text:
1994 -
Below is the text of Mr Major's speech during the 1994 Queen's Speech Debate on 16th November 1994.
Mr. Tony Blair (Sedgefield): As Members may know, my right hon. Friend the Opposition Chief Whip was taken ill this morning, and before beginning my speech I am pleased to tell the House that his condition is described by the hospital as stable, and not a cause for alarm. I know that we all wish him and Anne well, and we also wish him a speedy return.
It is the custom of the House that the Leader of the Opposition has the pleasant duty of congratulating the mover and seconder of the Loyal Address, and I am delighted to do so. The hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) gave a somewhat unusually combative proposal of the Loyal Address, and at some points I was not entirely sure whether he was moving the Loyal Address or giving an after-
Nevertheless, I hope that I shall not do the hon. Gentleman irrevocable damage if I disclose to the House that, as he will know, I have personal reasons for being extremely grateful to him. When he was an Education Minister, although he may have done many things wrong, he did one thing right: he reversed the planned closure of a vital special needs school in my constituency of Sedgefield, despite the fact that the education experts wanted it closed.
At the time, I thought that that was merely a one-
The hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) seconded the motion with great flair, humour and wit, and said that he had the dubious pleasure of being in a House containing no fewer than three other Members who at one time had represented his constituency but had then lost it, only to win again somewhere else. I trust that the hon. Gentleman will understand if I say that, given the size of his majority, I hope that at the next election he will be able to satisfy at least half the requirements of that elite club. Both speeches, the proposing and the seconding of the Loyal Address, were able. I congratulate both hon. Gentlemen.
It is also the custom at this time to review one or two personal events for the House over the past year, and I hope that I shall be forgiven for saying that the past year has been marked by deep sorrow for my party. Twelve months ago, John Smith gave the kind of spirited, witty and principled speech that earned him respect across the Chamber and throughout the nation. I believe that we united across party lines then, and that we still do so now, in his memory. I pay particular tribute to the life and work of Jo Richardson, who, despite immense physical pain, never wavered in her tireless work for her constituents and for the cause of women everywhere. To those two names must be added the sad loss of colleagues on both sides of the House-
Parts of the Queen's Speech we welcome. Thanks to the efforts of the British and Irish Governments and the constitutional parties in Northern Ireland, there is room for cautious optimism about the future of the Province-
We also rejoice at the defeat of apartheid and the return of South Africa to the Commonwealth. The Opposition, at least, are proud of the part that we played in the battle against the evil of the old regime. I play particular tribute to the steadfast work of my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes), who has made such an outstanding contribution over the years.
We also welcome plans to expand the European Union, and look forward to the entry of new members from northern and eastern Europe, and we shall continue to make constructive suggestions for the reform and improvement of that Union and to press for the Government to regain our influence within Europe.
Mr. Oliver Heald (Hertfordshire, North): Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Blair: In a moment, if I may. On the detail of the Address, we have long urged legislation on the regulation of pensions, the establishment of an environmental protection agency, a new criminal cases review authority, and rights for disabled people. We shall, however, carefully scrutinise the detail of all those Bills.
The pensions regulations must be comprehensive and clear. We all know of the scandal of people cheated of their savings by unscrupulous advisers who abused poor regulation. Our people will not be satisfied unless there is proper protection for the hard-
On the environment, we wish the new agency to be able to take action to protect our environment and to have proper powers of enforcement. I welcome the fact that, as I understand it, there will be legislation on the criminal cases review authority. The new system for investigating miscarriages of justice is long overdue. I very much hope that the method of investigation is independent and fair, and can be seen to be fair.
Disabled people across Britain were greatly angered by the Government's conduct during the passage of the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill. We welcome new legislation in the Queen's Speech, and we look forward to it being implemented properly.
Millions of people are desperate for changes in the Child Support Agency. Currently, the agency is a complete shambles, which is causing misery to tens of thousands of families. I very much hope that a radical reform of the agency is on the agenda in the coming year.
Sir Giles Shaw (Pudsey): Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House whether he supports the Bill on European own resources-
Mr. Blair: I am coming to that very point in a moment. I will then answer the hon. Member for Pudsey (Sir G. Shaw).
Taken as a whole, the Queen's Speech expresses the central quandary facing the Conservative party today: whether to praise Thatcherism or to bury it. Four years after the right hon. Lady's departure, the Conservatives still cannot decide. The result is the hallmark of this Government: dogma tempered only by dithering.
Nothing could make the point better than the debacle over Post Office privatisation. There are two extraordinary features of it. The first is not that 10 Tory rebels opposed it, but that 340 Tory Members, including the Prime Minister, supported it. One message at least is clear: "If you don't want the Post Office privatised, don't vote Tory at the next election."
The second extraordinary feature is the manner of decision-
Ultimately, what do the Government privatise? They privatise the Atomic Energy Authority commercial services department. It is alighted on as a victim to be sold off. What does that tell us about this Government? It tells us that they are so riven by faction and buffeted from one day's headlines to the next that they cannot address the interests of the country, and that they are woefully out of touch with public opinion. The combination of those factors makes them incapable of delivering good government.
There should be a Bill about the Post Office in the Queen's Speech-
Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-
Mr. Blair: I did not hear the last part of the question, but I am absolutely delighted that the hon. Gentleman is so interested in clause 4. He will no doubt want to participate in the discussions on the matter in the months ahead.
Mr. Gary Streeter (Plymouth, Sutton): On the issue of factions, will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House whether he agrees with the 61 members of his own party who signed an early-
Mr. Blair: The position of the Labour leadership has been set out very clearly in the national executive statement at conference, and the hon. Gentleman can read it if he is interested.
Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (Derbyshire, West): Since the right hon. Gentleman commented a little earlier on praising or trying to bury Thatcherism, does he regret voting for the changes in trade union reform which the Government have taken through the House over the past 15 years? If he does, which of the trade union reforms that the Government brought in, despite opposition from the Labour party, would he seek to reverse as a Labour Prime Minister?
Mr. Blair: I have set out many times our position on trade union legislation, and I have said exactly what parts we will change and what parts we will not change. Since the hon. Gentleman intervened in my speech, perhaps he would answer this question. How did he stand at the previous election on the specific promise that he would not raise tax in this country, since he joined the Government in raising it straight after his election to the House?
Mr. Charles Hendry (High Peak): In reference to the right hon. Gentleman's comments on the public sector, does he think it right that inefficiencies in public services should be tolerated at the taxpayers' expense if they lead to greater employment? Does he agree on that comment with his deputy leader? Will he tell the House if he disagrees?
Mr. Blair: I am surprised that, after a week in which it has been revealed that a private health institution in Scotland received £30 million of public money, the hon. Gentleman should ask us about the efficiency of public services.
Hon. Members: More, more.
Dr. Robert Spink (Castle Point) rose -
Mr. Blair: I will have to press on, but I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman.
Dr. Spink: Does the right hon. Gentleman agree with his right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) that the minimum wage would cost tens of thousands of jobs in the country? Will he support the job seeker's allowance, which will help this Government to get the long-
Mr. Blair: The hon. Gentleman should be aware of recent evidence, published in the United States, of precisely the opposite effect. Indeed, it is the case that setting a proper floor for wages is a sensible way in which to operate the labour market. Secondly, let me tell the hon. Gentleman that I think that many people in this country see this Government failing to take action in relation to those privatised utilities and the pay increases awarded to their chairmen and directors, and find it quite obnoxious that the Government oppose a decent living and wage for people at the bottom end of the income scale, but do nothing about the abuses at the top.
