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Julian Price (13,305)
Julian Price
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Gun Crime: Will Senseless Shootings Remain Inevitable While Firearms Remain So Available

Posted Saturday, November 21, 2009 (1 hour 20 minutes ago.) Viewed 11 times.

With yet another recent spate of shootings in the USA and gun crime generally on the rise the world over, the same old questions, the same old arguments and counter arguments and the same old answers come bubbling to the surface once more.

Let us just for a moment, perhaps, try to avoid falling into the usual squabbles that result from such heated and passionate debate and the mud slinging that occurs as soon as nationality and geographical location are introduced. The tragedy of gun crime and the shattered lives that result could happen to any of us, at any time. No one country is entirely immune, as it only takes a solitary moment of madness, a single act of intended evil or a completely random accident for a trigger to be pulled and a life to be lost.

So, in the interest of a fair and balanced viewpoint, let's get really basic. What is a gun? Some will say it's nothing more than a weapon of evil that can cause nothing but heartache and suffering. Others will claim a gun can be used merely as an implement of self defence or self preservation and others still will offer that a gun can be used simply as an ornament on display.

Perhaps all views are correct in some way, but what is a gun really designed for in its concept? Is it not its main purpose to be loaded with a bullet or ammunition of some kind, aimed at a target (whether it is animal, vegetable or mineral) and fired with the intention of destroying or at least hitting the intended target? In operation at least, at gun's sole purpose is to cause damage, even if it's simply to a red bulls eye a few hundred yards away.

We live in violent world filled with many who are prepared and willing to cause harm to others through the use of violent acts and others who will snap in outbursts of anger and rage. These are unfortunate, basic facts and if guns and weapons of mass destruction were eradicated altogether, humanity would still have a violent and malicious streak, but if a choice had to be made would we rather that the unhinged youth intent on causing harm went on the rampage in our children's schools with a baseball bat (because that's all they could get their hands on) or with a bag full of automatic and semi automatic weapons? Is the scale of the weaponry directly increasing the scale of the tragedy?

Perhaps technology is as much our worlds undoing as it is its crowning glory. Weapons are intentionally created and manufactured with increasing levels of destructive power. We hold our heads in dismay when another high speed motor accident leaves a young family dead and wonder why a driver would be travelling at over a hundred mph! The simple answer is, because they can. The vehicles have been manufactured, despite all the laws of our lands demanding we travel below a certain speed limit, with the potential to do speeds of more than double that legal limit.

Humanity is its own worst enemy, both in the tools it creates with such violent potential and the using of them so arrogantly and irresponsibly. So, could guns and other firearms be made less available (if so, how?) and is it that availability that is causing the massive problem in the first place?

Is it logical to suggest that if the vast majority couldn't so readily get hold of a gun when that crisis point arrived, that we would have less gun crime?


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What is Twitter? Relationships in Brief and Celebrity Hang Out:Tweet It already!

Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 (1 day 6 hours ago.) Viewed 76 times.

Would you like to tweet this? I thought I would get that out of the way first, as its fast becoming one of the most common questions asked on the internet. If you have posted an article, a blog or anything for the matter, on the World Wide Web in the last 12 months or so it will have been a miracle of some magnitude, if you have not been asked in some way if you would like to "tweet" it!

Unless something even bigger (or perhaps shorter is more accurate) comes along soon, it won't be long until most of us are well versed and immersed into the world of the little blue bird which represents all things Twitter. The bird itself is perhaps a branding logo bigger than anything than has gone before.

Why has Twitter become so huge? Perhaps the mass of celebrities ( Britney Spears, Demi Moore and Stephen Fry to name just a few) that have embraced and then endorsed the Twitter community was a deal sealer? Some of the biggest names from the world of movies, music, sport, entertainment and even politics have been micro blogging to the world, via twitter. That is some serious Tweetage! High profile news stories and scandals on twitter spread quicker than a pandemic of swine flu ever could!

What are the main functions of Twitter? The humble but potentially ever so powerful Tweet is the bread and butter of the community. To the lay person a "tweet" is simply a message you wish to share with others. It could be as simple as wishing someone a good morning, or you may want to share with others something you have found someplace, a breaking news story for example or even promote your latest business deal. The only catch being you must relay that message in no more than 140 characters. When they say micro blogging, they really mean it!

