R.I.P Maggie T

[ayjay]

It seems there is going to be a lot of cash spent on her funeral.

Maybe it should be privatised, put it out to tender and take the cheapest bid - she could hardly complain even if she hadn't already croaked.

[Dave H]

All,

 

Just my personal views, I'm not British and have no recollection of her domestic policies.

 

She had a pretty clear vision of the US. She had a blunt way of expressing tart advice to successive US Presidents.

 

She very much "fit" the mould of George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan. The three thought very much alike. (right person; right time; right place)

 

She did a great deal to shore up the image of Britain and the special US - British relationship.

 

She was insturmental in the Reagan - Gorbachev years.

 

Rightly or wrongly, she was true to a course of telling the world she didn't want a welfare state and wanted a more "competitave" society. (The US, at the time, liked that rhetoric.)

 

My personal views were she was gracious, sincere and really not so "iron like".

 

I liked her very much, I'm saddened, she will be remembered as a genuine partner. (ohh, I am very liberal).

 

Phone

 

 

In America I respect Obama as being the first black president. The only thing we hear about is the terrible gun shootings in America and that’s it. However again as being ex military I have been side by side American soldiers and they are respected and respect is given back.

So I see those two things about Obama and both are things he is trying to tackle and I see that as commendable.

But I don’t know about your home politics only an American really knows that like your reforms or bills although I have many American friends and get to hear about it from time to time so maybe he is not so good after all but we can only judge the cover not the book in Britain.

Every head of state is admired by some and not others but she really changed things for the good or bad. At 18 I tried to get a job, I tried my hardest and all the time I was bombarded by ‘You can get a job. Get on your cycle and find one’...There were none! If you had money you got richer in general if you didn’t you were insulted as being lazy as you couldn’t get one. She took jobs away from the poor and then told them to get of their arse and find one. Pittsburgh is in the main a Steel community in America as in Detroit is in cars. Imagine Obama in one swoop shutting down every steel works in Pittsburgh and then say ‘Now get on your bikes and find jobs’. She stuck the knife into these communities over here such as in the welsh valleys and then twisted it! She curbed the unions which had to be done and she has many people’s respect for that including mine but once she had she could have stopped there and slowly tried to reduce output but went straight in like a hot knife through butter and said..I have destroyed your union and now I will destroy you all in one foul swoop. We are not talking a miner here but wives and young children with nothing left to eat and it really was like that for some. A union rep was to partly blame but that’s another story

She has my respect in foreign policies and put Britain on the map but at home she was cruel to many citizens in a very callous and brutal manor. She was even cruel and rude to the members of her own cabinet.

Today we have a similar govt. They say ‘go out and get a job’...there are no bloody jobs or if there are polish and eastern block immigrants have them! We see one person abusing benefits so now anyone on benefits is scrutinised like a Jew in 1930’s Germany.

I have a solution. Those on benefits of any kind have to by law wear a band that says ‘benefit fraud’ around their arm or leg if they have no arms or maybe an ex soldier back from Afghanistan with no legs perhaps..

I know of an ex military man who served in the Balkans war. He came home with an arm blown off so now he has a false one but he is mentally scarred because he saw children’s brains blown out and women’s faces scarred with knives. Every 6 months he gets forms through saying why is he not working and has to get psychiatrist reports etc every year for the last 15 years. When he goes up the shop which is rare he gets out he is sneered at because they see a 15 year long security scrounger. Only last week he rang me and said he got deliberately bumped into as on the TV a day earlier these people without a doubt had seen a murderer who was also a benefit cheat and he was treated as being one. I went up the shop and the rest is for me to know.

Now they leave him alone as they understand why and get his papers delivered by the same lot that pushed him over a week ago. That’s what I mean about politicians and PM’s who are totally out of touch with the people. They are ALL like it but Thatcher really was out of touch and in the end I am positive she thought she was the Monarch, the Queen.

If there was one heading to a film that reminds me of her it’s ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly!

So there you go just a short one but i saw many suffer in the 80’s and very few gain and now she gets a head of states funeral and a military one....LOL

Edited April 10, 2013 by Dave H

[barry luxton]

plenty of work out there, always has been. not enough hours in the working week, always has been.

 

Most of my relatives come from south wales including my mother. My bro is still living there in the most deprived area and is in full time employment. Most of my relatives worked in the pits. Most finished work with the inevitable lung problems. Some of those even helped digging the kids out from the slag heap collapse. all I remember about aberfan was the blackness of everything including the taff. Along with sheep cr@p everywhere. It's good that the pits have gone. past their sell by date, we move on. btw.

 

Harold Wilson closed down more pits than Maggie. Scargill has a lot to answer for bringing in a dispute without a vote or a mandate. Maggie was elected three number times, she had a mandate from the people.

 

blimey been in for half an hour after another 12 hours graft, soon have to do it all over again. roll on Friday

Edited April 10, 2013 by barry luxton

[Dave H]

Scargill does have much to blame i agree and it was not until years later they the miners realised it. If you think there are jobs here in kent you are welcome to try. The minimum wage jobs are taken up by the eastern block countries. £6 an hour is heaven for them but for us paying huge prices on rent or morgage it's peanuts and not enough to live on. What's more to the point is employers prefer the poles etc because they can get away with any conditions they like.

 

People in the North and Wales still think that the south east is paved with gold. They in most cases couldnot be more wrong. if you are poor in the South East you are better being poor anywhereelse in the country as the cost of living in the South east is huge

[barry luxton]

If you think there are jobs here in kent you are welcome to try.

 

What's more to the point is employers prefer the poles etc because they can get away with any conditions they like.

 

People in the North and Wales still think that the south east is paved with gold.

worked in kent, London all me life, loads of work even during the last recessions.

 

Don't complain too much about the poles. The only person who had balls to stand up to the rubbish e u legislation was Maggie and her hand bags. No one else and it continues with our past admin and the current one.

 

Me bro moved from kent back down to wales as he realised he can do better down there. Now he is there, he cannot find a way back unless it's the lottery. London is where the money is, but the local authorities want their pound of flesh. Cameras everywhere earning them money.

[Ken L]

I despised the woman at the time and whilst I can respect some of her achievements in retrospect, that don't mean I have to say nice things about her now that she's dead.
I confess that I'm impressed with AN though for keeping this thread going for so long without anyone going off on one and getting it locked.

[gozzer]

I confess that I'm impressed with AN though for keeping this thread going for so long without anyone going off on one and getting it locked.

 

You should look in on the MD thread Ken, there's a fair bit of vitriol on there. Not been locked properly, but locked for the night so that the mods could get some rest.

 

That's what I like about AN, we're all one big happy family. ......most of the time.

 

John.

[Steve Walker]

Well, if she can't be discussed civilly by a bunch of Maggot Hatchers, where can she?

 

(Don't deny it, you've all opened the bait tub from hell)

[Dave H]

Do you think she deserves the statue to the house of commons. I look at the others who have achieved something like the NHS but what did she achieve to get the Statue.

 

one reason this thread has been kept peaceful is there is knowbody really fighting maggies corner. I am quite surprised at that. Some are completely apposed to the woman some meet half way but not a really true supporter?

[gozzer]

Well, if she can't be discussed civilly by a bunch of Maggot Hatchers, where can she?

 

(Don't deny it, you've all opened the bait tub from hell)

In a bad way, that must be one of the best puns, I've heard in a long time Steve........now get your coat.

 

John.