Kate Livingstone: Guns and chicken got me thinking...

The first was a tragedy which made world-wide headlines and the second was a local story which may or may not be a manufactured attempt to push a product down our throats.

Sadly the news of a youngster walking into an American high school with a semi-automatic rifle and killing students is not a big shock any more.

When Nikolas Cruz carried out his murderous shooting spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Valentine’s Day it was a case of, how long until the next one?

The Florida shooting, which left 17 people dead and families forever shattered, was in fact the deadliest school shooting since 27 people were killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut in 2012.

It’s a sad fact these kind of incidents are becoming commonplace in the US.

Now the survivors at the school are pleading with Trump and his gang for tighter gun controls.

And I’m asking how can a civilised society allow a teenager, especially a particularly troubled teenager – who actually made a comment on YouTube he was going to be a “professional school shooter”, to legally purchase a lethal firearm.

So 17 lives lost in Florida, 27 in Connecticut, 32 at Virginia Tech, Virginia in 2007 and 13 at Columbine, Colorado in 1999.

How many more children and young people have to die before the US Government stop pandering to the big bucks firearm firms?

Since 9/11 some people think the biggest threat to America in the 21st Century comes from terrorism, but I would argue the greatest risk to the country comes from its continued adherence to its second amendment – the right to bear arms.

That is currently spreading more terror than Islamic extremists.

Moving onto more local matters, it struck me there is something fishy about KFC running out of chicken.

Are we really supposed to believe the Colonel’s account of teething troubles with new suppliers, or is there something more to this if we delve deeper into the greasy bargain bucket of the business world?

Maybe I’m getting a bit cynical in my middle age, but doesn’t it seem like KFC, who often play second fiddle to other fast food outlets like McDonalds and Burger King, is now on everyone’s minds? I don’t even like chicken – never mind the Kentucky fried variety – but suddenly it’s all I can think about.

Is this chicken kerfuffle just a stealthy marketing ploy to make us crave a KFC?