Die

RE: The huge, unexpected ethical question that self-driving cars will have to tackle.  The occupants of the car should die first.  They chose to ride in a self-driving car, so they should have to suffer the consequences of its failure.  As far as how to chose between the occupants of the car (as in who is sacrificed by its failure if there is a choice regarding impact location to the vehicle): the owner(s).

Risk

Risk can always be an opportunity for a sociopath.

Snake Oil

Key member of Swedish Academy of Sciences calls for immediate suspension of the “Nobel Prize for Economics”:

The Prize in contravention of the spirit of Nobel’s will Can contribute to increased corruption. Multiple independent research shows that those who study economics are more prone to corruption. And the behavior seems to be an effect of education. A price that risk contribute to increased corruption in the world is in conflict with the spirit of Nobel’s will, writes political science professor Bo Rothstein. 

[...] 

It is also problematic in light of Sweden distributes one of the world’s most prestigious scientific awards in the subject, namely the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, in everyday speech the Nobel Prize in economics. The price was not found in Alfred Nobel’s original testament of 1895 but were added by a donation from Sweden Riksbank in 1968. Responsible party for the dividend is the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Three more points:

• What else can one expect from a traveling medicine show pedaling snake oil?
• Of course it is corrupt, but there are different flavors, including intellectual.
• An ideology masquerading as a science is inherently corrupt--why else would it need to parasitically attach itself to Nobel's legacy?

Is It Art?

Russia’s Propaganda Trolls become a power in cyberspace:

With the exposure of the Internet Research Center, it also appears that Russia is drawing on disinformation techniques used during the Soviet Union. One Russian propaganda scholar has referred to it as less of an information war as much as a war on information (“A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine“). 

Regardless of the view, such activities have been successful in helping to oust governments or influence public behavior. This should be very telling, especially considering ongoing efforts between the two governments to try to gain mutual understanding on cyber security issues. One area that highlights this challenge is how security should be addressed in cyberspace.

Yes, but is it art?  If it is not art, how really effective is it?

Also, is the above an example of how writing about propaganda is (always) itself propaganda?

Thought

Thought is not necessarily thinking.

Final Solutions

Final solutions are for failures.

'Drain Bamage'

Rarefied air causes brain damage.

Narcissists

Sentiment may regard the removal of the human animal from nature as a positive development. Narcissists are always sentimental.

Maybe?

If alienation is a normal response to civilization and society, is it still alienation?

FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States

FBI Uncovers Al-Qaeda Plot To Just Sit Back And Enjoy Collapse Of United States:

Praise Allah, for soon every American city shall be plagued with disaster and hardship,” al-Zawahiri said in the video, which includes several minutes of footage of young, masked al-Qaeda militants casually sipping beverages as they thumb through the latest issues of Time and U.S. News And World Report. “The infidels have brought this pain and destruction upon themselves through their arrogance and callousness. Soon, the United States will watch in horror as its bridges crumble, its desperate citizens suffer in want of medicine and paying employment, and its once vast riches are reduced to naught. The righteous warriors among our ranks must now unite, get comfortable, and look on from afar at the calamity unfolding in the West.”

“We vow that we will not cease sitting around and laughing it up until America is reduced to rubble,” he continued.

We have met the enemy, and it is us.

2 Questions:

• Why is The Onion now a source of real commentary?
• Why is no one else saying the obvious?

Foul Mouth

A foul mouth may hide a keen mind.