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To think that a random murderous gunman could even possibly appear in your or your child’s classroom is a horrible notion.

And while the rest of the world analyzes what could have been done to forewarn authorities about potential threats like this (including other countries screaming gun control at us), I can’t help but think about how the victims just sat there waiting to be killed.

By discussing the behavior of the victims I don’t mean to disrespect their memory, and I fully understand that they were still young adults, but if a gunman chained the doors and methodically began executing people, would you lie down and wait your turn?

Even without training, I would have imagined that someone in that predicament would have at least tried to stop the shooter. Throw a desk, a textbook, jumped at him, whatever.

Unfortunately, the same conditioning elements (violent
media, video games, etc.) that romanticize these kind of killings (go read On Combat by Grossman) also seem to pacify the “hero” mechanism within most people today.

Without beating around the bush, here’s exactly what you should do (and pass on to your kids and family) if a gun ever presents itself.

1) Run.
Those kids from Virginia Tech who immediately jumped out the window had the right idea. You see a weapon; get as far away as possible. If that means jumping out a 2nd story window and breaking your leg, fine. If it means running as fast as you can to a known safe area, fine too. Get the heck out of there at all costs.

2) Get offline ASAP.
Statistics show an absolutely incredible decline in ability to hit a moving target with a firearm when target reacquisition is necessary. And that’s with highly trained shooters. If you step offline from wherever the gun is pointed, your survival rate just took a HUGE turn for the better.

3) Drive back into him.
Can’t run? Can’t get offline? Good, now take the fight back to him. Drive that psycho back on his heels and edge of hand him into the ground. Don’t worry about stripping the gun or disarming him as it’s almost impossible to shoot (even a close target) while being beat to death.

Let the media play “Monday morning quarterback” and
talk about the “signs” and how the attacks could have been”prevented”.

Your task is to be proactive and go pass this stuff onto someone. And if they pass it on, and so on, perhaps the next time a kid (or terrorist) with a weapon might be put down even before a single person is injured.

For more information on Chris “Lt. X” Pizzo former soldier, cancer survivor, mercenary, barroom bouncer, educator, and hand-to-hand combat instructor, and his incredible FREE Accelerated Battlefield Combatives close-combat learning system, visit http://www.TopSecretTraining.com

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me.”

Look, let’s get things into perspective, shall we?

There’s hate and then there’s hate. There’s simple ignorance which slips out of every human being at times, and then there is deliberate, deadly, strategic hate. The first was perpetrated by a person called Imus, the second was, is and shall be perpetrated by the Bush adminstration and their conscience-less arrogance.

Imus made some stupid insults. He’s been on the air 30 years and said some stupid things. They’ve been recorded.

He has made some racial slurs. So have honorable people like Jesse Jackson (his hate speech about Jews), Al Sharpton (his recent trip to defend a black girl who had supposedly been raped by white boys… turns out she was lying).

Big deal.

If a tape recorder were running several hours a day with everything you or I say, believe me, there would be plenty for everyone you know to howl about.

That’s being human. That’s you, me and every other person, regardless of race, color, creed or origin. We are ignorant, shallow and thoughtless at times, and other times we are wise, deep and thoughtful. Got it?

OK, now let’s go on to deliberate hate.

The Bush adminstration deliberately lies, kills, maims simply because it wants to, and for no other good reason (the other “reasons” stated have all been shown to be false). It appoints people with no competence and makes them wealthy and powerful. It gives influence, power and no-bid contracts to its friends. Because it wants to. It It spins its own lies to the point where maybe it can’t tell itself when it is lying and believes it’s own spew.

It breaks laws and commits acts of terror (invasion of privacy, abuse of national funds and resources and lies of security) against its own citizens. It mentally and financially poisons its own people.

It won’t speak with its enemy, which is everyone who isn’t “with it.” Remember, “You are either with us or you are with the terrorists?,” George Bush’s famous statement. By “us,” he meant “me,” i.e. George W. Bush.

It creates anger, distrust and division among all the countries and peoples in the world. And it doesn’t care. It does it because it wants to.

So be an intelligent citizen and get off Imus (otherwise an extremely caring and thoughtful person) and all this other junk media and back onto where the real harm is being done.

Not where a few ignorant insults are thrown around, but where the real harm — murder, theft, lies and hatred — is being done every second of every day for seven long years; by that “it” called the Bush Adminstration. “It” should be fired and taken off the air.

Dr. Max Vogt opens eyes to inconvenient truths of all kinds at http://www.ImproviseLife.com

Some people think that the only solution to violent crime is to take guns off the streets.

