HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: halpin@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Currency Crises and the British Press.
Date: 26 Jan 93 09:52:42 GMT
Distribution: soc.culture.celtic soc.culture.british
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <RUAIRI.93Jan25165639@silvia.sy.ssl.fujitsu.co.jp>,
ruairi@sy.ssl.fujitsu.co.jp (Ruairi.H) writes:
>   Hiya Everyone,
>                 I've benn hearing stories out here that the British
> press is trying to cause/encourage a devaluation of the Irish Punt.
> Does anybody know why/where these allegations came from or care to
> comment about them (if they're true).

It does seem that the biggest problem facing the punt is the
disbelief that it could survive while Sterling fell, which is
emanating from London -- both the markets and the press. Given how
small a currency it is, this has a serious effect.

But despite experiencing a c. 15% revaluation against the country's
single largest trading partner (UK is worth c. 30-35% of exports)
the underlying state of the punt is good. Very low inflation for
the past six years or so (while the UK continued with high -- the
revaluation had to happen), reducing public debt, substantial
balance of trade surplus, and so on (unfortunately the good
performance doesn't extend to employment). The problem is that the
speculators made such a killing on Sterling that they're itching to
pick up the smaller pieces. 

This has been going on for months. I remember hearing two
interviews on BBC R4 news in December: London City pundit saying
`severe strain, can't hold', and then someone with a great Dublin
accent saying `uninformed speculation, fundamentally sound'. You
can understand that someone who has experienced the ice breaking
under them continues to expect it to happen to everyone else, but
Sterling was overvalued and the punt isn't. The continuing rumours
from London are keeping the speculation on the boil, and it's
starting to become tiresome. I think the Bundesbank are being
supportive, though. 

This point of view is getting aired in the press, the ICTU has been
saying it (I think) and certain politicians as well.

The trouble is that while you can't `buck the markets', i.e. hold
forever at an unrealistic price, you can certainly fuck the
markets, by using speculation as a self-fulfilling prophecy and
making a killing.

Brendan

Brendan Halpin                    Email: HALPIN@VAX.OXFORD.AC.UK
Nuffield College                  Phone: +44 865 278642 (work)
Oxford OX1 1NF                                   726758 (home)
United Kingdom                    PGP 2.0 key on request
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.british
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Subject: Re: This Favorite Lie Again.
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 13:29:14 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.035242.17348@massey.ac.nz> E.P.Gormley@massey.ac.nz (Eamonn Gormley) writes:
>In article <1993Jan22.191831.17248@philabs.philips.com> Damian M. Lyons,
>dml@philabs.philips.com writes:
>>In deference to the native rights origin of this problem, I believe
>>that the next action of the British government should be to take
>>unilateral action to restablize the statelet. I suggest a power
>>sharing arrangement that is immune to destruction by the Unionist
>>majority.
>
>I have missed your previous description  for a power sharing arrangement
>so I cannot comment on it.  I was just wondering what are the in-built
>guarantees protecting the rights of the nationalist community, and more
>importantly how you propose to make it immune to destruction. It seems to
>me that any potential unilateral decision on the future of NI alienates
>some significant section of the community who are then hell bent on its
>destruction.

Yes, this is the point I was making. You can't have
power-sharing if one side refuses to share power, and the
current Unionist parties which receive the majority of votes in
NI have their origin in those Unionists who refused to go along
with the power-sharing agreement of 1974. Those Unionist who
supported power-sharing remained in the rump "Unionist Party of
Northern Ireland" which is yet another moderate political party
in Ni which dwindled away because no-one voted for it.

It is certainly unfortunate that the Sunningdale power-sharing
agreement coincided with the transition of power in the UK from
Heath's Tories to Wilson's Labour, thus political minds were on
other things, and Labour did not seem to have the will to stand
up and defend the agreement against the Ulster Worker's Council
general strike.

But then the whole state of NI exists because it was set up in
the muddle after World War I, and most political minds were on
other things. If you look at the history of the thing, you will
find that the notion that it was deliberately and schemingly set
up by the "wicked English" in order to put as many nationalists
under Unionist domination as possible is wrong. It appears to
be a genuine quick compromise solution that wasn't really
thought through and was envisaged as a temporary measure.

