Thatcher to get State funeral

[Eric]

Originally Posted by polly

You have missed the point totally.
One section cannot be in the lead if the sum total of other sections is higher than the first stated. Simple, elementary statistics
To analyse data one must look beyond the obvious

The obvious is what you are missing .... if one section has 7 and and another has 6 the one with 7 is ahead by one .... if my arithmetic is up to subtracting six from seven ... what the third option has is irrelevant, as long as it is less than seven ... statistics has nothing to do with it .... as we all know, most people use stats in the same way a drunk uses a lamp post, more for support than illumination

[Neil]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Of course the Belgrano was under orders to attack otherwise there was no point in the ship being at sea. That’s what warships do. But at the time she was torpedoed there is no doubt that she was steaming away from conflict.

From the link from you posted

Officials and ministers have always insisted that, far from heading home, the Belgrano was sailing west to a point outside the exclusion zone from which it was to attack.

Earlier this year the ship's captain, Hector Bonzo, admitted that the Belgrano's decision to sail away from the Task Force on the morning of 2 May was only a temporary manoeuvre.


"Our mission ... wasn't just to cruise around on patrol but to attack," Captain Bonzo said in a television interview in May. "When they gave us the authorisation to use our weapons, if necessary, we had to be prepared to attack. Our people were completely trained. I would say we were anxious to pull the trigger."
In 1994 the Argentine government dropped its claim that the sinking of the Belgrano was a war crime, its defence ministry conceding that it was "a legal act of war".

[cashman]

the point being the ship was outside the exclusion zone sailing away, on yer basis neil, it would have been just fine fer the krauts to sink our ships,bringing our lads back from the "Normandy Beaches"? after all its war. everyone knows bad crap happens in war, don't make it right though.

[mani]

The Belgrano was sunk outside the 200-nautical-mile (370 km) total exclusion zone around the Falklands. However, exclusion zones are historically declared for the benefit of neutral vessels; during war, under international law, the heading and location of a belligerent naval vessel has no bearing on its status. In addition, the captain of the Belgrano, Hector Bonzo, has testified that the attack was legitimate[7] (as did the Argentine government in 1994

Though the ship was heading away from the Falkland Islands, it had been moving towards the task force all the previous day, and had only turned around because an air attack on the task force was cancelled due to lack of wind to launch planes from the aircraft carrier operating to the north of the Falklands. Belgrano had in fact been ordered back towards the coast to wait for more favourable conditions for an attack. Her captain, Hector Bonzo, said "We were heading towards the mainland but not going to the mainland; we were going to a position to await further orders".

"I think it could only be in Britain that a prime minister was accused of sinking an enemy ship that was a danger to our navy, when my main motive was to protect the boys in our navy".

In 1994 the Argentine government conceded that the sinking of the Belgrano was "a legal act of war".

[mani]

Though the ship was outside of the 200-mile (320 km) exclusion zone, both sides understood that this was no longer the limit of British action — on 23 April a message was passed via the Swiss Embassy in Buenos Aires to the Argentine government, it read:

In announcing the establishment of a Maritime Exclusion Zone around the Falkland Islands, Her Majesty's Government made it clear that this measure was without prejudice to the right of the United Kingdom to take whatever additional measures may be needed in the exercise of its right of self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. In this connection Her Majesty's Government now wishes to make clear that any approach on the part of Argentine warships, including submarines, naval auxiliaries or military aircraft, which could amount to a threat to interfere with the mission of British Forces in the South Atlantic will encounter the appropriate response. All Argentine aircraft, including civil aircraft engaged in surveillance of these British forces, will be regarded as hostile and are liable to be dealt with accordingly.

Interviews conducted by Martin Middlebrook for his book, The Fight For The Malvinas, indicated that Argentine Naval officers understood the intent of the message was to indicate that any ships operating near the exclusion zone could be attacked. Argentine Rear-Admiral Allara who was in charge of the task force that the Belgrano was part of said, "After that message of 23 April, the entire South Atlantic was an operational theatre for both sides. We, as professionals, said it was just too bad that we lost the Belgrano".

[shakermaker]

There are absolutely no grounds upon which Thatcher deserves a state funeral.
Even those who don't hate her guts can't argue against that.

However I say burn the witch. Alive if possible.

[Mancie]

Mani..stand on the door and tell that load to your customers ..

[cashman]

Originally Posted by shakermaker

There are absolutely no grounds upon which Thatcher deserves a state funeral.
Even those who don't hate her guts can't argue against that.

However I say burn the witch. Alive if possible.

see not all students are numbnuts.

[BERNADETTE]

Originally Posted by shakermaker

There are absolutely no grounds upon which Thatcher deserves a state funeral.
Even those who don't hate her guts can't argue against that.

However I say burn the witch. Alive if possible.

Very harsh words!!!

[cashman]

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

Very harsh words!!!

stop pickin on shaker, hes learning.

[BERNADETTE]

Originally Posted by cashman

stop pickin on shaker, hes learning.

Not very well IMO

[jaysay]

Lots of people forget that when Thatcher took over has Prime Minister in 1979 this country was near bankrupt, it wasn't me that called this country "The Sick Man of Europe" its was all the national press at the time. The IMF had told Silly Billy to go home and put his own house in order and wouldn't lend the counry another bean, the fact is the the the Labour Government from 1974/79 were a disaster, lurching from one crisis to another, much the same as todays lot. To me Thatcher deserves that state funeral just for turning his country round from being a laughing stock to a world power again.

[lancsdave]

I presume it's all been arranged so that Mark Thatcher doesn't get lost following the coffin

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

I presume it's all been arranged so that Mark Thatcher doesn't get lost following the coffin

Na dave, but they may have to let him out of an African Jail to attend

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by polly

I agree that she what she did was certainly not all for the good, but she didnt sit on her backsided, she did something and everything she did was done with conviction and, in her mind, for the greater good.
Her politics were motivated by pure conviction, not like so many oof todays politician who dont seem to have a belief in their whole body

Footnote: I have just thought of something Maggie did and for which I shall be eternally grateful to her - she abolished free school milk, such a relief to an 8 year old

Following your own convictions regardless of whether they are right or wrong is not an attribute that I can warm to. Blair did it and so is Brown now.

I appreciate that many kids do not like milk but equally many do. Milk, as so many mothers will tell you, is full of calcium that is essential to help build strong teeth and bones. I accept that there are other sources of calcium but those sources too were abhorrent to many kids. So by abolishing free school milk she was denying the kids a source of calcium that they may not have got at home.

Was it compulsory to drink milk at school?

It wasn’t during my time at school but then that was well before the Maggie era. Those of us who liked milk were glad of the extra that the “none milk likers” didn’t drink.