I didn't think Avian Flu had got to America yet =/. It has definitely spread into Europe and they even found a dead swan with Avian Flu as far as Scotland. While we are talking about diseases, the recent Foot and Mouth outbreaks coupled with the UK's first EVER case of Blue Tounge disease has re-crippled the meat industry =//
War in our current age is probably inevitable. The world is too small to hold all these people and there is going to be friction, if not now in the near future. As for oil, it is one of the most precious commodities around (excluding land). It is needed for medicine, plastics, petrol (obviously >_>), clothing, roads etc. It is a very versatile product that is used in many areas. Of course people are going to fight over it. Even without the petrol need, plastics are used almost universally now. You also forget racial hatred/tension, religious aspects (mentioned by Repliku), stupidity, greed and the unfairness of life itself. Some even go as far as to say that peace is an interlude to war, meaning war is the natural state of the human race.
It is called the crowd mentality. If you are walking down the street alone and you see smoke coming out of a window you would go over to investigate to see if there is a fire. If you are in a crowd of people and no-one else seems to notice you wouldn't do anything. In England a woman was beaten to death with a crowd looking on in a crowded shopping centre. No-one even tried to help. In a crowd you do what you think everyone else wants you to do, in this case everyone else ignored it so you do. This shows AGAIN the severe problem with the mentality in America. Having guns so freely available just makes them seem normal. Guns should NEVER seem normal. They shouldn't be so readily available, people should be educated to their dangers and people should be adequately prosecuted. In a list of school attacks (here) 1 were in the UK, the majority were in the US and involving firearms of some kind. This has to be dealt with, beginning with the legislation. If you start talking about that 2nd Amendment crap, I will actually scream with your ignorance.
Exactly, it is the individual people that cause the problems, not the limit itself. I am fine with it being at 18. If it was 19 all clubs and bars would have to change the age of entry. They would lose business because of it too, even though people would just get in anyway either because of laziness on the bouncers part or with a fake or borrowed ID. The more illegal you make something the more people will try to break the rule. People in general don't like to be told what to do, teenagers especially so. Also many people seem to think that at 18 you aren't mature enough to drink. They obviously aren't that old themselves or watch too much TV. At 18 most people are capable of controlling themselves. If the government trusts you to vote, why can't they trust you to drink? I hate hypocrisy so much -___-
Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK
Don't count your chicken's before they hatch
So many people really don't get it. You have been told/brainwashed that alcohol is a completely bad thing. There are no positives, if you drink it you will be seriously harming your body with every sip. That is a GROSS exaggeration. Yes if you drink excessive amounts of alcohol every week of course you are going to suffer damage. It is the same with everything, too much is bad for you. As for the driving thing, it is not limited to teenagers. Again sensationalised by the media. Teenagers crash because they have just passed their test. If it is cause by drink driving it's because they are an idiot and need to be better educated. People think teenagers are all hormonal idiots -_____-
And don't forget their green arms ;D
Poor Kitty..............going senile in her old age :P *mauled*
I fully agree with this statement. At the age of ten I vowed never to drink alcohol my entire life. Then I did, and it was nice. Some of it is horrible (most beers x.x) but cider is nice. I also found the fact that I could let go was good, I stopped worrying while I was drunk, although that had some rather major consequences x.x Really most people are mature enough at 18, the few who aren't shouldn't ruin it for the rest.
I have been drinking alcohol for about 6 months now (I am 16). The legal age to drink alcohol in a private residence (an owned house basically) under the supervision of a major (i.e. adult) is 5 in the UK. The 18 age limit is for the purchasing of alcohol. It is also legal to drink wine with a meal in a restaurant with an adult from the age of 16. I see nothing wrong with alcohol in moderation. I am pretty sure I drink too much. This would be because there is a house party nearly every weekend now. I get drunk at most of them. Why? It's fun, I'm living my life. I am not going to be told what to do by a nanny state. I know the damage it can do, both physically and mentally (and trust me I've had enough of the mental/emotional damage to know what I'm talking about) but it's part of living.
Lol, k. I don't mind needles anyway x] I would prefer one in the top of my ear and there are other people in my year who are getting away with it.
Would you recommend any specific piercings for a first-timer who goes to a school where they kill over uniform issues >_>;
I think that tounge piercings look pretty good. The only problem I have with them is the difficulties eating which obviously come with it. I think it's awesome when someones talking to you and you can't concentrate on what they are saying because of what they have in their mouth :P. Unfortunately my school doesn't allow them, but my work does because they can't see them ^^. My dad will also not allow me to get one -____-. I also think that piercings through the top of the ear look good. As they are on the ear they are also socially acceptable (unless you just hate piercings). My dad says I could get that if I wanted it, but again at work if I want to get my ears pierced I have to get both lobes pierced and wear studs in both x.x
I just remembered a saying, those in politics are the ones least suited to lead. Many people go into politics with good intentions. They want to change the world and make a difference. They want to make the world safer and fairer. But when they actually get into the race, they see nothing is what they thought. They get caught up in the corruption and stagnation that is in EVERY government around the world. Is it true that some of the senators are there by birth? That tradition has even been removed from the House of Lords in the UK (or is on the way out). People should earn their position for who they are, not by who their parents were (nepotism much?).
Repliku raised the point of the baby-boomers. As he said they were born in the period immediately following the war. They are all retiring around now dramatically dropping the number of people in work meaning that pensions are going up so taxes will have to go up accordingly. When they reach the end of their life-spans there will not be anywhere near enough people to replace them. Birth rates since the baby-boomer period have dropped and in some places the population is hardly growing at all. It is all about cycles, every country goes through them at some point. It's built into the cycle of the economy, primary then secondary then tertiary. EDIT: I spelt pensions wrong ><
It's all part of business. They have to get new products out by a deadline and before rivals. They need the money. So they release the system when it's useable but still has bugs. In this time people report bugs and they test it themselves and build up a Service Pack 2 to patch the original operating system.
Lol, lazy staff..............*shot*
I think you should read up on the Fermi Paradox, you should find it interesting ^^ Yes, the chance of there not being another inhabitable planet in the universe is so remote there is more chance of me suffering a Total Existance Failure *disappears* ugh -____-.
The first thing I looked for :P
