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Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

reuters.com

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Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#311

Post by tim333 »

pjkundert wrote: post #162
lutoma wrote: post #102

Honest question: How is this relevant to Hacker News? As a non-American i was rather bewildered to find this here. Is there a serious overlap between gun enthusiasts and the IT community in the US?

There is a large overlap between any serious engineering discipline and firearms enthusiasts. The engineering and physics involved in building/tuning guns and shooting accurately is very interesting. Furthermore, the "renegade" spirit required to reject the status-quo and push the envelope in science and engineering attracts quite a few of the same types of people. Finally, the idea of "banning" guns -- which every b…

>the idea of "banning" guns... preposterous...

As a Brit, our gun controls work quite well. It basically means the idiot down the pub is not allowed to have a rifle/pistol. It's not like they cease to exist - we're still the world's #2 arms exporter.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#312

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

black6 wrote: post #284
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Western democracy wouldn't exist without citizens who were armed to the teeth. Citation needed. I can't think of any good examples, except maybe for the Revolutionary French "Sans-culottes", who, as the name suggests, were _famously_ well-equipped.

Carroll Quigley makes a convincing argument early in Tragedy and Hope that democratic governments tend to replace authoritarian governments when "amateur weapons" (e.g. rifled musket and pistols of the 19th century) are the pinnacle of weapons technology and the standard of living is high enough for the citizens to readily purchase those weapons, and vice versa when "specialist weapons" (e.g. tanks and airplanes of t…

> when "specialist weapons" (e.g. tanks and airplanes of the 20th century) become the pinnacle of weapons tech.

I will certainly agree with that, in the sense that the idea that armed civilians (even if they have some automatic assault rifles) posing an internal threat to a modern, well equipped military; is laughable, and is likely advanced for disingenuous propaganda purposes.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#313

Post by nicoburns »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #226
nicoburns wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern America is an anomaly in a different sense: AFAIK it's the only country with a constitution that guarantees the right to bear arms.

The other countries haven't become provinces of other less Democratic countries thanks to America's protection.

Other countries still have armies and soldiers without having armed civilian populations. And America could do this too if they wanted to.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#314

Post by nickthemagicman »

nicoburns wrote: post #313
nickthemagicman wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other countries haven't become provinces of other less Democratic countries thanks to America's protection.

Other countries still have armies and soldiers without having armed civilian populations. And America could do this too if they wanted to.

So you want one group of people to use guns to stop another group of people from having guns. Interesting.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#316

Post by nickthemagicman »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #278
EdwardCoffin wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this one is hard to answer because it is hard to know whether the armed-to-the-teeth aspect was essential. I'm more interested in the list of countries that prevented their downfall despite their civilians not being armed to the teeth.

No one cares what you think. Do the research yourself and let us know. We're not your interns.

I just read this comment and I'm horrified that I posted this. I don't even remember writing it. I had way too much sake at dinner. It really truly sneaks up on you. Sincere apologies for the rudeness.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#317

Post by nickthemagicman »

Bakary wrote: post #243
nickthemagicman wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've all grown so comfortable in modern America that we forget that default state of human nature is subjugation and repression and has been for thousands of years. Modern America is a historical anomaly. The powerful aren't peaceful by choice. It's the SECOND amendment in the constitution for a reason.

The number of prisoners per capita in the US is indeed an impressive anomaly

The number of laws that can put you in prison in America is an impressive anomaly as well.

There was a commission from he government to find out how many laws existed in America and after years of looking into it they gave up and the final conclusion was that no one knows.

Everyone looks to the government to solve their problems instead of solving it themselves.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#318

Post by AlgorithmicTime »

ashtonkem wrote: post #252
soneil wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe gun ownership in Switzerland is very closely tied to compulsory military service. It's very much an outlier as statistics go - issuing every adult male a rifle isn't so much a gun culture as a military strategy. (Czechia does has a strong civilian ownership, however)

Finland also has a lot of guns, about 1.5mil out of a population of 5.5mil. Compare this to the 57,000 registered guns among New Jersey’s 8.8mil residents. It’s not just military service, even if that explains Switzerland specifically. Europe is a more diverse place ideologically and socially than most Americans tend to imagine it. The place is bigger and more complex than just Paris or Berlin, just like how America…

That NJ number is misleading, as you're not actually required to register guns in NJ. I am quite sure there are far more than 57k guns in NJ, as you can watch the NJ NICS updates daily and it's been like "1500 in the queue, 2500 in the queue" every day for the past 11 months.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#319

Post by AlgorithmicTime »

blisterpeanuts wrote: post #134
throwawaysea wrote: post #98

Can someone more familiar with this world explain where the law ended up on building your own guns? I recall a controversy around whether you can even share open source 3D printing plans (which to me felt like a violation of the first amendment) but leaving that aside, I've also heard that it is possible to do so using more traditional methods.

I have a memory that around 10 years ago, Australia banned the very act of downloading and possessing 3-D files to make firearms. Theoretically, if your computer is seized and found to contain the SolidWorks files to make a Ruger, for example, you can be prosecuted. However I don't know that this was enacted into national law or later struck down. A man in Queensland was given a suspended sentence for printing parts…

Most effective "plastic" guns still use a significant amount of metal for pressure bearing parts. E.g. the barrel, the bolt, etc.

Re: Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal

#320

Post by nicoburns »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #314
nicoburns wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other countries still have armies and soldiers without having armed civilian populations. And America could do this too if they wanted to.

So you want one group of people to use guns to stop another group of people from having guns. Interesting.

Actually, I live in the UK. Here the police are mostly not armed, and still manage to prevent other people from having guns. But yes, in principle I'm perfectly happy with the setup where one specialised group holds the power of military force
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