Silent Majority Speaks
Rescuing Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship
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Spin,
not face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the
Government's chosen method of communication. Ordinary people
are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question which
throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member might
reveal himself or herself to be a human being like us, and
not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she might tell
the truth.
Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September 16, 2004
Blair wants to leave his mark on
history - looks more like a stain to me.
Peter Thorndyke, Diss, Norfolk
- Daily Mail, May 23, 2005
I know I'm me - why do I need an
ID card?
"Sorry, officers, I don't have
an ID card. I never applied for one. It seemed a bit steep
at 300 quid. I do have my free passport, my driving licence
and my London freedom travel pass, each with my photograph.
I have my NHS medical card, with its lengthy number, given
me at birth, my RAF service book with my Armed Forces number,
and a chit authorising me to wear a few gongs -including
a General Service Medal with Malaya bar, for fighting communist
terrorists on behalf of my country, or so they told me.
"I've also got various credit cards and
store cards, all with my signature on the back, generally
good for buying the everyday requrements for life as well
as the odd luxury. If you decide to arrest me, I suppose
I'll have to be photographed and given another number, besides
my PINs.
"I'm afraid I haven't got a pension book;
it was taken away."
"By thieves, sir?"
"No ... well, not exactly. By the Government.
By the way, may I see your warrant cards please, gentlemen?"
Oh dear, they've disappeared. E. Harry Gumer,
Romford, ESSEX - Daily Mail, June 1, 2005
NO means NO
When does NO mean MAYBE?
When it's not the answer the EU wants. With the courageous French
NON resounding in their ears, shabby, undemocratic self-interested
leaders of Europe propose ignoring the part of their precious
constitution that requires ratification by all members and
continuing without one of the biggest founder members to
prevent derailing the gravy train.
As in Ireland, they refuse
to accept any NO votes, ignoring the will of the people,
and re-stage votes until they can engineer the 'correct'
answer. Sadly, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dances to their
tune like a puppet on a string. With tactics such as these,
how can anyone really believe the EU has our interests at
heart. Letter from Steve Penny, Kingsnorth, Kent - Daily Mail, June1,
2005
Surely the French
result makes the £1million the EU recently spent on
a treaty signing ceremony seem a trifle premature and extravagant.
Letter from Keith Wiseman, Bury, Lancs. - Daily Mail, June1,
2005
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Britain has traditionally
been one of the biggest net contributors to the EU because
we do not get as much money back from Brussels in farm
and regional subsidies as our rivals.
According to Treasury
figures, between 1995-2002, Britain's average contribution
taking the rebate into account, was £2.6billion,
or £43.55 per head of population.
The French - the biggest
recipient of farm subsidies - contributed £1billion
a year or £16.08 per head of their population.
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Tony
Blair should know that respect comes by example - from the
top. If a country's leader has no respect for the rule of
international law and no respect for the truth, how can
he expect anyone to have respect. Letter
from P.J.Atkinson, Ashford, Kent - Daily Mail, January 12,
2006
The
Chancellor's single greatest act of vandalism in almost
nine years in office has been his wanton destruction of
Britain's private retirement industry. By slapping a massive
tax on pension funds, now worth
£7.3billion a year, he has helped to turn
the best private retirement industry in Europe into a basket-case
in perpetual crisis. Together with the adoption of European
accounting rules - which make it much riskier to operate
a company pension scheme - hundreds of firms have shut their
final salary plans to new employees and slashed benefits
to existing staff. From
Allister Heath: "I've seen the future and its grey"
in THE SPECTATOR - April 15, 2006
Nine
years ago the British people were sold a fantasy of clean
and competent government of principle and honesty. Its shiny
wrappings stripped away, the product now reveals its true
nature: Personal greed, arrogance, incompetence, shamelessness,
rash warmongering and an inability to accept - as is clear
to almost everyone else - that it is time to go. Editorial
- The Mail on Sunday, May 28, 2006
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February
22, 2007 (1364days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 3150 US - 132 UK - >650,000? civilians - 25 media
This
site has had 
visitors
Banning
the cane did for discipline, say parents
By
Laura Clark, Education Reporter - Daily Mail, February 23, 2007
School
discipline has declined since caning was outlawed, parents believe.
