• Re: Travel Plans

    From Aidan Kehoe@kehoea@parhasard.net to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 09:56:57 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english


    Ar an tri|| l|i de m|! Eanair, scr|!obh Peter Moylan:

    On 02/01/26 23:44, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j583l$3as5k$1@dont-email.me>, peter@pmoylan.org
    says...

    [...] But descriptive of the position of the English, who believe that
    Great Britain includes Ireland.

    No, we don't. We know that Great Britain is the largest of the
    British Isles ; home of England Wales and Scotland.

    Sorry, I used the wrong term there. What I meant to say is that the
    English believe that Ireland is one of the British Isles. The Irish do
    not necessarily agree that their island is a British Isle.

    Janet was very helpful with this; she describes Jersey, circa 22 km from the French coast, south-southwest of Cherbourg, 137 km from England, connected to Normandy at the last Ice Age, as a British isle. This is not a physical geographic judgement. If it is a political judgement, Britain does not run the bulk of the island of Ireland and the Republic has not been in the Commonwealth since 1949; it sounds irredentist to call Ireland a British isle.
    --
    rCyAs I sat looking up at the Guinness ad, I could never figure out /
    How your man stayed up on the surfboard after fourteen pints of stoutrCO
    (C. Moore)
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 11:11:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:

    On 2026-01-02 07:02, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j5jvv$3dnm6$2@dont-email.me>,
    rundtosset@lundhansen.dk says...

    Den 31.12.2025 kl. 18.05 skrev lar3ryca:

    Prepare yourself for hearing about Emperor Trump.

    Well, he won't be an emperor because the USA is not an empire.

    That won't stop him.

    He's already taken over the Gulf Of America; Greenland
    Canada and Venezuela are next.

    Has he? No matter what the ?? calls it, it's still not named that.

    As for taking over Canada, the moment US soldiers cross the border, I'll
    be ready. I may only get one shot, but I'' do my damndest to make it count.

    Better save it for resistance after the fact,

    Jan
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 21:31:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 03/01/26 21:11, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:
    On 2026-01-02 07:02, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j5jvv$3dnm6$2@dont-email.me>,
    rundtosset@lundhansen.dk says...

    Den 31.12.2025 kl. 18.05 skrev lar3ryca:

    Prepare yourself for hearing about Emperor Trump.

    Well, he won't be an emperor because the USA is not an empire.

    That won't stop him.

    He's already taken over the Gulf Of America; Greenland
    Canada and Venezuela are next.

    Has he? No matter what the ?? calls it, it's still not named that.

    As for taking over Canada, the moment US soldiers cross the border, I'll
    be ready. I may only get one shot, but I'' do my damndest to make it count.

    Better save it for resistance after the fact,

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase. Oops, there
    goes the Peace Prize.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Janet@nobody@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 18:37:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <87eco7t3x2.fsf@parhasard.net>,
    kehoea@parhasard.net says...

    Ar an tri. lb de m0 Eanair, scr0obh Peter Moylan:

    On 02/01/26 23:44, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j583l$3as5k$1@dont-email.me>, peter@pmoylan.org
    says...

    [...] But descriptive of the position of the English, who believe that >> Great Britain includes Ireland.

    No, we don't. We know that Great Britain is the largest of the
    British Isles ; home of England Wales and Scotland.

    Sorry, I used the wrong term there. What I meant to say is that the English believe that Ireland is one of the British Isles. The Irish do
    not necessarily agree that their island is a British Isle.

    Janet was very helpful with this; she describes Jersey, circa 22 km from the French coast, south-southwest of Cherbourg, 137 km from England, connected to Normandy at the last Ice Age, as a British isle. This is not a physical geographic judgement.

    Shetland is much further away (170 km) from mainland
    Britain, but still part of the British Isles.

    If it is a political judgement, Britain does not run the
    bulk of the island of Ireland and the Republic has not been in the Commonwealth
    since 1949; it sounds irredentist to call Ireland a British isle.

    Britain does not run the Channel Islands either, yet
    they are still physically and geographically anchored in
    the English Channel.

    Hope that helps with the toothache

    Janet.


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 20:12:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 03/01/2026 10:31, Peter Moylan wrote:
    On 03/01/26 21:11, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:
    On 2026-01-02 07:02, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j5jvv$3dnm6$2@dont-email.me>,
    rundtosset@lundhansen.dk says...

    Den 31.12.2025 kl. 18.05 skrev lar3ryca:

    Prepare yourself for hearing about Emperor Trump.

    Well, he won't be an emperor because the USA is not an empire.

    That won't stop him.

    -a-a He's already taken over the Gulf Of America; Greenland
    Canada and Venezuela are next.

    Has he? No matter what the ?? calls it, it's still not named that.

    As for taking over Canada, the moment US soldiers cross the border, I'll >>> be ready. I may only get one shot, but I'' do my damndest to make it
    count.

