Weapons of mass destruction

Wow I woke up this morning without a feel of dread or foreboding ...maybe I don't have to solve my problem with a firearm or something? What an liberating idea! There is a big brewhaha in the news about North Korea testing a fission device? Though N.Korea could be a terrorist threat if they develop a nuclear weapon and sell these to rogue nations( unfriendly to the U.S).....these we forget that in the United States as we developed nuclear weapons, we didn't hesitate to illustrate our proficiency with these weapons and told the world ,we are not afraid to use them.
Now apparently no nation can escape our eagle eyen as to who's a threat or not if they can develop nuclear weapons.

Then again perhaps the Bush Administration is correct in there assessment of the N.Korean administration, but if you want to talk about weapons of mass destruction, and an potential Arms control problem look at the United States...maybe we ought to look at whats going on in this country first ..

"The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) reported in a national survey that in 1994, 44 million people, approximately 35% of households, owned 192 million firearms, 65 million of which were handguns. Seventy-four percent of those individuals were reported to own more than one firearm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) estimates that as of the end of 1996, approximately 242 million firearms were available for sale to or were possessed by civilians in the United States. That total includes roughly 72 million handguns (mostly pistols, revolvers, and derringers), 76 million rifles, and 64 million shotguns.

Most guns available for sale are produced domestically. In recent years, one to two million handguns were manufactured each year, along with one million rifles and less than one million shotguns. Annual imports are considerably fewer — from 200,000 to 400,000 handguns, 200,000 rifles, and 100,000 to 200,000 shotguns. Retail prices of guns vary widely, from $50 or less for inexpensive, low-caliber handguns to more than $1,500 for high-quality rifles or shotguns. Data are not available on the number of "assault weapons" in private possession or available for sale, but estimates prepared in 1989 by a firearms expert associated with the Smithsonian Institution placed the number of such firearms at that time in the range of one to four million, less than 3% of the number of guns estimated to exist in the civilian market. "

We got guns up are asses here in America and are we any safer for it? You'd think firearms are the only products "still made in America".

These days thought its hard not to get caught up in the hysteria, everyone's living in fear, and we feel the need to get a gun for protection. I'm one of these people also. Just now while writing this tenants in another floor harassing, talking about, "Why won't you punk him?" "Gotta hit him" (talking about the guy in #711 in the Oaks Hotel), now this is just a punk African-American man/child daddy trying to raising kid and a wife (in abentsia) in a 7" by 7" room. I guess I need a gun to defend myself and possibly harm these people?

I caved into the pro-gun lobby a while ago, and brought the cheapest, biggest gun I could find..a shotgun. I brought it for my mothers house and her protection...She got rid of it. I'm kind of sorry she did that, kinda not. Without a fiream she'll have to depend on other people who have firearms to defend her, and alot of the bad guys got firearms and aren't afraid to use them. It use to be in my early days on the internet when I'd argue with people for better gun control in America, indeed the eradication of fire arms in the U.S. I'd argue.."How can you live in a civilized society with all this murder , mayhem and guns". and they argue that "Guns don't kill people , people do". "Outlaw handguns and only outlaws will have hanguns"...and I'd try to say.. 'Hell ain't they the only ones who'll need them", meanwhile even while I was typing that some kid had been murdered, shot down just a block from my house in the 90's.

Thoses were the days, I miss those days when I wasn't really touched by all the violence and craziness thats rampant today. Now yesterday I've been thinking up of constructing my own zipgun, probably won't do it. Difficult to go out to purchase a real handgun but can't afford one right now, even if I did , what would I use it for? Possibly to defend myself against some stupid kid, or possibly in self-defence.
If I do nothing I'll probably end up a statistic somewhere as one Oakland Homicides, but the national statistics on handguns in America are alarming anyway even if you do buy a handgun, you just might be buying your own ticket out as..

In 1999, a total of 28,874 firearm deaths occurred, according to such reports. Of this total, 11,127 were homicides or due to legal intervention; 16,599 were suicides; 824 were unintentional (accidental) shootings; and 324 were of unknown cause.

Wow, a powerful stat, that means that out of the whooping 28,874 firearm related deaths in the U.S in 1999, more than half of the deaths were Suicides, 11,127 were homicides. So at least in 1999 if you brouhgt a firearm you had more than a 50/50 chance of using it on yourself..this is particurly true with white males. This is a good reason to take up my Guitar and continue practicising (though I am not white)..I forgot about that little statistic.

In the end thought, perhaps the Bush Admistration might be right in being critical N.Korea's bid for nuclear hegemony. It maybe just a prescription for N.Korea's destruction..at there own hands, a increase in there own people's misery index.On the Other hand maybe Bush ought to be focussing on the probelms here in America particurlarly with own own weapons of mass destruction.