The Greenland Invasion Scheme
BONUS: San Diego Activist Calendar
A big part of Make America Great Again apparently involves making America (more) imperialist again. Since collaboration is now out of vogue, conquering is on the agenda for the Trump administration.
Acquiring Greenland has been a recurring quest in US history. From the New York Times:
In 1868, Secretary of State William Seward, fresh off the Alaska purchase, commissioned a study about acquiring Greenland. He was interested in Greenland’s coal, but the plan didn’t go anywhere. American officials resurrected the idea in 1910 and again in 1946, seeing Greenland as a strategically important chunk of territory, but each time Denmark didn’t want to part with it.
Just prior to the Trump inauguration, Donald Trump, Jr and hangers on took a Trump-branded jet to Greenland’s capital Nuuk. Supposedly the visit was about acquiring footage for a podcast, but the main event aside from posing for pictures, was lunch at the Hotel Hans Egede with a group of people wearing Maga hats. The then-president-elect dialed in and by speakerphone told them: “We’re going to treat you well.”
An unsolicited visit to Greenland by members of the Trump administration this week has once again brought attention to the President’s assertions about doing “something” with the world’s largest island.
A delegation from Washington including Second Lady Usha Vance, wife of US Vice President JD Vance, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright was to visit semi-autonomous Danish territory from Thursday until Sunday.
Representatives of the US government were ringing doorbells in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, earlier this week, ahead of the now-cancelled visit from Second Lady, Usha Vance. TV 2's correspondent in Nuuk, Jesper Steinmetz:
- American representatives have been going around knocking on one door after another in recent days to ask if they would like to have a visit from the vice president's wife. Everywhere the answer was the same: "No, otherwise thank you," says Steinmetz.
- And that's why the plans have been changed, he adds.
Two events also changed this agenda, starting with the less-than-welcoming response from both Danish and Greenlander officials. There is credible speculation that VP Vance’s decision to join the trip is connected to a desire to avoid the spotlight associated with the Whiskey Gate texting scandal.
Also, according to Agence France-Presse:
Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, called the decision to limit the US visit "a de-escalation," a term also used by Foreign Minister Lokke.
"You do not come to another country when you haven't been welcomed," he told AFP.
Jacobsen added that the planned anti-US demonstration in Sisimiut, after a similar protest in the capital Nuuk on March 15, may have also factored into Vance's decision to contain the visit.
"Perhaps we could also see demonstrations like we saw in Nuuk just a couple of weeks ago where a lot of people had signs showing 'Yankee go home' and 'We're not for sale'," he said.
The itinerary has been reset; now a visit to the US Space Base in the northern part of the island is the sole stopover. I doubt the group will find enough touristy activity to stay for three days, so it’s safe to say the US delegation will leave earlier than promised.
From the Danish point of view, this pullback on what was supposed to be the start of a PR offensive is an early victory in what is expected to be a longer term struggle. My bet would be that phase two will include a misinformation campaign and some retaliatory tariffs against Denmark.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen praised Greenland on social media, while warning of more troubles to come:
“The attention is overwhelming and the pressure is great,” Frederiksen said. “But it is in times like these that you show what you are made of. You have not been cowed. You have stood up for who you are — and you have shown what you stand for. That has my deepest respect.”
During Donald Trump’s previous incarnation at the White House, buying Greenland was actively discussed. This time around, overtones of military and/or economic conflict are in the mix; threats from China/Russia are suggested.
The President has repeatedly suggested that the people of Greenland are yearning to be freed. They seem to have other opinions, according to Grist:
The Trump administration’s aggressive language has spooked Indigenous Greenlanders in particular, who make up 90 percent of the population and have endured a long history of brutal colonization, from deadly waves of disease and displacement to forced sterilization. “It's been a shock for Greenland,” said Aqqaluk Lynge, former president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and cofounder of Greenland’s Inuit Ataqatigiit political party. “They are looking at us as people that you just can throw out.”
Almost 80% of Greenland is covered by an ice cap containing enough fresh water to raise sea levels by 23 feet. Between 2002 and 2023, Greenland lost 270 billion tons of frozen water each year as winter snowfall failed to compensate for rising summer temperatures.
The 88% of the population who are Inuit (predominantly Kalaallit - or Danish/Inuit) share the memories of other northern indigenous peoples from the legacy of colonialism. Population centers are not connected by roads; air and sea transport are the norm.
There is a conscious effort underway to recapture the cultural heritage lost during colonization. Kalaallisut became the official language in 2009, and there is a growing -though cautious– independence movement. Tattoos from the pre-colonial era have become visible in public, a sign of growing rejection of the colonial legacy left by European Lutheran missionaries, who suppressed Inuit traditions by labelling them as pagan.
Copenhagen has recognized the island's right to independence at a time of its choosing. Despite the perception of the island as backward by foreigners, its towns have the modern infrastructure you’d expect to find in western countries.
But when it comes to “property,” a pillar of western capitalism, any would-be invaders would run into a cultural and legal challenge; land in Greenland is not “owned,” although houses built on property can be considered as possessions.
Greenland’s economy is mostly subsidized by Denmark; fishing represents its primary source of income. Through licensing agreements with European and Chinese entities for rare earth exploration the hope is the underground resources will free the economy. According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, by 2030, Greenland could provide nearly 10,000 tons of rare earth oxides to the global economy.
When discussions about Greenland’s strategic location arise, ship lanes made possible by the words not allowed in the Trump regime are the first things mentioned. The island is positioned to oversee both the (still melting) Northwest passage and the Northern Sea Route already in use by the Russians.
Last month, JD Vance blasted Denmark for "not doing its job" and "not being a good ally" by not countering the Chinese use of sea lanes in the region.
