allardjd 1,853 Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 "The official count on Monday showed 99.8 percent of islanders voted in favor of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the two-day poll, which was rejected by Argentina as a meaningless publicity stunt. There only three "no" votes out of about 1,500 cast." http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/12/us-falklands-referendum-idUSBRE92B02T20130312 Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 What did they expect? They are British citizens I wouldn't imagine many Argentinians would actually want to live there in their subartic climate. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 On the other hand, the Argies are going to be ecstatic about the new pope!!! John Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Yes, it may take their minds off it for a while. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 It will be interesting to see if the Catholic Church has a position on the Falklands question going forward, and what it will be. John Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Interesting, Wiki has an article about it Roman Catholicism in the Falkland Islands Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 It would be good to know the heirarchy there - to whom does the good Father report, other than to his Ultimate Boss in the great FIR in the sky? If through an Argentinean diocese or arch diocese, then it could indeed get interesting. If otherwise and let stand as it is, there should be no difficulty. By the way, since most of the Catholics in the world are now in Latin America, and not knowing his canonical political leanings, on the surface this appears to be a good choice as the new Pope. John Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I agree, he is a good choice and was touted as a possible winner here, should have taken that bet! Link to post Share on other sites
M31 0 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 There only three "no" votes out of about 1,500 cast I think that's pretty conclusive, it does seem odd that we in the UK own territory in the southern hemisphere these days, we've lost so much this way over the years, personally I hope we will achieve a no religion no border Human Species in time and evolution and eventually migrate to other star systems, is this possible? I don't think so but I'm optimistic for our race and forever hopeful. As regards the Falklands ... I find it a fascinating era in military history ... I can remember when it all kicked off, we had a Tory government back then too as I recall and they wanted our Aircraft Carriers scrapped just before this conflict happened, only to be quickly rethought once the conflict started ... we seem to be going through the same thought process again with a new Tory government (Sorry Joe for slightly bringing politics into this) with limited support for our new two super carriers being built just now and no Jets to put on them once they are finished, I'm still as a tax payer and general aviation enthusiast not sure about the F-35 in any shape or form ... how crazy is that? Geographically speaking, I've been out of the oil business for a while now but it seems to me from the limited feedback I get now that the oil down there is not prime time and not worth drilling for and probably wont be for hundreds or maybe thousands of years, but if it is eventually profitable then surely Argentina will benefit with oil related industry in the same way North Scotland and Aberdeen has benefited in the North sea oil bonanza in particular? I can understand how peeved Argentina must feel though with that land so close to their mainland, for what its worth I had a Female email friend who is still there in Port Stanley, she works as a Teacher, she considers herself a native now, also had a friend from my town who emigrated there ... at the end of the day we have to respect their lifestyle choice, it would be horrible to think all those military men and woman died (on both sides) for no good reason. More thoughts on the Falklands, check out Google street view ... its a different world and culture for sure ... EDIT: this does not seem to be working just now, I'm sure it used to though? Also for those interested please check out the book by Nigel Sharkey Ward called Sea Harrier Over The Falklands a Maverick at War who flew Sea Harriers in this difficult conflict ... Sharkey is a bit opinionated IMHO and sure thinks a lot of himself and silly with his comments about inter force relations in that conflict, calling RAF Crabs, LOL ... my late Dad was RAF but I can still read between the lines ... one grim particular note from this book I recall was when Sharkey or maybe another pilot lined up with a Argentinian transport aircraft, the aircraft crew knew what was going to happen and lowered the undercarriage as surrender but it was still shot down anyway I thought that was bad, but it was probably involved in the war effort transporting supply's ... no way could I have done that ... war is pretty ugly when you look into its detail. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 You guys will know this better than me, but isn't it a fact that everyone who left the British Empire/commonwealth did so voluntarily? I can't recall anyone ever being forced out who wanted to remain a part of it. I also can't recall any cases where a former colony, dominion or whatever, was cast off to become the subject of another country, rather than simply becoming independant. Given the recent referendum results, casting loose the Falklanders to the tender mercies of the Argentinians would seem to be both inhumane and unprecedented. Becoming part of the Argentine economy alone would be cruel enough, forget the politics. John Link to post Share on other sites
