Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Passes Away

Baroness Margaret Thatcher- the UK's first female prime minister and staunch US ally towards the end of the Cold War- has passed away from a stroke at the age of 87 on Monday. Thatcher, along with former President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Polish labor leader Lech Walesa, was one of the most prominent figures in opposing the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Thatcher got her start in politics as a Member of Parliament representing a district in Middlesex County and was appointed Secretary of Education and Science under Prime Minister David Heath in 1970. After the Conservative Party lost the 1974 general election, Thatcher became leader of the opposition and when the Labour party was ousted in a 1979 general election, Thatcher became Great Britain's first female Prime Minister.

In her first term, Thatcher sought to curb the expansion of the welfare state as well as the influence of labor unions in Britain's political affairs. Even before serving as Prime Minister, Thatcher had publicly made a number of anti-communist and anti-Soviet statements that led one Red Army publication to dub her "The Iron Lady"- a moniker she eventually embraced.

Much of her first term was also marked by strikes, high unemployment, inflation and an approval rating around 22%. Sensing weakness and a much-needed diversion from their own domestic problems, the ruling Argentine military junta annexed the lightly-defended Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic in April of 1982. However, the Argentine junta seriously underestimated Thatcher's resolve and a Britsh task force was immediately dispatched to the South Atlantic. While the USA was initially reluctant to take sides in what an inevitable 'hot' war between two countries considered allies, the United States eventually sided with Britain and provided the Ministry of defense sattelite imagery of Argentine troop movements from the mainland to the Falklands.

After a series of air and sea engagements, the SAS and Royal Army landed on the islands in May and engaged the occupying Argentine soldiers. By June 14th, the last of the Argentine forces had surrendered and the British had re-taken the capital of Stanley. Within a year, the military junta in Buenos Aires was forced to call a general election due to eroding support from their own soldiers and a civilian government was elected in October of 1983.

Thatcher's popularity increased after the Falklands War, demonstrating that Great Britain could still successfully defend her citizens and territory abroad- no matter how far-flung. Thatcher and the Conservative party would enjoy a sweeping victory during the 1983 elections.

In October 1984, Prime Minister Thatcher survived an IRA assassination attempt when a bomb was detonated in an adjoining suite at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. Although Thatcher survived, the blast killed five and injured 31. After vising the wounded at the hospital, which included members of Parliament, Thatcher would go on to address the Conservative party conference that morning as scheduled.

Thatcher and then-President Ronald Reagan had much in common and worked closely together throughout the 1980s. The Royal Navy nearly tripled their nuclear capability with the purchase of the Trident nuclear missile system, and in 1986 Thatcher allowed the US Air Force to use RAF bases to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Libya after the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin killed two US servicemen and a civilian and wounded more than 200 others. Intelligence agencies reportedly intercepted a telex from Libya to their East Berlin embassy congratulating them on a "job well done" immediately after the bombing.

Despite profound ideological differences, Thatcher and then Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev maintained a cordial personal relationship with each understanding that the other was firmly committed to their respective country's political system and could not be persuaded otherwise. The reform-minded Gorbachev credited Thatcher with bringing about change and the eventual end of the Cold War.

"We gradually developed personal relations that became increasingly friendly," he said. "In the end, we were able to achieve mutual understanding, and this contributed to a change in the atmosphere between our country and the West and to the end of the Cold War."

"Margaret Thatcher was a great politician and an exceptional person. She will be remain in our memories and in history," said Gorbachev, whose resignation as president December 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union.

After winning three consecutive terms, Thatcher was unable to withstand an internal party challenge and resigned as the Conservative party leader in 1990, although the Conservative party would go on to win the 1992 general election with John Major as Prime Minister.

Thatcher would become the longest-serving British prime minister and paradoxically was at times more popular in the USA than she was in the UK. The strong leadership and rejection of socialism make Thatcher popular with American conservatives to this day.

