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Friday, May 24, 2013

The Wiki Weapons Project


Written by: Bradley Kern
 
Imagine being able to print anything you can design in full 3-dimensions, right from your computer. What would you design? A ball? A bag? A case? A toy car? What about a full functional gun? Well, that is exactly what Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed, did. He has started a project called “The Wiki Weapons Project”, which states is “a nonprofit effort to create freely available plans for 3D printable guns”. The gun is called the “Liberator”, which would have been the first 3D printed gun of many. Recently the U.S Government, specifically the Department of Defense Trade Controls, has had him remove his 3-D blueprints, a little 100,000+ downloads later. The blueprints have already been passed around, many uploading the blueprints to sites such as Pirate Bay, where anyone can download it, including those who do not live in the U.S and may not have the right to own a gun. Thousands now have the blueprints to his gun, many of which don’t even have a 3-D printer in the first place. What worried many people with this gun is that it is untraceable, making it harder to find if someone printed and shot the gun.






Many things went wrong with this project. Since the gun was digitally downloaded through the web, anyone around the world could have downloaded the blueprint. This violates the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which only allows the trade of defense and military weapons if the Department of State allows it. Since it was made of plastic, the gun violated the Undetectable Firearm Act, which states that all firearms must be recognizable by metal detectors. However, the files are now everywhere, sites like the Pirate Bay now host the blueprint files, over 100,000+ people have downloaded the file. Many people both praise and criticize the company. They have not be endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), though they have been endorsed by the Gun Owners of America (GOA). Those who criticize it say that they are endangering the public, even putting Cody Wilson on Wired’s most dangerous people list. Rep. Steve Israel wants a ban of the Wiki Weapon project and a renewal of the Undetectable Firearm Act. One thing to consider with the Wiki Weapon project however, is how expensive and tedious it is. First you have to buy a 3-D printer, some of which cost from $1500, to $80,000, the $80,000 one being industrial size, while the $1500 is for smaller uses. Then buy the special plastic cartridge used for 3-D printing, which is going to cost you another $50 per cartridge. Not to mention the fact that it takes hours, to even days before the printing is even done. It would be less time consuming to just go and purchase an actual gun.



What this sheds light on is the future of 3-D printing and what we can and cannot print. The 2nd amendment gives us the right to own and produce guns (Guns cannot be made of imported parts though), but can we do will still get that right if plastic is untraceable. How long before 3-D printing becomes cheaper, and anyone who is smart enough to design their own weapon, prints one. His files are out there, and if he can create a 3-D printed gun, someone will surely improve off of this. Keep in mind, I’m all for 3-D printing. I think this is incredible, the fact he was able to 3-D print a gun, but what happens when bad people get untraceable guns. What Cody did was show us that we need to evolve with today’s technology; it also brings many questions to the table. How are we going to adapt to the changing technological advances around us? Are we going to regulate what can and cannot be 3-D printed? Is 3-D printing itself going to be government ran and funded, or are we still going to leave it to the companies and the people? Not everything in 3-D printing is centered around guns, right now they are working on 3-D printing functional organs, and have succeed with the first functional 3-D printed bionic ear. 3-D printing has other features besides being a local gun manufacture.




In the end, it is all going to come down to what our government can and cannot restrict, and what we will let them restrict. 3-D printing is becoming a larger industry every day, and this event is pushing us to see what technology today is capable of doing, and what people are capable of doing with that technology. Do I believe that 3-D printed guns are going to “alter the U.S government system”? No, but I do believe that it will become immensely popular when everyone can get a hold of it, and what people will create will become argued about even more as time goes on.

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Thursday, May 9, 2013

Gun Control

Written by: Truman R. Katula   

The Obama style gun control has been in debate for some time now after the Sandy Hook shootings and other tragic shootings.  I think the gun plan will not change the violent crimes committed in our country. Where does the rest of the youth think our great nation is headed?

    I have personal worries about the leadership of this country.  The government is meant to be led by our country’s people, not the other way around.  Right now, the constitution our country has been built on this entire country’s life is at risk.  We were given personal  rights for reason’s, and i fear our government believes these rights hold too much power. According to a poll taken by Harvard University, “Just one in four younger Americans believe the nation is headed in the right direction, and a majority of so-called Millennials disapprove of President Obama's gun control initiatives”.  

