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January 18, 2026
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2026-016

Last week’s posts on Moon of Alabama:

—
Other issues:

Europe:

Empire:

China:

AI Bubble:

Use as open (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine) thread …

Posted by b on January 18, 2026 at 13:05 UTC | Permalink
Comments

If Trump wants a short sharp winning war against Iran, surely he must go tactical nuke?
 
And Iran must pre-emptively shut down the Straits of Hormuz. With all available means.
 
Until a lasting peace can be accomplished.

Posted by: necromancer | Jan 18 2026 13:21 utc | 1

And, of course, with submarine launched missiles as part of the Zio-nazi toolkit, relaxing ahead of the carrier battle group arrival would be foolhardy.

Posted by: necromancer | Jan 18 2026 13:47 utc | 2

Barflies – please start prepping. Your family will thank you later

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 14:11 utc | 3

I was reporting that the Chinese were egging on America to take Greenland from a very small and inconsequential euro country ruled by some monarch or something:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202601/1353370.shtml
Now the Russians join in the party:
 
https://www.rt.com/news/631104-us-trump-history-greenland/ 
 
USA! USA!
Hehehe, I predicted this issue with Greenland in December, at a time when no one was speaking about it.

Here is one prediction for 2026: Greenland! Yes, such a large American territory wasted in the possesion of a small and totally unimportant euro statelet. Becoming the 51st American state would not only mean a lot of really great things to Greenlanders, bigly!, but also it’d help with the precarious finances of the USA.Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Dec 25 2025 10:56 utc | 144

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/12/happy-christmas.html/comment-page-2#comment-1247290

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Jan 18 2026 14:12 utc | 4

Should we empathise with Ganz’s “Dingbat Imperialists”? There are quite a few that post on this forum.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 14:18 utc | 5

Random?
Why can’t We Use Somali Welfare Fraud Loot to Buy Greenland?

https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/why-cant-we-use-somali-welfare-fraud

Posted by: Dogon priest | Jan 18 2026 14:46 utc | 6

Nuuk (Greenland) – Withdrawal after just 44 hours: On Sunday afternoon, the German Armed Forces reconnaissance team departed from Greenland! BILD spotted the 15 soldiers, led by Rear Admiral Stefan Pauly (61), shortly before takeoff at Nuuk Airport. Their destination: an Icelandair Boeing 737.
On Saturday, it was reported that the soldiers would be staying longer than planned. Now, the German Armed Forces have departed – without any further communication or official announcement. According to BILD’s information, the order to leave was issued from Berlin that morning. Departure was scheduled for 2 p.m. German time. The soldiers were thus in Greenland for less than two days.
 

Posted by: The Far Side | Jan 18 2026 14:57 utc | 7

@ Johan Kaspar | Jan 18 2026 14:12 utc | 4
 
Greenland would not become a state but only another colony or “commonwealth”.

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 18 2026 15:04 utc | 8

“9 Years Ago Today, the US Helped Murder Gaddafi to Stop the Creation of Gold-Backed Currency
 
Nine years ago today, the US helped successfully overthrow Gaddafi because his gold Dinar-backed pan-African currency threatened Western central banks.
 
Claire Bernish    Oct 20, 2017
 
On October 20th, 2011, the West took it upon itself to use NATO to overthrow Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi — not for any humanitarian threat to civilians as had been repeatedly claimed — but because his planned roll-out of a new currency to be used across Africa posed a palpable existential threat to central banks at the heart of the Western financial and political system.”
 
https://thefreethoughtproject.com/the-state/9-years-ago-us-killed-gaddafi-gold
 
The same banking mafia is going after Iran right now.

Posted by: GreatLakesObserver | Jan 18 2026 15:18 utc | 9

Canada Announces New Strategic Partnership With Qatar During Carney Visit
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L6a5YWWKf4
 
“Prime Minister Mark Carney has secured a new strategic partnership with Qatar to manage trade, investment and defence cooperation…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 18 2026 15:43 utc | 10

Sean Foo: ‘Collapse Begins’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@SeanFooGold/videos
 
“US Economic Empire Collapses; Furious Washington warns Canada; China RMB cancels USD in trade.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 18 2026 15:45 utc | 11

10 year 4.23%3 month 4.64%
de-dollarization brings peace in …..2027
 

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 15:55 utc | 12

@7 The Far Side
 
Gefrierbrand ?

Posted by: M | Jan 18 2026 16:02 utc | 13

thanks b… lots of interesting articles to read… thanks.. 

Posted by: james | Jan 18 2026 16:03 utc | 14

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 18 2026 15:45 utc | 11
 
Good. Created and enabled by dumbass financial capitalists on wall street, in corporate board rooms, and in both shitty political parties. I love watching them squirm because they lied, altered US history, and pushed far right wing free market capitalism…. and it is now quite obvious that, during the last 30 years, it has been a disaster for Americans. Even though times are getting tough for Americans, a good portion of the US population is to blame because they allowed themselves to be brainwashed and controlled by the free market bullshit. 
 
You reap what you sew.

Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Jan 18 2026 16:11 utc | 15

Necromancer #1 – Iran will do no such thing. Its modus vivendi with the Gulf oil exporters is FAR more important than these day to day difficulties. Iran will continue to force the Empire to make the first mistake.

Posted by: Caliman | Jan 18 2026 16:31 utc | 16

You reap what you sew.
Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Jan 18 2026 16:11 utc | 15
Sow. To plant. You harvest what you plant.

Posted by: bassplayer | Jan 18 2026 16:37 utc | 17

3 month 4.64%
 
Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 15:55 utc | 12
 
—
 
Three month is at 3.68 ==> https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DGS3MO
 
But yes.  The FED is pushing on a string.
 
https://wolfstreet.com/2026/01/17/us-government-sold-665-billion-of-treasuries-this-week-10-year-treasury-yield-spikes-to-4-24-highest-since-sep-2-despite-3-rate-cuts/
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 16:39 utc | 18

Posted by: necromancer | Jan 18 2026 13:21 utc | 1
 
######
 
A lasting peace is impossible like having a dog with rabies as a house pet or a pedophile as a babysitter.
 
The West wants conquest. Anything less is failure and given how things have developed, a fatal one.
 
Nordstream is not going to be put back into service. China has contracted for all of that gas, plus the German would use that energy to make weapons to kill Russians.
 
Peace will come once NATO has been exhausted. Militarily, financially, and politically.
 
Until the psychopaths run “out of juice”, there will be no peace.
 
That was true a year ago and it will be true a year from now.
 
To paraphrase Captain America, “I can do this all day” is what the Russians are thinking.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 16:42 utc | 19

 
I think it’s worth a reminder of how it all began.
 
Not saying it’s right or wrong. It is what it is:
 
Description:
“President Donald Trump claimed a pipeline project has made Germany “totally controlled” by and “captive to Russia” during a combative breakfast Wednesday that kicked off what was already expected to be a fraught NATO summit in Brussels. (July 11)”
 
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9LLZBVTid4I&pp=ygUgdHJ1bXAgbGVjdHVyZXMgZXUgb24gUnVzc2lhbiBnYXM%3D
 

Posted by: lachaussette | Jan 18 2026 16:42 utc | 20

Thie might be a conundrum for “legalistic” Putin. 
 
(The Americans demanded that Russia repay more than $225 billion in tsarist debts.)
The Americans demanded that Russia repay more than $225 billion in tsarist debts.
 

Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 16:52 utc | 21

Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 16:52 utc | 21
 
######
 
More noise.
 
The West is in for a shocker when Russia files claims for war reparations against NATO.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 16:57 utc | 22

Wait for Moscow to remind Washington about that 99 year Alaska lease that expired in 1967 🤣

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 16:58 utc | 23

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 16:58 utc | 23
 
######
 
I was going to mention that but I didn’t know the dates.
 
This is a game of tit for tat which will hurt Americans to play.
 
America without any Arctic claim through Alaska has no choice but to take Greenland.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 17:01 utc | 24

Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Jan 18 2026 16:11 utc | 15
 
 Even though times are getting tough for Americans, a good portion of the US population is to blame because they allowed themselves to be brainwashed and controlled by the free market bullshit.  You reap what you sew.
 
 
<= you got it wrong, Americans are not brain washed they were intentionally denied the information needed to understand.. USA government operates in secret. What it decides is closed door.. USA governed Americans learn about USA decisions and operations either by eye opening personal experience or from 3rd party information sources.. 
 
 
The most glaring problem in the otherwise intelligent composition of  the U. S. Constitution is  that the constitution allows government officials to conduct the affairs of government in secret. That one flaw has deprived Americans of the liberties and freedoms the American Revolution promised and it has shown that democracy cannot be successful unless the governments and its institutions are required to give those the government governs  full disclosure as to the affairs and intentions of government.
 
 
Also missing and required for democracy to work is a bottom up citizen privilege to select when and who a government official or branch of government is to be audited and investigated. And as a corollary to that privilege is the privilege to conduct, complete, report and distribute the findings of the audit.  
 
In other words, without timely audits and bottom up authority to fully investigate any and all activities or happenings that affect government the citizens have no basis to understand  or discover the truth. 
 
 
Bottom up Audit privilege and government duty to fully disclosure and to account for its activities are essential prerequisites to a successful democracy.. 
 
 
 
 

Posted by: snake | Jan 18 2026 17:08 utc | 25

FIFA having second thoughts about Peace Prize:
Growing sense of embarrassment at Fifa over Donald Trump peace prize
Boycott the World Cup:
Don’t buy the merch or goods from any of the sponsors;
Don’t watch it in person or on telly (especially the adverts)
Discourage your team from attending (assuming they won’t get arrested at customs due to an EO).
Perhaps the “US’ First Jewish President” could achieve the triple whammy of destroying  NATO, Eurovision and FIFA…

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 18 2026 17:12 utc | 26

Carney in Beijing: Canada’s First Steps towards a Multipolar World

Prof. Radhika Desai: “What Carney has achieved in Beijing has been to set Canada on the path of the multipolar world, objectively and in practice. Canada has few choices, and it will likely take some time before it subjectively recognizes the necessity for this and its rhetoric aligns with its new practice. However, thanks to the compulsion of circumstances, that will happen. And it will be good for the people of both countries, and likely the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, as advocated by China and embraced by increasing numbers of nations across the globe.”

 https://substack.com/home/post/p-184947826

Posted by: N_H | Jan 18 2026 17:14 utc | 27

Canada needs capital for resource development. The best global source of capital is China. Everyone else is tapped out.
 
