Xin is a regular 30 year old living in China, where he has no digital privacy. His country has extensive surveillance measures, including facial recognition technology and a Social Credit System. The Great Firewall of China imposes censorship on the internet, so he and all his fellow citizens can’t access certain websites or platforms.
With the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), he may not even be able to spend his own money in the way he wants. This programmable currency is a new development in the fast changing environment in China. His government even tested a digital yuan that expires after a certain period of time.
Xin sees the potential consequences of this and wants out. Bitcoin gives him his privacy back and puts his money back in his own hands; a first step towards freedom.
With the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), he may not even be able to spend his own money in the way he wants. This programmable currency is a new development in the fast changing environment in China. His government even tested a digital yuan that expires after a certain period of time.
Xin sees the potential consequences of this and wants out. Bitcoin gives him his privacy back and puts his money back in his own hands; a first step towards freedom.
Learn more about Bitcoin and the importance of escaping surveillance systems:
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China ranks 'good' and 'bad' citizens with 'social credit' system
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No Privacy, No Freedom
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The difference between Bitcoin and CBDCs
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Why China's New Digital Currency Raises Privacy Concerns | WSJ
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China's 'social credit' system ranks citizens and punishes them with throttled internet speeds and flight bans if the Communist Party deems them untrustworthy
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Yuan comes with an expiry date: Spend or it will vanish
Omar lives in Senegal, a country which uses the CFA franc, just like thirteen other nations. He always wondered: why would a country in West Africa use a currency from Europe? When he learned more, he discovered an exploitative system of monetary control that redirects wealth from fourteen African countries to France. Omar realized there was a simple way he could personally play a part in ending this system: opt out.
Bitcoin offers a neutral, apolitical and scarce alternative, so Omar can take the money back in his own hands. It gives him a tool for a peaceful protest against France, the country that is plundering so many African sovereign nations with its monetary overreach. Besides that, bitcoin is a decentralized system that is a beacon of hope in the fight against corruption.
In fact, all across Africa, bitcoin adoption is growing through grassroots education, local economies, and mining initiatives. By the end of 2025, African Bitcoiners had documented 167 bitcoin-focused projects across 22 African countries. In South Africa, Bitcoin Ekasi reports more than 500 people using bitcoin for everyday transactions, while the Circular Bitcoin Africa Fund supports community-led bitcoin economies across the continent. Meanwhile, Gridless is harnessing excess renewable energy for bitcoin mining in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia, helping make rural electricity projects more financially sustainable. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how bitcoin is being adopted not just as a way to opt out of the CFA franc system like Omar, but as a practical tool for financial independence, education, and economic development!
Bitcoin offers a neutral, apolitical and scarce alternative, so Omar can take the money back in his own hands. It gives him a tool for a peaceful protest against France, the country that is plundering so many African sovereign nations with its monetary overreach. Besides that, bitcoin is a decentralized system that is a beacon of hope in the fight against corruption.
In fact, all across Africa, bitcoin adoption is growing through grassroots education, local economies, and mining initiatives. By the end of 2025, African Bitcoiners had documented 167 bitcoin-focused projects across 22 African countries. In South Africa, Bitcoin Ekasi reports more than 500 people using bitcoin for everyday transactions, while the Circular Bitcoin Africa Fund supports community-led bitcoin economies across the continent. Meanwhile, Gridless is harnessing excess renewable energy for bitcoin mining in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia, helping make rural electricity projects more financially sustainable. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how bitcoin is being adopted not just as a way to opt out of the CFA franc system like Omar, but as a practical tool for financial independence, education, and economic development!
Learn more about bitcoin as peaceful protest against neocolonial exploitation:
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Bitcoin is freedom. If you disagree, you should check your financial privilege
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Fighting Back Against Monetary Colonialism
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The Silent Bitcoin Revolution Of Africa
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Neocolonialism and Françafrique
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CFA franc
We don’t know who Anonymous is. Could they be a heroic whistle-blower that published classified documents exposing government and corporate misconduct and is now avoiding prosecution? It’s possible. Could they be a criminal laundering drug money? Sure. But most likely, Anonymous is just a regular person who cares about their right to privacy.
