HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jim@cs.strath.ac.uk (Jim Reid)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: The British Economy (was Re: VNS: Fri  4-Sep-1992)
Date: 7 Sep 92 10:03:12 GMT
	<Sep04.205948.2028@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>
	<1992Sep4.231252.28247@seas.gwu.edu>
Organization: Computer Science Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow, Scotland.
In-reply-to: jens@seas.gwu.edu's message of 4 Sep 92 23:12:52 GMT

In article <1992Sep4.231252.28247@seas.gwu.edu> jens@seas.gwu.edu (Jens Johansen) writes:

   In article <Sep04.205948.2028@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> hg798502@LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Hugh Graham) writes:
   >> ... re Chancellor Lamont's borrowings to prop up the pound ...

   >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 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?

Indeed, and this is not much different from the situation now. The
only real difference is that Lamont's alternatives - devaluing,
withdrawing from the ERM or raising interest rates - are politically
impossible.

   Remember the Winter of Discontent?

Indeed. This was in 1978, long after the IMF baled out the Labour
government. By 1978, the economy was recovering.

The point you missed was that the press works itself into a frenzy of
attacks against a Labour government's handling of the economy while
Conseravtive mismanagement largely gets ignored.

		Jim
From: rogerp@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Roger Pollard)
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 18:24:04 GMT
Subject: Re: What is a 2.1 equivalent to ?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british

In soc.culture.british, neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite) writes:

    In article <1992Sep11.235937.8839@cco.caltech.edu> miriam@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (Miriam Jackson) writes:
  >
  >Because the British system has people specialising so much earlier, this is
  >probably a valid statement in terms of knowledge.  The big difference is that

 [ ... stuff deleted ... ]

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

    > Neil (on a MSc course !)

The situation can be a bit more complicated even than that ...

The usual British first degree course (BA, BSc, BEng) is 3 years (4 years
in Scotland, but IMHO you end up with much the same level at the end ...)
The degree classifications are awarded as CLASSES, from Honours Class 1
("first"), Class 2 (usually divided into Upper and Lower Second = 2.1, 2.2)
and Class 3. Some universities also have an Honours Pass category
and/or an Ordinary (i.e. non-Honours) category.  Typically, these
classifications will represent 70%+, 60-69, 50-59, etc. in the
final examinations.  It is difficult to relate the classifications to
the GPA scheme used in the US and elsewhere, but someone with a First
from a British university would probably have scored at least  3.7 GPA.
Note that a 2.1 is the usual minimum required to register for a
research degree; those with a 2.2 will usually need to complete a Master's
of some sort first.

There are a whole collection of Master's degrees offered, the titles
don't necessarily tell you how the requirements are fulfilled. It is
possible to do a Master's (usually MSc or similar) in one year by
coursework (usually with a small project). It is also possible to do
a Master's by research in one year or two years. Both require a thesis.
The two year (or more) version is usually called an M.Phil.  Many
universities require PhD candidates to initially register for the MPhil
and after a year will retrospectively change the registration. IMHO this
debases the M.Phil. which is a worthwhile degree of substantial 
intellectual content.

Overall, there is still a wide variation between subjects and institutions
and employers who are on the ball know the differences.

Roger  (normally on the other side of the pond as  roger@ee.leeds.ac.uk)


===================================================================
Roger Pollard         4US-Q        Santa Rosa Systems Division
                                   Hewlett-Packard Company
phone: (+1 707) 577-4207           1400 Fountaingrove Parkway
e-mail: rogerp@sr.hp.com           Santa Rosa,  CA 95403-1799, USA
===================================================================
From: cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Unemplyment in England
Date: 15 Sep 92 08:29:50 GMT
	<1992Sep14.084726.22336@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>
	<1992Sep14.103108.11798@bristol.ac.uk>
	<1992Sep15.053739.26204@informix.com>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
In-reply-to: proberts@informix.com's message of 15 Sep 92 05:37:39 GMT

In article <1992Sep15.053739.26204@informix.com> proberts@informix.com (Paul Roberts) writes:

   And according to the BBC World Service (god bless it), unemployment in the
   UK has just risen for the 27th consecutive month ... pretty amazing
   really.

Don't worry - the recovery has already started, and good times are just
around the corner...
--
	-- Chris. 	cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk   (on Janet, cc@uk.ac.ed.dcs)
From: rhaller@oregon.uoregon.edu (Rich Haller)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Tanstaafl (was: Americanising of the UK
Date: 15 Sep 92 19:52:38 GMT
Article-I.D.: rhaller.rhaller-150992124550
Followup-To: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
Organization: University of Oregon

In article <bvvn3qa@lynx.unm.edu>, xoanon@carina.unm.edu (timothy k istian
soholt) wrote:
> 
> I was going to trim the number of newsgroups this is directed to
> down a tad until I realized that really this doesn't belong in
> any of them. So I'll just leave things the way they are and put 
> on my asbestos suit....
> 
> fletcher@rtf.bt.co.uk (Catherine Fletcher) writes:
> 
> >What exactly does tansnaafl stand for?
> >There are no such things as a free lunch?
> 
> "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," I believe, was the
> way it was stated in _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress_.

Here's some trivia.  I went back to check on my memory that Tansnaafl was
used by Heinlein as the title of a magazine article that might have
preceeded publication as a book. Turns out it was published in "Worlds of
If" rather than Astounding, so I can't confirm whether one of the
installments had that as it's title (I collected Astounding but not If),
but it turns out "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is divided into three
'books', book three being named ' Tansnaafl!'.  I wouldn't be surprised if
there was an issue of If that had ' Tansnaafl!' on the cover and that is
what I remembered, but I can't prove it. Plus, who cares?

-Rich Haller 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.arts.tv.uk,rec.arts.drwho,alt.tv.prisoner
From: ewm6965@venus.tamu.edu (The Guardian)
Subject: Re: Americanising of the UK, Now: British TV in North America
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 04:27:00 GMT

In article <1992Sep7.124818.21664@cs.hw.ac.uk>, nick@cs.hw.ac.uk (Nick Taylor)
writes...
>In article <6SEP199200361823@venus.tamu.edu> ewm6965@venus.tamu.edu (The
Guardian) writes:
> >In article <1992Sep01.041814.12172@admiral.uucp>, dave@admiral.uucp (Dave
> >Litchman) writes...
> >>In article <1992Aug28.182604.23445@enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com>
> >baylor@force.ssd.lmsc.lockheed.com writes:
> >>>In article <FLD7PB1w164w@kryton.UUCP>, ace@kryton.UUCP (Catherine Beckstead)
> >writes:
> >>>>perl@dwrsun4.UUCP (Robert Perlberg) writes:
> >A few years ago, some definitely American teenagers used "smegma" to mean just 
> >what baylor (whoever he/she/it is) thought, so I assume "smeg" is a shortened 
> >version of that.
>Well, I've no idea what "figurative excrement" is but I know what smegma is.
>I'm surprised this question hasn't been answered. Are all my fellow Brits

As it turns out, it was answered several times over--I just hadn't seen any of 
them when I wrote the above load of rubbish.  Frankly, I'd rather have remained 
in the dark on this one.

(I think Bull on Night Court ordered head cheese as a food product once, but 
then he's known for eating disgusting things anyway.)
From: mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Unemplyment in England
Date: 14 Sep 92 08:47:26 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

Article: 24391 of soc.culture.british
>        I just wanted to get some percentage information. What is the
>unemployment in England and what percentage of young englishment go to
>colledge or University after high school?

To pre-empt the whingeing Scots, unemployment in Scotland (that
in the part of Britain to the north of England) is lower than
in England, lower even than in London and the south-east.

From the top of my head, the unemployment rate is now about 10%.

Matthew Huntbach
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth)
Subject: Re: This England
Organization: Software Engineering Institute
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 12:45:58 GMT

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.
From: neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Unemplyment in England
Date: 14 Sep 92 09:07:19 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing & Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Sep13.163439.42951@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> christos@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:
>Hello there,
>
>	I just wanted to get some percentage information. What is the
>nemployment in England and what percentage of young englishment go to colledge
>or University after high school?
>

What the *hell* does 'young englishment' mean.

Neil

P.S. FAM (Frequently Aired Moan) about the fact that The UK is England,
     Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. England is just a part of this
     nation and you should use *Britain* or UK to describe us/it.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: buying peerage
From: mnor1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (Mark Hiro           Norman         )
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 05:33:47 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept. University of Auckland

In <CC.92Sep4124007@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk> cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke) writes:

>Yes, it's quite possible.  Donating money to charity will only get you a
>fairly minor title, though.  To get a big, important title you have to donate
>lots of money to the Conservative Party.  Sad but true.  The whole thing is
>corrupt beyond belief.

Sad, but not surprising I guess. If the Conservative Party loses control
does this situation change? I understand titles are handed out by the
Royal Family, so I assume that no matter what the government is, the
same people will get honours.

