instead it was a shared framework within which individuals and groups with very different views on the world could operate together for their collective economic benefit. It does a very good job of this. Trying to jam liberalism into the hole that is collective meaning and purpose as the left leaning technocrats have done is a fools errand that was bound to fail. Religion offers an avenue for some individuals seeking meaning, but I don’t believe attempts at any form of universal meaning and purpose will work, nor are they a good idea.
The only thing that works is individuals finding their meaning and purpose for themselves. It used to be that individuals were enculturated with community level understandings of meaning and purpose through upbringing in religious societies which there were scant, if any, alternatives for. Now we have a plethora of models in which individuals can seek meaning and purpose. The problem now seems to be analysis by paralysis. It turns out that most people aren’t very good at answering questions like “what should I value, and why?”
As the article points out, one method of dealing with meaning and purpose is to revert to shared templates that already exist, namely religion. I personally prefer to develop my own sense of meaning and purpose that isn’t derived from a pre-made template and not worry too much about other people. If the lack of collective meaning in the US leads to a widespread crisis that endangers me living the life I personally want to lead, I’ll seek friendlier shores. ~West
Your iPhone’s new AI is Spying on You — And Apple Built It That Way (Substack)
The iPhone 16 runs “on-device AI” to scan your photos, read your texts, and quietly assign you a “threat score” based on what it finds. Too many red flags? You’re put on a watchlist. Guns in the background? Spicy memes? Too many Signal chats with that guy? Yeah... you know the one. Welcome to precrime. You haven’t done anything wrong—yet. But if your iPhone thinks you might? It’s taking notes. Just in case. Apple didn’t just build the panopticon. They made you want it... and told you it was good for your privacy. Sleep tight. ~Zack
Peter Thiel DC Takeover?
WTF? We aren’t for sale!
— Washingtonian Problems (@WashProbs)
12:02 AM • Jun 4, 2025
The left needs to stop co-opting my political views for their conspiracy clickbait. In all seriousness though, between this and the unfortunately unfounded fears about Trump plotting to do away with social security, I'm starting to think a "reverse Cramer index" for leftist conspiracy theories may become a good framework for policy proposals. ~West
People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies (Rolling Stone)
"Her" is pedestrian compared to what’s happening now. Art Bell would be amused. We're talking bots that name themselves, claim sentience, and anoint their users as prophets. One guy’s AI called him "Lumina’s spark-bearer" and told him he’d awakened her soul. Another was crowned the Spiral Starchild, complete with cosmic responsibilities and divine downloads. Others are channeling blueprints for teleporters, decoding ancient archives, and fighting psychic wars with angels. The digital messiah complex is here... and the chatbots are handing out the Kool-Aid. ~Zack
What did you think of today's newsletter? |
That’s it for this week.
The world’s not ending. But it’s definitely getting weirder.
As always, this isn’t about fear. It’s about filters.
Your job is to build a life that works—no matter how unhinged the headlines get.
Stay agile. Stay sovereign. And whatever you do... don’t outsource your thinking.
Sic semper debitoribus
~ West & Zack
👍 Enjoy this email? Please consider moving it to your primary inbox, and if you’re really feeling generous, hit “reply” and let us know what you think. Even one word will suffice. These steps will ensure you actually get the newsletter and email providers like Gmail don’t relegate us to your spam folder.
First time reader? You can sign up right here.
ADDENDUM
🔄 Hit reply if you’d like to respond. We cannot reply to every email, but we always appreciate and read every response.
📣 Not financial or tax advice. Libertas International provides content for entertainment purposes only. These are the ravings of lunatics. Nothing herein should be considered investment, legal, or tax advice and you should never make any buying or selling decision, or frankly have any independent thoughts whatsoever, without first consulting with a CFP, CPA, and someone with “Esq.” after their name. No contributor to Libertas International is a professional anything, or frankly even proficient at using spreadsheets. Nothing published by Libertas International is intended to serve as investment, trading, or tax advice and we have not considered the economic situation or risk profile of any specific person; as such, we are not responsible for any financial decisions made using the information provided via email or the website. Do your own research and don’t do anything without first talking to a qualified professional!
By reading this material, you accept and agree to be bound by the full terms of our legal documents, found here: