HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kai1@dasher.uucp (Kai Chiu)
Subject: Re: F16 to Taiwan
Organization: Bellcore, Piscataway, NJ
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 17:50:19 GMT
Keywords: F16

In article <1992Sep9.014200.5477@panix.com> henryc@panix.com (Henry Chan) writes:
>In article <Bu7KIu.J5K@multisys.com> rot@multisys.com (Republic of Taiwan) writes:
>>
>>If Bush win, we still have French Fighters and we
>>still kick Bush's butt.
>Agree.

I'm sorry but I'm lost here. How do you kick Bush's butts? I thought
Taiwan is, in this case, at Bush's disposal. If he wants to sell, 
you buy, if he does not, you don't get to buy.... he is kicking 
Taiwan left and right.

You may say you are kicking him only if Taiwan refuses to buy the 
planes if he wins and still wants to sell, right?  


Kai Chiu
kai1@dasher.cc.bellcore.com
Bell Communications Research, Inc.              
Tel: (908) 699-7338
From: yangze@acf3.NYU.EDU (Ze Yang, , , )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.taiwan
Subject: Re: Republic of Formosa
Date: 7 Sep 92 20:05:00 GMT
Organization: New York University

c_tsai@csd.brispoly.ac.uk (C Tsai) writes:


>     Formosa is Taiwan old name....it mean is Taiwan is a beautiful treasure
>island............. Taiwan this name is by Chen Zen-Ko name.... but although

>                                      ROF supporter,
>                                          Chin-Yu TSAI

Surely you will like Formosa, it's a name given to Taiwan
by your previous master. It's also a foreign name, it sounds
more fashionable.

Ze Yang
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: andy@newton.cs.clemson.edu (Andrew J. Greenshields N3IGS)
Subject: Re: Revolution in t'UK?
Organization: Clemson University Computer Science Dept.
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 13:58:21 GMT

In article <2837@nlsun1.oracle.nl> mlemmerm@oracle.nl writes:
>
>That's funny - there's a series of IF cartoons in the European edition
>of the Guardian at the moment. Yesterday's concerned the arrival of
>David Owen on the Yugoslavian political scene, so it's not a re-run of
>an old series. I wonder why you're not getting it in the UK?
>
  It could be because people have finally realised that Steve Bell is
not funny.

--
  Andrew J. Greenshields N3IGS    |  Some people can tell what time it is by
  andy@cs.clemson.edu             |  looking at the Sun, but I have never been
  [dxandy@cs.widener.edu]         |  able to make out the numbers.
-----------------------***STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY***------------------------
From: neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: A coincidence for disaster buffs
Date: 11 Sep 92 09:37:47 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing & Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Sep10.195959.6946@unixg.ubc.ca> banarji@unixg.ubc.ca (Ajai Banarji) writes:
>
>		A coincidence for disaster buffs
>
>  As anyone with a little knowledge of British railway history knows, 
>the worst-ever accident in Britain took place in 1915 at a place called
>Quintinshill in southern Scotland. The official death roll was 227.
>  Quintinshill is not a station, but merely a signal box with crossing
>loops. Some reference books mention the site as Gretna, which was the
>nearest station. This station no longer exists, but some time back the
>railways advertised Gretna as one of the destinations a tourist could
>reach by train. Some consumer organization complained about misleading
>advertising since the station no longer existed :-)
>  It would be difficult to imagine that many years later an even bigger
>disaster would occur in this obscure part of Scotland. Yet this is
>exactly what happened.
>  What do you think is the name of the next open station to the north
>of Quintinshill?
>  You guessed it. Lockerbie.

Gretna being my home town, I can answer this one.

Quintinshill was the name given to the signal box, and the 'hill'. The accident
did happen in that general area, hence the Quintinshill disaster.....

The Station Inn at Kirkpatrick Fleming (3 miles further up the A74 motorway)
has lots of stuff from the signal box and general train stuff, including
a box with tracks and lights on that are used to display trains. If you
pop in, say I sent you, I may get a free pint next time I'm home !!!

The ad's saying Gretna is a destination by train is partially true. There
is a bus to take you from Carlisle station to Gretna !! However, due to
an attack of lunacy at Dumfries and Galloway regional council, there is
to be a new station built at Gretna (the old Gretna station was at Gretna
Green - seperate but neighbouring village where the Blacksmith's Shop
tourist lie lives - another story). This one will be a mile out of town at
the junction of the main west coast/Dumfries branch line, and as there is a
reasonable bus service, will be money wasted.