Now that the US is punishing Canadian oil, it makes good business sense to sell to the world’s biggest oil buyer, China.
 
Tariffs are having the salutary effect of creating new trade relationships as everyone is driven to diversify.
 
I still maintain that London banker Carney is acting on behalf of the UK, which cannot deal directly with China for historic (opium war, etc) reasons.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 17:27 utc | 28

“Dingbat Imperialism, the Lowest Stage of Capitalism – Reading Lenin Today – Unpopular Front”
While it is encouraging that Lenin’s Imperialism has become so relevant to a wider audience again, this essay can only confuse anyone seriously interested in the pamphlet (it’s short, read it yourself!).
Since this essay was written humanity had been in the age of Imperialism.  For someone to believe that the Venezuela clown show is somehow the first and essential act of US imperialism is just so silly it’s laughable.  
While Imperialism had been the reality of western Capitalism since the turn of the last century, history hasn’t passed in vein.  Lenin uses a historical materialist method to develop this definitive concept of Imperialism.  To make sense of his concept today you must use the same method to account for all the developments since it was written.  To shorten things and move to the most recent emergence of Imperialism, you have to start with the first Gulf war on Iraq then work your way forward to today.  
This is where Michael Hudson (parents were Leninist) becomes so important.  He takes up Lenin’s analysis of Imperialism and provides much greater detail as to its mechanisms over this period.  Unlike Lenin however, Hudson is not a revolutionary.  Instead he presents a kind of minimal program that erases the wage slaves from the equation and focuses more on the ruling classes of China and the US.  He reduces the issue not to class power but simply a question of public or private finance, concluding obviously that China’s model is superior in that the state has eliminated private finance capital.  This is good news if your Chinese, but not much of a solution if you’re a wage slave clapped in irons on the pirate ship of US Imperialism.  It’s not even that helpful if you’re a Chinese wage slave exploited by the CCP either (China is Capitalist and relies on the extraction of surplus value from millions of its workers, despite its aversion to Imperialist methods)
My suggestion: read Lenin to grasp his method of analysis and political conclusions.  Then read the up to date Hudson with the Leninist solution still in mind.  Compare that to the solution Hudson forwards.  
 

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:27 utc | 29

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:27 utc | 29
 
#######
 
Why did you write CCP?
 
It’s CPC.
 
Neocon Senator Tom Cotton makes that same “mistake”.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 17:30 utc | 30

This is where Michael Hudson (parents were Leninist) becomes so important.
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:27 utc | 29
 
—
 
Hudson’s godfather was Leon Trotsky.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 17:36 utc | 31

In the minds of MAGA insiders Greenland is about decoupling from NATO and Europe militarily as much as it is a land grab. Trump is not the first at pitching a Greenland deal…
The 1917 Virgin Islands Deal: Blueprint for Buying Greenland
The nation is too divided to make allow this to happen peacefully or militarily.
Font size here sucks and its not up to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Posted by: circumspect | Jan 18 2026 17:41 utc | 32

Three month is at 3.68
 
thanks for the corecction. Imagine Treasury trying to Play the yield curve at these rates.  There’s got to be beaucoup manipulation behind the scenes to keep the plates spinning in the air

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 17:43 utc | 33

Hudson’s godfather was Leon Trotsky.
 
 
Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 17:36 utc | 31
 
And Trotsky was the greatest exponent of Lenin.  

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:44 utc | 34

Neocon Senator Tom Cotton makes that same “mistake”.
 
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 17:30 utc | 30
Thanks for fixing that detail.  

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:44 utc | 35

And Trotsky was the greatest exponent of Lenin.
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:44 utc | 34
 
—
 
Trotsky was the liberal exponent of Lenin.
 
 
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 17:49 utc | 36

And Trotsky was the greatest exponent of Lenin.
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:44 utc | 34
Trotsky was the liberal exponent of Lenin.
 
Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 17:49 utc | 36
 
Ok, a label.  So, what do you actually mean by that?  

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:51 utc | 37

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 18 2026 17:12 utc 
 
“achieve the triple whammy of destroying NATO, Eurovision and FIFA…”
 
Outrageous statement!
 