They said attacks on teachers and pupils had increased, and they
backed the idea of a 'boot camp' for disruptive youngsters.
The
tough response emerged from a series of focus groups organised
by pollsters Mori for the Department for Education and Skills.
Parents said discipline was the key issue in schools.
Corporal
punishment used to be a cornerstone of the disciplinary system
but was outlawed in state schools by the Tories in 1986, and formally
banned in independent schools by Labour in 1999, although most
had already dropped the practice.
Culture
of violence breeding disturbed children
Letter
from Mrs. Pippa Smith, Mediamarch, Malvern, Worcs - Daily
Mail, February 23, 2006
There
has been a distinct silence about the role violent films,
DVDs, games and rap music play in the appalling violence
we are witnessing on our streets. We hear much abut child
poverty when the real issue facing us in poverty of mind.
It's
not just weapons that cause violence, but the state of
mind of those who use them. The shocking fact that young
people should find it so easy to kill another human being
shows a lack of humanity normally found only in war-torn
parts of the world.
The
lack of positive male-role models in father-less families
and the greater numbers of working mothers aren't enough
on their own to cause such extreme behaviour.
Outside
influences have taken control of our young. Left to their
own devices, they are subject to a barrage of 'cool' anti-social
media messages, from Big Brother to ultra-violent films,
games and lyrics. On-screen violence de-sensitises children,
so they become used to it; film-makers then resort to
ever stronger violence to keep their interest.
Not
since the days when they were sent up chimneys and down
mines have children been so ruthlessly exploited. Industries
ranging from fashion and drink to gambling and media are
making fortunes from the 'youth market', with the blessing
of the Government.
The
damage young people are suffering as a consequence is
evident in many ways: poor educational development, eating
disorders, sexual health crises, bullying - and this dreadful
rise in adolescent aggression and murder.
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The
findings came as a separate poll of teachers revealed that nearly
half have been attacked by pupils using weapons including pellet
guns, knives, scissors, furniture and fire extinguishers. Others
reported attempts to strangle them and having their hands slammed
in doors.
The
online survey by the Teacher Support Network, a charity which
acts as an advice service for teachers, also found that almost
all 430 respondents had been verbally abused by pupils.
Patrick
Nash, chief executive of the Teacher Support Network, said: "The
effects of violence and abuse can be devastating."
The
Mori focus groups were intended to investigate the public's understanding
of school reforms. The parents from London and Manchester who
took part stressed the importance of discipline. The study said:
"Many are of the opinion that discipline in schools had declined.
They perceive there to be an increase in media reporting of attacks
on teachers and other pupils, and believe the problem stems from
the prohibition of corporal punishment.
"Teachers
are also believed to have fewer rights to enforce discipline."
The
pollsters found that many participants did not understand the
idea of 'off-site provision' for disruptive pupils, where they
can cool off before being reintegrated back into mainstream school.
"Some
believe it refers to a tough club-style arrangement for delinquent
children and others to a boot camp" the report said. "The
latter is preferred in order to drive up standards of discipline."
The
report said Government plans to tackle poor discipline - including
tougher legal rights for teachers to impose sanctions - were well
received. But it added: "However, there is a debate about
where parent's responsibility ends and that of the school begins.
A few parents - particularly those of secondary school children
- state they can only do so much to ensure their child attends
school, and as such, parenting contracts and/or fines are not
always appropriate."
Mori
also found that Government plans for 'choice advisers' - intended
to help families find the best school - were condemned as 'patronising'.
A
DfES spokesman said last night: "Real progress had been made
in tackling serious bad behaviour. We are giving teachers an unequivocal
legal right to impose discipline so no one can challenge their
authority. Corporal punishment was abolished in 1986, and there
have been no demands from schools, governors or teacher associations
for a change in this position."
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