HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: KGODDEN@cmsa.gmr.com
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Stupidity of Am. Masses
Date: 3 Sep 92 14:41:21 GMT
Organization: GM Research Labs

p.s.  I should have added this in my original post that started this thread.
There is a new book out by Lester Thurow, who is dean of the Sloan School
at MIT.  It's called "Head to Head" and is about the coming economic wars
among the U.S.--Japan--Europe.  However, he has a lot to say about education
as well, including some VERY specific recommendations for the U.S.
E.g. he says we should lengthen the school day by about 2 hours, and lengthen
the school year from 180 days to 210 days.  This would put us at par with
the rest of the industrialized world.  We also have to increase the average
teacher's salary from the current $30K/year to $40-45K.  He has LOTS more to
say about education, and many other topics as well.  I HIGHLY recommend this
book.  I found it fascinating, even though I know nothing about economics.
But don't read it unless you're prepared to be depressed about the state and
propects of the U.S.
By the way, he predicts that the economic 'winners' in the coming half
century will be the Europeans.  He argues a good case.
-Kurt
----------------------------------------------
"I distrust a research person who is always obviously busy on a task."
-Robert A. Frosch, VP, GM Research
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.canada,soc.culture.british
From: cecilia@juliet.caltech.edu (Prof. Wagstaff)
Subject: Re: List of words in American and British English
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 23:15:00 GMT

In article <BtwrKA.7up@wpi.WPI.EDU>, mfriley@pacman.WPI.EDU (Margaret F Riley) writes...

>If you look around, there is a dictionary of "English to English" which 
>someone compiled.   (Of course, I can't remember who the author is, but
>I have seen it advertised in "Signals" and the like.)   Check out
>some of the larger bookstore chains, like Barnes and Nobles, Waterstones,
>etc.   
> 
>Margaret

The book advertised in "Signals" is "British English, A to Zed" by Norman
W. Schur. It's softcover and is $16.00.
Your sure to find it in one of the larger book stores as suggested by Margaret.

Cecilia
From: emolinar@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Elizabeth Molinaro)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: US dual citizinship information  - updated version available via
Date: 2 Sep 92 16:28:49 GMT
Organization: Stakeholder Relations, NCR Corp in Dayton,OH

FTP
Summary: 
Expires: 
Reply-To: emolinar@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Elizabeth Molinaro)
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: Stakeholder Relations, NCR Corp in Dayton,OH
Keywords: 

In article <92Aug31.122429edt.48034@neat.cs.toronto.edu> mgreen@cs.toronto.edu
(Marc Green) writes:
>
>From: ian@sinix.UUCP (Ian Malone)
>
>>According to the IRS tax book that I am staking a quarter of my gross 
>>annual salary on:
>>
>>      If you are out of the country for 330 out of a consequetive 365
>>      day period, and you do not maintain a primary residence in the
>>      US, EVEN IF YOU ARE PAID BY AN AMERICAN COMPANY, WITH AMERICAN
>>      DOLLARS, you do not have to pay US income taxes.  YOU MUST FILE
>>      FOR THIS EXEMPTION.
>
>Actually, you don't know what you are talking about. The exemption has
>several important limitations. First, it only covers the first $75,000
>or so. Second, the exemption applies only to earned income. You pay
>full tax on interest, dividends or any other investment incomes. 

        First of all, we get strange newsfeeds now: I am reading this
        three days after the fact:  I will not get any of the in-
        between articles.

        However, the IRS tax form with which to exclude the first
        $70,000 dollars is a "2555: Foreign Earned Income."  It has,
        as Marc noted, some stringent guidleines.  Among them being:

        time in country
        eligibility for taxes in host country (you won't be double
                taxed on income, but you may NOT have filed a claim
                with the host country stating that you are not a
                legal resident there and do not have to pay taxes in
                that country.  This is a really tricky one, and it
                all depends on your visa, residency stamp, etc.)
        you must have relatively permanent residence in the host
                country:  renting a house or apartment, not staying
                in a hotel; owning a home in the US almost always
                disqualifies you...as stated above
        those 330 days are to include ALL vacations/business in the
                US.  A couple of longer trips back home, when
                added up, can ruin this for you
        you may not be military or paid by the US gov't (foreign 
                service members of any persuasion are not allowed
                to use the 2555 to avoid taxation in the US)
        the neat trick about this rule, however, is you can even have
                direct deposit to you home bank account (in the US) 
                and use this exclusion if you meet all of the other
                requirements        
        