"So you have to ask yourself: How are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security?" JD Vance told Fox News. "If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do."
Combined with Trump’s desire to acquire Canada, the prospect of these moves gives credence to the view holding that the president’s ideas about foreign policy have more to do with spheres of influence run by oligarchs competing for resources and technology.
This ties in with VP Vance’s discussion (in Whiskey Gate) about billing Europe and Egypt for costs associated with taking out the Houthi rebels. Other sovereign (but not strategic) nations will be allowed to exist in the shadows of these oligarchies to pay tribute on demand.
If this sounds medieval to you, you’re right. Because what these self-entitled rulers really want is to take our world back to those times. Only this time it won’t be a supreme being used to validate their power, it will be their wealth.
I’ll be doing my best to alert readers to events as fast as I learn of them. Let me know at dougporter506@yahoo.com There will be a HUGE nationwide demonstration on April 5, including a march on Washington DC. In San Diego, the meet up will be at the downtown Civic Center. (Details below)
3/27 - NESTLE BOYCOTT - Week One (Day 7/8) EVERYWHERE
3/27 - Issa Hold a Town Hall: 11am-Noon- Weekly in El Cajon
3/27 - Tesla Sign Waving - Encinitas 4pm - 5:30pm
3/27 - What’s the Plan? A Weekly Discussion with Indivisible’s Co-Founders. Noon.
Virtual event, Registration
3/28 - NESTLE BOYCOTT - Week One (Day 8/8) EVERYWHERE
3/28 - Issa Hold a Town Hall Escondido, 10:30 - 11:30
3/29 - Transgender Day of Visibility 11am- 2pm, Civic Center Plaza, Oceanside
3/29 - Global Day of Action for Tesla Takedown, Encinitas 3-4:30 pm.
3/30 - Support Ukraine Rally at Balboa Park 2-4pm El Cid Statue
4/2 - Hands-Off DE-ESCALATION TRAINING (Virtual event) 5pm
(For attendees of Apr 5 protest)
4/3 - Issa Hold a Town Hall: 11am-Noon- Weekly in El Cajon
4/3 - Tesla Sign Waving - Encinitas 4pm - 5:30pm
4/3 - What’s the Plan? A Weekly Discussion with Indivisible’s Co-Founders. Noon.
Virtual event, Registration
4/3 - How to Fight for the Department of Education (Nation Zoom event) 3pm
RVSP to Red Wine & Blue
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4/5 - Remove - Reverse - Reclaim / Hands-OFF
Nationwide Day of Protest Noon-3pm Civic Center Plaza, Downtown San Diego
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4/6 - Support Ukraine Rally at Balboa Park 2-4pm El Cid Statue
4/07-4/14 – Walmart Boycott
4/9 - Miramar College Earth Day 12-2pm Miramar Quad
4/10 - Issa Hold a Town Hall: 11am-Noon- Weekly in El Cajon
4/10 - Tesla Sign Waving - Encinitas 4pm - 5:30pm
4/10 - What’s the Plan? A Weekly Discussion with Indivisible’s Co-Founders. Noon.
Virtual event, Registration
4/11 - Issa Hold a Town Hall Escondido, 10:30 - 11:30
Ramona Resist is demonstrating every Sunday from 11am to 1pm, 10th and Main streets.
Click HERE for more upcoming events.
ICE Agents Abduct Tufts Student While Hiding Their Faces by Marin Scotten at The New Republic
On Tuesday evening, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University with a valid F-1 visa, was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials while on her way to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast, according to a statement from her lawyer….
…Last spring, Ozturk co-authored an opinion essay in the student newspaper that demanded Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest from companies tied to Israel.
“The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event, and the location where this took place is not affiliated with Tufts University,” the statement reads. “We realize that tonight’s news will be distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community.”
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Media's Mixed Success With Trump's Voter Registration Order by Parker Malloy at The Present Age
What would better coverage look like? Headlines should have emphasized the legally questionable nature of the order, such as "Trump Signs Election Order Legal Experts Say Exceeds Presidential Authority." And the crucial context about the order's dubious legality should have been front and center.
The actual impact of the EO, if it somehow survived legal challenges, would be severe. The Brennan Center estimates that 21.3 million U.S. citizens of voting age (about 9% of eligible voters) don't have readily available proof of citizenship. The Washington Post and NPR both included this important information, but again, placed it well below the more Trump-friendly framing.
This is a persistent problem with political journalism. When covering actions that push legal boundaries, too many outlets bury the most important context— the questionable legality — deep in their stories, while leading with framing that inadvertently legitimizes these actions. The information is there, but it's not where most readers will see it.
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Ukraine Sacrificed: U.S.-Russia Agreement in Saudi Arabia Lifts the Veil on Broken Promises by Oleksandra Ustinova at Oleksandra’s Substack
It's a complete betrayal negotiated behind Ukraine’s back when Ukraine has declared its willingness for a complete ceasefire. Basically Russians continue to do what they had been doing for the last 3 years plus receive a bonus in lifting sanctions while Ukraine has to stop the deep strikes on their oil depots.
Concessions were granted to Russia, while Ukraine received nothing in return. The only supposed benefit—“security for trade in the Black Sea”—is misleading at best. Ukraine had already achieved that independently over a year ago by disabling or sinking a dozen Russian warships that had been targeting civilian merchant vessels.
Framing this so-called agreement as a win for safe shipping is just a smokescreen. In reality, Ukraine secured that safety through force. This deal is less about maritime security and more about easing sanctions on Russia—conveniently timed as global demand for fertilizers surges, and with Russia poised to replace Canada as a primary supplier to the U.S. That’s the real motive.
