its good to see that one of the reasons those guys who fought 70 odd years ago was to keep us free and let us speak freely......its alive and kicking on this forum....Its all about opinions gentlemen.
You did until you lost the argument. BTW, perhaps you could point out the bloodshed in the latest UK territorial dispute. "A national referendum is scheduled to be held in Scotland on the 18th of September 2014. Voters will be asked to answer Yes or No to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" Perhaps if someone gets a really nasty paper cut on one of the ballot papers
I live in Poland and I'm well aware of the poles relations with Germany... It's a totally different story. Seems to me you, like the Argies are looking to wind up as many people as possible with your 'british are imperialistic bastards' and stole every bit if land with force crap!
Well in that case you haven't actually read what I've said. If people are wound up that's there problem, I've said nowt to do that. What I'm saying is that the Islands are a pain in the arse and no more British than Staten Island, New York, which is a hell of a lot closer. Or do you think they were originally off the NE coast, near the Farne Islands, and drifted? The Thatcher Government tried to get rid of them and ****ed it up, what a shame. BTW, how do you think we gained the Commonwealth, by giving them all shiny beads and magic beans? It was by force and the Falklands is no different.
Why does the distance mean anything? The were uninhibited until the descendants of the current population moved there. In the same argument why does Argentina have rights to them due to the islands position? So Thatcher tried to get rid of them, so what? As for the Commonwealth, it always amazes me how countries that we were appalling to (India for example) and countries that weren't even part of the empire wish to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. I tell my Polish friends that the Commonwealth is a family. The worlds biggest family that I'm proud of
The majority of the population is ex-Scottish. Are you saying the Falkland Islands should become Scottish if they gain their independence in September? There are also Argentinians, Scandinavians, French etc btw.
Argie's can say what they want, as can the English. End of the day the only thing that matters is what the People of the Falklands want and that's British sovereignty. The Falklands belong to the people of the Falklands and they want to stick with us. More the Argies go on about it the worse they look to the rest of the world. Let them crack on.
I think it's a bit strong to say that Thatcher wanted rid of the Falklands. More like not many in Britain knew where they were and those in the Foreign Office that did (notably junior minister Nicholas Ridley) gave mixed messages......the Argentinians got the impression that the British didn't care about the islands while the Falkland Islanders themselves believed that any Argentine invaders would be booted out swiftly. Yes, the British were involved with talks with the Argentinians but it was a bit half-hearted. Thatcher was more concerned with Russia and the IRA. Apparently, Thatcher found out about the planned invasion two days before it happened. She was told by a high-ranking naval official that Britain's word would count for nothing if they did nothing about the invasion. The fact that she won the General Election the following year on a wave of patriotism was a coincidence (even Michael Foot was in favour of ousting the 'fascists').
I read the book, Smug....Thatcher's Britain Of course, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Galtieri had waited and tried diplomacy....who knows?
Why even enter into talks if it wasn't the intention? The fact is that it costs a fortune to maintain the islands and the inhabitants know that. It has little value as a military base and penguins become boring very quickly. I suspect if they thought Argentina would increase investment they'd think twice, in reality they'd probably invest less hence the stance.
I'm guessing they entered into talks because oil reserves hadn't been discovered (being a little cynical here) or because defence cuts and the extreme distance to the islands meant we could no longer have a naval presence in the South Atlantic. But it all seems to have been a little fudged and the hostility of the islanders themselves to the Argentinians was a stumbling block and of course, remains so now.
I just wish we'd hung onto Corsica instead ....... easier to get to, beautiful country and fantastic local food & wine Instead we're stuck with a desolate bunch of rocks, in the middle of nowhere, with more sheep than potential boyfriends. Most people, in Britain, couldn't find it with the help of Google maps tbh.
It must be weird being Welsh. The Swansea board is frothing at the mouth about the banner ...... their next thread is virtually, "I hope England get thrashed in Brazil."
