Margaret Thatcher

Thatcher was that rare politician whose persona and influence crossed national borders. Such as her belief in "ordered liberty" was a root principle argued in the Cold War conflict, and her faith in the "vigorous virtues" provided the most fitting materiel to prosecute that clash.

I seem to remember a left wing 'oh so clever' poster, based on Gone with the Wind, which denigrated Reagan and Thatcher for standing up to the USSR over missile bases and disarmament. Clever but typically wrong headed. Instead of instigating WW3 we won the cold war, broke down the Berlin Wall, the iron curtain, destroyed communism and liberated the whole of eastern Europe, and various Soviet republics, all without firing a shot.

She did this with the support of the Conservative party and opposed by the socialists and the wet liberals.
And to think there are some who say her funeral is not worth the money.

Whatever the domestic squabbles, there are many millions of people who appreciate her role in their current liberty. Almost a decade ago at another funeral, across the Atlantic, she spoke appreciatively of "the great liberator" being mourned, who'd helped bring on those peoples' liberty. Today, one can eulogize Thatcher with those same words.

A bit of Korean History by LegalCerebral Reporter

 

America invaded the Koreans in 1888 and they killed 1000′s consequently the Americans had to retreat due to increasing resistance from the Korean military. That was 1888. Of course, the main stream media and history books have conveniently deleted these facts. Korea was divided preciously due to American interference. Every Korean opposed the idea of division, so Americans started the civil war with the Russians and the classic democracy vs communism charade to conquer a land. American troops killed 30% of the Korean population during the Korean War. During WW2 the level of loss suffered by UK was 0.86 % and Germany 1% of the population. North Korea was the place for resistance from the American invasion of Korea. The Americans bombed every place out in North Korea. You never heard about the massacre in Jeju Island, where the people protesting against the occupation of American troops in Korea, were butchered by the 1000s. Based on their past experiences North Korea has every reason to be prepared for future, they are arming themselves to the teeth for another invasion. 

Picture from http://blogs.denverpost.com/opinion/2013/03/08/cartoons-of-the-day-dennis-rodman-in-north-korea/35102/4/

For the Benefit of Mali- or the Glory of France? by James W Monroe

Unnoticed by many, the civil war in Mali has raged for the last few years between nationalist Tauregs and Islamic militant supporters against the democratic government. The rebels upped the ante since 2007 when they took over the north, helped by unrest and weapons from surrounding nations.

At the recent crisis point (at time of writing 16 January 2013) when the city of Konna was captured, the French launched a very bold, aggressive and assertive ground war. Despite having international diplomatic support (unlike some previous Western military ventures), this action is independent of a UN decision or a NATO task force. Although there are other African armies arriving to assist in the fighting, to all extents and purposes the French are going it alone in Mali. This is a marked contrast to previous military campaigns; hopefully a rapid unilateral action will be more effective than past joint operations.