On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
<bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
<64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:

>Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>
>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395

US nukes likely do not work either :-)

On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 07:29:24 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:

>On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
><bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
><64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>
>>Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>
>>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>
>US nukes likely do not work either :-)

Quite possibly. The only thing British about those missiles is the
warheads. All the guidance and propulsion systems are from America
IIRC.

On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>
>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>
>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>
> US nukes likely do not work either :-)

We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.

I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...

--
Martin Brown

On 22/02/2024 10:07, Martin Brown wrote:
> On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened
>> Fred Bloggs
>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>
>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>
>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>
> We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
> nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
> unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.
>
> I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...

Luckily, it didn't hit our aircraft carrier.

--
Cheers
Clive

On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 10:07:53 +0000) it happened Martin Brown
<'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote in <ur76e1$3q9bq$2@dont-email.me>:

>On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>
>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>
>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>
>We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
>nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
>unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.
>
>I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...

Worst is when those things land in the wrong place, maybe a shot in the own goal!
US had one close to its coast in 1968 when some bomber carrying it crashed:
https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/left-nuclear-warhead-bottom-ocean-128125
I do seem to remeber that bomb was recently found.
And:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Palomares_B-52_crash

On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 09:24:50 +0000) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <sk4etidlo9hqf7fohaqcfqkpq9ip0jvkmh@4ax.com>:

>On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 07:29:24 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
>wrote:
>
>>On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
>><bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>><64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>>>Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>
>>>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>
>>US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>
>Quite possibly. The only thing British about those missiles is the
>warheads. All the guidance and propulsion systems are from America
>IIRC.

The older generations worked on that, bit the same problem
as they now have few people with deep knowledge to fix that voyager spacecraft:
https://www.space.com/voyager-1-flight-data-system-glitch

On 22/02/2024 10:26, Clive Arthur wrote:
> On 22/02/2024 10:07, Martin Brown wrote:
>> On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened
>>> Fred Bloggs
>>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>>
>>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>>
>>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>>
>> We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
>> nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
>> unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.
>>
>> I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...
>
> Luckily, it didn't hit our aircraft carrier.

You mean the ornamental target ones with almost no aircraft on?
It looks quite impressive at sea and has an odd profile.

https://www.ft.com/content/4f0ed77f-d68d-4aa1-8322-fa87184feae3

State of the art can also mean edge of unreliability. ISTR our Type 45
destroyers engines sound like a bag of spanners and will overheat if
used in the tropics (apart from that "minor defect" they are excellent).

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/09/europe/britain-royal-navy-warships/index.html

Being plunged into total darkness because the designers never imagined
that they would deploy to warm tropical seas. You couldn't make it up!

--
Martin Brown

On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 16:53:55 +0000, Martin Brown
<'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:

>On 22/02/2024 10:26, Clive Arthur wrote:
>> On 22/02/2024 10:07, Martin Brown wrote:
>>> On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened
>>>> Fred Bloggs
>>>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>>>
>>>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>>>
>>>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>>>
>>> We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
>>> nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
>>> unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.
>>>
>>> I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...
>>
>> Luckily, it didn't hit our aircraft carrier.
>
>You mean the ornamental target ones with almost no aircraft on?
>It looks quite impressive at sea and has an odd profile.
>
>https://www.ft.com/content/4f0ed77f-d68d-4aa1-8322-fa87184feae3
>
>State of the art can also mean edge of unreliability. ISTR our Type 45
>destroyers engines sound like a bag of spanners and will overheat if
>used in the tropics (apart from that "minor defect" they are excellent).
>
>https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/09/europe/britain-royal-navy-warships/index.html
>
>Being plunged into total darkness because the designers never imagined
>that they would deploy to warm tropical seas. You couldn't make it up!

The original use case was to confront the Warsaw Pact in the North
Atlantic.

Joe Gwinn

On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 16:53:55 +0000, Martin Brown
<'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:

>On 22/02/2024 10:26, Clive Arthur wrote:
>> On 22/02/2024 10:07, Martin Brown wrote:
>>> On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened
>>>> Fred Bloggs
>>>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>>>
>>>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>>>
>>>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>>>
>>> We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
>>> nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
>>> unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.
>>>
>>> I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...
>>
>> Luckily, it didn't hit our aircraft carrier.
>
>You mean the ornamental target ones with almost no aircraft on?
>It looks quite impressive at sea and has an odd profile.
>
>https://www.ft.com/content/4f0ed77f-d68d-4aa1-8322-fa87184feae3
>
>State of the art can also mean edge of unreliability. ISTR our Type 45
>destroyers engines sound like a bag of spanners and will overheat if
>used in the tropics (apart from that "minor defect" they are excellent).
>
>https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/09/europe/britain-royal-navy-warships/index.html
>
>Being plunged into total darkness because the designers never imagined
>that they would deploy to warm tropical seas. You couldn't make it up!