Lockerbie (about 10 miles up the road from Gretna). Well that *WASN'T* an
accident was it. It was *MURDER*. 

I guess Chapelcross, the nuclear power station 4 miles from Gretna is next
on Murphy's hit list. 

Neil


****************************| Sig' Time |*********************************
JANET: 	  neilp@uk.ac.hw.cs   *   Neil Postlethwaite, Rm G.25, 
INTERNET: neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk   *   Dept of Computer Science,  
UUCP: 	  ..!uknet!hwcs!neilp *   Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton Campus
                              *   Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom.
------------------------------*-------------------------------------------
Computer Science Account      *   Phone +44 (0)31 449-5111 x4174
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., Reading, England
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 07:04:28 GMT


In article <PLUMMER.92Sep13145939@cilantro.cs.swarthmore.edu>, plummer@cs.swarthmore.edu (David Barker-Plummer) writes...

>I think that it is possible to find out how many of each class of
>degree are awarded in a given subject at a given institution each
>year.  So one could probably compute the percentiles that each class
>of degree "equates to" with information gathered over the years.  My
>perception is that a first in the UK is rarer than a 4.0 GPA in the
>US.  I would be surprised if, in a typical year, a US college doesn't
>have a few graduates with a 4.0, but I understand that often UK
>departments can often go for years without awarding a first.
> 

In the year I graduated, the department awarded more 1sts than 2:1s !

Craig

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.     Suas
  Internet: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com                           leis
  UUCP:..!decwrl!edieng.enet.dec.com!cockburn                      a'
                                                                   Gha\idhlig!
  Views here are my own, and are not necessarily those of Digital
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
From: xoanon@carina.unm.edu (timothy k istian soholt)
Subject: Re: Tanstaafl (was: Americanising of the UK
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 17:17:39 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

I was going to trim the number of newsgroups this is directed to
down a tad until I realized that really this doesn't belong in
any of them. So I'll just leave things the way they are and put 
on my asbestos suit....

fletcher@rtf.bt.co.uk (Catherine Fletcher) writes:

>What exactly does tansnaafl stand for?
>There are no such things as a free lunch?

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," I believe, was the
way it was stated in _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress_.

-- Tim Soholt (xoanon@carina.unm.edu), The Man With No .sig
From: wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Dum dee dum...
Date: 7 Sep 92 16:06:12 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <10078@uqcspe.cs.uq.oz.au>, colin@cs.uq.oz.au (Colin Millerchip) writes:
> In <21780613@otter.hpl.hp.com> sjmz@otter.hpl.hp.com (Stefek Zaba) writes:
>>I heard nothing about Lizzie's Camron-induced babe (did she have a 
>>termination while I was away?), nor indeed about the sticky-fingered Laird
>>himself.  And has Phil popped his clogs?
> 
> I gather that she terminated the pregnancy, possibly in an effort to get
> the Scottish Git (NO FLAMES PLEASE!) back.
> 
No. She had the abortion after he'd dumped her and fled the country to avoid
charges of embezzlement.

> You are joking about Phil, aren't you? Surely his artificial hip hasn't
> rejected the rest of his body and gone solo?
> 
No. He's still alive and kicking, if not as hard as he did with his own hip.

> More questions: 
>   * Are the Grundies still France-bound? Has Cameron evicted them yet, 
>     or did Jo "Plain ruination" G back a winner in the village monster
>     marrow competition? 
> 
Now that the estate is in the hands of administrators presumably they've got a
bit of time to pay up. Clarrie is a leading light in the Ambridge Twinning
Association, though---or would be if Jack Wooley and Linda Snell hadn't got in
there first.

>   * Are Brian and Jennifer still at odds over Jenny's minorly
>     inconsiderate savage b*nking of her old man? How inconsiderate of B...
> 
They're more concerned now about Kate the criminal, though Brian is still not
very happy with Jennifer.

