11-03-2003 21:05									#1
	British Vocabulary Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I hope the thread title adds a veneer of respectability to this otherwise worthless thread. Anyway...

quote: Originally posted by The Stinger I'm a low to very low grade functionary in a Quango( which is basicaly a government body not directly run by a minister).

The quote is from Lancer's tragically closed resignation thread. So, a quango is a real thing? Can someone explain it more thoroughly? I always just thought it was some nonsense word that Blur made up...

Oh, you should probably discuss other aspects of British vocabulary as well...

	11-03-2003 21:07									#2
	Tired of ads?

Its an agency or organisation that is financed by the government but acts independently of it.

Quasi-non-governmental => Quango.

	11-03-2003 21:10									#3
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

[Please move right along to the next post. Thank you.]

Last edited by Zkribbler on 11-03-2003 at 21:17

	11-03-2003 21:10									#4
	Remove this text

Do you know of any American equivalents? I'm drawing a blank...

	11-03-2003 21:16									#5
	Suffering from ads?

quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten Do you know of any American equivalents? I'm drawing a blank...

The U.S. Postal "Service" and the University of California are both "public corporations," i.e. wholly owned corporate subsidiaries of the government. That sounds stupid, I know, but it's the government for Pete's sake--it's supposed to act stupid.

	11-03-2003 21:18									#6
	Suffering from ads?

At least Drake has a good taste in music.

* FrustratedPoet waits for Pattycakes to turn up and say that Blur are ****.

	11-03-2003 21:22									#7
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

I would like to know who exactly came up with Quango.

It seems to me that the British are always coming up with nonsense words to further confuse American English speakers.

	11-03-2003 21:23									#8
	Increase Your PM Length

quote: At least Drake has a good taste in music.

I'm glad someone finally appreciates it. You wouldn't believe how much crap I took in high school for listening to Blur...

	11-03-2003 21:25									#9
	Increase the size of your Attachments

quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten You wouldn't believe how much crap I took in high school for listening to Blur...

At high school in England during that time you took a load of crap if you DIDN'T listen to Blur.

	11-03-2003 21:26									#10
	Put an end to popups!

quote: At high school in England during that time you took a load of crap if you DIDN'T listen to Blur.

Britpop wasn't quite as popular here in Nebraska...

	11-03-2003 21:35									#11
	Support Apolyton

All Your Life, All We Want, Cowboy Song and Young and Lovely. Great songs that many non-Blur fans have never heard.

	11-03-2003 21:37									#12
	Suffering from ads?

All Your Life is my favorite Blur song ever...

Young and Lovely is excellent as well.

	11-03-2003 21:41									#13
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

I prefer All We Want. Beachcoma leads my Windows Player count (out of the Blur category) though.

	11-03-2003 21:44									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

All Your Life is the leader on my iTunes list.

I Love Her, Supa Shoppa, Swallows in the Heatwave, Tame and Ultranol are tied for second.

	11-03-2003 22:10									#15
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Is Blur more Oasis or Radiohead? All I've heard was that horrible "Song 2" dogpile.

	11-03-2003 22:13									#16
	Suffering from ads?

Probably closer to Oasis, but they aren't really similar to either band...

Of course, their new stuff is closer to Radiohead than Oasis, so I guess any attempt to categorize them is futile. You confused now?

	11-03-2003 23:55									#17
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten All Your Life is the leader on my iTunes list. I Love Her, Supa Shoppa, Swallows in the Heatwave, Tame and Ultranol are tied for second.

Tame and Swallows are good, the others are so-so.

Have you heard Out of Time? The new album, Think Tank, should be out in early May (at least for people who don't P2P).

	12-03-2003 01:54									#18
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation...

	12-03-2003 01:59									#19
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

quote: Originally posted by ThePantaloonDog I would like to know who exactly came up with Quango. It seems to me that the British are always coming up with nonsense words to further confuse American English speakers.

How do you thinks that affect the rest of us

	12-03-2003 04:55									#20
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

quote: Have you heard Out of Time? The new album, Think Tank, should be out in early May (at least for people who don't P2P).

I haven't heard Out of Time yet. I'll probably pick the new album up when it comes out in the States, even though I'm a bit leery about the band becoming the "Damon Albarn show" now that Graham is gone...

	12-03-2003 05:15									#21
	Suffering from ads?

For what it's worth: although I usually hate blur, I thought "Out Of Time" was okay, if a bit on the "Mr. Tambourine Man" side.

	12-03-2003 06:07									#22
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

Oh crap, Snapcase likes it. If paiktis likes it too I'll have to stop listening to their music.

	12-03-2003 06:27									#23
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

I didn't say I liked it. It was crap. Not bad for being blur, considering that their usual stuff is so insensitive, ironic, derivative, chirpy, witless, and self-conciously trend-following.

paiktis, otoh, loves blur. I think.

	12-03-2003 06:29									#24
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by Big Crunch Its an agency or organisation that is financed by the government but acts independently of it. Quasi-non-governmental => Quango.

We call them Crown Corporations here.

CBC, power companies, etc.

	12-03-2003 09:01									#25
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

So PBS would be a quango?

	12-03-2003 12:01									#26
	Support Apolyton

quango is almost as bad as CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting).

Chog-um.... sounds like a war threat

	12-03-2003 13:04									#27
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

A quango is any organisation which is set up by an act of parliament that has freedom form direct government control. It has its budget set by the government but other than that they are supposed to be independant. There is normaly a non executive board or council to overseas the running of it.

	12-03-2003 13:14									#28
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

In other words a State-Owned Enterprise(e.g. British Rail pre-privitisation)?

	12-03-2003 13:17									#29
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

I don't thinks so. State owned enterprises have the secretary of state as the largest(only) shareholder and therefore the government had more influence.

In reality the goverment has a lot of influence on most quangos its just not official

	12-03-2003 13:21									#30
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

quote: State owned enterprises have the secretary of state as the largest(only) shareholder and therefore the government had more influence.

Not necissarily. I'll take Air New Zealand as an example, as I know it.

Air NZ is a SOE. The NZ govt. owns ~ 80%. Qantas buy 25%, and get 2 board seats. The govt. has 5 and some other guy has the last.

So... the govt. has the majority, but Qantas gets the revenue, like any other enterprise. Yet, because the govt. has the larget share in Air NZ, it is still classified as an SOE.