They've got no legitimate business in "warm tropical seas" anyway. No
legitimate business anywhere near Ukraine, either.

On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 07:29:24 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:

>On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
><bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
><64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>
>>Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>
>>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>
>US nukes likely do not work either :-)

Does anyone know why the Royal Navy keeps re-cycling the *same old
names* for their vessels over and over and over and over again? How
many Arc Royals have there been? How many HMS Vengeances?? The list
just goes on and on and on and on. How about some more modern names
like - I don't know - HMS Lee Mack or HMS Elton John?

Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:

>...How
> many Arc Royals have there been?

None that I know of.

--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

On 2/22/2024 5:07 AM, Martin Brown wrote:
> On 22/02/2024 07:29, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened
>> Fred Bloggs
>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>
>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>
>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>
> We likely got the end of line Walmart rejects for our "independent"
> nuclear deterrent. To lose one Trident missile on a test launch is
> unfortunate but to lose two in a row looks like carelessness.
>
> I wonder what proportion of them will actually work as designed...
>

Hopefully nobody's do

On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>
>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>
>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>
> US nukes likely do not work either :-)

Hah, yes it would be fitting punishment for the world's "leaders" if
after going and pushing all the buttons they find out they've been
sitting on a bunch of duds all this time.

Then they'd only have _us_ to worry about while sitting in their
bunkers.."Hey remember that time you tried to destroy the world? We'd
like to talk to you about that..."

Hope they got a lot of supplies stored because it sounds like a classic
The Cask of Amontillado situation for them at that point.

On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:47:41 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
(Liz Tuddenham) wrote:

>Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>
>>...How
>> many Arc Royals have there been?
>
>None that I know of.

Alright smart arse. *Ark Royal*s then. A typo. Big fucking deal. I
really thought better of you. What a fool I was.

On 23/02/2024 10:45 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:47:41 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
> (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
>
>> Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> ...How
>>> many Arc Royals have there been?
>>
>> None that I know of.
>
> Alright smart arse. *Ark Royal*s then. A typo. Big fucking deal. I
> really thought better of you. What a fool I was.

Cursitor Doom has always been a fool. It's hard to get him to recognise
this indisputable fact. His persistent passion for the most improbable
conspiracy theories suggests that there may be some underlying
psychopathology, but while that may partially explain the foolishness,
he's still addicted to fatuous nonsense.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:41:28 +0000) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <pjfftiptaubqlrf1cu5e7kur74u5k76ahg@4ax.com>:

>On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 07:29:24 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
>wrote:
>
>>On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
>><bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>><64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>>>Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>
>>>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>
>>US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>
>Does anyone know why the Royal Navy keeps re-cycling the *same old
>names* for their vessels over and over and over and over again? How
>many Arc Royals have there been? How many HMS Vengeances?? The list
>just goes on and on and on and on. How about some more modern names
>like - I don't know - HMS Lee Mack or HMS Elton John?

Yea Elton is a very good piano player, I look at him
playing (video) and try to learn from it.

On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:21:22 -0500) it happened bitrex
<user@example.net> wrote in <SFQBN.55536$Wbff.7572@fx37.iad>:

>On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>
>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>
>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>
>Hah, yes it would be fitting punishment for the world's "leaders" if
>after going and pushing all the buttons they find out they've been
>sitting on a bunch of duds all this time.
>
>Then they'd only have _us_ to worry about while sitting in their
>bunkers.."Hey remember that time you tried to destroy the world? We'd
>like to talk to you about that..."
>
>Hope they got a lot of supplies stored because it sounds like a classic
>The Cask of Amontillado situation for them at that point.

