Trump's abilities as a professional troll are incomparable.
with respect to all here, i find it completely baffling that anyone in the world thinks anything beyond "what a fucking attention-seeking clown" over this Greenland stuff.
It's interesting that the pdf link from bc doesn't mention Greenland at all and does not mention China in terms of geography, merely in production. It also fails to mention that the USGS, which maps mineral deposits (my dad worked for it before he went into the Navy Oceanographic department) was subject to the DOGE cuts, with about 20% being let go or taking early retirement.
While there is supposed to be a pivot, investigations into bioextraction, because they were linked to ecosystem research, have been halted, despite the fact that they are already proven, From Gemini Proven Success: It is already used for roughly 15–20% of global gold and copper production. Current Efficiency: For Rare Earth Elements (REEs), bioleaching (using microbes like Gluconobacter) now reaches extraction efficiencies of 65–80% in controlled environments. Specific Mineral Focus: As of early 2026, researchers have successfully used biological systems to selectively capture Cobalt and Neodymium from complex mixtures like old EV batteries and coal tailings.
This suggests that looking at this as geography might be Sweet Summer Child status if I understood what that meant.
I thought this NYT daily podcast on rare earths and how they are extracted was good, and the part that discusses the difference in Japanese and US industrial policy quite interesting to me.
I give up. I can't keep up with the straw men. Frex:
However, where bc is concerned, I do think his Sweet Summer Child (SSC) status is utterly confirmed by any suggestion that Trump’s approach to this or any other issue is anything to do with mastery of the art of the deal.
What did I actually say about Trump's negotiation strategy (that I shorthanded "Art of the Deal")?
"Not only do I not like the rhetoric and the disrespect, I think it backfires here."
Good grief people. Shorter me:
1) Greenland is strategically very important whatever Trump says. (sidenote, wjca, you could be right, but what I read says the rare earth situation is much more important national security wise, and Greenland is important. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/a/pp1802a.pdf)
2) Trump is going about it stupidly re Greenland. My read is he is setting up the next negotiations, or prompting the EU to take further action, but I could be wrong.
3) It's never right, absent an imminent threat (e.g. WWII) to occupy over objection. Or to threaten to. And no, I don't think we buy Greenland. Get a minerals deal. Satisfy the Inuit (that will be hard).
4) I'm glad Maduro is gone, the operation was done amazingly well, but I'm really worried about the future of Venezuela.
I could go on, but I don't have the time or inclination.
P.S. Tony P, touche. P.P.S. And I hope you wrote that with the same seriousness I did, lol.
hsh - Well, sure. The question is – how many people are so motivated? I know this crew plays almost exclusively to their base, but everyone else is seeing it, too. Everyone, the base and otherwise, is seeing the other videos.
But Vance et al act as though the first-person video from the shooter is a slam dunk of some sort. Do they really believe that? Or is it just a performance to bolster the belief that it is in the minds of the willing?
At this point, given what we have observed over the last year, we should probably conclude that this administration and its supporters in Congress have become a revolutionary government. The loyal will support the revolution, and as long as the local and federal authorities continue to treat the administration as legitimate, they will be used as tools of the revolution. Any local or state opposition will be treated as an attack on the sovereignty of the president, and they will continue to wield the sanction of state violence against those people until they are forced to stop.
They believe that if they have 3% of the nation under arms for their side, they can force their will. Veterans and active duty military comprise 6% of the population, and nearly a quarter of all law enforcement. Military and law enforcement voted 70/30 in favor of Orange Julius. About a third of the US is still on board with all that the administration is doing.
A third of the population that contains two thirds of the people under arms in the nation is a potent revolutionary force.
We can vote them out, sure, but I think that will force a constitutional crisis with a lot of unknowns, and that revolutionary force will remain.
I don’t think bc actually supports the Nazi Party. Unless he voted for Donald, JD, Lindsey, et.al. Then I might have a few questions.
One of them is: can He, Trump pay for Greenland out of His own pocket? Or get His soon-to-be-trillionaire frenemy to buy it and present it to Him gift-wrapped?
If bc wants the United States to buy Greenland, he must be advocating for Congress to pass an appropriations bill for the money. Good luck with that.
The perennial MAGAt line that NATO countries owe it to "us" to spend more on "defense" would make some sense if the implication was that "we" could spend less as a result. But the MAGAt-in-Chief wants a $600B increase (to $1.5T) next year. NYT gift link.
"Incident Overview: On January 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation. Evidence suggests she blocked the road with her vehicle, potentially as part of anti-ICE activism, before accelerating forward, leading to the shooting, which federal officials describe as self-defense..."
>Or is it just a performance to bolster the belief that it is in the minds of the willing?
Poe's Law means it's impossible to know. but, NRO is fully committed to She Had It Coming.
It's her fault, so there. https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/01/the-minnesota-tragedy/
Tragic but justified: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-tragedy-but-a-justified-use-of-force/
She belonged to a group that wants to interfere with ICE, ZOMG! https://www.nationalreview.com/news/minnesota-ice-watch-group-renee-good-belonged-to-trained-activists-to-interfere-with-agents-block-vehicles/
Democrats are insurrectionist! https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/blue-state-and-city-democrats-walk-an-insurrectionary-fine-line/
"To hell with Minnesota" ! https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/to-hell-with-minnesota/
If a viewer is motivated to believe Ross, then they will take the moment where the phone jerks upward as an indication that Ross was hit by the vehicle.
Well, sure. The question is - how many people are so motivated? I know this crew plays almost exclusively to their base, but everyone else is seeing it, too. Everyone, the base and otherwise, is seeing the other videos.
But Vance et al act as though the first-person video from the shooter is a slam dunk of some sort. Do they really believe that? Or is it just a performance to bolster the belief that it is in the minds of the willing?
Good to be reminded that there is an agreement in place between the US and Denmark from 1916, when Denmark sold their Virgin Islands to the US, in which the US recognises Danish sovereignty over Greenland. However, in fairness to bc, the following interviews do give an interesting (and not Trump-positive) view of the world geo-political issues:
Freddie Sayers speaks with author and Cambridge professor Helen Thompson, economist Pippa Malmgren, and Danish MEP Henrik Dahl about the Trump administration's escalating rhetoric and strategic moves to acquire Greenland. Covering the historical legal underpinnings of Danish sovereignty while analysing modern geopolitical drivers such as the Monroe Doctrine, Arctic militarisation, and the essential role of the region in a new space race for strategic security dominance, they explore how the Greenland situation is symptomatic of a profound breakdown in trust between Washington and Western Europe, with the administration increasingly viewing European leadership as obstructive political rivals in a shifting global order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IuCswB2RLI&t=3s
However, where bc is concerned, I do think his Sweet Summer Child (SSC) status is utterly confirmed by any suggestion that Trump's approach to this or any other issue is anything to do with mastery of the art of the deal. Quite apart from what russell correctly says about the book of that title, one should never forget that regarding Trump as such a master of deal-making is pretty deluded given his financial history (until, that is, the advent of enthusiastically embraced presidential corruption), not to mention his absurd claims to have ended several wars which make him, understandably, an international laughing stock. The laugh may well be on the rest of the world, however; that's a risk when you elect a Caligula-type figure.
"If you take it, we take every single base of the Americans from Aviano to Ramstein, from Romania, to all the other military bases will be confiscated, and you will lose it, and the whole position of American power since World War II, if you take Greenland, you have to leave,"
Gunther Fehlinger, chair of Austria's NATO Enlargement Committee
If a viewer is motivated to believe Ross, then they will take the moment where the phone jerks upward as an indication that Ross was hit by the vehicle. Viewed in isolation, that video would allow someone to believe the narrative reported by Noem and Vance.
I just watched a documentary about women war correspondents in WWII. One of the current war correspondents said that when she arrives at a scene of conflict, one of the first things she does is look for someone she identifies as being her equivalent in that place and situation to give her a point-of-view she can connect with.
MAGA's version of that is to put themselves in the shoes of the ICE/BP enforcers and impute good faith to them and bad faith to the people who are obstacles to the enforcers. With that as a starting point, this video will justify Ross violence in their minds.
The converse, that ICE/BP are acting in bad faith, is too disturbing to contemplate.
Regarding Greenland, Trump has already won. Namely because 'serious' people are seriously discussing the scenario of an annexation. Trump saw Greenland on a map once, decided that it would be 'nice to have it' and now op-eds are being written about the history of Greenland, its relationship to Denmark and how a US takeover might go down.
There is nothing to discuss whatsoever, this should not even be thought about, it's completely ridiculous. And yet, we are talking about it...
I'm trying to figure out why anyone in the Trump administration, particularly JD Vance, thought Jonathan Ross's phone video supported their version of the story. It's bizarre.
