Margaret Thatcher dies at 87

[BluegrassBlueVote]

My point was centered around ChairmanSanchez (assumedly) not being old enough to observe any of Thatcher's premiership firsthand as much as it was his nationality. I doubt any Brits from this generation cry when watching the clip of JFK's head exploding.

This is a silly thing to argue about either way, as they're another man's emotions, not mine. I just couldn't help but sense the embellishment.

Should liberals not admire FDR for his actions, even if they were born forty years after he died? Was JFK alive when any of the Brits from this generation were alive?

I was talking about you literally, physically shedding tears over this, not your admiration for her. There is a huge difference between the two. The woman lived a grand life and you've probably only read about her premiership without actually experiencing a single day of it.

If anything, I would think this could serve as a celebration of her legacy and policies for her supporters.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I don't get why some people here are saying she was pro-apartheid.  Yes, she thought sanctions against South Africa would not have the desired effect or even be counter-productive, but that is not the same as being pro-apartheid.  I wonder if any the people demonizing her on that point are intellectually honest enough to be pro-sanctions on Cuba.  After all, if sanctioning repressive regimes is the only good thing to do, Cuba should be subject to heavy sanctions.

[patrick1]

[Brittain33]

I don't get why some people here are saying she was pro-apartheid.  Yes, she thought sanctions against South Africa would not have the desired effect or even be counter-productive, but that is not the same as being pro-apartheid.  I wonder if any the people demonizing her on that point are intellectually honest enough to be pro-sanctions on Cuba.  After all, if sanctioning repressive regimes is the only good thing to do, Cuba should be subject to heavy sanctions.

Calling Mandela a terrorist implies she wasn't completely on board with the anti-apartheid agenda and was only concerned about efficacy.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

She stood for liberty at a time when Britain didn't want it. She stood for western progress when her opposition pushed for Marxism.

What a load of mindblowingly absurd bollocks.

[Supersonic]

She stood for liberty at a time when Britain didn't want it. She stood for western progress when her opposition pushed for Marxism.

What a load of mindblowingly absurd bollocks.

Enlightening.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What are you, twelve? Moronic opinions that are factually wrong to the point of absurdity do not deserve to be treated with anything other than abuse.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

What are you, twelve? Moronic opinions that are factually wrong to the point of absurdity do not deserve to be treated with anything other than abuse.

Once again Al, you are 100% correct. This is the precise reason your original post and title have not changed since the start of the thread .

[Velasco]

She stood for liberty at a time when Britain didn't want it. She stood for western progress when her opposition pushed for Marxism.

What a load of mindblowingly absurd bollocks.

Enlightening.

Her tea parties with Pinochet were enlightening as well. All that I can say is that the woman was selective with her freedom causes. Rest in peace anyway.

[Supersonic]

What are you, twelve? Moronic opinions that are factually wrong to the point of absurdity do not deserve to be treated with anything other than abuse.

[RogueBeaver]

According to this, she was aware of the stroke when it happened, but it was over very quickly even before the doctor could arrive.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/margaret-thatcher-realised-she-was-having-a-stroke-but-doctor-was-too-late/story-fnb64oi6-1226617174706

[RogueBeaver]

Harper and Mulroney will lead the Canadian delegation at the funeral.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mulroney-to-join-harper-for-thatcher-funeral/article10966482/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[dead0man]

The double standard by the Right re: Chavez and Thatcher is utterly ridiculous.

On Chavez: "Good riddance to the evil Commie dictator!"
On Thatcher: "Please have class and respect the dead!"

F-ck that.

Agreed 100%

(except I think you have the details backwards....there were only a couple of poeple bashing on Chavez and the thread was only 7 pages long.  You had to get to the third page to find the second person hating on him.  I'm pretty sure there were more people bitching about "respect for the dead" than there were people bashing the dead....not quite the same in this thread is it?  But yes, double standards suck...they're just harder to see when you and your friends are doing it.)

[Paleobrazilian]

The double standard by the Right re: Chavez and Thatcher is utterly ridiculous.

On Chavez: "Good riddance to the evil Commie dictator!"
On Thatcher: "Please have class and respect the dead!"

F-ck that.