Privacy is listed as a basic human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (it’s Article 12) and Anonymous understands why.
The argument for constant surveillance is usually “I’ve got nothing to hide,” In the name of preventing money laundering or child abuse, this makes sense, but it overlooks the fact that individuals such as LGBTQ+ people, political opposition members, and human rights activists, despite having “nothing to hide,” become targets of violence, intimidation, imprisonment, and even death in numerous countries.
Moreover, free services (like Facebook) profit from user data, tailoring specific ads to individual preferences. This data is also monetized for market research and trend analysis. For Anonymous, this raises concerns about privacy, potential breaches, and lack of control over personal information. Remember: If it’s free, you are the product.
Traditional digital payments are subject to surveillance, but bitcoin offers a non confiscatable and unstoppable alternative. For Anonymous, whomever he or she is, the right for privacy is enforced with a permissionless network
Privacy is listed as a basic human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (it’s Article 12) and Anonymous understands why.
The argument for constant surveillance is usually “I’ve got nothing to hide,” In the name of preventing money laundering or child abuse, this makes sense, but it overlooks the fact that individuals such as LGBTQ+ people, political opposition members, and human rights activists, despite having “nothing to hide,” become targets of violence, intimidation, imprisonment, and even death in numerous countries.
Moreover, free services (like Facebook) profit from user data, tailoring specific ads to individual preferences. This data is also monetized for market research and trend analysis. For Anonymous, this raises concerns about privacy, potential breaches, and lack of control over personal information. Remember: If it’s free, you are the product.
Traditional digital payments are subject to surveillance, but bitcoin offers a non confiscatable and unstoppable alternative. For Anonymous, whomever he or she is, the right for privacy is enforced with a permissionless network
Learn more about bitcoin and the importance of having confidential payments that cannot be stopped or censored:
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Snowden: An Enemy of the State? | FULL DOCUMENTARY
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How Bitcoin And WikiLeaks Saved Each Other
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Freedom and Privacy - Two Sides of the Same Coin
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Bitcoin Privacy: Best Practices
The Garcias are a family of three living in Venezuela, a country where inflation rates soared between 20,000% and 65,000% in 2020. In just a single year, a chicken went from costing a few thousand bolivars to an astonishing 14.6 million bolivars!
Despite years of diligent, responsible saving, the Garcia family found themselves struggling to afford even basic necessities as the value of their money collapsed. Excessive money printing, combined with years of economic mismanagement and declining production, had devastated the purchasing power of the bolivar.
Bitcoin offers the family a neutral, borderless, decentralized alternative that no government can print at will. By choosing to save in bitcoin, the Garcias can take greater control over their earnings and begin building savings for their child's future, without relying entirely on a currency that has repeatedly lost its value.
Did you know that hyperinflation has occurred numerous times throughout history, not just in Venezuela? Weimar Germany in 1923 is one of the best-known examples, when people carried bags of banknotes just to purchase everyday goods. After World War II, Hungary experienced the highest monthly inflation rate ever recorded: 41,900,000,000,000,000% in July 1946, with prices doubling approximately every 15 hours! Russia experienced severe inflation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Zimbabwe suffered a catastrophic hyperinflation crisis in 2008. These examples demonstrate how quickly savings can be destroyed when a currency loses its purchasing power.
Despite years of diligent, responsible saving, the Garcia family found themselves struggling to afford even basic necessities as the value of their money collapsed. Excessive money printing, combined with years of economic mismanagement and declining production, had devastated the purchasing power of the bolivar.
Bitcoin offers the family a neutral, borderless, decentralized alternative that no government can print at will. By choosing to save in bitcoin, the Garcias can take greater control over their earnings and begin building savings for their child's future, without relying entirely on a currency that has repeatedly lost its value.