Dude was holding his phone the whole time, while they claim he was hit by the car and while he was shooting. It also clearly shows her turning her steering wheel hard to the right. Good and her wife weren't at all menacing, just lightheartedly mocking Ross.
I think this is more about rare earths, strategic positioning and what it is going to cost to do what is necessary to keep China and Russia at bay.
It is well to remember that "rare earths" are not, in point of fact, rare. Certainly there are places with greater amounts (bits of Greenland among them). But the reason they are rare is just that it is extremely difficult (and, with current technology, highly polluting) to separate them from each other.
If you don't care about the pollution, you could refine them in Wyoming, Missouri, or California -- all of which have significant deposits. As it is, mines in those places do minimal processing, and then ship the concentrate to Chnia for refining. That's why China dominates rare earths -- they're indifferent to the pollution caused by refining them.
If Trump annexes Greenland, the real risk is the high pollution refining which he (or those he sells it to) will cheerfully site where US (or European) pollution restrictions suddenly don't reach.
“Historically”, however, meaning as recently as 2023, Denmark was below the NATO 2% standard. And a low of 1.11% in 2015. Slid below 2% in 1990 down to that low in 2015. So yes, historically.
Yes, 2015 was when Trump was in the GOP debate and praising Putin's intelligence and desire for a stable world. My point is that it's cherry picking of the first order and doing that to argue for Orange shitstain's latest fantasy is pretty weak.
Denmark was at the time occupied by an enemy nation.
And that European problem became a world war.
If you think Trump (and much of the current GOP) is more aware of the threat from Russia than the Europeans are . . .
Using the word ‘historically’ is pretty interesting, especially since Denmark is one of the top bilateral donors to Ukraine . . .
Actions speak louder than words (well, unless its Trump, lol). Yes, Europe is finally getting serious and starting to put its money where its mouth is, rather than relying on the US taxpayers. It's nice to see. And yes, Denmark is one of the top donors to Ukraine. I think it might actually be right at the top as a percentage of GDP. "Historically", however, meaning as recently as 2023, Denmark was below the NATO 2% standard. And a low of 1.11% in 2015. Slid below 2% in 1990 down to that low in 2015. So yes, historically.
Are you by any chance falling into what I will call the “McKinney Trap” . . .
In my own way, I may consider many here to be a different version of summer children on some issues, but I don't think anyone actually supports the CCP. Unless you voted for Bernie, Zohran, Waltz et.al. Then I might have a few questions.
It’s almost as if you haven’t been observing the Trump administration in action,
I've been observing the results achieved, the rhetoric and the resistance. IMO, many are falling for the rhetoric. If this isn't prodding, it's the Art of the Deal, trying to get a better bargaining position IMO for a minerals deal. Not only do I not like the rhetoric and the disrespect, I think it backfires here. We shall see.
Are there any instances in which Denmark has refused to co-operate with the USA over collective security in Greenland?
Denmark tried to get the US to leave after WWII, leading to the 1951 treaty (US refused to leave due to the Soviet threat). But I think this is more about rare earths, strategic positioning and what it is going to cost to do what is necessary to keep China and Russia at bay. And a concern that Greenland has, I understand, toyed with deals involving the Chinese in infrastructure and mining. Denmark has vetoed the projects. With the Chinese trying to monopolize rare earths, having the Chinese involved in mining is obviously a huge concern, and one that could be dealt with by getting a minerals agreement with the US. It makes sense to have some sort of economic deal to offset US defense costs. Threats of invasion are unhelpful, to say the least.
For anyone interested in what kind of poet she was in life, this is Renee Good's poem from 2020 which won "one of Old Dominion’s most prestigious accolades, the Academy of American Poets Prize":
On “2026, as f**ked up as 2025”
Trump's abilities as a professional troll are incomparable.
with respect to all here, i find it completely baffling that anyone in the world thinks anything beyond "what a fucking attention-seeking clown" over this Greenland stuff.
"
It's interesting that the pdf link from bc doesn't mention Greenland at all and does not mention China in terms of geography, merely in production. It also fails to mention that the USGS, which maps mineral deposits (my dad worked for it before he went into the Navy Oceanographic department) was subject to the DOGE cuts, with about 20% being let go or taking early retirement.
While there is supposed to be a pivot, investigations into bioextraction, because they were linked to ecosystem research, have been halted, despite the fact that they are already proven, From Gemini
Proven Success: It is already used for roughly 15–20% of global gold and copper production.