Well I had to look that up:-)

On 2/23/2024 1:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
> On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:21:22 -0500) it happened bitrex
> <user@example.net> wrote in <SFQBN.55536$Wbff.7572@fx37.iad>:
>
>> On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
>>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>>
>>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>>
>>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>>
>> Hah, yes it would be fitting punishment for the world's "leaders" if
>> after going and pushing all the buttons they find out they've been
>> sitting on a bunch of duds all this time.
>>
>> Then they'd only have _us_ to worry about while sitting in their
>> bunkers.."Hey remember that time you tried to destroy the world? We'd
>> like to talk to you about that..."
>>
>> Hope they got a lot of supplies stored because it sounds like a classic
>> The Cask of Amontillado situation for them at that point.
>
> Well I had to look that up:-)

Yeah, they had us reading that charming stuff in 7th-8th grade in the US
(12-13 y/o) 30 years ago. but meanwhile we've got citizens walking
around in 2024 saying a story with gays in it is going to cause too much
psychological harm to children.

But hey sure just give us a story about a guy murdering a guy by walling
him up in a dungeon and call it "classic literature" yeah that's fine
for kids to read. that's cool.

On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:33:08 +1100, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:

>On 23/02/2024 10:45 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
>> On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:47:41 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
>> (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
>>
>>> Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> ...How
>>>> many Arc Royals have there been?
>>>
>>> None that I know of.
>>
>> Alright smart arse. *Ark Royal*s then. A typo. Big fucking deal. I
>> really thought better of you. What a fool I was.
>
>Cursitor Doom has always been a fool. It's hard to get him to recognise
>this indisputable fact. His persistent passion for the most improbable
>conspiracy theories suggests that there may be some underlying
>psychopathology, but while that may partially explain the foolishness,
>he's still addicted to fatuous nonsense.

Bill Sloman: Usenet's Voice of Reason.

On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:53:07 -0500, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:

>On 2/23/2024 1:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>> On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:21:22 -0500) it happened bitrex
>> <user@example.net> wrote in <SFQBN.55536$Wbff.7572@fx37.iad>:
>>
>>> On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs
>>>> <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>> <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>>>
>>>>> Hard to believe this is accidental after two consecutive tests.
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395
>>>>
>>>> US nukes likely do not work either :-)
>>>
>>> Hah, yes it would be fitting punishment for the world's "leaders" if
>>> after going and pushing all the buttons they find out they've been
>>> sitting on a bunch of duds all this time.
>>>
>>> Then they'd only have _us_ to worry about while sitting in their
>>> bunkers.."Hey remember that time you tried to destroy the world? We'd
>>> like to talk to you about that..."
>>>
>>> Hope they got a lot of supplies stored because it sounds like a classic
>>> The Cask of Amontillado situation for them at that point.
>>
>> Well I had to look that up:-)
>
>Yeah, they had us reading that charming stuff in 7th-8th grade in the US
>(12-13 y/o) 30 years ago. but meanwhile we've got citizens walking
>around in 2024 saying a story with gays in it is going to cause too much
>psychological harm to children.
>
>But hey sure just give us a story about a guy murdering a guy by walling
>him up in a dungeon and call it "classic literature" yeah that's fine
>for kids to read. that's cool.
>

Well, you should have been instructed to read *English* literature
rather than some silly American nonsense. It was Thomas Hardy when I
was at school (rather a long time ago).

On 25/02/2024 9:16 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:53:07 -0500, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
>> On 2/23/2024 1:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:21:22 -0500) it happened bitrex <user@example.net> wrote in <SFQBN.55536$Wbff.7572@fx37.iad>:
>>>> On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:

<snip>

> Well, you should have been instructed to read *English* literature
> rather than some silly American nonsense. It was Thomas Hardy when I
> was at school (rather a long time ago).

Trollope is rather better on moral questions. Thomas Love Peacock is
more fun. Hardy wasn't much more interesting than Barbara Cartland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Cartland

Jane Austen is infinitely better than either of them. John Larkin likes
her, but that's not her fault.

At secondary school I got stuck with

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbery_Under_Arms

which was pure Australian nationalism, or silly Australian nonsense if
you prefer. Edgar Allan Poe was American, and the impulse to get
Americans to read his novels is unedifying American nationalism of a
similar sort.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:46:03 +1100, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:

>On 25/02/2024 9:16 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:
>> On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:53:07 -0500, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
>>> On 2/23/2024 1:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:21:22 -0500) it happened bitrex <user@example.net> wrote in <SFQBN.55536$Wbff.7572@fx37.iad>:
>>>>> On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>
><snip>
>
>> Well, you should have been instructed to read *English* literature
>> rather than some silly American nonsense. It was Thomas Hardy when I
>> was at school (rather a long time ago).
>
>Trollope is rather better on moral questions. Thomas Love Peacock is
>more fun. Hardy wasn't much more interesting than Barbara Cartland.

