Smoky Mountains Sunrise
Showing posts with label Falkland Islands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Falkland Islands. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

"Pope" Francis Assisted the Argentine Military Junta

On this day in 1983, thanks to Margaret Thatcher and British armed forces, Argentina's murderous military junta fell.  A key supporter of that criminal regime was none other than Jorge Mario Bergoglio.   "Pope" Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), according to Steve Pieczenik (MD, PhD, former United States Department of State official, psychiatrist) assisted the Argentine Military Junta between 1976-1977 in its crackdown of priests and nuns who tried to counter that regime.  Fancy that – the current Pope – assisted in the arrest, torture and subsequent murder of fellow Catholic priests and nuns.


 

Monday, March 18, 2013

An Old Foe Comes Calling: Kirchner Asks Pope to Intervene in Falklands Row

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner meets Pope Francis at the Vatican - Photo: AP

Cristina Kirchner, the kleptocrat, socialist leader of Argentina, has an approval rating in that country that only Jimmy Carter might envy.  She also has had a contentious history with the new Pope over social issues such as same-sex "marriage" and abortion.  Kirchner's late husband referred to then Cardinal Bergoglio as "the Leader of the Opposition," and the Kirchner's once leaned on the new Pope's Jesuit superiors and had him exiled to a small northern village where he served as a Math teacher.  But what a difference a Conclave makes.  Today, swathed in black, Kirchner appealed to her one-time adversary to help her gin up international pressure on Britain, that she might surrender to Argentina territory that was never Argentina's.

We have every confidence that a smart Jesuit sees what so many of Kirchner's countrymen have come to see - that all the noise coming from Kirchner is merely the political death-rattle of a corrupt politician attempting to divert attention from her nation's real problems.  She seeks  to rub raw nationalist resentments and anger about the defeat meted out to Argentina's murderous military junta when they launched an unprovoked invasion of the Falkland Islands thirty years ago.  

The Pope is surely aware that in recent weeks 99.8% of Falkland residents voted to remain British.  As head of a worldwide church of 1.2 billion souls, the Pope must also be loathe to offend and alienate The Commonwealth of Nations, a peaceful, positive force for good in the world, and a family of 54 nations comprised of 2.2 billion souls, that also happens to be headed by the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

All of this saber rattling on the part of the Argentine regime could easily be ignored were it not for the fact that 256 British, 649 Argentines, and 3 Falkland Islanders have already died as a result of selfish and desperate politicians in Buenos Aires.  

The Pope should intervene in this controversy.  Indeed, he is in a wonderful position to discredit the third-world autocrat who came calling today, along with her undemocratic and anti-Christian agenda.  He could end a corrupt and oppressive regime while defending the self-determination of Falkland residents, including the 10% who are Catholic.  It would be a small but meaningful step toward a more just and peaceful world.



Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Falkland Islanders Vote Yes in Referendum to Remain Part of Britain

The people of the Falklands have delivered one of the most emphatic votes in recent history when 99.8 per cent of those taking part in a referendum on the future of the islands said yes to remaining a British overseas territory.
 

Just three people responded with the answer “No” to the question: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?” A total of 1513 answered in the affirmative. 

Read more at The Telegraph >>

 

Friday, June 8, 2012

Barack Obama’s Unwelcome Jubilee Present to Britain

Washington reaffirms OAS resolution calling for Falklands negotiations with Argentina