Matthew Huntbach
From: wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: This Favorite Lie Again.
Date: 26 Jan 93 12:31:04 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.celtic
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

In article <30351@optima.cs.arizona.edu>, gln@cs.arizona.edu (Gary L. Newell) writes:
>  Yup - and then we're all going to Europe to kick your asses and make you
> drink Budweiser and watch the Super Bowl - and if you send me your
> address I'll personally see to it that I drive the first US tank down your 
> street with my portable CD blasting "Over hill over Dale..."

Thorough Bush, thorough brier, I do wander everywhere.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be... ?

How nice. I prefer Vaughan Williams' setting for choir if you happen to come
into Oxford.
-- 

Stephen Wilcox             |   For Sale: Posts in British Government. Suit
wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk    |   outgoing American. Highest bids accepted.
From: eddie@cstr.ed.ac.uk (Eddie Rooney)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Casement update
Date: 26 Jan 93 16:38:07 GMT
Organization: Centre for Speech Technology Research, Edinburgh University

In article <1993Jan22.163836.20542@e2big.mko.dec.com>, holohan@mark.enet.dec.com (Mark Holohan) writes:
|> 
|>    March 19, 1988 - Unarmed mourners at the funeral of Caoimhin
|>    Mac Bradaigh attempted to defend themselves against another armed
|>    intrusion.  As the funeral cortege made its way to Milltown, a
|>    speeding car drove into the funeral.  It was surrounded by frightened
|>    unarmed mourners.  The occupants of the car produced guns (I've a
|>    photo of one of the undercover British soldiers drawing his weapon
|>    to shoot on the unarmed crowd).  In view of what had happened three
|>    days previously, the crowd defended themselves during which a shot
|>    was fired.  The men were eventually disarmed by the crowd.  They
|>    were later taken from the crowd and eventually shot by the IRA.
|> 
|>    The incident, as I have seen it on TV (U.S. television) looked rather
|>    like a reenactment of the March 16 attack, only this time the 
|>    attackers were stopped.  There's no comparison to the Reginald Denny
|>    attack.  Reginald Denny was not a soldier, intruding on a funeral
|>    procession, drawing a weapon on the crowd, three days after a
|>    similiar intrusion that left 3 innocent people dead.
|> 

Maybe you saw something different on US TV from what I saw over here.  The
incident bore no relation to the March 16 attack - it seemed very clear that
that two soldiers had intruded by accident and tried to get clear without shooting
anybody.  They were not attacking anybody, and if anyone looked frightened
it was them (and with reason!).

Yes, one of them produced a gun - but I wouldn't say it was "to shoot on the
unarmed crowd", rather to defend themselves from an extremely hostile crowd,
which was already beating them.

All this is a totally different issue from the just or unjust treatment of
the suspected perpetrators, though, which is what this thread was originally
about.

=========================================================================

Edmund Rooney					email:eddie@cstr.ed.ac.uk

Centre for Speech Technology Research
University of Edinburgh
80, South Bridge,
Edinburgh EH1 1HN
Scotland

=========================================================================
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Currency Crises and the British Press.
Date: 27 Jan 93 14:03:20 GMT
Distribution: soc.culture.celtic soc.culture.british
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <RUAIRI.93Jan25165639@silvia.sy.ssl.fujitsu.co.jp> ruairi@sy.ssl.fujitsu.co.jp (Ruairi.H) writes:
>                I've benn hearing stories out here that the British
>press is trying to cause/encourage a devaluation of the Irish Punt.
>Does anybody know why/where these allegations came from or care to
>comment about them (if they're true).
>
Oh dear, here we go again, someone else who wants to twist
round everything that ever happens or happened in Ireland to
make it seem as if the English have some wicked desire to stamp
all over the place.

In fact what has been happening is that the European currencies
were all linked in an agreement whereby their values relative
to each other kept with certain bounds. The problem is that the
German currency is the strongest, and the countries with weaker
economies have been straining themselves to try and keep their
currency rates up with Germany.

