zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — ISIS advertizes! — and riding on Berger & Stern’s coattails at that — sad ]
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The artificial intelligence behind Amazon‘s selection of books he might be interested in surprised JM Berger — co-author with Jessica Stern of the excellent ISIS: The State of Terror — today, by recommending Be Happy Like ISIS: The secret to success that will change your world view (The Code Breakers Book 1) as something that might interest readers of his book.

Unbelievable. I checked my own Amazon account, and found this:

That’s from the “Sponsored Products Related To This Item” section of the Amazon page on JM’s book. Right at the bottom of that screenshot, I found this:

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See also:

Of Anwar al-Awlaki and Bold Christian Clothing

The intelligence of algorithms

On the foolishness of some current algorithms

As I said recently in Japanese joinery: DoubleQuoting with wooden blocks:

One of my own aims has been to generate — or begin the generation of — a similar anthology of “DoubleQuotes” (conceptual twinnings) illustrating the methods of associative connection available in the realms of language and the aural and visual arts.

So here’s another example, belonging in another category — a commercially-sponsored algorithm linking two books it “believes” might of of interest to a common audience. One is a rigorous examination of ISIS history, use of online propaganda, and apocalyptic rhetoric. The other is an example of that propaganda, skilfully contrived with keywords like “happy”, “secret to success” — and even “code-breakers” — in its title, to propagate itself on Amazon despite its pro-terror slant. Puerile.

Feh!

[by Mark Safranski / “zen“]

Blood Sacrifices: Violent Non-State Actors and Dark Magico-Religious Activities edited by Robert J. Bunker

I’m very pleased to announce the publication of Blood Sacrifices, edited by Robert J. Bunker, to which Charles Cameron and I have both contributed chapters. Dr. Bunker has done a herculean job of shepherding this controversial book, where thirteen authors explore the dreadful and totemic cultural forces operating just beneath the surface of irregular warfare and religiously motivated extreme violence.

We are proud to have been included in such a select group of authors and I’m confident that many readers of ZP will find the book to their liking . If you study criminal insurgency, terrorism, hybrid warfare, 4GW, apocalyptic sects, irregular conflict or religious extremism, then the 334 pages of Blood Sacrifices has much in store for you.

Available for order at Amazon

[ by Charles Cameron — a tale of Guru Nanak — & the things you can buy on Amazon these days ]
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Painting by PM Wylam of Guru Nanak Dev Ji as a young boy

It is said that in his schooldays, young Nanak who, as Guru Nanak, would go on to found the Sikh religion was in math class when the numbers one, two, three and so forth fourth were explained, and objected when the teacher began to talk about two, on the grounds that he hadn’t yet fully grapsped the number one.

Respect.

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Putting that another way, the number one is at least as fascinating in its own possibities as it is with the series of integers that follows it — you may recall my earlier discussions of one and its possible opposites in earlier posts:

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Here the conversation takes a completely different turn..

It’s in the spirit of that kind of mythematical — or perhaps better in this case, mathemagical — thinking that I offer this equation:

I’m inclined to think they’d somehow cancel, or at the very least balance, each other out. I wonder whether Amazon has an algorithm that knows that, yet.

Really, I had no idea one could buy dragon’s meat in a can, nor that of unicorns.

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I found out about canned unicorn and dragon while while reading up on Tactical Bacon in a spell of NSFW research on the Malheur business:

Oy, the world we live in.

[ by Charles Cameron — toys as weapons, weapons as toys, appearances, can be deceptive, ethnicities too ]
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Before there were the realities we now know as “virtual reality” and “real life” there were the two known as “real” and “pretend” or “make-believe”.

Confusing pretend for real can be harrowing enough, as we saw this morning:

Hand Grenade Toy Prompts Evacuations At Ontario International Airport « CBS Los Angeles http://t.co/qpZi3QRyac

— Crystal Cruz (@CrystalCruzCBS) August 12, 2015

but the reverse has even more dire potential:

Bomb alert over hand grenade used as a toy http://t.co/PM8HIpkh #YEPleeds @MarkLavery1 #pontefract

— Vicki Robinson (@VickiMRobinson) May 9, 2012

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For the record, toy grenades are a a regular feature of the news these days, see for instance:

26 June 2015, Bomb disposal team called to toy grenade in Coatbridge

19 Octpober 2014, Toy grenade puts Newport News neighborhood on alert<

Get your Toy Grenades Battery Operated for Pretend Play on Amazon:

Pull the grenade pin, press bar and throw!

Estimated Delivery Date: Aug. 14 – 19 when you choose Expedited at checkout

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Watch out, Staten Island:

BREAKING NEWS: Police looking on Staten Island for men possibly with assault rifles. MORE: http://t.co/nyFoiJbEjg pic.twitter.com/Abf8DTsjrl

— Breaking News Feed (@PzFeed) July 17, 2015

But then again..

when is an assault rifle not an assault rifle?

‘Assault rifles' in Staten Island were paintball guns: NYPD – NY Daily News http://t.co/Ysyy5pXhxL

— Krishna Mungur (@mungurk) July 20, 2015

and come to that,

when is a paintball more than a paintball — when is it a weapon?

Teens arrested in Staten Island paintball attacks: One of the attacks, on an Orthodox Jewish man, was investig… http://t.co/LfEw9g5gdj

— David Bar-Lev (@DavidBar_Lev) July 20, 2015

and when is the reason not just a paintball, but a scarf?

Don't fool yourselves. It wasn't the paintball guns that shut down Staten Island. It was the head scarves #islamophobia

— Wisco (@Wisco) July 18, 2015

— and if that’s not enough, is skin color a difference that makes a difference?

So open-carry clowns are allowed w/ long guns in Target but #JohnCrawford was shot dead in Walmart holding a toy gun? pic.twitter.com/BK30NybXDU

— Dana Fairbanks, M.D. (@dcfairbank) August 12, 2015

Ah yes.

Target and Walmart — another nice pairing that gives that last tweet just a touch of extra impact!