I was talking about the conduct of government. We see the same conduct not only in relation to the Post Office but in respect of the quite extraordinary furore which has been whipped up among the Tory party over Europe, with briefings and counter-
It has surely come to something when a Government can secure the passage of their own legislative programme only by threatening their own demise. The Government might threaten a general election. I think we can be sure that they do not dare call one. However, what a way to run a party and a Government. That underlines the degree to which all those questions become a matter not of the nation's interest, but simply a ball played from one part of the Conservative party over to the other and back again.
I can tell Conservative Members that the country sees the gap between what the Conservative party today represents and what it wants a Government to do, and the country is appalled at how that gap ever widens. That shows that the politics of the 1980s has run its course. The concerns and needs of the British people have changed, and it is the Labour party that speaks for them.
The British people want an end to the laissez-
The British people want strong public services, decent schools and well-
Madam Speaker: Order. I believe that the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) is not giving way at the moment. Is that correct?
Mr. Blair: I must make progress.
Several hon. Members rose -
Madam Speaker: Order. The right hon. Gentleman has indicated to me that he is not giving way at the moment.
Mr. Blair: The vast majority of people in this country want safe communities, and they do not believe that the Government are delivering them. Above all else, perhaps, they want to feel that their voice is heard and that political institutions work for them and not for the people in charge. They want real democracy, with power devolved downwards, not an ever-
"I have made it clear, we have no plans and no need to extend the scope of VAT."
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer said:
"We will not have to increase taxes. I cannot see any circumstances in which that will be necessary."
That was said weeks before the general election. They now say that they did not know how bad the economic situation was.
One might get away with that if one had been in power for 13 days. However, by the last election, the Government had been in power for 13 years. They knew the truth. Look at how many taxes the Conservatives have introduced. Let us consider the new Tory taxes and what they will mean for the average family: home insurance tax, car insurance tax, airport tax, petrol tax, VAT on fuel and cuts in the married couple's allowance and cuts in mortgage tax relief. In total this year, they mean £360 on top of the £500 a year that families are already paying extra in tax since the election; 7p on the standard rate of income tax; £860 for the average family. In the light of the gap between what they have promised and what they have done, is it any wonder to them the cynicism and disgust with which their record is viewed by the majority of British people?
Mr. Norman Lamont (Kingston upon Thames): As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the Government found it necessary to put up taxes in order to reduce borrowing, which was greater than anticipated. The right hon. Gentleman's party fought the election on putting up taxes not in order to produce sound finances, not in order to reduce borrowing, but in order to spend more money. That was why the right hon. Gentleman wanted to put up taxes. The right hon. Gentleman now tells us that he has changed his party's policy. Will he tell this House now that the policies of tax on which his party fought the election are wrong?
Mr. Blair: I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what the difference is. We told the truth at the previous election. [Interruption.] I suppose that the Prime Minister will be relieved that, at least for once, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) has come in on the Government's side.
Mr. Heald: The right hon. Gentleman was asked whether he would support the European own resources Bill. He said that he would answer the question. He has not. Will he answer now?
Mr. Blair: We will judge that Bill in the light of the principles that we have set out. We have supported the settlement at the Edinburgh summit, but the hon. Gentleman knows that of course we have our differences with the Government over the social chapter. I can tell him, although I was going to deal with it later in my speech, that, in the light of the allegations about fraud and waste in the common agricultural policy, and in the light of the discrepancy between the position set out by the Chancellor last week and the figures given in some newspapers this morning, we will of course press the Government on all those issues.
Now let me ask the hon. Gentleman, or perhaps the Prime Minister, a question: is it the case that the chairman of the 1922 Committee was speaking on behalf of the Conservative party when he said that the own resources Bill would be treated not as an ordinary piece of legislation but as a motion of confidence in the Government? I have to tell them that, if that is how it is to be treated, life becomes much more difficult, not less difficult, for the Government. The hon. Gentleman will understand that.
I was about to deal with the Chancellor of the Exchequer's interview in today's edition of The Daily Telegraph , which, as ever, is interesting to read. The right hon. and learned Gentleman described himself as "fairly panic-
So far-
Mr. Michael Fabricant (Mid-
Mr. Blair: No. I really must move on.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Kenneth Clarke): The right hon. Gentleman keeps giving way to interventions, then failing to answer them and returning to his speech. He was asked a moment ago by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston (Mr. Lamont) how he now reacted to his election promises of the last election to raise taxation in order to raise public spending. If he now criticises what we are doing, which of the tax increases that he has attacked would he reduce and which spending would he cut-
Mr. Blair: Last week, we published a comprehensive set of tax reforms to close the tax abuses that the Government have allowed to go on. What is more, we set out the huge windfall profits that have been made by utility companies, and will be made on the sale of the national grid. If the Chancellor of the Exchequer wants to get spending down, there is one good way of doing it: get unemployment down, and let the unemployed get back to work.
The tax failure of the Government is in the end the product of their economic failure. The mismanagement of this country's economy over 15 years is a story of incompetence on an epic scale: the two worst recessions in living memory; bankruptcy and insecurity for millions of people; the decimation of large parts of the industrial base. With the boom-
It is not even as if the living standards in our country had soared above those in other countries. The opposite is the case. According to the latest Organisation for Economic Co-
Sir Cranley Onslow (Woking): Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Blair: No, I am sorry.
Of course, now the economy has reached a different point in the economic cycle. There is recovery and growth, and inflation is low. We welcome that. However, the question is not whether we are at a different point in the economic cycle. The question is whether this burst of growth will be different from the others that have preceded it. This time, the Government say, the long term will come first, which is precisely what they-
What is the Government's over-
Mr. Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford): Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Blair: The lesson of the past 15 years is that, unless we put the long term first, unless we have an economic policy that is stable and geared to the needs of the real economy, unless we strengthen our industrial base and make the investment in industry and people that we need, the reality is lower prosperity for all of us. Look even now: when we are barely out of recession, interest rates are raised. The chairman of the Conservative party promises that it will be the last such rise in interest rates. There are capacity constraints on output already. There are skill shortages-
Most galling of all, the Conservative Government uniquely had the one-
If reports are true, there are new oil finds in the west of Shetland field. For heaven's sake, let us not squander that natural advantage as earlier natural advantages were squandered. Let for once the short-
The same prejudice has led the Government to ignore the danger signs of the tearing of the social fabric of our country. We are as a nation more divided and less equal than at any time this century. Millions of people live on benefit, in poverty and without hope for the future. Of course there is a social and moral case for tackling that inequality, but there is an economic case, too. In parts of our inner cities, a generation of young people grows up in a culture of low employment prospects, poor education opportunities, family instability, drug abuse and crime. With no stake in society, it is hardly surprising when they show little responsibility towards it.
Mr. Duncan Smith: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Blair: The Government have doubled dependency on welfare since 1979-
Mr. Duncan Smith rose -
Madam Speaker: Order. The hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Duncan Smith) should not persist, as it must be obvious that the right hon. Gentleman will not give way.