    Better save it for resistance after the fact,

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase. Oops, there
    goes the Peace Prize.

    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 21:22:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Aidan Kehoe <kehoea@parhasard.net> wrote:

    Ar an tri. lb de m0 Eanair, scr0obh Peter Moylan:

    On 02/01/26 23:44, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j583l$3as5k$1@dont-email.me>, peter@pmoylan.org
    says...

    [...] But descriptive of the position of the English, who believe that >> Great Britain includes Ireland.

    No, we don't. We know that Great Britain is the largest of the
    British Isles ; home of England Wales and Scotland.

    Sorry, I used the wrong term there. What I meant to say is that the English believe that Ireland is one of the British Isles. The Irish do
    not necessarily agree that their island is a British Isle.

    Janet was very helpful with this; she describes Jersey, circa 22 km from
    the French coast, south-southwest of Cherbourg, 137 km from England, connected to Normandy at the last Ice Age, as a British isle. This is not
    a physical geographic judgement. If it is a political judgement, Britain
    does not run the bulk of the island of Ireland and the Republic has not
    been in the Commonwealth since 1949; it sounds irredentist to call Ireland
    a British isle.

    All of Eurasia was a British Isle, back then,

    Jan

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Silvano@Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 22:44:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Janet hat am 03.01.2026 um 19:37 geschrieben:
    In article <87eco7t3x2.fsf@parhasard.net>,
    kehoea@parhasard.net says...

    Ar an tri. lb de m0 Eanair, scr0obh Peter Moylan:

    On 02/01/26 23:44, Janet wrote:
    In article <10j583l$3as5k$1@dont-email.me>, peter@pmoylan.org
    says...

    [...] But descriptive of the position of the English, who believe that >> > >> Great Britain includes Ireland.

    No, we don't. We know that Great Britain is the largest of the
    British Isles ; home of England Wales and Scotland.

    Sorry, I used the wrong term there. What I meant to say is that the
    English believe that Ireland is one of the British Isles. The Irish do
    not necessarily agree that their island is a British Isle.

    Janet was very helpful with this; she describes Jersey, circa 22 km from the >> French coast, south-southwest of Cherbourg, 137 km from England, connected to
    Normandy at the last Ice Age, as a British isle. This is not a physical
    geographic judgement.

    Shetland is much further away (170 km) from mainland
    Britain, but still part of the British Isles.

    Do you know the concept of relative distance? If all figures so far are
    right:
    Jersey: 22 km from the French coast, 137 km from the English coast.
    Shetland: 170 km from the Scottish coast. Where's the next foreign coast
    and how far away is it? Uneducated guess: much farther than the Scottish
    coast.


    Britain does not run the Channel Islands either, yet
    they are still physically and geographically anchored in
    the English Channel.

    You're free to call it the _English_ Channel in your language. We, the
    people from France, Italy and many other countries disagree, when we
    speak our languages. La Manche (FR), (canale del)la Manica (IT),
    -rmelkanal (DE), canal de la Mancha (ES), het Kanaal (NL) usw.

    Just for the record, I looked at the Wikipedia article "British isles"
    and then switched to some other languages. You won't like it, but some languages do NOT consider Jersey etc. to belong to them. E.g. "Die
    Britischen Inseln sind ein im Nordwesten Europas gelegener Archipel. Zu
    den Inseln geh%ren Gro#britannien, Irland, die Hebriden, Shetland,
    Orkney, die Isle of Man, die Scilly-Inseln, Anglesey und die Isle of
    Wight." oder
    <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Eles_Britanniques> with justified geographical objections to your claim.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Silvano@Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 22:49:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 23:39:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    Jan


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 23:02:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Silvano wrote:

    Janet hat am 03.01.2026 um 19:37 geschrieben:

    Britain does not run the Channel Islands either, yet
    they are still physically and geographically anchored
    in the English Channel.

    You're free to call it the English Channel in your language.
    We, the people from France, Italy and many other countries
    disagree, when we speak our languages. La Manche (FR), (canale
    del)la Manica (IT), -rmelkanal (DE), canal de la Mancha (ES),
    het Kanaal (NL) usw.

    Some British people often think - and speak - like there is
    still some sort of empire and everything is theirs... because
    they wrote most of the terminology and that's the way it was, so
    [in their opinion] it still is.

    Fortunately, some people outside of this 'empire' see things a
    bit differently... the English do not make the rules for
    everyone any more.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 23:02:39 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Silvano wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil"
    will become an arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of
    thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap
    Zelenskyy.

    Well... not yet anyway!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 23:16:47 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Aidan Kehoe wrote:


    Ar an tri|| l|i de m|! Eanair, scr|!obh Peter Moylan:otland.

    Sorry, I used the wrong term there. What I meant to say is
    that the English believe that Ireland is one of the British
    Isles. The Irish do not necessarily agree that their island
    is a British Isle.