To appease potential voters politicians eagerly create new laws they say will prevent crime.

Proof of how futile these efforts are can be seen in the United Kingdom, which although has very strict gun laws the UK youth are cutting each other down in the streets with knives.

The problem has gotten so out of hand that some families are even purchasing costly body armor for their children. The government is taking steps to reduce the number of knife crimes, but it is up to the average citizens to defend themselves.

British police have only now begun to report incidences involving knives, but even so, the statistics are disturbing.

In London alone, 52 teenagers a week are victims of knife violence. Also according to the Metropolitan police, knives are the weapon of choice in a third of the murders.

Another growing problem is the 169 gangs that call London home.

Nationwide a child is stabbed to death every two weeks. Knife homicides outnumber gun homicides three to one, and this figure has only increased over the last five years.

In the summer of 2006, a knife amnesty program brought in over 100,000 knives with more being confiscated and turned into police regularly. This March has seen several violent stabbings including one attack in a wealthy neighborhood where boys and girls chanted, “Kill him,” as 16 year old was stabbed to death.

The majority of these crimes are being committed by children who do not understand the consequences of their actions.

Some children treat knives as a fashion accessory and carry them to be cool. Others in fear for their lives carry them for protection. Boys have been caught bringing machetes, knives, sharpened screwdrivers, and even swords to school.

Carrying knives is not restricted to boys alone and girls have been caught with blades hidden in items like lipstick tubes. In one case, one girl stabbed another in the eye because she didn’t like her music.

Multiple arms of the British government are working to deal with the problem, but for the child confronting an armed attacker they are on their own.

Authentic close combat training is necessary for good kids who want to be safe and not break the law. If they are unable to get away, they need to know how to fight off an armed attacker without getting hurt.

Being able to handle an attacker is also something any schoolteacher should know so they can protect themselves and students until police or security arrive. Teachers are a regular target of youth offenders and last year there was an attack on a teacher every day of the school year.

The British public has to stand up and protect themselves from violent armed offenders.

Once a knife has been pulled, the situation has become life and death regardless of age, sex, or reason.

Hollywood-esque knife fighting, taught by most martial disciplines, is a ridiculous solution and sometimes walking (or running) away isn’t an option.

Even with body armor, knife attacks can still be fatal. The best way to stop from being stabbed is the same as stopping any attack. Take ground and brutally beat down your attacker until they aren’t able to fight back.

The government is taking this problem seriously, but even with all of their programs and new laws, knife attacks have only increased. Soon laws will be in place banning samurai swords and allowing knives sales only to eighteen year olds. I predict that it won’t make a damn shred of difference.

It is up to parents to educate their children on the harsh reality and consequences of violence, and up to the average citizen to defend themselves and their family.

The techniques designed to fight criminals and enemy troops in the past can help protect citizens today.

For more information on Chris “Lt. X” Pizzo former soldier, cancer survivor, mercenary, barroom bouncer, educator, and hand-to-hand combat instructor, and his incredible FREE Accelerated Battlefield Combatives close-combat learning system, visit http://www.TopSecretTraining.com

The chaos of the global jihad has come to the streets of Western Europe.

European cities that have stood for centuries have been rocked by wide spread violence. The children of immigrants who came to Europe post World War II as part of guest worker programs have rejected modern society, are now frustrated by unemployment, and have cast aside the holy and peaceful Islamic teachings of their parents in despair.

Individuals not unlike the 9-11 terrorists are giving hopeless people a bogus “cause”. Enlisting them into their “holy army”, activities like vandalism, drug dealing, arms trafficking, and killing civilians in acts of terror are ordered and acted upon. Not all crime can be blamed on terrorist rhetoric, but it is a disturbing trend.

Because firearms are banned in many European countries, citizens and even the police are defenseless as these fanatic criminals and agents of terror fight for control of the streets and the culture.

Among the gang members who stalk the streets of Oslo, Paris, and other European cities, some simply fight for territories in their countries, while others see every fight as part of a global war against “non-believers”.

Police resources are stretched thin, and in several European nations, they are quickly realizing that better weapons do not guarantee victory.

There are many neighborhoods that police fear to enter, and the average citizen is not able to protect themselves from gang violence and extortion. Police lack the training to deal with the urban pandemonium that they are exposed to on a daily basis.

And while the issues leading to the violence are complex and not easily resolved, keeping safe on the street is a little clearer. Either you fight to survive, or you become another innocent victim in the war.