Current Efficiency: For Rare Earth Elements (REEs), bioleaching (using microbes like Gluconobacter) now reaches extraction efficiencies of 65–80% in controlled environments.
Specific Mineral Focus: As of early 2026, researchers have successfully used biological systems to selectively capture Cobalt and Neodymium from complex mixtures like old EV batteries and coal tailings.
This suggests that looking at this as geography might be Sweet Summer Child status if I understood what that meant.
I thought this NYT daily podcast on rare earths and how they are extracted was good, and the part that discusses the difference in Japanese and US industrial policy quite interesting to me.
"
I give up. I can't keep up with the straw men. Frex:
However, where bc is concerned, I do think his Sweet Summer Child (SSC) status is utterly confirmed by any suggestion that Trump’s approach to this or any other issue is anything to do with mastery of the art of the deal.
What did I actually say about Trump's negotiation strategy (that I shorthanded "Art of the Deal")?
"Not only do I not like the rhetoric and the disrespect, I think it backfires here."
Good grief people. Shorter me:
1) Greenland is strategically very important whatever Trump says. (sidenote, wjca, you could be right, but what I read says the rare earth situation is much more important national security wise, and Greenland is important. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/a/pp1802a.pdf)
2) Trump is going about it stupidly re Greenland. My read is he is setting up the next negotiations, or prompting the EU to take further action, but I could be wrong.
3) It's never right, absent an imminent threat (e.g. WWII) to occupy over objection. Or to threaten to. And no, I don't think we buy Greenland. Get a minerals deal. Satisfy the Inuit (that will be hard).
4) I'm glad Maduro is gone, the operation was done amazingly well, but I'm really worried about the future of Venezuela.
I could go on, but I don't have the time or inclination.
P.S. Tony P, touche.
P.P.S. And I hope you wrote that with the same seriousness I did, lol.
"
I don’t think bc actually supports the Nazi Party. Unless he voted for Donald, JD, Lindsey, et.al. Then I might have a few questions.
Tony P, I love you. You do make me laugh.
On “An open thread”
hsh - Well, sure. The question is – how many people are so motivated? I know this crew plays almost exclusively to their base, but everyone else is seeing it, too. Everyone, the base and otherwise, is seeing the other videos.
But Vance et al act as though the first-person video from the shooter is a slam dunk of some sort. Do they really believe that? Or is it just a performance to bolster the belief that it is in the minds of the willing?
At this point, given what we have observed over the last year, we should probably conclude that this administration and its supporters in Congress have become a revolutionary government. The loyal will support the revolution, and as long as the local and federal authorities continue to treat the administration as legitimate, they will be used as tools of the revolution. Any local or state opposition will be treated as an attack on the sovereignty of the president, and they will continue to wield the sanction of state violence against those people until they are forced to stop.
They believe that if they have 3% of the nation under arms for their side, they can force their will. Veterans and active duty military comprise 6% of the population, and nearly a quarter of all law enforcement. Military and law enforcement voted 70/30 in favor of Orange Julius. About a third of the US is still on board with all that the administration is doing.
A third of the population that contains two thirds of the people under arms in the nation is a potent revolutionary force.
We can vote them out, sure, but I think that will force a constitutional crisis with a lot of unknowns, and that revolutionary force will remain.
On “2026, as f**ked up as 2025”
I don’t think bc actually supports the Nazi Party. Unless he voted for Donald, JD, Lindsey, et.al. Then I might have a few questions.
One of them is: can He, Trump pay for Greenland out of His own pocket? Or get His soon-to-be-trillionaire frenemy to buy it and present it to Him gift-wrapped?
If bc wants the United States to buy Greenland, he must be advocating for Congress to pass an appropriations bill for the money. Good luck with that.
The perennial MAGAt line that NATO countries owe it to "us" to spend more on "defense" would make some sense if the implication was that "we" could spend less as a result. But the MAGAt-in-Chief wants a $600B increase (to $1.5T) next year. NYT gift link.
--TP
On “An open thread”
So, I read the NRO article about Good belonging to ICE Watch. It includes a highly selective account of the events. Go figure.
Bullshit has eclipsed sensible discourse.
"
A review of the National Review articles.
"Incident Overview: On January 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation. Evidence suggests she blocked the road with her vehicle, potentially as part of anti-ICE activism, before accelerating forward, leading to the shooting, which federal officials describe as self-defense..."
Minnesota Shooting: Controversy and Bias
"
>Or is it just a performance to bolster the belief that it is in the minds of the willing?
