Argentina

[raison de arizona]

Argentina elected a real doozy.

The new President of Argentina, Javier Milei, in his own words:

-he considers Pope Francis a “filthy leftist”

-he says that "redistributing wealth is a violent act”

-he has called climate change a “lie of socialism”

-his governing philosophy is that “you can’t give shit leftists an inch”

-he pledges to end the Central Bank of Argentina

-his view on China is that he “doesn’t cut deals with Communists”

-his views on abortion is: “When you construct on the basis of an incorrect moral principle, the result is filth. How can being able to kill other human beings be a right gained? As a liberal, I believe in the unrestricted right to life based on the defence of life, liberty and property. I defend life, biology says that life begins with conception”

-on other politicians: “Micky Mouse is the aspiration of every Argentine politician because he is a disgusting rodent whom everybody loves”

In other words, this guy is absolutely a dream come true.

Can I move to Argentina?

https://x.com/JoeyMannarinoUS/status/17 ... 71051?s=20

Yes Joey, please do. And take your audience with you.

[raison de arizona]

He seems delightful.

► Show Spoiler

► Show Spoiler

[Suranis]

What people are leaving out, in the rush to find things to be artfully outraged about, is the overall basic fact that the guy is a Libertarian.

Libertarians can sound pretty cool when they talk about self reliance and so forth, but the problem is that when it comes around to responding to people asking for help/problems/disasters, their only response is "deal with it yourself."

[Suranis]

In "here we go again" news

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67487881

Falkland Islands sovereignty not up for debate, says Rishi Sunak's spokesman


The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean
By Sam Francis
Political reporter, BBC News

Rishi Sunak's spokesman has said there is "no doubt" the Falkland Islands are British after Argentina's new president said it was time to "get them back".

Javier Milei, elected as Argentina's president on Sunday, said Buenos Aires had "non-negotiable sovereignty" over the islands.

And he vowed to get the islands back through "diplomatic channels".

But the UK prime minister's spokesman said the issue of sovereignty "was settled decisively some time ago".

Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. The two countries fought a war over the issue, after Argentine forces invaded the islands in 1982.

The Falklands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas, are about 8,000 miles from the UK and about 300 miles from mainland Argentina.

In a 2013 referendum, the people of the Falkland Islands voted 99.8% in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory.

Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said on Tuesday that the British government would continue to "proactively defend the Falkland Islanders right to self-determination".~

'Malvinas are Argentine'

Earlier this year, Argentina pulled out of a co-operation deal signed in 2016 and has been pushing for talks on sovereignty.

In the agreement, Argentina and the UK pledged to "improve co-operation on South Atlantic issues of mutual interests".

Mr Milei said during a TV election debate: "What do I propose? Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands is non-negotiable. The Malvinas are Argentine.

"Now we have to see how we are going to get them back. It is clear that the war option is not a solution.

"We had a war - that we lost - and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels."

In a newspaper interview with La Nacion, a daily newspaper in Argentina, he proposed that the UK hand over the Falklands to his South American country in a similar way to how Hong Kong was given back over to Chinese rule in 1997.

The populist politician, who has described himself as an anarcho-capitalist and is said to have lauded Margaret Thatcher - the British prime minister during the Falklands conflict - said the views of those living on the islands "cannot be ignored".

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it is "non-negotiable and undeniable" that the Falkland Islands are British.

In a social media post he said: "99.8% of islanders voted to remain British and we will always defend their right to self-determination and the UK's sovereignty."

In his tweets, Mr Shapps rejected any negotiation on the future of the Falklands, pointing out that the Royal Navy had redeployed HMS Forth to "protect the islands" in the southern hemisphere.

It follows a nine-month stint by HMS Medway patrolling the islands waters

[Volkonski]

Argentina should think carefully before tweaking the tail of the British lion again.

British Navy-
2 aircraft carriers
6 guided missile destroyers
11 frigates
2 amphibious transport docks
10 nuclear-powered submarines
9 mine countermeasures vessels
26 patrol vessels
2 survey vessels
1 icebreaker
The Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries have a total displacement over 763,400 tonnes

Argentine Navy-
4 destroyers
2 amphibious support ships
2 submarines (both non-operational as of 2022)
4 Corvettes
10 patrol boats
1 ice breaker
1 tanker
1 tugboat
3 coastal buoy tenders
The total displacement of the fleet (including) was approximately 128,400 tonnes

RAF- 31,710 active personnel
Argentine Air Force- 13,837 active personnel

[raison de arizona]

What people are leaving out, in the rush to find things to be artfully outraged about, is the overall basic fact that the guy is a Libertarian.

