"Not all bullets are created equal. The energy of a bullet is determined by its mass and speed, and its wounding potential hinges on its ability to transfer its energy to a target; even rounds that are similar in size, or look similar, can cause dramatically different damage." A good video explaining some of the differences in the physics of gun shot wounds.
"A federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday that prevents the publication of online 3D blueprints for plastic yet deadly guns." Mostly this is an argument about the proliferation of "ghost guns" (self manufactured firearms). While most fully 3D printed weapons have very limited uses (the 3D printers required to print materials that can withstand the heat and pressures of firing rounds multiple times aren't available to the general public, yet), 3D printing can help modify existing firearms in a way to make them behave like other prohibited firearms (such as printing a receiver than can modify an AR-15 into a full-automatic weapon). And then there's this, "Amid the legal fights Wilson has continued to amass designs for new weapons 'as well as working on a computer-controlled mill known as the Ghost Gunner that can automatically make functional AR-15 rifle parts out of a block of aluminum,' CNET reported." Yeah, that one is a little more worrying (although I believe it falls more squarely under ITAR regulations, which could make Mr. Wilson's life a little hell).
"Humans have overshot nature’s annual budget starting in the early 1970s, and every year, the overshoot date keeps creeping up. In 2018, its August 1."
A long NYT Magazine article on how we could have saved the world in the 80s and why we didn't. I haven't finished reading it, but I thought I should post this here today so maybe you'd have a chance to read it. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Greg Manteufel, 48, went to the emergency room with what he thought was the flu, but tests revealed he was suffering from an infection caused by bacteria in the saliva of dogs." Man's best friend.
"Layoffs from Trump tariffs are piling up. So are calls for more bailouts." So. Much. Winning. Hey, have I mentioned the deficit lately? (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"Trump then went on to accuse the Kochs of being ungrateful even though he 'made them richer' with his tax cut. He then boasted that they weren’t as powerful as many people have made them out to be." Not petulant at all. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"President Trump's former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon is warning Republican candidates not to take money from the conservative Koch network - or face consequences." The first step is always the hardest. Hey Stevie, is the view good from Europe? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"The organizer of last year’s deadly right-wing rally in Charlottesville, Virginia sued the city for the right to host a one-year anniversary event this August. He lost his quest for a permit and dragged his alt-right allies’ names into court documents process." (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"'There were more tweets in the year after the election than there were in the year before the election,' Warren said. 'I want to shout this from the rooftops. This is not just an election thing. It’s a continuing intervention in the political conversation in America.'" Five Thirty Eight begins to analyze 3 million Russian troll tweets. (Waves to my Russian friends). (Grokked from Dan)
"Facebook announced on Tuesday that it’s found more fake accounts engaged in covert influence operations against Americans. The company has closed down eight fake organization pages and 17 fraudulent profiles that were collectively followed by 290,000 people." Many of those pages were on "the left."
"QAnon flirts with eschatology, fascist philosophy and the filmmaking of Francis Ford Coppola. Adherents believe a 'Great Awakening' will precede the final storm foretold by Trump. Once they make sense of the information drip-fed to them by 'Q,' they will usher in a Christian revival presaging total victory." The Trump presidency as fulfillment of prophecy, the coming Rapture, Pizzagate, and just crazy ass ideas all feed into QAnon, a supposed government employee with security clearances "fighting the Deep State." Guess whom I think Q really is. (Grokked form Robert J Bennett)
"Over the past three months, a handful of highly placed Russians have discovered their secrets seeping onto the web." An article about the guy who is doing it. Is it telling of my previous training that I'm also suspicious of the intel coming out of this group as well (either they have the possibility to do disinformation, or their sources might)? (Grokked from Dan)
"President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Monday said the president’s legal team is preparing a 'counter-report' to respond to any allegations that special counsel Robert Mueller makes in his expected report on the Russia probe, according to USA Today." Wait, so if there was no crime, what could they be writing a "counter-report" to? How would they know what would be in the report? I suspect paragraph one ends with "I was on the Moon." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"'Which is why the time has come for voter ID, like everything else,' Trump told the crowd. 'You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card. You need ID.'" Our very stable genius president, everybody.
And there was more. "Here are some of the factually incorrect statements, along with the more interesting ones that riled thousands of his supporters in the packed venue at the Florida State Fairgrounds."
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