Mr. Blair: After 15 years of Conservative government, tax and spending as a percentage of national income are up and not down. Why? Because we are paying the bills of failure. We are paying for the dole queues, poverty, low pay, homelessness and crime. The Government never learn that, the stronger and more united our society, the less we waste and the more we can invest. That is the difference.
Good public services are a part of that. A moment ago, the hon. Member for High Peak (Mr. Hendry) asked me about efficient public services. We should look at the national health service. We have been promised even more legislation now to improve
"the management of the National Health Service".
What has happened since the Queen's Speech 15 years ago, when the Conservatives said that they would do the same? Bureaucracy and administration are up £3 billion a year. There are 20,000 general and senior managers, compared with 500 a few years ago. Some £70 million has been spent on company cars.
This week, the true Tory philosophy on the health service was revealed by the chairman of an NHS trust-
Of course, we need efficient management, but we do not have that. We have expensive management, which is swallowing millions of pounds, while many people are on waiting lists and are forced to wait in indignity and injured on trolleys in hospitals when they should be getting proper care.
This week, it was revealed that £30 million was put into the collapsed Health Care International. That must be added to the hundreds of millions of pounds spent on railway privatisation and the poll tax, and the hundreds of millions wasted on the national curriculum. The Government have wasted public money at every turn, and they have wasted it on dogma.
Last week, one Minister had to admit that he had lost £30 million of public money in four months, while another was found guilty of breaking the law and misusing £240 million in relations with countries overseas. A third-
The tale of how those victims have been treated is a scandal of arrogant incompetence from first to last. The new tariff system of compensation is manifestly unfair, and it was rejected by all victims' groups. It has no support anywhere, and when the Government launched a consultation exercise about it, not a single representation was in favour of the Government's plans. They were warned that it was unlawful-
The chance of a new start for the Government and the country has been thrown away in the Queen's Speech. It is no wonder that the public turn away from politics when the Government refuse to hear the voice that they are speaking with. It is the Opposition who will continue to speak up for what the people of this country want-
The Queen's Speech shows a Government who are out of touch and out of steam. At the next election, it will be our pleasure to put them out of office, too.
The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major): I was sorry to learn earlier that the right hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Foster) has been taken ill. I was delighted to hear the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) say that the illness does not seem to be serious. I think that I speak for the House in saying that I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will soon be fully recovered and back here carrying out his duties.
The right hon. Member for Sedgefield mentioned the sad loss of a number of colleagues on both sides of the House and I join him in the tributes that he paid to them. We may dispute and disagree often and violently in the House-
The right hon. Member for Sedgefield had some grave charges to lay before the Government-
The right hon. Member for Sedgefield was graceful about my hon. Friends and their proposing and seconding of the Gracious Speech. My hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) entered the House on the same day as I did. We knew one another for many years before we came to this place. I know him well and he has always been blessed with the gift of clarity. [Hon. Members:-
In this country, at least, we always know where we are with my hon. Friend, but abroad he has a slightly less certain touch. Seeking tickets while on holiday in Italy, he consulted his Italian phrase book, marched up to the booking clerk and, I am reliably informed, said something quite unspeakable in vile Italian. My informant did not tell me what it was, but I understand that it was emphatically not a request for a day return to Milan.
In Florida, my hon. Friend visited Seaworld-
My hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) entered the House only at the last election. He referred to his first term in this House, which I am sure will be one of many. What he did not mention-
Next month, so long as the ceasefire is maintained, we shall open the exploratory dialogue with Sinn Fein and the loyalist political representatives. In those talks, the decommissioning of illegally held weapons will be a vital subject. Last week's outrage in Newry-
The people of Northern Ireland, too, are impatient for political progress, and I believe that they are right to be. As part of an overall settlement, we shall make proposals for a possible way forward within Northern Ireland, including a locally accountable assembly.
We have made good progress with the Irish Government on a joint framework document that covers relations between the two Governments and between Northern Ireland and the Republic. I hope that circumstances will allow us to complete the remaining negotiations speedily. The two Governments are seeking joint positions on some difficult issues, including the territorial claim that remains in the Irish constitution.
Northern Ireland's future must be resolved freely, and without prejudice or duress, and that was acknowledged in the Downing street declaration. As part of a balanced settlement, requiring change on both sides, the Irish Government agreed that the Republic's constitution would need to change to reflect fully the principle of consent in Northern Ireland. It is obviously important for Northern Ireland to be recognised as a legitimate part of the United Kingdom while that remains the wish of the greater number of the people of Northern Ireland.
A more relaxed relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic is also important. Many people in the north want links with the south. There is already valuable co-
I know that there are fears about joint authority-
The tasks ahead remain formidable, but each and every day without violence is another small victory for Northern Ireland. The benefits of peace which people are now witnessing will be a powerful disincentive to renewed violence.
I cannot promise that those endeavours will be successful, but I can promise that we shall pursue them, with the hope of reaching a lasting peace. I express my thanks to right hon. and hon. Members, on both sides of the House, who put aside the normal political differences to support the process.
Before I discuss the contents of the Gracious Speech, I wish to mention our economic prospects, as did the right hon. Member for Sedgefield.
A year ago, many people had doubts about economic recovery. The hon. Member for Dunfermline, East (Mr. Brown) delved into his stock of gloomy soundbites and forecast "rising unemployment, falling output and shaky prospects for growth."
Since then, unemployment has decreased steadily, month by month. Today it fell by more than 45,000, to below 9 per cent. for the first time since December 1991. Throughout the European Union-
The right hon. Member for Sedgefield told us that one of the ways ahead was to reduce unemployment, but he would have been more gracious if he had acknowledged that we have reduced unemployment far more successfully than any other large country in western Europe, and that only two small countries have a lower rate.
Mr. Skinner: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way on that point?
The Prime Minister: I shall give way later.
As for growth, output is currently increasing at more than 3.5 per cent., and we are forecast to have the fastest growth among the main economies in the European Union this year and next.
The problem for the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East, is that his every forecast turns out to be wrong-
I do not wish to be unfair to the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East. He is by no means the only misery merchant on the Opposition Front Bench who is seeking to spread despondency. The hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook), who is enjoying an agreeable chat with the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett), was a trainee misery. He spoke of "big concerns" about how long the recovery would last. He did at least have the honesty to admit that there was a recovery. He spoke of
"big concerns about how long the recovery could be sustained before it led to a balance of payments crisis."
As it happens, the trade balance is narrowing as output grows, and the hon. Gentleman was wrong.
The hon. Gentleman has heavyweight company. The new deputy leader of the Labour party, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott), was in the gloom stakes as well.
Yes, he was. He is smiling now, probably because he knows that I am going to remind him that he said
"I don't see much inward investment flooding in, but I see companies flooding out."
I do not know what country the right hon. Gentleman was in when he said that, because it certainly does not apply to this country. The only things that are flooding out are exports, at record levels. The right hon. Gentleman also seems to have missed the inward investment. Last year, this country attracted 40 per cent. of the total inward investment from the United States and Japan that was made in the European Union. Black and Decker, for example, moved a production line to Britain from Germany-
"Industry is flexible and the social chapter isn't."
Where is the Black and Decker factory? In a place called Spennymoor, bang in the middle of the constituency of the right hon. Member for Sedgefield.