    Janet was very helpful with this; she describes Jersey, circa
    22 km from the French coast, south-southwest of Cherbourg, 137
    km from England, connected to Normandy at the last Ice Age, as
    a British isle. This is not a physical geographic judgement.
    If it is a political judgement, Britain does not run the bulk
    of the island of Ireland and the Republic has not been in the
    Commonwealth since 1949;

    it sounds irredentist to call Ireland a British isle.

    Indeed.

    The term "British Isle" is not recognised by the Irish
    government as being applicable to Ireland, whilst geography
    teachers over here do not use that term in relation to the
    island of Ireland.

    https://medium.com/o6o-international/why-ireland-is-not-a-british-isle-2bad28685777
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Sat Jan 3 23:16:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Peter Moylan wrote:

    Sorry, I used the wrong term there. What I meant to say
    is that the English believe that Ireland is one of the
    British Isles.

    The Irish do not necessarily agree that their island is
    a British Isle.

    We don't agree... because it's not. Simples!

    https://medium.com/o6o-international/why-ireland-is-not-a-british-isle-2bad28685777
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 00:49:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 03/01/2026 21:49, Silvano wrote:
    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Quite.
    I found myself wondering if there had already been a phone call between
    the White House and the Kremlin - in which Trump bragged about exactly that.
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 00:50:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy before now. I find that hard to accept.
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 04:32:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now. If they don't, it
    will expose this "rules-based international order" thing as a massive
    con, if the failure to impose sanctions on Netanyahu has not already
    done so.
    --
    Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
    Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
    E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bertel Lund Hansen@rundtosset@lundhansen.dk to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 09:32:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Den 04.01.2026 kl. 00.16 skrev Blueshirt:

    The term "British Isle" is not recognised by the Irish
    government as being applicable to Ireland, whilst geography
    teachers over here do not use that term in relation to the
    island of Ireland.

    https://medium.com/o6o-international/why-ireland-is-not-a-british-isle-2bad28685777

    I'm still in the proces of reading the very long article, but it's quite entertaining. I especially like the history of the Vikings being reduced
    to one sentence:

    The Vikings added to the chaos.
    --
    Bertel, Kolt, Danmark

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From athel.cb@gmail.com@user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 09:52:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser countries are not.

    If they don't, it
    will expose this "rules-based international order" thing as a massive
    con, if the failure to impose sanctions on Netanyahu has not already
    done so.






    --
    athel

    Living in Marseilles for 38 years; mainly in England before that
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Silvano@Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 12:54:25 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >>> before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.


    Strange how so many people have already forgotten or did not even notice
    that Russian troops had reached the outskirts of Kyiv in the first day
    of the full-scale invasion and were aiming at the presidential palace,
    either to kidnap or to kill Zelenskyy.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Silvano@Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 19:42:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Silvano hat am 04.01.2026 um 12:54 geschrieben:
    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >>>> before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.


    Strange how so many people have already forgotten or did not even notice
    that Russian troops had reached the outskirts of Kyiv in the first day
    of the full-scale invasion and were aiming at the presidential palace,
    either to kidnap or to kill Zelenskyy.


    Sorry, I forgot an s, as in the first dayS.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 21:01:34 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:52:33 GMT, athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >> >before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser >countries are not.

    I've never managed to discover what the "Free World" actually is, but
    if the current president of the US is the leader of it, it can't be
    very free, Not when you can be arrested and deported to a foreign
    prison on the say-so of a cop, with no due process or legal
    protections whatever.
    --
    Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
    Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
    E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 20:20:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >>> before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.


    Strange how so many people have already forgotten or did not even notice
    that Russian troops had reached the outskirts of Kyiv in the first day
    of the full-scale invasion and were aiming at the presidential palace,
    either to kidnap or to kill Zelenskyy.

    Sure, but that was in a different phase of the war,
    when they believed that an immediate regime change would be possible.
    When that failed other considerations applied.

    Now that the war has degenerated into a near stalemate
    yet other consideration may apply,

    Jan


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 20:20:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Why? Once the initial attemt at the coup failed,
    and a full scale war erupted, other considerations apply.

    You need someone in place to accept your generous proposal
    for a complete surrender that is so insanely great
    that he cannot possible refuse.

    Jan

    (in a similar vein, the Americans never bombed
    Hirohito's palace in Tokyo.)


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From athel.cb@gmail.com@user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 19:39:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:52:33 GMT, athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an >> >>>> arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >> >before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser >countries are not.

    I've never managed to discover what the "Free World" actually is, but
    if the current president of the US is the leader of it, it can't be
    very free, Not when you can be arrested and deported to a foreign
    prison on the say-so of a cop, with no due process or legal
    protections whatever.

