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Eton mess and the Rise of Kleptocracy

The people who know the price of everything and value of nothing.

Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/ Getty Images

Paraphrasing the timeless and prophetic words of Socrates, Oh dear Eton Posh Boys why do you care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? Are you not ashamed of this? For I go about doing nothing else than urging you, young and old, not to care for your persons or your property more than for the perfection of your souls, or even so much; and I tell you that virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and all other good things to man, both the individual and to the state. 

‘Part of the English disease is our readiness to ascribe our national disasters to questions of personal character. But the vanities of posh men and their habit of dragging us into catastrophe have much deeper roots. They centre on an ancient system that trains a narrow caste of people to run our affairs, but also ensures they have almost none of the attributes actually required. If this country is to belatedly move into the 21st century, this is what we will finally have to confront: a great tower of failings that, to use a very topical word, are truly institutional.’- John Harris, ‘Britain’s overgrown Eton schoolboys have turned the country into their playground’

‘Boys don’t learn shamelessness at Eton, it is where they perfect it’

Illustration: Chris Riddell/The Guardian

The Posh Boys’ Britain of today and the Collapse of Checks and Balances:

Endless Pursuit of Greed and the disappearance of Moral Compass

‘Integrity is one of the seven principles of public life, alongside selflessness, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. Enunciated by Lord Nolan in 1995, they set out the ethical standards to which all those who work in the public sector should adhere. It would be fair to expect the prime minister, the most senior public office holder in the land, to set an example for other public servants. But with every week he is in No 10, it becomes clearer that Boris Johnson – a “vacuum of integrity”, according to former attorney general Dominic Grieve – is a man who comprehensively fails the Nolan test and who brings the office of prime minister into utter disrepute...’-Observer editorial, Sunday, 25 April 2021 

I was Boris Johnson’s boss: he is utterly unfit to be prime minister

Illustration: Ben Jennings/The Guardian

Values-free Education, Neoliberalism, Pandemic Corruption of and by

British Posh Boys and the Fooling of the Brits 

The Posh Boys, brainwashed and stupefied by the ‘Posh’ Girl, privatised, deregulated and out-sourced all that was good and valuable and now finally, they have privatised, deregulated and out-sourced their soul and moral compass, and in the process have forgotten what it means to be human. Everything, including themselves is up for sale to the highest bidders.

Illustration: Chris Riddell/The Observer 

'An uproar of voices was coming from the farmhouse. They rushed back and looked through the window again. Yes, a violent quarrel was in progress. There were shoutings, bangings on the table, sharp suspicious glances, furious denials...Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which.' - George Orwell, closing lines of Animal Farm

...And thanks to the  Posh Boys, new chapters are added to Animal Farm on a daily basis. 

‘Corruption in Britain has reached new heights under Boris Johnson’s government.’

David Cameron’s Greensill lobbying scandal is just the latest example of how the UK has become a

corrupt country of the kind it once regarded with disdain.

Pity the Nation Whose Leaders Are Liars, and Corrupted to the Core

As I was preparing this posting, this prescient Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem came to my notice. I cannot think of a more fitting encapsulation of where we are, here in our post Rule of Law era, very relevant to what is going on in Britain today.

"PITY THE NATION" (After Khalil Gibran)

Pity the nation whose people are sheep

And whose shepherds mislead them

Pity the nation whose leaders are liars

Whose sages are silenced

And whose bigots haunt the airwaves

Pity the nation that raises not its voice

Except to praise conquerors

And acclaim the bully as hero

And aims to rule the world

By force and by torture

Pity the nation that knows

No other language but its own

And no other culture but its own

Pity the nation whose breath is money

And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed

Pity the nation oh pity the people

who allow their rights to erode

and their freedoms to be washed away

My country, tears of thee

Sweet land of liberty!

