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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May
6, 2006 (1092 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 2417 US - 108 UK - >60,000? civilians - 25 media
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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
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MMR
campaigners demand action as autism cases soar
Kevin
Schofield, Education Correspondent - THE SCOTSMAN - May 9, 2006
*
Massive rise (114 to 825) in number of secondary pupils with autism
in six years
* Campaigners say investigation needed into potential link with
MMR vaccine
* They claim parents should have the choice of single vaccinations
instead
Key
quote
"The
number of young children who have this previously very rare diagnosis
is reaching epidemic proportions and it is being ignored by the
medical establishment." - Bill Welsh, chairman of Action
Against Autism
Story
in full
A
massive surge in the number of autistic schoolchildren in Scotland
has been exposed after figures showed an increase of more than
600 per cent in secondary pupils with the condition in the past
six years. Official statistics show 825 pupils were diagnosed
with autistic spectrum disorder in state secondaries in 2005,
compared with 114 in 1999 - an increase of 623 per cent. Over
the same period, the number of autistic youngsters in primary
schools more than quadrupled, from 415 to 1,736.
The
increases emerged in a written parliamentary answer to be made
public today.
Campaigners
last night said the figures were further proof that an urgent
investigation was needed into the rise in the condition and its
potential link with the triple mumps, measles and rubella (MMR)
vaccine. Although no link has ever been clinically proven, campaigners
say parents should have the choice of giving their children single
vaccinations instead.
Bill
Welsh, the chairman of Action Against Autism, said: "Nobody
has offered a plausible explanation as to why this has happened.
This
is not a Scottish problem; it is a developed world problem, because
the same thing is happening in America, Canada, Australia and
New Zealand. One common factor affecting children throughout the
developed world is the vaccination issue.
"The
number of young children who have this previously very rare diagnosis
is reaching epidemic proportions and it is being ignored by the
medical establishment. This
is a tragedy for every child concerned and yet our politicians
concentrate on soft areas like obesity and ignore the difficult
questions, like why we have so many children with neurological
problems."
Mr
Welsh said the situation amounted to an apparent "public
health crime". He added: "We need truly independent,
clinical research into why these children withdraw into the world
of autism."
The
figures break down autism cases by local authority and show wide
variations across the country. Aberdeenshire, for instance, recorded
a 533 per cent increase among primary pupils over the six-year
period, while in the Borders the rise was a relatively small 137
per cent.
Christine
Grahame, the SNP MSP whose written question led to publication
of the figures, accused ministers of negligence by failing to
take action to address the problem. She said: "I am concerned
that ministers must have taken their eye off the ball, as these
figures have risen year on year.
"Autism-specific
inspections, for example, have been negligible, with no inspections
carried out in mainstream schools at all last year. Although there
has been some limited specialist support in education, there is
no evidence that this has been matched amongst the key, allied,
supporting health professionals. The growing numbers are bound
to add to the pressure on front-line teaching staff, and those
pupils with autism deserve to have the right level of support
in place, not just from educational staff but also from supporting
health professionals."
A
spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said the rise could partly
be explained by increased awareness of the condition. She also
said the introduction of the Additional Support for Learning Act
would improve education provision for children with special needs.
"We
give local authorities £25 million a year for inclusion
and we've also funded more classroom assistance to give teachers
extra support," she said.
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