[scoobs]

Originally Posted by buddyholly

No mystery. Oil. I mean, why would you think Argentina would want them, if it is a mystery to you why Britain would want them.?

Argentina wanting them back pre-dates the formation of the United Nations, before there was even an inkling of any possibility of oil in the area.

[abraxas21]

Originally Posted by Black Adam

Britain had settlers there before Argentina was even a country.

french were the first ones. by your criterion france should claim the islands too perhaps?

[ibreak4coffee]

Originally Posted by buddyholly

No mystery. Oil. I mean, why would you think Argentina would want them, if it is a mystery to you why Britain would want them.?

Previous explorations around the Falklands have raised questions about the viability of extracting enough oil to make the investment worth it.

As for why Argentina might want the islands - taking aside natural resources, I'm sure England would have a problem if say Argentina had seized the Isle of Man or Guernsey.

[buddyholly]

Originally Posted by ibreak4coffee

As for why Argentina might want the islands - taking aside natural resources, I'm sure England would have a problem if say Argentina had seized the Isle of Man or Guernsey.

A small one, easily rectified.

[buddyholly]

Originally Posted by scoobs

Argentina wanting them back pre-dates the formation of the United Nations, before there was even an inkling of any possibility of oil in the area.

OK, forget the oil, then why would they want them?

Wanting them ''back'' may not be a relevant argument. Britain can equal that reason.

[rocketassist]

There's no reason to have them other than nationalistic pride.

Sure they rely on the UK's riches but independence should be an option ahead of handing them back to Argentina.

[scoobs]

It's just unfortunate to me that the war in 1982 has set back indefinitely the prospects of a sane resolution to this situation.

It costs the UK taxpayer a disproportionate amount of defence budget and skews our defence posture to protect a tiny group of islanders 6,000 miles away who evidently will use their "let me stay British" veto to maintain this status quo irrespective of larger issues - like how much better the UK's relationship with Argentina and South America might be if this "colonial issue" were resolved - it could be very beneficial for trade links, for example.

The 1982 invasion by the Argentinian Junta was grade A stupid, and it's a shame that, and British intransigence as a result, has frozen the situation in place. It is surely time for the UK Government to return to the position it was following in the 1970s under both Labour and Conservative governments, that of negotiating the sovereignty of the Falklands with Argentina, perhaps under some sort of leaseback scheme, similar to that which the UK had with China for Hong Kong.

Bearing in mind at the time of the Falklands, it would have been cheaper to give every islander (less than 3000) £1 million to relocate than it ultimately cost to re-take the islands on their behalf.

It's economic madness being overridden by pointless, jingoistic, nationalistic nonsense that we can no longer afford. Time to get back to the negotiating table.

[abraxas21]

Originally Posted by buddyholly

OK, forget the oil, then why would they want them?

Wanting them ''back'' may not be a relevant argument. Britain can equal that reason.

cant say im surprised to see you again defending the interests of the crown. God bless mother England. may her sun never set!

[buddyholly]

Originally Posted by abraxas21

cant say im surprised to see you again defending the interests of the crown. God bless mother England. may her sun never set!

Amen to that, brother!

Those war-mongering imperialist yank clowns would be in Toronto tomorrow if it wasn't for the Thatcher legacy (in a cinema near you.)

[Black Adam]

Originally Posted by abraxas21

french were the first ones. by your criterion france should claim the islands too perhaps?

Well done punk. Conveniently forgetting the results of the referendum held by the locals as I mentioned.

[Black Adam]

We give Brazil £9 billion in annual aid, perhaps they need to be careful where they stand on these matters as Aid could be cut.


P.S. They have a bigger economy, we shouldn't be helping them in the first place.

[buddyholly]

Originally Posted by Black Adam

We give Brazil £9 billion in annual aid, perhaps they need to be careful where they stand on these matters as Aid could be cut.


P.S. They have a bigger economy, we shouldn't be helping them in the first place.

Don't worry. When Glennmirnyi is President, Brazil will give it all back with interest.

[abraxas21]

Originally Posted by Black Adam

We give Brazil £9 billion in annual aid, perhaps they need to be careful where they stand on these matters as Aid could be cut.


P.S. They have a bigger economy, we shouldn't be helping them in the first place.

i was quite suspicious of that amount so i googled it up and surprise, surprise, the first result was a 4 day old article from the ever glorious daily mail. going by your clown posting history, i assume you're an avid reader of it

but anyhow, the fact of the matter is that britain gives 9 billions in annual aid worldwide, not just to brazil. that's a disctinction that was clear even in the daily mail article but i guess one shouldn't expect much from the reading comprehension of its regular readers. much less some critical analysis...

[abraxas21]

Originally Posted by Black Adam

Well done punk. Conveniently forgetting the results of the referendum held by the locals as I mentioned.

i like your style.

you're like the typical southern english tory chav, aren't you? i wonder what you're doing in australia....

im not sure who i prefer, BH or you. i feel the differences are more in the form than in the content. while one expresses his points in a rather pompous and sarcastic manner like some type of neo-con hawk, the other is more of the average clown you could find semi drunk downing his pint in the bar around the corner. two different fellas but at the end the story repeats itself. it is as they say: same shit, different bucket.

[buddyholly]

I'm not a clown and I drink gin, you moron!