Did you know that hyperinflation has occurred numerous times throughout history, not just in Venezuela? Weimar Germany in 1923 is one of the best-known examples, when people carried bags of banknotes just to purchase everyday goods. After World War II, Hungary experienced the highest monthly inflation rate ever recorded: 41,900,000,000,000,000% in July 1946, with prices doubling approximately every 15 hours! Russia experienced severe inflation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Zimbabwe suffered a catastrophic hyperinflation crisis in 2008. These examples demonstrate how quickly savings can be destroyed when a currency loses its purchasing power.
Learn more about how bitcoin protects from hyperinflation:
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How Bitcoin is helping Venezuelans survive
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Bitcoin Has Saved My Family
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What Inflation Feels Like in Real Life: the Case of Venezuela
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Using Blockchain to Protect Venezuelans From Hyperinflation
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As Venezuela's economy regresses, crypto fills the gaps
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Bitcoin Boots on the Ground: Venezuela
Maria is a compassionate Filipino nurse who lives in the United States. As one of many Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), she dedicates herself to supporting her family back in the Philippines.
These kinds of international payments are called remittances, and they are notoriously expensive and very slow. 99.1% of Filipinos own smartphones, but only 29% of adults have bank accounts. This is because the documentation requirements are high, and many don't make enough money to justify the fees. Instead, they use money transfer companies like Western Union or MoneyGram. In 2022, these companies earned 50 billion dollars just from remittances like Maria's!
Maria's sacrifice is not for big corporations, it's for her family. So, she discovered and embraced a technology that seamlessly converts her USD to bitcoin, sends instantly over the bitcoin lightning network, and converts the currency to pesos for her family, who remain unaware of the bitcoin involvement.
This struggle isn't unique to the Philippines; globally, 79% ($626 billion of $794 billion) of all international transfers were made to low or middle-income regions. Imagine the impact if these hard-earned funds could be directly in the hands of those who need it the most – the loved ones of the dedicated individuals sending them.
Maria is at the forefront of an empowering movement toward financial freedom that transcends borders!
These kinds of international payments are called remittances, and they are notoriously expensive and very slow. 99.1% of Filipinos own smartphones, but only 29% of adults have bank accounts. This is because the documentation requirements are high, and many don't make enough money to justify the fees. Instead, they use money transfer companies like Western Union or MoneyGram. In 2022, these companies earned 50 billion dollars just from remittances like Maria's!
Maria's sacrifice is not for big corporations, it's for her family. So, she discovered and embraced a technology that seamlessly converts her USD to bitcoin, sends instantly over the bitcoin lightning network, and converts the currency to pesos for her family, who remain unaware of the bitcoin involvement.
This struggle isn't unique to the Philippines; globally, 79% ($626 billion of $794 billion) of all international transfers were made to low or middle-income regions. Imagine the impact if these hard-earned funds could be directly in the hands of those who need it the most – the loved ones of the dedicated individuals sending them.
Maria is at the forefront of an empowering movement toward financial freedom that transcends borders!
Learn more about bitcoin and the importance of having a way to do more efficient international remittances:
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Relying On Remittances And Left Unbanked, The Philippines Needs Bitcoin’s Lightning Network
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BITCOIN ISLAND in BORACAY [Dutch with English Subtitles]
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Strike Expands Lightning Network-Powered Remittances to Philippines
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Analysis: A Look At the Lightning Network
James is a devoted family man with three children and a grandkid on the way!
As a teenager, James started working on the assembly line in a food processing factory. Over the decades, he worked his way up to a leader in the company. Now, after having devoted a lifetime to working 40 hours a week for a reasonable salary, James has saved a substantial sum with the intention of passing it on to his children in the future.
At the beginning of his career, he could put the money in a savings account and it would steadily increase. Unfortunately, especially in recent years, he noticed that despite all the hard work and energy he put into saving this money, he was able to buy less and less every year given the continuous rise in the cost of living. Fiat money appeared to be a melting ice cube.
Disillusioned with a system that worked until it didn’t, James decided to think differently. He realized that bitcoin’s salability across time and its scarcity makes it the best way to store his time and energy in a way that cannot be taken or inflated away.