-- 

Stephen Wilcox             |   Remember what happened to the dinosaurs!
wilcox@maths.oxford.ac.uk  |    I did---and look what happened to me.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson)
Subject: Re: Ineffable Wonderfulness
Organization: Transaction Technology Inc.
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 22:16:13 GMT

Michael Feld writes:
>>
>>Dick Jackson) writes:>In article (sorry, erased his name by accident) 
>>
>>> I assume that at least all English readers of this
>>>group would understand the ineffable wonderfulness of actually being 
>>English.
>>
>>>Dick Jackson
>>
>>Hear! Hear! Pip! Pip! bend over and all that... 
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The attributions came slightly awry and I would like to make it clear
that Dick Jackson did not write the last bit. It is too affected and
cliched even for me.

Dick Jackson
From: EE117@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: O-levels, A-levels etc was Re: THE COMPLETE BRITISH TO AMERICAN DI
Date: 9 Sep 92 15:05:55 GMT
Organization: University of Liverpool

Jeremy Henderson writes (quotes?)

>=>There are also O/A levels, halfway between O-levels and A-levels,
>=>and S levels which are harder that A-levels, and are taken by
>=>people aiming for Oxbridge.

>Small quibble here: S-levels have/had? no special significance for Oxbridge,
>because most Oxbridge applicants take/took? the special entrance exams, which
>are/were? harder than S-levels.

Large quibble here:

The main qualification for admittance to Oxbridge seems to be the existance of
immensely wealthy parents who, ideally, are also titled. Exactly how many S
levels have the Windsors [*] managed to scrape together - probably a similar
amount to John Major's O level tally, viz nil.

and another thing...

given the amount of Oxbridge Old Boys in the Conservative Party (citizen Major
apart) and the incredible academic esteem attributed to these institutions
why is the Country in such a complete shambles

[*] - having a dad who's the Chancellor is also quite useful

-----
meet me at the barricades comrades,

-Ian (8 Os, 4 As,admitted to Sheffield Uni. on the strength of my UCCA form)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: miriam@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Miriam Jackson)
Subject: Re: O-levels, A-levels etc was Re: THE COMPLETE BRITISH TO AMERICAN DI
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 16:39:16 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.173233.8794@vax.oxford.ac.uk> wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:
>In article <92253.160556EE117@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK>, EE117@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK writes:
>> 
> 
>> -Ian (8 Os, 4 As,admitted to Sheffield Uni. on the strength of my UCCA form)
>Do I detect a disgruntlement at being turned down by another University?
>
>Stephen (not one to boast, but since you ask 14 Os, 5 As and 3 Ss, admitted to
>Oxford University on the strength of UCCA form, interview and exam results.)
> 


not one to boast but 53 O's, 29 A's, 291/2 S's, 5 bachelors degrees,
7 masters and 4 PhD's.

           Miriam Jackson

(I'm fibbing - I have only 3 PhD's).
From: ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: buying peerage
Date: 10 Sep 92 13:47:15 GMT
Reply-To: ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant)
Organization: U of Cambridge Comp Lab, UK

In article <1992Sep9.164257.2338@maths.nott.ac.uk> anw@maths.nott.ac.uk (Dr A. N. Walker) writes:
>they will often be of different complexion from the government.  Whether
>or not they have "real" power, you then have a recipe for constitutional
>crisis, with both sides screaming about mandates, and fixes -- as we see
>occasionally in France and in the USA when the President is at loggerheads

Or in Australia in 1975, when the only time that country's Senate has
been influential at all (how many Australians can name three Senators?)
brought about the worst constitutional crisis in modern Commonwealth
history, requiring the Sovereign's representative to dismiss an elected
government. Australia's Senators are usually non-entity career politicians
and bureaucrats, rather like British MEPs today.
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12270 rec.arts.tv.uk:5325 rec.arts.drwho:5920 alt.tv.prisoner:1331
From: ira2p@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU (Iain Robert Asplin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Subject: Re: Americanising of the UK, Now: British TV in North America
Date: 8 Sep 92 16:38:15 GMT
Organization: University of Virginia

In article <6w1qqB1w164w@kryton.UUCP> ace@kryton.UUCP (Catherine Beckstead) writes:
>I saw an episode of DM that had a grandfather clock.  Penfold and DM went into
>the clock and came out in another time.  "Hey that's just like that thing
>that Doctor has!"  says Penfold.  "Doctor Who?" askes DM.  "Exactly", says
>Penfold.   <paraphrased a bit, but the general idea of the scene>  :-)

Actually I think Penfold said in response to DM, "I can't remember now."

