What does Greenland think of Trump and Vance

[kevinnnnn]

Watching Vance rip into Denmark. What does Greenland think of the US? And what do they think of Denmark? I’m a little ignorant around the politics of Greenland/Denmark but would love to know.

But then the Mennonites in America still speak German like some of the Amish. It was a Mennonite community that has had a measles outbreak where a child has died. Isolated communities.

I was thinking tectonic plates when thinking it was part of "the American continent".

Again, there is no American continent. There is a continent called North America. Greenland happens to be on the North American tectonic plate, but then so is Canada and Mexico and a good bit of Russia, while bits of the US are on other plates.

Continents and tectonic plates are different things and neither have any political relevance.

Oh this is interesting, I’d kind of assumed (or never really thought about it) that Greenland and Denmark rubbed along just fine.

I read something this week about Greenland having an abundance of mineral rich soil which could be sold and exported abroad. Is this not already tapped into and is this what America wants?

Could Greenland even be independent?

Would the people of Denmark happily flog Greenland to the highest bidder to enrich their own bit of the country?

I love this good for them , on a lighter note I saw a thing that shops were not welcoming them and some might close.

Greenland has barely any soil, let alone ‘mineral rich’ soil. Are you getting confused by the term ‘rare earth’? This is a chemistry term referring to lanthanide elements such as scandium and neodymium, which it is thought there might be substantial deposits of in Greenland. There’s also potentially uranium.

There is some mining in Greenland but it is largely undeveloped as the locals aren’t keen and the conditions make mining extremely expensive, not to mention the mile-thick icecap covering 90% of the country.

Trump is keen to get at all those lovely minerals as the ice cap melts.

Hands up, yes, I’m possibly confused. I’m trying to find the article I read (which also confused me as I know Greenland is covered in thick ice). I’ll tag you in it if I find it!!

Greenland is home to minerals like lithium, niobium, and zirconium, all of which are useful for the production of batteries, electronics, and electric cars.

This is after a google

One or two remarks by JDV started to make sense to me, his comments about security of the Northern seaways have logic and may be the offcuts of real strategic thinking (by somebody else).
Back in the Cold War, Stalin etc. USA was worried about air attacks from Russian bases. The Great Circle Route for those and missiles would have been over Polar area into the USA. They installed The DEW line Early Warning detection system of Radar Posts across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland and I think Faroes.
These were redundant from 1980 or so. But it shows that the USA can be legitimately worried about being open.

The USA could be worried about shipping in the Northern Latitudes. Because of Global warming the Northern seas have less thick ice than in earlier years. Over the last ten years strengthened cargo ships have been able to sail from Murmansk to Vladivostok. The Northern Route above Canada is not yet open to so many ships yet but one can see the risks to USA. Are those risks any more than unlikely we don't know. We, that is you and I have not been told yet, but I think some boffin with two brains has calculated it to 3 places of the decimal.

I suggest that we also think about population size for a moment or two. Greenland has a population of 60,000.
Denmark has a population of >8 million Similar to Norway.
Massachusetts also has a population of a bit less than 8million
California ha a population of nearly 40 million.
Canada has a population of 41 million.
To the American Mind, size matters. Size is taken seriously even if subconsciously.

Greenland is in NATO, so highly unlikely anyone will try to take it by military force.

Apparently the UK has first dibs anyway. Although as we only have 7p we probably won't be making a purchase offer.

That's a can of worms and a half if the attacker is the US...an attack on one is an attack on all!!

Why should Greenland have to be sacrificed to the interests of the US though? The US doesn't care about any interests other than its own (at the moment).

@Thoughtsonstuff , I have not said that Greenland should be sacrificed for any reason. But in the past the US had reasonable worries because they were the country that would have to be knocked out and they spent a great deal of money on warning systems. These concerns are legitimate but must be assessed. With the DEW line in the 1950s there were negotiations and payments to other countries.

They most likely think what a pair of utter bell-ends!

Putin vibes

https://bsky.app/profile/eadamson91.bsky.social/post/3lllcrs6f522l

Key line: “This is not just history, it is destiny.”

Any American schoolchild will hear echos of “manifest destiny”, the ideology that justified westward expansion — with and without force.

This propaganda video is laying more rhetorical groundwork for the annexation of Greenland.

Yes dont worry I didnt think you had. But Pre Trump, the US could argue that it's interests were also western/ NATO interests. That's currently no longer the case.

The US can carry on with warning systems based on Greenland presumably if Denmark agrees. I think there's an agreement in place anyway. Similar to the agreements the US has with other NATO countries.

So not sure why Trump needs to actually own Greenland. Other than to exploit its mineral rights. I heard on the news some US commentator making the argument that the US could justifiably seize Greenland on the basis that the Greenlanders hadn't got round to digging up the minerals themelselves.

Thankyou @Thoughtsonstuff
Until the very recent retreat of glaciers and the loss of ice cover mining would have been almost impossibly difficult. Now it is just bloody hard! There is no pool of skilled labour to draw on. Maybe with remote operated equipment that is more easily overcome.
It is I think, still uneconomic. There are resources for most metals in other places like Australia, South America, and Africa. Central Asia. USA has copper in Nevada, Uranium in Texas and some Rare Earths.
My suspicion is that for Trump, it would be a way of stopping other countries developing the area,

Except Trump- who is stupid & egotistical enough to try it and throw a tantrum when NATO intervenes.

putin & trump are cut from the same cloth. Old men either fragile egos who have no thought for the repercussions of their actions.

For those who want to see more about what Greenland is like "on the ground", from a Greenlander, there is the YouTube channel "Q's Greenland".
The recordings are all short, and she's been making them for years.
It's very informative, and some of the questions raised in this thread are things she has talked about in the past.
She also comes across as a really nice person.

My city in Canada hosted the youth Arctic Winter Games a couple of years ago. There was a good contingent from Greenland. Many of them were fascinated as we live in the middle of the boreal forest and they had not seen trees before!

If you haven’t heard of it, google Hans Island and the Whisky War.

https://elementalraremetals.com/new-page
I hope this link works for you.
If you scroll down you will see simple summaries of the properties of the minerals in the Resource. All you need is money?
If anyone is really interested in Minerals there is an organisation called Women in Mining. I met some geologists there. The Sundowner drinking sessions are popular. Nearly everyone is serious about mining but they will explain things simply. https://www.womeninmining.org.uk/about/

THe US doesn't care about it's own either. Some of it's citizens are suffering third world levels of poverty, JD Vance has a cheek saying Denmark has negleted Greenland, he needs have have a look in his own back yard if he wants to see neglected people.

I wonder if Trump is just sitting on this Greenland threat and waiting for near the next election. He could then invade Greenland, this would no doubt trigger mass protest on US streets, which Trump could then clamp down on with some sort of marshal law and cancvelled elections?

I follow her on Facebook but I didn't know she was on you tube ill look it up.