Whilst your first and last might have some merit, I absolutely cannot abide by your second. Even though Eurovision may have devolved to some obscene spectacle worthy of Baphomet, if we hadn’t had Waterloo, we wouldn’t have:
 
ABBA – Lay All Your Love On Me:
 
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ulZQTrV8QlQ&pp=ygUYTGF5IGFsbCB5b3VyIGxvdmUgb24gbWUg

Posted by: lachaussette | Jan 18 2026 17:54 utc | 38

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 16:58 utc | 23 I was going to mention that but I didn’t know the dates. Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 17:01 utc | 24
 
 The 99 year lease stuff is myth. The original document is right here:
https://www.loc.gov/item/08018459/
 
Russia was paid somewhere around 11,400,000 rubles.
 
Very little money actually changed hands, Russia immediately spent about 11,000,000 of that money purchasing railroad equipment.

Posted by: Archetypex | Jan 18 2026 17:54 utc | 39

“Trotsky repeatedly and emphatically praised Lenin in his works. In his biographical essay on Lenin he describes him, in substance, as the embodiment of the revolutionary will and intelligence of the working class, stressing Lenin’s “powerful mind” and “inflexible will” and calling him the true leader formed by history for a new epoch.  In his tribute after Lenin’s death, Trotsky writes that the world working class needed Lenin as perhaps no one had ever been needed before and urges communists to go forward “with the lamp of Leninism” in their hands, treating Lenin as an irreplaceable and unique leader whose legacy must guide future struggle.” 

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:54 utc | 40

Posted by: bassplayer | Jan 18 2026 16:37 utc | 17
 
Thank you. 

Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Jan 18 2026 17:54 utc | 41

So, what do you actually mean by that?  
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:51 utc | 37
 
—
 
Liberalism == An ideology centred upon the individual.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 18:01 utc | 42

So, what do you actually mean by that?  
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 17:51 utc | 37
Liberalism == An ideology centred upon the individual.
 
Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 18:01 utc | 42
 
Ok.  You just think whatever you like, sugar.  

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 18:15 utc | 43

LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 17:01 utc | 24*** America without any Arctic claim through Alaska has no choice but to take Greenland.***
 
Well, the USA best grab Canada too, just in case. 
Essential for “defence” etc. or the Chinese might capture it.
 

Posted by: Cynic | Jan 18 2026 18:15 utc | 44

Font size here sucks and its not up to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Posted by: circumspect | Jan 18 2026 17:41 utc | 32
 
Hold Ctrl key down and use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out. I’ve got this site set at 125%. Should show percentage at top right corner of the screen.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 18:16 utc | 45

just think whatever you like
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 18 2026 18:15 utc | 43
 
—
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
 
It was Trotsky’s liberalism that earned him an icepick.
 
Communists (like Lenin) subordinate the individual to the group.  Same as families do.
 
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 18 2026 18:25 utc | 46

It is  dangerous and not acceptable that the USA is surrounded by non-US countries and territories….
 
So they must all become owned by the USA….
 
And then the larger USA will still be surrounded…. 
 
It is  dangerous and not acceptable that the USA is surrounded by non-US countries and territories….
 
Etc. 
 
There’s a lot of outer space, out there ….
 
Surrounding the USA ….
 

Posted by: Cynic | Jan 18 2026 18:30 utc | 47

 necromancer | Jan 18 2026 13:21 utc | 1
 
I believe that is Trumps intention and why Iran came under Russia’s nuclear umbrella in Trumps first term.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 18:30 utc | 48

The 99 year lease stuff is myth.
LOL – the Soviets didn‘t think so

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 18:33 utc | 49

@ Exile | Jan 18 2026 18:33 utc | 49
 
The Soviets didn’t think so?  News to me.  Could you cite something to that effect?

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 18 2026 18:38 utc | 50

Posted by: Cynic | Jan 18 2026 18:15 utc | 44
 
#####
 
China doesn’t capture anyone. That is the antithesis of what China does.
 
It creates deeper ties through trade.
 
Canada was “lost” when Trump launched his tariffs and tried to bully the Aluminium and oil industries.
 
Canada is the UK’s Arctic claim.
 
The Arctic is the future of natural resources and commercial transportation.
 
Everyone on the outside will desperately want in.
 
I suspect Trump will make a play for Canada but Eastern Canada (where power lies) hates America and really hates Trump.
 
So, military capture? Perhaps but America doesn’t have infinite power projection capabilities.
 
Yanks don’t understand that the ROW looks at American inner cities, social decay, and heavy handed Zionist government, and thinks, “Thanks, but we’re good.”.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 18:41 utc | 51

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 18:16 utc | 45
Thanks, I know how to do that. B could use a free plugin to comply with international laws in adherence to WCAG standards for users. Its a work in progress. I know how hard it is to run a website. Dealing with comments only adds to the headaches.
 

Posted by: circumspect | Jan 18 2026 18:41 utc | 52

I’ve heard Maria Zakhorova mention that the Russian federation has issues with the ownership of Alaska.
 
As always, power makes claims (and counter claims) tangible.
 
Law and contracts are only as powerful as the means to enforce them.
 
There has been a massive power dynamics shift since the SMO began.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 18:46 utc | 53

Greenland an it’s raw material belongs to the Greenlanders (90% Innuit). If somebody takes it by force or buys it for some glass beads and everbody is just watching it, it is the return to the dark times of colonialism.
Possibly the west has coutinued, but mostly hidden.
I we see it happen, then wa have the proof.
Palestine is not much different.

