Meanwhile Chávez made one of his little speeches yesterday directed at H.M. the Queen no less, tuteandola and insisting that las cosas han cambiado, such that this time Argentina won't stand alone. He was of course referring to the possibility of a retro-style war between the UK and the Argies, who might just be tempted into another ill-considered act of aggression against the English-speaking, right-hand driving Falkland islanders, now that a British firm has commenced drilling for oil in the waters around Las Malvinas.
No matter that Argentina's claim over the islands is as credible as Guatemala's over Belize.
King Juan Carlos and his missus Sofia were also treated to a bit of ad hoc disrespect this weekend just before the start of the basketball Copa del Rey when spectators in the Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao chanted 'fuera! fuera!' at them during the singing of the Spanish national anthem.
