Off Topic Politics Thread

[San Tejón]

Going to a grammar school possibly held my education back.
Note I say possibly.
I was a shy and introverted child, until I got to know people, and being moved out of a classroom environment where I had forged friendships with so many, to a classroom environment where I knew nobody, was quite daunting. I know I underperformed in class, initially, because I didn't want to be there.
I was the only boy from my school, that year, to move to Itchen Grammar (as Itchen Sixth Form College then was), and found it difficult to integrate into groups, many of whom had moved up from the same schools, together.
I would have been happier failing the 11+ and going to a comprehensive school, with my mates.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

Going to a grammar school possibly held my education back.
Note I say possibly.
I was a shy and introverted child, until I got to know people, and being moved out of a classroom environment where I had forged friendships with so many, to a classroom environment where I knew nobody, was quite daunting. I know I underperformed in class, initially, because I didn't want to be there.
I was the only boy from my school, that year, to move to Itchen Grammar (as Itchen Sixth Form College then was), and found it difficult to integrate into groups, many of whom had moved up from the same schools, together.
I would have been happier failing the 11+ and going to a comprehensive school, with my mates.

I also lost a lot of friends as casualties of the 11 plus, good friends who I never really saw much of again. That was an unforgivable thing to inflict on an 11 year old. The thing that really blighted my time at Andover Grammar School, though, was the complete absence of any careers advice or help with picking the right A Levels or University course. The headmaster was firmly of the opinion that the only thing that mattered to him and the school was getting at least one leaver to Oxford or Cambridge every year, and the rest of us could go with the wind as far as he cared. I made bad choices and dropped out of 2 degree courses before I found my feet in the NHS, with a career that lasted until my retirement. But if anyone had really listened to what I wanted to do, rather than steer me towards subjects I had done well in at O Level, I would probably have become an actor or a musician. I might not have had a secure income like I did in the NHS, but I would gave been much, much happier.

 

[benditlikeabanana]

Define "fascism". The word is used so widely now that it has barely any meaning. UKIP get called fascist for goodness sake.

Going by how it goes in America, its basically anyone that does not agree with liberals or the left, regardless of race, colour or economic situation

 

[SaintinSerbia]

What's your view on fox hunting Imp? As all the foxes seem to have moved into town, you could soon have all your mates rampaging through your estate trashing your back gardens on their horses?

 

[greensaint]

I also lost a lot of friends as casualties of the 11 plus, good friends who I never really saw much of again. That was an unforgivable thing to inflict on an 11 year old. The thing that really blighted my time at Andover Grammar School, though, was the complete absence of any careers advice or help with picking the right A Levels or University course. The headmaster was firmly of the opinion that the only thing that mattered to him and the school was getting at least one leaver to Oxford or Cambridge every year, and the rest of us could go with the wind as far as he cared. I made bad choices and dropped out of 2 degree courses before I found my feet in the NHS, with a career that lasted until my retirement. But if anyone had really listened to what I wanted to do, rather than steer me towards subjects I had done well in at O Level, I would probably have become an actor or a musician. I might not have had a secure income like I did in the NHS, but I would gave been much, much happier.

Careers advice in the 70s, fantasticly sexist and 'classist', and not really advice.
I was told to consider "something with gardening". F*ck knows why.

 

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[TheSecondStain]

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So, does this mean that Hilary Clinton was slandered.? And that perhaps the States may have the wrong President in place as a result.?

 

[Puck]

Well that's one thing we all knew he's good at...

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[benditlikeabanana]

What's your view on fox hunting Imp? As all the foxes seem to have moved into town, you could soon have all your mates rampaging through your estate trashing your back gardens on their horses?

Most people do not fully understand fox hunting, as a townie I kept an open mind when I lived in Leicestershire, as my ex rode with the local hunt and her father was a farmer. He explained to me that they only go onto fields where they have the farmers permission and then the only person who is allowed to cross a field on a horse is the whipper in, who is in control of the hounds (never call them dogs) and the rest of the hunt must go around the field . If permission has not been given then the hunt is called off, the same if the fox goes near a main road the hunt is called off. A fit young fox will not get caught by the hounds, but then they are only looking for the older sicker animals.
Obviously this issue is very divisive, most will see a fluffy cute animal being chased by a bunch of toffs on horses. The people who support fox hunting see normal people exercising thier horses ( if you live in country and have the space the upkeep on a horse is not that much, or people actually lend riders thier horse if they do not have the experience) the chase obviously puts stress on the fox, but thats the way of the wild and there are millions of animals being stressed like that every day.
I have seen the aftermath of a fox getting into a hen house, 29 birds dead and 1 taken to be eaten, trust me they like killing.
I can see both sides, but i am mainly in favour as the fox has no natural enemy, and will die a long slow death if injured or old. On the other hand those animals that dig up the fox and then throw them to the hounds should be sentanced to the highest possible imprisonment

 

[TheSecondStain]

The side I can see is hounds tearing a fox apart for the thrill of people. As said, an animal's life is stressful enough. There's no need to add to it. If people want to keep fox numbers down [and I agree it is necessary] just cull their numbers humanely.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