As a teenager, James started working on the assembly line in a food processing factory. Over the decades, he worked his way up to a leader in the company. Now, after having devoted a lifetime to working 40 hours a week for a reasonable salary, James has saved a substantial sum with the intention of passing it on to his children in the future.
At the beginning of his career, he could put the money in a savings account and it would steadily increase. Unfortunately, especially in recent years, he noticed that despite all the hard work and energy he put into saving this money, he was able to buy less and less every year given the continuous rise in the cost of living. Fiat money appeared to be a melting ice cube.
Disillusioned with a system that worked until it didn’t, James decided to think differently. He realized that bitcoin’s salability across time and its scarcity makes it the best way to store his time and energy in a way that cannot be taken or inflated away.
Learn more about bitcoin as a tool to save your time and energy for next generations:
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Bitcoin: The First Digital Monetary Energy Network
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Channeling Monetary Energy Across Time and Space
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Compound Inflation Calculator
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Bitcoin doesn't have inflation, but your money does.
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Dear Family, Dear Friends - A letter to all of you who still have no bitcoin.
Zoey is a talented indie artist and her dream is to make a decent living doing what she loves: making music.
She knows that musicians earn (on average) less than a cent per stream from big platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. She doesn’t want to subject her cherished fans to two unskippable ads, or be forced to use click-bait titles to try and crack Youtube’s mysterious algorithm. Above all, Zoey refuses to tweak her unique musical style to emulate sounds that appeal to mass audiences.
Instead, Zoey uses a Value4Value (V4V) model where she earns bitcoin directly from listeners. Similar to a busker in a train station, she puts her music out in the open and listeners voluntarily send her value in return for the value she created for them. These “zaps” (INSTANT micro-payments over the bitcoin lightning network) eliminate any need to a middle man to take a cut, and allow her to make her music exactly the way she wants to.
With this approach, artists like Zoey can shift power away from corporations and into the hands of creators.
She knows that musicians earn (on average) less than a cent per stream from big platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. She doesn’t want to subject her cherished fans to two unskippable ads, or be forced to use click-bait titles to try and crack Youtube’s mysterious algorithm. Above all, Zoey refuses to tweak her unique musical style to emulate sounds that appeal to mass audiences.
Instead, Zoey uses a Value4Value (V4V) model where she earns bitcoin directly from listeners. Similar to a busker in a train station, she puts her music out in the open and listeners voluntarily send her value in return for the value she created for them. These “zaps” (INSTANT micro-payments over the bitcoin lightning network) eliminate any need to a middle man to take a cut, and allow her to make her music exactly the way she wants to.
With this approach, artists like Zoey can shift power away from corporations and into the hands of creators.
Learn more about how bitcoin empowers artists:
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Experiencing Value for Value On Nostr as an Independent Artist
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The Freedom of Value - How Value-for-Value Fixes the Monetization of Information
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Zaps: The Bitcoin Lightning Trend That’s Electrifying Social Media
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Podcasting 2.0 ushers in a new era for podcasting
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The Great Restoration: How Bitcoin Can Fix The Art World
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"I get paid £00.0004499368 per stream. Beers are on me! Cheers @Spotify." -@JamesBlunt
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Scoring Bitcoin Points Like Digital Airline Miles
Tolu is a passionate Nigerian activist who protests for democracy. In 2020, she joined one of the hundreds of protests fronted by Nigerian youth, that sought an end to brutality and corruption within the country’s police force. The immense power her corrupt government had over them became extremely clear when their bank accounts were frozen.
Centralized systems and the existing leadership took away all possible funding channels when they froze their accounts, but it didn’t stop them. Tolu and her fellow tech-savvy protestors learned that they can use bitcoin to receive anonymous donations and can continue their campaign, and that’s exactly what they did.
Nigeria isn’t the only country willing to freeze the bank accounts of citizens who disagree with them. Similar situations recently happened in Belarus, Russia, and Canada.