You astonish me, Bill! Have you actually read any Trollope? His
writing's dripping with anti-Semitism. I'd have thought as a Jewish
man you would have found him repulsive. As far as Barbara Cartland is
concerned, there is simply no comparison with Hardy; not remotely.
Have you actually *read* any fiction at all??

>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Cartland
>
>Jane Austen is infinitely better than either of them. John Larkin likes
>her, but that's not her fault.
>
>At secondary school I got stuck with
>
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbery_Under_Arms
>
>which was pure Australian nationalism, or silly Australian nonsense if
>you prefer. Edgar Allan Poe was American, and the impulse to get
>Americans to read his novels is unedifying American nationalism of a
>similar sort.

Sounds awful. I'd have thought if they must inflict Australian
"literature" on school children they'd have been better of with Nevil
Shute. He was still garbage, but at least more suitable for kids. Or
should I say, a bit less unsuitable.

On 25/02/2024 8:57 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:33:08 +1100, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
> wrote:
>
>> On 23/02/2024 10:45 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
>>> On Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:47:41 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
>>> (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
>>>
>>>> Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ...How
>>>>> many Arc Royals have there been?
>>>>
>>>> None that I know of.
>>>
>>> Alright smart arse. *Ark Royal*s then. A typo. Big fucking deal. I
>>> really thought better of you. What a fool I was.
>>
>> Cursitor Doom has always been a fool. It's hard to get him to recognise
>> this indisputable fact. His persistent passion for the most improbable
>> conspiracy theories suggests that there may be some underlying
>> psychopathology, but while that may partially explain the foolishness,
>> he's still addicted to fatuous nonsense.
>
> Bill Sloman: Usenet's Voice of Reason.

Cursitor Doom thinks he is being satirical.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

On 26/02/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:46:03 +1100, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
> wrote:
>
>> On 25/02/2024 9:16 pm, Cursitor Doom wrote:
>>> On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:53:07 -0500, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
>>>> On 2/23/2024 1:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>> On a sunny day (Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:21:22 -0500) it happened bitrex <user@example.net> wrote in <SFQBN.55536$Wbff.7572@fx37.iad>:
>>>>>> On 2/22/2024 2:29 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>>>> On a sunny day (Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:35:48 -0800 (PST)) it happened Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote in <64e05753-9950-4c18-b51f-b5f00e94b67bn@googlegroups.com>:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>> Well, you should have been instructed to read *English* literature
>>> rather than some silly American nonsense. It was Thomas Hardy when I
>>> was at school (rather a long time ago).
>>
>> Trollope is rather better on moral questions. Thomas Love Peacock is
>> more fun. Hardy wasn't much more interesting than Barbara Cartland.
>
> You astonish me, Bill! Have you actually read any Trollope? His
> writing's dripping with anti-Semitism. I'd have thought as a Jewish
> man you would have found him repulsive. As far as Barbara Cartland is
> concerned, there is simply no comparison with Hardy; not remotely.
> Have you actually *read* any fiction at all??

Since I'm not Jewish - Sloman is a west country name and shows up a lot
in Taunton, and my great-grandfather sailed out of Bristol around 1850 -
I can be excused for not noticing. England as a whole was pretty
anti-semitic at the time, which didn't stop Disraeli from doing well.
And I have read quite a lot of Trollope. He sold into the same market as
Charles Dickens and is less sentimental

>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Cartland
>>
>> Jane Austen is infinitely better than either of them. John Larkin likes
>> her, but that's not her fault.
>>
>> At secondary school I got stuck with
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbery_Under_Arms
>>
>> which was pure Australian nationalism, or silly Australian nonsense if
>> you prefer. Edgar Allan Poe was American, and the impulse to get
>> Americans to read his novels is unedifying American nationalism of a
>> similar sort.
>
> Sounds awful.

It was pretty bad. I was reading much better books than that when I got
stuck with that at secondary school.

> I'd have thought if they must inflict Australian
> "literature" on school children they'd have been better of with Nevil
> Shute. He was still garbage, but at least more suitable for kids. Or
> should I say, a bit less unsuitable.

Nevil Shute Norway was British. He did emigrate to Australia after the
WW2 and died there, but he never became an Australian citizen, and he
was never seen as an Australian novelist, and his books weren't seen as
literature. A cut above Barbara Cartland, but still commercial.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevil_Shute

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney