I just read a blatant example of how the British media, even the better ones, boycott and sabotage metrication. I read in the European (!!!!!!) edition of The Guardian about the British athlete Paula Radcliffe, wo gave up in the marathon last Sunday because of the heat.
In the first place, the covering was a horrific mix of ifp and metric. I read things like '20 yards before the 36 km mark; '770 feet above sea level' in a country that measures that in metres. . Although Greece uses the Celsius scale, The Guardian thinks otherwise: the temperature in Athens topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (in fact it was about 35 degrees).
I read nothing about the American athlete with his foot-inch tape.
Alas, when it comes to the issue of measurement, The Guardian is no better than The Sun, The Daily Mail and all other right-wing tabloids. And through its 'International' edition The Guardian regales its non-British readers with ifp trash in almost all coverings. The Guardian really does the BWMA proud; I would propose that it gets the BWMA's Inch Perfect Award.
Han