Poe's Law means it's impossible to know. but, NRO is fully committed to She Had It Coming.
It's her fault, so there. https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/01/the-minnesota-tragedy/
Tragic but justified: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-tragedy-but-a-justified-use-of-force/
She belonged to a group that wants to interfere with ICE, ZOMG! https://www.nationalreview.com/news/minnesota-ice-watch-group-renee-good-belonged-to-trained-activists-to-interfere-with-agents-block-vehicles/
Democrats are insurrectionist! https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/blue-state-and-city-democrats-walk-an-insurrectionary-fine-line/
"To hell with Minnesota" ! https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/to-hell-with-minnesota/
"
Well, sure. The question is - how many people are so motivated? I know this crew plays almost exclusively to their base, but everyone else is seeing it, too. Everyone, the base and otherwise, is seeing the other videos.
But Vance et al act as though the first-person video from the shooter is a slam dunk of some sort. Do they really believe that? Or is it just a performance to bolster the belief that it is in the minds of the willing?
On another note, Ashli Babbitt was murdered!
On “2026, as f**ked up as 2025”
Good to be reminded that there is an agreement in place between the US and Denmark from 1916, when Denmark sold their Virgin Islands to the US, in which the US recognises Danish sovereignty over Greenland. However, in fairness to bc, the following interviews do give an interesting (and not Trump-positive) view of the world geo-political issues:
Freddie Sayers speaks with author and Cambridge professor Helen Thompson, economist Pippa Malmgren, and Danish MEP Henrik Dahl about the Trump administration's escalating rhetoric and strategic moves to acquire Greenland. Covering the historical legal underpinnings of Danish sovereignty while analysing modern geopolitical drivers such as the Monroe Doctrine, Arctic militarisation, and the essential role of the region in a new space race for strategic security dominance, they explore how the Greenland situation is symptomatic of a profound breakdown in trust between Washington and Western Europe, with the administration increasingly viewing European leadership as obstructive political rivals in a shifting global order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IuCswB2RLI&t=3s
However, where bc is concerned, I do think his Sweet Summer Child (SSC) status is utterly confirmed by any suggestion that Trump's approach to this or any other issue is anything to do with mastery of the art of the deal. Quite apart from what russell correctly says about the book of that title, one should never forget that regarding Trump as such a master of deal-making is pretty deluded given his financial history (until, that is, the advent of enthusiastically embraced presidential corruption), not to mention his absurd claims to have ended several wars which make him, understandably, an international laughing stock. The laugh may well be on the rest of the world, however; that's a risk when you elect a Caligula-type figure.
"
"If you take it, we take every single base of the Americans from Aviano to Ramstein, from Romania, to all the other military bases will be confiscated, and you will lose it, and the whole position of American power since World War II, if you take Greenland, you have to leave,"
Gunther Fehlinger, chair of Austria's NATO Enlargement Committee
So, there's that.
"
Gerardus Mercator has a lot to answer for...
"
We are on the same page, novakant. One more way that the media continues to normalize the caprice of Clementine Caligula.
On “An open thread”
If a viewer is motivated to believe Ross, then they will take the moment where the phone jerks upward as an indication that Ross was hit by the vehicle. Viewed in isolation, that video would allow someone to believe the narrative reported by Noem and Vance.
I just watched a documentary about women war correspondents in WWII. One of the current war correspondents said that when she arrives at a scene of conflict, one of the first things she does is look for someone she identifies as being her equivalent in that place and situation to give her a point-of-view she can connect with.
MAGA's version of that is to put themselves in the shoes of the ICE/BP enforcers and impute good faith to them and bad faith to the people who are obstacles to the enforcers. With that as a starting point, this video will justify Ross violence in their minds.
The converse, that ICE/BP are acting in bad faith, is too disturbing to contemplate.
"
particularly JD Vance
He isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier - the US is ruled by Bif Tannens.
On “2026, as f**ked up as 2025”
Regarding Greenland, Trump has already won. Namely because 'serious' people are seriously discussing the scenario of an annexation. Trump saw Greenland on a map once, decided that it would be 'nice to have it' and now op-eds are being written about the history of Greenland, its relationship to Denmark and how a US takeover might go down.
There is nothing to discuss whatsoever, this should not even be thought about, it's completely ridiculous. And yet, we are talking about it...
On “An open thread”
I'm trying to figure out why anyone in the Trump administration, particularly JD Vance, thought Jonathan Ross's phone video supported their version of the story. It's bizarre.