The deputy leader of the Labour party should ask his right hon. Friend whether he has seen any inward investment flooding into this country-
Mr. George Howarth (Knowsley, North): At the 1992 general election, the Prime Minister and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer made it clear that they could conceive of no circumstances in which they would increase taxes if they won the election, yet afterwards they increased taxes. Can the Prime Minister help the House? At the time of the election, did the Prime Minister and the Chancellor know the true state of public finances and mislead the public, or did they not know the true state of public finances-
The Prime Minister: I think that the hon. Gentleman could have done better than that if he had tried. He may live in his own little dream world, and he may have overlooked the fact that there was a worsening recession not here but elsewhere, which was why, right across Europe, unemployment rose and others ran into the difficulties that we ran into in this country.
If the hon. Gentleman is concerned about inconsistencies-
Up and down the land, there has been a vote of confidence in the British economy from foreign investors. The right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East and the hon. Members for Livingston and for Dunfermline, East say none of that. They can, if they wish, remain the three blind mice on the Labour Front Bench, but foreign investors see what is happening in this country. To quote the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East, they have been "flooding in", they are "flooding in" and, while they have a Conservative Government with the policies that we follow, they will continue to "flood in" and to provide jobs in the right hon. Member for Sedgefield's constituency.
Mr. Denis MacShane (Rotherham): Is the Prime Minister aware that, for every pound that has come into this country, more than two in the last year, and well over two in the past 15, have left? British Steel is investing £97 million in America, but nothing in this country. What policies does the Prime Minister offer to develop manufacturing based on investment by British firms in their own country?
The Prime Minister: I am glad that the hon. Gentleman mentioned British Steel. I was in Port Talbot a fortnight ago-
Mr. Skinner: Earlier, the Prime Minister talked about unemployment coming down. Is he aware that large sections of the British people do not believe his Government and their fiddled statistics? Does he understand that the other day independent figures were compiled on every British coalfield where many of the pits have shut? In Bolsover and north Derbyshire, the Prime Minister's figures show unemployment at 12.5 per cent., but independent statistics show it to be 23.5 per cent. In Durham, the figure is 33 per cent. and it is the same in Ayrshire. In Wales, the figure is over 30 per cent. The truth is that all this twaddle, which has probably been written by Sarah Hogg, is a stranger to the truth.
The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman is such a believer in conspiracies that he probably does not yet believe that there is really a Wednesday in the week. He should not squeak until he is squoken to.
Dr. Spink: Will my right hon. Friend explain to me, to the House and to the nation why the Opposition are always running down this nation, running down our industry, our schools and our health service? Why do they not start talking Britain up?
The Prime Minister: I suspect that there may be millions of people asking the same question over the next two and a half years.
Dr. John Reid (Motherwell, North) rose -
The Prime Minister: If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I suspect that he or his hon. Friends may want to intervene later. I want to make some progress.
I want to deal with the legislative programme for next year contained in the Gracious Speech. Over the years, we have introduced many controversial supply side measures, privatisations and deregulations. Time after time the Opposition have opposed them, yet they do not seem to follow that opposition through. They do not commit themselves to reversing those privatisations. We all know why. They know that the privatisations are right, but they want to capitalise on public concerns when the measures are going through the House. If the Labour party's opposition is genuine, let it commit itself now to reversing all the privatisation measures that we have carried out. If it does not do so, it should keep quiet and realise that those measures have greatly improved the efficiency of British industry in recent years.
The Opposition will not commit themselves to that because they know that privatisation works. They know also that renationalisation would blow for good and all the belief that this is a new Labour party in any sense. Whatever the balance between public and private sector might be, the Opposition usually, and grudgingly, think that it happens to be right at the time. They do not know whether to go forward or back. They do not say yes and they do not say no. They loathe private ownership, but they dare not reverse it.
We intend to proceed with privatisation. This year, we shall privatise the Crown Agents. [Hon. Members:-
We shall introduce a Gas Bill to bring genuine competition into the gas industry. Consumers already benefit from a fall, after inflation, of more than 20 per cent. in gas prices and they will reap further benefits. New suppliers will be able to enter the gas supply market, giving customers more choice and better service. Safeguards protecting price, safety, standards and social obligations will remain for as long as they are necessary.
The Agricultural Tenancies Bill will make it easier for tenants to rent land and to benefit from the improvements that they make to it. Landlords and tenants will gain greater freedom in negotiating the terms of a tenancy, within a framework that protects legitimate interests and that guarantees that tenants are rewarded for any improvements that they may make. That has been agreed by landlords and tenants alike and will open up opportunities for young farmers to take their first step in the industry.
Mr. William O'Brien (Normanton): The Prime Minister gave a catalogue of successes in industry. Will he comment on how the building industry will prosper in the coming year? There is a need for rented houses and for improvements to houses, yet no reference is made in the Gracious Speech to the building industry. Has he a comment to make on the future of the building industry?
The Prime Minister: I am not sure what legislation, for that is what the Queen's Speech deals with, the hon. Gentleman may have in mind for the building industry. The growth in the economy, which we are now seeing, will bring the building industry back to greater health. That is the way in which to bring it back to proper health. We shall introduce the Jobseeker's Allowance Bill to help more and more unemployed people back into work. The new allowance will replace unemployment benefit and income support and will underline the bargain between job seekers and taxpayers. Job seekers are right to expect benefits but the taxpayer is right to expect a job seeker to seek a job, and the Bill will ensure that that is so.
Mr. Derek Enright (Hemsworth): Come to my area.
The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman should get his head out of the sand and look at the falling total of unemployed people. The figure has been falling for nearly two years. One day he might acknowledge that this country is doing better than almost any other in western Europe in putting people in work, in keeping people in work and in having the highest level of adult population in work. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Bill will allow private finance to contribute to the development of one of the most important infrastructure improvements of recent years. Both public and private sectors will have a role to play and the project will be likely to create between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs.
The Pensions Bill will implement all the main recommendations of the Goode committee. It will offer greater protection for members of occupational pensions schemes and it will implement a common pension age for men and women at 65, which I was interested to note was accepted as reasonable by the Commission on Social Justice.
Mr. John Prescott (Kingston upon Hull, East): Has the Prime Minister read the report?
The Prime Minister: I have read the commission's report. I recommend it to insomniacs. We have a meaty programme of supply side reforms and I look forward to introducing them to the House. We shall also introduce the European Communities (Finance) Bill to give effect to the financial arrangements reached at the Edinburgh summit.
Mr. D. N. Campbell-
The Prime Minister: The straight answer is yes. I hope that that is straight enough for the hon. Gentleman. I must say that, having asked for a straight answer, he looks very discomfited to have actually got one. I suggest that, if he does not want a straight answer, perhaps he should have asked his right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition.
Dr. John Reid (Motherwell, North) rose -
The Prime Minister: I will make some progress, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me.
I am still saying it: consistency is a virtue. Those financial arrangements were warmly welcomed at the time, and for good reason. They safeguarded our rebate-
I have seen suggestions that the new arrangements would double our net contributions, which is nonsense and can safely be dismissed out of hand. The outcome of the Edinburgh agreement was reported to the House and strongly supported here. This Bill is necessary to honour that agreement. We shall introduce it early in the Session and take it through speedily.
