Silent Majority Speaks

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

WWW silentmajorityspeaks.com

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.

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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September 25 , 2007 (1547days since war ended)

Death Toll: 3799 US - 170 UK - >1,000,000? civilians - 25 media

Octiber 25, 2007 (1577days since war ended)

Death Toll: 3837 US - 171 UK - >1,000,000? civilians - 25 media

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Targets are scrapped as truancy soars

By Laura Clark - Education Reporter, Daily Mail, October 25, 2007

Targets for curbing truancy have been ditched by ministers even though record numbers of children are skipping school, it emerged yesterday. The Government has twice scaled back a key 1998 goal to cut truancy by a third.

Now it has dropped national targets for cutting absenteeism, despite spending up to £1billion on a ten-year-anti-trust blitz.

The decision, which emerged in small print of the Chancellor's Comprehensive Spending Review, comes as official figures are today expected to reveal truancy has reached its highest ever level.

Earlier statistics showed almost 1.4million pupils played truant at last once during the school year from 2005 - up from 965,400 in 1996.

Tory schools spokesman Michael Gove said: "The Government have failed to get to grips with rising truancy. But instead of working harder to meet their target they have simply scrapped it. The increase in truancy contributes to other problems such as alcohol and drug abuse and youth crime. Scrapping the target is the last thing that is needed."

The Department for Children last night insisted targets were now being set at local rather than national level. Labour's first national target, set in 1998, aimed to cut truancy by a third from 2002, from k).7% of days missed.

But a battery of initiatives failed to work and in 2002 the target was downgraded to a 10% reduction by 2004. Truancy actually rose and in 2004 the target was scaled back again to an 8% reduction in nonattendance overall - including sickness and holidays - by 2008.

Absenteeism rose the following year. Preliminary figures for 2006 suggest truancy has risen yet again. Secondary pupils missed 1.61% of days in spring term this year, up from 1.49% in 2006.

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