HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cla04@seq1.keele.ac.uk (A.T. Fear)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Date: 15 Sep 92 10:51:40 GMT
Organization: Keele University, England

From article <1992Sep15.084054.24619@dscomsf.desy.de>, by tls@brspva.enet.dec.com (Tim Short):

> What the hell is the University of Hertfordshire?

Search me guv, since we've started the yar boo sucks approach I'll
venture to say it's a poly in disguise.

> I know lots of people who went to Keele. since it's in a big field miles from anywhere with ~equal
> mix of gender, they spent all their time shagging.

God what am I missing out on. I can assure you that the SCR isn't like
this at all, we're a bastion of Victorian morality. I obviously socialise in the wrong places.

Andy
From: nick@cs.hw.ac.uk (Nick Taylor)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Majors Visit to Scotland
Date: 15 Sep 92 10:37:01 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Sep14.214535.26157@cs.hw.ac.uk> neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite) writes:

>One thing about non-tory politicians that really annoy me is they claim that
>75% of Scotland voted for devolution/independance. This is utter bullshit.
>75% of the population voted for parties which have as part of their agenda
>proposals for political change.

Whilst I sympathise with your point I feel impelled to make a couple of my own:

a). You could level the same argument at any single policy of any of the
    parties and thereby refute any mandate given by the people for any
    particular policy - Tory one's included. People vote for the candidate
    whose policies they find most agreeable and it is a premise of our system
    that they are prepared to live with all of those policies if their
    candidate gets elected. So, whilst it might be a bit strong to cite the
    result as proof that 75% of Scots want greater autonomy from Westminster it
    would not be wrong to cite it as proof that they are happy to live with it;

b). Numerous opinion polls over the last few years have made it quite clear
    what the Scottish people want on this one particular issue and you can't
    flannel over it by citing the difficulties inherent in interpreting the
    General Election result.

Nick "indifferent English observer" Taylor.
From: cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Classic-FM (was: VNS: Mon  7-Sep-1992)
Date: 8 Sep 92 17:34:57 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
In-reply-to: clements@bbn.com's message of 8 Sep 92 15:23:29 GMT

In article <laphbhINN55s@news.bbn.com> clements@bbn.com (Bob Clements) writes:

   Perhaps someone could post a review of the new service in a while?
   I can't hear it over here in the colonies.

The announcers can't always pronounce musical terms (they pronounce
pavanne as "PAVen", for instance).

The announcers are very chatty, and assume that (a) none of their listeners
know the first thing about classical music, and (b) their listeners are
rather stupid.  Their cheery informative chat is sometimes wrong, too.

No piece is longer than about four minutes.  They only ever seem to play
*one* movement of any piece before moving on to something else.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the programming - most pieces are
jarringly different from the preceding piece.

They're very fond of sweet, syrupy, weeping violins.

During the day, every bit of music sounds vaguely as if it was in a Disney
film :-)  At night this is reduced from "every" to "most".

They have a "hum line" (0345 491812 folks), where you can phone up and hum
some music at them to request it - it's assumed that listeners aren't capable
of remembering the titles to things. :-)

One of their main DJs is Henry Kelly (show title: "Bach, Brahms and Banter"),
who intersperses the short bits of music with horse-racing tips.

Basically, it's fast-paced easy listening for the sort of people who probably
think that Jeremy Beadle's a very nice young man.
--
	-- Chris. 	cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk   (on Janet, cc@uk.ac.ed.dcs)

		
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: silva@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Holly Silva)
Subject: Re: Pardon my ignorance.
Keywords: states within a nation
Organization: Stanford Univ. Earth Sciences
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 19:55:53 GMT

