Oops, Clarkson's done it again

[DerekJ]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29474422

[Young Pretender]

Ha, he's undeniably good value entertainment.

[stu999]

...and publicity...

[AidanPlace]

I think he's been stitched up a bit. From the telegraph.....

 

“Top Gear bosses insisted the plate had not been chosen deliberately and was a pure coincidence.

But as paranoia gripped the southern Argentinian city of Ushuaia, officials upped the ante against Clarkson and his co-producers by accusing them of deliberate provocation.

Local councillor Juan Manuel Romano claimed the digits 269 on the number plate of the Ford Mustang Mustang Richard Hammond was driving were close to the 255 Britons killed during the 1982 war.

He also said the numbers 646 on James May’s Lotus could be taken as a reference to the 649 Argentinian casualties.”

 

 

I'm gonna have to be careful with my westy. No. is currently Q593 which is quite close to 666 snd i'm no devil worshiper

[John K]

If people want to be offended they will manage it.

Personally I am really annoyed that your plate is calling me a Git...

[jeff oakley]

It is a pity for their country that the Argentinian forces did not show more bravery when the war was on instead of picking on three cars with defenceless drivers.

What has happened here is one of three things, 1, An Argentinian red top paper saw a way of raising circulation by making trouble.

2 The Argentinian president Ms Kurcher is doing the old smoke and mirror trick to deflect the state of the economy as they are broke, by raising the old chestnut again.

3 Top gear producers wanted world wide promotion.

The Argentinian government knew they were coming and what they were doing, the cars were registered with those numbers when first built and the link is tenuous at best to any connection so which of the above is most likely

[Lyonspride]

^^

 

Somebody was saying that the plate originally belonged to a Honda motorbike.

[Dommo]

From Clarkson's comments it reads like number 2.

[iain m]

Ooops, done it again, they seem to select countries that really don't want them because they rejoice in rubbishing the usually impoverished inhabitants wherever they go. Ukraine was typical place where no sane tourist would venture, and they have to go the extra mile and insist on driving through Chernobyl. Either the risks are very minimal or they really do need help.

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

I did a check of the number plate on the Gov website and it's a genuine number and shows the car taxed and Mot'd until mid 2015, so whilst it doesn't show if the number has been changed, it is a legitimate UK plate and car.

 

So as has already been said, if they want to pick a fight with you, any excuse will do.

[Lyonspride]

Ooops, done it again, they seem to select countries that really don't want them because they rejoice in rubbishing the usually impoverished inhabitants wherever they go. Ukraine was typical place where no sane tourist would venture, and they have to go the extra mile and insist on driving through Chernobyl. Either the risks are very minimal or they really do need help.

 

Don't get me wrong, the Chernobyl incident was BAD, but it wasn't as bad as the media made it out to be, the plant still ran well into the 1990's.

 

People have lived inside the exclusion zone and still do, people who refused to leave their homes in 1986.

 

The view a lot of us have been given, is one that serves a political agenda, not helped by the "James Bond" derived ideas that everything nuclear is designed to kill billions of people. The purpose of the negative press is primarily to push forward renewable energy sources, which a lot of powerful people have invested A LOT of money in.

 

The same thing happened with Fukushima, we got a lot of inaccurate and over exaggerated stories from the media, most of the images we saw we're purely damage caused my the tsunami, but it was presented in such a way as to demonise nuclear power.

 

Did you know it's possible to make a battery that could run a car for over 10 years, using just the non-harmful isotopes present in nuclear waste? Image something the size of a normal car battery, capable of powering an electric vehicle way beyond it's expected service life.

Now I wonder what multi billion £ corporations would want to make sure that never saw the light of day? and I wonder how much they'd pay the right people to make sure none of us wanted it.

[tolf]

Fantastic, bring on a bit of controversy with the Argies.

Its about time they shut up about the Falklands, they like a good moan

Good on Top Gear

In next weeks jaunt, we need to see a Merc with 1945 on the number plate or 1966 on

Starting in Poland, via France, Germany, Italy, Russia and finishing on the beache of Normandy

[John K]

I am a die hard TG fan, but I am starting to worry that they peaked four series back and I am witnessing a slow decline.

I think they know it to, that why they are trying too hard and a trip through Argentina regardless of number plates was a bad judgement call.

Argentina is hurting internally great deal and as already been said, the government (and I use that term with tongue firmly in cheek) was bound to use and excuse to stir the poo to divert attention from their woes...

They will never get the islands back, four typhoons, a battery of Rapiers and an Astute class within 4 hours with a rods out blat has made sure they will never sneak back in.

So they will use any excuse to beat on the Brits, and TG gave them that excuse...

[M444TTB]

It is a pity for their country that the Argentinian forces did not show more bravery when the war was on instead of picking on three cars with defenceless drivers.

This is probably rather unfair given the makeup of their so-called forces during the war. However the rest, particularly 2. are on the money. The Falkland Islands are a very convenient for any Argentinian government to focus attention away from other issues. I truely hope I never see us give them a single cm of land there.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Ooops, done it again, they seem to select countries that really don't want them because they rejoice in rubbishing the usually impoverished inhabitants wherever they go. Ukraine was typical place where no sane tourist would venture, and they have to go the extra mile and insist on driving through Chernobyl. Either the risks are very minimal or they really do need help.

 

I quite liked the Chernobyl one: unlike the more recent ones which seem more than a little disrespectful to the inhabitants of whichever country they're visiting.  The Indian one sticks in the memory as being more bad slapstick/urine extraction than car programme.