See also: David Hare pens furious poem about Boris Johnson and his corrupt ways

‘dogmeat wrapped in the union flag’

Watch David Hare read new satirical poem about Boris Johnson – video

 Illustration: Rebecca Hendin/The Guardian

‘With the prime minister’s support, a City whiz kid is secretly awarded privileged access to top civil servants so he can flog a dubious money-making scheme that diminishes the government’s obligations to pay contractors on time.  Later, after the prime minister leaves office, the whiz kid employs him as an adviser – and gives him stock options that are potentially worth tens of millions of pounds until the company runs into trouble. The former prime minister then privately lobbies the chancellor of the exchequer for hundreds of millions of pounds in taxpayer-funded loans to save the business from collapse.

That, according to the Sunday Times, is allegedly what David Cameron did. It looks and smells like a scandal, but I’ll wager that Boris Johnson’s government contemptuously ignores demands for an independent inquiry. That is because we live in an age when public figures are no longer held to account for their conduct, no longer feel shame or contrition, and simply brazen scandals out. For the first time in my life, I find myself wondering whether I live in a corrupt country of the sort that Britain once regarded with pity and disdain…’-Martin Fletcher, NewStatesman, 29 March 2021

No wonder that David Cameron insistently abused his privilege and kept on  texting, Whatsapping, messaging, emailing and calling everyone to rescue the bank he was ‘working’ for. If he had succeeded and Greensill was, as expected, to be floated for £22bn, then, Dave could have pocketed £200m. Not a bad sum by any stretch of the imagination! 

Steve Bell on Boris Johnson, David Cameron and the Greensill scandal, The Guardian,14 April 2021

Once again, it is the headline news: Britain is engulfed in rampant corruption which is affecting

all the fabric of our life, community and humanity. 

Nota bene

Lest we forget, to my mind, corruption by and large, has so far not engulfed the ordinary citizens, hard working families, the working class.

Given my life journey, I do know that there are many countries across the world   where cash bribery lubricates every cog of the state to believe that the people of this country are not, by global standards, corrupt. 

Britain engulfed in corruption: In defence of the common people

But, believe me, when it comes to the elites, the so-called Posh Boys, there is a hugely different story to be told. These Boys are highly ‘Educated’ which brings me to ask the pertinent question below:

Is extremely expensive posh private early education at places like Eton College, followed by Oxford and Cambridge degrees,

turning the posh boys who think they have a birthright to rule, into a bunch of abusive, arrogant, corrupted to the core individuals?

If so, then, it is the EDUCATION that is first and foremost the vehicle of destruction in this country, followed by CORRUPTION resultant of a very bad and questionable education and upbringing (see more immediately below).

Private education, posh boys and the ruining of Britain

 Britain’s Boarding School Crisis of Pain and Inhumanity

Photo: Joy Schaverien PhD, ‘On Boarding School Syndrome.’

‘How the country’s elite institutions have shaped colonialism, Brexit, and today’s global super-rich.’

‘When socially privileged children are separated from their families at a tender age, some develop what psychotherapists have called “Boarding School Syndrome”: “a defensive and protective encapsulation of the self,” in which they learn to hide emotion, fake maturity, and assert dominance over anyone weaker. They develop loyalty to their institutional tribe and suspicion of outsiders; they become bullies devoted to winning above all. If these traits sound familiar, it may be because the men who sent Britain careening into the catastrophe of Brexit—David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage—are all products of elite boarding schools, notorious symbols of social and economic inequality. These institutions—Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster and their ilk—may be quintessentially English, but, as they have become the ultimate educational status symbol for the global super-rich, their influence today extends across the world...’-Continue to read

'Shed a Tear for Britain's Messed Up Boarding School Kids'

Are posh parents making their children – and our future leaders – mentally ill?

Now, at this point, the first thing I wish to do is to try and demystify the narrative about corruption in Britain. The corrupt ruling class, if nothing else, have been very clever in fooling the ruled ones that their country is the land of milk and honey, the mother of democracy, a country free of theiving, heist or corruption. That Britain is a country ruled by a bunch of law-abiding, trustworthy, benevolent rulers, who are highly educated and wise, grown up in cultured households.

