June 28, 2005

Trafalgar 200 - Home
Of course, as with the commemoration of the events of WWII (and I suppose of WWI), the "pan-EUros" try to mess up a perfectly great celebration with "We're all friends now" PC crap:
Trafalgar mock-up 'pretty stupid'

Lord Nelson's closest living relative has fired a shot across the bows of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, labelling some of them as "pretty stupid".

Anna Tribe, 75 and the great, great, great granddaughter of the admiral, criticised a mock-up of the 1805 sea battle as "politically correct".
Tuesday's re-enactment in the Solent will pit reds against blues, not British against French and Spanish.
[...]
But Mrs Tribe, from Monmouthshire, said: "The idea of the blue team fighting the red team is pretty stupid.

"I am sure the French and Spanish are adult enough to appreciate we did win that battle."
[Actually, Mrs. Tribe, I wouldn't bet on it!--Jen]

She said such "political correctness" would "make fools of us".

What a delightful and perceptive lady!
Even the BBC is forced to admit Trafalgar's importance:

e Battle of Trafalgar was to witness both the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte's plans to invade Britain, and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson. It was never going to be any ordinary battle, and quickly acquired a heightened, almost magical, reality.

During the engagement at Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, the Royal Navy annihilated the greatest threat to British security for 200 years, but lost Britain's national hero in the process. Little wonder the battle transcended the mundane calculation of ships and men, victory and defeat. It guaranteed Britain's control of the oceans, the basis of her global power for over a century.
[...]

Nelson used this combination of strategic flair and practical management to help Britain survive the 22 year struggle with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. He understood that invasion by France was the least of Britain's worries - the real threat was the destruction of her global commercial system.

Too funny that today's leading Frogs are still complaining about "Anglo-Saxon liberal economics!"
It's a good thing the vote went south for the EU constitution in France and Holland;
Jacques ChIRAQ and Napoleon-worshipping Dominique de Vile-pain were both ready to make England change the name of historically named places like Trafalgar Square and Waterloo Bridge to something more "unifying" as soon as Brussels had gotten complete control of everyone and everything!
As it was, they could only send their one non-functioning carrier Charles De Gaulle limping out to participate in the festivities!