No one should doubt the importance of securing the Bill unchanged and early. I know that some hon. Members dislike it, but it is not an optional measure that can be used as a bargaining counter for other European negotiations. It is an international commitment, entered into two years ago with the full support of the Cabinet. No British Government would have credibility in international negotiations if they failed to implement the agreements that they had freely entered into with their partners abroad, so for that reason there is no room for compromise on the Bill. That means that its successful passage in all its essentials is inescapably a matter of confidence, because of the agreements reached with our European partners. I hope that there is no doubt in the House about that.
Mr. A. J. Beith (Berwick-
The Prime Minister: I have just made it perfectly clear that the Bill must be passed in all its essentials to ensure that we honour the obligations that we entered into with our European partners.
Mr. Tony Marlow (Northampton, North): In the spirit of friendship, may I put it to my right hon. Friend that if the passage of the Bill were made contingent on effective measures and results in combating European fraud he might have a more coherent response?
The Prime Minister: I made it clear in my speech at Leiden earlier this year that it was important that the whole of the European Union attacked the outrageous problem of fraud that exists in Europe. The figures that we have just seen were produced by the Court of Auditors, which, I remind the House, has its present powers because the British Government in general, and I in particular, demanded them in the Maastricht treaty. I must tell my hon. Friend that I did so because I believe that fraud in the European Union is unforgivable and must be rooted out.
The British Government have been the leader in the European Union in rooting out fraud. We have less fraud in this country than anywhere else in the European Union, and my right hon. Friends and I intend to press again and again to ensure that the Court of Auditors has the powers necessary to root out fraud across the Community. I shall say something else to my hon. Friend, because I hope that he will back me here, too. In order to do as I have said, it may be necessary for the Court of Auditors to have greater powers to go into each country in the Community, including this country as part of the European Union, to root out fraud. I believe that it should have those powers, and I support them. We shall do all that we can to minimise, and then to eliminate, fraud in the European Union. I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance, but he need not tie it to the Bill, for we embarked on that several months ago.
The House will know that earlier this summer the Government began to consult on a range of proposals to improve the position of disabled people. Following the consultation-
Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby) rose -
The Prime Minister: I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman in a moment. Following the consultation, we decided to go further and, contrary to our original intimation to hon. Members, to propose a Government Bill in the Gracious Speech, rather than producing a hand-
Mr. Tom Clarke (Monklands, West) rose -
The Prime Minister: I have already promised to give way to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing), and I shall do so in a moment. A great deal has been achieved, but we can and should do more. The Bill will follow an exercise that focused not only on what should be done but on how it could be done and how quickly. The Government will announce the details of the Bill shortly. Let me simply say now that it will include a right not to be discriminated against in employment, a right of access to goods and services and the establishment of a national disability council to ensure that the voice of disabled people is heard more clearly within Government.
Mr. Wareing: The Prime Minister will be aware that in 1983 I introduced a private Member's Bill to outlaw all discrimination against disabled people, but that it was outrageously attacked by the Government and Conservative Members were dragooned into the Division Lobby to oppose it. The same thing happened to the Bill recently introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Berry). I was told at the time that education and persuasion represented the way forward.
The Queen's Speech says only that the Government will introduce a Bill to "tackle" discrimination. It is not enough simply to select employment and one or two other aspects. Will the Prime Minister give an undertaking that the legislation will make it illegal to discriminate against disabled people, as it is to discriminate against people on the grounds of race, sex or religion?
The Prime Minister: I have set out what will be in the Bill, and the hon. Gentleman will have the chance to read it as soon as it is published. The Minister for Social Security and Disabled People will make the details clear.
Mr. Tom Clarke: Will the Prime Minister give way?
The Prime Minister: I am replying to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby. If the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) will do me the courtesy of listening, I shall contemplate giving way to him when I have finished.
I have set out the details of what will be in the Bill, and I advise the hon. Member for West Derby to wait until he sees those details, which will be debated fully in the House and in Committee.
Mr. Tom Clarke: Is the Prime Minister aware that nothing that he has said corresponds with the measures in the Bill that my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood sought to introduce, which was disgracefully talked out by Conservative Members? As a former Whip, and as a former Minister responsible for disabled people, will he discourage The Guardian from saying that simply because the Government have introduced a Bill nobody else can introduce a Bill on the same subject? Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that if my hon. Friend or any other hon. Member introduces such a Bill, he should discourage the Government Whips from talking it out and denying the rights of 6.5 million disabled people and their carers?
The Prime Minister: I have limited influence over The Guardian, as recent events have shown; the hon. Gentleman must take up his complaints about The Guardian with that newspaper. As for the position of disabled people, he, too, would be wiser to wait and read the Bill before making judgments on it.
The remainder of the legislative programme will honour a number of important commitments that we have given. The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill will be another important step in the Government's battle against crime.
Dr. Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Port Glasgow) rose -
The Prime Minister: I shall make some progress now; I know that many hon. Members wish to speak.
Dr. Godman: Will the Prime Minister give way?
The Prime Minister: Not on this point. Like the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill will crack down on those who offend on bail, increase the courts' powers to confiscate the assets of crime and streamline the operation of the courts.
The Environment Bill will set up an environment protection agency and a Scottish environment protection agency. I suspect that that will be widely welcomed in the House and elsewhere.
The Health Service Bill will take forward our programme of reform by streamlining the national health service management structure. The right hon. Member for Sedgefield spoke about expenditure in the national health service on administration. I look, therefore, for his support for the abolition of one entire tier of the management structure in the regional health authorities. They will be abolished while the district health authorities and family health authorities will be merged. We shall judge whether the right hon. Gentleman's words are matched by his actions in the Division Lobby as we seek to cut administrative expenditure.
We will introduce a Bill to provide for the supervision of those discharged under the Mental Health Act 1983. This is to ensure greater security for the community and better welfare for those recovering from mental illness. Many hon. Members will be aware of the problems that have arisen in that area. I believe that the Bill will be warmly welcomed and I am grateful for the intimations from the Opposition that they will help to speed the Bill through to law. There are three important additional measures that we intend to introduce under the general heading of law reform. The Criminal Appeals Bill follows the Government's acceptance of the recommendation of the Royal Commission on criminal justice that a new body is needed to consider possible cases of miscarriage of justice. The new body will be independent of both Government and the courts and it will be able to review wrongful convictions.
The Children (Scotland) Bill will ensure a comprehensive reform of child care in Scotland. It follows the reports of the inquiries into the Orkney and Fife incidents, and the White Paper of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, "Scotland's Children: Proposals for Child Care Policy and Law", published last year.
Dr. Godman: Will the Prime Minister give way?
The Prime Minister: If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I shall tell him bluntly that I shall not give way to him on this occasion. The Bill's welfare measures include the introduction of more flexible arrangements for local authorities to care for children in need and the introduction of more stringent criteria for taking children into care.
We shall also introduce a Medical Act (Amendment) Bill to introduce new procedures to enable the General Medical Council to deal with the very small minority of doctors whose performance is found to be seriously deficient.
Those are measures of reform which, I believe, will command widespread support in the House. I am encouraged by the overt support already given to these Bills across the House and I trust that we shall be able to agree speedily on their handling. Those are some of the things that are important across the House.