DangerMouse is also one among *MANY* cartoon shows to use/pirate sound
effects from Doctor Who.  The biggest one I can think of was the
Transformers cartoon, which just loved the TARDIS door noise to death.
They also pirated a story idea!  And for their Movie no less!
The leader of the Autobots carried with him the Matrix of Leadership
in which the memories of all the past Autobot leaders was contained.
Sound in the least bit familiar?
From: EE117@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: why I read the Guardian
Date: 10 Sep 92 15:39:00 GMT
Organization: University of Liverpool

GNP, GDP, PSBR, SFA whatever bores the crap out of me

-Ian.
--------
Thinking that we're getting older   + Ian C. Smith,
                          and wiser,+ Dept of EE&E, Liverpool Uni.
When we're just getting old         + 10 Springbourne Rd, Liverpool L17 7BJ, UK
                  - David Gilmour   + ee117@uk.ac.liv.ibm
From: csp48@keele (J.W. Kirriemuir)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: What is a 2:1 equal to?
Date: 15 Sep 92 10:54:56 GMT
Organization: Keele University, England

Re : University of Hertfordshire and Keele University

The university of Hertfordshire was until this year Hatfield
Polytechnic. An excellent place with excellent facilities; their
computer science/info science/business course labs were the best I have
seen of all the University and Polytechnic campus's I visited (about 20;
doesn't include Edinburgh, which I have heard is excellent).

Keele University - Yep, you (last person on this thread) were dead
right. It is in a field in the middle of nowhere with an equal mix of
male/female students. And yes, most of them do spend their time
shagging because of that (not much else to do otherwise - the public
transport is diabolical).

Does anyone out there have any views on what Sheffield University
facilities are like (am starting my PhD there in a fortnight)?

John Kirriemuir,
2:1 [Combined Studies - Computer Science + Stats] - Hatfield Poly
MSc Data Engineering (I hope!) - Keele University
PhD [Optimisation of media database search algorithms] (the future for
	me!) - Sheffield University
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12407 rec.arts.tv.uk:5422 rec.arts.movies:27534
From: gt1111a@prism.gatech.EDU (Vincent Fox)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Why are the British portrayed so falsely on TV/Film
Date: 13 Sep 92 05:20:09 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Distribution: usa
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In <1992Sep13.001649.19051@cs.hw.ac.uk> neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite) writes:
>Having watched a few video's over the weekend, one thing with them I find
>is that the British get such a false stereotypical portrayal of them. It
>makes me wonder if the writers have ever been outside their country.

Hey it's not just foreigners, American entertainment stereotypes Americans
too! Most writers probably never leave LA. All Americans from the Southeastern
part are apparently inbred morons judging from their portrayals.

>Most of the stuff was American BTW.

Then why bother watching? Everyone knows the media doesn't reflect society
except in the sense that a fun-house mirror does. It's not just Brits either.
To watch American films or TV, one would assume the population is largely
composed of cops, drug dealers, and criminals. 

Only good thing I get out of my set is access to cable channels like A&E
(Arts and Entertainment), the Discovery Channel, and the The Learning Channel.
The rest of what passes for drama and entertainment these days from 
Holywood seems to be trying for ever-harsher distortions and stereotypes.

-- 
The War on Drugs is just part of the War on the US Constitution. 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: banarji@unixg.ubc.ca (Ajai Banarji)
Subject: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Originator: banarji@unixg.ubc.ca
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 21:45:26 GMT

		What is a 2.1 equal to?

	OK, you've finished beating the O levels, A levels and S levels
to death. Here is something else.
	In many advertisements for jobs in the UK, they ask for a degree
with 2.1 or better. What would this correspond to in an US degree? Let
me guess-perhaps a GPA of 3.0 ?
	I was told by someone that an US master's degree is considered
equivalent to a British B.Sc/BA since master's degrees are comparatively
rare there. Can someone clarify this point?
From: morna@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Morna J Findlay)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: This England
Date: 11 Sep 92 10:08:43 GMT
Reply-To: morna@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Morna J Findlay)
Organization: Laboratory for the Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh U

In article <1992Sep11.091611.11680@cs.hw.ac.uk> nick@cs.hw.ac.uk (Nick Taylor) writes:
>
>"Be England what she will, with all her faults, she is my country still"
>

That sounds just like "My country - right or wrong" .