Agreed 100%

(except I think you have the details backwards....there were only a couple of poeple bashing on Chavez and the thread was only 7 pages long.  You had to get to the third page to find the second person hating on him.  I'm pretty sure there were more people bitching about "respect for the dead" than there were people bashing the dead....not quite the same in this thread is it?  But yes, double standards suck...they're just harder to see when you and your friends are doing it.)

There are more people on the left than on the right here, simple.

[Iannis]

I don't get why some people here are saying she was pro-apartheid.  Yes, she thought sanctions against South Africa would not have the desired effect or even be counter-productive, but that is not the same as being pro-apartheid.  I wonder if any the people demonizing her on that point are intellectually honest enough to be pro-sanctions on Cuba.  After all, if sanctioning repressive regimes is the only good thing to do, Cuba should be subject to heavy sanctions.

Calling Mandela a terrorist implies she wasn't completely on board with the anti-apartheid agenda and was only concerned about efficacy.

It's simply because Mandela didn't renounce to armed struggle till the late 80s.

[Middle-aged Europe]

I don't get why some people here are saying she was pro-apartheid.  Yes, she thought sanctions against South Africa would not have the desired effect or even be counter-productive, but that is not the same as being pro-apartheid.  I wonder if any the people demonizing her on that point are intellectually honest enough to be pro-sanctions on Cuba.  After all, if sanctioning repressive regimes is the only good thing to do, Cuba should be subject to heavy sanctions.

Calling Mandela a terrorist implies she wasn't completely on board with the anti-apartheid agenda and was only concerned about efficacy.

It's simply because Mandela didn't renounce to armed struggle till the late 80s.

Why should he?

[afleitch]

Tributes now in the Commons.

[You kip if you want to...]

Seen a few tweets by Labour MPs saying they're not going in respect to their constituents. The obvious kinds of constituencies.

Many saying Cameron's hijacking her death for political gain in calling members back to the house.


Also, honest question, but did Harold Wilson do anything similar when Clement Attlee died? The 45-51 Labour government, after all, was as objectively groundbreaking as the 79-97 Tory government was.

[Supersonic]

Tributes now in the Commons.

Fantastic speeches by Cameron and Miliband, I have to say! Clegg seemed rather bitter and divisive. Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Conor Burns were also very good.

Also, honest question, but did Harold Wilson do anything similar when Clement Attlee died? The 45-51 Labour government, after all, was as objectively groundbreaking as the 79-97 Tory government was.

I would like to know the answer to this too. I don't think I've ever heard anything about Clement Attlee's funeral.

[You kip if you want to...]

Tributes now in the Commons.

Fantastic speeches by Cameron and Miliband, I have to say! Clegg seemed rather bitter and divisive. Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Conor Burns were also very good.

"Bitter and divisive" seems to be Clegg's natural tone on everything these days and that's why even people on his own side have stopped listening to him. Cameron's nowhere near as grating.

[Brittain33]

I don't get why some people here are saying she was pro-apartheid.  Yes, she thought sanctions against South Africa would not have the desired effect or even be counter-productive, but that is not the same as being pro-apartheid.  I wonder if any the people demonizing her on that point are intellectually honest enough to be pro-sanctions on Cuba.  After all, if sanctioning repressive regimes is the only good thing to do, Cuba should be subject to heavy sanctions.

Calling Mandela a terrorist implies she wasn't completely on board with the anti-apartheid agenda and was only concerned about efficacy.

It's simply because Mandela didn't renounce to armed struggle till the late 80s.

If you can find a record of Thatcher calling the mujahadeen (?) or Sandinistas "terrorists" because they were engaged in armed struggle in the 1980s, I will have door prizes for you.

Thatcher considered the fight against Communism a fight for freedom, but the fight against apartheid was judged very differently. History doesn't look kindly on the latter judgment, and at the time, it's not as if people didn't know how terrible apartheid was for the large majority of South Africa's people. I'm not saying this alone makes her a HP but it puts this particular part of her biography in perspective.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Appearently, we'll now have Margaret Thatcher Circle in Warsaw.

God, how I hate this f**king country.

[Supersonic]

Appearently, we'll now have Margaret Thatcher Circle in Warsaw.

God, how I hate this f**king country.

FC. Freedom Country.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Appearently, we'll now have Margaret Thatcher Circle in Warsaw.

God, how I hate this f**king country.

See, I can agree that is a bit unnecessary and somewhat of very much a knee jerk reaction to a death.

[LastVoter]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jun/16/northernireland.catholicism