2002-05-07 I just read in this mornings paper that Holland's version of LePen (Fortuyn) was in fact assassinated yesterday while leaving the scene of a radio interview.
John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, 2002-05-06 18:53 Subject: [USMA:19957] Some of you might find this interesting > (USMA 19946). > > "Despite all this, the government recently promulgated a Regulation which > will make it a crime even to mention pounds and ounces in British shops > after 31 December 2009" > > What balderdash! Never has anybody been prosecuted for *mentioning* illegal > units in a shop and it will never happen! > > "But apart from those two exceptions, all British road and pedestrian signs, > even those on private land to which the public have access, must be in > British units only - under the Road Traffic Regulations 1994." > > They talk about 'illegal' metric signs. In the first place, why does a > country that has signed the Metric Convention and is a member of the BIPM > outlaw metric units for any purpose? Such a country may not be acting > against the letter of the Convention, but surely it acts against the spirit > of this treaty. > And why don't such people campaign for the withdrawal from the Convention > and the BIPM? > The BWMA does not even care about this issue! > If I were British or American and was against the metric system and I knew > that my country was a member of the BIPM I would campaign for withdrawal! > > If these Road Traffic Regulations 1994 really ban the use of metric signs on > private land to which the public has access, then expect sooner or later the > first prosecution of a private person who dares to put up a sign saying that > his or her B&B etc, is 500 m up that small road! > > At present the BWMA, UKIP, etc. are forcing authorities to remove metric > signs. Their next step might well be forcing the authorities and the legal > system to prosecute private people who have put up metric signs. In that > case, they will be shown as the hypocrites they are. > > I have seen several private metric signs in Britain; all these persons may > find themselves in front of a magistrate one day. And of course, these > shining knights of human rights, freedom of speech etc. will either be > deafeningly silent or scream out in delight when a citizen, as distinct from > a trader, is fined 3000 pounds or jailed for 6 months for putting up a > metric sign. Never has any private person in a metric country (democracies > and dictatorships) been prosecuted for using illegal units. > > Han > Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen, The Netherlands >
