HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: Re: Import/Export Research
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., Reading, England
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 12:30:32 GMT


In article <1992Dec28.134116.20186@nuscc.nus.sg>, hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell) writes...
> 
>: would be interested in exporting and importing.  The items can consist of
>: anything from clothing to large machines.  Of course, they must be a legal
>							""""	    """""""	
>	And a problem with our grammar eh boys?         PLURAL       SINGULAR
> 

Bzzzzt. wrong. "They" is both a singular and plural pronoun and is going the
same way as "you" did centuries ago. From the concise OED, 9th edition:
they.... a third person singular indefinite pronoun meaning "he or she"
(anyone can come if they want to).

Shakespeare used this construction, it's hardly new.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.     Suas
  Internet: cockburn@system.enet.dec.com                           leis
  Voice: +[44] 734 580597                                          a'
  Views here are mine,                                             Gha\idhlig!
     and are not necessarily those of Digital or any other organisation
From: wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Gerry prayer corner and Berlin brick walls
Date: 21 Dec 92 15:39:38 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <1992Dec21.121813.1@vxdesy.desy.de>, godfrey@vxdesy.desy.de writes:
> 
> What does any of the above mean?  Does ayone know?  'Does DSY have a student'?
> Does he mean does DESY laboratory have students? 
And there I was thinking that Laurence was a regular reader of s.c.b. Silly me!

> Merry Christmas to most of those on usenet, and peace and good will to most of
> personkind.

Why thanking you kindly, Sir. But aren't you forgetting? Peace on earth and
goodwill to *all* people? 
-- 

Stephen Wilcox             |   For Sale: Posts in British Government. Suit
wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk    |   outgoing American. Highest bids accepted.
From: .
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: huh?
Date: 29 Dec 92 23:03:38 GMT
Organization: .
Originator: hjjcl@usho77.hou281.chevron.com

....
From: apm@hpopd.pwd.hp.com (Andrew Merritt)
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 16:23:27 GMT
Subject: Re: Recent Scandals or THE GOV.'S GOOD AT SOMETHING
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, CCSY Messaging Centre, UK.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british

w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
>In the subject "Lamont's wine and PRIVATE EYE"
>hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell) writes:
>>Please, what is "the affair ofGummer's pond"?
>
>These are the press scandals in recent months concerning the governemt
>which I can remember, I'm sure there are more.
>
>mellorgate - toe sucking :-)
and:
mellorgate II - the holiday at PLO daughter's house (approx. details)

Andrew
From: skaamjm@ucl.ac.uk (Matthew Moore)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Robertson's Golly Badges.
Date: 23 Dec 92 17:25:05 GMT
Organization: Bloomsbury Computing Consortium

ccsdhd@sunlab1.bath.ac.uk (Dennis Davis) writes:

>In the referenced article, casseres@apple.com (David Casseres) writes:
>>I didn't know you had whining and wanking about "political correctness" in
>>the U.K. too.  Pity.

>No, I'm not sure that we have these precious commodities.  But we do
>have derogatory sarcasm, which often appears in this Newsgroup.  It
>always saddens me slightly when things are suddenly declared anathema.
>Especially when the supposed reasons were totally invisible to me when
>I was a child.  I get the feeling that something has been lost, but I
>can't quite decide exactly what that something is.
>-- 
>Dennis Davis, BUCS, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
>D.H.Davis@bath.ac.uk

innocence, or ignorance perhaps. 

Ever been called a wog?
From: braham@physics.ubc.ca (Stephen Braham)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: English Tea Kettle
Date: 29 Dec 1992 21:14:02 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: physics.ubc.ca

bob@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov (Bob Collinge 525-B126) writes:

>I am interested in locating a store (preferably U.S. West Coast) which sells
>English style electric tea kettles (115 volts), i.e the kind currently in
>vogue in England - tall cylindrical, not the older, shiny metal exterior
>type, which resemble ones you heat up on a stove.  If anyone is familiar
>with a store or a distributor in the U.S. or Canada that deals with such
>kettles, I would appreciate hearing from you.

I have a Tefal one that I bought in a Bay's here in Vancouver. It's
the type with the detachable base, just like me Mum's back 'ome <grin>.

