Posted on 01/19/2026 8:20:16 AM PST by libh8er
Venturing into the icy seas around Greenland can be unforgiving and unpredictable. Steffen Andersen, a seasoned skipper preparing his six-man trawler for a fishing trip along the craggy coast, was in the mood to complain.
He had recently hired a 16-year-old local to work with him, but he grumbled that the towering Danish-owned factory ships docked along the nearby quayside more often hired immigrants. “Those who use Filipinos, they are the Danes,’’ he said.
Greenland is increasingly reliant on migrant labour to keep seafood factories, restaurants and its fishing fleet running — critical for an economy overwhelmingly dependent on fisheries and on large annual subsidies from Denmark.
That dependence has taken on fresh political weight as Greenland, an autonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark, finds itself on the frontline of a renewed push for influence in the Arctic.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize the island, but its weak economy suggests any such ambition would come with a heavy price tag.
His recent threats have emphasised Greenland’s importance for national security, moving away from his earlier focus on its vast mineral wealth — which remains untapped because of its forbidding geography and the vast sums required to extract materials.
“Mining is seen as something that can pave the way for economic independence from Denmark,” said Javier Arnaut at the University of Greenland’s department of Arctic social science and economics. “The issue is that in statistical terms, it does not add up.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
.
“US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize the island, but its weak economy suggests any such ambition would come with a heavy price tag.”
This is known as thinking small.
At first I thought Trump was crazy to want Greenland, now I suspect he really does't want the whole country, just more US bases.
How do you like that, in the end Greenland won't be a new U.S. state, Neither will Canada or Alberta, but they'll do what we want them to anyway.
Art of the deal, right?
I still want Alberta as our 51st State, and I hear a lot of Albertans want the same thing too.
“University of Greenland’s department of Arctic social science and economics.”
I’m sorry, but all of this ‘government of Greenland’ business has the air of comic opera.
It exists! 600 students, essentially a community college that calls itself a university.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Greenland
“At first I thought Trump was crazy to want Greenland, now I suspect he really does’t want the whole country, just more US bases.”
The US used to have many more bases in Greenland but closed all but one. We could have more if we wanted, no threats or taking by force required.
Grabbing Greenland for basing rights makes no sense, because the Danes have always let us is build whatever we wanted.
So this is all about Inuit rights???????
For the now 100-and-first time, WE CAN BUILD ALL THE BASES WE WANT without annexation. The US reduced its footprint from 50 bases to a single one entirely on its own. That can be reversed commencing tomorrow.
Re: More US bases.
Before a huge investment in Gold Dome we need to be damn sure of the ground that investment sits on.
Chinese ICBMs would be coming from beyond where the leftmost 5 Russian bases are at.
https://x.com/johnkonrad/status/2013042232585068837?s=20
Important way to look at this at the link.
Javier Arnaut at the University of Greenland’s department of Arctic social science and economics.
University of Greenland only has 200 students.
Javier Arnaut isn't at the University of Greenland’s department of Arctic social science and economics. He is the University of Greenland’s department of Arctic social science and economics.
Grabbing Greenland for basing rights makes no sense, because the Danes have always let us is build whatever we wanted.
For the now 100-and-first time, WE CAN BUILD ALL THE BASES WE WANT without annexation. The US reduced its footprint from 50 bases to a single one entirely on its own. That can be reversed commencing tomorrow.
I find it disturbing when I see three posts in a row on FreeRepublic that mirror Big Media talking points about US military bases in Greenland.
According to AI, the Igaliku Agreement, Signed on August 6, 2004, says the following.
AI:
Limitation of Defense Areas: It officially limited the "defense area" under U.S. jurisdiction to Thule Air Base, returning other previous areas to Greenlandic/Danish control.
Consultation & Consent: The U.S. committed to informing and consulting both Denmark and Greenland regarding any proposed changes to its military presence. Crucially, the U.S. cannot increase its military footprint without explicit consent from both governments.
Denmark sterilized all those women years ago to lessen the future burden on the social services the Danes provide.
Are these ‘migrants’ accessing those same social services??
Greenland has always been projected as a US territory, not a state.
Someplace is needed to hold all the illegal aliens, insurrectionists and Chinese spies, Greenland could be the next group.
The University of Nevada at Reno dates back to 1874, when Nevada’s population was similar to that of Greenland now.
That was 1874. Also radically different circumstances!
“How can there be such a thing as a ‘University of Greenland’ “
Bigger than Fontbonne University in St. Louis
Bigger than Fontbonne University in St. Louis
But my point was how can a place whose biggest ‘city’ has a population of 20,000 support something that styles itself a ‘university’? The City (not the surrounding county) of St Louis in its current shrunken state is over 5x the population of the whole of Greenland.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.