    With tragedies such as the Sandy Hook shootings, and shootings close to home like the Azana Spa Shooting, or the Sikh Temple shooting, you would think the young adults of this nation would lean with Obama’s gun control policies.  There was an even split on the poll of 37% for the NRA and 38% against it. There aren’t guns in the people’s houses to cause crazy shootings and tragic murders.  The guns can be used for this, but that doesn’t mean everyone will do it. and what happens if these shootings do happen, who can protect themselves? The youth aren’t the only ones disagreeing with Obama’s gun control plan.

    A National survey found that the majority of law officers disagree with Obama’s plan and say, “a federal ban on assault weapons would not reduce the risk of violent crime”.  “The American people, and particularly the members of law enforcement, want politicians in Washington to stop pursuing a failed political agenda and get to work fixing our broken mental health system, improving school security and getting criminals off the streets,” said Chris Cox, head of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action.  Raising gun control policies cannot eliminate guns or the ability to get guns.  This would just mean less innocent people have the ability to protect themselves that wish to do harm with the weapons they have through the black market.




Works cited




Immigration Reform



By: Kayla Vitalbo

Ever since we became a nation we have been known as the land of the free and have been attracting immigrants from all over the world, and even in modern times there is no exception for this attraction. There has been talk about a reform in the immigration system, which would consist of granting visas to foreign entrepreneurs looking to start businesses in the U.S. and those looking to attend college and attain a degree in the science or math field and stay in the country after graduation. The President is all for reforming the immigration system, and he believes that “[W]e’ve got to bring our legal immigration system into the 21st century… if you are a citizen, you shouldn’t have to wait years before your family is able to join you in America... If you’re a foreign student who wants to pursue a career in science or technology, or a foreign entrepreneur who wants to start a business with the backing of American investors, we should help you do that here. Because if you succeed, you’ll create American businesses and American jobs. You’ll help us grow our economy. You’ll help us strengthen our middle class.” Not only could this reform create more jobs in our economy with our unemployment rate at 7.5% (which should be between 4-6% to be at full employment), but with all of the baby boomers retiring and needing more funds for social security, there is nothing but positive outcomes from this reform.

The idea is very liberal because of the idea of equality among everyone, and the conservatives believe that the program already is too costly given our current national debt. The idea itself though could potentially reduce the deficit and help out our economy. Sure we will need to accommodate for more citizens and there will be an increase in demand, but with this government spending we could potentially create more jobs, and with more jobs there would be more income taxes for FICA (social security and medicare) to provide for the baby boomers retiring soon. The chart below emphasizes the need for more money for social security. Our nation is already running low on funds for social security which was why they increased the income tax for social security to 6.2%, and if we don’t find another source of money to provide for those who have retired, we will run out by the time we retire. It is very important for the income for social security income to increase, and by passing this immigration reform we could use the income from the new citizens to help provide for social security.


            Our government has been working so hard to control the border and keep illegal immigrants out. There are arguments that more crimes could be taken into our country, but if we were to make these immigrants citizens, they would be treated as such and the necessary measures would be taken to account for these crimes. Our nation has been trying to emphasize the diverseness within, and what better way than to better than economy while making the country more diverse.


Works Cited

" National Employment Monthly Update."NCSL Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2013. <http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/labor/national-employment-monthly-update.aspx>.

"Streamlining Legal Immigration | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2013. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/streamlining-immigration>.

Werner, Erica. "Study: Immigration bill would help Social Security - News - Boston.com." Boston.com - Boston, MA news, breaking news, sports, video. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2013. <http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2013/05/08/study-immigration-bill-would-help-social-security/ylynxmSxGYMpzURAJqXgzH/story.html>.

"What Happens to Workers Who Drop Out of the Labor Force? | Sober Look | FINANCIAL SENSE ." FINANCIAL SENSE | Applying Common Sense to the Markets. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2013. <http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/sober-look/what-happens-to-workers-who-drop-out-of-labor-force>.