From: user7160@newsgrouper.org.invalid
On 1/8/26 5:58 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
> On Wed, 7 Jan 2026 22:40:13 -0800, dart200
> wrote:
>
>> On 1/7/26 10:14 PM, Tara wrote:
>>> dart200 wrote:
>>>> On 1/7/26 8:41 PM, Tara wrote:
>>>>> Tara wrote:
>>>>>> dart200 wrote:
>>>>>>> On 1/7/26 6:49 PM, Tara wrote:
>>>>>>>> dart200 wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 1/7/26 6:27 PM, Tara wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> dart200 wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> On 1/7/26 11:24 AM, Dude wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>> On 1/7/2026 10:55 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 7 Jan 2026 10:27:51 -0800, Dude
wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 1/6/2026 6:55 PM, dart200 wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 1/6/26 6:53 PM, dart200 wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On 1/6/26 10:21 AM, Julian wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> It was the Viking, Eric the Red who, in AD 986, first saw
Greenland’s
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> potential. He wanted to colonise his newly-discovered
island, and in
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> a blatant piece of tenth-century spin-doctoring hit on a
wizard
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> wheeze to encourage other Norse people to come to this
bleak, icy and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> remote corner of the unknown world:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ‘In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had
found,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> which he called Greenland, as he said people would be
attracted there
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> if it had a favourable name.‘
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> More than a thousand years later, US president Donald Trump
is
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> proposing something similar.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ‘It’s a large real estate deal. Owning Greenland is
vital for US
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> security… and economic security… It’s an absolute
necessity and I
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> cannot assure you that we would not use military or economic
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> coercion.‘
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> That may sound outlandish. But Trump’s ambition isn’t
new. America
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> has controlled Greenland before: during the Second World
War, it
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> became a de facto US protectorate. The US has also
previously sought
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> to buy Greenland; in 1946, it offered $100 million in gold
bullion;
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> around $7 billion in today’s money.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> For now, Greenland belongs to Denmark. But Denmark’s
ownership of
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenland is itself a piece of bare-faced colonialism, as a
glance at
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> their policy of forced assimilation in the 1940s and 50s
makes clear.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> As a result, the Danes are much resented by most
Greenlanders.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenland has been moving towards independence almost as
long as it
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> has been a colony of Denmark. They were granted Home Rule in
1979.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This was expanded to full self-rule with the 2009
Self-Government Act
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> – legislation that also handed Greenland the right to
declare
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> independence. Today, Denmark retains control only of
defence, foreign
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> affairs, and monetary policy. The 2023 Greenlandic
constitution
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> explicitly commits the island to independence; and in his
2025 New
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Year speech, Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Egede,
called for an
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> end to ‘the shackles of colonialism’ and a future shaped
by
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenlanders themselves.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The final umbilical cord linking Greenland to Denmark is the
annual
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> block grant of 3.9 billion kroner (roughly £410 million),
making up
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> about 19 per cent of Greenland’s GDP. But to put that in
perspective,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> it is less than the amount annually spent by the US on the
city of El
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Paso, Texas. And it is minuscule compared to the mineral
wealth
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenland could one day command in partnership with a
deep-pocketed
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ally, of whom there are at least three: America, China and
Russia.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> China, in particular, has shown intense interest. At one
point,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Beijing proposed a $2.5 billion (£1.8 billion) investment
in a
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenlandic mine (more than the island’s entire GDP),
which would
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> have brought in 5,000 Chinese workers. Then they proposed
massive
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> infrastructure investments, including a deep-sea port and two
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> international airports. These would require capital which
would leave
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenland beholden for all time. Denmark and the US,
unsurprisingly,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> blocked these plans.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> So why are the great powers so keen to own Greenland? Natural
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> resources are a big reason why. The great powers’
unashamed lust for
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Greenland’s rare earths is but one element of a global
race to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> control the production of the strategic minerals which are
essential
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> components of batteries, phones, electric vehicles and all
modern
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> computing devices. It’s about silicon, germanium,
phosphorus, boron,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> indium phosphide, gallium, graphite, uranium, copper,
lithium, cobalt
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and nickel, among others. He who controls their production
holds the
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> key to the digital globe.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Odd as it may sound, it’s also about Taiwan. Taiwan
manufactures over
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 60 per cent of the world’s semiconductors and more than 90
per cent
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> of its most advanced chips. If China were ever to carry out
its
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> threat to invade Taiwan (which some observers think may be
imminent,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> perhaps encouraged by Donald Trump’s daring raid on
Venezuela), it
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> would gain near-total control of the global microchip
supply. Do we
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> really want to be dependent on China for every phone,
computer and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> electric vehicle produced in the West?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The US needs to develop chip-making capabilities comparable
to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Taiwan’s. To achieve this it needs reliable sources for
the 50 or so
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> critical minerals required. And Greenland holds concentrated
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