Why are our kids killing each other?

This plague of knives and guns is all too real. It is turning into a massacre of our children and we close our eyes and our curtains and our minds as a teenage boy is killed for a mobile phone.

 
And someone either has the guts to come down hard on any kind of crime involving a potentially lethal weapon, including possession, or we learn to live with it.

 
And die with it.

 
THE VICTIMS:

 
RHYS JONES, 11

 
Shot dead by hoodie on bike as he walked home from football in Croxteth, Liverpool.

 
ANDREW HOLLAND, 16

 
Stabbed to death outside a chip shop in Bolton. A man, 21, has been charged.

 
MICHAEL MORGAN

 
Schoolboy, 15, stabbed to death in a caravan at Lancing, West Sussex.

 
ODWAYNE BARNES, 16

 
Sixteen-year-old was stabbed to death by rival gang member in Birmingham in March.

 
MICHAEL DOSUNMU, 15

 
Shot by two men who burst into bedroom in Peckham, London - it was mistaken identity

 
LEWIS SINGLETON

 
18-year-old died of stab wounds after attack by gang in Southampton.

 
SHANE OWOO, 16

 
Drowned when louts threw him in a pond and threw stones in Bilston, West Mids.

 
ATIQ REHMAN, 18

 
Battered to death by a gang at a convenience store in Milton Keynes.

 
JASON SPENCER, 17

 
The 17-year-old from Nottingham was found dying from knife wounds in March.

 
BILLY COX, 15

 
Shot in his bedroom in Clapham, South London, by gang of rival crack dealers

 
ZAK DAVIS, 17

 
Murdered after row with men at flats in Hayling Island, Hants. One man charged

 
MATTHEW COWELL

 
The 17-year-old was shot with dad Keith and a friend in Bishops Stortford, Herts.

 
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSTON

 
The 19-year-old was stabbed to death in Newcastle. A man, 21, has been charged.

 
Ryan McPHEE, 17

 
Beaten to death in Morecambe, Lancs, in July. Two men charged with murder.

 
KODJO YENGA, 16

 
Stabbed by gang in school uniforms in Hammersmith. Four boys of 13-16 charged

 
DALE LITTLE, 15

 
Stabbed to death in car park in Totton, Hants, after row with skateboarders.

 
ZUZANNA ZOMMER, 14

 
Stabbed to death at a house in Leeds. A man, 39, has been charged with her murder.

 
SAMANTHA MADGIN

 
The 18-year-old was stabbed in Newcastle. Four people have been charged.

 
JOHN PREECE, 18

 
Died from head injuries after being clubbed during a pub brawl in Warminster, Wiltshire.

 
PAUL ERHAHON, 14

 
Gang stuck sword in chest in Leytonstone, London. Two aged 13 and 14 charged

 
MARK SMITH, 16

 
Stabbed in neck in Newcastle. Had Asbo but was steering clear of trouble when killed

 
MICHAEL METCALFE

 
The 19-year-old was stabbed in the heart by gatecrashers at a party in Liverpool.

 
SAM BROWN, 16

 
Stabbed to death in Blackpool just before his GCSEs. Two men have been charged.

 
JEVON HENRY, 18

 
Stabbed in St John's Wood, London, in June. Asian men were seen fleeing the scene.

 
DWAYNE DOUGLAS, 18

 
Stabbed in Tesco car park, Thornton Heath, London. Man of 23 charged with murder

 
SHANE JACKSON, 15

 
Knifed just yards from his home in Newcastle. Fell dying at the feet of his mother.

 
KRISTIE JOHNSON

 
The 19-year-old, of Rugeley, Staffs, died from multiple stab wounds in an attack.

 
KAMILAH PENISTON

 
The 12-year-old was shot by her brother, 17, as he played with a gun in Manchester.

 
JAMES SMARTT-FORD

 
15-year-old shot at disco held at ice rink in Streatham, South London, in February.

 
ADAM REGIS, 16

 
Stabbed with sword in suspected gang initiation in Plaistow, London. No charges

 
MARTIN DINNEGAN, 14

 
Died from knife wounds in Islington as two groups fought. Boy, 15, charged with murder

 
BEN HITCHCOCK, 16

 
Stabbed in fight with gatecrashers who invaded a house party in Beckenham

 
ANNAKA PINTO, 17

 
Shot in Tottenham pub after GCSEs during row between groups. Man, 21, charged with murder

 
SIAN SIMPSON, 18

 
Walked into ambush by 15-strong 'girl gang' in Croydon. Girl, 18, charged with murder

 
MOHAMMED AHMED, 17

 
Died in street in east London after being stabbed. Three teenagers seen running away

 
EDVIN JOHNSON, 19

 
Stabbed in south east London. Died in hospital from leg wound after being found in stairwell

 
NATHAN FOSTER, 18

 
Youth worker shot in Brixton following row about a gold chain. Boy, 17, on murder charge

 
STEVEN BOACHIE, 17

 
A Nigerian immigrant hoping to study at Birmingham University. Killed on New Year's Day

 
DEAN LAHLOU, 18

 
Stabbed on estate in Tottenham on his way home. Boy, 17, facing murder charge

 
RIZWAN DARBAR, 17

 
Killed in row over stolen mobile phone.

 
DANIELLE JOHNSON,17

 
Died from stab wounds after attack in north London. Boy, 17, on attempted murder charge

 
ABU SHAHIN, 18

 
Stabbed in July at Ilford, east London. He was attacked for no reason by two men in street

Mr Darling is expected to paint a gloomy picture for the next three years by warning that there is little scope for a spending bonanza on public services.

As for whatever mr Yellow's reason's are for having/ not having the election the one thing he has proved is that the country do want an election.

 
They do want a chance to voice their disapproval for him and the orwellian party.

 
They do want change, but not what his party are offering.

for most of the 10 years in which Gordon Brown held the purse-strings we have been spending "20 pounds ought and six" out of an income of just 20 pounds. The likely result next year, as Dickens predicted, is economic "misery".

 
There are two aspects to Britain's walk down Queer Street. First the Government has failed to heed Joseph's advice to the Pharaoh. It should, but hasn't, shored up its finances in the years of plenty to enable it to survive the famine that inevitably follows.

Almost half the forces - 20 out of 43 - have improved their records in tackling crime, with the same number stable. Only three - City of London, Thames Valley and Wiltshire - are doing worse on crime than they were last year.

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty warned that forces are facing financially " tight" times as the Government prepares to publish its long-awaited Comprehensive Spending Review.

 
He said: "We are now entering a more flat-line period in terms of resources after seven or eight years of growth."

Police officers are still spending 40 per cent of their time doing paperwork despite a Government drive to get more PCs out on the beat, according to a new report out today.

 
Home Office figures reveal that the amount of time officers are spending on the front line has barely increased in the past year. The national average stood at 64.2 per cent, just 0.6 per cent up on last year.

Experts have linked high levels of exposure to delinquency, fighting at school and violent criminal behaviour.

A major inquiry into the impact of the internet and violent video games on children is launched today.
 
The review will be led by Dr Tanya Byron, the TV parenting guru, and could prompt the introduction of curbs on children's access to gory images.

Suddenly we find ourselves living in a country where our children are murdering each other.

Murder for a cheap mobile phone. Murder to show how hard they are, how deserving of respect. Murder for drug money, for wounded pride. Murder for nothing at all.