In NZ it's a different story. All you have to do is be in the current
government (or its party), or be rich, to get a knighthood.
Not worth so much I spose. (Not worth anything, come to think of it! :-)

>--
>	-- Chris. 	cc@dcs.ed.ac.uk   (on Janet, cc@uk.ac.ed.dcs)

-- 
Mark Norman           | My university doesn't let me send email.
mnor1@cs.aukuni.ac.nz | "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful..."
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: nick@cs.hw.ac.uk (Nick Taylor)
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: 7 Sep 92 12:48:18 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <6SEP199200361823@venus.tamu.edu> ewm6965@venus.tamu.edu (The Guardian) writes:
 >In article <1992Sep01.041814.12172@admiral.uucp>, dave@admiral.uucp (Dave
 >Litchman) writes...
 >>In article <1992Aug28.182604.23445@enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com>
 >baylor@force.ssd.lmsc.lockheed.com writes:
 >>>In article <FLD7PB1w164w@kryton.UUCP>, ace@kryton.UUCP (Catherine Beckstead)
 >writes:
 >>>>perl@dwrsun4.UUCP (Robert Perlberg) writes:
 >>>>> Don't tell me they're going to allow the word "smeg" on NBC.
 >>>Hey, I'm a moderately well educated American, and I don't know 
 >>>what the smeg "SMEG" means. (Seems to be used as a synonym to
 >>>"figurative excrement".) I bet it would pass the censors.
 >>The first time I saw Red Dwarf, I had no idea what 'smeg' meant, I thought it
 >>was just an amusing exclamatory made up for the show (similar to Battlestar
 >>Galactica's ubiquitous 'felgercarb'). Now, I hear it in more places, mostly
 >>other British TV, but I STILL don't know what it means! I agree, I bet it 
 >>would pass the censors.
 >
 >A few years ago, some definitely American teenagers used "smegma" to mean just 
 >what baylor (whoever he/she/it is) thought, so I assume "smeg" is a shortened 
 >version of that.

Well, I've no idea what "figurative excrement" is but I know what smegma is.
I'm surprised this question hasn't been answered. Are all my fellow Brits
ignorant of its meaning? Is there some kind of conspiracy of silence? Or is it
perhaps, that everybody is too embarassed to tell. OK, just to make sure I get
the precise definition I'll quote the Concise Oxford English Dictionary at
you:

"smegma   noun, sebaceous secretion in folds of the skin, especially the
          foreskin (Latin from the Greek)"

Apparently "sebaceous" means fatty. Pretty yukky eh? I gather it can be a bit
of a problem for male gentiles (no, gentiles!) that don't bath often enough.

Sorry if I let the cat out of the bag folks,

Nick.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: hallam@zeus02.desy.de (Phill Hallam-Baker)
Subject: Re: buying peerage
Reply-To: Hallam@zeus02.desy.de
Organization: Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, Experiment ZEUS bei HERA
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 22:57:28 GMT

In article <5437@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU>, streater@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU
(Tim Streater) writes:

|>In article <1992Sep6.181508.12694@dscomsf.desy.de> Hallam@zeus02.desy.de
|>writes:
|>>|>in the Times before the election). Remember that the Tories value the
|>>|>tradition of the peerage, and are actually less likely to be partisan
|>about
|>>|>it than Labour.
|>>
|>>The tories value the tradition that gives them an in built veto over
|>>legislation.
|>>
|>The Lords can delay legislation for up to a year. Financial legislation they
|>cannot touch at all.

This applies only to bills, orders in council can in general be recinded by a
motion in either house. since the main method of legislation by the Thatcher
government was enabling bill followed by orders in council this is a legislative
veto.

|>Hardly a veto, I venture to suggest.

Effectively a Veto over many issues. The year starts from the point at which the
disagreement occured. This effectively means a complete veto over all business
in the last year of a parliament. 

When parliamentary time is the major factor determining the passage of many
bills a veto can in fact prevent a clause from getting to the statute book since
the whole bill is otherwise delayed until the problem is resolved.

The House of Lords does an important job - badly. There is no place for
superanuated buffoons whose reason for being entitled to vote rests on their
brown nosing or on the brown nosing of their ancestors.


--

Phill Hallam-Baker
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: torkel@sics.se (Torkel Franzen)
Subject: Re: British Slang
Organization: Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Kista
	<CC.92Sep15094319@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk>
	<1992Sep15.115454.3650@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 15:08:47 GMT

In article <1992Sep15.115454.3650@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk 
(Matthew Huntbach) writes:

   >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 Bloomsbury Dictionary of Contemporary Slang has this to say:


    gobsmacked, gob-struck
    adj British

      astonished, struck dumb, left open-mouthed in astonishment.
     From gob. These are originally Liverpudlian terms and are
     now widespread. (etc)
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:12202 rec.arts.tv.uk:5267 rec.arts.drwho:5834 alt.tv.prisoner:1299
From: ewm6965@venus.tamu.edu (The Guardian)
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: 6 Sep 1992 04:17:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Aug25.110807.15249@cs.hw.ac.uk>, neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil
Postlethwaite) writes... 
>>BTW, some of British children's TV programmes are very clever. In
>>some, the humour can be quite sophisticated. For example, one of the
>>best moments ever in British TV was an episode of Paddington Bear.
>>[Incidentally, PB's not a cartoon, but animation using 3D objects,
>>including the eponymous bear.] Anyway, this episode finished with
> 
>I think Count Duckula is pretty well done. Wasted on kids.
> 
>"Language Igor, this IS a kids show" !!!