Libertarians can sound pretty cool when they talk about self reliance and so forth, but the problem is that when it comes around to responding to people asking for help/problems/disasters, their only response is "deal with it yourself."

I know Libertarians, I was a meeting attending card carrying one myself for a spell in my youth. I don't know any that talk like this. It will be interesting (or something) to see what he does in leading the state.

[AndyinPA]

We were in Argentina about ten years ago. It was clear, no matter the outcome of the Falklands War, that they still believed it belonged to them. From what I read afterward, they may be a lot closer, but history is on the British side.

[Ben-Prime]

What people are leaving out, in the rush to find things to be artfully outraged about, is the overall basic fact that the guy is a Libertarian.

Libertarians can sound pretty cool when they talk about self reliance and so forth, but the problem is that when it comes around to responding to people asking for help/problems/disasters, their only response is "deal with it yourself."

I know Libertarians, I was a meeting attending card carrying one myself for a spell in my youth. I don't know any that talk like this. It will be interesting (or something) to see what he does in leading the state.

There's more than a few anarcho-capitalists lurking in the 'big l' of formalized Libertarian movements. That and nationalistic populism (a la Trump, but predating him and here long after he's gone) are two of the reasons my left-leaning small-l libertarianism could no longer stomach a home in the official U.S. and Florida State-level parties, and left both to be purely NPA.

This guy sounds like some of the guys I literally crossed the street to avoid on the University of Florida campus even 30 years ago when I was semi-active in local LP things.

[Suranis]

What people are leaving out, in the rush to find things to be artfully outraged about, is the overall basic fact that the guy is a Libertarian.

Libertarians can sound pretty cool when they talk about self reliance and so forth, but the problem is that when it comes around to responding to people asking for help/problems/disasters, their only response is "deal with it yourself."

I know Libertarians, I was a meeting attending card carrying one myself for a spell in my youth. I don't know any that talk like this. It will be interesting (or something) to see what he does in leading the state.

Specifically, I was thinking about Jesse Ventura's stint as a Governor.

[raison de arizona]

How it started, how it's going...
https://twitter.com/esjesjesj/status/18 ... 1368766769

In Milei’s Argentina, farmers are trashing hundreds of tons of tangerines instead of selling them.

A spokesman for local growers says the fruit "rots because people don't have money to buy it."

Screenshot 2024-07-01 at 07.17.53.png (387.74 KiB) Viewed 1128 times

[RTH10260]

Poverty in Argentina soars to over 50% as Milei’s austerity measures hit hard
Far-right president has been battling inflation by imposing steep cuts in spending, resulting in widespread poverty

Harriet Barber in Buenos Aires
Fri 27 Sep 2024 20.36 CEST

Argentina’s poverty rate has soared to almost 53% in the first six months of Javier Milei’s presidency, offering the first hard evidence of how the far-right libertarian’s tough austerity measures are hitting the population.

The new poverty rate, reported by the government’s statistics agency on Thursday, is the highest level for two decades, when the country reeled from a catastrophic economic crisis, and means 3.4 million Argentinians have been pushed into poverty this year.

Since taking office in December, the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” – who campaigned with a chainsaw in hand to symbolise the cuts he would make – has slashed public spending in an effort to tame chronic inflation and eliminate the budget deficit.

His administration has frozen pensions, reduced aid to soup kitchens, cut welfare programmes and stopped all public works projects. Tens of thousands of public employees have been fired, reduced energy and transportation subsidies have pushed costs up, and purchasing power has eroded.

Kirsten Sehnbruch, an expert on Latin America at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said she had never seen such a large jump in poverty rates. “This new economic programme is not protecting the poor,” she said. “The jump is absolutely horrendous.”

Milei’s cuts, however, have been cheered by markets, investors and the International Monetary Fund, to which Argentina owes $43bn. Monthly inflation has also decreased from about 26% in December to about 4% in June, where it has remained, although annual inflation still remains one of the highest in the world, exceeding 230%.

María Claudia Albornoz, a community worker from Santa Fe, said the government had “provoked a situation of desperation”. “We are feeling it in the fridge, empty and unplugged. Money is really worth absolutely nothing. We have three jobs and it is not enough,” she said.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... tina-milei