My reply to the comment below is this: My family history says that my grandfather owned a farm in southern Manitoba. Does this change history in the least if I say that he owned a "64-hectare farm" rather than a "160-acre farm"? In my situation the use of hectares _preserves_ history since I know how large a hectare is and I do not know what an acre is. One could also apply this argument to the great ancient structures of the world, such as the Egyptian pyramids. Very few know, or care (with the exception of egyptologists and historical metrologists), how many cubits high and wide these structures are, but we routinely express the size in feet and metres, two units, as currently defined, that were never used in ancient Egypt. The history is still there, the mathematical expression of dimension is different. greg Saskatoon SK Canada >>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 2001-03-23 04:56:12 >>> To the BWMA the abolition of lb/oz is the same thing as the iconoclasm by the Afghan Taliban. Han PRESS RELEASE 18.3.01 IMPERIAL FINALE, OR THE ABOLITION OF HISTORY BWMA's condemnation of the Commons' debate on the complete end to imperial measures. Taliban are condemned for destroying their history, dynamiting ancient statues. Our government, at the bidding of the European Commission, is just as guilty. On March 14th parliament had the chance to debate the final and total annihilation of the last vestiges of our popular, traditional and customary system of measures. The Weights and Measures (Metrication Amendments) Regulations 2001 (S.I., 2001, No. 85), make it a criminal offence to even mention imperial measurements in trade, public health, public safety and administrative purposes, after the year 2009. No other helpful information may be given to the shopper, patient, or public servant, except metric quantities. The consequences of a society criminalised for using imperial weights and measures must extend beyond market stalls, retail outlets and the market place in general. Educationally and culturally, society is intended to convert to metric so that a national amnesia about traditional measurements is being induced. This will make an outcast of our historical archives that largely consists of references to imperial measures. A researching public, ranging from academics to householders consulting records including title deeds, charters, maps and house plans will be confronted increasingly by information that has become illegal and of which they will have little or no knowledge or awareness. The government refused to make an application to the European Commission for permission to extend indefinitely our right to use our customary imperial system. In the Commons debate the Minister for Trade Dr Howells jeered at the Opposition, accusing them of objecting only because they are frightened of losing seats. The government is dead set to criminalise the 93% of people who prefer imperial measures for every day use. The vote in the Commons to annul this most unpopular regulation was deferred till Wednesday 21 March, after a similar motion to be heard in the Lords on Tuesday.
