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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May 31, 2005 (761 days since war
ended)
Death Toll: 1,657 US - 89 UK - >6,164?
Iraqi - >17,300 civilians - 25 media
June 17, 2005 (779 days since war
ended)
Death Toll: 1,716 US - 89 UK -
>6,164? Iraqi - >17,300? civilians - 25 media
June 26, 2005 (788 days since war
ended)
Death Toll: 1,737 US - 89 UK -
>6,164? Iraqi - >17,300? civilians - 25 media
July 6, 2005 (798 days since war
ended)
Death Toll: 1,751 US - 90 UK -
>6,164? Iraqi - >17,300? civilians - 25 media
August 24, 2005 (847 days since
war ended)
Death Toll: 1,869 US - 93 UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
September
29, 2005 (883 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 1,928 US - 96 UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
October
11, 2005 (895 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 1,956 US - 96UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
October
20, 2005 (904 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 1,986 US - 97UK - >>6,164?
Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media
October
25, 2005 (909 days since war ended)
Death Toll: 2,001 US - 97UK - >>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.
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December
14, 2005 (959 days since Iraq war ended)
Death Toll: 2,150 US - 98UK - >>30,000?
Iraqi - 25 media
THE
FAILED
Scandal
of the four out of ten pupils who leave primary school without
mastering the three Rs
By
Sarah Harris, Education Correspondent - Daily Mail, December 14,
2005
A
quarter of a million children a year are being failed by primary
schools. Weak teaching means they still cannot read, write and
add up properly by the time the leave, a damning Ofsted report
has revealed. They will struggle to keep up at secondary school
- and many will be dumped on the educational scrap heap
The
watchdog says only 57% of 11-year-olds reached the required standard
- meaning four out of ten pupils leave without mastering all the
three Rs. The findings are a serious blow to the Government. They
reinforced mounting evidence that standards are not rising, despite
billions of pounds of investment and Tony Blair's pledge on coming
to power that his first three priorities would be 'education,
education, education'.
Ministers'
targets for improving pupils' performance in literacy and numeracy
have been missed repeatedly, while experts say the gains that
have been recorded are the result of teachers coaching youngsters
specifically for the tests.
What
11-year-olds need to know
ENGLISH
*
Understand themes, ideas and characters
*Pick
up on a storyline hinted at by the author
*Write
in a lively and thoughtful way
*Use
adventurous vocabulary and accurate spelling
*Start
to write complex sentences, complete with full stops,
capital letters and question marks
*Have
joined-up, legible handwriting
MATHS
*Multiply
and divide numbers by 10 or 100
*Recite
times tables up to 10 times 10
*Do
short multiplication and division sums
*Know
how to use simple fractions and percentages
*Recognise
patterns in number sequences. Under- stand the terms 'multiple',
'factor' and 'square'.
*Check
answers with and without calculators
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Education
Secretary Ruth Kelly has already been forced to make a U-turn
by announcing a massive overhaul of reading lessons in primary
schools due to the failure of the literacy strategy. Ofsted has
now turned the spotlight on maths as well, insisting that there
are still too many pupils leaving primary schools achieving below
the expected level.
Pupils
are expected to reach level four in national curriculum tests
at 11. This means they can do simple tasks such as spell accurately,
understand themes in books and do short multiplication and division.
But some 258,000 pupils fail to achieve even that this year. Ofsted
found that while the teaching of English and maths has improved
in primary schools, it is still no better than 'adequate' in one
in three lessons.
The
pace of learning tends to be slow in such classes and pupils are
'passive' for too long, causing them to lose interest. Low-attaining
pupils frequently leave for 'catch-up' classes which do not relate
to the lesson they have started, leaving them confused.
Some
English teachers rely on worksheets either too complex for the
least able or which 'inhibit' the brightest. Pupils are also left
confused by maths teachers who do not explain what they are doing.
The Ofsted inspectors said pupils with below-average standards
are not receiving the help they need quickly enough. Too many
teachers focus their efforts on children in years five and six
(ages 9 to 11) - who were preparing for national curriculum tests
- at the expense of younger underachievers. Some schools even
tried to blame poor results on the fact they had taken on low-ability
pupils.
Ofsted's
director of education, Mirian Rosen, said: "There is still
much to be done to ensure all pupils leave primary school competent
in reading, writing and mathematics. A large percentage of teaching
is just satisfactory and this must get better to bring about the
improvements needed."
In
a second report, focussing on secondary schools, inspectors warn
that problems continue in the key subjects. Secondaries are not
doing enough to help pupils who start with below-average English
and maths results. This is partly because the transfer of information
from primary to secondary level is unsatisfactory in one in four
schools.
School
improvement is also hindered by 'middle managers in key departments'
who are resistant to change. Weak leadership, high staff turnover
and use of inexperienced or unqualified teachers are also having
an impact in some lessons. The report says teachers are being
overwhelmed by - or simply misunderstanding - the 'daunting' levels
of guidance issued by the government. This needs to be more manageable.
Ofsted
said test results have risen in maths at secondary school, but
this is as much due to better test technique as it is to a rise
in standards of mathematical understanding. This year, the proportion
of 11-year-olds reaching level four in maths rose by 1% to 75%
- finally meeting a target set for 2002.
Chris
Woodhead, Ofsted's former chief inspector of schools, said he
was unsurprised by the findings. He said: "Ofsted report
after Ofsted report has come to the same conclusion - no progress
or not sufficient progress. There's an appalling sense of deja
vu. The Government is too ready to pour money into the problem
rather than tackle the root problem of teacher weakness. It's
a very depressing picture. If I was Mr Blair I would shoot myself."
Tory
schools spokesman Nick Gibb said: "This is another damning
criticism of the government's approach. Rather than more initiatives
and bureaucratic burdens on teachers, the government needs to
ensure that what is taught is effective and results in higher
standards."
Schools
Minister, Lord Adonis denied being complacent last night. He insisted
that the government was determined to reduce the number of children
who do not reach their full potential. He said: "Our White
Paper proposals place a strong emphasis on personalisation and
catch-up classes with an extra £230million for primary schools
by 2007-8 to help those who fall behind and an extra £335million
for secondary."
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