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Guest Post: Gun Control? No, Drone Control.
Submitted by John Aziz of Azizonomics blog,
The terrible massacre committed by a mentally-disturbed man in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday has prompted lots and lots of calls for gun control in the United States, as well as some calls for more help for the mentally ill.
There are some problems with both suggestions. First of all, the evidence shows that certain “treatments” for the mentally ill — specifically, SSRI antidepressants — are associated with shooting sprees. A 2006 study in the UK showed that antidepressants can cause severe violence in a small number of individuals. It is possible that increasing the screening and “treatment” for mental illness may result in more incidences of severe violence. (On the other hand some therapies like psychotherapy, music therapy, and art therapy might help certain individuals, but these are almost certainly less profitable for big pharma…)
But what about gun control? There is little doubt that in the coming years the gun-show loophole will be closed and Canadian-style longer waiting periods will be introduced. Semi-automatic weapons may well be banned. Buyback programs may be attempted. The Supreme Court might well even be stacked to achieve a majority that interprets away individual gun rights.
But America already has huge quantities of guns, far more than anywhere in the world:
The vast majority of America’s 285 million guns are in Republican states, which are unlikely to be disarmed easily, even with an overwhelming Federal consensus. Some might even try to secede from the Union.
And as the experience of many other countries including Britain and Australia shows, criminals and those with violent intent will still be able to get guns (the only people who will be disarmed are the law-abiding majority).
This trend is only likely to grow in coming years as technologies such as 3D printing make it possible for anyone with a 3D printer and an internet connection to potentially print a gun (and eventually, bullets):
Imagine an America in which anyone can download and print a gun in their own home. They wouldn’t need a license, a background check, or much technical knowledge, just a 3D printer. That’s the vision a cadre of industrious libertarians are determined to turn into reality.
Last week, Wiki Weapon, a project to create the first fully printable plastic gun received the $20,000 in funding it needed to get off the ground. The project’s goal is not to develop and sell a working gun, but rather to create an open-source schematic (or blueprint) that individuals could download and use to print their own weapons at home.
The technology that makes this possible is 3D printing, a process during which plastic resin is deposited layer by layer to create a three dimensional object. In the past few years 3D printers have become increasingly affordable, and just last week the first two retail stores selling 3D printers opened in the United States with models ranging from $600 to $2,199.
How is it possible to regulate that away? Ban 3D printing? Ban the distribution of gun schematics? Costly, damaging to liberty, and ineffective. The failed war on drugs makes this very clear — prohibition doesn’t work. Guns — like drugs — are a reality that society cannot just eradicate by passing laws. The mood has changed — America will try gun control. It won’t work — and may just make things worse. I wish we lived in a world without guns, but we don’t.
But there is a way forward. Very many of the mass shooters in the last two decades have a history of antidepressant use. If we want to stop mass shootings, maybe we should look at that.
And if we value life and are opposed to violence against innocents, why do we demand action when 27 innocent Americans die, but not when larger numbers of innocent Pakistanis, or Afghanis or Yemenis die? One drone strike in Pakistan killed 69 children, dwarfing the impact of the Newtown Massacre. With predator drones now in American skies, how long until the “collateral damage” (remember — the NDAA declared the entirety of America as a battlefield) eclipses the Newtown massacre? Or how long until a foreign power or terrorist group hacks into a predator drone (technically feasible) over America and uses it as a flying bomb? And how many more terrorist attacks against America will be fuelled by anger derived from the civilian casualties of the drone wars?
Obama might cry for Americans in Newtown, but where are his tears for the Pakistani and Yemeni children he has slaughtered? And what about for the many victims who died as a result of thousands guns shipped by the US government to the Mexican drug cartels via Fast and Furious?
America might be ready to implement gun control. I wish America was ready to implement drone control.
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p.s. Junking this post shows what a closed-minded child you are. When proven wrong, learn, don't throw a tantrum and put your fingers in your ears chanting "LALALALALA can't hear you".
