It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, January 08, 2025
'How about if we buy Alaska?' Canadian premier claps back at Trump
RAW STORY Ontario Premier Doug Ford smiles as he hosts the Fall meeting of Canada's premiers in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio A right-wing Canadian politician is having none of President-elect Donald Trump's repeated demands for Canada to join the U.S. as a state if they want to avoid tariffs.
According to The Daily Beast, he's responding in kind.
“I know under my watch, in Ontario, we would never be for that at all,” said Doug Ford to reporters on CTV News. “We have the greatest country in the world. We have the greatest province anywhere.” When asked to offer more thoughts, Ford said, “How about if we buy Alaska? And we’ll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time.”
He clarified he was speaking facetiously by adding, “You know, it’s not realistic.”
Ford, whose late brother Rob was an infamously colorful figure as the mayor of Toronto, is a member of the right-leaning Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
However, he has grown increasingly irked with Trump's behavior from across the border; in a previous speech, he called Trump's remarks about Canada "insulting" and “like a family member stabbing you right in the heart," and he may be in a position to squeeze energy supplies that flow from Canada into the U.S.
Trump's fixation on acquiring Canada has developed as a result of his repeated threats to levy draconian tariffs on the country, along with Mexico and China.
Economists have broadly warned these tariffs would cause a massive surge in prices for energy and retail goods if Trump were to go through with them as promised on the campaign trail.
'This is not normal': Mehdi Hasan recalls 'even Bush didn’t have a transition like' Trump’s
Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan shared his thoughts on Donald Trump's Tuesday declaration that he's not opposed to using military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Speaking with Hasan on the latest episode of MSNBC's The ReidOut, host Joy Reid said, "At the moment, Trump is either talking tough to make it look like he's the real boss by saying he's going to invade Panama and Greenland and Canada, and be an expansionist like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, or he's just speaking Putin and [billionaire] Elon [Musk's] desires."
She added, "I can never tell which, I just know Trump is not in charge."
Hasan replied, "Before we go any further, Joy, let's just take a step back to your viewers and just remind ourselves, to keep ourselves sane. None of this is normal. Rght? The beginning of 2025, we should not be on live American television discussing a president-elect press conference, where he said he may invade two of our allies."
"I'm the guy who was worried about Trump attacking Iran, [or] Trump starting a war with China," Hasan continued. "I did not have it on my bingo card for war with Denmark and Panama in 2025 — from the guy, as you said, who was supposed to be the 'no more wars' president. I have leftist friends of mine — Muslim friends of mine — saying, 'Well, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been so hawkish. At least Donald Trump will be antiwar.' He's not even president yet and he saying I can't rule out military action against a fellow NATO member: Denmark."
The former MSNBC host emphasized, "The whole thing is so absurd that we have to keep reminding ourselves and pinching ourselves, that this is not normal. No other president-elect, including George W. Bush — even he didn't have a transition like this. So we have to keep reminding ourselves that we are in upside down world."
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, wasted no time trolling President-elect Donald Trump, posting a vintage map showing that a large portion of what is now the United States of America used to be called “Mexican America.” President Sheinbaum delivered her remarks in response to Trump’s claim that he will rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
President Sheinbaum “used her Wednesday morning news conference to show a world map dating from 1607. The map labeled North America as Mexican America and already identified the Gulf of Mexico as such, 169 years before the United States was founded,” The New York Times reports.
“Why don’t we call it Mexican America? It sounds pretty, no?” Dr. Sheinbaum said in Spanish (video below).
“In response to Mr. Trump’s comment that Mexico was ‘essentially run by the cartels,’ Ms. Sheinbaum told reporters on Wednesday that, ‘with all due respect,’ the president-elect was ill-informed,” The Times also noted.
Dr. Sheinbaum, a former Mayor of Mexico City, has a PhD in energy engineering. She is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning physicist who appeared on the BBC‘s “list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2018.”
During her Wednesday press conference, President Sheinbaum also told reporters, “In Mexico, the people rule.”
“And we are going to collaborate and understand each other with the government of President Trump, I am sure of it, defending our sovereignty as a free, independent and sovereign country.”
According to The Times, she stated that her country is “very interested in stopping the entry of U.S. firearms into Mexico,” and complained about the large number of guns illegally smuggled from the U.S.
The Washington Post’s global affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor, pointing to the Mexican President’s comments, noted, “We’re seeing some responses to Trump’s absurdity.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)
Firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took little time in following through on her vow to draw up legislation to make President-elect Donald Trump's latest antic a reality.
Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference Tuesday he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."
"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring," Trump said. "That covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate. It's appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country."
Immediately following his remarks, Greene posted on X in support of the idea — and vowed to make it happen
"President Trump's second term is off to a GREAT start," she wrote. "I'll be introducing legislation ASAP to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name, the Gulf of America!"
In a follow-up post on Tuesday afternoon, Greene shared the text of the legislation and said it would be ready to file Thursday morning. She said Mexican cartels use the gulf to "traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else" — and that the Mexican government "allows them to do it."
"The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries," she said. "It's our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it's what the entire world should refer to it as."
Greene concluded: "We already have the bill written with legislative council and ready to file first thing Thursday morning. Congress has to take the Trump Agenda mandate seriously and that means acting fast to enact it."
The text specifies that "Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico shall be deemed to be a reference to the 'Gulf of America.'"
The bill calls for the Commerce secretary, acting through the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to oversee the implementation of the renaming. Furthermore, each federal agency would have six months to update documents and maps.
See the text of the bill below or at this link
🚨 READ MY STATEMENT & BILL TEXT 🚨
Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it.
Hardest-core America First': Steve Bannon fantasizes about Trump annexing whole continent
Matthew Chapman January 7, 2025 Steve Bannon, former advisor to former U.S. President and now President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for a pre-trial conference hearing in his fraud case stemming from a fundraising effort to build a border wall, at the New York Criminal Court, in New York City, U.S., November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
President-elect Donald Trump has lately doubled down on his obsession with annexing new territory into the United States, from his desire to buy Greenland to his ultimatum for Canada to become a U.S. state if it wants to avoid tariffs, to most recently calls to reclaim the Panama Canal Zone and turn the Gulf of Mexico into the "Gulf of America."
But even all of this wasn't enough for longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon. On his latest "War Room" episode on Tuesday speaking to far-right activist Jack Posobiec, he fantasized about Trump seizing the entirety of the North American continent.
"I say this as someone who actually served there, but you know, if these guys down in Central America or other parts of the Caribbean have an issue with the United States using their overseas bases, then why don't you go have a conversation about that with the Castro family?" said Posobiec, who was a key player in spreading the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory. "Because they've been trying to kick us out of Guantanamo Bay since they came to power. But where is the United States' oldest overseas base? ... it's in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."
And the U.S. remains there, he said, because it's in our "geopolitical and geostrategic interest to control the sea lanes in our own backyard. The Gulf of America has to happen."
Trump is absolutely right about the Panama Canal, he added, because "clearly that is the key choke point here in this region" and "China is going on a buying frenzy" with "debt-trap diplomacy" — and he blasted what he called the same people who pushed for U.S. involvement in the Middle East and Ukraine for not wanting to control this region, when it's of much greater import to us.
"Let's put that map up," agreed Bannon, showing a picture of America controlling the entire continent of North America. "For the hardest-core America First guys, okay? If you want Fortress America, Trump's giving you Fortress America. Look at that right there, all the way up from Panama to Greenland, and he's talking about Canada."
"Can he pull any of this off?" Bannon added. "Hey, it's Donald Trump. Remember how they mocked him about being president? Remember how they mocked him and ridiculed him, when we had his back, this group in January 2021. I think that's a lot harder than what he's talking about now."
Watch the entire episode below or at the link here.
GOP senator: U.S. needs to take back Panama Canal in case of war with China
Senator Tommy Tuberville speaks on the 1st day of CPAC Washington, DC conference at Gaylord National Harbor Resort Convention on March 2, 2023. (Shutterstock.com)
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) voiced his support of President-elect Donald Trump's suggestion to use military force to regain control of the Panama Canal while speaking to Fox Business host Larry Kudlow on Tuesday.
Tuberville has long complained that China has a growing influence over the canal and that ISIS was sneaking into the United States through an unsecured border by making their way from the Middle East to Panama and then heading north to the United States.
"Over the last few years, China signed 30 contracts with the Panamanians, some of it to do with the Canal and Panamanians are now trying to get out of some of those contracts because the Chinese have breached some of those contracts, which we need as the United States of America to protect Panama because that’s how important it is to all of us," Tuberville said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2023.
"We've gotta take the Panama Canal back. We've gotta do something because if we were to happen to go to war with China over Taiwan and they were to shut the Panama Canal down, we'd have to go 8 to 10,000 miles just to get things back to the war zone," said Tuberville to Kudlow.