Your Tweet will then be seen by all who have decided to follow them or visitors to your Twitter page. Then comes the Retweet, and this is really where the Twit hits the fan (or the fans hit your tweet!). A retweet is basically someone saying they love your tweet and that they are going to sing it from the rooftops. Perhaps, that's a bit strong but you get the drift. Once someone has retweeted your tweet, then all of their respective followers get to see it as well, and that could be repeated almost indefinitely if you stumble upon the right network of followers.

So, it's easy to see how Twitter is seeping into the very pores of our modern society, its one great big, gossip greenhouse! (Now there's a good name for a twitter beater! How do I copyright it?)

Now go on, Tweet it already!


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Demi Moore’s Missing Hip Sensation - Who Cares if Twitter and Tweet Queen is Airbrushed?

Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 (2 days 10 hours ago.) Viewed 150 times.

One of the latest celebrity uproars regards a photograph of Twitter favourite and "Ghost" actress Demi Moore on the cover of W' magazine, which appears to have airbrushed her entire left hip away! Come on people! Celebrities both men and women appear on airbrushed magazine covers all the time. What is the fuss all about?

Some say it sends out bad signals and messages to people who look up to and follow celebrities as role models, others wonder how we are meant to love and respect our own bodies the way they were made, when celebs are busy getting chopped to bits by a piece of Photoshop technology in the quest for perfection'.

Fame isn't really a mystery any more and many still clamour and crave it. We have seen and read so many stories about the cost of fame', and modern day celebrities largely know that they are casting themselves into the limelight and putting themselves under intense scrutiny the moment they have their first hit song or their first taste of movie stardom.

Let us not forget though, that we are all responsible for the celebrity culture that now plagues our society. It is us, the non famous people who demand to read about movie stars and rock stars private lives. It is us, the people that criticise and tear apart the very lives that we have demanded be revealed to us and it is us who buy and read the magazines, newspapers and articles. We believe everything that is written, we don't like it and we demand that someone pays the price for an act of behaviour we often pompously disapprove of.

Would a celebrity of lesser stature than Demi Moore have created the same controversy? Doubtful, but at the end of the day it's just a photograph on a magazine cover! What do we do with our own digital photos before we print them off? I am sure many of us have painstakingly inked out any little blemishes that are visible or cut and chopped bits out that we don't like.

Demi Moore (apparently excellent in her latest movie "The Joneses"), along with husband Ashton Kutcher have risen to new heights of popularity thanks to the phenomenal success of Twitter, and Demi now has over two million Twitter followers. Her star is certainly shining very brightly and I am sure she is fully aware of the unwelcome responsibilities that her fame inevitably bestows upon her, and probably doesn't really need a million tweets telling her she has a hip missing; so really, let's move on quickly from this one shall we? Okay, rant over. For now at least!


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Black Friday to Kick Off Walmart Wonderland and White Christmas Shopping Bonanza

Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (3 days 6 hours ago.) Viewed 803 times.

Once the Thanksgiving turkey dinner has settled and all the family gossip and news well and truly exhausted, thoughts will turn to bargain hunting as Black Friday approaches. Will America shake of its financial blues, at least for a day and spend a day jostling down the aisles of Walmart in the hope of unearthing a snappy deal whilst trying not to spill the happy meal!

After many, many months of being afraid of spending anything more than necessary due to the extreme and global financial climate, this Black Friday is expected to be a bumper pay day for retailers, as eager shoppers are already planning their bargain hunting.

What will be the biggest sellers both on Black Friday and during the run up to Christmas? Video games are going to fly off the shelves, with some of the major consoles, such as the Xbox360 having recent price slashes. Modern Warfare 2 is likely to remain a top seller until Christmas and far beyond and Assassins Creed 2 is another video game sequel that is likely to see bumper sales on Black Friday.

The HD era is now well and truly in full swing and High definition or HDTV is likely to see once of its most significant sales periods also. People searching for cheap furniture deals will surely be rewarded as well, as the public try to shake the shackles of recession free and spruce up the home and leave the past couple of years behind.

Why is Black Friday such a shopping bonanza and where did it get its name anyway? Well, apparently the term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia during the 1960's with reference to the extraordinarily high volume of traffic on that day. Of course with it being such a huge shopping day in modern times, with practically all stores opening (and many opening from the early hours) the Black' also refers to retailers making a handsome profit.

Happy Shopping America and Happy Black Friday! Let's hope for a speedy and long lasting recovery from the financial mess that has crippled the world. Keep your eyes peeled for those super sales and don't forget to tell everyone else where you found them! It is the Season to be jolly after all, isn't it?


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