Autocorrect giving you a bit of a close shave there?

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

pi5hing in the wind

"During his speech, Johnson gave an overview of the new blanket restrictions imposed on England, which include a stay at home order except for essential medical need, shopping for food, exercising once a day or working if it cannot be done from home.

But what he completely failed to mention in his speech was the NHS Test and Trace system - once hailed by the government as the route out of England’s lockdown.

The scheme, which has so far cost the government £22bn, has been beset with problems since its launch in May.

On Tuesday morning, members of Independent Sage pointed out that NHS Test and Trace was notably absent from the PM’s speech.

Dr Zubaida Haque, a member of the independent panel, tweeted: "The most worrying part of 3rd #nationallockdown is that it suggests that the government’s entire plan to get us out of this pandemic is lockdown and vaccines. There was nothing about test & trace; nothing about supporting isolation. And nothing about restricting travel.”

I disengage, I turn the page.

Not sure that getting pupils into the top jobs is an indictment of public school. Surely, it's more of an incentive to send your kids to one if you can afford it.

61% of qualified doctors in the UK are privately educated. That percentage increases as you get to positions of higher authority.

Couldn't find a percentage of Aeronautical engineers, but one would expect it to be a male dominated with a disproportionate number of privately educated Oxbridge graduates at the top.

The state system fails generation after generation of kids, rather than look to see what the private sector does better, it just blames them.

(deviation)
I have first hand experience of public and private sector schools, both as a pupil and a teacher. (believe what you want,...this is t'internet)

Private school pupils benefit from reduced class sizes and better resources. They don't have to stick to the National Curriculum and OFSTED is less intensive.

State Schools benefit from the National Curriculum, but have larger class sizes and a disproportionate number of disruptive pupils.

The primary gain of private school pupils is the ability to network when it comes to jobs.

From my own experience, I would say State schools have better educated graduates. Private schools tend to have graduates going into (mis)management.

This is meant to be a critique of the acceptance of the 'system' by the masses.

And back to CV19. And there you have an absolute moron running the country deeper into crisis. Assisted by his well-feathered, poorly-educated associates.

And the opposition is ,....silent

Edited by Forest Hillbilly (06 Jan 2021 2.08pm)

I disengage, I turn the page.

Mmmm...in many instances the greater truth is that their parents do.

Plus, it shouldn't be forgotten that around 15 percent of the population have an IQ of around 85 or lower.....I'm afraid any school is going to have an issue producing high grades with that....and unfortunately the state system will have most of those students.

I'm not a massive fan of the private system however it has to be said, the state system.. (their unions being full of nutters notwithstanding)..in many places operates in a far harder and harsher environment and is then expected to compete....and when it can't it gets all the blame.

The truth is more nuanced.

Edited by Stirlingsays (06 Jan 2021 3.38pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

I tend to agree. Track and trace only works when it's fit for purpose and numbers are low. That opportunity was botched up, so now it seems futile to expect track and trace to suddenly reap rewards. Unfortunately there are various strategies that work well when numbers are low (to keep numbers low), that don't when things are allowed to get escalate to this point. Nothing really works now. Lockdowns will make a minor dent now (but numbers will still be high - and will shoot back up within weeks).

So healthwise regardless of whether we're lockdown mad or open up, vaccination is the only show in town for the elderly and vulnerable. Hopefully it will make a meaningful difference and be at least somewhat successful. Much like flu jabs I would think we'll see an updated version every year and that could be the answer. If however new strains are able to frequently spread and run rampant every say 4 or 5 months it will be a game of cat and mouse that makes it at least partially futile. Time will tell.

The nightmare scenario would be if a strain developed that impacts the young much more. Clearly the MO of a virus is to find the sweet spot of being able to propagate (for all we know there may well have been especially deadly strains that developed of late that simply killed their host rather than spread), but it's an ultra connected world, and this thing has tens of millions of opportunities to conjure up something new. It's reasonably likely to weaken over time, but really we have zero idea that what's coming next and even efforts to combat it may force it on a path that's disadvantageous [Link] as could doing nothing.

Edited by BlueJay (06 Jan 2021 3.49pm)