The right hon. Member for Sedgefield spoke of many things, but we did not hear a great deal about practical issues from him. We have heard a great deal from the right hon. Gentleman about new Labour, although no one seems quite sure what that means. We are now getting some clues. I was especially interested in the way in which the right hon. Gentleman allocated his shadow Cabinet portfolios.
Whom did the right hon. Member for Sedgefield choose as his shadow Foreign Secretary-
The hon. Member for Livingston is not the only clue-
Mr. Campbell-
The Prime Minister: They are tired old arguments, I know, but they are the best that the Labour party has got.
The hon. Member for Livingston is not the only clue; there are other square pegs in round holes. Let us take the shadow defence team. What do they have in common? The answer is consistency. They are consistently against Britain's nuclear defences. The hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark), the man to whom the Leader of the Opposition would entrust Britain's nuclear defences, is a member of parliamentary CND. Indeed, he is not alone. I have a list, which my hon. Friends may care to hear. It includes the right hon. Member for Derby, South and the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson)-
It is another clue-
Mr. Campbell-
The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman says that they are yesterday's arguments. They do not care about Rosyth now. The hon. Gentleman should keep quiet. He is digging himself a bigger hole by the minute.
Another clue to Labour's new team is the right hon. Member for Sedgefield's choice for his shadow Treasury team-
Dr. Reid: He said something about taxes.
The Prime Minister: I shall say something on taxes in which the hon. Gentleman will be interested. Only a fortnight ago, the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) was talking about the importance of collecting tax-
Mr. Campbell-
The Prime Minister: I am about to. They include low inflation. For the first time, we may be in a position where we have broken the inflationary psychology that has damaged this country time and again since the war. We have pursued objectives of supply side reform for lasting growth, a better quality of life for all our citizens, a higher standard of public service and a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. They remain at the centre of my objectives for this year and for the future. The programme outlined in the Gracious Speech will take those objectives forward and I warmly commend it to the House.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


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Source: SYS-CON AUSTRALIA
CoWare, which specializes in platform-driven electronic system-level (ESL) design software and services, has announced its new Virtual Platform product family.
CoWare Virtual Platform product family delivers new tools and technologies that support the creation, distribution, and use of virtual hardware platforms for device software development and validation. Virtual hardware platforms are models of the device hardware and the environment they evolve in, and are suitable for the development and validation of an entire device software stack up to the application level, the company says. They also enable electronics companies to engage more effectively with their customers and ecosystem partners. The solution is integrated with and supports the CoWare platform-driven ESL strategy.
Traditional software development and validation solutions have either been non-representative of the device hardware, too slow, available too late, or have not provided enough hardware controllability and observability, CoWare says. Virtual hardware platforms provide fast execution speed, scalability, early availability, unprecedented hardware controllability, observability, determinism, and easy distribution.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
CoWare Expands into Software with Eclipse-Based IDE
Source: SYS-CON AUSTRALIA
Posted by EclipseTracker at 10:46 AM 1 comments
LynuxWorks joins Eclipse Foundation: News from LynuxWorks
Source: ElectronicsTalk.com
LynuxWorks will initially support the Eclipse open source community by helping increase an industry focus on Eclipse based embedded development products while evaluating how the company can leverage some of its own products into relevant Eclipse projects. Prior to officially joining the foundation, LynuxWorks was an early adopter of the Eclipse framework.
The company's Eclipse based product called Luminosity is a full-featured Java-based integrated development environment (IDE) and was released in 2005.
Designed to accelerate time to market for embedded system developers, Luminosity supports LynuxWorks comprehensive portfolio of open standards based operating systems including LynxOS 4.x, BlueCat Linux 5.x and LynxOS-178 solutions.
In addition to developing products based on the Eclipse framework, LynuxWorks' executive evangelism for the foundation has been gaining steady momentum.
LynuxWorks Chairman and CEO Dr Inder Singh has publicly supported the Eclipse ideology in various industry articles.
In addition, Robert Day, Vice President of Marketing for LynuxWorks, has been very active as Co-chair of the Eclipse Embedded Workgroup, has published several articles on the Eclipse framework and will also be presenting a paper titled: 'Eclipse: under the hood' at the Embedded Systems Conference in Silicon Valley.
Posted by EclipseTracker at 10:44 AM 1 comments
SoftLanding Completes Transition to Eclipse-Based Technology
Source: ITJungle.com
"It's clear that all iSeries development will move from PDM to WDSC," says Steve Gapp, CEO of SoftLanding Systems. That's confidence. And that's not in short supply when Gapp is talking about his company's embrace of WebSphere. SoftLanding has just put the wraps on TurnOver Change Management's transition to Eclipse-based technology. The move has put the company and its change management software in a sweet spot if WDSC becomes the development environment of choice for iSeries shops.
For those unfamiliar with change management software, it is used to establish and automate repeatable processes for software development, including issue tracking, project management, development, and deployment.
"Our early experiences with the Eclipse framework proved to us that this technology brings very tangible benefits to iSeries developers," Gapp says. "Now the entire TurnOver solution can be accessed through a stand-alone client or as a plug-in to any Eclipse-based IDE (integrated development environment). The consistency between the two interfaces makes it easier for TurnOver users to move to WDSC (WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries) or RAD. They're already familiar with the environment."
Posted by EclipseTracker at 10:41 AM 0 comments
Eclipse IDE Gains More Members, Plug-ins
Source: Integration Developers News
The Eclipse IDE received a wave of new members, plug-ins and core technology contributions. The latest Eclipse offerings offer support for debugging, business intelligence, build management, prototyping, and even plans to add modeling UIs and forms. IDN provides a shopping list and links to all the free downloads, where available.
The new Eclipse plug-ins and memberships were announced at last month's EclipseCon2006.
Posted by EclipseTracker at 10:39 AM 2 comments
Klocwork Teams up with QNX Softare Systems for IDE Integration
Source: TMCNET.com
Alliance Will Provide Joint Customers with a Single Integrated Embedded Development Environment to Enable Top Quality and Design
Klocwork Inc., the proven leader in automated software solutions that improve software security and quality, today announced an alliance with QNX Software Systems to deliver joint customers with access to Klocwork's K7 static analysis tools from the QNX(R) Momentics(R) development suite. QNX Software Systems provides real-time operating system software, development tools, and services for building secure, reliable, high-performance embedded applications. Through its support for the Eclipse IDE environment, Klocwork K7 is designed to seamlessly integrate into industry-leading Eclipse-based integrated development environments (IDEs), like the QNX Momentics suite, as well as customers' existing software development processes.
Posted by EclipseTracker at 10:38 AM 0 comments


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She knows by his face when he needs a word of encouragement. He knows that silence suits her best in the morning. They often finish sentences with a "you know what I mean" nod. Through the years they have rubbed off each other's rough spots, grown together and now, seeing them together, they look comfortable.
The Qur'an says: "And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts); Verily in that are signs for those who reflect" (30:21).
When a woman and a man marry, this picture of companionship, love, and tranquility is their goal. Achieving it, though, is not simple or easy, and many of us do not. In the United States, 60% of marriages end in divorce. Even those that last beyond the honeymoon stages, before the challenges of everyday living set in, may become boring, unfulfilling, and driven by factors other than the true desire to remain in one another's company. Muslim couples are not immune to the deadly influences that break up or stagnate marital relationships. Breakdowns in communication, difficulty discussing emotionally charged issues such as finances or child-rearing practices and the challenge of effectively resolving divisive issues are all factors that can sour a potentially gratifying marriage.
