Societal Impacts and Ethical Concerns of New Surgery

Activity 2: Societal Impact of New Surgery

• The new surgery was desired due to a trend of severely cutting food budgets, aiming to end hunger and starvation, and help those in poverty unable to afford food.
• The meaning of wealth shifted from affording expensive meals to getting the surgery and consuming garbage.
• Society experienced a dark turn with cannibalism, kidnappings of babies, disappearances of old people, and consumption of stray dogs.
• The government and military had to intervene due to the societal collapse.

Activity 3: Responsibility and Ethics

• Responsibility for the societal collapse is attributed to the government, medical team (experimentation), participants (indirectly, for trusting the medical team without sufficient information), media, and mass panic.
• Ethics violated include human rights (cannibalism, marginalization of recipients of pig organs), medical ethics (disregard of potential consequences), animal ethics (using animals for medical purposes), unchecked scientific progress (experiment spirals out of control), and government (failure to protect its citizens).

Activity 4: Literary Elements

• The title foreshadows cannibalism.
• The story is told from a first-person point of view of a survivor.
• The setting is in France, sometime in the future, in a dystopian society where a "cure" for cancer exists.
• Eating trash is considered classy and a sign of wealth, while eating at a restaurant is seen as deplorable.
• The surgery, intended for greater health, leads to countless deaths.
• The story depicts a dystopian society where an advanced medical treatment goes wrong, leading to the need for internment camps.
• The public has not learned the importance of being informed, which could have prevented many deaths.
• People were kidnapping babies and killing each other for food.

Activity 5: Author's Message (Yann Martel)

• Impulsivity: Do not accept new technological advances without sufficient information about possible consequences.
• Trusting authority: Be cautious of who you listen to (media, governments) as they may have their agendas; do not fully trust established corporations, as they may not have your best interests at heart.
• Mob mentality: Succumbing to social pressure and the desire to fit in can lead to dangerous paths; make independent decisions.
• Science: Manipulating life or DNA is unethical.

Coronation of Charles III: Accession to Throne

• Accession: The new monarch takes over immediately upon the predecessor's death, symbolized by "The king is dead, long live the king!"
• Proclamation: Charles was officially proclaimed King Charles III two days after his mother's death.
• Coronation: The symbolic high point occurs after a period of mourning and lengthy preparation.
• The transition from Elizabeth II to Charles III is unprecedented due to her seven-decade reign.

Coronation of Charles III: Comparison to Past Monarchs

• Charles aims to slim down the monarchy by reducing the number of senior working royals and lowering costs.
• A shorter, smaller, and less expensive coronation ceremony aligns with this ambition.
• Charles and Camilla used the Gold State Coach only for the larger ceremonial procession after the coronation, combining tradition with modernity by using the Diamond Jubilee State Coach on their way to the Abbey.
• King Charles wishes for the coronation ceremony to stay true to tradition while representing a monarchy in a modern world.

Coronation of Charles III: Coronation Service and Emblem

• Presentation and Acclamation: The sovereign is presented to and acclaimed by the people.
• Oath: The sovereign swears an oath to uphold the law and the Church.
• Anointing and Investiture: The monarch is anointed with holy oil, invested with regalia, and crowned with St Edward's Crown.
• Enthronement: The monarch is escorted to the throne.
• Procession: The service concludes with a closing procession, and the Royal Family traditionally appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
• Coronation Emblem: Floral motifs representing Charles' environmental advocacy, incorporating a rose (England), shamrock (Northern Ireland), thistle (Scotland), and daffodil (Wales), forming the shape of St Edward's Crown with a color palette of red, white, and blue (Union Flag).

Coronation of Charles III: Celebrations

• The Coronation Big Lunch: Neighbors and communities share food and fun in a nationwide celebration of friendship.
• The Big Help Out: Members of the public are encouraged to volunteer and support their local areas.
• The King and Queen hope the Coronation Weekend will allow communities to celebrate together, creating a lasting volunteering legacy.

Fake News: Then vs. Now

• In the past, fabricated stories were easily identifiable as fiction, like April Fool's hoaxes.
• Today, fake news on social networks closely resembles real stories, making it difficult to distinguish.
• The rise of social media as a main information source has enabled a fake news "epidemic."

Fake News: Impact on US Election

• Many believe fake news influenced voters toward Trump during the election campaign.
• US adults getting news from social media are likely misled by half-truths and lies from fake news sites.

Fake News: "Pizzagate"

• A gunman investigated a fake story claiming Hillary Clinton and Democrats ran a pedophile ring at a pizza restaurant, highlighting real-world dangers.
• This incident shows fake news can inspire violence.
• The risk increases as people rely solely on social media for information, a hotbed for misinformation.

Fake News: Obama's Arguments

• Active misinformation spreads quickly and is often well-packaged, making it credible.
• This lack of respect for facts threatens democracy.
• False information can undermine political processes by influencing voter attitudes and election results.
• Fake news can manipulate the electorate and enable foreign powers to meddle in elections.
• Fake news and Russian interference are viewed as a serious threat to the democratic process.

Fake News: Cartoon Interpretation

• The cartoon depicts a newspaper stand with a poster claiming Putin and the FBI helped Trump get elected.
• The phrase "The Newspaper" aims to identify the words as factual information, differentiating from fake news.
• The man's comment that even the truth looks like fake news alludes to the difficulty of distinguishing real from fake on social media.
• The cartoonist hints at a post-truth landscape where emotion outranks fact, leading to distrust and disbelief in all news.

Fake News: Countermeasures

• Journalists need to address readers' concerns and receive special training to identify fake news.
• Media competency should be taught in schools to critically assess online content and research multiple sources.
• Social media's role in democracy should be re-examined.
• Technology companies like Facebook and Google should target how fake content producers monetize through advertising.