        Filer of the Form for Many Years,

        Elizabeth

Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,soc.misc
From: packer@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Charles Packer)
Subject: Out of clear blue (was Re: Metric!...)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Organization: Dept. of Independence
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 11:51:00 GMT

In article <1992Aug27.012132.11193@citec.oz.au>, sgccpgs@citec.oz.au (Paul Salanitri) writes...
>So!  I hear that by 1996 you will have to go METRIC!!!!!!
>It's not so bad, REALLY!


What's bad is having it come by fiat seemingly from nowhere. I
just saw this news about road signs a few days ago in a
front-page article in the Washington Post. I didn't buy the
paper and read the whole story, so I don't know if this is by
legislation passed a long time ago or what. Maybe it's one of
those Executive Orders, the same kind that gave us the speed
limit of 55 (not metric). 

Is anybody else dismayed that lurking behind the continuous
patter of news stories about abortion and gun control and such
are REAL events waiting in the wings to happen suddenly and
affect ALL of us, instantly?
From: vigneswa@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Fanatics?
Date: 1 Sep 92 12:10:26 GMT

	Last night, at Kentucky, more than 5000 people were waiting around a
church. Someone, an un-named priest, predicted that Virgin Mary would appear
by mid-night.  People sang hymns and in candle-light......  According to CNN,
some of them claim that  they saw Virgin Mary.  Even  few of those could des-
cribe  how Virgin Mary looks.  CNN went to say that some car sterio  was mis-
interpretted as the devine voice.  
 
	The President of USA  accuses that the opponents have ignored GOD in
their platform.  

	Well, if these kind of things happen in Iran or India, we would call
them fanatics.  If it is in America.....?  Any comment.....??


Vicky:
UMass, Sep 01
Xref: sparky soc.culture.usa:7000 soc.culture.canada:6196 soc.culture.british:11999
From: maennig@edith.informatik.uni-dortmund.de (Olaf Maennig)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa,soc.culture.canada,soc.culture.british
Subject: List of words in American and British English
Date: 31 Aug 1992 14:27:45 GMT
Organization: CS Department, Dortmund University, Germany
Distribution: world
Reply-To: maennig@siggi.informatik.uni-dortmund.de
NNTP-Posting-Host: edith

Hello, folks.
I'm looking for a kind of dictionary which contents a list of words having a
different spelling in American and British English, but the same meaning.
Examples of this would be can - tin, color - colour, program - programme and
so on.

Has anyone seen this kind of list anywhere, or can tell me where I can get
such one. It doesn't have to be an electronic list. If someone knows where
to get it by postal mail, tell it to me!

Please reply only via e-mail, because I don't read this group.

Thank you very much.
-- 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     _                   Department of Computer Science IV
    / \     |\/|         University of Dortmund, Germany
    \_/laf  |  |aennig   e-mail: maennig@siggi.informatik.uni-dortmund.de
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: dusek@rtsg.mot.com (James Dusek)
Subject: Re: Stupidity of Am. Masses
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 14:04:41 GMT

KGODDEN@cmsa.gmr.com writes:
>the 1/3 pound burgers were SMALLER than the 1/4 pounders...after all, 3 is
>smaller than 4.  (I'm not making this up.)  When I first read this I had
>to laugh loud and long--until the depression set in.  Now I'm sickened.
>I'll bet that most Americans think it's out of the realm of possibility that
>the U.S. would break up as did the FSU (Former Soviet Union).  I'm not so
>sure.  We've got some MAJOR problems that our Great Leaders won't even
>admit in public.

	It still amazes me the Clition leads in the polls, or that
Clition won the democratic primary over a better canidate. If the
U.S. breaks up I hope texas leaves and takes their S&L problems
with them :)

James
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: skenny@pico.engr.mun.ca (Shawn Kenny)
Subject: Re: Minolta CEO attacks US Second Amendment (American guns)
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 12:22:48 GMT

f33012l@puukko.hut.fi (Janne Kivel{) writes:

>tedrick@whistle.Berkeley.EDU (Tom Tedrick) writes:

>><I'll remember your comments next time I'm shopping for any
>><product made by Minolta. Personally, I think you may still
>><have a bit left to learn about "Western civilization".