Posted by: Johann Siegfried von Oberndorf | Jan 18 2026 18:52 utc | 54

The article posted in Gary Marcus’ substack must now be mandatory reading. Frank Herbert was prescient here: a Butlerian Jihad must follow.
 
AI is satanic.

Posted by: Patroklos | Jan 18 2026 18:58 utc | 55

@ 52 circumspect

You mean Web Shitification Guidelines maybe ?

I think the site is on HTML 0.1 or something, works without java and cookies, and loads fine on every browser.

Then I have browsers outdated by a couple of years or so, that used to work very nicely right across the web. Now, half the sites (main retail sites etc. so very presumably your WCAG) load poorly, half load, or just give straight errors.

I also have updated versions of those browsers. Sites now load real time software that is so slow that it jumps around in presentation , places buttons all around the screen… I even go to type a word in search ‘ABCDEF’ for example and it gives ‘ABDF’ and quite often on a couple of main sites ‘ADFBE’ !

That is not my hardware or connection speed either.

Not even to mention the endless cookie notices we get in most of europe.

So from where I am looking, WCAG is a crock.

And you say comply with international laws on user standards ? You must mean guidelines, because afaik there is no obligation for a site to work at all for anyone…as WCAG itself seems to prove :-/ .

Posted by: Ornot | Jan 18 2026 19:04 utc | 56

Cynic | Jan 18 2026 18:30 utc | 47—
 
Yes, the Outlaw US Empie is a Paranoid entity insecure at all times, thus its never-ending quest for security at the expense of all others.
 
A listing of what I published or pointed to over the week:
 
 When Push Comes to Shove … who will finally – and together – shove back?
 
Trump Gang Theft of Greenland: View from China
 
Maria Zakharova on Greenland – by Karl Sanchez
 
FYI–Rock the Cradle – by Karl Sanchez–Alastair Crooke Interview
 
Canadian PM Mark Carney’s China Visit – by Karl Sanchez 
 
Putin’s Remarks on Unmanned Systems, Not Just Combat Drones
 
How Washington Uses Energy as a Weapon: A Michael Hudson Essay
 
I also provided a different interpretation of Putin’s speech at the credentialing ceremony b linked to above, Putin: International Cooperation & Honest Partnerships Keys to World Peace
 
IMO, the Crooke interview was one of the more important over the week that few watched. 

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 18 2026 19:04 utc | 57

I suspect that, among other things, Trump’s takeover of Greenland is to legally legitimize the current, and future, land grabs Israel will do. If the world accepts the US’s actions, how could it then complain about Israel?

Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:08 utc | 58

WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:08 utc | 57
 
From what I  can make of it, Trump is thinking in great power terms and spheres of interest. All of North America – Greenland and Canada consolidated into USA and south America as USA’s sphere of interest. In South America he wants to push the other great powers Russia and China out. With Greenland and Canada, that will also give the US a big chunk of the Arctic ocean.
I also tend think he wants to gain strategic control over a good chunk of the worlds oil reserves to give the US leverage in the world as well as bring in revenues.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 19:20 utc | 59

At least fifteen national teams scheduled to play matches in the United States at this summer’s World Cup represent countries which face extensive visa restrictions implemented by the US, potentially limiting access to the tournament for supporters.
 
This will likely be a more extensive problem for future Olympic Games, as 2028 summer games and 2034 winter games have been awarded to US.

Posted by: jayc | Jan 18 2026 19:22 utc | 60

I suspect that, among other things, Trump’s takeover of Greenland is to legally legitimize the current, and future, land grabs Israel will do. If the world accepts the US’s actions, how could it then complain about Israel?
Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:08 utc | 57
First, Trump aims at Greenland, because he likes the idea to have it.
Second, he likes it, because he can show his power. Nobody can resist him.
Third, he also talked about Canada as the 51th state of the US. His ambassador to Iceland also talked about this island as the 52th state.
Fourth, he wants to govern/control Venezuela and other South American states. 
So his aim is to reign/govern the whole American continent.
Israel is kind of a nuisace to him. He cannot really win there, but he is pressed from the Zionist groups in America.
I think he aims to get Palestine/Israel in a state, which he can handle it with no big efforts. He has already started to restrict Netanjahu. No eviction of the Gazan. Abramham Accords. Governing Gaza. 
He cannot support the right Israeli right wings and their expansion ideas. It would be too costly for the US.

Posted by: Johann Siegfried von Oberndorf | Jan 18 2026 19:26 utc | 61

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 18 2026 15:04 utc | 8  Certainly it’s possible that Greenland would turn into North Guam. (An unincorporated organized territory.) It’s not going to be called a colony, nor is it going to be a commonwealth, that’s just silly if it was meant literally, which it probably is. But it is possible Greenland would be incorporated as a state, if Trump was assured of two new Republican Senators who owed their jobs to him. And it would be quite amusing if adding a House of Representatives member for Greenland meant that some (all?) states might be forced to re-district? Plus it might be a useful tactic in dealing with Canada, promising that deranged woman in Alberta her own Senate seat in the Big Show.  
 
