{"id":327545,"date":"2026-06-01T07:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T07:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=327545"},"modified":"2026-06-04T06:38:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:38:51","slug":"this-week-in-the-new-normal-120","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=327545","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the New Normal #120"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off-Guardian \u2013 May 31, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Our successor to This Week in the Guardian<\/em>, 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

1. The end of over-the-counter medicines?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A report from ITV<\/a> is warning that millions of Brits may be in danger of becoming addicted to codeine via non-prescription medicines:<\/p>\n

\u201cAround 10 million people in the UK may have put themselves at risk of developing a dependency or addiction to codeine-based painkillers<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just painkillers, it\u2019s antihistamines and sleep aids too:<\/p>\n

In a separate survey looking at sleep aids containing H1 antihistamines, 1 in 6 users of Nytol, 1 in 5 users of Sleepease and over a third of Phenergen users admitted to using them for longer than the recommended period.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a totally hypothetical crisis, but no less terrifying for that. The problem is they just don\u2019t have any data\u2026<\/p>\n

ITV Tonight spoke with a variety of experts, who all shared concerns about a lack of data when it comes to the scale of dependency on common over the counter medicines [\u2026] The separate data that records supply and sales of these potentially habit forming medicines isn\u2019t joined up on any kind of accessible database.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a challenge in that the data that is available isn\u2019t joined up,\u201d says Dr Roz Gittins, Chief Pharmacy officer of the General Pharmaceutical Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the regulator of pharmacies, we don\u2019t have sight of that data, we don\u2019t have access to that information.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if you can\u2019t see where it goes from here, you haven\u2019t been paying attention.<\/p>\n

First, digital ID will be required to purchase simple medicines. Then the acquired data will be labelled evidence of a \u201chidden crisis\u201d, and buying those medicines will be made harder or impossible without state permission.<\/p>\n

2. The Rise of the AI Zombies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Iconic Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee died in 2018, but that won\u2019t be putting a stop to his movie cameos any time soon.<\/p>\n

AI company ElevenLabs has the digital rights to Lee\u2019s voice and likeness, and is planning on making them available on their site:<\/p>\n

The AI audio company on Wednesday said it struck an expansive deal with Stan Lee Universe, the joint venture between Genius Brands International and POW! Entertainment, to add the late Marvel Comics writer\u2019s voice and likeness to the ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace, its collection of celebrity personality voices and likenesses that companies can license for commercial use.<\/p>\n

Lee is not the first deceased person to have the voice or likeness licensed in this way. Just a few weeks ago, the estate of the late Val Kilmer permitted his appearance<\/a> in a new film.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all getting very, very creepy.<\/p>\n

3. Is the new \u201cautism test\u201d all it seems?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A \u201clandmark study\u201d<\/a> is claiming a new test can diagnose autism with a single urine sample at a very young age, avoiding years of screening:<\/p>\n

A simple urine test may be able to detect autism sooner than traditional screening, a new study suggests.<\/p>\n

As autism now affects one in 31 American children \u2013 a stark increase from one in 150 in the early 2000s \u2013 experts are searching for potential causes and screening tools to catch the condition sooner.<\/p>\n

Doctors typically use questionnaires, observational tests and cognitive screening to detect autism, but the process can take months or even years.<\/p>\n

Now, scientists at Arizona State University have created a urine test that screens for 17 microbial metabolites, molecules produced by microorganisms in the gut.<\/p>\n

This is supposedly great because catching it early makes everything easier, classifying autism as a fully biological condition \u201cremoves the stigma\u201d and, according to one of the researchers:<\/p>\n

that will prevent any hesitancy on parents\u2019 parts to seek treatment and seek it as early as possible.\u2019<\/p>\n

But the cynic in me is very dubious of any test that can be done on children as young as two that accelerates \u201ctreatment\u201d for a life-long condition.<\/p>\n

It seems to me you\u2019re looking at a test that will be used to funnel kids into a lifetime dependency on mood-altering medications, hooking their income up to big pharma before they even have one, and potentially making a large portion of the population more docile in the process.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just me.<\/p>\n

BONUS: Outdated fear of the week<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Associated Press is concerned about guns\u2026 300-year-old guns:<\/p>\n

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A musket from 1776 can fire a lead ball at a velocity of around 1,000 feet per second.<\/p>\n

Imagine what that can do to a human body. Yet under federal and most state laws, it\u2019s exempt from gun regulations. Many antique or replica guns aren\u2019t considered firearms and even convicted\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/RBT5ihazdA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Associated Press (@AP) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n