>So Western civilization = American civilization? Do you know
>everything about Western civilization?

>>He may not have understood that American democracy is based on
>>the idea that a democratic society cannot exist if the average
>>citizen does not have the right to own state-of-the art weapons,
>>along with the right to free speech (so the masses have access to
>>both the information and the force necessary to resist tyranny).

Huh?? What??

>What has free speech got to do with state-of-the art weapons?

Agreed.

>If I don't like what you say, can I blast you out of existence with my
>state-of-the art weapon?

:-)

>Tom Tedrick seems to believe that "right to bear arms" is an undeniable
>universal right that is _essential_ to a democratic country. 

Essential?? No.

>Janne Kivela"
--
=================================
skenny@pico.engr.mun.ca
St. John's, NF, CANADA
"Have a touton or do without'n !"
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: raustein@athena.mit.edu (Yngve Koehler Raustein)
Subject: Re: Metric! 100km/h $4.00/kg $0.62/Litre!
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 20:53:15 GMT

In article <1992Aug27.231133.25889@news.Hawaii.Edu>, gerard@caliban.soest.hawaii.edu (Gerard Fryer) writes:
|> 
|> Of course, we all know that the British duodecimal system (12
|> inches/foot; 12d/shilling, etc.) was superior to the mere decimal, but
|> the strength of the metric system certainly shows that Napoleon's
|> advisers knew what they were about when they pointed out that man has
|> only ten fingers.  Now if we could only do something about circular
|> measure and time - I guess nautical miles is one measure that is not
|> about to be replaced by kilometers.
|> 

The primary reason for the invention of the metric system was that different
units were used all over the place -- e.g. a gallon in the UK wasn't the 
same as a gallon in the US.  Besides, the units in any given system
were seldom defined in terms of other units in the same system.  In the
metric system, one litre of water weighs one kilogram, to take one example.

By universally imposing the metric system, these difficulties would be all but 
avoided.  However, since circular measure and the units of time are universal 
today, there is little advantage to be gained from changing to a 10 or 20 
hour day instead of a 24 hour one.  Sure, it would be slightly easier to do 
calculations in your head, but in the age of computers, there is little hope
of getting more convenient systems of units in these cases. 

Yngve

-- 
Yngve K. Raustein		| ``We use choicest juicy chunks of fresh 
362 Memorial Drive		| Cornish ram's bladder, emptied, steamed, 
Cambridge, MA 02139		| flavoured with sesame seeds whipped into a 
617-225-7343 			| fondue and garnished with lark's vomit.''
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: etxmow@garboc34.ericsson.se (Mats Winberg)
Subject: Re: Stupidity of Am. Masses
Organization: Ericsson
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 08:32:22 GMT

julie@eddie.jpl.nasa.gov (Julie Kangas) writes:

>There are movements in both Alaska and California to break away from the 
>US.  Alaska's movement is stronger as the movement to break California
>into two states is more immediate than the California seccessionist
>movement right now.  (Personally I'm against CA leaving--if we have
>to keep our current state government that is!)

    How strong are these movements? On what grounds want they to
    split/secede California? Why should any sane USian want a European
    situation on American soil?
>Julie
>#inlcude "std_disclaimer.h"
>#include "witty_sig.h"

    Mats Winberg
    etxmow@tore.ericsson.se


Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: lundby@pabst.comm.mot.com (Walter Lundby)
Subject: 1-800-682-3362 
Reply-To: lundby@comm.mot.com
Organization: sometimes
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 16:35:07 GMT

The number to provide assistance to Dade County Relief:

    1-800-682-3362  (number reported on Night Line [ABC] last night)


Hurricane Andrew has devastated south Flordia (USA).
This is the largest ($$) natural disaster in US history!

Minimum estimates are:
  180,000+ homeless
   60,000+ homes destroyed
  20 billion dollars in destruction.

The dollar and home estimates were reported to be made as follows:

 50% of Dade county has suffered massive damage.

