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Hit men aren't what you think

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21–30 of 311 posts

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#21

This is an interview with someone presented as some type of expert that obviously is not an expert. 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill. 2) the CEO was at a conference. It's not surprising that this person "knew he would be there", it's interesting that this interviewee stresses this point like it is some big one to be made. The CEO…

No need for speculations, literally any theory may be a valid one and we simply don't know. Agree re that silencers, they are trivial to make if one has some basic skills and equipment, the problem is usage - you can't use them anywhere where folks may ask questions. Don't mean for hits obviously but some training with silencers is required to wield them well. But maybe in rural US nobody bats an eye, hard to say from across the pond.

But if I have to speculate (who doesn't love that) - could have been a disgruntled veteran. Most of them have some serious health issues, and imagining situation where he isn't treated anymore but feels he should have been isn't that hard for such bad public healthcare system as US has. Or hardcore NRA member with same motivation. On youtube some gunsmith videos go up to (tens of) millions of views.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#22
post #7

The shooter used a rare weapon with an integrated suppressor (or "Silencer" as the article indicates). A British made station six 9. I wonder if that will be the focus of investigators, since its an highly unusual weapon.

That may make the video of the killing make more sense, given the action of the weapon.

Here is a video of someone firing it (not the killing):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKei5sySmB0&t=503s

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#23
post #7

The shooter used a rare weapon with an integrated suppressor (or "Silencer" as the article indicates). A British made station six 9. I wonder if that will be the focus of investigators, since its an highly unusual weapon.

There is an absolute zero chance that he used a B&T Station 6. The media, as usual, is 100% wrong.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#24

This is an interview with someone presented as some type of expert that obviously is not an expert. 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill. 2) the CEO was at a conference. It's not surprising that this person "knew he would be there", it's interesting that this interviewee stresses this point like it is some big one to be made. The CEO…

[deleted]

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#25

This is an interview with someone presented as some type of expert that obviously is not an expert. 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill. 2) the CEO was at a conference. It's not surprising that this person "knew he would be there", it's interesting that this interviewee stresses this point like it is some big one to be made. The CEO…

> 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill.

As you can to construct an entire gun, if you want a crude option. But this isn’t Japan. Obtaining a commercial silencer doesn’t require someone to smuggle them through international customs, just across state lines. They’re harder to get than a handgun, but not hard enough to get that a determined and capable assassin couldn’t get.

I think the point was, they’re hard enough to get that common street criminals don’t use them. They’re not something a criminal can just have their girlfriend straw-purchase from the local sporting goods store.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#26
post #15

From my understanding, hitmen in general are not what you see in movies or video games. Many of them are just everyday criminals that are willing to take on the job of murdering someone for shockingly low amounts of money. I'm sure there are higher end and higher cost options, but I don't think every hitman out there is going to be as put together as the villain from a Bond or Bourne movie.

Bourne was a hit man.

Bourne is fictional.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#27

[flagged]

This phrase: "responsible for so many deaths" is doing a lot of work in your post. What is your theory of responsibility? Is it legal or ethical, and if it is the latter (as I would suspect), what framework and criteria is it evaluated under?

The answer is easy for a serial killer (obviously responsible for willful murder), a little more difficult for a soldier in war (directly responsible, but perhaps defending themselves and/or under orders), even tougher for a surgeon (maybe they could have been better at their job), and very difficult indeed for an insurance executive.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#28
post #15

From my understanding, hitmen in general are not what you see in movies or video games. Many of them are just everyday criminals that are willing to take on the job of murdering someone for shockingly low amounts of money. I'm sure there are higher end and higher cost options, but I don't think every hitman out there is going to be as put together as the villain from a Bond or Bourne movie.

Bourne was a hit man.

Well, technically "was". The entire trilogy happens because he stops being one.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#29
post #21

This is an interview with someone presented as some type of expert that obviously is not an expert. 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill. 2) the CEO was at a conference. It's not surprising that this person "knew he would be there", it's interesting that this interviewee stresses this point like it is some big one to be made. The CEO…

No need for speculations, literally any theory may be a valid one and we simply don't know. Agree re that silencers, they are trivial to make if one has some basic skills and equipment, the problem is usage - you can't use them anywhere where folks may ask questions. Don't mean for hits obviously but some training with silencers is required to wield them well. But maybe in rural US nobody bats an eye, hard to say fro…

Except that the VA health insurance is unironically one of the better options in the US.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#30
post #27

[flagged]

This phrase: "responsible for so many deaths" is doing a lot of work in your post. What is your theory of responsibility? Is it legal or ethical, and if it is the latter (as I would suspect), what framework and criteria is it evaluated under? The answer is easy for a serial killer (obviously responsible for willful murder), a little more difficult for a soldier in war (directly responsible, but perhaps defending them…

You know why I don't work for a trapping and pest control company? Because structurally they kill animals. They go around with tools of destruction and end the lives of animals. Its the function of their existence.

Do you know why I don't work for a _for profit_ health insurance company, who's stated goals are explicitly to make profit by slicing out some amount of premiums that are not spent to provide healthcare in a world in which total health expenditures can be* effectively infinite? Same reason.

Also this tends to do it for me: https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/ai-with-90-error-rate...

Do CEOs run companies or don't they?

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