Who said that - did anyone?


M

--
Morna Findlay 					JANET:morna@uk.ac.ed.dcs 
	Thanksgiving For a National Victory (Robert Burns)
Ye hypocrites! are these your pranks? To murder men and give God thanks?
Desist, for shame! Proceed no further: God won't accept your thanks for murther.
From: neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Date: 12 Sep 92 23:59:14 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing & Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Sep11.235937.8839@cco.caltech.edu> miriam@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Miriam Jackson) writes:
>
>Because the British system has people specialising so much earlier, this is
>probably a valid statement in terms of knowledge.  The big difference is that
>a masters degree in the States often requires a thesis, so the masters degree
>takes from two years up (my office-mate took 5 years!), whereas in Britain
>the degree takes only 1 year.  I think the experience of 
>researching and writing a thesis may give a U.S. masters a slight edge
>over a British B.Sc./B.A. etc.

Eh ???

Everybody who does an honours degree in their final year, be it 3rd in England
or 4th in Scotland (4 year course - better !!) does a dissertation. This 
being a short (in time length - equiv to maybe 3 months full time work)
research project in a subject usually of your chosen supervisors interest
or research field.

MSc's (Master of Science) are pretty common over here. It is in between
BSc hons and a PhD. Normally a 1 year full-time course with a 5-6 month
research level dissertation included.

Neil (on a MSc course !)


****************************| Sig' Time |*********************************
JANET: 	  neilp@uk.ac.hw.cs   *   Neil Postlethwaite, Rm G.25, 
INTERNET: neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk   *   Dept of Computer Science,  
UUCP: 	  ..!uknet!hwcs!neilp *   Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton Campus
                              *   Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom.
------------------------------*-------------------------------------------
Computer Science Account      *   Phone +44 (0)31 449-5111 x4174
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
From: rbt@dracut.keps.kodak.com (Bob Tufts)
Subject: Re: Americanising of the UK, Now: British TV in North America
Originator: rbt@dracut
Organization: Kodak Electronic Printing Systems
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 17:12:21 GMT

What has smegma & Gordon Bennet got to do with the Prisoner (he said one week
later). I know!

I am not a Gordon Bennet, I am a free smegma!

Can we reduce the bandwidth by not shotgun blasting so many groups?
This has got to be the most expensive smegma ever! :-) :-)

-Bob T.
From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Date: 13 Sep 92 17:00:38 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., Reading, England


In article <1992Sep11.214526.3637@unixg.ubc.ca>, banarji@unixg.ubc.ca (Ajai Banarji) writes...
>		What is a 2.1 equal to?
> 
>	OK, you've finished beating the O levels, A levels and S levels
>to death. Here is something else.
You forgot Highers :-)

>	In many advertisements for jobs in the UK, they ask for a degree
>with 2.1 or better. What would this correspond to in an US degree? Let
>me guess-perhaps a GPA of 3.0 ?

I've never heard of GPA. I guess it stands for gross points average
or something similar. This measurement isn't used in the UK. If you
do well in a course, then you'll get a merit, and most people put this
info on their CVs. 

If you pass your degree, you get a classification which is either
1, 2:1, 2:2 or 3. 

There is no standard, for these numbers. e.g. if you averaged 70% in
all your exams and coursework you might get a 2:2 in one place and a
first in another.

Tertiary education establishments are also extremely secretive about
their marking systems. You're not allowed to see your exam papers once
they have been marked, you're not allowed to know your marks either.
You just get a grading and you've got a snowball's chance in hell of
changing your grade if you think the authorities in question have 
just invented a number out of thin air.

The University I went to also removed the exam marks from the computer
systems so that you couldn't get to your marks via the provisions of
the Data Protection Act 1984.

I know, I went through the process of appealing when I got my degree.

I'm not going to mention the establishment as it's probably no better
than any of the others.

It's pretty sad when the supposed pinnacle of academic acheivement
in this country is shrouded in so much secrecy.

I got my O-grade and Highers and Sixth Year studies marks to the nearest
5% (or 10% for the results over 90%). I don't have a clue what I got
at University.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.     Suas
  Internet: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com                           leis
  UUCP:..!decwrl!edieng.enet.dec.com!cockburn                      a'
                                                                   Gha\idhlig!
  Views here are my own, and are not necessarily those of Digital