In article <15SEP199214143357@sscvx1.ssc.gov> godfrey@sscvx1.ssc.gov (LAURENCE GODFREY) writes:
>In article <1992Sep15.173202.24435@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>, nishiyam@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (NISHIYAMA  KO writes...
>> 
>>Hello.  My name is Kohtaro.
>> 
>>I would like to learn how many states there are in Great Britain.
>>You might not even call them states, but I mean those places such as
>>England, Scotland, etc.  Do you call them states?
>> 
>>I just started to learn the British Political System in school, and I
>>just became curious about how many states constitute the Kingdom of Great
>>Britain.  You also have "states" outside Europe.  Is this correct?
>> 
>>Please answer my question when you have nothing else to do.
>> 
>> 
>>Kohtaro Nishiyama
>>The University of Colorado at Boulder
>>International Affairs Major
>>Where there is a will, there will be an accomplishment.
>>Where there is a hope, there will be a future.
>>Everything is thought in mind at first, and then becomes reality.
>>  
>
>On a recent thread, what better illustration of the differences between
>the US and UK education systems.  Why this student should immediately
>be awarded a PhD and appointed US ambassador to the UN.  After 10 years
>further experience she could perhaps be entered for GCSE in politics or
>geography.
>
>Laurence


	1) The original poster has a Japanese name and may very well
have received most of his education in that country. There are some
syntax peculiarities in the original post which, together with its
extreme politeness, suggest this is the case. (Not a conclusion which
anyone would draw from your reply. Your command of english is exceeded
only by your lack of judgement in its use.)
	2) 'Britain' in some of its aspects as a political entity does
indeed have 'states' outside of Europe, namely Hong Kong and the Falklands.
It would be the former that would be most likely of interest to an asian
poster.
--
======================================================================
|| Holly Silva			I have nothing terribly clever to say||
|| Applied Earth Sciences	today.  You're in luck.		     ||
|| Stanford University						     ||
From: cbas38@vaxa.strath.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: BBC Radio World SErvice ??
Date: 9 Sep 92 19:40:41 GMT
Organization: Strathclyde University VAX Cluster

Does anyone know the frequency of the BBC World Service. I'm in


the USA near Boston although I'm still using my UK based
account....Please e-mail me direct on this account


Cheers

-- 
Sandy Mackinnon
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow
cbas38@vaxa.strath.ac.uk
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12387 rec.arts.tv.uk:5403 rec.arts.drwho:6029 alt.tv.prisoner:1364
From: cdt@sw.stratus.com (C. D. Tavares)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Subject: Re: Gordon Bennett! Re: No smegma please, we're American
Date: 11 Sep 92 20:38:47 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

In article <5i2qqB2w164w@kryton.UUCP>, ace@kryton.UUCP (Catherine Beckstead) writes:
> _The Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary_ C. 1981, pg. 1088 does contain
> a definition for the word "smegma".  I would give the definition, but
> that has been done here many times.  I just thought that all those who
> say that it isn't in Webster's, well I guess you have the wrong addition.
> Although in my 1966 Webster's, there is no entry for "smegma".

Please note that "Webster's" is a meaningless term.  Since it is in the 
public domain, any dictionary CAN use the name "Webster's," and many do.
"Webster's One Thing Dictionary" and "Webster's Something Else Dictionary"
are not necessarily related in ANY way.
-- 

cdt@pdp.sw.stratus.com      --If you believe that I speak for my company,
OR cdt@vos.stratus.com        write today for my special Investors' Packet...
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dj@ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones)
Subject: Re: This England
Organization: :noitazinagrO
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 13:47:19 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.124558.13791@sei.cmu.edu> firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth) writes:
>In article <18mobtINN731@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> esh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Evelyn S. Hlabse) writes:
>
>>There is a friendly argument that I would like help with.  There
>>is a poem which United Airlines is currently using in its ads
>>that is from a poem and I don't remember the poem or author.  It
>>has the phrase "this sceptered isle, this England".
>
>	This royal throne of Kings; this scepter'd Isle,
>	this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
>	this other Eden, demi-paradise,
>	this fortress built by Nature for herself
>	against infection and the hand of war...
>
>Shakespeare, what else?  John of Gaunt's speech, Richard II, Act II, scene i.

I always preferred the "Septic Isle" version myself.  Much more
accurate, these days......