This is your best comment so far...reveals the full profundity of your thinking. You are clearly an intellectual ! I am dazzled by your rhetorical style and can see you have at least a Politician's PhD
Yes, I agree my "rhetoric" is better than yours, especially given that mine is based in fact, and not some mouth-breather's potted history of post-war Europe through the pink lenses of the Second Amendment and American gun laws.
Stereotypical American: cannot read history without putting it through the lens of their own navel.
Ich bin aber kein Amerikaner and your prejudice and racial stereotyping of Americans shows what kind of idiot you are....
Actually, it's been fairly obvious that you were German, I was taking the piss out of you. Calling me an "Ossi" was the final tip-off. Because, frankly, what business does a German national have mouthing off about "The Second Amendment", and showing such a pitiful knowledge of his own history?
Or were you merely embarrassed about all that Democratic basis to Hitler's rise, and need to blame it on something beyond your control? The Nazi-apologist myth that "if only we'd been armed, we'd have never have been Fascists".
How's all that Government business with the far-right Nationalists, murders and spooks going btw? I've heard the corruption is fairly entrenched up in the heights of the German government there.
The official investigation into the National Socialist Underground (NSU), the neo-Nazi cell which is believed to have killed at least 10 people over a period of years, has been marked by a series of embarrassing failures and slip-ups by the authorities. But new revelations about the case threaten to trigger a major scandal with possible political consequences.
Politicians from all of Germany's main parties have reacted with anger and incomprehension to revelations that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, destroyed files relating to the case in November 2011 after the NSU activities became public. [source]
Before worrying about the "EVIL HIPPIES", I'd worry about the return of Fascism, to be honest. Or are you one of the NSU? Worried your toys are going to be taken away?
...Einen ziemlichen Bockmist verzapfen.
Calling Germany a dictatorship is beyond silly. All it shows that you obviously don't have a clue when it comes to politics outside the US.
It's also incredibly naive to think any of the guns citizens have would protect them against the military should they ever go up against its own people. It's a childish notion to be honest...
Who called Germany "a dictatorship" ? Buy you might look at the years 1928-1945 or even the years 1946-1990 to decide if you think Germany has NEVER had a dictatorship let alone TWO on its territory within living memory.
O-Phone's hypocrisy smells all the way to Mars.
The only reason these national socialists want to ban guns is they are afraid of armed citizens.
They are afraid of You.
The key to this terrible event was a mentally ill person who was not treated, or treated with the wrong type of medicine.
Be aware, this illegal Regime will not shy from illegal means to disarm We The People.
They kill illegally by Drone, they gunrun to Mexico. Rule of Law means nothing to these fiends.
This could be the beginning of Wm Ayer's claim from Prairie Fire to liquidate 25 million or more Americans in order to install their Totalitarian Collective.
And, from an old-dude point of view, our Policing has taken a nasty turn over the last 10-15 years.
Departments (now paramilitary units) are being heavily armed by the State, and the ROE against civilians (Citizens) has changed, and not for the benefit of Citizens.
Be very careful Out There.
Obama wants to arm the Syrian rebels .... and has armed the Libyan rebels .... will he support private militias with the same weapons he gave to foreigners to overthrow their oppressive governments ?
kids are better shots and will act without thought with just a bit of training.
arm the kids don't arm the libs.
And he'll give them to mexicans so that people will see how horrible guns are and ASK for gun control.
The NRA could be a "flagship" private militia .... along with many others .... include groups like the NRA in the solution .... give them a continuing important role in the debate !
Unfortunately, (excepting the important distinction that dues are optional) the NRA behaves like any well established union: it holds it's own corporate interests above that of their constituents.
people are simply disconnected from reality,
when I was a kid we knew computer game was virtual reality, and after
we stooped playing shooting games we had to come back to normal world,
to reality.
Today I'm afraid for some guys there is no difference between virtual and normal world.
COMPLETE INSANITY
Already rounded up. Looks like prior criminal (accused of armed robbery).
http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/Authorities-On-Scene-Og-Shooting-At-G...
http://auburnpub.com/news/national/police-officers-fatally-shot-in-topek...