The Posh Boys and the Corrupting of Britain

Men of the people? David Cameron, Boris Johnson and a few more Posh Boys in the

livery of the Oxford University Bullingdon Club.

“The charge sheet is this. The government is led by a clique of toffs who have neither respect for their colleagues, nor empathy with the average voter. Their born-to-rule mentality means they have a greatly over-inflated view of their own capabilities, which deafens their ears to the advice and warnings of others who might actually know better. They are nothing like as good at governing as they think they are. And this, the charge sheet concludes, is now inflicting serious harm on both the country and the Conservatives' future electoral prospects.”-Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer, 29 April 2012

"Private education is not fair. Those who provide it know it. Those who pay for it know it. Those who have to sacrifice in order to purchase it know it. And those who receive it know it, or should. And if their education ends without it dawning on them, then that education has been wasted.”-Allen Bennett: ‘Private Education is unfair and un-Christian’

Private education, posh boys and the ruining of Britain

The Moral Blindness of the English Posh Boys

Britain today and the Bankruptcy of Ideas, Vision and Values-less Education

Eruption of Corruption in British Education:Debunking the Moral and Spiritual Bankruptcy of Values-free Education

University Corruption and the Financial Crisis: The Theft of the Century by the Most 'Educated Thieves'- All with MBAs and PhDs! 

Neoliberalism destroys human potential and devastates values-led education

Brexit, Trump and the failure of our universities to pursue wisdom

‘What They Forget to Teach You at School’

So, let us begin and debunk the myth:

Britain sinking deeper and deeper into corruption

The Posh Boys and the systematic corrupting of Britain

Photo:INTELLIGENCE UK NEWS

Systemic corruption – The fact is that the UK is systemically corrupt

‘Unless you or someone you know has been affected, you may not even know that the UK is systemically corrupt, some may not even know what we are talking about when we say systemic corruption. What we are referring to is grand corruption, endemic and culturally accepted dishonesty, out of control civil servants and corrupt practices rife throughout the police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Serious Fraud Office, the Ministry of Justice, HMCTS, the judiciary and the courts themselves through to the Law Society, BEIS and the Insolvency Service, Parliament, all of the regulatory authorities, national and the government quango offshoots.

'What we have in the UK is a combination of systemic and grand corruption originating at the highest level in government right the way through the system of our public authorities driven by those at the top of the food chain. Corruption, dishonest concealment, monopolistic powers, a culture of impunity for members of their cabal, including lawyers, public officials and judges that engage in acts of corruption has become the norm…’-Continue to read

‘If you think the UK isn't corrupt, you haven't looked hard enough.’

‘Fortunes are being made by political favourites,

while London’s money laundering fuels corruption across the planet’

Illustration by Ben Jennings/The Guardian

‘Every week, Boris Johnson looks more like George I, under whose government vast fortunes were made by political favourites, through monopoly contracts for military procurement. Any pretence of fiscal rectitude or democratic accountability has been abandoned. With four more years and the support of the billionaire press, who cares?’

‘Fear, shame, embarrassment: these brakes no longer apply. The government has discovered that it can bluster through any scandal. No minister needs to resign. No one need apologise. No one needs to explain.

'As public outrage grows over the billions of pounds of coronavirus contracts issued by the government without competition, it seems determined only to award more of them. Never mind that the consulting company Deloitte, whose personnel circulate in and out of government, has been strongly criticised for the disastrous system it devised to supply protective equipment to the NHS. It has now been granted a massive new contract to test the population for Covid-19.

