I'm not quite as worried about the people who can afford $1,000 toys and $20,000 cars with full air bags and reinforced passenger compartments as I am about the pedestrians and drivers around them.

Stupid people have a tremendous survivability factor which the people around them sometimes lack.

BMW, its been on Top Gear, also they have a test model with a GPS directed auto-pilot, that to has been on Top Gear.

On that Note... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11508351
Google tests autodriving cars in California. Only problem that cropped up was someone rear-ending their car lightly...

The Google cars seems to have relied more on internal databases then external indicators for speed limits and such tho.

Why would we? We haven't banned candy bars. Or onion rings.

Isn't that what GridGuide™ is?

i guess so, augmented with on the fly wireless updates.

Both have a (small) nutritional value. Hell, a candy bar may save a diabetics life from time to time.

Don't question the influence of the Chocolate Lobby.

It has delicious arguments.

And the payoffs are sweet. Still doesn't make any more sense then Big Tobacco or Not Quite As Big As Big Tobacco But Still Pretty Large So Don't Think Otherwise Alcohol.

Like the new google cars that drive themselves?
Or fighter planes that use HUD tech and have used it for years.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/10/pioneer...e-home-connect/

Just what we need. S'more lobbyists. They're only contributing to the decay of society.

Society's overrated anyway.

Which is why they need to shake it up some. Maybe have a bloody sundae.

Sadly, people are apparently dumb enough to be using smartphones whilst driving even without an AR visor...

"Over a fifth of drivers check social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter whilst behind the wheel, research has shown."

http://www.itpro.co.uk/627643/fifth-of-mot...ia-when-driving

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/...f_a_button.html

self-driving taxi (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Over a fifth of drivers should be involuntarily euthanized.

Also, what the hell are the point of lobbyists? I'm not a polisci major so I really don't know. Do they just bully the government into passing favourable or not passing unfavourable legislation? Unless my understanding is wrong, how the hell can that even exist?

Supposedly they are there to inform and remind politicians about issues. One way to look at them would be as humanoid megaphones.

Problem is that the deep pockets of corporations, and certain individuals, allow them bigger megaphones then the common joe.

Ah thanks. I guess what bugs me is since when is the government open to debate? I mean they might meely-mouth over certain issues here and there, but when they put their foot down that's it.

It's my understanding (which could be flawed since I'm not a yank and I have no concrete figures) that the majority of Americans didn't want to go back into Iraq and start a war, but the government did it anyway.

Lobbying just seems to me to be like a way of legalizing bribery, blackmail, and other strong arm tactics.

In the US, it's ALWAYS up for debate.

That's the whole point of democracy. Everyone gets a say.

Every person in power is put there by their local citizenry, and whether or not they get to keep that job is up to that citizenry.

So it is wise for those people in power to listen to the people that cast the votes in elections.

Of course, this is complicated by the fact that getting elected is an expensive process, and there are groups willing to donate large sums of money towards certain candidates, with the expectation that those donations will be reciprocated with a willingness to see things their way.

There were a large number of anti-war folks.

The thing is, and this is what a lot of folks including the media at the time [edit]missed[/edit], there were also a lot of pro-war folks.

And the pro-war folks happened to have their candidates in power at the time.



-k

That is perhaps the sad thing. Media have become much more overtly biased, while at the same time loudly proclaiming their supposed neutrality.

As such, the supposed 4th power have gone from reporting on the activities of others to attempting to direct public opinion. And so by proxy direct the decisions made.

But it seems that most pro-war folks are so out of ignorance. Not all of them, obviously, but enough to be shocking. Those that either aren't sure who we are fighting or why but they must be bad because the govt tells me so, ala 1984, and those that believe that we can still be a war economy and that fighting will fix the budget. These crocodile tears or "Let's not forget 9/11" should have long since dried up. Japan, as a mass, has forgotten August 6th and August 9th enough for open trade to be established. Why can't we be similar?

And I'm still waiting for my vote to count in a presidential election.

Erm, could we return this to the fascinating discussion about the possibilities of proto-AR tech? This looks like it's in danger of getting shut down or sparking into a flame war, and I'd hate for either to happen.