    I was being sarcastic. I should have put "Leader of the Free World" in quotation marks. Many people in ther USA, and not just the orange moron
    who is running it, think that the USA is a free country. No doubt that's
    why they have higher proportion of their population in prison than any
    country in Europe (or South Africa for that matter).


    --
    athel

    Living in Marseilles for 38 years; mainly in England before that
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 20:53:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    <athel.cb@gmail.com> wrote:

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:52:33 GMT, athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an >> >>>> arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy. >> >>
    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy
    before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. >Lesser countries are not.

    I've never managed to discover what the "Free World" actually is, but
    if the current president of the US is the leader of it, it can't be
    very free, Not when you can be arrested and deported to a foreign
    prison on the say-so of a cop, with no due process or legal
    protections whatever.

    I was being sarcastic. I should have put "Leader of the Free World" in quotation marks. Many people in ther USA, and not just the orange moron
    who is running it, think that the USA is a free country. No doubt that's
    why they have higher proportion of their population in prison than any country in Europe (or South Africa for that matter).

    Poe's Law applies.
    Some people are so settled in their convictions
    that sarcasm doesn't work, or isn't even understood,
    or not even noticed at all.

    Guarding against it should not be necessary in AUE,

    Jan
    --
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law>
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 21:12:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:

    Den 04.01.2026 kl. 00.16 skrev Blueshirt:

    The term "British Isle" is not recognised by the Irish
    government as being applicable to Ireland, whilst geography
    teachers over here do not use that term in relation to the
    island of Ireland.


    https://medium.com/o6o-international/why-ireland-is-not-a-british-isle-2bad28685777

    I'm still in the proces of reading the very long article, but
    it's quite entertaining.

    It's a point of view anyway...

    I especially like the history of the Vikings being reduced
    to one sentence:

    The Vikings added to the chaos.

    It's probably an accurate, if brief, description of events
    though! :-)
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 21:21:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Steve Hayes wrote:

    On Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:52:33 GMT, athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed
    to do that. Lesser countries are not.

    I've never managed to discover what the "Free World" actually
    is, but if the current president of the US is the leader of
    it, it can't be very free, Not when you can be arrested and
    deported to a foreign prison on the say-so of a cop, with no
    due process or legal protections whatever.

    My old fella used to refer to the USA as the "world's police
    force" ... in which case, the "leader of the free world" is
    basically just another name for the top cop!!! ;-)

    Unfortunately he isn't around to enjoy the entertainment that
    Mr Trump is providing the rest of the world...
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 21:48:56 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 04/01/2026 08:32, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
    Den 04.01.2026 kl. 00.16 skrev Blueshirt:

    The term "British Isle" is not recognised by the Irish
    government as being applicable to Ireland, whilst geography
    teachers over here do not use that term in relation to the
    island of Ireland.

    https://medium.com/o6o-international/why-ireland-is-not-a-british-
    isle-2bad28685777

    I'm still in the proces of reading the very long article, but it's quite entertaining. I especially like the history of the Vikings being reduced
    to one sentence:

    -a-a-a-a-a The Vikings added to the chaos.

    By founding Dublin?
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 21:54:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 04/01/2026 09:52, athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an >>>>>> arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >>> before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser countries are not.

    There will now be motions brought before The Security Council and the
    General Assembly to condemn the US action in Venezuela. (If this hasn't already happened.)
    America will obviously veto the former and ignore the latter, but the
    more interesting aspect will be how other countries respond.

    Which countries will go on record as condemning the US action?
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Sun Jan 4 22:01:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 04/01/2026 19:20, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy.

    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy
    before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Why? Once the initial attemt at the coup failed,
    and a full scale war erupted, other considerations apply.

    You need someone in place to accept your generous proposal
    for a complete surrender that is so insanely great
    that he cannot possible refuse.

    If the incumbent is intractable, you 'remove' him from the scene[1].
    If the replacement is intractable... Repeat until you find one who sees
    things your way.

    [1] For extra points, you plant stories that he was 'removed' by
    factions within his own government. Sowing dissension amongst your
    enemies is always a useful move.


    Jan

    (in a similar vein, the Americans never bombed
    Hirohito's palace in Tokyo.)


    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 10:07:44 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 05/01/26 08:48, Sam Plusnet wrote:
    On 04/01/2026 08:32, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:

    I'm still in the proces of reading the very long article, but it's
    quite entertaining. I especially like the history of the Vikings being
    reduced to one sentence:

    The Vikings added to the chaos.

    By founding Dublin?

    It was only last year that I learnt that Dublin was originally two
    settlements. The native Irish lived at Baile |Utha Cliath, which means something like "town at the ford". The Vikings settled at Dubh Linn,
    which means Blackpool.