				Steve Braham
--
| Name: Stephen P. Braham | Perversion: Quantum Cosmologist|
| Hangout: UBC physics    | Signature:  Euclidean          |
|          Vancouver, BC  |--------------------------------+
|          Canada         | E-mail: braham@physics.ubc.ca  |
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller)
Subject: Re: Yankee behind the wheel.. {HELP!}
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 23:01:29 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.143643.14357@pixel.kodak.com> dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones) writes:
>Well, based on experience adapting the other way:
>
>You are most likely to get into trouble when reacting to a sudden, 
>unexpected event.  It can be as simple as finding yourself heading
>in the wrong direction, or missing a turning.  While you're concentrating
>on sorting this out, your instincts take over and you wind up on the wrong
>side of the road.
>
>
>Therefore: Drive Defensively.  If the unexpected happens, stop and THINK!

--assuming that you have time to stop and think.

Another feature of switching:  you don't know which way to look at corners,
no matter whether you are on your "usual" side of the road or
not.  Then there was the time a few months ago that my other
half rented a jeep to do some sightseeing while on business in NM.
We had just recently returned from the UK.  He was having a great
time driving on dirt roads, which have no "side", then made his way
back to the main road...and was happily driving on the wrong side of
the thoroughfare for some time until another truck appeared.
Oops.
From: sandee@vs11.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Christmas mesage to s.c.b.
Date: 21 Dec 92 20:45:14 GMT
Reply-To: sandee@vs11.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee)
Organization: SCRI, Florida State University

In article <yBBZVB5w165w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca> yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee) writes:
>
>Also, beware of gift-barers.  

You mean we should keep out gifts wrapped up ???? Horrors ... unpacking is
the biggest fun of all.

(Okay, it was an easy one, I know. Just couldn't resist.)

Daan Sandee                                           sandee@scri.fsu.edu
Thinking Machines Corporation
Supercomputer Computations Research Institute, B-186
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052  (904) 644-4490

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: sp@osf.org (Simon Patience)
Subject: Re: Banned: ``Happy Holidays'' [sic]
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Distribution: soc
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 06:33:46 GMT

In article <1992Dec26.010453.11722@microsoft.com>, frankm@microsoft.com (Frank R.A.J. Maloney) writes:
> While I completely agree with you, Simon, I mentioned the
> Jews not as the only ones who are left out of "Merry
> Christmas" but merely as a symbol for all the non-Christians
> in any Western society, British, American, Continental, or
> Canadian. Also, there is the fact that there are a lot more
> Jews in my little slice of the great world than Hindus or Muslims.
> About Buddhists, I'm not so sure. 

Anyone have the religious group breakdown in the UK. For some reason
I get the impression that Muslims are the greatest religious group. I
would be interested to know the precise figures.

> We atheists, on the other hand, are as scarce as hens' teeth.

Then how come I keep meeting them then?

Simon.

-- 
  Simon Patience
  Open Software Foundation			Phone: +33-76-63-48-72
  Research Institute				FAX:   +33-76-51-05-32
  2 Avenue De Vignate				Email: sp@gr.osf.org
  38610 Gieres, France				       uunet!gr.osf.org!sp
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: hm@fwi.uva.nl (Hans Mulder)
Subject: Re: Yankee behind the wheel.. {HELP!}
Organization: FWI, University of Amsterdam
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 11:32:43 GMT

In <128030004@otter.hpl.hp.com> scrl@otter.hpl.hp.com (Simon Lewis) writes:
>In soc.culture.british, ewadams@netcom.com (Ernest Adams) writes:
>> A couple of other things: there is no right turn on red: red means stop,
>                                        ^^^^^
>You mean there's no *left* turn on red...

Red means stop.  No turning right, left, up, down, or otherwise.

HansM
From: smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: The miners, again
Date: 23 Dec 92 10:21:15 GMT
Reply-To: P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Organization: University of Bristol

In article <1h7k91INN3dj@curie.lif.icnet.uk> pt@curie.lif.icnet.uk (Paul Taylor <pt@acl.icnet.uk>) writes:
>In article <1992Dec22.155450.14295@bristol.ac.uk> P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee) writes:
>>
>>Since the original announcement, though, something on the order of
>>5000 miners have taken voluntary redundancy.  (For the US readers,
>>that's 'We (the company) will give you a nice lump-sum payment if you
>>will resign voluntarily'.)  Average redundancy awards seem to have been
>>somewhere between 12000 and 18000 pounds.
>>
>Which sounds a lot, but remember a lot of these people have mortgaged
>properties in towns where no one, but no one, is going to be able to live and
>work IF the mines close down.