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, said Wednesday he will introduce legislation that would authorize President-elect Donald Trump to purchase the Panama Canal “if he can get a good deal.”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not,” Johnson said, “but I do know I want to give President Trump the flexibility he needs to examine it.”
Those comments came during a Wednesday evening tele-town hall with constituents. Earlier in the day, Johnson spoke about the idea on Fox News. He will introduce the bill Friday, he said, ahead of a dinner he plans to attend Sunday with the president-elect and other guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
Trump said Tuesday during a press conference that he would not rule out using military force to take control of the canal.
The United States built the Panama Canal in the early 1900s. In 1977, in response to Panamanian demands for control of the canal, then-President Jimmy Carter signed treaties that led to a full transfer in 1999.
Carter gave a speech at the time saying the agreements would convert Panama from a “passive and sometimes deeply resentful bystander into an active and interested partner,” and would lead to “cooperation and not confrontation” between the U.S. and Panama.
A company in Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings, currently operates seaports on each side of the canal. Hong Kong is a former British Colony that has maintained a separate government and economic system since being handed over to China in 1997.
Fears have risen about China’s potentially growing influence over the canal as China has exerted more influence over Hong Kong in recent years.
Johnson said that’s a problem for the United States, which sends 40% of its ocean shipping container traffic through the canal.
“Donald Trump wants to kill the trade deficit,” Johnson said. “We can’t do that if we can’t count on the Panama Canal.”
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.
Trump says NATO members should raise defense spending to 5% of GDP
Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed NATO members to boost their defense spending to five percent of GDP, underlining his long-standing claims that they are underpaying for US protection.
“They can all afford it, but they should be at five percent not two percent,” the incoming US president told reporters.
“Europe is in for a tiny fraction of the money that we’re in,” Trump said. “We have a thing called the ocean in between us, right? Why are we in for billions and billions of dollars more money than Europe?”
Trump has long been skeptical of NATO, the cornerstone of security in Europe since World War II, and last month reiterated a familiar threat to leave the alliance if its members did not step up spending.
The transatlantic alliance’s 32 countries in 2023 set a minimum level for defense spending of two percent of gross domestic product, and Russia’s war in Ukraine has jolted NATO to strengthen its eastern flank and ramp up spending.
The transatlantic alliance's 32 countries in 2023 set a minimum level for defense spending of two percent of gross domestic product - Copyright AFP/File Mandel NGAN
Trump is not the only top official to call for an increase — NATO chief Mark Rutte likewise said last month that “we are going to need a lot more than two percent.”
Rutte also warned that European nations were not prepared for the threat of future war with Russia, calling on them to “turbocharge” their defense spending.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Trump claimed that President Joe Biden decided Ukraine should be able to join NATO, suggesting that this helped lead to Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022.
“Somewhere along the line, Biden said, no, they should be able to join NATO. Well, Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feeling about that,” Trump said.
NATO allies in reality agreed to Ukrainian membership in 2008 — when Republican president George W. Bush was in office — while the United States and Germany have more recently backed away from allowing Kyiv to join out of fear it could drag the alliance into a war with Russia.
Trump has vowed to press for a quick deal to end Russia’s war, raising concerns about the future of US military aid for Kyiv that has been key to helping it resist Moscow’s assault.
The conflict “should have never been started,” Trump said Tuesday, adding: “I guarantee you, if I were president, (the) war would have never happened
US President-elect Donald Trump railed against Joe Biden - Copyright AFP/File Jim WATSON
Donald Trump threatened military action to secure the Panama Canal and economic force against neighboring Canada, in a meandering press conference Tuesday a day after Congress certified his election victory.
The Republican billionaire had gathered reporters in southern Florida to announce a $20 billion Emirati investment in US technology but his remarks quickly became a rally-style rant as he returned at length to many of his campaign themes.
“Since we won the election, the whole perception of the whole world is different. People from other countries have called me. They said, ‘Thank you, thank you,'” Trump said as he set out his agenda for the coming four years.
But the president-elect hammered President Joe Biden over the 2025 transition, claiming that the White House was “trying everything they can to make it more difficult.”
Trump, 78, has not acknowledged his 2020 defeat and refused to participate in the transfer of power to Biden.
On the international stage, the incoming president announced he was planning to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and threatened the US’s southern neighbor with massive tariffs if it does not halt illegal entries across the border.
