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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July
4, 2007 (1495 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 3586 US - 156 UK - >1,000,000? civilians - 25 media
July
8, 2007 (1499 days since war ended)
Death
Toll: 3605 US - 158 UK - >1,000,000? civilians - 25 media
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site has had 
visitors
Wearing
uniform is a smart decision, say pupils
By
Laura Clark - Education Reporter - Daily Mail, July 10, 2007
Wearing
a uniform improves pupils' behaviour both inside and outside school,
a study suggests. Having a uniform helps to reduce bullying in
school, makes children better behaved outside the school gates
and even adds concentration in class, researchers said.
Pupils
at schools without uniform codes were liable to be bullied for
the way they dressed, the study found. Teenagers who took part
in the Oxford Brookes University survey said dress codes acted
as a social leveller and reduced the risk of children being picked
on for wearing 'weird' clothes.
Youngsters
also admitted they were less likely to misbehave outside the premises
because their uniform instantly identified their school. Pupils
were more conscious of their behaviour in public and aware that
'old ladies will ring up and report it if you've dropped an apple
core in the street'.
Others
noticed that security guards were more likely to follow children
around shops if they were wearing their uniforms. Professor Margaret
Harris, who led the study, said uniforms 'often directly contributed
to a feeling of school pride, which they did not want to compromise
by misbehaving outside the school gate'.
She
added: "The easy identification also acted as an important
preventative factor." Overall, pupils favoured uniforms because
they instilled a sense of pride in the school and prevented them
having to choose fashionable outfits each morning.
Professor
Harris, head of the psychology department at Oxford Brooks, added:
"Students tended to be most in favour of smart and distinctive
school uniforms."
Pupils
at one school without a compulsory dress code hankered after a
'proper uniform - with matching socks and blazers'. But one pupil
from a school perceived as 'posh' voiced concerns that they became
more attractive targets for muggers because 'people expect you
to have a fancier phone or more money'.
Ministers
have been keen to encourage uniforms but as many as one in five
schools does not have them. The Government has also said schools
should scrap exclusive deals with uniform suppliers and ensure
clothing is widely available on the High Street or at supermarkets.
This
will enable parents to take advantage of massive savings on uniforms
offered by supermarkets and over the Internet, but there have
have been warnings that it could spell the end of distinctive
uniforms steeped in tradition, for example sweaters with crests.
The
Oxford Brookes study which involved interviews with 13- to 17-year-olds
at a range of schools in Oxford, found they welcome uniforms because
they 'stop some pupils wearing Ralph Lauren school jumpers. One
participant said: "There cannot be any, 'Let's group up and
laugh at the weird person'."
In
schools without uniforms, 'students tended to adopt one of a series
of dress codes labelled chavs, skaters and preps - and were seen
as part of that group'. Chavs are known for wearing fake designer
sportswear and ostentatious jewellery, while skaters refers to
skateboarders. Preps dress more smartly, for example in polo shirts,
and boys may have floppy hair.
Girls
particularly appreciated uniforms because they prevented male
classmates and teachers considering their dress inappropriate
and removed a potential source of harassment. Uniforms were also
claimed to improve behaviour in lessons themselves. Pupils reported
being more focused on their work because a significant distraction
- whether their clothes were 'cool' enough - had been removed.
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