A pattern has been established whereby it becomes obvious that
a currency is overvalued and a devaluation causing it to fall
out of the currency agreement is likely. In a vain attempt to
prevent the humiliation of admitting defeat the government
responsible variously raises interest rates to ridiculous
levels, and buys up vast quantities of its own currency at the
high rate. Meanwhile the currency speculators spot the
opportunity to make profits, sell off their holdings of this
currency and mark it down anyway. So far, the British pound,
Spanish Peseta and Italian Lira have all suffered this effect.
It looks like either the Irish Punt or French Franc is next to go.

The British are no more responsible for this than anyone else.
If you want to put blame on someone, try the German Bundesbank.

Matthew Huntbach
From: simon@fsinfo.cs.uni-sb.de (Julia Simon)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: RUNRIG in Germany
Date: 25 Jan 1993 12:15:47 GMT
Organization: Fachschaft Computerlinguistik, U of Saarland, FRG
NNTP-Posting-Host: fsinfo.cs.uni-sb.de

ms@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de (Markus Schoeller) writes:
> Last Friday I saw an ad for a Runrig-concert in Duesseldorf on May, 7th.
> Somebody told me they will also play in Cologne.

Will they come to other towns in Germany too? I heard a rumor that they'll be
playing in St. Ingbert on May 5 but I couldn't find out more... :)

			Julia 8-)

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
				Julia Simon

 Fachschaftsrat Computerlinguistik	DIaLOGIKa GmbH
 Fachbereich 8.7, Bau 17, Zi. 201
 Universit"at des Saarlandes		Albertstr., Pascalschacht
 D-W-6600 Saarbr"ucken, Germany		D-W-6602 Dudweiler, Germany

			email: simon@fsinfo.cs.uni-sb.de
			       sileas@coli.uni-sb.de
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky soc.culture.celtic:8938 soc.culture.british:19451
From: mike@nuada.lbl.gov (Michael Helm)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Population of Ireland pre- and post-famine
Date: 26 Jan 93 20:28:47 GMT
Reply-To: mike@nuada.lbl.gov (Michael Helm)
Organization: N.I.C.E.
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.128.62

Eamonn McManus writes:
>Nonetheless, blaming these horrendous losses on a programme of
>"cultural genocide" on the part of some mythically monolithic British
>Government is certainly simplistic.  The actions of Robert Peel as

Sure, well, at least that's what the Irish history establishment
argues these days.  I don't know.  Some people argue that the
emigration tidal wave had already begun before the famine & there
is some evidence of that, the population may've already been
declining by the first bad season.

>Prime Minister at the start of the Famine were sensible and
>well-considered.  Unfortunately, Peel was defeated after forcing

Remember Peel started his career in Ireland; he was an official there
(Secretary for Ireland?)  whose title I can't remember during a
disastrous famine decades earlier.  He knew what could happen there.
The government had been establishing commissions to study the problem
of Ireland & others had been writing about it beforehand.  But nobody
did anything.  Some industrial development would've helped.  Some
infrastructure development would've helped.  In retrospect almost
anything to develop the country would've helped, but the British
governments of the time did little other than reluctantly grant
voting rites & toss malcontents into jails.

How would we react if a story like the great famine's was reported
today?
Xref: sparky soc.culture.celtic:8867 soc.culture.china:35050 soc.culture.croatia:478
From: chao6@husc11.harvard.edu (James Chao)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.china,soc.culture.croatia
Subject: Model United Nations Conference in the Czech Republic
Date: 23 Jan 93 00:44:04 GMT
Organization: Harvard University Science Center

(If possible, please print out and post for people who might be
interested)

To all those interested in international relations, politics, and the
United Nations -- WorldMUN is a great forum for the discussion of 
current issues being debated by the United Nations today: 

Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) is an international
conference that brings together university students and young
professionals from around the globe to siimulate the workings of the
United Nations.  The second annual WorldMUN conference will be held from
March 28, 1993, through March 31, 1993, at the Hotel Diplomat in Prague,
The Czech Republic.  