He refused to rule out using the military to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal — both of which he has long coveted — repeating his criticism of the decision to allow local control of the Central American waterway by then-president Jimmy Carter, who died in December.
Asked if he would use military force to bring Canada to heel, the incoming president said “no, economic force.”
As with many of Trump’s pronouncements, it was difficult at times to separate humor or bombast from genuine policy, but Trump said eliminating the “artificially drawn” US-Canada border would be a boon to national security.
– Inauguration –
He hammered Biden over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and US foreign policy in Ukraine and Syria, repeating a familiar false claim that America “had no wars” in his first term.
“We defeated ISIS. We had no wars. Now I’m going into a world that’s burning with Russia and Ukraine and Israel,” Trump said.
Much of the event was focused on criticism of Biden, whom Trump baselessly accused of being behind the multiple legal challenges he faces — including the possible release of a federal report into his efforts to overturn 2020 election and sentencing set for Friday in his New York hush money case.
Trump, who returns to the White House on January 20, hit his rival on inflation and vowed to overturn the Democrat’s executive order banning offshore oil and gas development off swathes of US coastline.
The press conference came a day after Congress counted and certified Trump’s state-by-state electoral college votes, officially naming him the next president, on the fourth anniversary of the 2021 US Capitol riot by a pro-Trump mob.
Trump has promised to pardon many of his supporters who stormed Congress and was asked if that would extend to people who had assaulted police. He dodged the question and claimed falsely that the crowd at the Capitol had been unarmed.
President-elect Donald Trump has now threatened to “tariff Denmark at a very high level” as retaliation for the country not surrendering the autonomous territory of Greenland to become part of the United States — a measure that could have profound consequences on a surprising range of goods Americans buy, reported The New York Times on Wednesday.
"Denmark, which has a smaller population than New York City, is not a huge trading partner for the United States," reported Ana Swanson and Jenny Gross. "The country — a U.S. ally and a NATO member — sent the United States more than $11 billion worth of goods in 2023, just a tiny slice of more than $3 trillion of imports" — as opposed to the U.S. sending $5 billion in goods that include industrial and scientific equipment, aircraft, and computers.
However, "despite its small size, Denmark, which handles Greenland’s foreign and security affairs, is home to some products that are very well-loved in America, goods that could become more expensive if Mr. Trump follows through with heavy tariffs," the report said.
One of those products is LEGO, the brick-assembly toy beloved by generations of both children and adult collectors, which has its origins in Denmark (the name LEGO itself comes from a Danish phrase meaning "play well.")
Additionally, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk produces Ozempic and Wegovy, two wildly successful weight-loss medications that have exploded in use in the United States.
"Denmark is also the leading supplier to the United States of hearing aids," continued the report. "Beyond medicines, Denmark also sends the United States medical instruments, fish fillets, pig meat, coal tar oil, petroleum and baked goods, among other products, according to the OEC."
Trump's fixation on acquiring Greenland dates back to the first term of his presidency. More broadly, proposals for the United States to purchase the island, which is rich in natural resources and a strategically important military location, have been floating around since the 1800s.
Denmark has said in no uncertain terms it is not interested in selling Greenland; that being said, treaties between Denmark and the U.S., as well as their shared membership in NATO, broadly give America the military access it needs to the island anyway.
'You're for attacking Greenland?' CNN panel gets heated as Republican defends US expansion
A heated debate unfolded Tuesday night on CNN over President-elect Donald Trump's suggestion that the U.S. obtain Greenland, either through economic or military force.
Trump has said the U.S. needs the massive island for "economic security." When asked Tuesday if he would consider using military or economic coercion to make the acquisition proceed, Trump replied: “I can’t assure you — you’re talking about Panama and Greenland — no, I can’t assure you on either of those two."
His escalating words became the topic of a lively discussion on CNN's NewsNight, with Josh Rogin, global opinions columnist for The Washington Post, drawing a quick retort from GOP strategist Scott Jennings, when Rogin said: "America is not an expansionist military power. Not in the 21st century."
"Why?" Jennings flatly interjected. "Why not?"
"Because that's not the world that we live in," replied Rogin.
As host Abby Philip turned to Jennings and asked him to answer his own question, a taken-aback Rogin interrupted as well: "So you're for attacking Greenland as well? Is that what you're saying? You're open to the idea of attacking Greenland?"
Jennings denied the insinuation and said the United States doesn't have to attack the island.
"We can buy it," he said, to which Rogin insisted the island is not up for sale, and cannot be bought.
