Margaret Thatcher dies

[John Wright]

It truly shocks me that, 30 years later, there are people willing to suggest that she was a great politician or even our greatest Prime minister since the equally ridiculous Winston Churchill.

Ian, you clearly have not studied history and events closely enough, she saved the country from Scargill's tyranny

And Gerry Adams had to develop into a statesman because the murderous actions of him and his accomplices failed to break the resolve of the innocents.

[Flosshilde]

This forum has way too many nasty, mean-spirited lefties.

Are you suggesting there should be a quota?

[Bryn]

Ian, you clearly have not studied history and events closely enough, she saved the country from Scargill's tyranny

And Gerry Adams had to develop into a statesman because the murderous actions of him and his accomplices failed to break the resolve of the innocents.

Can you truly be that clueless?

[Flosshilde]

I grew up in the Thatcher era ....

Bullseye!

[Beef Oven]

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.
Margaret Thatcher

Just a few worthwhile personal attributes clearly lacking from the majority of posters in this thread. Rarely have I seen such hate-filled bile coming from those who purport to 'care'. This forum has way too many nasty, mean-spirited lefties. Hypocrites the lot of you.

Well said

[Flosshilde]

Well said

Bullsh*t

[Beef Oven]

Bullsh*t

How nice.

Think that proves the point that's being made.

[anotherbob]

the equally ridiculous Winston Churchill.

You were doing so well up to here

[Ian Thumwood]

Ian, you clearly have not studied history and events closely enough, she saved the country from Scargill's tyranny

And Gerry Adams had to develop into a statesman because the murderous actions of him and his accomplices failed to break the resolve of the innocents.

John

I'm not convinced that Scargill' strike was tyranny although I think it would be interesting to see how such a strike would play in these more environmentally-friendly times. I think Scargill only stood by his guns as he had no support from the Labour Party who knew that they press would slaughter them if they aligned themselves with the strikers. Scargill now sounds quite sensible although his recent dispute with his union regarding one of his residences made me respect him an awful lot less.

I think the situation with Gerry Adams is interesting. I read a book by Lord Ashcroft about three years ago which outlined the extent of British military operations in NI and suggested that the IRA was so infiltrated by informers and British intelligence was so comprhensive that they were unable to function without MI5's knowledge. For me, there were no winners but as soon as everyone put away the guns it was staggering how the situation improved. I think MT certainly prolonged the problems in the province and the procedures started by John Major and seen through to their conclusion under Tony Balir were far more successful.

It was also interesting to read of MT's misjudgment in the recent Hillsborough enquiry. I feel that this is another issue where her intransegence protracted the agony. Granted some of the hysteria is over-the-top and probably the product of many of the people contributing to this thread having over-dosed on their Morrisey records , I think that if you try to offer a balanced view, it is difficult to consider Margaret Thatcher to have been a success. Some of the posts on this thread read as if the contributors haven't grown up since the 1980's. However, I fail to see how her tenure can be considered a success by any measure. She was a sympton of the times as opposed to someone who radically changed them. It's easy to have a knee-jerk reaction to her policies yet the list of disasters such as Westland, The Poll Tax, the excessive unemployment etc, etc, that befell her govt's show that she was ultimately a failure. She appealed to the bad parts of the British physche and having just been involved in a long conversation before I left work regarding what she did for Britain, I would suggest she is a cypher for those who believe in the Protestant Work Ethic whose actually legacy is considerably less than what her ideas stand for.

[Ian Thumwood]

You were doing so well up to here

Bob

Great wartime leader but rubbish in peacetime. His pre-war record was dreadul (Taff Valley Railway, Dardenelles, etc, etc.)

[Julien Sorel]

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.
Margaret Thatcher

Just a few worthwhile personal attributes clearly lacking from the majority of posters in this thread. Rarely have I seen such hate-filled bile coming from those who purport to 'care'. This forum has way too many nasty, mean-spirited lefties. Hypocrites the lot of you.

"Rarely have I seen such hate-filled bile coming from those who purport to 'care'. This forum has way too many nasty, mean-spirited lefties." Does that mean you purport not to 'care'?

Hypocrisy: take a butchers (as it were) at this http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999...pinochet.chile

Though it's from the dreaded The Guardian it's a direct transcript of a speech Margaret Thatcher gave at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool in 1999.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/world/americas/11pinochet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The commission’s report cited victims by name and described the ghastly circumstances of their deaths by firing squads, beatings, mutilations, drownings and electrocutions. In all, the report attributed at least 3,200 killings and disappearances to the Pinochet security forces.

General Pinochet scoffed at his human rights critics. Asked about the discovery of a mass grave of his government’s victims, he was quoted in the Chilean press as joking that it was an “efficient” way of burial.

http://www.remember-chile.org.uk/beginners/index.htm#crimes

If anybody didn't care - if anybody lacked compunction - it was Margaret Thatcher.

http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105867

http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/118780

http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106020

http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/suharto.html

[scottycelt]

Who is this Johann Hari who the quote links to ... ???

Well you can Google like the rest of us, french frank!

Of course, Arthur and his old Communist Comrades eventually fell out ...

http://www.cpgb-ml.org/index.php?secName=proletarian&subName=display&art=16

[Byas'd Opinion]

Margaret Thatcher - the hard line Unionist who did more to kick start the current wave of Scottish nationalism than any other individual.

Trying to be as objective as possible about her career, I suspect that the 80s would have seen a transition from an economy based on industry to one based on services irrespective of who was in government. It was the - to be polite about it - callous indifference she and her party showed to those adversely affected by those changes - the "moaning minnies" - that puts her completely beyond the pale.

And I don't think anyone's mentioned it yet, but she really did say "There is no such thing as society." http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106689

[Bryn]

Well you can Google like the rest of us, french frank!

...

You needed to Google Hari?! I doubt Frenchie had need of such recourse. You clearly lead a very sheltered, not to say ostrich-like, existence. You're not a High Court Judge by any chance, are you?

[Flosshilde]

Say what you like about her, but she was brilliant in 'Spitting Image'.