    I don't know whether those two spots have been identified, but I imagine
    that today they are just two neighbourhoods of present-day Dublin.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 10:11:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 05/01/26 06:39, athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:

    I was being sarcastic. I should have put "Leader of the Free World" in quotation marks. Many people in ther USA, and not just the orange moron
    who is running it, think that the USA is a free country. No doubt that's
    why they have higher proportion of their population in prison than any country in Europe (or South Africa for that matter).

    I'm not sure that that statement is true if you count only white people.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bertel Lund Hansen@rundtosset@lundhansen.dk to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 06:12:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Den 04.01.2026 kl. 20.39 skrev athel.cb@gmail.com:

    I was being sarcastic. I should have put "Leader of the Free World" in quotation marks. Many people in ther USA, and not just the orange moron
    who is running it, think that the USA is a free country. No doubt that's
    why they have higher proportion of their population in prison than any country in Europe (or South Africa for that matter).

    White people are free. Black people are in prison.
    --
    Bertel, Kolt, Danmark

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From athel.cb@gmail.com@user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 09:05:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english


    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> posted:

    On 04/01/2026 09:52, athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an >>>>>> arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy. >>>>
    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >>> before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser
    countries are not.

    There will now be motions brought before The Security Council and the General Assembly to condemn the US action in Venezuela. (If this hasn't already happened.)
    America will obviously veto the former and ignore the latter, but the
    more interesting aspect will be how other countries respond.

    Which countries will go on record as condemning the US action?

    Have a look at

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_2026_United_States_strikes_in_Venezuela

    and be prepared to be dismayed. In Western Europe virtually all the responses have been feeble. Only Norway is now concentrating on the illegality of
    the US action. Denmark's initial reaction was OK, but they've toned it down. Likewise Frannce: Macron made a good statement at the beginning, but has
    moved towards kissing Trump's arse. Starmer was wishy-washy from the outset; Merz likewise. Hungary doesn't seem to have said anything: probably Orban needs to decide which arse is more important, Trump's or Putin's.
    --
    athel

    Living in Marseilles for 38 years; mainly in England before that
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 09:48:25 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:


    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> posted:

    Which countries will go on record as condemning the
    US action?

    Have a look at


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_2026_United_States_strikes_in_Venezuela

    and be prepared to be dismayed.

    Dismayed maybe. Surprised, most definitely not!

    In Western Europe virtually all the responses have been feeble.

    The EU is a feeble organisation on most things controversial.
    Nobody should expect much from those big nations as they'd be
    mindful of upsetting the top cop!

    When President Trump is out of power I'm sure some of the EU
    leaders will try and pretend they took a different position and
    were against it all from the beginning.

    Only Norway is now concentrating on the illegality of the US
    action. Denmark's initial reaction was OK, but they've toned
    it down. Likewise France: Macron made a good statement at the
    beginning, but has moved towards kissing Trump's arse.

    Starmer was wishy-washy from the outset;

    Isn't that Starmer's basic position on almost everything?
    Wishy-washy describes his character full stop.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Janet@nobody@home.com to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 12:02:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <1767555545-12588@newsgrouper.org>,
    athel.cb@gmail.com says...

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:52:33 GMT, athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:


    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an >> >>>> arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy. >> >>
    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy
    before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser
    countries are not.

    I've never managed to discover what the "Free World" actually is, but
    if the current president of the US is the leader of it, it can't be
    very free, Not when you can be arrested and deported to a foreign
    prison on the say-so of a cop, with no due process or legal
    protections whatever.

    I was being sarcastic. I should have put "Leader of the Free World" in quotation marks. Many people in ther USA, and not just the orange moron
    who is running it, think that the USA is a free country.

    Usually the ones who've never left it, because they
    barely get any paid time off work, and have to save it in
    case they get sick.

    Janet


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Hibou@vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 12:37:57 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Le 03/01/2026 |a 20:12, Sam Plusnet a |-crit :
    On 03/01/2026 10:31, Peter Moylan wrote:

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase. Oops, there
    goes the Peace Prize.

    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bertel Lund Hansen@rundtosset@lundhansen.dk to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 13:49:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Den 05.01.2026 kl. 13.37 skrev Hibou:

    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Do you mean that they finally have decided to come to pick up the
    250'000 liters of diesel that they left inside the inland ice?
    --
    Bertel, Kolt, Danmark

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Janet@nobody@home.com to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 14:00:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    In article <ms1pl5F9ecuU1@mid.individual.net>, vpaereru- unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid says...

    Le 03/01/2026 a 20:12, Sam Plusnet a ocrit :
    On 03/01/2026 10:31, Peter Moylan wrote:

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase. Oops, there
    goes the Peace Prize.

    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Wonder what justification Trump will come up with,
    to nuke Nuuk or kidnap Queen Margrethe.

    " America makes the biggest ice cubes in the world.
    We're gonna take over Greenland's failing Ice Industry,
    and reverse their socialist climate-warming plot to flood
    the USA".

    Janet.


