[Politics] A day that will live in infamy

[Eeyore]

Hero broadcaster

'I'm not speaking with a gun in my back'

 

[dsr-burnley]

I woke up, heard the news on the radio and told my then girlfriend I thought they were somewhere North of Scotland. I reckon 90% of the British population had no idea.



Gibraltar voted 96% to say in the EU

And if Gibraltar want to stay in the EU, they will be able to stay in the EU - if they vote to become part of Spain. What they (probably) can't be is a British dependency AND part of the EU.

 

[Brovion]

There cannot be joint sovereignty as the only claim Argentina has is they thought Spain left it to them.

The Falkland Islands were British before Argentina became a country. I have said this before on Nsc, that my StepMum was born there. My Dad sailed there three years in a row, 63-66 on the previous HMS Protector.
I not only knew where they were, but knew people in Port Stanley who were in danger.

Yes, Argentina 'thought' they were theirs, however we'd already stuck our flag on it as we had with so many other places around the globe. Even if you accept that that made them 'ours' in perpetuity this is now the 21st century. We should be being grown-up about this and talking to the Argentinians, if, as I said for no other reason, than if they 'Do a Putin' the last war will all have been in vain anyway.

 

[Eeyore]

And if Gibraltar want to stay in the EU, they will be able to stay in the EU - if they vote to become part of Spain. What they (probably) can't be is a British dependency AND part of the EU.

Shame their European citizenship was taken from them though. And us too. Once we left I felt like my citizenship had been stolen from me.

 

[dsr-burnley]

For the same cost, you could have made every islander a millionaire and offered to relocate them to any similar farming community anywhere in the world -- or start a war that cost the lives of a thousand people because it would save an unpopular politician's neck. It's obvious nonsense to defend on the other side of the world the leftovers of war and conquest from centuries ago, that's the real infamy

As far as Galtieri was concerned, the islands were not the other side of the world. Because I'm sure you couldn't be foolish enough to think that Thatcher started the war, could you?

(Incidentally, does it count as "war and conquest" when the only inhabitants were penguins and they were allowed to keep 99% of their territory?)

 

[dsr-burnley]

Yes, Argentina 'thought' they were theirs, however we'd already stuck our flag on it as we had with so many other places around the globe. Even if you accept that that made them 'ours' in perpetuity this is now the 21st century. We should be being grown-up about this and talking to the Argentinians, if, as I said for no other reason, than if they 'Do a Putin' the last war will all have been in vain anyway.

Why this obsession with land? Why shoudl the interests of the land be considered paramount and the interest of the people disregarded? They had a vote only a few years back about whether there should be talks with Argentina, and it was overwhelmingly "no".

I realise these issues occur a lot around the world. Should the Channel Islands be French, should the Canaries be Moroccan, should Greenland belong to the USA. But in all those cases, it's generally accepted that the inhabitants should have the say and the land's situation is an insignificant issue. If you want to back the likes of Galtieri and Trump in their land grabs (I don't think France or Morocco have made any such claim, at least not recently, so they can be ignored), then I hope you're in a minority.

 

[Eeyore]

As far as Galtieri was concerned, the islands were not the other side of the world. Because I'm sure you couldn't be foolish enough to think that Thatcher started the war, could you?

(Incidentally, does it count as "war and conquest" when the only inhabitants were penguins and they were allowed to keep 99% of their territory?)

Thatcher didn't start the war, but her government did facilitate it by the utter indifference they showed towards the islands. I'm not sure that Galtieri thought that the UK would respond in the way it did. If he did, they may not have made the move.

 

[Miami Seagull]

Joined the Navy in '82 and went there for 6 months in 84, and then in another job every year from '98 thru 2012. Amazing place and worth a visit if you can make it there. Stanley is like a small English village really, and the people there are the proudest 'Brits' you will find anywhere. I miss my annual visits there.

 

[Yes Chef]

When we were in Buenos Aires for a holiday a few years ago, it was our tour guide who mentioned the war! She said that most Argentinians didn't care about the Falklands.

When I nervously asked "So why the invasion?", she replied "That was the politicians. An authoritarian Right-wing leader facing growing unpopularity, a weak economy, and the threat of civil unrest, and deciding to divert people's attention, and rally them to the flag, by embarking on an overseas military adventure."

She was talking about Galtieri, but I couldn't help smirking while I thought "Just like the UK, then."

Apparently, a Times journalist described the Falklands War as "like two bald men fighting over a comb"!

Forgive the pedantry but I think it was Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges who said your quote.

There was however a journalist who wrote 'it's like two bald men fighting over a comb, Britain still wants the comb, if only to hand it over nicely '

 

[Muhammad - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

And you think British Sailors knew, I served alongside some South Atlantic Vets many who told me they thought these islands were in the Outer Hebrides

My initial thoughts until I looked it up on a map

 

[el punal]

It may live in history but, even then, it only does so here and in Argentina. I very much doubt your average Dutchman or American could even tell you where the Falklands are, let alone that there was a war there and what the start date was.

The average American (depending on their intelligence or lack of) wouldn’t know where Europe is. I think the Dutch are okay on that one.

 

[shingle]

The Falkland islanders are a proud bunch and still to this day want a UK connection.
I know there is someone on NSC that is down there, but can't recall who

Its one of our photography chaps AR . Brilliant wildlife photographer Kneon Light

 

[Cheggers]

That's exactly what the Spanish did in South America. The Argentines wanted independence and the Falkland Islanders didn't; that's the perfectly legitimate reason we maintain the dependency.

Like I said, perfectly reaonable and logical,then.

 

[SweatyMexican]

My boss was in the Falklands conflict. He saw his best mate explode into a thousand pieces and he’s never forgotten it.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Yes, Argentina 'thought' they were theirs, however we'd already stuck our flag on it as we had with so many other places around the globe. Even if you accept that that made them 'ours' in perpetuity this is now the 21st century. We should be being grown-up about this and talking to the Argentinians, if, as I said for no other reason, than if they 'Do a Putin' the last war will all have been in vain anyway.

They were uninhabited when we stuck our flag there, over 100 years previously. Do you agree Trump should share Greenland with Denmark?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Joined the Navy in '82 and went there for 6 months in 84, and then in another job every year from '98 thru 2012. Amazing place and worth a visit if you can make it there. Stanley is like a small English village really, and the people there are the proudest 'Brits' you will find anywhere. I miss my annual visits there.

You can imagine how they felt after spending nights in Stanley cathedral to return home to find excrement smeared inside their homes.

 

[jackanada]

You can imagine how they felt after spending nights in Stanley cathedral to return home to find excrement smeared inside their homes.

Well I'm not surprised those teenage conscripts shat themselves when our boys turned up.

 

[London Irish]

The Islanders themselves voted 99.9% to remain British. I doubt they'd want the money. Not everybody can be bought.

1000 lives dead - honestly I despair that people think so little of human life

 

[A1X]

Margaret Thatcher went from being the most hated Prime Minister in history to the most popular. Funny that.

Which is why every PM that has followed her has been desperate to get involved in a good war ASAP after winning power. The only exception probably being Theresa May (if you take Liz Truss as declaring war on reality).

 

[London Irish]

As far as Galtieri was concerned, the islands were not the other side of the world. Because I'm sure you couldn't be foolish enough to think that Thatcher started the war, could you?

(Incidentally, does it count as "war and conquest" when the only inhabitants were penguins and they were allowed to keep 99% of their territory?)

Yes it does, Britain has no business being there. Thousand lives dead which no one cares about