Lone Wolves in the USA (new title)

[carl]

lack of familiarity with firearms among kids and an appreciation for the damage they can do...are far greater issues.

That is a very good observation. I read somewhere once (I wish I could find the ref) that kids who have had some kind of formal firearms training, and it doesn't have to be very extensive, are far less likely to abuse firearms, even in the criminal sense.

[jmm99]

All modern bullets have a tendency to "tumble" (yaw) when impacting something that will deflect them. The .303 British (which is very similar to the 30-06) had more yaw tendency because its lead base was relatively heavier than most comparable bullets. E.g., the difference in handling of a rear engine - rear drive vehicle vice a front engine - front drive vehicle. Basic Wiki stuff: Ballistic trauma and Yaw (rotation).

Regards

Mike

[Kiwigrunt]

I think the silly myths regarding evil military projectiles may have started with the dum-dum nonsense. And the myths just won’t die.

The evilness of the 5.56 can perhaps be seen as America’s own equivalent to the dum dum myth.

Here is another excellent write-up about dum-dum bullets, with some other interesting links on that page, some of which may help to highlight the (historical) contrast regarding gun culture in the UK versus US.

[davidbfpo]

A short FP article by Dr. Jeffrey Simon, I assume prompted by the Boston bombing and this passage caught my attention - citing their creativity:

What makes lone wolves so dangerous is their ability to think outside the box. Since they operate by themselves, there is no group pressure or decision-making process that might stifle creativity. Lone wolves are free to act upon any scenario they can dream up. This freedom has resulted in some of the most imaginative terrorist attacks in history. For example, lone wolves were responsible for the first vehicle bombing (1920), major midair plane bombing (1955), hijacking (1961), and product tampering (1982), as well as the anthrax letter attacks in the United States (2001).

Link:http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article..._one?page=full and the author's website:http://www.futureterrorism.com/

[TV-PressPass]

Arg! I'm a member of Foreign Affairs but not Foreign Policy!

Looks like an interesting article. But content behind a paygate makes me sad

[davidbfpo]

I don't think this has been caught before:

The School Shooter:A Threat Assessment Perspective

A FBI document, no clear publication date, but it refers to a 1999 SME conference and was Tweeted just after the Santa Barbara murders:http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/pu...school-shooter

[AdamG]

A footnote on Boston:

Pols convinced Boston Marathon bombers received training and inspiration abroad

: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz331MRqCEa