Most people do not fully understand fox hunting, as a townie I kept an open mind when I lived in Leicestershire, as my ex rode with the local hunt and her father was a farmer. He explained to me that they only go onto fields where they have the farmers permission and then the only person who is allowed to cross a field on a horse is the whipper in, who is in control of the hounds (never call them dogs) and the rest of the hunt must go around the field . If permission has not been given then the hunt is called off, the same if the fox goes near a main road the hunt is called off. A fit young fox will not get caught by the hounds, but then they are only looking for the older sicker animals.
Obviously this issue is very divisive, most will see a fluffy cute animal being chased by a bunch of toffs on horses. The people who support fox hunting see normal people exercising thier horses ( if you live in country and have the space the upkeep on a horse is not that much, or people actually lend riders thier horse if they do not have the experience) the chase obviously puts stress on the fox, but thats the way of the wild and there are millions of animals being stressed like that every day.
I have seen the aftermath of a fox getting into a hen house, 29 birds dead and 1 taken to be eaten, trust me they like killing.
I can see both sides, but i am mainly in favour as the fox has no natural enemy, and will die a long slow death if injured or old. On the other hand those animals that dig up the fox and then throw them to the hounds should be sentanced to the highest possible imprisonment

Foxes are not murderers, they don't "like" killing, they do it for their own survival. If you were given free access to a supermarket you would try and carry off as much as you could and leave the rest for later, which is what the fox will do in a henhouse. To ascribe human motives to a fox is about as absurd as seeing a bunch of idiots in red jackets blowing trumpets as they gallop their horses across the countryside.

As TSS absolutely correctly says, if you want to be kind to old and sick foxes, then shoot them cleanly with a rifle. Don't defend a barbaric pastime that was outdated a few centuries ago.

P.S. I live in the country. Most foxes live in towns nowadays. Why not take the hunt into Bournemouth, which is teeming with them?

 

[Schad]

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Trump's fate hangs on Rod Rosenstein now, the newly-confirmed deputy Attorney General, tweedy comber-overer, and the guy who wrote the letter that supposedly kicked off Comey's firing (it didn't), and thanks to Sessions' recusal the individual with the power to appoint a special prosecutor. The letter shows a willingness to play ball, but he's not a Trump guy...he's a longtime United States Attorney and Department of Justice hand who has served both Democrats and Republicans. And if anything gets leaked by the FBI with Comey turfed, he's going to be under a lot of pressure to do so.

Trump, a guy who places his stock in personal loyalty, just made what could be a massive bet on a guy he barely knows and who has no real loyalty to him.

 

[ImpSaint]

What's your view on fox hunting Imp? As all the foxes seem to have moved into town, you could soon have all your mates rampaging through your estate trashing your back gardens on their horses?

Keep it banned. Animal cruelty is animal cruelty. If Foxes need culling then do it humanely and argue with Brian May instead.

You might not realise how co-incidental your latter comment is but my next door NEIGHbour used to keep a horse in her back garden for her gypsy friends (am I allowed to call them gypsies? No idea these days what is permissable) as did several others.

We have very large back gardens and several of the people on this street used to let the family up the road with their 2 horses and trap plus old style Romany caravan "paddock" their horses in different gardens each night. They used to back on my fences and stamp through the night.

I didn't complain though because it kept the weeds down in gardens near me where the owners refuse to do any gardening. My garden was 6ft tall derelict land when I moved in.

I think the council had a word though because no horses have been paddocked in our gardens for over a year now.

My garden (yes Council house) is about 120ft long x 20ft wide. Not bad for free seeing as they suddenly stopped charging me rent. I didn;t realise that being a low earner I could get housing benefit and never applied for it. They just applied it one day without me applying. Still owe me £1k of rent I had been paying without knowing but I haven't claimed it back. Feel a bit guilty to be honest.

 

[ImpSaint]

Trump's fate hangs on Rod Rosenstein now, the newly-confirmed deputy Attorney General, tweedy comber-overer, and the guy who wrote the letter that supposedly kicked off Comey's firing (it didn't), and thanks to Sessions' recusal the individual with the power to appoint a special prosecutor. The letter shows a willingness to play ball, but he's not a Trump guy...he's a longtime United States Attorney and Department of Justice hand who has served both Democrats and Republicans. And if anything gets leaked by the FBI with Comey turfed, he's going to be under a lot of pressure to do so.

Trump, a guy who places his stock in personal loyalty, just made what could be a massive bet on a guy he barely knows and who has no real loyalty to him.

Seems to me that 6 months ago the Democrats were up in arms about Comey and he was enemy No1 yet now he is their ticket to get at Trump? Is that a fair reading of things? Like when Wikileaks was the darling of the press when they were dishing the dirt on those considered "bad guys" yet dirt on "good guys" has changed the tide of opinion? Leaks are good............but only if they support the narrative?

 

[Archers Road]

Seems to me that 6 months ago the Democrats were up in arms about Comey and he was enemy No1 yet now he is their ticket to get at Trump? Is that a fair reading of things? Like when Wikileaks was the darling of the press when they were dishing the dirt on those considered "bad guys" yet dirt on "good guys" has changed the tide of opinion? Leaks are good............but only if they support the narrative?