'Never mind that some of these contracts have reportedly cost taxpayers £800 for every protective overall delivered. Never mind that at least two multi-million pound contracts appear to have been issued to dormant companies. Awarding contracts to unusual companies, without advertising, transparency or competition now appears to have been adopted as the norm. Several of the firms that have benefited from this largesse are closely linked to senior figures in the government…’- Continue to Read

...And the culture of corruption prevails, continues and deepens

Tories accused of corruption and NHS privatisation by former chief scientist.’

'This is a so-called chumocracy, that has been a phrase used, and that is what it looks like I’m afraid: it is a chumocracy.'

‘Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of corruption, privatising the NHS by stealth, operating a “chumocracy” and mishandling the pandemic and climate crisis, by Sir David King, a former government chief scientist.

“I am extremely worried about the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, about the processes by which public money has been distributed to private sector companies without due process,” he told the Guardian in an interview. “It really smells of corruption.”

'King contrasted the success of the vaccination programme, carried out by the NHS, with the failure of the government’s test-and-trace operation, which has been contracted out to private companies.

“The operation to roll out vaccination has been extremely successful. It was driven entirely by our truly national health service and GP service – just amazing,” he said. “Yet we have persisted with this money for test and trace, given without competition, without due process … I am really worried about democratic processes being ignored.”- Continue to read

I was Boris Johnson’s boss: he is utterly unfit to be prime minister

'Dominic Cummings offering a lecture on integrity in government is like a cannibal telling you how to be a good vegan. When his subject matter is Boris Johnson, it is nevertheless worth paying attention. Few possess a more detailed map of where the prime minister’s skeletons are secreted than the man who was once his most senior aide. Few have had a better perch for observing the way Mr Johnson behaves when he thinks the world can’t see what he is up to...'-Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer, 25 April 2021

If the ‘Dom of Barnard Castle’ tells the world that Boris Johnson is ‘Mad and totally unethical’, Then, He Must Be!

‘It is sad to see the PM and his office fall so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves’

See also: 

NHS England chair faces demands to explain role in Greensill lobbying

Corruption drives this government’s policies

Fifth of UK Covid contracts ‘raised red flags for possible corruption’

Covid-19 corruption by the Tories is only the tip of the iceberg

Waste, Negligence And Cronyism: Inside Britain's Pandemic Spending

Matt Hancock and sister own shares in NHS contract firm

Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to publish Covid contracts

Boris Johnson accused of 'corruption' over rushed PPE contracts for covid pandemic

I was Boris Johnson’s boss: he is utterly unfit to be prime minister

Britain Today (24 September 2019): A picture is worth a thousand words

Politically connected firms were given 'high priority' for government COVID contracts

Cronyism? £881m of Covid contracts handed to individuals who have donated over £8m to Conservative Party

The Tragedy of Health and Social Care Failings in our Privatised and Monetised World

How corrupt is the British government?

‘This article first appeared on TP on 5th August 2015. What is interesting here is reading this in the context of the most important post-war electoral decision Britain has made – Brexit.'

'Don’t forget that it was hedge funds who massively profited by shorting Sterling on the run-up to the EU referendum with insider information from the pollsters who told everyone that Remain would win when they knew this not to be the case. Don’t forget that American corporations have been heavily instrumental in covertly shaping healthcare and welfare government policy or that Brexit means that the climate deniers, funded by the fossil fuel industry want the UK out of a regulated EU.

Lastly, don’t forget, there is a push for a no-deal Brexit, thus enabling the final goal – the Americanisation of Britain. Billionaires, bankers, lobbyists, think tanks and global corporate transnationals have all played their part’...- Continue to read

Photo:twitter.com

‘Banks accused of rate-fixing. Members of Parliament cooking the books. Major defense contractors investigated over suspect arms deals. Police accused of being paid off by tabloids. The headlines are unrelenting these days. Perhaps it’s high time we ask: just exactly how corrupt is Britain? David Whyte brings together a wide range of leading commentators and campaigners, offering a series of troubling answers. Unflinchingly facing the corruption in British public life, they show that it is no longer tenable to assume that corruption is something that happens elsewhere; corrupt practices are revealed across a wide range of venerated institutions, from local government to big business. These powerful, punchy essays aim to shine a light on the corruption fundamentally embedded in UK politics, police and finance.’- See more    