"What you're saying is not true," said Rogin.
"Everything is not up for sale until it is," Jennings replied, as both men continued to ignore Philip.
Philip finally noted to Jennings the new order of the world is superpowers do not get to "take" smaller countries with military force.
"That is the era of not being in an expansionist military era," she said, asking why he feels that's "not true."
Jennings said Phillip can "think small" but Trump isn't.
"Trump's thinking big and he's thinking about U.S. interests," he said, noting the island has rare minerals and the U.S. has a facility there already.
He added: "What Donald Trump is saying is we are not a shrinking violet anymore."
Later in the discussion, as Jennings insisted Trump's unpredictability makes the rest of the world take Trump seriously, Philip said she'd had enough.
"I have to call this out because at the end of the day, this is the 21st century. Ok? The United States is not running around the world and saying, 'I must have that! We'll take it!' This is not the colonial era. Are we really in a world in which you are comfortable saying the United States is now going to be one of those countries that just takes whatever they feel like taking on the map?"
"That's what Russia does, that's what China does. We're supposed to be better than that, Scott!" shouted Rogin.
As Jennings tried to repeat that Trump is only doing what's in the country's best interest, Phillip tried to interject again.
"This doesn't have to be a hostile conversation," insisted Jennings, to which Philip pressed: "I'm not disputing the nature of the problem. The question is what is the solution? The solution that Trump has put on the table is one that does not make any sense and also abandons American principles!"
Trump's Greenland stunt reminds leaders of the times they laughed at him: strategist
Sarah K. Burris January 7, 2025 RAW STORY Donald Trump Jr. visits Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Donald Trump Jr. is on a private visit to Greenland. Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
President-elect Donald Trump continues to be fascinated by Greenland, which he thinks the United States should acquire from Denmark. This week, Trump sent his son, Donald Trump Jr., along with far-right activist Charlie Kirk, to visit the island off the coast of Canada.
Speaking to MSNBC on Tuesday, Democratic strategist Richard Goodstein said that this likely reminds foreign leaders of Trump's ignorance of foreign affairs.
"Trump loves bullying and picking fights. Let's not forget that respecting sovereignty is a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy," said Goodstein. "It's why we are back in Ukraine; it's why we have NATO. Trump plays footsies with all these tyrants in China, Russia, and North Korea and makes a mockery of our allies."
Meanwhile, Trump is humiliating himself on the national stage for a second time, he said.
"I think people will be reminded, certainly our foreign leaders, of the time they've laughed about Trump behind his back at a NATO meeting while Trump was president after he had left because he made such a fool out of himself," Goodstein recalled. "I think that's what he's reminding these leaders of, and the American public of. How foolish he can be because he thinks in his own addled way that somehow this brings glory to him. I think that's shortsighted."
Donald Trump Jr landed in Greenland for a private visit - Copyright Ritzau Scanpix/AFP Mads Madsen Arctic Creative Camille BAS-WOHLERT
Donald Trump Jr made a private visit to Greenland on Tuesday, just weeks after his father restated his interest in the mineral- and oil-rich Danish autonomous territory, which itself wants independence.
The US President-elect on Monday called the Arctic island “an incredible place”, promising that its people would prosper should it ever be annexed by Washington.
“We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, after reiterating before Christmas that he wanted the United States to take control.
As Trump’s son touched down on what he said was a day trip, Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen warned: “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
But Trump Jr was at pains to point out he was not there “to buy Greenland”. “I will be talking to people. I’m just going there as a tourist,” he said on the social media platform Rumble.
Greenland holds major mineral and oil reserves — though oil and uranium exploration are banned — and has a strategic location in the Arctic, already home to a US military base.
Greenlandic media have said he would only be there for several hours and no official meetings were scheduled.
“This particular trip is probably just as Trump Jr said himself, to make video content,” Ulrik Pram Gad, a Greenland expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told AFP.
“What’s worrying is the way Trump (Sr) is talking about international relations, and it can be even worse if he starts ‘grabbing land’.”
– Pushback –
Trump first said he wanted to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first term as president, an offer immediately quashed by Greenland and Denmark.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said after Trump’s Christmas message.
“Most Greenlanders will be in line with their prime minister that Greenland is not for sale but open for business,” Pram Gad said.
Aaja Chemnitz, a lawmaker who represents Greenland in the Danish parliament, rejected Trump’s offer with a firm “No thank you”.