Well, doesn't seem like a lot to me.  I'd guess, though, that people
who took voluntary redundancy were probably the older miners, who would
be due to retire in the next few years anyway, and who think it will
see them through to their pension.  That seems to be the usual pattern
in cases like this.  (Could be painfully wrong, of course.)

-- 
Paul Smee, Computing Service, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UD, UK
 P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk - ..!uunet!uknet!bsmail!p.smee - Tel +44 272 303132
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
Subject: Re: Green cards
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 21:32:02 GMT

sandee@vs11.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) writes:
| 
| Not that I really want to defend the INS, but improving phone service is
| just a matter of funding. Why should anybody in Washington care about the
| service to aliens ? They don't vote. They just pay taxes. Don't blame the
| INS from being permanently underpaid and overworked.

Well, they don't vote *yet*.

Rep. Kennedy (D-MA) keeps staff whose job is to handle the problems of
nonvoters.  I think the theory is that one day they will be (a) voters
and able to remember and reward him or (b) deported and irrelevant.

Once naturalized one would tend to lose interest in complaining about the
INS.  Except, of course, for passports.  Is anyone in a position to
compare the godawful interface with aliens against that with citizens?
-- 
David Brooks					dbrooks@osf.org
Open Software Foundation			uunet!osf.org!dbrooks
Allberall und ewig blauen licht die Fernen!  Ewig... ewig... ewig...
From: martin.baines@uk.sun.com (Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: UK unemployment figures
Date: 21 Dec 1992 17:30:51 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Ltd
Distribution: world
Reply-To: martin.baines@uk.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: bottomdog.uk.sun.com

In article 21415@dcs.qmw.ac.uk, mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>From today's "Guardian":
>
>Scotland         9.7%
>Wales           10.1%
>N.Ireland       14.6%
>
>England:
> East Anglia     8.2%
> East Midlands   9.3%
> North          11.8%
> North West     10.8%
> South West      9.7%
> South East     10.1%
> West Midlands  11.2%
> Yorks & Humber 10.3%
>
>Now arguing from these figures, and even forgetting the huge
>amount of personal debt suffered by people in the south-east
>and the fact that housing costs are still much higher there,
>can we still hear from all those people who are perpetually
>saying what a privileged place south-east England is, how
>deprived Scotland is, how the Tory party is the "South-east
>England Nationalist party" etc.

No chance! Anyway we all know that the Tory Party is really
the East Anglian Nationalist party in disguise. Why else
would East Anglia keep coming out top on quality of life
surveys without all that help from the Tories? We do have
a few Labour MPs (Ipswich, Cambride City, Part of Norwich)
but that's just for show to prove we don't run a one party
state.

Martin

---
"You might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment"

Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
Phone: +44 223 420421                 Fax: +44 223 420257
JANET:     Martin.Baines@uk.co.sun    Other UK:  Martin.Baines@sun.co.uk
Internet:  Martin.Baines@UK.sun.com
X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jac54@cas.org ()
Subject: Re: Green cards etc
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 16:08:31 GMT

In article <1992Dec30.131927.23018@rdg.dec.com> cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn) writes:
>
>The new style "Green Card" has your fingerprint on it. Why does the
>US treat immigrants like the UK treats criminals?

	This is most likely to keep the Green Card honest as much
	as the owner.  The trade in pirated GCs is extremely
	active and this gives you one foolproof way of ensuring that
	the carrier is the real owner rather than someone with a
	vague resemblance to an old, cheap piccie.

	The FBI has a very large file of fingerprints from honest
	people.  This includes anybody who has ever served in the
	military and similar groups.  They can be used to prove
	innocence as easily as to prove guilt and also come in useful
	with unidentified corpses.

