I’ve just told my girlfriend, who didn’t seem very interested. 🙁

I’ll remember them though, and join you all in a Whisky later 🙂

We should refuse the Argentine Olympic team entry to the UK :diablo:

(I’m only joking, I’m sure that would create much hostility towards the UK)

eBay item no. 221006813165 looks like a good candidate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REAL-WW-II-airplane-aircraft-belly-drop-tank-pontoon-salt-flat-side-car-/270952516317?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f16074add#ht_842wt_922

There was also a Mosquito drop tank that had been converted into a motorcycle sidecar on eBay recently.

The Americans landed on the moon, found it completely uninhabited.

And they stuck a flag on it 😀

What’s Argentinas reasoning? They’re hundreds of miles away!

This isn’t the British Raj we’re talking about that you can dismiss it as history. The Chagos Islanders are still fighting for the right to return home as of today. The courts of United Kingdom have ruled in their favour and still been thwarted by the govt’s use of the ‘royal prerogative’ as well as by designating othe islands are a marine reserve in 2010 (thereby barring the population from return).

You can’t just say we’ll do the right thing here but the wrong thing there because we’re not perfect.

Absoloutely. I 100% agree that we should return them to their homes.

I won’t comment too much on their original displacement, as while it really was horrific, the world was in a very different place, where the threat of Armageddon loomed over billions of people.

That need is now gone, and they should definately be returned to their homes, and be compensated to the best of our abilities (though I suspect there’s no real way to compensate for such an act)

Well the status quo evidently does not involve normalized relations with South America.

‘Please admit defeat but lets be friendly’ is not a viable negotiating position.

On question of morality, I posted the articles about the Britain’s treatment of the Chagos Islanders primarily in response to assertions about a moral higher ground. There are plenty of things in the world that some can perceive as unfair.

Its unfair for example that Britain has arguably more influence in the UN Security Council today than all of South America put together. Its unfair that Britain today has the right to possess nuclear weapons while Iran gets sanctioned for pursuing a nuclear program. Its unfair that Russia gets criticized by the UK and the West for its authoritarian traits, while they celebrate having warm ties with authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. Its unfair that realpolitik can often take precedence over a principled stand, but that is the way of the world.

For that matter Argentina or South America have no moral obligation to sustain ordinary trade relations with Falkland Islands. The UK too can probably continue its economic and military support of the islands indefinitely. Everyone ends up a loser.

First and foremost, a resolution to any dispute has to be honorable. Surely some middle ground can be found that is acceptable to all parties – eg. let the Queen continue to be the head of state, let the Falklanders get some representation in the Argentinian Congress and let the Islands themselves be governed autonomously. Negotiate over the EEZ and find a compromise acceptable to the native population. Its certainly better than the standoff that’s building up today.

Your argument carries no weight. You’re basically trying to say that the Falklands should be independent, but they already have that choice. They want to be a part of Britain! NOBODY IS FORCING THEM TO DO ANYTHING! The only ones trying are the Argentinians.

And how Argentina can claim to have any kind of moral high ground is just a joke. Even now, the media in Argentina is only allowed to print what the government dictates!

As for our treatment of the Chargos islanders, we do have much to answer for. No country is perfect however, and Argentina should be aware of this more than most!

I’d probably expect more than 1 Hercules.