Privately Educated People Are Responsible For Most Of The UK's Problems

a reply to: pikestaff

True. A well armed populace isn't likely to have the machinery needed to counteract a large scale attack.

However we've learned from FOB Falcon there's a point when superior firepower turns back on you.

Long term the adverse effects of standing armies following rash orders are likely to go on for many generations.

Proof that power corrupts...

The huge influence Freemasons had in ruling British society for almost 200 years has finally been revealed.

The names of royalty, statesmen, judges, military top brass, bishops and police have been found in a secret archive which lists two million Freemasons.

The masonic records - from 1733 to 1923 - are set to be made available to the public for the first time.

They show Kings Edward VII, Edward VIII and George VI were all Freemasons.

Military leaders the Duke of Wellington and Lord Kitchener were also members of the clandestine group founded by a group of men in a London coffee house in 1717.

Britain’s wartime Premier Sir Winston Churchill was also a Freemason along with literary greats Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Others include music legends Gilbert and Sullivan, explorers Ernest Shackleton and Captain Robert Scott, England cricket captain Douglas Jardine and scientist Sir Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin.

Businessman Harry Selfridge is named in the archive along with social reformer Thomas Barnardo, famous bridge builder Thomas Telford and thousands of engineers who made Britain a world industrial power.

Link

More than 5,500 police officers, thousands of military figures, 170 judges, 169 MPs, 16 bishops and an Indian prince are listed in the Freemasons archive to be made public by family history website Ancestry.

I'm not sure how the scene is now, but I'd imagine its more of the same. I don't necessarily have a problem with Masons in positions of power, but when things go sideways or seem unbalanced, I can't help but think some of them played a part in it. Not Freemasonry as a whole, just those who lost their way.

Who wouldnt try to send their kid to the best school? Public schools teach to the lowest common denominator. Top quarter bored out of their mind bottom quarter strugglebus

a reply to: jellyrev

Agreed, and even if private schools were banned in the UK the richest areas would be where the best state schools are.
Or to put it another way, rich folk would move into the neighbourhoods with the best schools, raising property prices and excluding the poor from the areas.

Regarding the OP, let's face it, we all mix in our peer groups/social/professional circles, and network appropriately.
Even if every town in the UK had a state owned grammar then the richer kids would still dominate because of the costs of a tutor to prepare them for the 11+ exam.

Poverty is a lame excuse for many people though, I gave up my satellite TV package to pay for a tutor for my son. I also attended the home sessions to learn it myself and help him practice through the week. I had mates who said they couldn't afford a tutor, but they could afford the iPhone contracts for the kids, 20 smokes a day, the full sports package on satellite, etc.
I and my son had pay as you go cheap mobile phones, but hey, priorities eh.

I'll get flamed for this I'm sure but welfare benefits when you have kids in the UK are pretty decent, and I don't know anyone on benefits without the flat screen TV, cable package etc. or few pints at the local pub.
Most of the time it is crap priorities, but to me, paying for that tutor was the best thing I've ever spent my money on.

Especially when my son's state primary school didn't even teach the 11+ syllabus.

This is precisely why I won't send my son to a private school.
I want him to have a good education, but not at the price he will become a fascist monster,
like the bunch in charge of our country now.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: Gothmog

It's a common story here that when you take it higher you find you're talking to the enemy.

I know a psychiatrist who, as a young mental health nurse, cared for one of serial killer Fred West's daughters. Several times the girl told the nurse what was happening. Forced prostitution, satanic abuse, murder. Several times the nurse told her superiors. She was told to ignore it. When she brought the matter up for the last time she was told she would be sacked if she mentioned it again. Now we all know the girl was telling the truth. This is how it usually is here in the UK. If there is an investigation the whistleblower is frequently made the victim of the investigation.

The thread title speaks for itself.

She must love the fact that (i) you've posted enough information on the internet to publically identify her, and (ii) you've just told the world that a mental health professional is discussing very, very confidential patient information (including enough information to identify who it might be) with her friends.

a reply to: EvillerBob

She loves it because, like me, she's had enough of the criminal scum and their cover-ups.

Muscle up, Bobby boy. Stop being so chicken. Tell us what you know about the criminals.

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: crazyewok

I will never support any calls for my local grammar schools to change a thing, except expand and offer more places.

First of all, big thumbs up for your son. You might call him the son of a plasterer, but he's really there because he's the son of a man who worked hard, set a good example for him to follow, and did everything within his power to encourage his son and give him opportunities. Our ability and our success is, more often than not, rooted in our home and family.

Secondly, there's a big problem with grammar schools. They encourage people with ability to succeed. That's completely against modern liberal ideology. As it's impossible to make everyone "better", the only fair thing to do is drag everyone down to the same level of mediocrity. Better to make everyone an equal failure than to let the occasional star shine brightly, according to many on ATS.

a reply to: Kester

Blame the religious, go after them and persecute them.
Blame the poor, and go after them and persecute them.
Blame the displaced, go after them and persecute them.

And now you want to blame the educated?

This is freaking dangerous.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: EvillerBob

She loves it because, like me, she's had enough of the criminal scum and their cover-ups.

Muscle up, Bobby boy. Stop being so chicken. Tell us what you know about the criminals.

If you've not just made her up and the wrong person read this thread, she'd be at serious risk of not having to deal with them for very much longer.

Even if I were inclined to share confidential information (which I'm not) why would I share it with someone who just dropped their mate in the # by blabbing traceable info all over the internet and then thinking it was something they could just laugh off?