	Alec
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller)
Subject: Silly Bible semi-pedantry [was: Re: Happy Christmas!]
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 23:45:20 GMT

In article <1992Dec24.110629.10990@vax.oxford.ac.uk> wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:
>In article <1992Dec24.053538.2897@netcom.com>, sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller) writes:
>> In article <1992Dec23.155048.10981@vax.oxford.ac.uk> wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:
>>>> 	Gloria in excelsis deo,
>>>> 	et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis
>>>
>>>Which is in turn a mistranslation of something in Greek which was once upon a
>>>time a quotation in Hebrew.
>>>Still, a very merry Christmas to you all.
>> Raised eyebrows...Hebrew?  Thought the NT was originally written in Greek.
>> Isn't there a verse (or verses) which demonstrate that Jesus was
>> himself using the Septuagint as his OT reference?
>> 
>I was merely hypothesising that the angels would be good Jewish folk and so
>would be able to find a suitable old Testament quotation to enlighten the
>shepherds. I think it unlikely that Christ was using the septuagint: I suspect
>there weren't all that many 1st-century Palestinian carpenters who were fluent
>in Greek. On the other hand the evangelists may have been referring back to the
>septuagint. Who knows?
>-- 
>

Warning: Blatant atheism is hinted at.  Fundamentalists may be offended.



I was told that the contrary was true; that a lot of Jews by the 1st century
were in fact more likely to be fluent in Greek than in Hebrew.  The
language all but died out among the common folk.  Jesus (which name is but
a Greek-ified version of Joshua (which is an Anglicized version of...))
and his mates were supposedly speakers of Aramaic, and none of them were
scholars.  Greek, I was told, was the language of trade and commerce
in those days.  From my limited knowledge, I'd guess that only Paul would
have known how to read and write Hebrew at all.  This situation is somewhat
analogous to the situation among Jews today.  

But yes, I suppose the angels would know how to speak Hebrew.  I was
supposing that they would speak to the shepherds in a language which
they'd be likely to understand.  :-)

And yes, I also suspect the evangelists were using the septuagint.  
The verse(s) I mentioned above are apparently a bit of a blow to
those with a belief in the divine inspiration of the bible and the
literal interpretation thereof.  Apparently one of the gospels has
Jesus quoting a passage from the septuagint which itself is a mistranslation
from the Hebrew manuscripts.  

OBsoc.culture.brit:
Must all be bogus anyway, since the gospels seem to completely drop
out the bit where Jesus visits the UK.  Would have been the highlight
of his travels, so the chronicles must therefore be entirely bogus. 

-sue
From: Geraint.Jones@comlab.oxford.ac.uk (Geraint Jones)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Date: 3 Jan 93 11:26:39 GMT
Organization: Ecstatic Ectoplasm plc, A Happy Phantom and Right Bitch Company
Originator: geraint@pierrot.comlab

dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning) wrote:
(  vogelm@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Michael Vogel) writes:
 ) >I would like to get some information about weights and measures.
(  >Is the UK ever going to change from the British imperial system to the 
 ) >metric system?
(  
 ) It has partially. Weights are generally metric eg sugar is in kg, liquid
(  measures are a mix, pints of milk, litres of Coke, distances are generally
 ) miles and yards, however the construction industry uses metric measurements

Although road signs are still marked in miles and yards, they are often placed
at positions consistent with metric markings -- my favourite is a low bridge
sign which I used to pass on my way to school that warned of a bridge 1256
yards down a lane.  (Hint, that isn't four significant figures, it is two and
a half figures, converted from metric.)  That would have been put up in the 
early seventies, as would all those signs warning of hidden Give Way signs in 
55 and 65 yards.

I bought some marine ply last week; it came from a piece whose standard width /
was quoted in milimetres, and whose cut length was measured in inches.  I    /
used to think that this sort of thing was just an urban legend.             / g
From: fledgist@weber.ucsd.edu (Fragano Ledgister)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Date: 23 Dec 1992 19:21:48 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
NNTP-Posting-Host: weber.ucsd.edu

