The witch is dead. Germans are fascinated by the reactions to the death of Maggie Thatcher.
The official eulogies are not what they find fascinating. It's the parties in Brixton, the Wizard of Oz sing becoming somewhat of an anthem and the impunity of it all.
Not all of it, actually. The London Metropolitan Police officer who vented on Twitter resigned.
Germany's Der Spiegel has a comment about the resurgence of the song and tries to explain why such a phenomenon could not happen here.
Much more interesting to us was the list of songs banned by the BBC as found on Wikipedia. What a strange time the 1950s must have been.
To the Germans, she will be the one hold-out among the Allies when they negotiated the unification after the Wall came down. And she will be the woman who threw a temper tantrum on the European Union not seen since.
To us at the K-landnews, her passing means the only question we have ever had about her will remain a mystery:
What was in that purse?
[Update 14 April] Apparently, the US political scene is vexed by the protests in England. We are a flag waving, anthem singing lot, would you expect the same from a people in a monarchy that you rebelled against a few generations back?
Anyhow, here is a bit of a conversation overheard in the US after R.R. died and people were lining up in record numbers to pay their respects in Simi Valley.
Male in group: You know why so many people a lined up to see Reagan?
Other male: To pay their respect.
First male: No, to make sure he is really dead.
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