Dude was holding his phone the whole time, while they claim he was hit by the car and while he was shooting. It also clearly shows her turning her steering wheel hard to the right. Good and her wife weren't at all menacing, just lightheartedly mocking Ross.
I don't know what people think they're seeing.
On “2026, as f**ked up as 2025”
"If this isn’t prodding, it’s the Art of the Deal"
You realize, I hope, that The Art Of The Deal was a ghost written piece of Trump fluffing bullshit.
Right? Just ask the guy that wrote it. Who now regrets it.
On “An open thread”
" I have to think the administration is betting on cleek’s step #3"
Stephen Miller has wet dreams about invoking martial law.
On “2026, as f**ked up as 2025”
'I don’t think anyone actually supports the CCP. Unless you voted for Bernie, Zohran, Waltz et.al"
I voted for Walz as VP.
Go ahead and try to claim I support thee CCP. Or that I'm a summer child, in any way, shape or from.
"
It is well to remember that "rare earths" are not, in point of fact, rare. Certainly there are places with greater amounts (bits of Greenland among them). But the reason they are rare is just that it is extremely difficult (and, with current technology, highly polluting) to separate them from each other.
If you don't care about the pollution, you could refine them in Wyoming, Missouri, or California -- all of which have significant deposits. As it is, mines in those places do minimal processing, and then ship the concentrate to Chnia for refining. That's why China dominates rare earths -- they're indifferent to the pollution caused by refining them.
If Trump annexes Greenland, the real risk is the high pollution refining which he (or those he sells it to) will cheerfully site where US (or European) pollution restrictions suddenly don't reach.
"
“Historically”, however, meaning as recently as 2023, Denmark was below the NATO 2% standard. And a low of 1.11% in 2015. Slid below 2% in 1990 down to that low in 2015. So yes, historically.
Yes, 2015 was when Trump was in the GOP debate and praising Putin's intelligence and desire for a stable world. My point is that it's cherry picking of the first order and doing that to argue for Orange shitstain's latest fantasy is pretty weak.
"
Denmark was at the time occupied by an enemy nation.
And that European problem became a world war.
If you think Trump (and much of the current GOP) is more aware of the threat from Russia than the Europeans are . . .
Using the word ‘historically’ is pretty interesting, especially since Denmark is one of the top bilateral donors to Ukraine . . .
Actions speak louder than words (well, unless its Trump, lol). Yes, Europe is finally getting serious and starting to put its money where its mouth is, rather than relying on the US taxpayers. It's nice to see. And yes, Denmark is one of the top donors to Ukraine. I think it might actually be right at the top as a percentage of GDP. "Historically", however, meaning as recently as 2023, Denmark was below the NATO 2% standard. And a low of 1.11% in 2015. Slid below 2% in 1990 down to that low in 2015. So yes, historically.
Are you by any chance falling into what I will call the “McKinney Trap” . . .
In my own way, I may consider many here to be a different version of summer children on some issues, but I don't think anyone actually supports the CCP. Unless you voted for Bernie, Zohran, Waltz et.al. Then I might have a few questions.
It’s almost as if you haven’t been observing the Trump administration in action,
I've been observing the results achieved, the rhetoric and the resistance. IMO, many are falling for the rhetoric. If this isn't prodding, it's the Art of the Deal, trying to get a better bargaining position IMO for a minerals deal. Not only do I not like the rhetoric and the disrespect, I think it backfires here. We shall see.
Are there any instances in which Denmark has refused to co-operate with the USA over collective security in Greenland?
Denmark tried to get the US to leave after WWII, leading to the 1951 treaty (US refused to leave due to the Soviet threat). But I think this is more about rare earths, strategic positioning and what it is going to cost to do what is necessary to keep China and Russia at bay. And a concern that Greenland has, I understand, toyed with deals involving the Chinese in infrastructure and mining. Denmark has vetoed the projects. With the Chinese trying to monopolize rare earths, having the Chinese involved in mining is obviously a huge concern, and one that could be dealt with by getting a minerals agreement with the US. It makes sense to have some sort of economic deal to offset US defense costs. Threats of invasion are unhelpful, to say the least.
On “An open thread”
For anyone interested in what kind of poet she was in life, this is Renee Good's poem from 2020 which won "one of Old Dominion’s most prestigious accolades, the Academy of American Poets Prize":
https://poets.org/2020-on-learning-to-dissect-fetal-pigs
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