-- 
||)) Those who wallow in ignorance      ))) Policemen are numbered in case))|
||)) must dwell in Limbaugh for a time  ))) they get lost - S. Milligan   ))|
||))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))|
||Dave Jones (dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com) | Eastman Kodak Co. Rochester, NY   |
From: mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: buying peerage
Date: 11 Sep 92 08:57:08 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

From: ag129@cl.cam.ac.uk (Alasdair Grant)
In article <18l6vpINN2pu@grapevine.EBay.Sun.COM>
smckinty@sunicnc.France.Sun.COM (Steve McKinty - Sun ICNC) writes:
>>Is that not just a consequence of having had 15 years of Conservative
>>government? I suspect if we'd had 15 years of Labour we'd probably be
>>hearing rantings from Lord Arthur Scargill by now...
>
>But there are many Labour Lords with trade union links right now. When I
>was involved in industrial action (at a former job) we were far more
>confident of getting our case heard in the Lords than in the Commons,
>and the (relatively) favourable outcome to us was partly due to the
>advocacy of Labour peers.
>
>The point is that peers don't have axes to grind or elections to win.
>That's why so many of them are Independents.

It is still a convention that the opposition parties may
nominate a few people for peerages in order that there be some
balance in the House of Lords. But it is only a convention. The
present Conservative government has been more blatantly biased
than previous governments in its use of the honours system,
both in the small number of places actually allocated to the
opposition, and in the fact that honours given purely "for
honour" somehow seem to go to people who are "coincidentally"
strong Conservative supporters. I don't think there have been
many recent creations of Labour Lords with trade union links,
and give it another couple of Conservative election victories
and the present ones will all die out.

Peers may not have axes to grind or elections to win, but they
are nomianted by the Prime Minister. That is why so many of
them are Conservative.

Matthew Huntbach
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jens@seas.gwu.edu (Jens Johansen)
Subject: Re: VNS: Fri  4-Sep-1992
Keywords: VNS,news
Organization: George Washington University
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 23:12:52 GMT

In article <Sep04.205948.2028@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> hg798502@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Hugh Graham) writes:
>>
>How does this compare in magnitude and strategy to Dennis Healey asking
>the IMF for a few quid back in the 70's?  Call me dumb, but I don't
>recall this being called 'buying time for the battered pound' and forgive
>me if I have inadvertantly deleted memories of 'euphoria in the City'
>from my memory of that decade :-)  Bet the City wouldn't be too happy
>if I borrowed 7.5million sponduliks.  Ho hum.  Wish I was a Tory.
>Did you spot that this VNS was courtesy the Torygraph ?
>
>
>The above is not intended to be anti-VNS, for which I am always
>grateful and appreciative. (VNS, that is).
>
>

Call me clever (although if you are, you probably won't--and you'd probably be
right) but wasn't it the case that the Government and the British economy was
so short of funds, and in such dire trouble that the IMF thing was the only
option available to get out of the trouble Britain was in?  Remember the
Winter of Discontent?

Anyhow, the phrase 'buying time for the battered pound' refers to the
problems arising from Britains commitment to the ERM, which means that they
have to protect the pound from the rampant D-Mark.  German interest rates are
so high that the Mark is being forced up rather sharply, and the rest of the
ERM currencies have to match it.  The option are higher interest rates which 
would deepen the recession further, or this loan which will provide some
temporary relief from this dire situation.

Anyhow, don't wish for being a tory or a liberal d. or a labour thingumy or
anything else...  That way misery lies...