Out of office, Thatcher became an author and public speaker. In 2003, her husband Sir Dennis Thatcher, passed away and Thatcher herself suffered from a series of small strokes that limited her public speaking appearances.

Despite her declining health, Thatcher flew 'across the pond' for President Reagan's 2004 State funeral in which she delivered a videotaped eulogy for her close friend and again in 2006 for a memorial service in Washington DC marking the 5th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

In accordance with Baroness Thatcher's wishes, the former Prime Minister will not recieve a state funeral but will recieve a service at St Paul's cathedral in London with full military honors.

Bollywood Actress Set to Become First-Ever Indian Playmate

A Bollywood actress will become the first Indian woman to grace the cover of Playboy, even though the print edition of the magazine is banned in her native country.

28 year old Sherlyn Chopra will be appearing in the upcoming November issue of the magazine and while her fans in India won't find the print edition at newsstands, Chopra will also be appearing in the online edition.

Born to a Christian father and Muslim mother in the southern city of Hyderabad, the news of her appearing on the cover of the American edition of the men's magazine has caused quite a stir in the subcontinent. Some commentators openly questioned if her appearance there would contribute towards continuing voyeurism and the exploitation of Indian women while Chopra defended her decision in an interview with the Hindi edition of the BBC last week.

"I have become the first Indian to pose naked for Playboy and nobody can take away that achievement from me," Ms Chopra said.

"My sister is proud of my achievement. I haven't told anything to my mother, but I think I will visit her and tell her that she has to accept me the way I am."

The 28-year-old actress, who has played some small roles in Bollywood films, said she had visited Mr Hefner and his friends at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles.

"I had fun meeting him and his girlfriends. I am thinking of making him my idol because he lives his life on his terms and conditions. I also live my life on my terms and conditions," Ms Chopra said.

While Playboy and certain American publications have identified Chopra as a 'bombshell' and 'screen siren', the fetching Bollywood beauty has actually appeared in a relatively small number of films and didn't receive top billing in any of them.

Even with a ban on the print edition of Playboy in effect, India is no stranger to controversies involving cover girls. In late 2011, actress Veena Malik angered most of her native Pakistan by posing topless for the Indian edition of FHM with a grenade the initials of Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency scrawled on her arm. Malik [pictured above] was born in the Pakistani province of Punjab and was married to a Pakistani cricket star, but much of her work over the last decade was out of Mumbai, India.

Chopra would not be the first woman from an Islamic background to appear on the cover of Playboy, however. In April 2011, German actress Sila Sahin- the daughter of Turkish immigrants to Germany- appeared on the cover of the German edition of Playboy.

Sahin [above] had reportedly received a number of anonymous death threats within weeks of the magazine hitting the newsstand.

London Burns In Third Straight Night of Rioting

Rioters in London clashed with police, looted shops and torched parked cars on Monday night, three days after officers from London's Metropolitan Police shot and killed an armed black gang leader in the Tottenham area.

At least 225 rioters were arrested over the weekend and on Monday. Scenes of lawlessness played out across the city, starting in the Tottenahm and Wood Green areas. Balaclava-clad looters, many of them believed to be black or East Asian gang members as well as white anarchists, began torching police cars and buses a few hours after a vigil for 29 year old Mark Duggan, the suspected gang leader fatally shot by police.

With police and firefighters busy attempting to disperse the rioters and put out the fires they set, looters used Blackberries to coordinate their next move and help themselves to cellphones, cigarettes, flat screen TV's, alcohol and jewelry from stores that were shuttered for the evening.

Sony's UK Distribution Center in Enfield was also hit by looters and arsonists. Eyewitnesses reported seeing about hooded men leaving the warehouse before the fire took hold. The building partially collapsed in the blaze and a nearby hotel was evacuated. Police in London also ordered two League Cup matches set to take place on Tuesday to be postponed, while a friendly match between the English team and Holland is in doubt for Wednesday.