I read most of the link to Strategic Culture Foundation, which turned out to be Alistair Crooke. He seemed to be some dingbat who actually thought young Christians would be outraged. If there is any category of people who could be dismissed as sheeple, it’s devout Christian, they already have the pastors. The word comes from the Latin for “shepherd” after all. I am reinforced in my habit of mostly not reading the right-wing media, whether alt or legacy. Books by conservatives can be more rewarding. Padding the word count often means including useful facts. Also, the lapses in argument can be very educational in themselves. 
 
I also read the link to one John Ganz. As a reading of Lenin’s Imperialism, it wasn’t impressive. Ganz focused most on the export of capital. He apparently did not realize that open colonial empires requires fixed capital investment in a different form than modern time. Export of capital in modern times is, for one thing, called offshoring production. His belief capital export isn’t important in recent times is ludicrous. He also didn’t grasp that the financialization, which also doesn’t look like finance capital over a century ago (as if it could!) has something to do with the rise of fictitious capital, a development that arises from efforts to compensate from the long term decline in the rate of profit of enterprise/production. Ganz is a columnist with The Nation, which once was a kind of literary popular front, with actual leftists consorting with liberals and bipartisan centrists. Over the years it’s shed any leftists, added more centrists leaning to the right. It appears Ganz fits in. He is the author of a book which does some political criminology on the Nineties, when many of the modern so-called conservative trends in his view emerged. Given how deep the roots of Trumpery are in anti-New Deal, so-called McCarthyism, Goldwater, Reagan, this seems a little short sighted. But I suppose a limited critique is to be desired by more moderate people?

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jan 18 2026 19:27 utc | 62

Greenland strategy is a poker strategy. The USA is pumping the pot with Hollywood and aggression but has a weak hand (let’s say QJ off-suit with a 567 flop). The EU, who are not very good poker players (it’s not called ‘Swedish’ Hold ‘Em…), doesn’t really understand that the 78 suited they hold is top pair and a possible straight—they only need to bet over the top of Trump (like deploying forces to Greenland to dare the US to shoot at them) and he’ll fold. Now he might pick up some paint on the turn or the river, but he’d have to call to see them. And that means shooting at NATO forces. In other words, the EU have a winning hand. If they fold it for lack of pushing back then they deserve everything they get.
 
The legacy of WW2 in three words: America destroyed Europe.
 
 

Posted by: Patroklos | Jan 18 2026 19:27 utc | 63

The unparalleled success of the Bundeswher mission, summarized.

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/153140

Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 18 2026 19:32 utc | 64

Yves Engler: http://www.yvesforndpleader.ca
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ByWB-8lXjg
 
“Marking Canadian imperialism.”
 

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 18 2026 19:33 utc | 65

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 18:33 utc | 49
Anybody can “think” whatever they want.
 
 The treaty is available at the link to read.
 The government that owned that territory agreed to the terms and signed the treaty. It is what it is, no conspiracy theories required. This lease idea has popped up from time to time, it’s myth, there is nothing to support the idea. All the bogus stories about the payment sinking on the ship during transport etc have been debunked long ago.

Posted by: Archetypex | Jan 18 2026 19:35 utc | 66

WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:08 utc | 58—
 
The Imperialism of the Colonial Plunder Era was repudiated by the Global Majority 50 years ago after most colonized countries had become “independent,” although in many cases controlled via Neocolonial methods. Today, the struggle is for nations to rid themselves of Neocolonialism which in essence means becoming free of American control systems that are mostly financial. The laws/treaties that govern the Denmark/Greenland relationship are rather complex and not easily broken from the outside. Trump has declared he’s the #1 Outlaw on the planet and isn’t constrained by any law, which means he’s a traitor to America (something few realize). There’s no way to compare what’s happening in Ukraine or Palestine to what Trump might attempt with Greenland or anywhere else. In the eyes of the law, Trump is a criminal who has committed many Capital Crimes, and most of the world seems him as such. My reply to cynic means the Empire needs to be remanded to a padded cell because of its malady, and that’s sort of what the world is attempting to do. Even the idiot Europeans now see what must be done. What transpires during the rest of January will prove consequential.    

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 18 2026 19:35 utc | 67

” Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 19:20 utc | 58 ”
 
Thats why I said, “among other things”. 

Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:35 utc | 68

Patroklos | Jan 18 2026 19:27 utc | 62
 
There are a number of pluses for Trump in taking Greenland. In his first term, He wanted out of Nato and still does. During the Biden term I believe a law was passed preventing the President from pulling the US out. Taking Greenland will help break Nato up. No Nato = problem solved

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 19:36 utc | 69

The legacy of WW2 in three words: America destroyed Europe.  
Posted by: Patroklos | Jan 18 2026 19:27 utc | 62

IMO they’ve been doing that systematically for decades.
Certainly since 9/11 and definitely since the GFC.
In the UK we play three-card brag.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 18 2026 19:42 utc | 70

@59 jayc

“Well… we’ve been having trouble with some kinds of people… terrorists… narcoterrorists… and others… and we’ve been looking at ways to accomodate these special kinds of people when it comes to international events… like the UN and other kinds of competitions.

