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Anti-Thatcher party in London's Trafalgar Square

Associated Press – 12 hrs ago

Associated Press/Lefteris Pitarakis - People sing and dance during a party to mark her death in central London's Trafalgar square, Saturday, April 13, 2013. Thatcher's most strident critics had long vowed to hold a gathering in central London on the Saturday following her passing, and the festivities were an indication of the depth of the hatred which some Britons still feel for their former leader. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of opponents of former Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher partied in London's Trafalgar Square to celebrate her death, sipping Champagne and chanting "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead."

Thatcher's most strident critics had long vowed to hold a gathering in central London on the Saturday following her passing, and the festivities were an indication of the depth of the hatred which some Britons still feel for their former leader.

"We've been waiting a long time for this," Richard Watson, a 45-year-old from eastern England wearing a party hat, said. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

As a huge effigy of Thatcher — complete with hook nose and handbag — made its way down the stairs in front of the National Gallery, the crowd erupted into cries of "Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Dead! Dead! Dead!" and sang lyrics from the "Wizard of Oz" ditty "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead."

Hundreds of people clutched their umbrellas in the rain between Nelson's Column and the National Gallery on the square, drinking cider or Champagne. The mood appeared festive and the celebration was peaceful, although there was a minor scuffle with police at one point. Police said they made nine arrests, most for drunkenness.

Britons remain deeply divided over Thatcher, who died Monday aged 87, and the debate over her legacy has revived the strong feelings that marked her more than decade-long term in office. Thatcher's funeral is Wednesday and police are bracing for possible trouble along the procession route in central London.

Widely respected on the right for reviving Britain's economic fortunes and besting Argentina in a war over the Falklands, Thatcher is reviled by some on the left for her bruising confrontation with the country's union movement and her perceived indifference to its working class.

Some in the crowd said they didn't want to dance on Thatcher's grave, but they did want to mark their opposition to what she stood for.

"I'm not here to celebrate Thatcher's death," Andy Withers, 49, said. "But what's going on tonight is part of the legacy she created."

Thanks Luis for bringing this.

I am amazed that Britain still figures so highly in world events. I have both pride and reget in my nation's acheivements over the last four centuries.

As for this woman's passing. There is no ignoring it. Thatcher was a huge part in the breaking down of the cold war between west and east but at home we paid an enormous price.

Few would argue that the conflict between the trades unions and government had gone too far but the total destruction of those unions thrust working people back two hundred years. Mining was an important part of britain and we now import enormous amounts from abroad and destroyed whole communities in the process of the closings.

My personal feelings are that I detested this woman's politics but don't deny her convictions.

It is not good to dance when anyone passes at an advanced age, however, Thatcher divided a nation and the facts are, that it was a love or hate for most people and the feelings have not lessened.

Where do we place her in history? I don't know. She was certainly part of the end times but was she a product or a catalyst? I can't decide.

Roger

Quote:
Thanks Luis for bringing this.

I am amazed that Britain still figures so highly in world events. I have both pride and reget in my nation's acheivements over the last four centuries.

As for this woman's passing. There is no ignoring it. Thatcher was a huge part in the breaking down of the cold war between west and east but at home we paid an enormous price.

Few would argue that the conflict between the trades unions and government had gone too far but the total destruction of those unions thrust working people back two hundred years. Mining was an important part of britain and we now import enormous amounts from abroad and destroyed whole communities in the process of the closings.

My personal feelings are that I detested this woman's politics but don't deny her convictions.

It is not good to dance when anyone passes at an advanced age, however, Thatcher divided a nation and the facts are, that it was a love or hate for most people and the feelings have not lessened.

Where do we place her in history? I don't know. She was certainly part of the end times but was she a product or a catalyst? I can't decide.

Roger

Gulf countries meet over Iran nuclear radiation fears

DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - National emergency officials in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries met on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to discuss the risk of radiation spreading over the Gulf if Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant is damaged by another earthquake.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station last week, killing dozens of people but leaving the nearby plant undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it.

There is no indication of any radiation leak following last week's tremor and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said the plant was built to withstand much bigger quakes.

But the plant on earthquake-prone Iran's southern coast is a growing worry for its neighbors, because the prevailing winds of the Gulf mean that if radiation ever does escape it would probably be blown over the Qatari capital Doha and the main oil exporting ports of the United Arab Emirates.

GCC Secretary-General, Abdulatif al-Zayani, said that Gulf Arab states must have a joint plan to collectively deal with any possible leak from the Iranian facility.