Some marital discord may occur simply because the couple came together for the wrong reasons or because they approached marriage with unrealistic expectations. Going into a marriage with eyes wide open is the first action toward the future success of the union.
Mahasin Salaam, happily married for 30 years, emphasizes the need to start out on the right foot. "If a marriage is started out by doing the proper things in the courtship, then that lays the foundation," she says. Mahasin goes on to point out that having common interests and backgrounds is part of what makes a marriage work from the beginning, recalling that, "We had so much in common--the love for art, poetry, the importance of family life (we both come from close-knit families). The first night we met we talked for four to five hours. The communication is still good."
Even though the particulars of a couple's lives may differ, that sense of connection at the outset that Mahasin describes is important to the future of a marriage. Ann El-Moslimany, who has been married for 38 years, remembers that on first getting acquainted with her then-future husband, "I was definitely attracted by my husband's piety, even though we were of different religions and at that time I never thought I would become Muslim. I was also strongly attracted to him physically, and I think that is important, too."
Iman Sabir, who has been married for 30 years, agrees. She observes, too, that in most cases while the externals and details may change, the person's basic nature remains constant, as her experience attests. "Before I married," she says, "even before I became Muslim, I knew I wanted a man who was peaceful in nature and serious-minded. When I met my husband, it was these things in his character that attracted me to him. To this day he's still the same."
Looking back at her marriage, Ann has realized that the best way to get through the adjustment period is for the partners to remain true to themselves while learning to compromise. Trying to take on stereotypical roles of husband or wife, or trying to mold the marriage partner into such a role, only causes problems in the future as expectations are created and broken. "When we first married," Ann laughs, "it didn't occur to me to expect my husband to help around the house. After we married, I moved into his apartment. I remember saying, 'It's my kitchen now. You stay out!' I have never forgiven myself!"
A strong woman who knows herself and understands the freedom Islam gives her to express her humanity is in a good position to know what she needs from her partner. Mahasin advises, "A woman should try to communicate to her husband how she wants to be treated. If he doesn't get it, she has to keep saying what she wants from the relationship."
Learning the art of compromise usually takes years. Couples may be disappointed when months go by, and then years, and they are still learning to accommodate each other without losing their own identities. Patience is the key. Ann recalls that on many issues, her husband "became more cooperative as the years went by."
The largest parts of compromise are openness to the other's point of view and good communication when differences arise. In resolving these inevitable differences between marital partners, Iman points out, "Before either one makes a move, both must ask themselves, 'Is this pleasing to Allah? How does Allah view this?' This is the Islamic version of counting to 10 to prevent speaking out of anger." A harsh or unloving word may echo in a partner's mind long after it is spoken, causing resentment and damage to the emotional relationship even after the issue at hand is resolved.


text:
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2 pistols, 200 rounds fired...that's about 10-20 magazine changes...4.5 inch Mil-Spec barrels...a base full of combat-hardened troops...44 people either killed or wounded...and 5 hours later, after having been confirmed DEAD 5 hours ago...the shooter is still alive. Do you smell a big pile of BS? I do.
Originally posted by gdjk81
OMG please tell me some of you are kidding? I can't take some of the comments anymore!!
Where did the guy get the guns? He bought them on his own outside of the military. It is usually way easier for military personnel to buy fire arms you know.
They say he fired 200+ rounds? Ok I go to the gun range and fire somewhere around 500 rounds each time. Usually not there for very long either. If this guy had more magazines ready loaded then this is nothing. I'm surprised there wasn't even more rounds fired.
How did he get the guns on the base? Easy he was a MAJOR. They don't check cars coming onto the base all the time. if its an officer they have it even easier. They normally only do this when they are at the highest level of security.
How could someone do this while there are 40,000+ military personnel around? You're kidding right? do you think that all military personnel walk around armed 24/7? These soldiers were getting ready to ship out (filling out paper work, making sure their wills and life insurance was correct). So basically not paying attention to what's going on around them. Bullets start flying its going to take a few moments for them to react and figure out where the shots are coming from. if the room they were in was small it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Him being in the military really has no bearing on this what so ever. look at how many people died at Virginia Tech. that guy wasn't in the military and had no military training. Bet that was some conspiracy as well to get rid of the nasty college students.
Ok I've said my piece now let those of you who try to pick this apart do your best and have fun.
Originally posted by JJay55
reply to post by superluminal11
VT killer was a Chinese muslim. just sayin. Yes, I see the similarities.
Originally posted by Chad_Thomas89
Answer the question. How can 1 man produce such a killing spree surrounded by MILITARY personal?
Originally posted by Jesus H Christ
Ohh Jesus Tap dancing Christ, It was only a matter of time.
Why does everything have to be a conspiracy with you people?
Originally posted by Gwynethnor
It's a distraction - my first response on hearing this is what are they pushing through Congress at the moment that capitol hill doesn't really want publicized until it's passed and signed.
That's all this kind of stuff is really or you wouldn't hear too much about it. Of course, all the inaccurate news when it first happened kept everyone in the country rapt with attention. Unfortunately, that attention is going in the wrong direction.
It's simple magical illusion - watch this hand while the other one is doing the trick.


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Extra voluminous and long hairstyle is the dream of every girl that's why nowadays hair extensions are so popular. If you are blessed with super long and thick hair, the following styling ideas will arm you up with fab tips to glam up your look. Leave behind bad hair days and make the most of your gorgeous tresses with latest extra voluminous hairstyles.
Hairstyle has great impact on your image so never skip hair care routine to have glossy and healthy hair. Right hair treatment is the first condition of having smashing hairstyle. Next learn few basic tips that will help you to boost the volume of your locks and create hot look without any effort.


text: Mobium wins big at Chicago BMA awards Published on May 23, 2002. Chicago--Integrated business branding shop Mobium Creative Group took home the most honors from the Chicago Business Marketing Association's annual creative awards ceremony on Wednesday. Mobium won six gold, eight silver and four bronze awards at the 19th Annual Tower Awards Creative Competition; it also swept the online marketing animation/motion graphics category. Following Mobium, Chicago-based Slack Barshinger won three gold, four silver and four bronze awards. Earlier this month, the national BMA selected Slack as its 2002 "Agency of the Year." Best of show honors at the Tower Awards went to JTC Advertising for its "Make it Big in Chicago" campaign for World Business Chicago. Most Popular In this article: BtoB


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GenealogyBank has the city of Duluth covered, providing newspapers from 1869 to 1922 to help with your family searches in the "North Star State."
This was how the town looked during that period in history.
These were exciting days for the growing Minnesota city. Duluth, situated in the heart of the country, is actually a port city because of its location on Lake Superior. Its port handled large amounts of cargo, and routinely received incoming ships from Europe and coastal American cities that travelled up the Saint Lawrence Seaway and through the Great Lakes. Duluth's bustling port surpassed both New York and Chicago in gross tonnage handled around the beginning of the 20th century. As a result of the city's shipping success, Duluth became home to more millionaires per capita than any other U.S. city during that time, and featured ten local city newspapers.
Did your ancestors pass through Duluth, MN, on their way to the Midwest? Did they settle and stay in the popular port city?
