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It could be good...it really could

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Have you read the Phillip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' Trilogy ? If so, isn't it unreal? If not - WHAT ARE YOU THINKING - get ye to a library/book-selling emporium immediately! I'm actually serious. It may be pitched as young adult fiction (even though there are many who think this is not the case), but (at the risk of being howled down) it is honestly one of the most beautifully created fantasy worlds since the Lord of the Rings - and I don't even LIKE fantasy. This mildly hysterical outburst has been brought to you by the fact that the books have been turned into films and the first official trailer for the first film "The Golden Compass" has JUST been released. Quietly - I'm excited. Really very excited. Some may even say pumped. Now I try to keep these things a little under wraps. The last film I got this excited about was Happy Feet and that let me down in any number of ways, but this one has real promise. Starring an unknown young actor ...
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How I stopped worrying and learned to love the Polls

I am trying very hard at the moment not to be optimistic about the election. As I've mentioned previously , I'm convinced that if I get my hopes up they'll inevitably be crushed like a bug. But I've been thinking a little about this approach and while the lid is not yet off, I think those of us who have suffered under John Howard for the past 11 years have every right to enjoy ourselves at the moment. Look at it this way. If one stays pessimistic about the whole thing, convinced a disaster is on the horizon and the Libs win, well - it's not really going to make us feel any better about things. If it happens, it will be a disaster whether we prepared in advance or not. On the other hand, things have been going so delightfully of late (Exhibit A: Tony Abbott's meltdown yesterday ), that I think we should just enjoy the ride. It's a bit like jumping out of a plane - once you're out you may as well enjoy yourself because either your parachute will ope...
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Another US school shooting

Yet another shooting spree in a US school. "A gunman in the US shot five people today, killing two of them, in a rampage through two houses and an elementary school in Vermont that ended when he wounded himself, police said." This is why, according to the NRA , private citizens need to be armed. Between 2 February 1996 and 8 November 2005 alone, there were 40 instances of school shootings in the US. It appears to be a serious problem. When these shootings occur, how often do we hear that the siege ends when the perpetrator turns the gun on them self, or that they were disarmed by police? And how often do you hear of private citizens coming to the rescue with their NRA approved weapons? Of course I don't have these figures at my disposal, but I feel fairly confident in arguing that far more damage has been done by those who own firearms and choose to go on rampages through schools than lives saved by self-appointed civilian militias. Surely the only way forward is to...
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