"The earthquake that the Iranian city of Bushehr was subject to has raised a great deal of concern among GCC countries and the international community of a possible damage to the Bushehr nuclear reactor that could causing a radioactive leak, God forbid," Zayani said at the start of the meeting in Riyadh.

"The GCC countries have previously warned against the danger of the nuclear reactor of Bushehr and the possible nuclear leak and its harmful effect on the environment in the Gulf," he added.

Zayani said and the six Gulf Arab states have previously urged Tehran to ensure its facility complies with international safety standards and join the Convention on Nuclear Safety, but Tehran did not show any sign it understood international concerns over its nuclear program.

Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the convention, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated a wide area and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless.

Western countries have imposed sanctions on Iran over its wider nuclear program, which they say could include weapons. Tehran says its program is for peaceful purposes only.

Saudi oil export ports could be spared by prevailing winds carrying any fallout further east over Qatari gas export facilities, UAE oil ports and big cities Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Most nuclear plants are designed to withstand earthquakes and shut down safely if there is a major earth movement.

In March 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook Japan, causing four nuclear power plants to shutdown their 11 reactors, as designed. But a subsequent tsunami destroyed back-up generators at one of them, Fukushima, causing its cooling system to fail and three of the reactors to melt down.

Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes, including a 6.6-magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people.

The GCC countries are the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

Trayvon Martin targets: Fired cop fires back, saying it's a conspiracy

Trayvon Martin targets were not for target practice but were a 'no-shoot training tool,' says the Florida cop who was fired Friday for showing them to colleagues.

First, a police sergeant in a Florida department only an hour away from where Trayvon Martin was killed gets fired for allegedly bringing targets that resembled Trayvon to a shooting range.

Now, the officer has responded in an online video, suggesting that he brought the pictures as a "no-shoot training aid," and that he might be a pawn in a broader conspiracy to bring down the chief of the Port Canaveral Police Department.

So what began as a national upwelling of outrage at what appeared to be an appalling piece of judgment has now seemingly become a nationwide airing of a squabble within one small Florida police department.

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It is a reminder of the power and speed of the Internet to ruin – and perhaps resuscitate – reputations all within the space of a weekend. With his video response, the accused officer, Ron King, has taken his case directly to a nation of YouTubers, putting pressure on Port Canaveral to disprove his assertions and justify his firing – all while an attendant America watches and judges.

Because Port Canaveral police oversee the port, not any municipality, it was the Port Authority's CEO, Jim Walsh, who announced Mr. King's firing Friday. "Whether it was his stupidity or his hatred, [this is] not acceptable," Mr. Walsh said, according to news reports.

But King's video rebuttal Sunday portrays him as the victim. In it, he admitted to buying targets that show gun crosshairs on a black hooded sweatshirt with Skittles in one pocket and an iced tea in one hand – which is what Trayvon was wearing, and what he had gone to a convenience store to buy, when he was shot. But as a firearms-safety trainer for more than 20 years, King said he saw it as a potential training tool.

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"While others have used it as a novelty, I view it as a tool for scenario-based firearms training," he said.

At another point in the video, he said: "As an instructor in the law enforcement field, I can tell you that using real-life situations as a training scenario is not uncommon."

His purpose, he added, was to "look for training methods to prevent another such situation."

In the video, he apologizes to the Martin family, suggesting that others are using "the Martin family and myself as a way to further their own political and career agendas."

The person who reported him doesn't like the chief of the department, King said.

"I cannot help but think that he is using this in order to try to shed bad light on the chief in an effort to further that agenda," he added.

Of course, the video proves nothing. Media reports suggest that King's firing came after an internal investigation, and details of that investigation might come to light in coming days – or hours.

But in his video, King has circumvented lawyers or handlers to take his case directly to the American people. While the quality is clearly homemade, the statement has all the trappings of official press statements – King reads from a prepared script and at one point waves pieces of paper that he said are "copies of the statements made by the complaining party and a witness" proving that he said the targets were a "no-shoot training aid."

A USA Today report suggests Walsh was unmoved. "I found the entire situation unacceptable," he said. "It is not the type of behavior that I want a police officer to have on both a personal and professional level."

Trayvon was killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012. Mr. Zimmerman says he was attacked and shot Trayvon in self-defense. The Martin family notes that Trayvon was unarmed and says Zimmerman is at fault. Zimmerman faces a charge of second-degree murder. The trial is expected to begin this June.

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