In fact I was just talking to… I was just talking to… and I was told his team has an answer to that question… so we are going to create a visa free zone… I think I have the name right… Greenland Stadium ?… Greenland Stadium… in the USA… which will welcome all kinds of people, including europeans.

The secretary of state has been in contact with its previous owners… with Greenland’s previous owners… they and their friends are willing to provide security for the project… have already sent teams in advance… there is enthusiasm and I think its going to be great.

Thank you .”

Posted by: Ornot | Jan 18 2026 19:42 utc | 71

“There are a number of pluses for Trump in taking Greenland. In his first term, He wanted out of Nato and still does. During the Biden term I believe a law was passed preventing the President from pulling the US out. Taking Greenland will help break Nato up. No Nato = problem solved
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 19:36 utc | 68 ”
 
If NATO is dissolved will the US be forced out of its bases in Europe ? If not then its all a show. 

Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:46 utc | 72

There are many problems with the US taking Greenland and ( LOL!) attempting to be an Arctic power. 🙂
One of them being America only has 3 old  Ice Breakers.  Russia has over 40. Many armed with deck guns and missiles.
Another problem. The US has not built a heavy hulled arctic ice capable Naval Vessel since WW2. 
Meet Americas newest Ice Breaker. 
https://www.propublica.org/article/aiviq-icebreaker-military-coast-guard
 

Posted by: golddigger | Jan 18 2026 19:58 utc | 73

WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 19:46 utc | 71
 
Ramstein is likely one that US will keep as I have read that is a strategic base for US. I assume those purely US bases will be US sovereign territory. As for the Europeans kicking them out, what with. They have given all their weapons to Ukraine and now need to by weapons from the US to replace them.
 
Germany makes a few basic weapons. France makes a bit more of a range of weapons but US has no major bases in France that I know of. The missile bases in Poland and Romania are the big ones. They will be the ones to watch as they are the ones Russia wants gone.
 
The Trump admin is going boom or bust. US debt is skyrocketing. Trump bailed out the AI bubble just a few weeks back. Much depends on ho much longer the US economy can be kept on life support.
 

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 20:00 utc | 74

USA’s declaration on Danish sovereignty of Greenland, 1916
 
(excerpt)….On 4th August 1916, the American government issued a declaration to the Danish government that it would not raise objections if Denmark extended its interests in Greenland to include the entire island.…..

Posted by: Exile | Jan 18 2026 20:05 utc | 75

golddigger | Jan 18 2026 19:58 utc | 72
 
I think Russia has already launched the first of its new line of heavy nuclear icebreaker. When Trump was trying for the peace deal with Russia, joint ventures in the arctic was one of the proposals he put forward. He likely very much had those Russian ice breakers in mind.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 20:13 utc | 76

@ 62 Patroklos
 
And the replacement of rational Christendom with the new secular religion, Holocaustianity. 
 
The absolute stifling of Hegelian world spirit because technocrats know better and want everyone to feel safe. Whether these technocrats are true believers I what they peddle or not, this does not make up for the damage they have inflicted. 
 
The next step: a worse consolidation or the breakthrough of history once again. 
 
My money is always on spirit. But a slaughterbench it truly often brings to mind. 

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jan 18 2026 20:14 utc | 77

” Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 20:00 utc | 73 ”
 
So its all a show. I suspect a problem, reaction, solution is being played. NATO gets dissolved, while the EU will immediately clamor for the need for an EU army, which is what the PTB wanted all along. Any reluctant countries will be coerced to go along due to the “threat” from Russia. 

Posted by: WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 20:15 utc | 78

In thinking about the proposal for joint US Russia business ventures, Trump is likely out to bust Nato first then go back to making a peace deal with Russia for those joint ventures, plus US business wants to get back into the Russian market.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 20:17 utc | 79

WhatAbout? | Jan 18 2026 20:15 utc | 77
 
Nah. The Europeans will just start wars amongst themselves. The Poles are gearing up with south Korean hardware. They hate the Russians but Russia is to powerful.  They hate the Ukrainians and Germans as well so they are two prime targets for the Poles. The baltics are in deep shit already. They rely totally on subsidies from the EU. Germany was the biggest contributor to the EU but its economy is now busted. The EU has spent all its money on Ukraine and can no longer subsidise the baltics.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 20:23 utc | 80

Re Snake @ 25 – Very well said
 

Posted by: abierno | Jan 18 2026 20:33 utc | 81

Someone mentioned about China’s relative superiority on a comment. Yes Elon First King Of Mars may be spaffing hundreds of low orbit regime change satellites, but China is going to have moon base in the next decade. 
Anyhoo…
 

🅰pocalypsis 🅰pocalypseos 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🅉

 
 

