[USMA:32674] Re: Brussels e-mail calls Metric Martyrs 'Luddites'

[Philip S Hall]

I'd be a bit cautious about this article. It says this:   "Neil Herron, the former fishmonger who heads the Metric Martyrs Defence Fund, said the e-mail was particularly offensive because it was sent to him on the anniversary of the death of Steve Thoburn, the greengrocer who was imprisoned in 2001 for selling bananas in pounds and ounces"   Steve Thoburn was convicted and fined mainly for using an illegal weighing machine. There was no jail sentence nor could there be since the maximum penalty is a fine of �5000. As for the rest we only have Neil Herron's word for it.   ----- Original Message ----- From: Kent K. Steinbrenner To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:30 AM Subject: [USMA:32673] Brussels e-mail calls Metric Martyrs 'Luddites' Interesting article in The Independent on Wednesday, about a Eurocrat in Brussels who sent an offensively-worded e-mail to one of the �Metric Martyrs.�  Although I�d be one of the first people to defend the increasing use of SI in the U.K., or the U.S., or anywhere else for that matter, I don�t think it helps �the cause� to fire off a nastygram to someone on the other side. Whatever happened to reasoned discourse? Saying �you luddites in england make me sick� [sic] doesn�t exactly win points in my book, even though I�m an SI supporter.   I won�t post the text of the article here because the British press never shies away from printing four-letter words�one of which was in the offending e-mail�and I think that may not be kosher on this listserv, even if one is quoting something. [It�s one of Tony Soprano�s favorite words�hint, hint. <grin>] But here�s the URL:   http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/story.jsp?story=628904   �Kent