Ten committees, representing the General Assembly, Economic and Social
Council, and Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, will discuss
issues from the actual UN agenda.  In addition to the formal debate of
resolutions, committee sessions will be augmented by presentations from
politicians, businessmen, scholars, and activists who have helped shape
the dramatic world events of recent years.

In this era of momentous political change, WorldMUN seeks to assess the
role of the United Nations in a new world order.  WorldMUN marks the first
truly international simulated United Nations where participants play the
roles of their own nation's ambassadors.  WorldMUN strives to teach
tomorrow's leaders about the United Nations and its methods of conflict
resolution.  It aims to foster skills in negotiation and debate, in order
that delegates may formulate resolutions on topics currently discussed in
the real United Nations.  These resolutions will be sent to the actual
United Nations committees.

WorldMUN 1993 will take place at the Hotel Diplomat in Prague,
The Czech Republic.  The Hotel Diplomat is Prague's most modern conference
center.  Prague is both one of the most beautiful metropoles of Europe and
an ideal location for debating current world politics and the changing
role of the United Nations.

The Hotel diplomat is a luxury resort that offers restaurants, shops, a
night club, and fitness and spa equipment.  Delegates will stay at the
Hotel Diplomat for the reduced rate of 130DM/day double occupancy, which
includes two meals a day.

Delegate registration is $US60 per delegate.  For more information, please
reply to this e-mail address or write/fax:
Joshua A. Salomon, Secretary-General
Harvard World Model United Nations 1993
Suite 23, 1430 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138-3810
UNITED STATES

Telephone:  001-617-493-6995
Fax:  001-617-493-6995

James Chao
chao6@husc.harvard.edu
From: finlay_j@spcvxb.spc.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: California who? Murrayfield what?
Date: 25 Jan 93 15:57:27 GMT
Organization: St. Peter's College, US

In today's news from Liam Ferrie, mention is made of the Irish
performance at Murrayfield last weekend. Our man in Galway says he
would not have been surprised if a certain individual who
resides in California had been at the game.

Anyone know what he's referring to? I'm totally lost.

Also, I gather from his comments that the Irish lost, and
badly. Can anyone supply me with a score?

Thanks,
Jeff Finlay 
Xref: sparky soc.culture.celtic:8933 soc.culture.british:19432
From: cabr01@vaxa.strath.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.british,uk.events
Subject: Highland Annual Ceilidh
Date: 27 Jan 93 20:40:14 GMT
Organization: Strathclyde University VAX Cluster

An Comunn Ceilteach           Edinburgh University
Oilthigh Dhu Eideann          Highland Society.   
 
            Proudly Present the

              HIGHLAND ANNUAL 

on the 12th February in Chamber St House, Edinburgh, 
from 8pm to 3am.

The  Herculean Ceilidh Band amd
The Sandy Brechin Band will provide the Ceilidh music.
In addition to this there will be a number of other singers and
musicians appearing elsewhere in Chamber St House.



Tickets are priced 5 pounds to non-members, 
                   3 pounds to members and 
membership is      2 pounds.

Tickets are available from :-
The Hebrides Bar, Market St, Edinburgh,,
The West End Hotel, Edinburgh,
Steven Heddle Rm 4315 JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh,
Micheal Davies, Celtic Dept, George Sq, Edinburgh,
and Potterow Shop, Edinburgh.
From: gln@cs.arizona.edu (Gary L. Newell)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: This Favorite Lie Again.
Date: 24 Jan 93 22:48:39 GMT
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson

In article <1993Jan24.023031.28580@newstand.syr.edu>, crdunlea@rodan.acs.syr.EDU (Christopher R. Dunlea) writes:
> I don't disagree with your overall point but I wonder about the casinos  
> bit. Usually here in the Northeast it is the states that bitch about the
> Casinos (example, here the Oneidas are setting up a casino, and there
> is controversy over how much they should pay the state for police). The
> casinos law is Federally mandated; the states, being the ones who did 
> much of the land-grabbing around here, are the ones complaining.

