02-11-2012, 01:54 PM
(02-10-2012, 07:20 AM)jamesc1 Wrote: Yep, the diss was a good one. Neil was nice enough to send me a copy and it was certainly first rate, well worthy of a doctorate. I hope Neil will return and give us the benefit of his many years in the DL field. The man was and is a quality individual. Bear and the like could take some lessons from a man they treated like dirt. Neil, like myself, thought it was possible to show those folks they were wrong through common sense and discussion, but of course we were very wrong. They don't discuss anything. They are people who hate and who are so convinced of their own academic perfection that no amount of proof or discussion can change their agendas. They start from the position that anything that one of them says is automatically to be accepted as truth no matter how ridiculous it is. Here is what I believe about the legal unaccredited schools that Bear once promoted. They were a good way for adults to get the diplomas in a rapid not to involved way. Much the same could also be said for Excelsior and the lower tier accredited schools. A man 50 years old was not looking to go back to school for four years and needed a way to earn a legal degree in six months or a year. Through life experience, testing out, and other methods, as Bear said and touted, many of us did just that. NOW though he says we cheated. We took unacceptable short cuts. Those legal schools were actually degree mills. Well, then why did he sell those degrees? Why did he tell us they were good little schools run by sincere people? He even said that one very small school that could not afford a phone and used copied sheets as a school catalog was a good sincere effort. You know what? It was a good little school and just the type that he now laughs at and rejects as a mill. Once good and now trash. Only a fool or a crook could say such things. He destroyed these schools, the people, and their alternative ideas towards education. I'm sorry to see them gone. There was a place for them. They were not right for everyone, but for some, they were enough, but now that option has been taken away. Thanks- John Bear. Nice bit of destruction.
Thanks for those kind words Geoff and James – I might even get back to posting occasionally!
On the DL scene I still function as an adjunct tutor for the Open Polytechnic – in the firearms safety arena. The OP Firearms Safety course is one of only two ways of completing the ‘study & test’ requirements of the NZ Arms Act, in order to be eligible to apply for a firearms licence.
The course is four module course and is completed totally by DL. 1st Module – Firearms Law & Safety, 2nd Module – Firearms & Cartridges, 3rd Module – Using Firearms in NZ and the 4th Module – Reloading ammunition.
The course was launched in 1987 and is believed to be the only firearms course in the world whereby successful completion can gain student 7 credits on the NZQA National Framework.
In addition to successfully completing the DL course a student wishing to use the course for firearm licensing purposes must also provide evidence they he or she has visited – a gunshop, a gun dealer, a gun collector, a shooting range, etc., and has handled firearms and is able to identify various types of firearm actions, and have a person in authority verify that this has been done.
After completion a student is awarded a NZ Mountain Safety pass certificate. They then take this to their local Police Arms Officer and, along with a fee ($126 for a ten year licence), complete a formal application, in which they must provide the names and contact details of two referees. They must allow have police approved security before they are allowed to purchase sporting firearms.
The New Zealand firearm licensing system is an extremely successful one and crimes with firearms are extremely rare.
I am also still very active on the brown teal front and there is every indication that this bird will survive for many years to come.
On the JB front, like James I was/am a staunch supporter of private/independent teaching establishments and if JB knew how successful my Knightsbridge degree had been I’m sure he would – if his brain had not been addled by ‘the gang’ – be impressed!
Sadly, after being lambasted by ‘the gang’ Henrik filed KU in the too hard basket, but he is still a relatively young man and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him and I keep in touch with him regularly.
On the business scene we now represent 8 Italian firearm manufacturers and my wife and I have so far done 15 trips to Italy. Whilst on these trips, and being ‘opera nuts’, we have attended opera performances at – La Scala, Verona, Rome Opera House (Teatro dell’Opera) and at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. We have been privileged to visit – Pompeii, Venice, Milan, Rome, Naples, Tivoli, Assisi, Pisa, Sirmione (where Maria Callas lived), Brescia, etc.