America can't even afford to take proper care of Puerto Rico leave alone repair the decaying infrastructure in every nook and corner all over the land ... but their loudmouth president has the cheek to think about buying Greenland.
Kim Petersen at DissidentVoice
The Struggle against Colonialism and Imperialism in Kalaallit Nunaat: Part 4
Colonialism Lives on in the Mind of Donald Trump
Outside of melting glaciers and global warming discussions, Kalaallit Nunaat does not often find itself in the spotlight, and when it does, it is usually referred to as Greenland. United States president Donald Trump’s real-estate aspirations have given Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland prominence in recent news. It seems Trump is serious about the US purchasing Greenland. Judging by history, if Trump could swing such a purchase, he would certainly garner severe gravitas as a big-time deal-maker. And there is a precedent to such a real estate transaction between the US and Denmark. In 1917, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the US for $25 million. The islands were subsequently renamed the US Virgin Islands.
Said Trump about the proposed acquisition of Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland:
It’s just something we’ve talked about. Denmark essentially owns it. We’re very good allies with Denmark. We’ve protected Denmark like we protect large portions of the world, so the concept came up. Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not No. 1 on the burner, I can tell you that, Essentially, it’s a large real estate deal.Trump, commander-in-chief of the nation responsible for “protect[ing] large portions of the world” was ostensibly unaware that the per capita GDP (2018) in economically “badly” “hurting” Denmark is $62888.7 while the US has a per capita GDP (2018) of $54541.7. Neither did Trump mention that the projected US deficit for 2019 is $896 billion.
A lot of things can be done. It’s hurting Denmark very badly, because they’re losing almost $700 million a year carrying it. So they carry it at a great loss.
Moreover, in conducting such a mega-real estate transaction in the media, Trump does not come across as consummate or skilled in the art of a deal......
Gary Leupp at DissidentVoice
Thoughts on Greenland
Greenland was given its name by Erik the Red, the Norwegian who, after settling in the Viking colony of Iceland in the 960s, sailed west and in 982 discovered the huge island.
(There were people there already — Inuits, a people of Siberian origin scattered across northern North America. But it took a while before the Scandinavians and the indigenous met. This was not an early instance of European imperialism and the colonization of indigenous subjects so much as a quest for arable land and expression of medieval Nordic wanderlust.)
(The real Scandinavian colonization of the island only began in 1721; the Norwegian settler community had died out by 1500 and there had been little contact between the island and Norway, which from 1536-1814 was united with the more powerful Denmark. Norway had retained claims of sovereignty over Greenland from Viking times. Now through aggressive missionary work in tandem with the encouragement of extractive industries, cod fishing in particular, Greenland became a Danish colony. This occurred at the height of early modern Danish imperialism, after the Danes had acquired the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean beginning in 1671, as centers of slave-based sugar production; a string of fortified slave-trading settlements along the “Danish Gold Coast” of West Africa from 1661; and colonies in India–Serampore in Bengal from 1675, Tranquebar on the Cormandel Coast from 1620. The modern colonization should be seen in this perspective.)*
Greenland was an ice-covered wilderness, not green at all. Calling it Greenland was an expression of dry Nordic humor, and an advertising ploy. Erik wanted settlers for this newly discovered land, and they did come, from Norway and elsewhere.....
From BBC
Greenland: Trump criticises 'nasty' Denmark over cancelled visit
US President Donald Trump has called the Danish leader "nasty" after she rebuffed his idea of buying Greenland.
He
lashed out hours after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was
"sorry" that Mr Trump had abruptly called off a state visit to Denmark.She has dismissed the suggestion of such a land deal as "absurd".
Queen Margrethe II invited Mr Trump to visit Denmark on 2 September, and the manner of his cancellation has stunned the Scandinavian nation.
What did the US president say?
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Trump took umbrage at Ms Frederiksen's remarks."I thought that the prime minister's statement that it was absurd, that it was an absurd idea was nasty," he said.
"I thought it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to do is say no, we wouldn't be interested.".......
