Many talks were held regarding leaseback to Argentina between 1978 and 1982. Who knows how far they would have gone without the invasion.

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Not far. The govenor told London the locals wouldn't want it.

It was also an aircraft carrier.

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Depends on how you define an aircraft carrier.

Personnaly I wouldn't be very concerned about an Aircraft Carrier that could only hold two Wasp Helicopters.

The Falklands war could and should have been avoided. Miscalculations were made on both sides. This war canonised Thatcher as a wartime leader and helped the Tories win the election.

I grew up in Thatcher's Britain. She has earned and help the create the spite and bile which is spat in her direction now she has gone. I chose not to celebrate, other than a quite drink with my family and at chuckle at the nauseating eulogies and revisionism.

I grew up in Thatcher's Britain.

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I grew up in Wilson, Heath and Callaghan's Britain. Believe me, they were far worse. Especially Callaghans.

I'm sure there's a rag'n'bone man somewhere who, for £20 would happily cart some scrap iron round london on the day of the funeral.

Where's she going to be buried?

I'd make a pilgrimage there just to relieve myself on the grave.

She should be buried at sea.

actually Harold Wilson was a good PM. His first term was very successful. It could be also be argued that he too 'saved the country' as he got the miners back to work after Ted Heaths shambolic GvT and ended the 3 day week which would have destroyd the UK in the end. Although it went downhill after that.

He won 4 elections (more than Maggie) but Major didnt give him the funeral Maggie is getting when he died.

I grew up in Wilson, Heath and Callaghan's Britain. Believe me, they were far worse. Especially Callaghans.

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So did I.

Your perception of Thatcher will to some extent be shaped on where you grew up. I'm from the North, where her policies caused the most hardship.

The fact that the taxpayer is footing the bill for this funeral makes me laugh. Thatcher herself would have disapproved. Although she would love the union jack waving sentimentality.

Although she would love the union jack waving
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ironically she was/is fundamental to why the Union flag might be lowered for the last time next year.

Anything can be compared to anything else. Thus a banana can be compared with a suspension bridge for example

As for Thatcher being compared to Pol Pot, Stalin and/or Hitler, this too is perfectly legitimate.

My only comment on those particular comparisons though is, that in Thatcher's case, she just wasn't allowed to go that far.

Maybe that is an advert for the UK's version of pluralism or even the idea of representational parliamentary governance. But then perhaps not. After all it was got her noticed in the first place

As for Thatcher being compared to Pol Pot, Stalin and/or Hitler, this too is perfectly legitimate.
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you are just been silly now.

maggie had to convince a democratic electorate to stay in power. They all had a firing squad to do that work for them

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Each to his own rev, i won't take the moral high ground and judge you though.

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My only comment on those particular comparisons though is, that in Thatcher's case, she just wasn't allowed to go that far.

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That really made me laugh. So the only reason that Margaret Thatcher didn't kill 6m people on the basis of their religious beliefs or kill a vast number of citizens in paranoid purges is she just wasn't allowed to?!

If only we'd known that in the 1940s we could have told Hitler and Stalin they were allowed to do that. Would have saved a lot of hassle!

Or maybe the Scooby Doo gang stopped Maggie - she'd have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids!

People talk about civil liberties being trodden on with people not being able to celebrate Thatcher's death but what about the civil liberties f those in mourning being able to say goodbye to a loved one without a bunch of yobs abusing.

Also we do not have freedom of speech in this country. We are not the United States.

It's not £10m for the funeral, the family are bearing the costs of the actual funeral, the extra money is spent on policing and security which is something the government/police are obliged to do (provide public safety) and given that people are likely to be highly emotional on the day it's probably a good idea to expect anything.

As for people celebrating or mourning, it's an individual choice, I lived through it and it wasn't the best of times but it was far better than the 70s and I know that the present is far better than either but it was thatchers policies that got us here.

asking about your right to civil liberties to mourn 'a loved one' is a bit of a joke considering who's funeral it is. Please.

I don't celebrate the deaths of people, human life is precious.

I can understand people celebrating the deaths of those they hated and I won't really lecture them for it, though I may correct them if they are wrong.

The problem is once you accept celebrating one or two people dying then all it becomes is a sliding scale of acceptability.

Not many would approve of celebrating the death of Mother Theresa for example but she did campaign against condom use in Africa which could be indirectly linked to many deaths and illnesses. Most people would accept she was a good person though...

When it comes to national leaders it is far less clear, some people think Bush did a good job, some Saddam, some people think Osama is doing the right thing (although a slightly different type of leader)

They were all related to somebody and would have people that would have mourned their death, they all had people who suffered because of their actions.

Surely someone who could directly trace a death of a loved one to Thatcher's policies would have much more reason to celebrate her death than the average American would have to celebrate Osama's death.

I think it is disrespectful. I could understand if she was a tyrant and her death liberated millions but the fact is that none of these idiots actually benefit from her death. It is therefore simply childish and bitter spite, the likes of which I expect from Sun, Star and Daily mail readers who beeatch about stuff that they don't really understand anyway.

Tax payers shouldn't be paying for her funeral. She should be having a private funeral like most people.

Should we celebrate? Up to the people who decide to do so. But personally, there is no point. She lived a very long life. Though her family will mourn her, it was kinda in the cards for her to go. It's not like Hugo Chavez who lost his battle with cancer while still in poewr now is it?

And whatever your view on either of these, there is no need to go out and celebrate.

Personnaly I wouldn't be very concerned about an Aircraft Carrier that could only hold two Wasp Helicopters.
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Come on, VC, it could hold more than that.

Oh wait, never-mind. I misread.

Still, a naval presence would definitely have sent a message to Argentina, just like a lack of a naval presence would have.

On the other Margaret Thtacher thread last week some people here were defending the use of attacks like those in Boston last night as there only means of retaliation against a superior military might. Can someone please now explaon to me how an attack hat has killed civilians - including an 8 year old boy - and injured hundreds, including over 30 who have lost limbs, can be justified as a military retaliation? If this proves to be a terrorist attack related to goings on in the Middle East then it begs the question, were there not enough U.S military bases between there and Boston? Are these people so cowardly that they're afraid to target soldiers? It would seem so.