“Unbelievable that some people can be so naive as to believe that our happiness lies in us becoming American citizens,” she wrote on Facebook, adding that she refused to be “a part of Trump’s wet dreams of expanding his empire to include our country”.
With 57,000 inhabitants spread out across 2.2 million square kilometres (849,424 square miles), Greenland is geographically closer to the North American continent than to Europe.
Colonised by the Danes in the 18th century, it is located about 2,500 kilometres from Copenhagen, on which it depends for more than half of its public budget.
The subsidies it receives from Copenhagen amount to a fifth of its GDP.
The other pillar of its economy is the fisheries industry.
– Steps toward independence –
Greenland has been autonomous since 1979 and has its own flag, language and institutions. But justice, monetary, defence and foreign affairs all remain under Danish control.
The creation of the post of Arctic ambassador has caused friction between Copenhagen and Nuuk, after Denmark two years ago appointed a diplomat with no ties to the region.
At the end of December, the Danish government announced Nuuk would from now on appoint candidates to the post, and represent the country on the Arctic Council.
In his New Year’s address, Greenland’s prime minister said the territory had to take “a step forward” and shape its own future, “notably when it comes to trading partners and the people with whom we should collaborate closely”.
In 2023, plans for a Greenlandic constitution were presented to the local parliament, the Inatsisartut.
However, “there has been no public debate on it so far,” researcher Ulrik Pram Gad said.
The issue could become a talking point during the upcoming campaign for Greenland’s legislative elections, which must be held before April 6.
“I expect there to be more talks about the formal steps towards independence, how politicians intend to secure the welfare state and the future of Greenland,” he said.
Donald Trump Jr. gripes about 'Danish fake news' as he flees Greenland after less than day
Donald Trump Jr. quickly left Greenland Tuesday after spending less than a day in the autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The son of President-elect Donald Trump traveled to the island as part of his father's effort to purchase the territory. Representatives from Denmark, however, made it clear that Greenland was "not for sale."
Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede "has been very, very clear … that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday.
In a video posted to Instagram, Donald Trump Jr. accused Danish outlets of spreading "fake news" as his plane was preparing for takeoff.
"Incredible experience," he said. "By the way, they love America here. They love America. They love Trump."
"Danish fake news has been doing a lot of anti-American sentiment, so that shouldn't surprise us, but let's go have some fun," he added.
The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization, announced Wednesday that it has cancelled planned advertising with The New York Times after the outlet rejected one of the group's proposed ads that read: "Tell Congress to stop arming Israel's genocide in Gaza now! As a Quaker organization, we work for peace. Join us. Tell the President and Congress to stop the killing and starvation in Gaza."
AFSC alleges that after receiving the text of ad, the Times suggested they swap the word "genocide" for the word "war." The word war has "an entirely different meaning both colloquially and under international law," the Quaker group wrote.
AFSC said they rejected this proposed approach and then received an email from outlet's "Ad Acceptability Team" which read, in part, according to AFSC: "Various international bodies, human rights organizations, and governments have differing views on the situation. In line with our commitment to factual accuracy and adherence to legal standards, we must ensure that all advertising content complies with these widely applied definitions."
The Times did not respond to an email prior to publication asking them to confirm they rejected the ad and on these grounds, or to a request that they respond to AFSC's statement.
"The New York Times advertises a wide variety of products and advocacy messages on which there are differing views. Why is it not acceptable to publicize the meticulously documented atrocities committed by Israel and paid for by the United States?" said Layne Mullett, director of media relations for AFSC, in a statement.
Joyce Ajlouny, general secretary of AFSC, said that "the refusal of The New York Times to run paid digital ads that call for an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza is an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth. Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalized in the media for decades as these institutions choose silence over accountability."
The AFSC has been a loud voice calling for a cease-fire and ending U.S. military support for Israel. For example, in April, the group announced a Tax Day campaign, a day of action where people held events and met with their members of Congress to demand they stop voting to spend U.S. tax dollars on military assistance to Israel.
AFSC staff in Gaza have also provided 1.5 million meals, hygiene kits, and other units of humanitarian aid to internally displaced people since October 2023, according to the Wednesday statement.
Historian reveals how Hitler 'dismantled' democracy in less than two months
After Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933, he promptly packed the government full of loyalists and used Weimar Germany's constitution to turn himself into an absolute dictator.