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 15:27:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Hibou wrote:

    Le 03/01/2026 |a 20:12, Sam Plusnet a |-crit :
    On 03/01/2026 10:31, Peter Moylan wrote:

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase.
    Oops, there goes the Peace Prize.

    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will
    become an arrestable offence? His pal Putin has shown
    how to handle this sort of thing.

    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a wee
    bit worried.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 18:32:39 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Blueshirt <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:

    Hibou wrote:

    Le 03/01/2026 a 20:12, Sam Plusnet a ocrit :
    On 03/01/2026 10:31, Peter Moylan wrote:

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase.
    Oops, there goes the Peace Prize.

    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will
    become an arrestable offence? His pal Putin has shown
    how to handle this sort of thing.

    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a wee
    bit worried.

    The inhabitants of The Hague aren't too worried yet.
    They have already seen an airborne nazi raid beaten off,
    eightyfive years ago.

    But maybe he'll bomb Rotterdam next,

    Jan
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 20:11:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 05/01/2026 14:00, Janet wrote:
    In article <ms1pl5F9ecuU1@mid.individual.net>, vpaereru- unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid says...

    Le 03/01/2026 |a 20:12, Sam Plusnet a |-crit :
    On 03/01/2026 10:31, Peter Moylan wrote:

    The war against Venezuela has just entered a new phase. Oops, there
    goes the Peace Prize.

    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an
    arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Wonder what justification Trump will come up with,
    to nuke Nuuk or kidnap Queen Margrethe.

    " America makes the biggest ice cubes in the world.
    We're gonna take over Greenland's failing Ice Industry,
    and reverse their socialist climate-warming plot to flood
    the USA".

    He would probably just invade and insist that "Everybody on Greenland
    was begging us to go in and rescue them."

    He isn't a details person.
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Blueshirt@blueshirt@indigo.news to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 20:25:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Blueshirt <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:

    Hibou wrote:

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a
    wee bit worried.

    The inhabitants of The Hague aren't too worried yet.
    They have already seen an airborne nazi raid beaten off,
    eightyfive years ago.

    The Nazi's were beaten of with the aid of the US. Who will help
    if it's the US that's doing the raiding?!

    But maybe he'll bomb Rotterdam next,

    Is there oil there?

    My worry - if I lived in Greenland - would be, IF President
    Trump's military invaded and took control of Greenland, who in
    Europe would stand up and be counted by...

    1) Denouncing Donald Trump's actions... publicly.

    2) Actually doing something about it.

    The EU & UK can't even decide cohesively what they want to do
    in Ukraine!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From guido wugi@wugi@brol.invalid to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 21:53:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Op 29/12/2025 om 8:26 schreef Hibou:
    Le 28/12/2025 |a 21:45, Garrett Wollman a |-crit :
    Hibou-a wrote:

    Actually, in principle I agree with this. Many major British museums
    are
    free, i.e. paid for by our taxes. I've long thought that foreigners,
    who
    don't pay those taxes, should contribute something.

    I gladly paid the "suggested donation" at the Tate Modern and the V&A
    when I visited last year, once I found a donation "box" that had a
    working tap terminal, since I went that whole trip without ever
    getting cash.-a (Of the other museums I visited, the Cabinet War Rooms,
    Royal Observatory Greenwich, Bletchley Park, and National Museum of
    Computing all charge admission.-a The Natural History Museum was mobbed
    -- it was the August bank-holiday weekend -- and I didn't get to see
    anything so I didn't donate.-a I got to the British Library only a few
    minutes before closing and only got to see one free exhibit. The
    Wellcome Collection wasn't asking for donations that I recall.)


    This British taxpayer thanks you for your contributions.

    Touch-to-donate machines seem to me to be a nicely British approach. I suppose the Louvre is going to have to ask people for their papers,
    which is much more - what's the adjective? - ah, yes - French.

    I'd think, European. I, we, have no problem with showing ID docs on
    regulated demand.
    In Argentina, National Parks etc. apply three tariffs: nationals,
    Mercosur, and "true" foreigners. I've no problem with that either, my
    wife pays national, I foreign.
    --
    guido wugi
    Happy 2026; may it see the demise of that WW-3 abiding 3-umvirate of
    autocrats and oligarchs without culture or humanism.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 22:03:14 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Blueshirt <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:

    J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Blueshirt <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:

    Hibou wrote:

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a
    wee bit worried.

    The inhabitants of The Hague aren't too worried yet.
    They have already seen an airborne nazi raid beaten off,
    eightyfive years ago.

    The Nazi's were beaten of with the aid of the US. Who will help
    if it's the US that's doing the raiding?!

    Not really, the Dutch, being neutral,
    beat off the Germans all on their own. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Hague_(1940)>

    But maybe he'll bomb Rotterdam next,

    Is there oil there?