Jens

-- 
Jens Johansen (jens@seas.gwu.edu)       | DISCLAIMER:  Hey, if you seriously
----------------------------------------|   believe I am speaking for anyone
  /* insert your own witty message */   |   else, we might both be in quite
           /* right here */             |   serious trouble...
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12318 rec.arts.tv.uk:5347 rec.arts.drwho:5965 alt.tv.prisoner:1343
From: donnell@squid.micro.umn.edu (Your Heinous)
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: 9 Sep 92 20:08:23 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: none

In article <1992Sep2.162440.8664@esseye.si.com> jongsma@benzie.si.com writes:
>In <1992Sep01.041010.11801@admiral.uucp> dave@admiral.uucp (Dave Litchman) writes:
>
>>Now, in a related vein, did you know that there was an american version of
>>Fawlty Towers? Sad, but true. Bea Arthur played the female version of Basil
>>Fawlty. I have never seen this series, but I'm told it bombed almost as badly
>>as it deserved.
>
>I think you're refering to a show called "HOT L BALTIMORE."
>
>Ken's Rule Pertaining to TV Show Titles:
>
>Any show that uses intentional misspelling or any non-alphanumeric character
>in the title deserves to die a slow death.
>
>ObException: M*A*S*H. And that doesn't count because it was taken from the
>movie title.
>
>-- 
>Ken Jongsma                                          ken@wybbs.mi.org
>Smiths Industries                               jongsma@benzie.si.com
>Grand Rapids, Michigan                      73115.1041@compuserve.com

Huh? I don't believe you ever saw Hot L Baltimore. For one thing, Bea Arthur
was not involved. For another, it was a damn good show.

The show in question, the American version of Fawlty Towers is called
"Amanda's". It stinks, particularly Tony Rosato's performance as Aldo, 
which comes off as horribly racist. <It was in the original, but this is
intolerable>. they changed the relationships of the characters, added some
stupid romance with Kevin McCarthy and Bea, and flushed a great setup
down the toilet. A & E used to repeat the show in the US, but I think
even they have seen the light.
<Now, Lets get back to The Prisoner, please.
<As always, this is just my scrawny little opinion>

					--Judex--
From: unregistered@newcastle.ac.uk (William Coyne)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Are foreignborn kids of UK citizens etc
Date: 14 Sep 92 12:03:23 GMT
Organization: Chemical & Process Engineering Dept, University of Newcastle, UK.

mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:

>You've got it, more or less. The British immigration laws have
>been regularly tightened since the 1960s, and each tightening
>is essentially to try and exclude people with non-white skins
>while not actually mentioning skin colour in writing.

  There will be an interesting situation in the next few years when
we might have 10's or 100's or thousands of people from South
Africa (white, english speaking, british descent, and many maybe 
very racist)  and Hong Kong 
(east asian, english speaking) both trying to get into the UK
if they fail to get to the US, Canada, NZ, Oz, etc.

   It might be difficult for the government to accept all of one
without accepting many of the other, especially if South Africa is
a peaceful democracy, and Hong Kong was seen as been oppressed by
communist China.

>Matthew Huntbach
From: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Archers are more popular than TV soaps
Date: 13 Sep 92 14:19:42 GMT
Reply-To: w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
Organization: Chemical & Process Engineering Dept, University of Newcastle, UK.


   Here is a bit of trivia which might be of interest to some
Netters as there has been some discussion of "The Archers".

   On the news it mentioned several hundred people had attended an
Archers fans convention.  The paid 35 pounds and got to meet the cast,
etc.   It was mentioned that the show has 8 million listeners.  

  If this is true it means it has a bigger audience than many TV soaps,
and a greater audience than any BBC 2 or Channel 4 programme!

  It sounds a bit on the large size for a radio programme, so if anyone
else heard the figure they could send in to the net to confirm or deny it.

  They don't seem to publicise radio audience figures very much.
From: nickh@CS.CMU.EDU (Nick Haines)
Subject: Duty on goods brought into the UK
Originator: nickh@VOILA.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Distribution: soc
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 16:08:06 GMT

Anyone had any experience paying duty on possessions taken into the UK
after some time abroad? I'm here in the US for another year now, and
am thinking about buying various items (a computer etc), taking
advantage of the prices here. I think there are rules covering
`items essential to livelihood' or some such, which would cover a
computer for me, but I'm not sure....

Replies by email please.