In a Wednesday essay for the Atlantic, historian Timothy W. Ryback, who is the director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague, described the process in which Hitler rapidly disintegrated Germany's constitutional republic in just 53 days. Ryback noted that after the failed Beer Hall Putsch — in which the Nazi leader attempted to violently overthrow the government — Hitler abandoned his goal of violent revolution in favor of "destroying the country's democratic system" through legal means.
"Having spent a decade in opposition politics, Hitler knew firsthand how easily an ambitious political agenda could be scuttled," Ryback wrote. "He had been co-opting or crushing right-wing competitors and paralyzing legislative processes for years, and for the previous eight months, he had played obstructionist politics, helping to bring down three chancellors and twice forcing the president to dissolve the Reichstag and call for new elections.
After his election in 1933, Hitler bragged that the German electorate welcomed him with "jubilation," and rolled out a plan to force out longtime career civil servants with political stooges committed to his vision. He then executed a plan to get two-thirds of the Reichstag (the German parliamentary body) to pass an "empowering law" that would allow him to centralize his authority and govern by decree.
Hitler was convinced that he needed the empowering law to follow through on his campaign promises, which, according to Ryback, included calls to "revive the economy, reduce unemployment, increase military spending, withdraw from international treaty obligations, purge the country of foreigners he claimed were “poisoning” the blood of the nation and exact revenge on political opponents." He also notably ran on draining den parlamentarischen Sumpf, or "the parliamentarian swamp," and his economic agenda including sweeping new tariffs on grain imports.
Ryback — who has authored multiple books about the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime – explained that Hitler becoming an absolute dictator was a significant comeback story. After the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was jailed and his movement was discredited. And when the Nazi Party lost the 1932 election and 34 Reichstag seats, he was apparently "contemplating suicide" and had effectively "given up all hope."
However, after President Paul Von Hindenburg agreed after a negotiating session to make him chancellor and gave him two cabinet posts to fill, Hitler picked two staunch loyalists (Wilhelm Frick and Hermann Göring) and "put his two ministers to work targeting the Weimar Republic’s key democratic pillars: free speech, due process, public referendum, and states’ rights."
As part of his duties as minister of the interior, Frick had oversight over Germany's 18 federated states and the press. Ryback wrote that he focused on "suppressing the opposition press and centralizing power in Berlin," which included banning the daily newspapers run by the Communist Party and the Social Democrats.
Meanwhile, Göring used his position as minister without portfolio — which included oversight of the state of Prussia, which encompassed two-thirds of Germany — to purge state security forces. Hitler then put a Schiesserlass, or "shooting decree," in place, allowing police to shoot on sight without fear of accountability. And following the Reichstag fire, which was rumored to have been a false flag operation by the Nazis to scapegoat the Communist Party (the Nazi's biggest enemy), Hitler used the arson attack to successfully push for new powers allowing him to imprison his political opponents.
"The Communist Party was banned (as Hitler had wanted since his first cabinet meeting), and members of the opposition press were arrested, their newspapers shut down," Ryback wrote. "Göring had already been doing this for the past month, but the courts had invariably ordered the release of detained people. With the decree in effect, the courts could not intervene. Thousands of Communists and Social Democrats were rounded up."
Elections were held shortly after the Reichstag fire that saw the Nazis dramatically increase their representation in parliament. A few weeks later, Ryback wrote that Hitler issued a decree indemnifying any Nazi who committed crimes "in the battle for national renewal," including murder. He noted that "men convicted of treason were now national heroes," and that the first batch of detainees soon arrived at the Dachau concentration camp.
Click here to read Ryback's essay in its entirety (subscription required).
Former Cambodian opposition MP shot dead in Bangkok: Thai media
Agence France-Presse January 7, 2025 Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) members stand near the spot where former Cambodian MP was reportedly shot in Bangkok (AFP)
A former Cambodian opposition MP and French citizen was shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle in Bangkok on Tuesday, Thai media reported.
"Lim Kimya... died at the scene. Officers with the Metropolitan Police Bureau have launched a manhunt for the assassin," the Bangkok Post reported, adding that the deceased was a dual Cambodian-French national.
Thai police confirmed the death of a Cambodian man without identifying him as Lim Kimya, telling AFP "we are currently investigating the motives and will provide more information at a later time".
Multiple Thai media outlets reported that a gunman on a motorcycle opened fire on Lim Kimya as he arrived in the Thai capital from the Cambodian city of Siem Reap by bus, accompanied by his French wife and a Cambodian uncle.
An AFP photojournalist saw blood at the scene near the popular Khao San Road area of Bangkok.