 Assuming 10% of the damage is total we have the homeless and
    destroyed homes figure. 

 Assuming that all property was insured (unlikely assumption) and
 taking insurance valuations registered with the county we get:

   registered_valuations * 10% = 20 billion dollars.


 They need help!  

 Many people havn't eaten in 3 days.

 The national guard is trying to protect them from large numbers
 of looters and plain desperate people.

 They need:  
  1)Water 
  2)Doctors
  3)Food
  4)Tents
 or money to purchase the above.

If you don't want to give to Dade County directly give to
your local RED CROSS and earmark the money for hurricane
Andrew victims.  

Louisiana also needs help in it's parishes.


   
--

########################################
#
# Disclaimer:
#    Opinions expressed are only my own,
#    and should not be construed as
#    representing those of Motorola Inc.
#
########################################

  Walter Lundby
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Stupidity of Am. Masses
From: demon@desire.wright.edu (Stupendous Man)
Date: 1 Sep 92 16:47:11 EST
Organization: Demonic Possesions, Inc.
Summary: lower standards == lower achievement

In article <168558166.KGODDEN@cmsa.gmr.com>, KGODDEN@cmsa.gmr.com writes:
> There was an article on the front page of the Detroit-area newspaper about
> how Al Taubman is getting involved in improving education in the U.S.  For
> those of you who have no idea who AT is, he's a local billionaire (yes,
> that's a 'b') who owns the A&W rootbeer/food chain, among his lesser assets.
> Anyway, it seems that some time ago he decided to offer 1/3 pound hamburgers
> at a price only slightly above McDonalds' 1/4#er, thinking that people would
> see the obvious value.  NOT!!  The 1/3 pounder was a huge failure, so Taubman
> hired some analysts to find out why.  It seems that J.Q. Public thought that
> the 1/3 pound burgers were SMALLER than the 1/4 pounders...after all, 3 is
> smaller than 4.  (I'm not making this up.)  When I first read this I had
> to laugh loud and long--until the depression set in.  Now I'm sickened.
> I'll bet that most Americans think it's out of the realm of possibility that
> the U.S. would break up as did the FSU (Former Soviet Union).  I'm not so
> sure.  We've got some MAJOR problems that our Great Leaders won't even
> admit in public.

	Innumeracy is a bigger problem than illiteracy.  Innumeracy remains
masked in the masses of people who can bluff their way through.

	When buying something, I usually give enough pennies along with my
bills to get non-penny change back.  This confuses the heck out of cashiers,
who seem unable to grasp the concept of $2.37 price, $5.02 received and the
change is...I've gotten everything from $3.75 to $2.25.

	A number of causes.  "New math" back in the 70s.  Rubber-stamp passage
from grade to grade.  De-emphasis on math in other subjects.

	Amazingly enough, it is possible to graduate from high school having
taken no math beyond algebra.

	IMnotsoHO, algebra should be the minimum for getting out of middle
school (8th grade).  Most kids should have geometry, if not some trig by then.

	However, as long as groups like the NEA measure their success by the
*volume* of graduates, we're in deep do-do.

	It's like grading programmers by the volume of code they produce.

Brett                                                      
_______________________________________________________________________________
Proconsul Computer Consulting                                        CHA-CHING!
Better, Cheaper, Faster					       (Pick any two :)
Disclaimer:								   NOT!
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: f33012l@puukko.hut.fi (Janne Kivel{)
Subject: Re: Minolta CEO attacks US Second Amendment (American guns)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 11:00:49 GMT

tedrick@whistle.Berkeley.EDU (Tom Tedrick) writes:
><Sam Kusumoto, chairman and CEO of Minolta Corporation is quoted
><in  _The Clarion-Ledger_ of Jackson, Miss., as follows,
><according to a story by Dan Davis:
>
><     "We don't know why the American government still
><      permits people to possess a gun. The country that
><      teaches Western civilization to Japanese still
><      permits people to carry guns. This we do not
><      understand."
>
><I'll remember your comments next time I'm shopping for any
><product made by Minolta. Personally, I think you may still
><have a bit left to learn about "Western civilization".

So Western civilization = American civilization? Do you know
everything about Western civilization?

