I'm aware of that one isolated incident where they chose to defend a
publican against the Trading Standards Dept for whom they demonstrate so
much contempt. I submit it was nothing more that a publicity stunt to
justify all their huff and puff about traders being free to trade in a
units of their choosing. Quite easy to do as it was no threat to the
exclusive retension of the pint elsewhere in the vast majority of pubs.
Would you not say that they risk getting the pint banned by carrying out
such activities?
Hardly. There is a lot of sentiment over the pub pint. It would be a brave
government to ban it. Why do you think they secured an indefinite opt-out
with the EU?
Perhaps you could explain how it benefits politicians, especially as they
have been trying to disown it for the past 30 years.
Who asked for it in the first place?
Certainly not "the people".
Give me an example where a unit of measurement that was asked for in the
first place by "the people".
I don't respect their right to campaign on the basis of misinformation.
They are not selling misinformation - this is your point of view.
They misinform whenever they argue and actively pursade people that (for
example):
- a trader was convicted of selling a pound of bananas
- non-compulsion is a realistic option for a society to change its offcial
system of measurement
- parking fines are illegal when issued without the offender being taken to
court
I could go on, but my point is that there elements of the BWMA campaign that
are less than honest and that they form the central plank by which they gain
sympathy for their cause and appeal to populist politicians.
If they were mis-informing I would not have joined. It was because of
misinformation that I joined them in the first place.
Then perhaps you could give examples of the misinformation that motivated
you to join them.
It isn't just a matter of "my particular point of view". I justified my
remark on the basis of self evident truths which you haven't countered.
The truth can be sculpted to one view or another - we know that with
debates about the EU, the Iraq war etc etc. Without these 'truths' being
shaped in such a way we would have no need for democracy because there
would be only one point of view. And we'd all be told to accept this.
This can be achieved in two forms - utopia or authoritarianist
dictatorship.
Vague and irrelevent generalities.
Can I be candid?
Would you like to see the BWMA banned?
I thought we were being candid. No I am not asking for BWMA to be banned
that would only play into their hands. But I do wish the government would
stand up to this propoganda and at least set the record straight over this
whole sorry issue.
Phil Hall