In article <Bzq7Dr.A3E@ccsun.strath.ac.uk> cabr53@ccsun.strath.ac.uk ("R.A.McPheat") writes:
>In article <Bzq4uz.51E@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning) writes:
>>vogelm@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Michael Vogel) writes:
>>
>>>Who knows any abolished or rare weight and measures which are applied in 
>>>special professional branches only, such as in mining, farming, navigation, 
>>>etc.?
>>
>>Off the top of my head, the only one I can think of is fathoms which I believe
>>is still used. Their might be others in specialised industries like diamond
>>sales.
>>
>The furlong is still used in horse racing but I'm not sure how long it is.
>
220 yards

-- 
____________________________________________________________________
Dawn over the dark sea brings on the sun;                      
She leans across the hilltop: see, the light!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
Subject: Re: Green cards etc
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 18:38:03 GMT

cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn) writes:
| Craig
|       (no social security number and intending to keep it that way)

Don't you have a NI number?  Mine began, or more strictly begins, with
YP and ends with 99A; I forget the bits in between.  Your GP should be
able to tell you what it is :-)
-- 
David Brooks					dbrooks@osf.org
Open Software Foundation			uunet!osf.org!dbrooks
Shine out, fair sun, with all your heat!  Black winter freezes to his seat...
The boneless fish close quaking lies...the stars in icicles arise!
From: wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Solution to the Candidates of the Republic of Great Britiain
Date: 24 Dec 92 10:59:35 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <Xuk9VB4w165w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca>, yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee) writes:
> Sorry, that should be Britain.
> 
> Put anyone who wants to be GB President in front of a firing squad and if the
> person survives without medical attention, let them stand.
> 

Oh goody goody goody. Can we do the same with the Royal Family? Pleeeeeze?
-- 

Stephen Wilcox             |   For Sale: Posts in British Government. Suit
wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk    |   outgoing American. Highest bids accepted.
From: smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: The miners, again
Date: 23 Dec 92 17:19:42 GMT
Reply-To: P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Organization: University of Bristol

In article <1992Dec22.155450.14295@bristol.ac.uk> P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee) writes:
>Heseltine seems to admit that there were legal, as well as political,
>mistakes made in the original announcement of the closures.  However,
>surprise surprise, he insists that it is not a 'resigning' matter.

Several side notes here, aside from the one which I have trouble with
getting my little mind around, to wit, that the Government seems not to
be aware of the laws.

Heseltine denies responsibility for this, in essence saying that he was
'merely acting on the advice of British Coal, and he assumed they would
observe any necessary legalities'.  Prompted a letter-writer to the
Guardian to note that it was interesting that he was listening to the
advice of nationalised industries, and perhaps he would listen to the
advice of British Rail (which they plan to privatise) as well.  (Sir
Bob Reid, chairman of BR and put in by the Tories to prepare it for
privatisation, has said that the rail privatisation plan as currently
conceived is ill-thought-out and would be the death of rail transport
the UK.  Again, this was reported in yesterday's papers.)  Personally,
I find Heseltine's remark doesn't sit well with his earlier claim that
he'd considered all the options, and the closures were the only
possible one.

Now what bothers me stems from the fact that I have trouble with the
idea that the Government doesn't know what the laws are; so, I assume
that's not true.  This Government (and, I know, past Governments, but
I'm told it's much more common under this one) is very fond of using
'enabling legislation'.  That is, instead of passing a Parliamentary
act saying 'X is going to happen to Y', they'll pass an act saying 'the
relevant minister shall have the necessary powers to consider Y, and to
act as he deems appropriate'.  Then the minister will do X.

In that context, then, the obvious way to handle the closures legally
is NOT to debate the closures themselves in parliament, but rather to
give the head of the DTI (Heseltine) full powers to 'consider the coal
industry, and do whatever he thinks best'.  Then, he could close the
pits.  Now, with the current governmental system, there's really little
difference between that and just 'closing the pits'.  Just the fiddly
detail of legislating the power into existence, which any majority
Government could manage, no problem.  

However, I find it disturbing in that this fiasco could indicate that
they no longer see (either intentionally, or by oversight) even a
minimal requirement to stick with the formalities.  It can be read as
implying a belief on their part that 'if we want it done, we can just
go ahead and do it', which is sailing very close to dictatorship.

-- 
Paul Smee, Computing Service, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UD, UK
 P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk - ..!uunet!uknet!bsmail!p.smee - Tel +44 272 303132
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic