{"id":284250,"date":"2024-03-25T08:26:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T08:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=284250"},"modified":"2024-03-27T08:58:18","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T08:58:18","slug":"this-week-in-the-new-normal-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=284250","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the New Normal #86"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Off-Guardian.co.uk \u2013 March 24, 2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Our successor to <em>This Week in the Guardian<\/em>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/category\/this-week-in-the-new-normal\/\">This Week in the New Normal<\/a><\/em> is our weekly chart of the progress of autocracy, authoritarianism and economic restructuring around the world.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Neuralink \u201cTelepathy\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Elon Musk\u2019s Neuralink AI company released a video this week of their first patient playing chess on a computer using an implant in his brain.<\/p>\n<p>Livestreaming on X, quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh compared his new ability to move a mouse cursor by \u201cimagining it moving\u201d as \u201clike using the force\u201d.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Livestream of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/neuralink?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Neuralink<\/a> demonstrating \u201cTelepathy\u201d \u2013 controlling a computer and playing video games just by thinking <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0kHJdayfYy\">https:\/\/t.co\/0kHJdayfYy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1770565942168420750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But the question of functionality was never the concern with such technology, doubtless it has applications for amputees or paraplegics. The question is what other applications do brain implants have, and are we ready for them?<\/p>\n<p>For example, what implications does a neural implant connected to the outside world have for privacy? Could implants be used to block or limit certain behaviours? Are they vulnerable to \u201chacking\u201d or could they be given kill switches like modern cars?<\/p>\n<p>What does all of that mean for being human?<\/p>\n<p>For much of the past century, our technology has expanded faster than our ability to understand it \u2013 reach exceeding grasp \u2013 and this is yet another example. We live in interesting times.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Kate Has Cancer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Kate Middleton emerged from months of hiding this week to announce she has cancer, putting an end to increasingly complex speculation about her whereabouts\u2026briefly.<\/p>\n<p>In the short video, the Duchess claims to have been diagnosed with cancer and started chemotherapy. If true, that would make her the third member of the royal family to get cancer this year.<\/p>\n<p>The video hasn\u2019t silenced all the speculation about her well-being or whereabouts either, as it does very little to explain the total silence, doctored photos or other weirdnesses. Some doubters have even suggested the video <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DarnelSugarfoo\/status\/1771740653849919499\">might be a deep fake<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the point of this story? Why are the royals getting sick and dropping dead? Is it about phasing them out, or something else?<\/p>\n<p>Since Kate is only a relatively minor part of a centuries-old blood-sucking machine, does it matter at all? Is this story in the slightest bit important? Does it signify reality or is it just manufactured drama? Would they be acting so strangely if something really odd was happening? Or are they acting strangely to create the impression something odd is happening?<\/p>\n<p>Who can tell?<\/p>\n<p>Certainly, it\u2019s getting more media attention than the roll-out of digital currency.<\/p>\n<h3>3. British Free Speech is Dead<\/h3>\n<p>Last weekend, Manchester United beat Liverpool in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. As you\u2019d expect in a tense knock-out game between two storied rivals, the fans got over-excited.<\/p>\n<p>One man \u2013 Michael Bernard Avery \u2013 was caught on video making gestures that seemed to be making fun of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hillsborough_disaster\">Hillsborough disaster<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-13219147\/Man-United-fan-sick-fence-push-gestures-mocking-Hillsborough-Disaster-charged.html\">He has now been arrested<\/a> and charged with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/1986\/64\/section\/4A\/data.pdf\">\u201cpublic order violation\u201d<\/a>, for which he faces up to six months in prison and\/or a weighty fine.<\/p>\n<p>A handful of other fans are under investigation for what they call \u201ctragedy chanting\u201d, chanting slogans during the match calling Liverpool fans \u201cmurderers\u201d and claiming they are \u201calways the victim\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is distasteful and offensive, but should it really be illegal?<\/p>\n<p>Isn\u2019t the whole point of free speech that it protects our right to be callous, offensive, rude and ignorant?<\/p>\n<p>After all, if being rude is a crime we are at the mercies of those who decide what \u201crude\u201d means.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>BONUS: of the week<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3>It\u2019s not all bad\u2026<\/h3>\n<p>I haven\u2019t listened to or shared any Neil Oliver monologues in a while, but this one is one of his best on the toll our society is taking on our children, and costs of lockdown four years on.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WTPr1Q_RVsw?si=7UHw0chyzjAVx7Vq\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n&#8212;<\/div>\n<p>Professor and author David Miller won his employment tribunal hearing against Bristol University this week, you can read about it in detail <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trtworld.com\/opinion\/how-a-british-university-helped-me-to-establish-anti-zionism-is-not-racism-17353890\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Actor Gary Oldman turned 66 this week, and to celebrate this here\u2019s a quote of his I saw yesterday:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/gary-oldman-hate.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter size-full wp-image-284251\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/gary-oldman-hate.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"771\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/gary-oldman-hate.png 660w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/gary-oldman-hate-480x561.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 660px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Also, the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that following our announcement of a \u201cbig update\u201d to the site\u2026everything looks the same. Working out the final touches has taken longer than we thought, but it\u2019s coming. It happens when it happens.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">*<\/p>\n<p>All told a pretty hectic week for the new normal crowd, and we didn\u2019t even mention <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/3\/23\/moscow-concert-hall-attack-why-is-isil-targeting\">ISIS\u2019s sudden turn on Russia<\/a> or the ever-growing list of potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/health\/2024\/03\/22\/scientists-in-the-uk-developing-the-worlds-first-lung-cancer-vaccine-after-funding-boost\">\u201ccancer vaccines\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of change in the air, a lot of agendas in the works, if you see a headline, article, post or interview you think is a sign of the times, post it in the comments, <a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/submissions\/\">email us<\/a> or share it on social media and we will add it to the next edition.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Support Off-Guardian:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/offguardian\">Ko-fi<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.subscribestar.com\/offguardian\">Subscribestar<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=CKFB3MH8CGB9U\">Paypal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/2024\/03\/24\/this-week-in-the-new-normal-86\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charting the progress of authoritarianism and economic restructuring around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":280317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284252,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284250\/revisions\/284252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/280317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}