Nick Haines nickh@cmu.edu
From: mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Slang
Date: 15 Sep 92 11:54:54 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

From: cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke)
>In article <12SEP199217480222@sscvx1.ssc.gov> godfrey@sscvx1.ssc.gov >(LAURENCE GODFREY) writes:
>
>   In fairness it must be said that "gobsmacked" is not truly British slang,
>   but was invented by Murdoch's appalling SUN newspaper
>
>No, wrong.  It's been around for years & years; the Sun presumably just
>popularised Northern slang in the South.

Are you sure it's Northern, or is this just an extension of the
usual prejudice which thinks anything earthy and working class
is northern, while all southerners are pink-gin drinking
stockbrokers? The Guardian seems to think it's southern, having
christened Chris Patten "Cockney Chris" ever since he unwisely
used the phrase in an attempt to change his patrician image,
and I don't remember it being protested against, despite the
Guardian being the paper of the ex-patriate northern social
worker class who usually pick up on these things.

Matthew Huntbach
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Friday, 11 Sep 1992 14:30:08 CDT
From: Cole Kendall <U48073@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Subject: Re: Tanstaafl (was:Americanising of the UK
 <kc3y#1r@rpi.edu> <rhaller-080992141841@rhaller.cc.uoregon.edu>
 <1992Sep09.081125.15198@bnr.uk>

In article <1992Sep09.081125.15198@bnr.uk>, agc@bmdhh298.bnr.ca (Alan Carter)
says on the origin of TANSTAAFL:

>In the early 80s (Ronald Reagan, Maggie Thatcher, Anal Retentiveness,
>Radioactive Megadeath etc) Milton Freidman, a pseudoeconomist who didn't
>beleive that economics has feedback loops in it, it's just 'individuals and
>their choice', pretended he invented TANSTAAFL. He nicked it.

The use of TANSTAAFL by U of Chicago economists predates the "early 80s."
While I am unaware of any pseudoeconomists who don't "beleive" in
feedback loops, I first encountered the acronym in introductory
graduate price theory at the U of C in the late 1970s (after Friedman
left Chicago to go to Hoover, before Lady T. became PM, before Mr. R
was elected president...but I'm not sure about AR or RM).

Cole Kendall
From: EE117@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Date: 15 Sep 92 15:43:22 GMT
Organization: University of Liverpool

Gabor writes...

>Well, I have a honours degree from Cambridge in mathematics and I never
>wrote a dissertation.

that's nothing I knew a Cambridge graduate who was awarded an MA/MPhil
without every doing a stroke of work for it - the only criteria for getting
it was remaining part of the alumni and forking out the membership fee

by the way all this talk of the mysteries of the Examiners Meeting reminds
me that at Sheffield it was impossible to achieve a higher degree class
than on your final year project even though this counted as only one paper
out of twelve (viz 8%) of the final mark. I worked myself into the ground
before the finals to get a 2.1 only to find that I'd bummed out on my project
and was given a 2.2. Thanks guys - I might as well have stayed in the pub.

-Ian.
Organization: Valencia University (Universitat de Valencia)   SPAIN
Date: Friday, 11 Sep 1992 17:07:20 EST
From: <PARDO@EVALUN11.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: University of Newcastle

======================================================================== 24
Organization: Valencia University (Universitat de Valencia)   SPAIN
Date: Friday, 14 Aug 1992 22:50:03 EST
From: <PARDO@EVALUN11.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: University of Newcastle

Hello again,

   I posted something one month ago, but i supose all people were in vacation,
so i'm repiting the message:

Hello Newcastle,

I'm Fernando from Spain, if you are attending Newcastle University mail me, I'd
 like to know something about the city, university, the people, and so on.

Hola! hay algun espanyol en la universidad de newcastle los proximos meses?

Thank you!!

Bye for now.

         FERNANDO PARDO                            ______|..._/
Dto. de Informatica y Electronica                 |..SPAIN  /
     University of Valencia                       | :     */Valencia
            (SPAIN)                               |_:_  __/
email: pardo@vm.ci.uv.es        (Internet)            \/
email: pardo@evalun11.bitnet     (bitnet)
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12205 rec.arts.tv.uk:5270 rec.arts.drwho:5838 alt.tv.prisoner:1306