By Nile Gardiner

Barack Obama: hardly "neutral" on the Falklands

Barack Obama was all smiles in his carefully scripted message of congratulation to Queen Elizabeth II on her Diamond Jubilee. But at the same time as he recorded his message, his administration was actively undermining Great Britain at the annual meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS), held in Bolivia. The OAS General Assembly, which includes the United States, has just re-adopted the 2010 “Declaration on the Question of the Malvinas Islands,” which backed Argentina’s call for negotiations between London and Buenos Aires over the Falkland Islands.
ANNOTATED AGENDA FOR THE
FORTY-SECOND REGULAR SESSION OF THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
(Approved at the first plenary session held on June 4, 2012)
The Question of the Malvinas Islands
Under the provisions of resolution AG/RES. 669 (XIII-O/83), the General Assembly decided to continue to examine the Question of the Malvinas Islands indefinitely.
Thus, at its fortieth regular session, the General Assembly adopted AG/DEC. 65 (XL-O/10), which, as at the previous regular session, reaffirmed the General Assembly’s commitment “to continue to examine the topic at subsequent sessions until a definitive settlement was reached.”
AG/DEC. 65 (XL-O/10)
DECLARATION ON THE QUESTION OF THE MALVINAS ISLANDS
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 8, 2010)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
CONSIDERING its repeated statements that the Question of the Malvinas Islands is a matter of enduring hemispheric concern;
RECALLING its resolution AG/RES. 928 (XVIII-O/88), adopted by consensus on November 19, 1988, in which it requested the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to resume negotiations in order to find, as soon as possible, a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute;
BEARING IN MIND that in its resolution AG/RES. 1049 (XX-O/90), it expressed satisfaction over the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries;
RECOGNIZING that the accreditation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, under CP/RES. 655 (1041/95), as a permanent observer of the OAS reflects principles and values shared by that country and OAS member states, which facilitate greater mutual understanding;
NOTING with satisfaction that the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland maintain important political, cultural and trade ties, share common values and are also engaged in close cooperation both bilaterally and in international fora;
BEARING IN MIND that, despite those ties and shared values, it has not yet been possible to resume the negotiations between the two countries with a view to solving the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas in the framework of resolutions 2065 (XX), 3160 (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12, 39/6, 40/21, 41/40, 42/19 and 43/25 of the United Nations General Assembly, the decisions adopted by the same body on the same question in the Special Committee on Decolonization, and the reiterated resolutions and declarations adopted at this General Assembly; and
HAVING HEARD the presentation by the head of delegation of the Argentine Republic,
WELCOMES the reaffirmation of the will of the Argentine Government to continue exploring all possible avenues towards a peaceful settlement of the dispute and its constructive approach towards the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands.
REAFFIRMS the need for the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to resume, as soon as possible, negotiations on the sovereignty dispute, in order to find a peaceful solution to this protracted controversy.
DECIDES to continue to examine the Question of the Malvinas Islands at its subsequent sessions until a definitive settlement has been reached thereon.
The inhabitants of the Falklands are more than 95 percent British and have no desire to be ruled by Argentina, a point that both the OAS and the Obama presidency are happy to ignore. This is a clear-cut case of self-determination, and the Obama administration's continuing support for a negotiated settlement (made abundantly clear by a senior State Department spokeman last week) is a slap in the face for both the Falkland Islanders as well as the British people. In his message to the Queen today, Barack Obama paid lip service to the Special Relationship, but his actions over the Falklands demonstrate that in practice he has nothing but disdain for America's closest friend and ally.


Friday, December 23, 2011

Argentina Once Again Provoking War Over the Falkland Islands

Is President Cristina Kirchner Counting on Marxist Friends in the Hemisphere?


The corrupt socialists that head the government of Argentina must once again be facing domestic political problems. It has become routine for precarious regimes in that dysfunctional country to rally public support by provoking their neighbors and international crises.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner is an Obama kind of gal. A former member of the Peronist Youth Movement, Ms. Kirchner has allied herself with Hugo Chavez, restricted the activities and movement of the U.S. ambassador, imposed confiscatory taxes and levies, attacked farmers for their "abundant" profits, and in 2008 proposed the transfer of $30 billion in private pension holdings to the government run social security system. Meanwhile, the net assets of Ms. Kirchner and her late husband increased by 572% since the couple came to power in 2003.

She has allied the country with Venezuela, and has what her government has termed a strategic relationship with communist China. She has hostile relations with Brazil, and this year seized an American military plane.

The Kirchner government is no friend of free speech either. Unions, allied with the government, have prevented the nation's most widely circulated newspapers from being delivered to newsstands.  This week the Argentine government has seized control of newsprint.

The Kirchner regime is now disrupting shipping to and from the Falkland Islands and threatening to cut communications links to those islands.

In response, Prime Minister David Cameron today assured the Falkland Islanders that their right to self-determination is guaranteed:
''Whatever challenges we face in the UK, the British Government's commitment to the security and prosperity of the overseas territories, including the Falklands, remains undiminished.

''So let me be absolutely clear. We will always maintain our commitment to you on any question of sovereignty. Your right to self-determination is the cornerstone of our policy. 

''We will never negotiate on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless you, the Falkland Islanders, so wish. No democracy could ever do otherwise.''
Perhaps Ms. Kirchner feels emboldened because the current American President is contemptuous of America's long-standing special relationship with Great Britain and is likely to side with a fellow Marxist.  It would seem that if Argentina is going to once again seize British territory, it will do so soon, rather than when Obama is gone.  Perhaps an effort to reclaim the Falklands will have to wait until there is an administration in Washington that is friendly with our traditional allies and the cause of freedom and self-determination in the world.  But whenever this matter comes to a head, if Britain must once again liberate the Falkland Islanders, she  should ensure that Argentina pays a memorable price for their outrageous and criminal behavior. 

The lives of thousands of British troops should not be put in danger without lasting regime change in Argentina, reparations, British controlled naval ports, and a military presence on the Argentine mainland until a lawful government is established.

Friday, February 26, 2010

"Heart of Oak" and "A Life on the Ocean Wave"


This sums up our thoughts on the saber rattling from Argentina and Venezuela over the Falklands, and Obama's "neutrality." And if we knew the Gurkhas' official march, we'd add it.





