Dear All, I have just sent this letter to the editor of the Christian Science Monitor.
** I have just been reading your strange 'Commentary: The Monitor's View' from the 2007 April 19 edition of the Christian Science Monitor, 'US and Europe: syncing up standards'. I say strange because you fail to mention the most fundamental standard of all the standard of measurement used everywhere in the world the metric system. You use the example of a Volkswagen from Germany that has used only metric parts since its inception by Ferdinand Porsche in 1930. Porsche designed the VW to have only three different bolt sizes in the whole car he standardised them and now all cars in the world (even in the USA) use metric bolts. You statement, 'Products such as cars have different standards in the US and Europe.' is true only because the USA has consistently failed to agree to openly use world standard metric measurements. Finally, I agree with you when you say, 'These amount to trade barriers that should fall.' But I disagree with your implied hope that the Europeans should make this change in this case it is the USA that needs to change to the metric system. Pat Naughtin can be contacted through his web page: http://mertricationmatters.com/ ** Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305, Belmont, 3216 Geelong, Australia Phone 61 3 5241 2008 Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online monthly newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. Subscribe at http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter Pat is recognised as a Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist (LCAMS) with the United States Metric Association. He is also editor of the 'Numbers and measurement' section of the Australian Government Publishing Service 'Style manual for writers, editors and printers'. He is a Member of the National Speakers Association of Australia and the International Federation for Professional Speakers. See: http://www.metricationmatters.com This email and its attachments are for the sole use of the addressee and may contain information that is confidential and/or legally privileged. This email and its attachments are subject to copyright and should not be partly or wholly reproduced without the consent of the copyright owner. Any unauthorised use of disclosure of this email or its attachments is prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please immediately delete it from your system and notify the sender by return email.