Centralized systems and the existing leadership took away all possible funding channels when they froze their accounts, but it didn’t stop them. Tolu and her fellow tech-savvy protestors learned that they can use bitcoin to receive anonymous donations and can continue their campaign, and that’s exactly what they did.
Nigeria isn’t the only country willing to freeze the bank accounts of citizens who disagree with them. Similar situations recently happened in Belarus, Russia, and Canada.
Learn more the importance of unconfiscatable money and Bitcoin as a tool to fight political repression:
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The Struggle for Freedom w/ Leopoldo Lopez, Alex Gladstein
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Nigeria Protest Group Asks for Bitcoin Donations After Regulators Block Bank Account
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Bitcoin at the Canadian Trucker Convoy
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Commentary: Bitcoin offers freedom from political repression
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How Bitcoin Helps Civilians Escape The War In Sudan
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Russia’s Opposition Leader Has Received 658 Bitcoin to Take Down Putin
Meet Diego, an 11-year-old Salvadoran boy fueled by his love for surfing, soccer, and tasty pupusas. What makes him beam with pride is that El Salvador was the first country in the world to embrace bitcoin as legal tender (for a handful of years)!
Despite his young age, Diego is already navigating the world of finance with his lightning wallet, receiving sats for his pocket money. He is too young to get a bank account, because he cannot get a personal identity document yet. Thanks to his graduation from Mi Primer Bitcoin, he and his tech-savvy friends effortlessly handle their lightning wallets to make everyday purchases.
Diego envisions a future that surpasses the past, one where his dreams of becoming a professional soccer player or a skilled chef come true. In this evolving landscape, he represents the hopeful face of a new generation, embracing change and opportunity in a country that has hope like never before.
Despite his young age, Diego is already navigating the world of finance with his lightning wallet, receiving sats for his pocket money. He is too young to get a bank account, because he cannot get a personal identity document yet. Thanks to his graduation from Mi Primer Bitcoin, he and his tech-savvy friends effortlessly handle their lightning wallets to make everyday purchases.
Diego envisions a future that surpasses the past, one where his dreams of becoming a professional soccer player or a skilled chef come true. In this evolving landscape, he represents the hopeful face of a new generation, embracing change and opportunity in a country that has hope like never before.
Learn more about El Salvador's adoption bitcoin as legal tender:
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Teaching Bitcoin in El Salvador
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The Tragic & Beautiful Story of El Salvador | Comeback Country
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USULUTAN, THE NEW CRADLE OF BITCOIN
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El Salvador’s Bitcoiners teach 12-year-olds how to send sats
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Moving Towards a Bitcoin Standard - The Stairway to Omnipresence
Hila is an Afghan software engineer. When she was first hired in 2013, she found herself unable to open a bank account without permission from a male guardian, hindered by U.S. sanctions on PayPal, and fearful of physically hiding cash. Bitcoin became her solution.
Today, she credits bitcoin for years of stability and security amid economic turmoil. The Taliban could extort local businesses, confiscate assets, influence local banking systems and shut down financial modernization plans… but they could never, ever stop bitcoin.
Hila lives in just one of 75 economies worldwide that limit women’s rights to manage assets. She advocates for bitcoin as a means to enable women to assert their property rights and achieve self-sovereignty.
Today, she credits bitcoin for years of stability and security amid economic turmoil. The Taliban could extort local businesses, confiscate assets, influence local banking systems and shut down financial modernization plans… but they could never, ever stop bitcoin.
Hila lives in just one of 75 economies worldwide that limit women’s rights to manage assets. She advocates for bitcoin as a means to enable women to assert their property rights and achieve self-sovereignty.
Learn more about how bitcoin enforces the freedom to own property:
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Freedom Money: Roya Mahboob
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How Bitcoin Empowers Women
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Finding Financial Freedom In Afghanistan
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Why Bitcoin Matters for Human Rights - Roya Mahboob
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How Bitcoin Protects Human Rights: Panel Talk with Fadi Elsalameen, Meron Estafanos, Roya Mahboob and Alex Gladstein
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Bitcoin Is The ONLY Alternative For 4 BILLION PEOPLE!