Bullshit

She's at it again: Senora Kirchner, the increasingly desperate president of a near bankrupt Argentina, is following in the footsteps of her predecessor, General Galtieri in hoping to distract the Argentinian populace from domestic woes by making noises about the Falkland Islands, which she claims "belong to Argentina."

No they don't - in fact the islands were claimed by British Navy Captain Byron in 1765, though at the time they were a French possession, subsequently ceded to Spain but reclaimed by the British in 1833 since when the islands have been continually under British sovereign rule.

President Kirchner likes to refer to Argentinian territorial integrity, but for those who imagine that the islands are a short hop from Argentina (perhaps like the Isle of Wight apropos Britain) it's worth remembering that they are 310 miles from the Patagonian coast.  On that basis perhaps the USA will claim Cuba, which is 16 miles from Florida!

The 3000 inhabitants are resolute in their desire to remain under British protection; in fact the Argentinians rather blew it when they invaded in 1982, forcing the inhabitants to drive on the right and declaring Spanish to be the official language.  There were other heavy-handed diplomatic balls-ups at the time which served severely to piss-off the islanders.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that there is to be a referendum amongst the islanders concerning sovereignty, adding that Britain will "respect and defend the results of the plebiscite."  Also the islanders' leaders cite the UN charter regarding self-determination of peoples whilst President Kirchner bangs on about "colonial rule."

The Argentinian president would be better advised to focus her energies on the looming financial crisis in her country, and also bear in mind that apparently a substantial part of the Argentinian population actually don't give a damn!

Until the next time