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 answeer 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
|
May
11, 2005 (741 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,610 US - 88 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300 civilians
- 25 media
May
31, 2005 (761 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 1,657 US - 89 UK - >6,164? Iraqi - >17,300 civilians
- 25 media
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.
|
Doubts
on euro grow in France and Italy
Could
Germany ditch the Euro?
As
Europe lurches from one crisis to another, rumours emerge over
single currency
By
Benedict Brogan, Political Editor, Daily Mail - June 3, 2005
The
future of the euro was being questioned last night following claims
that senior German officials have discussed a secret plan to dump
it. The respected Stern magazine in Germany reported that senior
figures led by the finance minister were preparing for possible
collapse of the single currency - less than five years after its
launch.
The
euro must go
Simon
Heffer - Daily Mail, June 4, 2005
The
common factor behind the discontent of many European countries
is the euro, not the constitution. It is why France and
Germany have such massive unemployment, why the Dutch
feel poor, and why the Italian economy is on the verge
of implosion. One size doesn't fit all.
The
Germans are secretly talking about quitting the system.
They should. Single currencies are fine for single countries.
For groups of countries they are a disaster, because they
override national interests.
Thank
God, however belatedly, the EU's big players are waking
up to the realities of their self-inflicted wound.
|
Under
a headline that asked if the euro was 'Kaputt', it chronicled
in detail the deepening unease at the way the euro has apparently
turned swathes of the EU into an economic disaster area. The suggestion
that Hans Eichel and his top officials from the EU's most economically
conservative country have even contemplated the possibility of
Euro failure sent a shudder through Brussels.
Stern
says it has paperwork to back up its account of meetings between
German Finance Ministry bureaucrats and officials from the country's
central bank. Last night, French head of the European Central
Bank dismissed talk of a crisis as 'complete nonsense'.
But,
with the EU contemplating the deepening crisis triggered by NO
votes in France and Holland over the EU constitution, it was clear
that monetary union is being questioned. The unease spread to
Brussels, where an economic adviser to Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso, warned the euro could fall apart.
Paul
De Grauwe told Belgian financial daily newspaper De Tijd that
monetary union was in danger if it was not backed by wider political
integration - a key aim of the constitution.
Dutch cited inflation triggered by joining the euro as a key reason
for voting against the treaty, while a majority of voters in Germany
now want the Deutschmark back.
There
is growing evidence that the German government is keen to blame
its economic failings on the straitjacket of a single currency
that is increasingly unpopular. German economic minister Wolfgang
Clement fanned the flames by conceding last night that the country
is paying a high price for monetary union because it can no longer
cut interest rates in response to an economic slow-down. A poll
published in the same issue of Stern found that 56% of voters
would like to have the Deutschmark back.
Disillusionment
with the euro is particularly acute in Germany because voters
there weren't given a say in a referendum on whether they should
adopt it. Instead it was approved by their massively pro-EU parliament.
The report triggered another slump in the euro. It hit an eight-month
low at $1,2218 when the magazine hit the newsstand, although it
recovered slightly later. Yesterday a Bundesbank spokesman said:
"Finance minister Eichel and Bundesbank President Axel Weber
see the euro as a unique success story and an important step in
securing the future of Europe."
The
pair denied taking part in discussions during the meeting on the
problems facing monetary union. 'Der Euro macht uns Kaputt' -
the euro is destroying us - the Stern article called monetary
union 'one of the worst economic blunders made by Germany since
1945.' It argued that by forcing Germany to endure high interest
rates to prevent inflation elsewhere in the eurozone, European
Central Bank was driving Germany further into an economic slump.
Mr
Eichel called the secret meeting in Berlin last week to discuss
how to contain the damage, also attended by Mr Weber, said Stern.
Joachim Fels, Morgan Stanley's eurozone economist, briefed the
group on the enveloping economic crisis in southern Europe, notably
Italy, warning of 'meltdown' risk that could break up the eurozone.
The
finance ministry admitted the Berlin meeting had occurred, but
played down the implications. 'Mr Eichel believes that monetary
union is a success,' said a spokesman. ECB President Jean-Claude
Trichet said any talk of the single currency's demise is 'complete
nonsense'. He added: "It is totally absurd and I will not
comment any more than that."
Yesterday,
Bild, Germany's biggest-selling daily paper, said on its front
page: "Is the mark coming back?" A newspaper in Germany's
financial capital Frankfurt asked: "Is this the end of the
euro?"
German
chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is losing his political grip and
has been forced to call a general election for later this year
following devastating regional poll defeats for his ruling Social
Democrats. The talk of a return to the mark has caught the popular
imagination, particularly now that a general election looms.
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