If you want to start drawing lines, don't draw it based on who went to what school, draw it based on who actually understands why the above is a serious issue.

a reply to: ladyinwaiting

I think you've very much missed the point.

I think prognosis nailed it with his post on the first page.

It is and always has been a who you know world.

a reply to: EvillerBob

Goodness knows where you are Bob, but this is Gloucestershire, England. We are free here. We have a fine constabulary led by a woman chosen by a man we elected. GCHQ staff live all around us and commute alongside us. We fear nothing.

This is how we have trained our warriors for many thousands of years.


There is no issue with the truth.

originally posted by: EvillerBob
First of all, big thumbs up for your son. You might call him the son of a plasterer, but he's really there because he's the son of a man who worked hard, set a good example for him to follow, and did everything within his power to encourage his son and give him opportunities. Our ability and our success is, more often than not, rooted in our home and family.

Cheers man, and I agree the home background and input is key in my mind.
My son was a product of the late 90's when we still had books. I read to him every night, moving my finger over the words before he even knew what words were. I insisted on correctly pronounced spoken English at home, in front of teachers, grown-ups etc, slang was for mates only.

It breaks my heart seeing so many pre-school kids just left to their own devices (literally, tablet/phone etc) or watching TV these days. I don't buy the 'busy parent lifestyle' lines, I think it's just bad priorities mostly, and then easy to simply blame the schools.

Secondly, there's a big problem with grammar schools. They encourage people with ability to succeed. That's completely against modern liberal ideology. As it's impossible to make everyone "better", the only fair thing to do is drag everyone down to the same level of mediocrity. Better to make everyone an equal failure than to let the occasional star shine brightly, according to many on ATS.

I know, that problem of grammar schools actually allowing poor kids to believe they can succeed if they work hard, encouraging a 100% work ethic, insisting on manners, respect and discipline. Saturday detentions for lack of effort, disrespect, bad behaviour, or even 'forgetting' their sports kit.
Voluntary after hours and weekend classes for students who are struggling with particular subjects and want free extra tuition from qualified teachers.
Yeah, I can see why the Labour party hated grammar schools, they are pretty crap compared to comprehensives after all.
[/sarcasm]

a reply to: grainofsand
Still amazes me people think blair and Browns reign were good and want back to that.

Apart from failing schools, strained NHS, two wars , a giant billion dollar tent in Greenwich and crumpling transport and power infrastructure plus a housing crisis what did labour do for the country?

a reply to: crazyewok

Lol, don't forget after attacking grammar schools, then came the tuition fees for university students, not even an exemption for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics degrees.
Yeah, they really cared about helping poor folk with aspirations to succeed.

Hell I'm proof of labours failed libral education!

I was "educated" through the labour years and look at my spelling and grammar

How the # did I get a degree in bioscience when I can't spell! What education system allows that!a # one that what!

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: crazyewok

Lol, don't forget after attacking grammar schools, then came the tuition fees for university students, not even an exemption for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics degrees.
Yeah, they really cared about helping poor folk with aspirations to succeed.

Ahhh, tuition fees.

The thing with tuition fees is that you're borrowing money on incredibly good terms. Repayments can be frozen if you're earning less than a certain amount (about £2,000 per month I think?) and the loans are made available to anyone who is accepted onto a degree course. It would be lovely if it was free, but it isn't and I think this is a good way of handling the funding issue.

I've borrowed a lot of money over the years to fund continuing professional education. It's been a good investment that has paid for it time and again. I can't find myself disagreeing with a system that balances taking personal responsibility for funding your education with making the funding accessible to everyone.

a reply to: crazyewok

Lol, I went to the roughest Swansea comprehensive in 1980's Thatchers Britain. Smashed windows boarded up as no money for glaziers, fire alarm systems only had glass in the red boxes for the annual fire brigade inspection, beatings off teachers, violence and bullying commonplace.

Because 'status' among students was bad behaviour or underachieving I used to lie when my mates called me in the evening, saying I was tired or busy, because secretly I was doing homework and revising but admitting that would have caused me grief.
I left with 8 'O' levels, one of the highest results in my year, and all because my Mam was passionate about me learning and creating a better life for myself, taking an active role with my homework and studies.
Those 'O' levels got me entry level into the civil service, further part-time study and some years later I winged my way into senior civil service promotion, making and signing decisions on behalf of Secretaries of State lol.

I got #ed off with the corporate bull# though, resigned, travelled the world for a bit then retrained as a plasterer, now successfully running my own small property maintenance business for the last few years.

My mam gave me self-belief and support to chase my aspirations, instilling the importance of knowledge in my young mind.
I still believe the same as a 'grown-up' and have a good couple of decades before I can get my state pension so I may change my mind again and do something different before then.
The important bit is I believe I can and don't expect to get anything in life without hard work.

Everyone seems to blame the government these days, but I blame the parents, and their parents crap parents.

a reply to: EvillerBob

Fair one, I still owe HM Government a good few thousand quid for my degree, but I'm self-employed so buying a new van or tools in my accounting year helps to keep my repayments and taxes minimal.
Perfectly legal of course, but its a harsh one for those who did say "African studies & applied social studies" and are employed earning just over the repayment threshold.

Saying that though it was a foolish choice of degree probably, so was mine to be fair "Applied Chemistry" I only did it to scratch an itch so to speak, never actually wanted to work solely in a clean-room laboratory so I didn't.
I just wanted to prove something to myself...oh, and party hard for 3 years.