🚨 Strait of Confusion – May 06 2026

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Lead: Phantom Operation

Photo credit: The Epoch Times

Project Freedom was presented as a U.S.-led operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. There was just one problem, though: only one day after launching the operation, President Trump announced it was being paused.

According to the president, the decision came after requests from Pakistan and other countries, combined with what he described as “great progress” toward a possible agreement with Iran. Trump also made it clear that the blockade itself would remain in place.

The entire purpose of the operation was to move stranded ships through the waterway. Now the U.S. is saying ships still cannot move freely because the blockade remains in place. It sounds less like a strategic move and more like another Trump rebrand.

And the timing couldn’t be worse. Tensions in the Gulf are continuing to escalate. The U.S. military claims it destroyed Iranian boats, cruise missiles, and drones operating near the Strait, while the UAE reported additional missile and drone attacks.

Does the president expect us to believe pausing efforts to escort ships through the Strait is a good thing amid reports that 87 countries have ships or crews stuck in the region, affecting an estimated 23,000 sailors? At a time when energy markets are tightening, airlines are warning about jet fuel pressures, and oil companies are signaling concerns about reserves.

Then again, does the pause even matter? Project Freedom was never expected to work in the first place.

And in the middle of all this, the administration is insisting negotiations are moving in the right direction, which makes the latest personnel decision especially interesting. Trump’s new Iran negotiator, Nick Stewart, has previously denounced negotiations with Iran and is closely aligned with pro-Israel lobbying interests.

At this point, it just joins the growing list of decisions that don’t appear to be moving this war any closer to ending.

Pentagon AI Deal Raises Internal Alarm

Photo credit: Wired

The Pentagon recently joined forces with Google’s London-based AI research laboratory, DeepMind, raising fears the partnership could accelerate mass surveillance, something both sides are all too familiar with.

Google was started on a grant from the CIA, so it’s always been a government-controlled platform, but now it will be even more so.

It sounds like a technical agreement, and Google is a tech company, so what’s the problem? Well, the deal will allow the Pentagon to connect directly to Google’s AI through API integration, essentially embedding those tools into defense operations and dramatically expanding access to large-scale surveillance capabilities.

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, addressed the concerns: “We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.”

That sounds good in theory. However, the issue is how these systems could actually be used once they leave Google’s control, especially in classified environments where oversight is limited.

The people building these AI systems within Google don’t even trust them: “As people working on AI, we know that these systems can centralize power and that they do make mistakes.”

On top of this, the Pentagon rolled out GenAI.mil in December, a U.S. Department of Defense platform powered by Google Gemini. While announcing the partnership, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth proclaimed, “The future of American warfare is here, and it’s spelled AI.”

The Defense Department has attempted to draw in other players, but not everyone is taking the bait. Earlier this year, Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, refused to allow its models to be used by the Pentagon, warning of risks tied to “mass domestic surveillance” and “fully autonomous weapons.” OpenAI has stepped in instead… for $200 million, all while releasing the same “committed to not allowing domestic surveillance” statement.

With Google now secured by the war machine, many employees are outraged and ashamed, and have even voted to unionize. But that’s a bit surprising. Are they not aware that this is the same company that provided the Israeli military with increased access to its AI tools from the early days of the war in Gaza?

Rethink What You Put in Your Mouth

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Did you miss our last live show? No problem, you can catch the replay here! And don’t miss this segment we did recently with Maria Zee, where we discuss Sweden’s voluntary microchip program and nanotechnology delivered via “smart dust” in vaccines.

News by The Numbers

Photo credit: Mercury News

20. That’s the percentage of people that PayPal will be cutting to accelerate its adoption of artificial intelligence.

$4.52. That’s how much the national average price of gasoline was as of 5:20 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

$1. That’s how many billions Senate Republicans proposed to pay for new White House security measures. It’s still up for debate whether or not this will cover Trump’s planned ballroom.

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