Welcome. Today we will not speak of a single news item. We will speak of all of them. Because the menu of daily hypocrisy is rich and varied, and it would be a sin to leave out even a single course. RVSCB spares no one. Today, the full menu.
Semaglutide, the Happiness Pill for Menopausal Women (While the Poor Gain Weight from Hunger)
Novo Nordisk presents exciting data at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul. The anti-obesity drug semaglutide causes weight loss, protects the heart, reduces migraines, combats depression, and alleviates menopausal symptoms. A panacea. A magic pill that solves everything. Mette Thomsen, Vice President of Novo Nordisk, declares: “We are proud to share these results.” Of course you are. Because a drug that promises to solve half a dozen problems simultaneously is a gold mine. Too bad no one talks about the price. No one asks why a pharmaceutical industry billing billions has not yet managed to produce a vaccine for hantavirus, but already has a cure ready for the sadness of wealthy ladies. The health of women who can afford the drug is a priority. That of others, who die of hunger or forgotten diseases, is a social cost to be minimized. Welcome to compassionate capitalism.
Trump: “Ready to Finish the Job Against Iran.” Operation Hammer to Bypass Congress
The American president departs for China, but first renews the threat. Iran must do the right thing, otherwise “we will finish the job.” Is Operation Epic Fury over? It doesn’t matter. They will invent another one, call it Operation Hammer, and thus bypass the War Powers Resolution and stay for another sixty days without Congressional oversight. The genius of American democracy: change the name of the war, and it becomes a new war. As if renaming a massacre makes it cleaner. Trump speaks of “nuclear dust” and a destroyed Iranian navy. Meanwhile, oil flies above one hundred dollars, and we will pay the price at the pump. But do not worry, there is always the anti-obesity drug to console you.
Hantavirus, the Farce Continues: EMA Ready for Vaccines, But Risk is “Very Low”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) monitors the hantavirus epidemic. The risk for the general population is “very low,” says the ECDC. But the EMA is ready to support the development of vaccines and therapies. They have already mapped the manufacturers. Ready to launch. Curious. For a low-risk virus, the industrial vaccine machine is already warming up. It is not that the Andes strain does not yet have an authorized vaccine, but it hardly matters: the important thing is to have the manufacturers on the agenda, ready to bill. And meanwhile, of course, the EMA also warns against fake news that “falsely link hantavirus infection to anti-COVID vaccination.” Of course. Because the first thing that comes to mind, when talking about a virus coming from Argentina, is to blame the coronavirus vaccine. This obsession with vaccines is pathological. Or perhaps not: perhaps it is just very convenient.
Smoke Without Combustion: The Professor Explains It Is Less Harmful (While Tobacconists Thank Him)
A review of 900 articles was presented: nicotine without combustion reduces carcinogenic substances by 95–97%. The switch from cigarettes to heated tobacco improves endothelial function within the first few weeks. Obviously, the professor specifies that “the fight against smoking is a fight without quarter.” But then he explains that devices that heat tobacco have not yet determined significant changes. So why this research? To support the industry of reduced-risk products? To convince smokers that switching to the “less bad” is a healthy choice? There is no long-term evidence. But the news is already out. The title is already written: “Benefits with Nicotine Without Combustion.” Doubt, as always, comes later. And the tobacconists, meanwhile, thank him.
Electrolux Surplus: “Maximum Attention” (Which Translated Means: Nothing Will Happen)
1,700 families at risk. The factory in Cerreto d’Esi is closing, others are reducing staff. The Minister of Labor promises “maximum attention.” On May 25, there will be a meeting at the Mimit. We will work in synergy. The goal is to “protect workers.” But what tools? Social safety nets, at least those, exist. But work, the real work, the minister admits: “even more important.” Too bad he does not say how to safeguard it. Because there is no anti-unemployment drug. There is no Operation Hammer for bosses who close factories. There is only a meeting table. And a minister talking about “synergy.” Synergy is an elegant word for saying: we will stand and watch.
Earthquake in Iran: 4.6 Degrees of Hypocrisy
A tremor in Tehran. Magnitude 4.6, according to Iranian media. No victims, no damage. The news arrives, archived in a few lines. Meanwhile, newspapers are full of hantavirus, semaglutide, Trump. The earth trembles in Iran, but who cares. There is no business in an earthquake, not yet. Perhaps the pharmaceutical industry has not yet developed an anti-earthquake drug. When they do, we will talk about it. In the meantime, the planet continues to tremble, and we scroll through social media.
Today, dear readers, we have witnessed a parade of hypocrisies. The obesity pill that makes rich women happy, the war that changes name to bypass laws, the low-risk virus that already prepares vaccines, smoking that becomes less bad if heated, surpluses managed with meetings and synergies, the earth that trembles and no one looks. This is our world. RVSCB will continue to watch it. And to vomit the truth upon you. Every day. Without discounts.
RVSCB – Archive of Uncomfortable Truths, May 13, 2026
“I am not interested in being loved. I am interested in being read after they have hated me.”
