Regrets They Have A Few

For those of you who have read some of my earlier blogs, know that I don't have much use for the so called social media, mainly because it makes too many of us, act in a very unsocial manner.  Youngsters have been driven to suicide, people are getting killed or seriously hurt because people insist on using this media, while acting in an antisocial manner, even when driving a car.

Ref. https://medium.com/@mustaphahitani/ex-facebook-executive-you-dont-realize-it-but-you-are-being-programmed-618242134d

The following quotations were taken from an article by Mustapha Itani, dated April 23, 2018.

"Several months ago, one of the early pioneers of Facebook and its first President Sean Parker, voiced his regret regarding helping create social media in the form we know it today, saying: "“I don’t know if I really understood the consequences of what I was saying, because of the unintended consequences of a network when it grows to a billion or 2 billion people and it literally changes your relationship with society, with each other,”…”God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”"
"Parker says the social networking site exploits human psychological vulnerabilities through a validation feedback loop that gets people to constantly post to get even more likes and comments. "“It’s exactly the kind of thing that a hacker like myself would come up with, because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology,”" he said. "“The inventors, creators — it’s me, it’s Mark [Zuckerberg], it’s Kevin Systrom on Instagram, it’s all of these people — understood this consciously. And we did it anyway.”"

"Later on, another former Facebook executive opened up about the same concerns."
 "Chamath Palihapitiya, former vice president of user growth at Facebook stated at a recent public discussion at the Stanford Graduate School of Business,
"“I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.""
 "”The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we’ve created are destroying how society works,”" Palihapitiya said. "“No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth. And it’s not an American problem — this is not about Russians ads. This is a global problem.”"

"Palihapitiya then expressed the feeling of guilt, "“I feel tremendous guilt. I think we all knew in the back of our minds — even though we feigned this whole line of, like, there probably aren’t any bad unintended consequences. I think in the back, deep, deep recesses of, we kind of knew something bad could happen. But I think the way we defined it was not like this.""

"Concerning the issue of social media as a whole, Palihapitiya stated that he doesn’t use it anymore since he "“innately didn’t want to get programmed.”" And as for his kids, "“they’re not allowed to use this shit.”"
 "“So we are in a really bad state of affairs right now, in my opinion. It is eroding the core foundation of how people behave by and between each other. And I don’t have a good solution. My solution is I just don’t use these tools anymore. I haven’t for years.“"

"“Bad actors can now manipulate large swaths of people to do anything you want. It’s a bad, bad state of affairs. And we compound the problem. We curate our lives around this perceived sense of perfection, because we get rewarded in these short term signals: Hearts, likes, thumbs up. And we conflate that with value and we conflate it with truth, and instead what it really is is fake, brittle popularity that’s short term and that leaves you even more, and admit it, vacant and empty before you did it. Because it forces you into this vicious cycle about what’s the next thing I need to do, because I need it back. And think about that compounded by two billion people.”"

"He finishes this up by warning the audience not to think they’re too smart to fall for the implications of social media, and stated that those who are best-and-brightest are the most likely to fall for it, "“because you are fucking check-boxing your whole Goddamn life.”"

I recommend you follow the link below, and read the entire article; you will be glad you did.

https://medium.com/@mustaphahitani/ex-facebook-executive-you-dont-realize-it-but-you-are-being-programmed-618242134d

Miscalculation Or Wishful Thinking?

The BBC reported today, in part, the following quoted below. - ref.  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43818752

"What have investigators said?

NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt told reporters that a fan blade had broken off due to metal fatigue and that a second fracture had been recorded about halfway along its length.
He could not say if the incident indicated a fleet-wide issue with the Boeing 737-700.

Mr Sumwalt also said a casing on the engine was meant to contain any parts that come loose but, due to the speed, the metal was able to penetrate the shell.
The FAA did not say how many engines would be inspected. It said that any fan blades that failed the inspection would have to be replaced.
In 2016, a Southwest Airlines flight made a safe emergency landing in Florida after a fan blade separated from a similar CFM engine.
Debris ripped a hole more than a foot long in the fuselage of the jet above the left wing, causing cabin decompression. An investigation into that incident also found signs of metal fatigue, according to the NTSB."  There were other fan blade failures in recorded history.

There is no doubt, in my mind, that economics won the day, when it came to taking proper corrective action, following a similar Fan Blade failure in 2016 on a similar engine, experienced by the same Airline (Southwest).  The failure rate, and the Mean-Time-Between Failures (MTBF) are certainly (or should be) known, based on Lab testing and limited field data, and depending on the 'Confidence Level', at which these were calculated, timely re-inspection of in-service fan blades should ensure that such catastrophic failures are not part of the consumer's flying experience.

