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Top 8 Heroes.....

It has been brought to my attention that Gordon Brown is to publish a book featuring eight of his 20th Century heroes. They include…

Martin Luther King
Edith Cavell
Robert Kennedy
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Raoul Wallenburg
Dame Cecily Saunders
Aung San Suu Kyi
Nelson Mandella

An admirable list but a very "safe" list all the same...Im sure that none of these figures will cause much division or controversy. My list however will send shudders down left wing spines!

1. Margaret Thatcher -A great leader who did what needed to be done. A woman who's legacy still prevails today and is accepted as the norm in government.



2. Queen Elizabeth II - Woman of great dignity> Service first-Self second. Despite sometimes overwhelming criticism of her family she never retalliates.



3. Ronald Reagan - Thatcher's ally> Great friend of UK> Revived the US both economically and socially, role in defeat of communism.



4. Niccolo Machiavelli - Great Italian philosopher, his works whilst often controvertial were very much ahead of his time and bare striking similarity to the world today.



5. Pope John Paul II - Great spiritual leader, whilst he had no real power he had immense spiritual and charismatic power that proved lethal to communism



6. Friedrich Von Hayek - Total economic genius, advocate of free market economics which influenced Thatcher, Reagan and Friedman. Now world accepted system.



7. Tony Blair - This will prove controvertial amongst Tory's but Tony Blair deserves due credit for his remodeling of Labour. He has accepted that they needed to change and has improved the Labour party image no end. As Thatcher said "We don't need someone who can beat Mr Blair...we need someone like Mr Blair".



8. Ariel Sharon - Stood firm in the face of terrorism and Islamofascism, great military leader and regarded by many as the father of Israel

Each of these individuals in my eyes deserves recognition for their immense role in shaping the world we live in today. Some are great leaders, great officers, great thinkers and some have (had) little real power but command deferance, loyalty and respect which can be just as powerful.

Free at Last...

I am delighted to see that common sense has prevailed and Ahmadinejad has released the British sailors held in Tehran. I am particularly pleased that this painful and embarrasing episode in British international relations hasn't damaged our reputation as much as was initially feared. I think, brace yourselves, that the INDEPENDENT summed the end of this situation best with its double front page...2 headlines...for 2 outcomes...depending on which way you choose to view it. On the one hand we see Ahmadinejad claiming victory in humiliating the British and playing the moral high ground card. On the other we see Blair celebrating his role in securing "a peaceful solution to the hostage crisis." However now fundamental questions must be asked...were they in Iranian territory? (In my view no) Why did we just let them take our sailors? and Why did the government appear so impotent in the situation? If we were that confident of our satillite position we should have chased them all over the Gulf if neccessary to get our sailors back! On a satarical note it was mentioned to me that if we were so sure of our position and the Iranians came to arrest our troops...we should have arrested the Iranians for trespassing with hostile intent in to Iraqi waters! I am glad to see the situation has been resolved but what really sticks like a sour lemon is the fact that Ahmadinejad has come off looking like the bigger man. I am still sickended by his and the Iranians actions during the crisis...parading our troops on TV...claiming that they were to release hostages and then changing their minds...speaking of possible charges...refusing the sailors consular aid and then suddenly claiming to release them as a gift to the British people in celebration of the prophet Mohammed and the festivities of Easter. Are we supposed to believe Ahmadinejad has had some kind of epiphany? Of course not he is still the West hating, Israeli bashing despot he always was and this whole episonde was designed to discredit Britain and the West and stir up political propaganda (as each confession letter became more and more political). All in all this was a clever P.R stunt intended to show the Iranians that they will stand up to the West and intended to show the West Iranians are decent, "peaceful" people. Either way Ahmadinejad played a blinder and that sticks like a dead badger in many Thatcherites throats! (pardon the expression)

The Falklands...The Malvinas...Spot the difference.

As the Falklands War approaches its 25th Anniversary I believe it is important to look back on a truly noble cause and a point of pride in Britain's history. When Argentina invaded the Falklands 25 years ago on Monday many around the world questioned whether Britain would bother embarking on an expedition 8000 miles around the world to recapture a small remance of the by-gone days of Empire. This is what the Argentines and much of the world were banking on...they weren't banking on Mrs Thatcher. The significance of the Falklands War was enormous, both for Britain's self-confidence and for its standing on the world stage. Since the Suez fiasco in 1956, British foreign policy had been one long retreat. The tacit assumption made by British and foreign governments alike was that our world role was doomed steadily to diminish. We had come to be seen by both allies and enemies as a nation which lacked the will and the capability to defend its interests in peace, let alone in war. Victory in the Falklands changed that assumption and set the tone for a new Thatcherite era of British politics that has prevailed to the present day.

Thatcher inspired an uninspired nation and ultimately moulded her name as the Iron Lady further securing her place in Britains corridors of power for the remainder of the decade. For her, and for the British, the Falklands war was not a war for the reclaiming of the last remnants of by-gone Empire it was a war of principle and of liberty. In many ways it set the tone of the Gulf War in 1990,in the sense that a dictatoral regime cannot invade a sovereign nation and impose its will on those who do not need nor desire it. Argentina's claim to the Falklands in my view is a pathetic attempt to reassert their crumbling world authority and inspire some kind of national pride. Britain's legal claim to the Falklands rests on that fact, and on the desire of the settled population - which is entirely of British stock - to remain British. The principle of "self-determination" and "individual liberty" has become a fundamental component of international law, and is enshrined in the UN Charter. Britains claim to sovereignity in the Falklands has strong legal foundations, and the Argentinians know it but still refuse to accept it.

Argentina claims the Falklands are theirs we say they are ours, the world says they are ours and most importantly the Falklanders say they are ours...therefore who is right? If anyone, in my view, has the right to complain and contest sovereignity it is the Spanish. Gibraltar is actually ON the Spanish mainland the Falklands are OFF the coast of Argentina but just because they are closer to them they believe it is their right to own them. The fundamental difference between the two is the Spanish realise one cannot just act unilatterally and annex a sovereign state, one must persue diplomatic means to secure ones aims or ambitions, this evades the Argentinians. The fact of the matter remains the same The Falklands or "Malvinas" as they are known to the Argentinians, have the right to determine their own future and they have determined that future. They want a future with Britain...they are British...and they shall remain British for aslong as they desire and Argentina can lump it. This June I hope Britian looks back on a truly great cause and pays its respects to the truly great leader that led us to such a victory. One can't help but wonder, if the Argentines invaded again in a day or two, how the British would react when we can't even assert our authority in the kidnap of 15 of our own sailors.