Great googaly moogaly. This cop is either gonna get his butt in a sling or a medal. I just can’t tell. This goes kinda bonkers.
Jul 172018
Jul 152018
So yesterday Chicago went all protesty because the cops shot a feller dead. The protest included the usual: ballistic bottles, screaming, rocks, major automotive arteries shut down.
Violent protests in Chicago after man shot dead by police
But then…
Chicago police: Video shows man killed by officer was armed
Video of confrontation between police and Mr. Augustus at 71st and Jeffery. pic.twitter.com/Qd9q9IXNdS
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) July 15, 2018
The video *blatantly* shows that the guy not only had a pistol on him, but was reaching for it. On the one hand: wearing a pistol is every Americans Odin-given right. On the other hand: you shouldn’t act the fool around cops. On the gripping hand: acting the fool while armed is FRICKEN’ STOOOOPID.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I’m curious to see if the protests will continue.
Jul 152018
DOJ, SAF REACH SETTLEMENT IN DEFENSE DISTRIBUTED LAWSUIT
A few years ago, “Defense Distributed” got in trouble with the Department of Justice. What DD did was to make available online 3D CAD files that would allow you to manufacture your own AR-15 receivers (the part of the firearm that is actually considered, from a legal standpoint, the “firearm”). The DoJ smacked DD around, accused them of violating ITAR rules, because obviously the enemies of the United States are too Teh Dum to know how to make their own AR-15s. Well, the case has finally wrapped up, and from all appearances, the DoJ has been told to stop being Teh Dum.
DD was represented in court by the Second Amendment Foundation (I guess the ACLU was busy that day).
the government has agreed to waive its prior restraint against the plaintiffs, allowing them to freely publish the 3-D files and other information at issue. The government has also agreed to pay a significant portion of the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees, and to return $10,000 in State Department registration dues paid by Defense Distributed as a result of the prior restraint.
Significantly, the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military.
What this means:
- You can distributed 3D files without fear of the government coming around and smacking you around
- ITAR rules are to be changed to get rid of “prior restraint,” which is a form of censorship the US government is *supposed* to not engage in. CAD data is now “speech.”
- The government has apparently recognized that semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 are *not* “inherently military,” and thus the next time you see some anti-gun nut screeching that AR-15s are “weapons of war,” you go right ahead and call him a liar.
This all sounds good. However, *strictly* *speaking,* #3 there should 8not8 be considered spectacular news for fans of the Second Amendment. Why? the 1938 USSC decision “US vs. Miller” was the ruling that set the precedent that it is ok for laws to ban sawed-off shotguns. Why was it ok to ban sawed-off shotguns? Because sawed-off shotguns were considered to *not* be militarily useful, and the 2nd Amendment protected the right of the People to keep and bear arms useful for the militia. Thus, but that ruling, the guns people should be clearly allowed are those that *are* inherently military. Of course, the ruling was pretty schizophrenic, since the National firearms Act of 1934 that banned sawed-off shotguns also banned the Tommygun, which *was* most assuredly a military weapon.
Still, this new development is pretty good news, if just to nail down the fact that Americans have the right to have and distribute manufacturing data without the government swooping in and telling them that they can’t. This will help open the door, and jam it open, for the easy and ready manufacturing of firearms in home 3D printers and CNC mills.
Jul 112018
… but I mount one measly crew served weapon to my econobox and the DMV gets all snippy.
Houthi Rebels In Yemen Have Technical Trucks Armed With Vulcan Cannons
Let’s see ’em mount a Goalkeeper to a Yugo. *THEN* I’ll be truly impressed.
Jul 022018
Why should you carry (and preferably, concealed)? Because there are people out there who want to physically harm you for having opinions that differ from theirs.
Leftist Stalks Kent State Gun Girl; Takes Photos & Threatens to Assault Her in Restaurant
Jul 022018
China builds ‘laser’ assault rifle
Assuming the article is accurate, the Chinese have themselves a man-portable laser weapon that is itself an actual weapon. I.E. the laser beam will hurt you directly, not just direct a laser guided present to your location. The laser is said to be non-lethal (unsurprising, given just how difficult a truly lethal laser weapon would be), but it is said to be powerful enough to set your clothes on fire and create indescribable pain. Supposed to be used for ‘anti-terrorist” duty, but I suspect it’ll see service disrupting protests and irritating the frak out of boat and aircraft pilots in the South China Sea.
Unrealistic: the gunner here is operating without eye protecting. Have fun going blind when the laser reflects right back into your optics, buddy…
The basic concept is probably nothing new:
I imagine the rise of such weapons, used to blind pilots, will lead to increased use of drones and other robots. So, soon, cyborgs stalking the battlefields with phased plasma rifles in the 40 watt range…
Jul 012018
A video of a young woman having a blast shooting the double-barreled Gilboa Snake AR-15 derivative. I really want to see how accurate this thing is, how far apart the bullet tend to hit. Of particular interest to me in this video are the super-slo-mo shots showing the ends of the barrels; something you can’t normally see with slo-mo vids of single barrel rifles is just how much the barrels bend and flex and wave around.
It doesn’t have to make sense. It just needs to be cool. (Hmm… t-shirt material…)
Jun 102018
A Boeing illustration from 1964 showing a number of designs for lifting entry vehicles that Boeing had produced by that point. Most of these are manned vehicle concepts; a few of them are unfamiliar to me. The “B-3 —– B” looks like it might have been an ASSET competitor. The “Recoverable Booster” at top is one of several similar V-shaped designs that used a modestly modified Dyna Soar as the crew capsule up front. One such design was the Model 895 shown (along with competing ASP designs from other firms) in Aerospace Projects Review issue V2N5.
Jun 082018
Bad news: the Chinese have already pilfered it.
What Secretive Anti-Ship Missile Did China Hack From The U.S. Navy?
The “Sea Dragon” is a mysterious missile program that began in 2015 and has already resulted in flight vehicles, with new versions being prepared for launch by submarines while submerged. The article suggests several possibilities of what the “Sea Dragon” might be… but one thing it does seem to be is the next missile design the Chinese will be building, since they managed to swipe half a terabyte of data.
It’s great that the Navy might actually be developing something new. Not helpful is letting our enemies just copy the damn thing. Somebody needs a whoopin’.
Jun 062018
I was allowed to take a gander at a true piece of art: an old Colt M1911 pistol. There have been millions of these (according to Wiki, 2.7 million were procured for the US military alone), but this one may be a little special. The vast majority of the pistols were the improved M1911A1’s… but this is an M1911. Its serial number is 4482. That’s four thousand four hundred eighty two… out of at least 2.7 million. (That’s 0.00166, or in the first 0.166% of the production, if it means anything.) Reportedly, this particular pistol was made in 1913 for the US Marines, but I don’t know if that’s certain.
It’s by no means in mint condition, but it’s in certainly well-kept condition and complete, and it sends rounds downrange reliably and accurately.
So, the question is value. The owner is curious if it would go for a truckload of money, or if it should remain a family heirloom.
