You're only obliged to follow directions if you don't want to be negligent.
No injury does not mean no negligence. Not following safety instructions is negligent, as is removing safety features, why you do it or the fact that others are also negligent does not erase the negligence.
You can certainly identify wear patterns and or cracks before this type of discharge occurs in 99.9999999% of cases. Proper cleaning and inspections are part of gun safety.
Not lately, but in the past, yes. I've never seen an unmodified gun fire unintentionally, but I have seen poorly modified guns 'misfire' on many occasions.

I hate it when people don't pay attention to the safety instructions on planes. You can stop looking at your laptop or cellphone for a minute to learn what will save you life - AND MINE - if something goes wrong.

They also ought to include "In the event of an emergency landing, LEAVE YOUR FUCKING CARRY-ON BEHIND AND GET OFF THE PLANE, ASSHOLE."

Got it! With all that safety instruction out of the way I'm off to lightning some wood.

Took a cruise on a Carnival ship a year or two back. While everyone else was at the casino or one of the dance clubs, my hobby was to wander the public areas of the ship. On the plus side, egress from the lower decks is pretty straightforward because the layouts are pretty simple, like you see here - long hallways of rooms serviced by two or three main stairwells (and usually a couple of smaller stairwells near the ends).
I think what we may be seeing here is that these guys want to get from one end of the ship to the other, and they're on one of the entertainment decks that are a little more convoluted in layout, so it's simpler to head down to one of the hotel decks and across to the other main staircase.
As I recall, the safety instruction was as cursory as you might expect: "The life jackets are in your closet, now lets all go meet in our designated meeting spots; ok have fun." The assumption was you'd head to your "rally point" and the trained crewmembers would direct you from there, presumably to a nearby lifeboat.

@dystopianfuturetoday

From Wikipedia: Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own interests, whether by society, family or any other group or institution.

This is not the philosophy of Hitler, Stalin, or Manson. They were people who wanted control over others, while Individualists believe that everyone should have control over themselves. They are polar opposites, in terms of philosophy. And while it might make for a good joke ("Individualists unite!") there is nothing ironic about people sharing a philosophy of self-reliance.

In terms of selfishness, I believe you are misinterpreting her message. Though I may be wrong, I interpret it to mean "Take care of yourself first, then take care of your loved ones, then help your community if you have the means." Like they say in pre-flight safety instructions, put on your own oxygen mask first, then help others to put on theirs. You aren't doing anyone any good if you give everything you have to others (money, energy, or time). You will just find yourself wiped out and then depending on others to give to you. But if you fulfill your own needs and find you have resources to spare, then you can assist others in finding their own self-sufficiency. Indeed, if you value your family and community, helping them to be prosperous is by definition serving your own self-interests.

Again, I may be projecting some of my own morality onto Rand, because I have never seen her articulate this point clearly. But that is what I would argue on the topic of selfishness.

Personally, I am not a Rand devotee. I think anyone trying to implement her ideas literally would cause chaos and mob-rule. But she made some interesting points, and though her utopia may not be possible, there are valuable lessons to be learned in her books if you look for them.

http://videosift.com/video/Rare-Exports-worth-watching-trust-me-P
http://videosift.com/video/Rare-Exports-Part-2-Safety-Instructions

Man the things they do to get people to watch the safety instructions. Virgins little animated version worked on me first time I saw it, pretty amusing but yeah most trips involve a return flight and by then you're already over the gimmick.

I was going to say OMFG this is so stupid.

Then trunk Santa came out, upvote there.

I was really hoping for something more like Rare Exports (or part two) though.

@archchef - if anything, the types of videos you find here almost argue that's we're less "college and geeky" than the other sites, which is part of the appeal. Heh.

Also impressive is the rather low or muted level of self-promotion, myself and special Christmas sifts notwithstanding. [yes I just called myself a bad Sifter - 'tis the season... oh wait, or is that Yom Kippur?]