The Lies and the Deepening of the Corrupting of Britain Via Brexit

A Few of the Brexit Culprits and their Big Brexit Lies

A poster in Kentish Town, north London, mocks Michael Gove, Dominic Cummings

and Boris Johnson. Photo: Tolga Akmen, via The Guardian

Long List of Brexit Lies

Our Heros, the Nasty Party and What it Means to be Human

And the Festival of Lies and Corruption Continues at Full Speed!

Illustration by Steve Bell, The Guardian

David Cameron’s lobbying scandal

democracy versus chumocracy

Johnson has case to answer over Jennifer Arcuri, says lawyer

Whitewashing Racism to Suit the Posh Boys’ Demented Reading of History

Historian David Olusoga joins academic criticism of No 10's race report

No 10 race report tries to normalise white supremacy, say UN experts

Climate crisis: Boris Johnson ‘too cosy’ with vested interests to take serious action

The Posh Boys do a lot of Corruption and when they are found out,they set up a commision.And you know what:

They appoint their chum, another Poshy, to investigate them! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. How clever that could be!!! Fooling the masses again and again!! 

The supply chain lender Greensill Capital, which collapsed last month, recruited a number of political heavyweights

and Westminster officials,including former prime minister David Cameron. Photo: Andy Rain/EPA/Via The Guardian

Greensill inquiry chairman sits on board of private bank linked to Tory party 

Firm of lobbying inquiry chair won £7m of government contracts in past year

The Greensill scandal has further exposed the privileges of narrow, private interests over the public good.’

Corruption and Abuse of Power by the Posh Boys in Britain: A Selection of Readings from our Archive

Whatever Happened to the Moral Compass? Britain engulfed in corruption

Photo: Times Higher Education

Whatever Happened to the Moral Compass? Britain engulfed in corruption

Eruption of Corruption in British Education:Debunking the Moral and Spiritual Bankruptcy of Values-free Education

Britain engulfed in corruption: The dark side of working for Diamond’s Barclays Capital!

Britain engulfed in Corruption: Costs & Consequences

David Cameron seems to want to turn the UK into a haven for tax avoiders. At least we now know where we stand

Britain engulfed in corruption: Indulgence in our piratical past!

Britain engulfed in corruption: Deficient British democracy

To All Striking Academic Colleagues in Britain: Turn the Strike to a Force for the Common Good

Britain Today (24 September 2019): A picture is worth a thousand words

On the eve of London Anti- Corruption Summit- Values-led action to eradicate corruption

Democracy for Sale: UK Today

Justice for Sale: UK Today

The Moral Blindness of the English Posh Boys

University Corruption and the Financial Crisis: The Theft of the Century by the Most 'Educated Thieves'- All with MBAs and PhDs

……

And Now A Heartfelt Message to All the Posh Boys Anywhere in the World:

If you have seen the light and swish to change your spots, believe me, I can help you.

In search of beauty, wisdom and love? Then, come, come, whoever you are come

N.B. This is an attempt to have a heart-to-heart dialogue and conversation with those known as the Fat Cats. It is written using simplicity as a desired model to communicate, based on a common sense approach, reflecting ultimately on who we are, what we are; simple human beings, made of blood, flesh and a heart beating for the common good.

Fat Cats: An invitation to dialogue

Give Up the Soul- Destroying and Heart-Wrenching  Neoliberal Economics, 'The Biggest Fraud Ever Perpetrated on the World' and Discover What it Means to be Human.

Lies, damn lies and neoliberal economics and economists 

And Discover What it Means to be Human

And Compose a New Life

And Make Education a Subject of Kindness, Love, Compassion and Beauty

And Become Posh Boys for the Common Good