Dig into our online Duluth, MN, newspaper archives and see what you can find out about your family tree online now:
|Budgeteer News
|6/9/2006 – Current
|Recent Obituaries
|Duluth Daily News
|7/2/1887 – 9/4/1892
|Newspaper Archives
|Duluth Minnesotian
|4/24/1869 – 9/4/1875
|Newspaper Archives
|Duluth Minnesotian-Herald
|9/11/1875 – 5/11/1878
|Newspaper Archives
|Duluth News Tribune
|1/1/1995 – Current
|Recent Obituaries
|Duluth News-Tribune
|5/16/1881 – 12/31/1922
|Newspaper Archives
|Duluth Weekly News-Tribune
|1/2/1897 – 6/26/1897
|Newspaper Archives
|Duluth Weekly Tribune
|1/6/1876 – 7/15/1887
|Newspaper Archives
|Lake Superior News
|7/4/1878 – 1/27/1881
|Newspaper Archives


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Coventry City fans' calls to vote out councillors
Coventry City fans plan to hold a major demonstration outside the city's Council House to call for a return to the Ricoh Arena on May 10th.
The 'Vote them Out' urges fans to use the forthcoming elections to vote for candidates who say they will help bring the club home.
The Sky Blues moved to Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium at the start of the season for at least three years.
It follows a long-running rent row with the Ricoh Arena, which saw the club fall into administration.


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Pacific Hills Family Chiropractic
Our staff are here to help you with your questions and explain our chiropractic services. So please don't hesitate to fill out the form to the right or give us a call. We'd love to hear from you!
|(949) 367-0407
|(949) 367-0406
28281 Crown Valley Pkwy,
Suite 100
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Click on the red pin for directions
Laguna Niguel, CA Chiropractic
Pacific Hills Family Chiropractic is located in the City of Laguna Niguel in the State of California. Laguna Niguel is primarily a hillside town with approximately one third of its land designated as open space. Located to the west of the 5 Freeway in South Orange County, it borders Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills and Aliso Viejo. The city's Crown Valley Community Park serves as the center for the City's recreational programs and activities. With its community pool, outdoor Amphitheater and 18 acre Niguel Botanical Preserve, it attracts over 240,000 people annually for its many events and programs. The City enjoys a healthy business climate and economic environment.
If you need any help with directions to our office or in scheduling an appointment please don't hesitate to call us at (949) 367-0407. Our chiropractic team, headed by Dr. Glenn Perryman D.C., is always available to go over our services with you.
Towns We Service:
Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Dana Point and Laguna Niguel.


text:
Main Road, Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire, KA19 8HY
Phone number: 0844 493 2147
See Scottish literature come to life in this 18th-century thatched cottage in the heart of Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. The former home of cobbler – or souter – John Davidson, the real-life Souter Johnnie immortalised in the Robert Burns poem Tam o' Shanter, it features a thatched tavern in the garden, complete with life-sized sandstone statues of the poem's main characters.
The house also offers a taste of how the Davidson family would have lived and worked – inside the cottage there is a reconstructed shoemaking workshop crammed with Souter Johnnie's original tools, as well as living quarters with period furniture. There is also a small collection of Robert Burns memorabilia.


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Oklahoma Governor Tells Residents To Pray for Rain
http://thinkprogress.org — In response to Oklahoma's record drought and heat wave, Gov. Mary Fallin (R-OK) called for a statewide day of prayer on Sunday to pray for rain. For 47 straight days, temperatures in Oklahoma City have been above 90 degrees. Most of the state is in extreme to exceptional drought. There have been over 140 wildfires in the state. Outdoor burning is banned in most of the state under an
executive order issued Thursday by Fallin.
She also told her constituents that if enough pray, God will come to their rescue:
For the safety of our firefighters and our communities and the well-being of our crops and livestock, this state needs the current drought to come to an end. The power of prayer is a wonderful thing, and I would ask every Oklahoman to look to a greater power this weekend and ask for rain.
"I think if we have a lot of people praying, it moves the heart of God," Fallin told CBS News. Fallin's neighbor, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), issued an "official proclamation drawing on his constitutional authority designating three days as Days of Prayer for Rain" back in April, after which the Texas drought has only gotten much worse.
In 2007, Fallin, then a U.S. congresswoman, laughed off greenhouse pollution, saying people "need to be more concerned about global warming in the U.S. caused by a nuclear attack." Earlier this year, Fallin attacked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for attempting to enforce clean air and clean water laws on her state's oil and gas industry.
In contrast, the Catholic Church wants people motivated by faith to take real action against climate disasters: "We call on all people and nations to recognize the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants."
"The most important immediate step that can be taken at the federal level is to pass and implement national legislation requiring sufficient economy-wide reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through cost-effective, market-based mechanisms such as a cap-and-trade program," say the leaders of the Evangelical Climate Initiative, including Oklahoma's Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr, Bishop James D. Leggett, Dr. Doug Samples, Rev. Jewelle Stewart, Rev. Scott Freeman, and Rev. Dr. Craig Groeschel.
Oklahoma is the epicenter of the nation's growing climate disasters, with the nation's taxpayers paying most of the funds to recover from the extreme storms, fires, and drought.


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Chris Tarrant: Jimmy Savile is so revolting
TELLY star Chris Tarrant says he's amazed Jimmy Savile got away with his years of sex abuse.
I heard about Jimmy Savile. I met him twice and found him deeply unpleasant
Chris, 66, now fronting Channel 5's Extreme Railways, told Radio Times: "I heard about Jimmy Savile. I met him twice and found him deeply unpleasant.
"Pop stars, DJs and girls have been part of the furniture for ever. But even when girls are 15 going on 21, anyone with a brain cell knows they're off limits. It's disgusting."
Victims of Savile, who died last year aged 84, have been traced to 10 countries. The total is over 400.


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A slight but entertaining tale with an inevitable reminder of Monsieur Beaucaire in the rather foppish young hero who writes poor sonnets and aspires to the hand of the Lady Penelope. Of course he wins by a series of amusing encounters which leave everyone congratulating him..
inging a merry drinking-catch, with the ring of glasses and the stamping of spurred heels. "Hark to 'em," he repeated, with a gesture of infinite disgust; "these are creatures the which, having all the outward form and semblance of man, yet, being utterly devoid of all man's finer qualities, live but to quarrel and fight--to eat and drink and beget their kind--in which they be vastly prolific, for the world is full of such. To-night it would seem they are in a high good humour, wherefore they are a trifle more boisterous than usual, indulging themselves in these howlings and shoutings, and shall presently drink themselves out of what little wit Dame Nature hath bestowed upon 'em, and be carted home to bed by their lackeys--pah!"
"How--what?" gasps Jack, while I sat staring (very nearly open-mouthed) at the cool audacity of the fellow.
"Are you aware, sir," cries Jack, when at last he had regained his breath, "that the persons you have been decrying are friends of mine, gallant gentlemen all--aye
A story of how a young man in love manages to win over the approval of girls father by fulfilling three tasks that would have seemed impossible to fulfill. The story is not as romantic as Farnols longer novels, but just as light-heated and fun to read.
Light, amusing and fast paced book. An unusual romance novel, where the the boy and girl are not the leading characters. Enjoyed reading it a lot.