That's one way of looking at it Imps, but it's a rather prejudiced and one sided perspective.

The real news here is that a sitting President has just sacked the Director of the FBI after the latter's Dept has begun asking awkward questions about the Trump regime's relationships with a foreign power - a power that is frequently considered to be hostile to the interests of the USA.

The fact that said director was once a high profile Republican donor, and had made comments damaging to a Democrat candidate during the last Presidential election, does nothing to portray Trump's actions in a better light. The reverse, if anything.

 

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[Onionman]

That's one way of looking at it Imps, but it's a rather prejudiced and one sided perspective.

The real news here is that a sitting President has just sacked the Director of the FBI after the latter's Dept has begun asking awkward questions about the Trump regime's relationships with a foreign power - a power that is frequently considered to be hostile to the interests of the USA.

The fact that said director was once a high profile Republican donor, and had made comments damaging to a Democrat candidate during the last Presidential election, does nothing to portray Trump's actions in a better light. The reverse, if anything.

Add in the fact that the FBI job comes with a ten-year term in order to keep it above short-term politics. Of course he's been criticised (by all sides) but that's in the way of the job.

I'm particularly unimpressed that Trump felt the need to put in this paragraph as he shows, yet again, that he can't separate his personal agenda from the needs of the state (even assuming what he says is true; he does have a little form on the fibbing front):

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There's dismay amongst Republican politicians about this ("The timing of this firing was very troubling," said Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican) but I guess from the tone of your post, Archers, that he has his supporters on here.

Then again, I have gleaned the facts in my post from the MSM, so I guess it'll all be suspect.

Vin

 

[ImpSaint]

Add in the fact that the FBI job comes with a ten-year term in order to keep it above short-term politics. Of course he's been criticised (by all sides) but that's in the way of the job.

I'm particularly unimpressed that Trump felt the need to put in this paragraph as he shows, yet again, that he can't separate his personal agenda from the needs of the state (even assuming what he says is true; he does have a little form on the fibbing front):

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There's dismay amongst Republican politicians about this ("The timing of this firing was very troubling," said Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican) but I guess from the tone of your post, Archers, that he has his supporters on here.

Then again, I have gleaned the facts in my post from the MSM, so I guess it'll all be suspect.

Vin

The mainstream facts will be accurate. The way they are presented and the context might not be though. I don't think the BBC lie. I think they misrepresent things and ignore contexts as well as presenting opinions as fact in order to present a "version" of events that suit. The facts are still there if you can find them.

 

[Whiteley Saint]

Most people do not fully understand fox hunting, as a townie I kept an open mind when I lived in Leicestershire, as my ex rode with the local hunt and her father was a farmer. He explained to me that they only go onto fields where they have the farmers permission and then the only person who is allowed to cross a field on a horse is the whipper in, who is in control of the hounds (never call them dogs) and the rest of the hunt must go around the field . If permission has not been given then the hunt is called off, the same if the fox goes near a main road the hunt is called off. A fit young fox will not get caught by the hounds, but then they are only looking for the older sicker animals.
Obviously this issue is very divisive, most will see a fluffy cute animal being chased by a bunch of toffs on horses. The people who support fox hunting see normal people exercising thier horses ( if you live in country and have the space the upkeep on a horse is not that much, or people actually lend riders thier horse if they do not have the experience) the chase obviously puts stress on the fox, but thats the way of the wild and there are millions of animals being stressed like that every day.
I have seen the aftermath of a fox getting into a hen house, 29 birds dead and 1 taken to be eaten, trust me they like killing.
I can see both sides, but i am mainly in favour as the fox has no natural enemy, and will die a long slow death if injured or old. On the other hand those animals that dig up the fox and then throw them to the hounds should be sentanced to the highest possible imprisonment

Pretty much the same as my cat would do given the chance . Nobody is suggesting hunting her though (too cute). Hen houses can be made fox proof so who is at fault here? The fox was there first and the humans knew that so should take appropriate precautions to protect their birds.

There really is no excuse for chasing an animal across fields so that it becomes so exhausted and scared it drops just to be ripped apart by a pack of hounds. If there is a problem then humane methods should be used.

 

[Missing Lambo]

I have just had a personal letter from Theresa. Bless, she must be knackered with all that letter writing. Last week our local free paper carried a wrap around advert for the Tories. No mention of who the candidate is going to be. I am hoping that a lot of confused old farts will go into the booths, discover Theresa May isn't on the paper and bugger up their papers.

But seriously, this is meant to be us voting in our parliamentary democracy. The whole point is to elect a local MP. The Tories seem determined to turn it into a Presidential election. I can only presume that when the faceless bugger from the Tories wins the seat in Chester (as (s)he will as the anti-Tory vote splits across Labour, Liberals and Greens), the lucky winner is set to be lobby fodder for St Theresa. June 9 will not be pretty. This could be the greatest travesty of electoral justice ever witnessed. How we Brits managed to drop the ball on electoral reform is beyond me.