Fuck the US gov't! Death to the elite! Maybe if we had a system not hellbent on living a life in a fucking tent with mcdonalds as our biggest employer we could prevent some of this. That's only part of it though.
I would like to offer a different twist to the current conspiracies. What if our brightest mathematicians, finance guys etc full well know that the current ponzi is caput. Even some of us not exactly genius types here on ZH(lol) have figured this out. What would be the result of 300+ million people losing EVERYTHING? Surely it would mean mass death and the collapse of the country. So what would an entity hell bent on surviving do in such a scenario? Since we would all die and our country would collapse then let's sacrifice a few for the many enter 9-11 so we can have an excuse to take over other countires and create new jobs via technology. Sadly we learn we are still on the same track and it's going to be hard to manage this crisis with a bunch of starving people who own guns.
Of course my theory is all based upon the people running the US gov't trying to do what is best for us. I think I purposely come up with alternatives because the evil of the globalists is just hard to swallow somedays. Anyone with a grade school education should be able to gather all the evidence and sift thru the bullshit and come up with the logical conclusion that we are being molded by the elite and the idea that 9-11 was carried out by a bunch of fucking goat herders is ludicrous at best.
Imagine the elite response knowing that we know. You think they're just gona sit around and wait to go to jail? They'll kill us all first. They own and control everything and have the mentality 'if I can't have it all no one can" which is why I conclude we're pretty much finished.
Gun ownership = freedom to kill.
To the rest of the world, Americans have the reputation of being hot-headed and trigger happy, so enjoy your gun-owning, gun-toting (in some states) nirvana.
You really must be the dumbest people on earth if you really think gun ownership has no correlation to gun crime and more guns would solve the problem.
NRA brainwashed sheeple.
You must be a fun grandpa to go hunting and fishing with ? Sarc: ON/off
LOL!
He probably is in the more 'fatherly' role of, well, you know, the catholic chruch...
You failed in the first sentence. What a ludicrous assertion.
"Gun ownership = freedom to kill." So by your logic then and based on the 22 kids that were slashed and several killed in China by a man wielding a knife. Knife ownership = freedom to kill also? Perhaps you may want to revisit the foundation of your ridiculous axiom. Just sayin'
The fact is, many of the kids killed in the latest shooting would still be alive if that idiot ony had a knife instead of SEVERAL guns.
More guns = more gun violence...and that's a FACT.
Imagine how easily we could afford school security if we didn't spend trillions killing off other coutries and bailing out bankers? Of course we all know the problem is the unemployed, disabled and grandma's fault. LOL.
Or how about dump 2 or 3 worthless back office, non teaching administrators, and use that money to pay for full time police protection ? The lib agenda is not about saving students, harsh as that sounds, but THEY ARE ALL ABOUT GUN CONTROL.....
But we don't know that. 48X more children die in car accidents every year than in firearm related incidents, yet cars remain on the road. Reprehensible, no?
It's estimated that guns prevent nearly 2.5 million violent crimes annually in the U.S., so it's also not a FACTTM that more guns lead to more violence. If you would have read the Harvard study I linked to earlier you would know that before you claimed otherwise.
True that. Killers will kill, regardless.
No guns, then knives. No knives? Then explosives. No explosives? Then poison. No poision? Then bare hands.
We need to deal with the killer....not the potential weapon. Either that or we'll all be eating with plastic spoons in the near future.
Why shouldn't we be hot-headed? The elite are taking over the world and we are no in mood to share what we have with the rest of you. Just because you rolled over and took in the ass doesn't mean im going to. You are weak and im going to laugh because the day you wish you weren't fucking stupid and owned a gun is fast approaching.
You brown shirts better hope you don't lose.
Ever notice that Keynes had the same cocksucker jaw set .... that Axelrod has ? Monedas 1929 Comedy Jihad I Notice Shit Like That World Tour
"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." -John Adams
I pray this could be a black swan where all people realize we cannot keep living as we are. We need to care for others, respect others and all live within their means and everyone do something this next year to help build community.