>He may not have understood that American democracy is based on
>the idea that a democratic society cannot exist if the average
>citizen does not have the right to own state-of-the art weapons,
>along with the right to free speech (so the masses have access to
>both the information and the force necessary to resist tyranny). That 
>was a revolutionary idea at the time, and two centuries later democracy 
>still has quite a ways to go before statist authoritarianism is 
>eradicated from the world.

What has free speech got to do with state-of-the art weapons?

If I don't like what you say, can I blast you out of existence with my
state-of-the art weapon?

>Perhaps he equates civilization with taming the human spirit (for
>the benefit of large organizations) rather than freedom (releasing
>the human spirit from the control of large organizations, the key
>idea underlying western civilization since ancient Greece.) Most 
>Asiatic societies stress conformity rather than freedom.

'Most Asiatic societies' means probably that you have such a vast knowledge 
about Asian culture that you can generalize any way you want. I also know so 
much about American culture that it's possible for me to say that "Americans
generally believe in God and like to drive big cars".

I find the words coming from Minolta CEO a lot more reasonable than
your comments. It's a basic human right to walk around the streets in peace
without having to carry a gun. However, Mr. Kusumoto perhaps shouldn't have 
been so insensitive, since gun control is a purely American issue and has 
little to do with the rest of the world.

Tom Tedrick seems to believe that "right to bear arms" is an undeniable
universal right that is _essential_ to a democratic country. 

Janne Kivela"
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Subject: Re: Stupidity of Am. Masses
From: demon@desire.wright.edu (Stupendous Man)
Date: 3 Sep 92 15:08:59 EST
Organization: Demonic Possesions, Inc.

In article <SUOPANKI.92Sep2213040@zombie.oulu.fi>, suopanki@zombie.oulu.fi (Heikki Suopanki) writes:
>>>>>> On 1 Sep 92 16:47:11 EST, demon@desire.wright.edu (Stupendous Man) said:
> 
>> 	When buying something, I usually give enough pennies along with my
>> bills to get non-penny change back.  This confuses the heck out of cashiers,
>> who seem unable to grasp the concept of $2.37 price, $5.02 received and the
>> change is...I've gotten everything from $3.75 to $2.25.
> 
> Here in Finland we have cash registers which tell how much change you get
> back. The cashier enters the sum of money you give and the cash
> register tells the change. Aren't such cash registers common in the US? 
> Or are you still using abacuses? :)

	Not using the registers is part of the problem.  They use it to take
the order, but are busy doing something else by the time it comes to pay. 
(They've wiped it from the register.)  This is most common in places where one
register takes the order and you pay somewhere else (like drive-throughs).

	Even with the register, it still confuses a lot of them.  They look at
it for a while like they are wondering "why did he give me change?".

Brett                                                      
_______________________________________________________________________________
Proconsul Computer Consulting                                        CHA-CHING!
Better, Cheaper, Faster					       (Pick any two :)
Disclaimer:								   NOT!
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
From: ran@cbnews.cb.att.com (Robert A. Neinast)
Subject: Re: Stupidity of Am. Masses
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 14:12:03 GMT

In article <168578842.KGODDEN@cmsa.gmr.com>, KGODDEN@cmsa.gmr.com writes:
> There is a new book out by Lester Thurow, who is dean of the Sloan School
> at MIT.
>  . . .
> E.g. he says we should lengthen the school day by about 2 hours, and lengthen
> the school year from 180 days to 210 days.  This would put us at par with
> the rest of the industrialized world.
>   . . .

Since so much of the current time spent in school is so much crap
(severely watered-down, busy-work, discipline problems, etc.),
what makes him (or you, for that matter) think that adding more
time of doing the same will do any good?  How about making the
time currently in school more productive before we decide that
we need more of it?

I'm really concerned about the trend to make little automata of
our children.  What are we to make of our lives?  Noses to the
grindstone as children, followed by noses to the grindstone
as adults, to (the way social security and medicare seem to
be going) returning noses to the grindstone while elderly.
And what do you end up with?  Ground noses.  Are we ever allowed
to enjoy life?

Bob
-- 
                                                                  _
". . . and shun the frumious Bandersnatch."                 Nipetlahuini.
Robert Neinast (ran@cblpo.att.com)
AT&T-Bell Labs