 Well, here's roughly what took place - the state was upset and someone 
(everyone denies being the one who did it) called in the feds to enforce the
state decision to close the gambling site. The FBI came in with trailers 
and grabbed every slot machine in the place and locked it up until the
native americans "negotiated" a deal with the state. Pretty one-sided
negotiation of course as the govt had the gaming devices and were
simply saying - "do what we say or else".


			gln

> 
> Chris


Xref: sparky soc.culture.celtic:8833 rec.music.folk:9382
From: gln@cs.arizona.edu (Gary L. Newell)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: This Favorite Lie Again.
Date: 22 Jan 93 22:06:02 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.celtic
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson

In article <1993Jan20.173334.16767@philabs.philips.com>, dml@philabs.philips.com (Damian M. Lyons) writes:
> |> And America wouldn't be run by its native Amerindians but by
> |> white settlers. Oh, it is. Oh.
> 
> An the US is dealing with Native Rights issues today. The British government
> is not, as I have argued at length before.

 The US is doing what? Having lived in Arizona for some time now I think
I can safely say that the US deals with Indian rights by refusing to allow
them to run casinos, sending the FBI into take indian property and denying
the vast majority of land claims that Native Americans make. I think it
is safe to say that the Federal govt. deals with the Native American rights
issues by effectively ignoring them with few exceptions.



			gln
From: haverkam@uni-duesseldorf.de (Wilhelm Haverkamp)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Email correspondence between Irish Schools and a German School
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 09:25:24 GMT
Organization: Universitaetsrechenzentrum, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf
NNTP-Posting-Host: haverkamp.rz.uni-duesseldorf.de

My daughter Imke (18 years) is visiting a High-School in
Duesseldorf; her English teacher is handling some aspects
of modern Irish history including the relations between
the Irish Republic and North Ireland.
The class would like to get in contact by Email with Irish classes
to discuss actual problems. They intend to give me their
questions & comments and I would send them via email to schools
in Ireland & North Ireland using my IP-address.

So my questions are:
- Have schools in Ireland & North Ireland direct connection
  to IP?
- Who could act as a "relais"?

Any help will be appreciated.

Wilhelm Haverkamp, University of Duesseldorf,
                   Computer Center
                   Universitaetsstrasse 1
                   D-4000 Duesseldorf
From: cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: Casement update
Date: 25 Jan 93 11:18:29 GMT
	<CC.93Jan22103744@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk> <C19GJC.HLp@dcs.ed.ac.uk>
	<1993Jan22.163836.20542@e2big.mko.dec.com>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

In article <1993Jan22.163836.20542@e2big.mko.dec.com> holohan@mark.enet.dec.com (Mark Holohan) writes:

   In article <C19GJC.HLp@dcs.ed.ac.uk>, morna@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Morna J Findlay) writes:

   |>The whole incidient is on film. The soldiers ( not in uniform) did
   |>not "drive into" the cortege. They drove towards it, tried to reverse
   |>away, were pulled from their cars, stripped and beaten and then shot.
   |>As I remember, they were shot only yards from the car, not taken away.

      March 16, 1988 - Loyalist gunman launches a gun and grenade attack on
      the mourners at the funeral of the Gibralter Three.  Three people
      were killed and over thirty injured.

      March 19, 1988 - Unarmed mourners at the funeral of Caoimhin
      Mac Bradaigh attempted to defend themselves against another armed
      intrusion.  As the funeral cortege made its way to Milltown, a
      speeding car drove into the funeral.  It was surrounded by frightened
      unarmed mourners.  The occupants of the car produced guns (I've a
      photo of one of the undercover British soldiers drawing his weapon
      to shoot on the unarmed crowd).  In view of what had happened three
      days previously, the crowd defended themselves during which a shot
      was fired.  The men were eventually disarmed by the crowd.  They
      were later taken from the crowd and eventually shot by the IRA.

The car was surrounded, the men were dragged out of the car, one of them
pulled his gun (it looked to me like he was trying to defend himself), they
were overpowered, and attacked by the crowd.

I don't know what the hell they were doing there, but the man quite clearly
drew his gun after being attacked by the crowd. 
--
	-- Chris. 	cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk   (on Janet, cc@uk.ac.ed.dcs)

		
Xref: sparky soc.culture.celtic:8856 soc.culture.british:19230 alt.alien.visitors:10097