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The Saudi-Oil Attacks Aren’t Game-Changing. They Show How the Game Has Changed (C. Anthony Pfaff, Defense One)
International norms and laws on proxy warfare encourage bad behavior. It’s time to change that.

Grim Lessons Learned and Warnings from California Fire Stories (Jeffrey Mize, The Columbian)
“As good as all the planning was, it was totally overwhelmed by the events of Nov. 8,” Paradise Mayor Jody Jones said during Tuesday’s meeting of transportation commissions from Washington, Oregon and California at Skamania Lodge.

Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek. (Governing)
Hundreds of computer servers worldwide that store patient X-rays and MRIs are so insecure that anyone with a web browser or a few lines of computer code can view patient records. One expert warned about it for years.

The Intel Community Wants to ID People from Hundreds of Yards Away (Jack Corrigan, Defense One)
Face recognition alone isn’t good enough, so a new IARPA program is looking to combine multiple biometric indicators to get good matches.

‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws May Be Causing More Harm Than Good (Andrew R. Morral and Rosanna Smart, RAND)
The trial of Michael Drejka that ended with his conviction on manslaughter charges once again brought national attention to Florida’s “stand your ground” law. This law, the model for laws in 32 other states, lowers the bar for using deadly force in a confrontation. Prior to these laws, use of deadly force could be justified only if a person reasonably believed themselves at imminent risk of injury or death, with no safe way of retreating from the confrontation. “Stand your ground” laws removed this duty to retreat.
Proponents of “stand your ground” laws argue they reduce barriers that prevent victims from exercising the right to defend themselves. Citizens had already possessed a right to “meet force with force” without retreating when threatened in their homes (a law referred to as the “Castle Doctrine”). “Stand your ground” laws extended that right to other locations. Proponents argue that expansion of the Castle Doctrine would deter would-be criminals.
Despite laws like Florida’s having been around for a quarter-century, we have little research on whether “stand your ground” laws actually prevent criminal violence as proponents suggest, or exacerbate it, as opponents believe.
What little research exists suggests opponents of these laws may be right. Opponents—who refer to them as “shoot first” laws—fear they encourage impulsive and illegitimate uses of deadly force, like Michael Drejka’s killing of the unarmed Markeis McGlockton during a quarrel about a parking spot.

Russian Spies in the U.S. Collected Encrypted FBI Radio Traffic in Huge Operation, but Did They Crack It? (NBC News)
They may not have cracked the codes, but Russian agents gained insight into the activities of secret FBI teams tracking Russian operatives in the U.S.