America Betrays Britain in Her Hour of Need

American and British Soldiers Parade Together During World War I

Of all the classless, ignoble and anti-American things this most reprehensible of Presidents has done, his betrayal of America's closest ally in an hour when she may yet again have to defend the self-determination of the Falkland Islanders from Argentina's Marxist cleptocrats, is a new low.

Obama made it clear when he returned the gift of the Churchill bust, that in addition to having no class whatsoever, he rejects all that for which America has stood, shoulder to shoulder, with our closest ally. He rejects America's leadership in the world, our historic defense of freedom and self-determination not only for us, but for all those who seek the torch of freedom. He rejects the principles that forged and supported an unparalleled, special relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill and Thatcher and Reagan.

As we have noted before, there is a natural, organic unity of the English-speaking peoples throughout the world based on their history, language and culture. They share a belief in "fair play," a dedication to individualism, have a strong sense of justice, and a willingness to stand up for the "little guy" and those who have been unfairly treated. These cultural qualities are the foundation for the great hallmarks of the English-speaking world -- Magna Carta, habeas corpus, trial by jury, freedom of speech, common law and America's own Bill of Rights.

We should expect that an American President at war with all that America's founders created, would be at war with those who share our values. But try as he might, no alien, two-bit, community agitator from the corrupt Chicago political machine will ever undo that organic unity.

We have a President who is known throughout the world for apologizing for America. In this small corner, we profoundly apologize to our British readers for the mistake America made in electing this despicable and illegitimate President. We are sure it is a mistake America will correct at the first opportunity.


Et tu, Barack? America betrays Britain in her hour of need

Barack Obama has taken a neutral stance on the Falklands (Photo: Getty)
From The Telegraph
By Toby Young

It was a headline I never expected to read:US refuses to endorse British sovereignty in Falklands oil dispute.” Washington has declined to back Britain in its dispute with Argentina over drilling rights in the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands. President Obama’s position is one of strict neutrality, refusing to take sides. According to the State Department:

We are aware not only of the current situation but also of the history, but our position remains one of neutrality. The US recognises de facto UK administration of the islands but takes no position on the sovereignty claims of either party.

Has it come to this? Tony Blair sacrificed his political career and jeopardised Britain’s international standing by making common cause with America in the War on Terror. No matter how often he claims it was because he believed it was “the right thing to do”, we all know what was really going on in his head. He simply didn’t want to break ranks with the United States. The Atlantic alliance has been the cornerstone of British foreign policy since 1941, when Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt joined forces against the Axis powers. Dean Acheson may have declared that Britain had lost an empire and yet to find a role, but successive British Prime Ministers have know what their role is and, by and large, it has been to stand shoulder to shoulder with America, presenting a united front in a series of global conflicts, from the Cold War to the Gulf.

It is not just cynical realpolitik. Our two nations have more in common with each other than they do with anyone else. We share a belief in liberal democracy, in freedom, and it is largely thanks to our willingness to commit ourselves to the defence of those ideals that the world has not been engulfed by fascism, communism or Islamofascism.

For this alliance to survive, both countries must recognise their obligations and, from time to time, that involves one of us setting aside more localised concerns for the sake of the cause. Tony Blair would have preferred it if President Bush had been prepared to wait for a second UN resolution before launching the invasion of Iraq, but he decided that Britain should follow America into battle nevertheless. He recognised that the preservation of the Atlantic alliance had to be prioritised above all else, both for our sake and the sake of the world.

In return, we naturally expect America to side with us when it comes to our own territorial disputes — and this element of quid pro quo was recognised by Ronald Reagan when he backed Margaret Thatcher in the Falklands War. It wasn’t in America’s regional interests to side with us, but Reagan knew the terms of the deal: It was your country, right or wrong. You don’t abandon your closest ally in her hour of need.

So it is truly shocking that Barack Obama has decided to disregard our shared history and insist that we have to fight this battle on our own. Does Britain’s friendship really mean so little to him? Do the sacrifices Britain has made in defence of the Atlantic alliance count for nought? Who does he think will replace us as America’s steadfast ally when she finds herself embroiled in a territorial dispute of her own — possibly with the very same motley crew of Latin American rabble rousers? Spain? Italy? France? Good luck with that, Mr President.

You’d think that having made his bones in Chicago, Obama would know the Chicago Code of Honour: When someone picks a fight with a friend of yours, they pick a fight with you.

It is at times like this that I remember the words of Harry Hopkins, Roosevelt’s unofficial emissary to Britain during the Second World War. In our darkest hour, when we stood virtually alone against Hitler, Hopkins was dispatched to Britain to assess our situation. Did we have the will to remain in the fight? Was this a country that America should risk its national interest to defend?

Before Hopkins returned to deliver his verdict to Roosevelt, Lord Beaverbrook gave a small dinner party for him and it was there that he rose to give a toast. “I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return,” he said. “Well I am going to quote to you one verse from the Book of Books: ‘Whither thou goest, I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’”

Amen.