Why Do Young People Join Gangs?

Contrary to popular belief, gangs are not merely an “inner city problem.” Gangs exist across all racial, cultural, and geographical divides. The problem of “gangs” should not be viewed as limited to one specific area or demographic. Instead, gangs should be viewed as a national problem, which affects us all.

It’s all too easy to write gang members off as sociopathic criminals who are past the point of no return— seemingly beyond salvation. This outlook is certainly understandable. Gangs wreak havoc on neighborhoods, terrify citizens, and perpetuate crimes which are beyond comprehension to the average person. The crimes that gang members commit are so horrible, many of us forget one very important fact about the people who join gangs—they’re kids.

Why would a teenager who is full of possibility, with their whole life in front of them, choose to lead a life a crime and destruction? The future of a gang member has little to offer: prison, death, paralysis, and drug addictions are what gang members have to look forward to, and from speaking with them, they know it. Gang members are not naive about the life they have chosen for themselves, and usually they know exactly where they’re going to end up. So why then do they do it?

Airport Delays And Computer Glitches: What The Government Will Not Tell You

By: Bill Knell

The Beatles released a song called Fool on the Hill in the late 1960s. Music journalists at that time said that the British rock group wrote the song after being disillusioned by the shaman of a religious sect. The Fab Four traveled all the way to India to meet a man they were told was very spiritual, hoping he had the answers to what they were religiously seeking. Instead, they found a cult leader that isolated himself from the world while enjoying the fruits of his female followers. It was alleged that he tried to proposition one or more of the female members of their entourage which included wives and girl friends.

The Fool on the Hill seems to envision a person with access to everything that sees nothing. What he does see, he doesn’t bother to try and understand. Have we become the fools on the hill when it comes to what is happening around us? I think many of us have and that’s what the government counts on to keep information from us that they deem as too sensitive for public consumption. That may be the real explanation for a series of bizarre events that have occurred over the decade. These events may involve Alien life forms.

French government unmoved by massive march against gay marriage

French gov't unmoved by massive march against gay marriage (via AFP)

France's ruling Socialists refused to back down on Monday, a day after hundreds of thousands marched against plans to legalise gay marriage and adoption, and as opposition politicians stepped up calls for a referendum on the issue. Despite the massive turn-out in Paris -- 800,000 according to organisers…

Obesity and Businesses: How They Relate [Infographic]

One may question how businesses can possibly relate to the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States. The United States has the second highest obesity rate in the world, following directly behind Mexico, with 2 out of 3 adult individuals considered obese. With the obesity on the rise, health and medical related issues are on the rise as well. Obese individuals tend to have more health problems, which mean they are visiting the doctor and hospital far more frequently than the average person.

Medical-related businesses are booming as obesity continues to increase around the country. However, there are other businesses that seem to be doing well because of this issue. Billions of dollars are being spent in plus-sized clothing stores each year, and that amount is expected to rise if the obesity trends continue. Millions of people in the United States are also currently dieting because they are not happy with their weight, which means businesses producing diet products are also doing exceptionally well.

Dirty Jobs and Money - or Lack of It [Infographic]

You probably think of people who are employed as estheticians in salons or spas as having clean jobs, but the reality is quite different. They routinely poke and prod at blackheads and whiteheads on other people's faces, and their compensation only averages about $38,000 per year. They are constantly falling ill due to contracting viruses from their clientele. On the other hand, working as an esthetician is preferable to being employed in a slaughterhouse. 

Slaughterhouse workers only average about $14,000 per year, which is well below the national poverty line. Spending the day disemboweling animals would be bad enough without being so poor that they you have to to hit up the local food pantry on your days off.

The dirty job that pays the most is that of the geriatric nurse. Although this is much more preferable than working in a slaughterhouse, geriatric nurses only bring home about $60,783 per year. 

Japanese Government Funding Cuts Could End ‘Research’ Whaling

English: Japanese whaling factory Tonan Maru no. 2 (1937) damaged by a Dutch submarine while taking part in the landing at Kuching, Borneo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Japanese Government Funding Cuts Could End ‘Research’ Whaling (via Environment News Service)

Japanese Government Funding Cuts Could End ‘Research’ Whaling TOKYO, Japan, November 12, 2009 (ENS) – A review of Japanese government spending now underway could put an end to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, according to Greenpeace, an environmental group that has campaigned…

Valentine's Day: Trying to Rationalise the Irrational

After the joyful Christmas period many of us find ourselves facing the eternal darkness of January with nothing to look forward to. On top of this darkness you may also have tried to convince yourself of your own powers of self will by sticking to your New Year’s resolution and giving up smoking, drinking or chocolate.

Firstly, you may wish to follow this sound advice – there is no point in giving anything up in January because it is the most depressing month of the year so there’s no need to depress yourself further by denying yourself some simple pleasures. If anything, you should actually drink, smoke and eat more during January to counter the dark gloom that descends upon our fair nation.

Secondly, once you’ve got January out of the way you are then faced with the similarly depressing prospect of February. February only has one real advantage – it’s 28 days long, although sometimes we have to endure another day of it because every once in a while February decides that it’s going to last for 29 days; such a tease of a month.

Politicians fret over UK’s cyber war readiness

Cyber attacks: the UK's army urgently needs a real life 007!

Politicians fret over UK’s cyber war readiness (via The Inquirer)

A REPORT has warned that the UK government is holding back the country's ability to hold its own in a cyber attack. The report from the Defence Select Committee worries that institutions like the army will be left standing in their virtual underwear if they are attacked because of the government's…

Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe?

Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe? (via The Christian Science Monitor)

French movie star Gerard Depardieu has returned to his native habitat in western Europe following a tumultuous Russia visit that has left behind a nation collectively scratching its head over the instinctively authoritarian Vladimir Putin's quirky decision to bestow Russian citizenship upon a cantankerous…

5 Most Hated Managers in the Movies

What makes these five movie managers such a hated bunch? The criteria includes: selfish intentions, manacle and manipulative behavior and a total lack of social morals and ethics. Even the magical escapism of the cinema is plagued with dreadful supervisors and horrid higher-ups that could use a soothing spa treatment and a life outside of work. Getting an eyeful and earful of the five most hated managers in the movies may just make going back to work on Monday seem not as bad after all.

France wants Google to invest in its internet

France wants Google to invest in its internet (via The Inquirer)

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has its eyes on Google's wallet and is asking whether the firm should kick in some sort of monetary tribute in exchange for running its adverts there. The government, well, France's technology minister Fleur Pellerin, made the suggestion after a local ISP, called Free, began blocking…

17 billion Earth-sized planets in Milky Way: study

17 billion Earth-sized planets in Milky Way: study (via AFP)

The Milky Way contains at least 17 billion planets the size of Earth, and likely many more, according to a study that raises the chances of discovering a sister planet to ours. Astronomers using NASA's Kepler spacecraft found that about 17 percent of stars in our galaxy have a planet about the size…