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Argentina

Cristina Kirchner's 11 Worst Gaffes Ever

Cristina Kirchner's 11 Worst Gaffes Ever
Worldcrunch

Argentine President and faux pas expert Cristina Kirchner graced us with yet another verbal woopsie Wednesday, when she tweeted, while on a state visit to China seeking investment:

Más de 1.000 asistentes al evento… ¿Serán todos de “La Cámpola” y vinieron sólo por el aloz y el petlóleo? …

— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) February 4, 2015

"More than 1000 people attending the event, are they all from "La Cámpola" and did they just come for the lice and petloleum?"

The comment was meant as a comeback to criticism that she packs events with her own supporters — but the point she was trying to make was somehow completely obliterated by the fact she thinks Chinese people talk funny.

This, obviously, is far from being CFK's first slip — she's become somewhat of a pro in the ancient art of inappropriate zingers and WTF remarks, and could easily take on the mantle left by the slowly quieting Silvio Berlusconi.

It's not clear where this latest one fits in the rankings of Kirchner blunders and awkward comments, but here are ten more from the past:

#10. PARANOID, MUCH?

We start with this impressive, completely uncensored, 28 tweet- and 30 minute-long rant, in which Kirchner vented all her frustrations about the International Monetary Fund (IMF, or FMI in Spanish), back in February 2013.

FMI+FBI contra Argentina. No se asusten, el FBI son los Fondos Buitres Internacionales.

— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) February 2, 2013

"FMI+FBI against Argentina. Dont be scared, the FBI is the International Vulture Fund."



#9. WISHFUL THINKING

“If I were a genie I’d make some people disappear.” A bewitching threat from CFK back in January 2010.



#8.
DOCTOR K

“Diabetes is a rich person’s illness, because they’re sedentary and eat a lot,” said Kirchner in March 2013. A vintage year apparently.



#7.
XENOPHOBIC EUROPE

In August 2012, an inexplicably elated Cristina refers to Chaco Province Governor Jorge Capitanich saying “He’s dark-skinned. He seems kind of indigenous, but he isn’t. He comes from Europe, from xenophobic Europe.”



#6. MODESTY

"I feel a little bit like Napoleon," she quipped in March 2012.

[rebelmouse-image 27088613 alt="""" original_size="235x183" expand=1]



#5. MODESTY PART II


“I love building. I must be the reincarnation of a great Egyptian architect.”



#4.
MODESTY PART III


“One should only fear God. And me. A little. At least the government employees who depend on me for their appointments.” (March 2012)



#3. BASICS

“In chemistry the only thing I learned was that water is H20. That’s as far as I got,” Kirchner confessed back in 2012, no doubt appreciated by all of Argentina's high school science teachers.


#2. CFK NOT REALLY PC

“How wonderful it is to see our dark-skinned people — some call them blacks, we call them dark-skinned — enrolling in public universities,” Kirchner said in August 2012.



#1. WHAT NOW?

“The consumption of pork meat improves sexual activity. That’s no small thing. Besides, I think it’s much more satisfying to eat barbequed pork than it is to take a Viagra. Let me tell you, I’m crazy about pork.” (January 2010)

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Economy

First It Was Poland's Farmers — Now Truckers Are Protesting Ukraine's Special Status

For the past month, Poland has been blocking off its border checkpoints to Ukrainian trucks, leaving many in days-long lines. It's a commercial and economic showdown, but it's about much more.

Photogrqph of a line of trucks queued in the  Korczowa - border crossing​

November 27, 2023, Medyka: Trucks stand in a queue to cross the border in Korczowa as Polish farmers strike and block truck transport in Korczowa - border crossing

Dominika Zarzycka/ZUMA
Katarzyna Skiba

Since November 6, Polish truckers have blocked border crossing points with Ukraine, citing unfair advantages given to the Ukrainian market, and demanding greater support from the European Union.

With lines that now stretch for up to 40 kilometers (25 miles), thousands of Ukrainian truckers must now wait an average of about four days in ever colder weather to cross the border, sometimes with the help of the Polish police. At least two Ukrainian truck drivers have died while waiting for passage into Poland.

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The round-the-clock blockade is being manned by Polish trucking unions who claim that Ukrainian trucking companies, which offer a cheaper rate, have been transporting goods across Europe, rather than between Poland and Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian truckers have been exempt from the permits once required to cross the border.

Now, Polish truckers are demanding that their government reintroduce entry permits for Ukrainian lorries, with exceptions for military and humanitarian aid from Europe. For the moment, those trucks are being let through the blockade, which currently affects four out of Ukraine’s eight border crossings with Poland.

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