Hold on, I have to take my daughter for an abortion.
Hey Aziz,
The problem with blaming SSRIs is, you are not comparing how many mass shootings there would be without them.
I've been on them. Lexapro made me intensely creative. Prozac made me homicidally irritable (so they took me off it after two weeks). Zoloft made me feel wonderful and gave me the ability to concentrate ferociously.
Everyone's reactions are different to each drug. There are no tests to find out how any given drug will affect any given individual.
When supervised through the initial ramp-up period, until a drug's effects are known for the individual, they're safe, effective, and most likely prevent far more massacres than they cause.
I'm glad the SSRI drugs have helped you. My brother tried Zoloft and had two months of Diarrhea before he gave up on them. By that time his personality had changed for the worse because he said he felt like a zombie and couldn't think straight. The problem with these drugs is the wide range of effects and the long period of time enduring side effects before they really start to work. They don't really cure your problem but instead mask it by imposing a different, drug induced mental state. I personally don't know of anyone who likes these drugs but obviously there are some people who benefit from them.
That said, your description of the different drugs giving you such a wide range of effects is interesting since they are all supposed to treat the same condition more or less. It indicates to me that they really don't know how they actually work and the strategy seems to be to try them all out until one seems to be effective. Sounds more like trying on shoes than medical science.
Sunny days...as we circle the drain. It's a coming...
The left wing & main stream media are now doing a lot of gum flapping about gun control. This is an expected response to the horrific tragedy in Connecticut, an event that broke the nations heart. Yet these libs probably care little for the victims, but they care a lot about gun control, and as Hillary said, “never waste a good crisis.”
In main street USA, the rank ‘n file Americans see gun ownership as their ONLY way to protect against a totalitarian abuse, which most fear will come at the hands of the liberal elements in leadership today & tomorrow. These liberal elements would never get elected to any office if it was not for the high density population centers that vote for “benefits promised” from the liberal elected officials. Look at any voting coverage map – Blue Counties verses Red Counties.
Now to the meat of the matter. The liberal powers that BE (aka TPTB), know there are two kinds of opposition forces that may occur : riots, & revolts. Riots are generally instigated by those in the lower economic realms, with limited resources and almost no dedication. Many of these are welfare recipients, unemployed, under employed, etc. This class of the populace can easily be dealt with by regular law enforcement, or National Guard forces. A Revolt is a totally different situation. A revolt is generally comprised of the very core of Americans with American Values, Sacrifice, Dedication, & Commitment. These are the same values that our military comprises, at least up to now. This kind of individual(s) cannot easily be squished by TPTB. They are also not the kind of people that the military or National Guard will likely fight against. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Group filled with TSA like individuals is another story. Now here is the key thought :: The DHS does not currently have the personnel to be used in a police state clamp down action everywhere in the USA, even though they are trying to build it up. I am assuming that DHS will continue to try to build up their ranks (in the name of national security) with TSA like personnel (these are not high quality individuals for the most part). These are not the kind of people that will stand up and fight for the DHS/Fed Gov’t if the populace has a way to fight back (i.e. armed populace). But these TSA like employees would love to take abusive control when the populace doesn’t have a way to resist, just look at all the stories about airport screener abuses. So with all the guns and ammo sold since the presidential elections of 2008, and the probable mindset that the populace will not give up these weapons no matter what laws get passed, a real dilemma now exists. Thus, TPTB do not want to provoke a revolt, because if that should happen their entire reserve currency empire will likely unravel, and they will most likely be blamed for many of their financial sins and abuses. So if you have thought about buying another weapon for personal protection, go buy it today, and buy enough ammo to go with it..... a lot of it….. and never give it up, no matter what the consequences.