    No, but a terrorist bombardment there did the job of forcing surrender
    where 'clean' military means had failed. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_bombing_of_Rotterdam>

    The EU & UK can't even decide cohesively what they want to do
    in Ukraine!

    The Ukrainians too are mostly on their own,
    and Putin hasn't dared massive terrorist bombardment yet.
    (or he may lack the means)

    Jan

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 22:38:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    guido wugi <wugi@brol.invalid> wrote:

    Op 29/12/2025 om 8:26 schreef Hibou:
    Le 28/12/2025 a 21:45, Garrett Wollman a ocrit :
    Hibou wrote:

    Actually, in principle I agree with this. Many major British museums
    are
    free, i.e. paid for by our taxes. I've long thought that foreigners,
    who
    don't pay those taxes, should contribute something.

    I gladly paid the "suggested donation" at the Tate Modern and the V&A
    when I visited last year, once I found a donation "box" that had a
    working tap terminal, since I went that whole trip without ever
    getting cash. (Of the other museums I visited, the Cabinet War Rooms,
    Royal Observatory Greenwich, Bletchley Park, and National Museum of
    Computing all charge admission. The Natural History Museum was mobbed
    -- it was the August bank-holiday weekend -- and I didn't get to see
    anything so I didn't donate. I got to the British Library only a few
    minutes before closing and only got to see one free exhibit. The
    Wellcome Collection wasn't asking for donations that I recall.)


    This British taxpayer thanks you for your contributions.

    Touch-to-donate machines seem to me to be a nicely British approach. I suppose the Louvre is going to have to ask people for their papers,
    which is much more - what's the adjective? - ah, yes - French.

    I'd think, European. I, we, have no problem with showing ID docs on regulated demand.
    In Argentina, National Parks etc. apply three tariffs: nationals,
    Mercosur, and "true" foreigners. I've no problem with that either, my
    wife pays national, I foreign.

    Entree fee differentiation is almost as old as museum fees.
    (youngsters free, elderly people pay less,
    members of certain organisations get a discount, etc.)

    It is the perceived hostile intent of Trumps differentiation
    that is putting foreign visitors off,

    Jan
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 09:14:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 06/01/26 02:27, Blueshirt wrote:
    Hibou wrote:

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a wee bit
    worried.

    Greenland is a more complex case. We could see American invasion troops
    in battle against American Nato troops.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bertel Lund Hansen@rundtosset@lundhansen.dk to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 07:31:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Den 05.01.2026 kl. 16.27 skrev Blueshirt:

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a wee
    bit worried.

    Greenlanders and Danes are - and not just a bit.
    --
    Bertel, Kolt, Danmark

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Bertel Lund Hansen@rundtosset@lundhansen.dk to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 07:35:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Den 05.01.2026 kl. 21.25 skrev Blueshirt:

    The Nazi's were beaten of with the aid of the US. Who will help
    if it's the US that's doing the raiding?!

    But maybe he'll bomb Rotterdam next,

    Is there oil there?

    No. There are rumours about oil reserves but a Greenlandic geology
    experts says that there's not. The rumours have started because someone
    said that there is *at most* X barrels of oil there, so people began
    thinking that there is that much.

    My worry - if I lived in Greenland - would be, IF President
    Trump's military invaded and took control of Greenland, who in
    Europe would stand up and be counted by...

    1) Denouncing Donald Trump's actions... publicly.

    2) Actually doing something about it.

    The EU & UK can't even decide cohesively what they want to do
    in Ukraine!

    Words don't fail the European leaders. I look forward to see them
    following up with their military when push comes to shove.
    --
    Bertel, Kolt, Danmark

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From lar3ryca@larry@invalid.ca to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 01:21:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-01-05 03:05, athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:

    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> posted:

    On 04/01/2026 09:52, athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:

    Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> posted:

    On Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:50:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

    On 03/01/2026 22:39, J. J. Lodder wrote:
    Silvano <Silvano@noncisonopernessuno.it> wrote:

    Sam Plusnet hat am 03.01.2026 um 21:12 geschrieben:
    I wonder if calling it "The Grab for Venezuelan Oil" will become an >>>>>>>> arrestable offence?
    His pal Putin has shown how to handle this sort of thing.


    A huge difference so far: Putin did not manage to kidnap Zelenskyy. >>>>>>
    Wait and see. Putin's pretence that he has been attacked
    by Ukrainian drones may well be a run-up for an attempt on him,

    That assumes that Putin would have refrained from an attack on Zelenskyy >>>>> before now. I find that hard to accept.

    Putin could see it as a precedent, and attempt to kidnap Zelensky.

    He appears to have seen the Nato attack on Yugoslavia as precedents
    for his attacks on Georgia and Ukraine, so precedents seem quite
    important to him.

    What will be very interesting to see will be whether the European
    countries that imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of
    Ukraine will impose similar sanctions on the US now.