M31 0 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Out of interest John, what is your stance of Hawaii still being part of the USA? (its in the middle of the Pacific for lords sake ) I guess its still not so far away as Falklands is to us, but far away enough to make one wonder what the legitimate claim to these islands were? I'm not trying to wind you up and really don't know the full history here but would be interested to know. Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 You guys will know this better than me, but isn't it a fact that everyone who left the British Empire/commonwealth did so voluntarily? I can't recall anyone ever being forced out who wanted to remain a part of it. I also can't recall any cases where a former colony, dominion or whatever, was cast off to become the subject of another country, rather than simply becoming independant. Given the recent referendum results, casting loose the Falklanders to the tender mercies of the Argentinians would seem to be both inhumane and unprecedented. Becoming part of the Argentine economy alone would be cruel enough, for get the politics. John Answer: Diego Garcia. Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 @ Colin - have never given much thought to Hawaiian statehood, though it's relatively recent - the last of the 50 states to be admitted. It was a US territory for some time before that and, as far as I know, sought statehood. I'm pretty sure a vote of the people was required, though I do think there is a native Hawaiian minority who occasionally presses for indepenance. That's not uncommon throughout the world - Basques and Catalonians in Spain; Quebec; Scotland; Northern Ireland - all those come easily to mind as having similar independence minded factions within their populations. In the Middle East the Kurds are caught between Turkey and Iraq and there are any number of tribes/factions/races/sub-nationalities in the Balkans who see themselves as a stand-alone population deserving of an independent homeland. Then there are the Palestinians, but that's quite another can of worms - smaller can but many more worms. My point about Hawaii is that, aside from a small minority, the inhabitants are at peace with being a US state and as far as I know, no other nation asserts that it should own Hawaii. Given all that, I guess it's a moot situation. Given that our current President was born in Hawaii (some still dispute that) it would be an interesting legal/constitutional question whether someone born there would be eligible to serve as President in the future if the state were permitted to become independant. All that is pretty hypothetical, of course. Other US territories that sometimes come up as potential candidates for statehood are Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa. None of those are likely to happen. Puerto Rico in particular has an economy in shambles and a fairly large population. It would very likely push our social welfare system off a financial cliff if their population became eligible for full benefits. @ Dai - Interesting reading at Wiki about Diego Garcia. I had no idea that had ever happened. It seems to have affected a population roughly similar in size to that of the Falklands, but it's not quite the same situation. As I read it the territory is still part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, therefore Britain retains sovereignty. What seems to have happened in Diego Garcia is that the indigent population was "expelled" to other countries. It sounds as if Mauritius sought (still seeks?) sovereignty but has been unsuccessful in acheiving it so far. There are some parallels there to Bikini and some other Pacific atolls whose inhabitants were forcibly expelled to facilitate nuclear testing in the late 40s and 50s and who, in some cases, still seek to return. None of those, as far as I know, involved a transfer of sovereignty, as Argentina seeks for the Falklands. I've assumed up to now that if Argentina were to acquire the Falklands that the current population would remain and would retain their current property rights, but would become Argentine citizens unless they chose to emigrate. I wonder if that's really what Argentina has in mind, or if they would force out the Falklanders. I guess it's all academic at this point as it's not likely to happen anytime soon. John Link to post Share on other sites
M31 0 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 As regards the Pope and religion ... I really don't do that stuff at all ... I sincerely think religion is the root of most if not all wars How about this for a statement from a church, how can anyone condone this? http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/popes-child-porn-normal-claim-sparks-outrage-among-victims-28577483.html Its no wonder some of those guys have the unfortunate reputation they do. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Thank the Goddess I'm a Wiccan and do not follow a monotheistic religion! We just let the rest fight among themselves! Link to post Share on other sites
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