Falklands referendum: islanders wearing Union flags party on voting day – Telegraph.
I think it’s a foregone conclusion that the Falklanders will overwhelmingly vote to retain their status as a British overseas territory.
Argentina has already denied the legitimacy of the referendum, of course. But they’ve also said they won’t use force to reclaim the islands.
One would have thought the issue was rather settled 31 years ago.
Our current policy of not taking sides is silly. We should just take our lumps diplomatically with Argentina, and declare what everyone knows to be true- the Falklands are British, and Argentina has no claim.
Craig Swain
dgharvey
ultimaratioregis
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IIRC, the Argies never held the islands, except briefly in the early 80s after which John Bull kicked them back out.
I heard on MarK Levin that our State Department won’t recognize the results of the ballot. Sigh.
92% voter turnout, and 99% + voted to stay as a British Overseas Territory. With plenty of international monitors about to show it was a free, fair election (but none from the USA, I think? not 100% sure about that).
I know politics is politics, but it would be nice if the US government acknowledged a) the Falklander’s right to determine their allegiance b) support one of their strongest allies, who is currently fighting and dying with them across the globe c) dismiss the Argentinean shit-stirring and recognise they don’t have any claim on the islands, other than if the islander’s wish there to be one – which this referendum has shown is currently not the case …
elizzar, do you really think the Brit-hating Obama will do anything remotely supportive of our cousins? Think again.
On the other hand, he may not know about the referendum yet, since he’s probably still in mourning for Chavez…
Argentina doesn’t really want them, the gov’t wants to distract the people from the crappy state of their nation.
This! It’s all theater, with a new group at the “other”.
Even if the Falklands are Argentine, Argentina will still be a failed economy. It’s because Argentina is socialist, and that never works for an economy as a whole.*
* 165 years of data across the world. Socialism’s failure to work as the system software of a Westphalian nation-state is independant of culture, ethnicity, and clime. It reinforces failure and crowds out solutions that do work like property rights, rule of law, small government, positive feedback loops like low corruption and a vigilant press, and checks and balances within a government.