Apart from inspecting for evidence of cracks the Airlines must also ensure that the fan blades were properly shot-peened, when required.   This process, when properly performed, will prevent cracks in critical parts.  For info on this process follow this link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l05Bqotp4N0

The irony in all this is that when some years ago, some fellow had explosives in his shoes, everybody was required, and still is, to have their shoes screened 100% of the time, but when a critical part, such as the fan blade of a jet engine explodes in-flight, we do not take similar drastic actions, it appears.  Therefore, I say, apparently, the industry is only interested in preventing the loss of life, when the inconvenience affects only the consumer, and no tangible costs are involved for the corrective action. 

Objection - Interviewer is leading the Interviewee!

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/14/politics/comey-clinton-emails/index.html
ABS reported, in part, the following:
"Former FBI director James Comey says his belief that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 presidential election played a role in the way he handled the investigation into her use of a private email sever as secretary of state."

"Wasn't the decision to reveal influenced by your assumption that Hillary Clinton was going to win, and your concern that, she wins, this comes out several weeks later and then that's taken by her opponents as a sign that she's an illegitimate president?," Stephanopoulos asks.
In a court of law, an objection would have been raised, no doubt, for asking a leading question.  Good journalism does not put words into the mouth of the interviewee because doing so is the root of fake news.

"It must have been," Comey responds, adding, "I don't remember consciously thinking about that, but it must have been. I was operating in a world where Hillary Clinton was going to beat Donald Trump. I'm sure that it was a factor. I don't remember spelling it out, but it had to have been. That she's going to be elected president, and if I hide this from the American people, she'll be illegitimate the moment she's elected, the moment this comes out."

In his book, "A Higher Loyalty," Comey expresses a similar sentiment, writing, "It is entirely possible that, because I was making decisions in an environment where Hillary Clinton was sure to be the next president, my concern about making her an illegitimate president by concealing the restarted investigation bore greater weight than it would have if the election appeared closer or if Donald Trump were ahead in all polls."

From the foregoing, it appears, Comey is speculating about what prompted his actions.  To me that sounds like Comey is fabricating stories, on the fly.  An important decision, such as he made must have made an indelible impression in his mind, and should rule out any statements, like " It is entirely possible that...", or "I don't remember consciously thinking about that, but it must have been."

Comey, apparently, is in the habit of making notes, at least he claims that he memorialized his meeting with Trump, with written notes, so why would he be so uncertain about his assertions?  The truth can be repeated over and over, fiction on the other hand is another matter.  Moreover, why would the FBI Director overseeing an investigation into possible  wrongdoing by a public servant, worry about a political issue,  and base his actions on the possible outcome of an election?  This is, in my opinion, very troubling; the FBI must focus on their duty, and not be influenced by anticipated election results.

You may ask, why is the foregoing a social concern?  My reply would be, if anyone can publicly tell stories, in writing or during media interviews, based on, "... it must have been, or I don't remember spelling it out, but it had to have been.", then we have a social problem.  Yes, it concerns me because we teach our younger generation that success is achieved with B. S. and the truth no longer matters.  More importantly, Comey admitted his political concerns, which may be a violation, of existing FBI policy, and rules of law.  This makes this story a social concern, when we can no longer trust in the integrity of the FBI.

Parkland Students Mock New Backpacks

NBC reported 4/3/2018 the following.   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parkland-students-mock-new-security-measure-clear-backpacks-n862176

"Parkland students mock new security measure — clear backpacks"

"But on Monday, as teens at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, returned from spring break, they took to Twitter to mock the clear backpacks now required by their school district, describing them as a violation of privacy, a meaningless gesture and a distraction from real gun reform."

“I feel sooo safe now," wrote Lauren, the younger sister of David Hogg, a Stoneman Douglas senior who has emerged as one of the leading student voices for gun control. "As much as I appreciate the effort we as a country need to focus on the real issue instead of turning our schools into prisons.”

CNN showed 4/3/2018 the following images, which I cropped to protect the students' privacy.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/02/us/marjory-stoneman-douglas-clear-backpacks/index.html

While I agree, these transparent backpacks will not solve the problem, however, it seems to be an honest simpleminded attempt at a partial preventive action.  By stuffing these backpacks with items for the purpose to hide their contents, clearly shows that these kids are not mature enough, to understand that little actions are better than no action.  Unfortunately, neither is the school administration, who to this day does not yet understand, what the root-cause of this mass shooting was.  They have not figured out yet, that when former expelled student, returns to his former school, and kills some of his former classmates, he must have felt badly hurt by a few of them.  I have to belief that some of these smart students already figured this out, but prefer to point the finger at others.

Therefore, the priority should be the coaching of these young immature students, along with the administration, on how to behave in a compassionate fashion towards their fellow men.  They must eliminate any kind of bullying on the school premises, and talk to the parents to ensure that they are aware of their responsibility outside of the school.  Cellphones must not be allowed in classrooms, under any circumstances, but must be kept in lockers, where they can be used during breaks.  This action will ensure that students pay attention to their lessons.

We need a formal mandatory course in civility, at least once a week for one hour.  The current young generation has been poisoned, by all the garbage the media feeds them; we have blunted their capacity for empathy.   We have to counteract this anomaly in our youth, as well as the school administration.