    You dreamer. The Leader of the Free World (TM) is allowed to do that. Lesser
    countries are not.

    There will now be motions brought before The Security Council and the
    General Assembly to condemn the US action in Venezuela. (If this hasn't
    already happened.)
    America will obviously veto the former and ignore the latter, but the
    more interesting aspect will be how other countries respond.

    Which countries will go on record as condemning the US action?

    Have a look at

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_2026_United_States_strikes_in_Venezuela

    and be prepared to be dismayed. In Western Europe virtually all the responses have been feeble. Only Norway is now concentrating on the illegality of
    the US action. Denmark's initial reaction was OK, but they've toned it down. Likewise Frannce: Macron made a good statement at the beginning, but has moved towards kissing Trump's arse. Starmer was wishy-washy from the outset; Merz likewise. Hungary doesn't seem to have said anything: probably Orban needs
    to decide which arse is more important, Trump's or Putin's.

    Carney's was weak, to say the least.
    --
    'eleven plus two' is an anagram of 'twelve plus one',
    and they both have 13 letters.
    The numeric form, '11 + 2' is also an anagram of '12 + 1'.
    Things that I hate: lists, irony, lists, repetition, inconsistency.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Hibou@vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 08:23:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Le 05/01/2026 |a 12:49, Bertel Lund Hansen a |-crit :
    Den 05.01.2026 kl. 13.37 skrev Hibou:

    "Special petroleous operations", perhaps.

    Today Venezuela, tomorrow Greenland.

    Do you mean that they finally have decided to come to pick up the
    250'000 liters of diesel that they left inside the inland ice?


    'Borgen' Series 4 has finally come my way. The storyline is about a vast
    lake of oil under Greenland. I see it was made by Netflix, so perhaps
    Trump has watched it-|....


    -|But then again, perhaps not. It's not children's TV.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Hibou@vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 14:55:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Le 06/01/2026 |a 06:31, Bertel Lund Hansen a |-crit :
    Den 05.01.2026 kl. 16.27 skrev Blueshirt:

    Joking apart, if I lived in Greenland I'd probably be a wee
    bit worried.

    Greenlanders and Danes are - and not just a bit.


    In a hundred years' time, children may be playing Cowboys and Vikings....

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From athel.cb@gmail.com@user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid to alt.usage.english on Wed Jan 7 10:06:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english


    athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> posted:

    [ ... ]

    Which countries will go on record as condemning the US action?

    Have a look at

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_2026_United_States_strikes_in_Venezuela

    and be prepared to be dismayed. In Western Europe virtually all the responses have been feeble. Only Norway is now concentrating on the illegality of
    the US action. Denmark's initial reaction was OK, but they've toned it down. Likewise Frannce: Macron made a good statement at the beginning, but has moved towards kissing Trump's arse. Starmer was wishy-washy from the outset; Merz likewise. Hungary doesn't seem to have said anything: probably Orb|in needs
    to decide which arse is more important, Trump's or Putin's.

    One good piece of news. Mr Orb|in is still alive and has made a statement:

    "Prime Minister Viktor Orb|in stated that no Hungarian citizen was harmed in Venezuela, and that the Hungarian government was working to protect Hungarians in the region."

    Well, that's a relief. I'm sure we were all worried about the effect of the illegal action on Hungarian inhabitants of Venezuela.

    He hasn't revealed whether he thinks the action was a good idea, or whether he agrees with Vladimir Putin.
    --
    athel

    Living in Marseilles for 38 years; mainly in England before that
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sam Plusnet@not@home.com to alt.usage.english on Wed Jan 7 19:51:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 07/01/2026 10:06, athel.cb@gmail.com wrote:

    athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> posted:

    [ ... ]

    Which countries will go on record as condemning the US action?

    Have a look at

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_2026_United_States_strikes_in_Venezuela

    and be prepared to be dismayed. In Western Europe virtually all the responses
    have been feeble. Only Norway is now concentrating on the illegality of
    the US action. Denmark's initial reaction was OK, but they've toned it down. >> Likewise Frannce: Macron made a good statement at the beginning, but has
    moved towards kissing Trump's arse. Starmer was wishy-washy from the outset; >> Merz likewise. Hungary doesn't seem to have said anything: probably Orb|in needs
    to decide which arse is more important, Trump's or Putin's.

    One good piece of news. Mr Orb|in is still alive and has made a statement:

    "Prime Minister Viktor Orb|in stated that no Hungarian citizen was harmed in Venezuela, and that the Hungarian government was working to protect Hungarians
    in the region."

    Well, that's a relief. I'm sure we were all worried about the effect of the illegal action on Hungarian inhabitants of Venezuela.

    He hasn't revealed whether he thinks the action was a good idea, or whether he
    agrees with Vladimir Putin.

    He seems to believe in the dictum that "All politics is local" (except
    when it isn't).
    --
    Sam Plusnet
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2