By late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, the unrest had spread to elsewhere in England with reports of arson and looting in Birmingham and Liverpool.

Fomer London Mayor 'Red Ken' Livingston reportedly had this to say when interviewed by the BBC.

“A lot of these young people, they are criminals, yes, but there’s a disengagement – they feel no-one at the top of society, in government or City Hall, cares about them or speaks for them.”

Apprently Red Ken is running for office again and has decided to curry favor with those who set the fires or looted their neighborhood shops as opposed to the people left homeless or without a job thanks to the actions of the very same people Livingston urged viewers to feel more sympathetic towards.

[Just a reminder- we're less than a year away from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. If I were the International Olympic Committee, I'd be less concerned about the Rio games in 2016 and more worried over the London Summer Olympics next year- NANESB!]

BBC: Millions of Euros for 'Green' Energy Subsidies Siphoned by Italian Mafia

Several shell companies controlled by the Sicilian and Calabrian mafia are fraudulently obtaining grants from the European Union and using 'green' energy projects to launder money, according to Italian officials and EU auditors.

Sicilian mafia turncoat Anthony Birrittella said that he and other organized crime figures viewed the EU funds as 'A gift to the mafia' and easy pickings.

"First the Mafia had an interest in many of the companies which obtained public funds, and they owned many of the companies which won the contracts to build wind farms, and finally they claimed fake transactions and issued double payment invoices."

He says the organisation used intimidation to obtain the plots of land it needed to build the wind farms, and threatened any construction firms who refused to pay its extortion fees.

"It started with arson on their premises or building sites, burning their trucks and machinery. That was followed up with threatening phone calls. At that point they usually got what they wanted."

Among the assets seized in what Italian autorities called a 'record' anti-mafia sweep in September were more than 40 wind and solar energy companies registered in Sicily and Calabria. The rapid growth of wind power in southern Italy has been fuelled in large part by generous government subsidies.

The seizure of the mob-controlled 'green' energy companies confirms to Italian officals that the Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta crime syndicates breaking into the new 'green' economy as a means of laundering the profits from their other criminal enterprises.

[Hat tip: Friends of Ours]

What Entertainment Industry Bias? 20 Years Later, Leftist Dr Who Screenwriters Admit 'Trying To Bring Down' Thatcher Government

I'll have to remember this the next time I hear somebody spout off about 'the Right-wing noise machine' or 'there is no liberal bias on TV'.

Left-wing scriptwriters hired by the BBC during the 1980s tried to inspire a 'Tardis revolution' by using Doctor Who as propaganda to undermine the Tory prime minister. [snip]...Former actors and writers on the show admitted yesterday that there was also thinly veiled support for the miners' strike and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Sylvester McCoy, the actor who played the Doctor from 1987 to 1989, said: 'Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered.
'The idea of bringing politics into Doctor Who was deliberate. We were a group of politically motivated people and it seemed the right thing to do.

Not surprisingly, the show tanked when McCoy and editor Andrew Cartmel incorporated their heavy-handed socialist preaching into the show's plot line. In fact, the Thatcher government outlasted Doctor Who- The longest-running science fiction television series was taken off the air in 1989 due to a rapid decline in viewers.

Now, I don't think I've ever seen a single episode of Doctor Who in my life, but when I first read this article, I couldn't help but think about the numerous movies Hollywood churned out about the US Military in Iraq or Afghanistan that continually tanked at the box-office and it almost seemed to confirm that the same I-don't-give-a-damn-about-how-watchable-it-is-as-long-as-MY-message-gets-out mentality is at work as well. Yeah yeah.....I know The Hurt Locker won best picture, but take a look at some of the money-hemorrhaging clunkers that came before it- typically portraying American soldiers and Marines as evil, bloodthirsty, murderous criminals or hapless, semi-literate hillbillies or gang-bangers duped into enlisting by predatory recruiters.

I guess the only difference is that it took the Doctor Who writers and cast members some 20 years to admit their bias.