Remember, this is not the first time in history that gangs and psychotic fanatics were a threat to peaceful civilian living.

In fact, similar conditions existed in Shanghai, China during the first half of the twentieth century. Gangs of thugs ruled the city and the police department was BADLY outnumbered. That was until William Fairbairn, a World War I veteran and hand-to-hand combat expert by way of Japan, cleaned house and led the charge to take back the city.

Just like in Shanghai, many European cities are in imminent danger of being destroyed from within if good people do not start to fight back (Canadian and U.S. cities are not that far behind on the list).

For more information on Chris “Lt. X” Pizzo former soldier, cancer survivor, mercenary, barroom bouncer, educator, and hand-to-hand combat instructor, and his incredible FREE Accelerated Battlefield Combatives close-combat learning system, visit http://www.TopSecretTraining.com

One of the best ways to be found as a voice actor for freelance opportunities in this day and age is through search on the Internet.

The ways of the past are no barrier to success for savvy voice over entrepreneurs of the new Google Era. Google has brought more to our fingertips than any other web portal on the Internet, corralling relevant websites and taming the Wild West of the World Wide Web.

The voice over market was worth over $8.8 billion worldwide in 2005!

That’s right, a substantial amount of money was spent on language services and voice recording with $12.3 billion spent on language services and voice recording projected for 2010.

It’s no secret that there are many people who are online for this type of work, however, there are tips and strategies that are not quite as evident when it comes to differentiating yourself from the other people who do voice overs online.

Here’s an avenue that you may not have thought of when it comes to branding your voice and voice over services, but it’s quite opportune and timely considering the current state of environmental affairs in the world due to Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming.

It’s amazing how the increasing awareness of these issues has and continues to impact businesses directly.

Let’s visit this back story to get an idea of what is going on and how people are being affected.

Up here in Canada, there is a company I heard about on the radio that is actually citing “Global Warming” as their reason for shutting down one of their factories, a factory that happens to employ hundreds of people and is laying off veterans in the workforce who have served them for decades.

This company produces snow blowers and the like.

With a very mild winter and relatively no snow this past year, the company couldn’t justify producing additional stock for this year when there was still inventory that hadn’t sold from the previous season. Because of climate change, this company will need to look into manufacturing other seasonal products, perhaps golf carts or similar items as was suggested on the CBC Radio One Sunday morning program.

It is through these realizations and corporate decisions that new, enviro-conscious business deals and procedures will emerge.

By virtue of an ever-growing demand for environmentally friendly products and practices, the adapting global marketplace will propel this diamond in the rough niche for green branding opportunities worldwide for so-called green initiatives.

You may be wondering what this has to do with branding for voice overs… I’m getting to that, not to worry.

Essentially, as business changes for many corporations in the manufacturing industry, they will need to change their messaging or product offerings to accommodate Green Initiatives such as the Kyoto Accord or Kyoto Protocol.

While going green may pose certain financial commitments for companies and branding strategies, it does present new opportunities to market to their customers and prospective customers.

After making agreements and going green, these companies will want to flaunt their new status as an environmentally friendly company and will need to market that message through commercials, printed materials, updated phone system recordings, website voice overs, podcasts, public speaking engagements and more.

This desire to promote support for the environment will ultimately benefit you as the content producers, in this case, of voice over services.

New opportunities will arise for work as well as new opportunities for you to brand your image as an environmentally conscious voice over professional and businessperson.

That could mean updating your company colors, logo or even your entire brand itself to position yourself as an ideal choice for a company re-branding their images as environmentally sensitive.

Have you checked out the templates online that you can use for your website to brand your web presence?

There are a wide array of nature-inspired themed templates available to you through royalty-free image providers that you can use to make your website more appealing and branded to attract clients who are embracing the new way of going green in their business.

Some of these themes may focus on water, greenery, solar energy, floral patterns, and oxygen. There’s no shortage of images out there that you can acquire to brand your website for visitors who espouse saving the environment.

Branding your website with graphical themes opens the door to text branding as well.

Consider the following brands if you’d like:

- Green Voice
- Fresh Voice
- Pure Voice
- Solar Voice
- Aqua Voice
- Enviro Voice
- Organic Voice
- Clean Voice
- Pristine Voice
- Clear Voice

With those suggestions, you will be able to brand your own voice over business and be a trail blazer in the field of eco-friendly audio production services.

Stephanie Ciccarelli is the VP of Marketing with Voices.com the leading website to connect with voice actors hosting more than 10,000 professional voice acting professionals. Stephanie is also the author of The Definitive Guide To Voice-Over Success.