Lim Kimya was elected as an opposition member of Cambodia's parliament following a general poll in 2013 in which the ruling party under former leader Hun Sen almost lost to its then-rival, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). The CNRP, which was founded in 2012 by opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha and once considered the sole viable opponent to the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), was dissolved by court order in 2017.
Scores of opposition politicians and MPs, including Lim Kimya, were banned from political activities following the party's dissolution.
Rights groups have accused Hun Sen -- who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades before stepping down in 2023 and handing power to his eldest son, Hun Manet -- of using the legal system to crush any opposition to his rule.
Scores of opposition politicians and activists were convicted and jailed during his time in power, with challengers forced to flee and freedom of expression stifled.
Kem Sokha was arrested and was sentenced in 2023 to 27 years in prison for treason -- a charge he has repeatedly denied -- and was immediately placed under house arrest.
Sam Rainsy lives in exile in France.
Despite holding French citizenship, Lim Kimya did not join the dozens of lawmakers who fled abroad after Kem Sokha was detained.
Lim Kimya told AFP at the time in Phnom Penh: "I will never give up politics".
His fatal shooting comes the same day that the still influential Hun Sen called for a new law to label anyone who attempts to topple his son Hun Manet's government as "terrorists".
Nobel winner Ressa tells AFP 'dangerous times' ahead after Meta ends U.S. fact-checking
Agence France-Presse January 8, 2025 Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa warns of 'dangerous times ahead' after social media giant Meta ended its US fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram (JAM STA ROSA/AFP)
Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa warned Wednesday of "extremely dangerous times ahead" in an interview with AFP after social media giant Meta ended its US fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram.
Ressa and the Rappler news site she co-founded have spent years fighting online disinformation while battling court cases filed under former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte after critical reporting of his deadly drug war.
The veteran journalist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 said Meta's decision meant "extremely dangerous times ahead" for journalism, democracy and social media users.
"Mark Zuckerberg says it's a free speech issue -- that's completely wrong," Ressa told AFP at Rappler's newsroom in Manila.
"Only if you're profit driven can you claim that; only if you want power and money can you claim that. This is about safety."
Meta's announcement on Tuesday was seen by analysts as an attempt by Zuckerberg to appease US President-elect Donald Trump before his inauguration this month.
Trump has been a harsh critic of Meta and Zuckerberg for years, accusing the company of bias against him and threatening to retaliate against the tech billionaire once back in office.
Fact-checking and disinformation research have long been a hot-button issue in a hyperpolarized political climate in the United States, with conservative US advocates saying they were a tool to curtail free speech and censor right-wing content.
Ressa, who is also a US citizen, rejected Zuckerberg's assertion that fact-checkers had become "too politically biased" and "destroyed more trust than they've created".
"Journalists have a set of standards and ethics," Ressa told AFP.
"What Facebook is going to do is get rid of that and then allow lies, anger, fear and hate to infect every single person on the platform."
Meta's actions would lead to a "world without facts" and "that's a world that's right for a dictator", Ressa warned.
"Mark Zuckerberg has ultimate power," she said, "and he chooses wrongly to prioritize profit, Facebook's annual profits, over safety of the people on the platforms." - 'Just the beginning' -
Rappler is one of the partners working with Facebook's fact-checking program.
AFP also currently works in 26 languages with Facebook's fact-checking program, in which Facebook pays to use fact-checks from around 80 organizations globally on its platform, WhatsApp and on Instagram.
In a statement shared with AFP, Rappler said it intends to continue working with Facebook "to protect fellow Filipinos from manipulation and the dangers of disinformation".
"What has happened in the US is just the beginning," Rappler said.
"It is an ominous sign of more perilous times in the fight to preserve and protect our individual agency and shared reality."
Ressa has long maintained that the charges against her and Rappler were politically motivated after their critical reporting of the Duterte government's policies, including its anti-drugs crackdown that killed thousands of people.
Trump, who vowed in his first post-election news conference to "straighten out" the "corrupt" US press, appeared to have taken a page from Duterte's playbook, Ressa said.
The incoming US president has launched unprecedented lawsuits against newspapers and pollsters that observers worry are the signs of escalating intimidation and censorship tactics.
Ressa vowed to do everything she could to "ensure information integrity".
"The Nobel Prize said that you cannot have democracy if you don't have journalism," Ressa said.
"This is a pivotal year for journalism's survival. We'll do all we can to make sure that happens."
