We are the masters now...

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I think it is safe to say that the price of oil will never go down (and to compare Chavez and the Junta is a fairly odd thing to do - sometimes I feel these 'democrats' and 'republicans' have no interest in democratic republics) 

Chavez is looking more and more authoritarian every day, the last thing done was a vote from the (overwhelmingly Chavist) senate to give him *special powers*, I believe for an undetermined amount of time.

I consider myself lefty (albeit a moderate one) but I am no fan of Mr. Chavez.

[goat starer]

Incidentally, the Exocet missiles gleefully supplied by our allies the French were far from faulty. Lots of far-reaching lessons with consequences to today (and not just about shipbuilding) were learnt from that war.

an opportunity to brush up on your naval history. 13+ direct hits on british ships failed to explode. Had they gone off it is possible/likely that the invasion would have failed.

http://www.naval-history.net/F62brshipslost.htm

[beagle]

Apples and Oranges. You're now talking about munitions in general. I'm talking about the "(fortunately french and faulty) missiles." you referred to in your earlier post.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I love the way my english friends talk about the french, it's so.. naughty.

I guess a thousand years isn't enough to erase certain rivalries.

[beagle]

It's getting more difficult. Half the English plan  to retire to France and half the French want to work in London. Soon we'll all be insulting each other in Franglais.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

No need to wait for "soon" - in Quebec, you can experience the future today!

[goat starer]

personally i love the french. especially audrey tautou.

[Sibling Qwertyuiopasd]

Christains want to be like everyone else. well, not all of them. but a loud few say they're being discriminated against (at least in America) and anyone seen Jesus camp? this one lady said she really wanted christian kids to be as devoted as the fundamentalist imuslims (though she probably just said muslims), learning to use weapons and suicide bombs for the holy war.

yes, that's EXACTLY what god wants you to use your children for. not like, multiplying or anything. dividing.

oh... oh that's clever.

~Qwerty

[Aggie]

I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that fundamentalists in general do a good job of keeping divided according to their subject of fundamentalism.  If it wasn't for the whole difference of religion/race/language/ideology/etc. thing, I suspect many of them would get along quite well.

[Pachyderm]

If the argentians want them so much then they are welcome to them.

Goat, surely the wishes of the population should be taken into account?

The Falklanders were, and still are, British. That is how they see themselves, and according to international law, the rest of the world recognises them. The Argentines invaded, UK responded. Diplomatic avenues failed, leading to armed conflict. The political situation, both in UK and in Argentina helped push things to that point, but the UK Govt. didn't have a realistic alternative. Hence the Task Force set sail.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

For a moment I forgot the previous page of the thread.

It's interesting to speculate what would have happened if Galtieri had given the residents £200,000 each and a ticket to the UK

Did the Argentinians burned ~US$1 billion on that stupid war? I read in the wiki that the UK burned £2.778 billion but no data for the Argentinian side.

[beagle]

The real financial cost to the UK is an interesting one. A Tory would say that without the victory Mrs T. would have been thrown out at the end of the first term with the pain of her reforms all too evident, but the gain not showing. That would have resulted in a resumption of the decline of Britain.
(Note, this is not a conspiracy theory saying the war was engineered).

In Germany, where no such diversion occurred, it took a very high euro to force the sort of economic rationalisation that Mrs. T. imposed here.
Five years is a very short electoral period in which to make huge reforms AND show the benefit of them in time for the next election.

one lady said she really wanted christian kids to be as devoted as the fundamentalist imuslims

Ok, I've heard of iPods and iPhones but not iMuslims.  Very small fashionable Muslims?
Actually, now I think of it, Apple users tend to be fairly fundamentalist .

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Actually, now I think of it, Apple users tend to be fairly fundamentalist .

And frequently they are willing to burn a lot of money in overpriced hardware, but wouldn't that make them more akin to scientologists?

[Swatopluk]

I'd prefer dem stinkin' Mac-Users to those travolting Cruiseaders any time .

[anthrobabe]

Quote from The Goat

"And of course the famous flagship seen here during the visit of General Galtieri in 1982"

Where did you get that photo of My Dad ye blaggard?

When I saw that my first thought was
"Now who does that look like?"

well now I know!