" But these TSA like employees would love to take abusive control when the populace doesn’t have a way to resist"
Like the police...just take a look at the abuse because they are 'empowered' by the very people we put in office. Whatever happpened to peace officers? It's just a paramiliatry group now, you see these guys walking around with AR15s, Glock 22, Tazer guns, shot guns, body armor driving mad max like motor vehicles...500 horsepower behemoths with heavy gauge frames and connected to the net via PC. What happened? Have you noticed now the highway patrol, they pull over a black or hispanic...three cars, dog, all surrounding the vehicle and intimidating the driver. Maybe it's not a race thing, they try to intimidate all the time. And to you cops that read this, yeah, you do it to. You should be ashamed.
In response to your post...you make much sense....I say, would that it were...there will be no revolt and the majority will give up quite easily. You'll see..
A decade or two ago, I might have agreed that most of the populace would give up their guns, and beg for safety, esp in the more liberal states. But this paradigm has changed and is probably reflected in the recent California legislation to register a huge (almost everything) percentage of firearms (& outright ban on some). This legislation was met with silence from the populace in which about 95% (estimated) of Californians just went underground with their “illegal” hardware, i.e. their assault categorized firearms. Now that paradigm exists pretty much all across the USA, & is reflected in the “standing-room-only” sardine packed gun shows across America. People are buying without regard to price. Even women (who formally hated shooting) are participating as they see this necessity to protect their homes, families, and children. I hear folks tell me all the time, “Something has changed”, or “Something Evil is happening”…. no one can quite put their finger on it, but they feel it strongly….. and they are reacting with all sorts or “prepper” actions, including the purchase of a firearm.
I pray you are right...just thing about all the blowback and hand wringing that occurs when people talk about going against the government, or 'breaking the law'. For Christ's sake, overwhelming majorities of Americans are OK with being monitored every single day of their lives, being filmed every where they go. Tell me they won't lay down...I tell you, they will.
The majority has either been mind numbed into believe what the television tells them or just don't know, don't remember. Don't' forget, our students are told on probably a daily basis that Mao and Stalin and Castro were great people...ignore the close to 200 million killed under their regimes. Che Guevera is a swell guy, we got his shirt, and he's on a hat, a man 'of the people'...how's about all the people he viciously murdered. And, this Obama, he is the same type of trash...he'll do whatever to get his way now that he's been emboldened by being re-elected, you'll see. The UN small arms gun ban, Agenda 21, it's all coming....
Please read -- something that thus far isn't widely reported (and we know why that is). Sadly, while the Oregon mall shooter likely retreated when a CCW carrying shopper pulled on him - the shopper felt he couldn't shoot (didn't want to hurt anyone else):
CCW carrier pulled weapon on mall shooter - may have been reason shooter retreated:
http://www.kgw.com/news/Clackamas-man-armed-confronts-mall-shooter-18359...
Unfortunately we will never know if the on site CCW holder was a deterent at that traject event..... but he probably was.... but the TV MSM will never report this, because it would be SO CONTRARY to their agenda.....
Interesting that when I linked to the WSJ article on calls for gun control in Frontrunning:December 17, I got the entire article dsiplayed for me, but when I clicked on the WSJ article titled, "Introducing the Stock Trader of the future", I got the first paragraph with a message that if I wanted to read on I would need to subscribe.
Conclusion: The powers that be at WSJ want everyone to to be able read about calls for greater gun control.
Balanced journalism? You tell me.
What about the link of SSRI and SNRI drugs to violent behavior and actual shootings? Maybe a call for banning those drugs would add some balance to things.
They're a subscription based service...they let you read one article but not the whole hting.
Because they're information is so valuable that it must be sold rather than given away???
the stupid burns in you.
I love you too!
Your tracking data shows you're in the market for SSRIs to buy, so you get to see things like that.
I just keep getting free views of flower shows...
Police drone crashes into its own SWAT team.
http://www.alternet.org/doh-police-drone-crashes-police-swat-team
Oh, the irony!
Thanks for the link. Sweet little story.
I don't have any problem with people purchasing guns for self defense or sport but Assault Weapon ownership must be outlawed.