Of course it's well done--it's a spinoff of Dangermouse, after all.

"Another failed attempt at round-in-one.  See what I mean, Penfold?  Golf just
isn't my game."  -DM

But the US can answer with Bullwinkle.  Rocky was about to be burned at the 
stake in one episode, and the following dialogue (or something close to this, 
anyway) ensued...

Rocky:  You can't burn me at the stake!
Man:  Who says?
Rocky:  The networks!  [holds up legal document] See?  No cannibalism.
Man:  Hoo no, we not going to eat you, we just going to burn you!
Rocky:  Oh.  Well, I guess that's OK.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: feld@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Michael Feld)
Subject: Re: Ineffable Wonderfulness
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 18:26:59 GMT

In article   writes:
>di.oar.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pitt.edu!dsinc!vu-vlsi.vill.edu!jsamuels
>From: jsamuels@lawlab_2.vill.edu (Jeffrey Samuelson)
>Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
>Subject: Ineffable Wonderfulness
>Message-ID: <jsamuels.3@lawlab_2.vill.edu>
>Date: 17 Aug 92 20:35:17 GMT
>References: <1992Aug13.144658.17613@ttinews.tti.com> <3785@keele.keele.ac.uk> <1992Aug17.150704.16612@ttinews.tti.com>
>Sender: news@vu-vlsi.vill.edu (Usenet news administrator)
>Organization: Villanova University Law School
>Lines: 33
>Nntp-Posting-Host: 192.82.109.5
>
>
>Dick Jackson) writes:>In article (sorry, erased his name by accident) 
>
>
>
>> I assume that at least all English readers of this
>>group would understand the ineffable wonderfulness of actually being 
>English.
>
>
>
>
>
>>Dick Jackson
>
>
>Hear! Hear! Pip! Pip! bend over and all that... 
>
>
>						Cheeribye
>
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>|  Jeffrey D. Samuelson                             "My God!        |
>|  Audio Visual Services                            There must      |
>|  Villanova Law School                             be more         |
>|  Villanova, PA. 19085            o                                |
>|  U.S.A                           o                   Lawyers      |
>|  jsamuels@lawlab_2.vill.edu  <XXXX>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  here         |
>|  Tel - 215-645-7234              o                   than People" |
>|  Fax - 215-645-7033              o                                |
>---------------------------------------------------------------------


Well, no; not that last bit, surely; I mean, there goes the
ineffability, if you know what I mean.
-- 
Michael Feld                         | E-mail:  <feld@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
Dept. of Philosophy                  | FAX:     (204) 261-0021
University of Manitoba               | Voice:   (204) 474-9136
Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2M8, Canada	                     
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: cla04@seq1.keele.ac.uk (A.T. Fear)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Words from the "Sun"
Date: 13 Sep 92 19:39:54 GMT
Organization: University of Keele, England

From article <1992Sep13.140659.13328@cs.nott.ac.uk>, by avyfdvg@unicorn.nott.ac.uk (David Gatenby):
> Did you know that it was a Sun journalist who coined the phrase "lager lout."
> Now, don't ask me who it was, because I don't know. 

Well a chap at Oxford named Steve Best always used to claim he was the
original lager lout, he even had a plausible story, but it was late and
I'd had a lot of ale ("lager" - the urine of a small insect) so I've
forgotten it. Sorry

BTW I suspect the word the sun did most for was "Gotcha"

Andy
From: "john lovett" <john.lovett@channel1.com>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: british slang
Date: 15 Sep 92 19:24:09 EST
Reply-To: "john lovett" <john.lovett@channel1.com>
Distribution: soc
Organization: Channel 1 Communications

> In article <BuIGv9.3uq@newcastle.ac.uk>, w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk
>  So far as I know that is not a new word, it has been used as slang
>in Tyneside, (and maybe in the North of England in general) for many
>years....

> From: godfrey@sscvx1.ssc.gov (LAURENCE GODFREY)
  > ...If it was used
  > in conversation prior to the SUN's use of the word, then I agree
  > that it is indeed part of the English language.


Partridge's Dictionary of Slang gives a couple of other meanings.
1.  A short, steep hill - circus slang from the 1840's.
2.  To shell - From WW1.

---
  SPEED 1.20 [NR]  ****
--
Channel 1 (R)   Cambridge, MA