@apocalypseos
13h

“Everything is unfolding in line with our forecast of a shift in the global economic paradigm. Following manufacturing and trade, the center of professional education has moved to China.” — Sergey Glazyev Harvard University has fallen to third place in the Leiden Ranking, a global index measuring scientific research productivity. Experts say this shift reflects China’s rapid rise in global higher education and the growing difficulties facing American universities. Zhejiang University now tops the ranking compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, with Shanghai Jiao Tong University placing second. Chinese universities now hold eight of the top ten positions, with the University of Toronto being the only other non-Chinese institution in the top tier alongside Harvard.
Jan 18, 2026 · 7:02 AM UTC

Posted by: DunGroanin | Jan 18 2026 20:49 utc | 82

Syria: SDF leader Mazloum al-Abdi has effectively surrendered to Damascus, putting an end to the dream of Rojava (Western Kurdistan) as well as hopes for retaining a large measure of autonomy for NE Syria.

Posted by: Maracatu | Jan 18 2026 20:49 utc | 83

Don’t know how that formatted like that. Try again. 
 

🅰pocalypsis 🅰pocalypseos 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🅉

 
 

@apocalypseos
13h

“Everything is unfolding in line with our forecast of a shift in the global economic paradigm. Following manufacturing and trade, the center of professional education has moved to China.” — Sergey Glazyev Harvard University has fallen to third place in the Leiden Ranking, a global index measuring scientific research productivity. Experts say this shift reflects China’s rapid rise in global higher education and the growing difficulties facing American universities. Zhejiang University now tops the ranking compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, with Shanghai Jiao Tong University placing second. Chinese universities now hold eight of the top ten positions, with the University of Toronto being the only other non-Chinese institution in the top tier alongside Harvard.

Jan 18, 2026 · 7:02 AM UTC

Posted by: DunGroanin | Jan 18 2026 20:50 utc | 84

Quick thought on the topic of Hegel:
 
Looking at the philosophical influences on VPP, I found that not only is Dugin heavily influenced by G.W. Hegel but also a philosopher named Ivan Illyan, a strong anti-communist Right-Hegelian who wrote on the potential future of a strong, resurgent Russian Monarchy after the cancer of Bolshevism would leave Russia.
 
He was against Ukrainian-autonomy.
 
Ideologically, Illyan was a strong defender of Fascism but was severely put-off by Hitler’s untermensch dig on the Slavs. He viewed Fascism as a natural upwelling of dissent against communist-totalitarianism. Eventually, he believed that a strong Autocrat and a united, Orthodox Russia would allow the Fatherland to return to its place, historically-speaking. 
 
Illyan has been a prime influencer on the thinking of VPP, with VPP moving his body to Moscow and overseeing the consecration of his grave in 2009.
 
Of course, this is a hard pill for many ideologues to swallow here. I have written many posts about this in the past. While we are busy cheering on Russia that will singlehandedly liberate Europe from the hold of liberal technocrats, we have to concede that despite Russia’s propaganda against Ukrainian Nazism, which has always been poorly implemented and completely disregarded by its intended audience in the western populations, the plight of Russia as it stands today, parallels Hitler’s Germany to such an extent to be irrefutable.
 

  • Weimar unraveling of Germany with the neoliberal looting of Russia after the collapse of the USSR
  • The rise of a strong autocrat who puts down the supremacy of the Jewish-oligarchy
  • Rekindling the national mission of a spiritual destiny of an historical people
  • Works quietly to rearm under the suspicion of western elite 
  • Is goaded into attacking Ukraine just as Germany was with Poland due to western meddling
  • Is the peace-seeker always looking for de-escalation offramps

 
It is no accident that a return of world spirit would mean the death of the Post-WWII liberal order. I find it to be a huge topic of study this idea that where Hegel believed liberalism to be the endpoint of history, it actually was just another bump in the road and actually one its greatest episodes of carnage. But Hegel did imply in his work that he had doubts about his own conclusions. Till his death, he was a thinker and a writer and his notion of spirit leaves room for the yet unimaginable. His work having a very palimpsest-quality. Just like life. 

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Jan 18 2026 20:59 utc | 85

US government debt -Trump has declared bankruptcy a number of times but still ended up with a few billions.
 
Krainer talks about the British offshore banking. They have banking on a number of different islands and island groups, Cayman Islands just one. Cayman Islands alone holds 1.85 trillion. Many countries have shadow banks in the Caribbean but all so in other parts of the world. Krainer did give a number on the many trillions in US dollars just in the British shadow banks in Caribbean. He also said something about the Canadian banks laundering cash from the Canadian drug trade into the US.
 
The British and Canadian shadow banking is likely to hold a large percentage of US debt, and then there is shadow banking from other countries that will be holding US debt. I can easily see Trump declaring something like bankruptcy on foreign Treasury holdings.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 21:01 utc | 86

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 21:01 utc | 85
 
######
 
That is all “paper” money, which is at risk going forward. China and Russia have transitioned to gold backing for their currencies.
 
Money represents savings and real things like infrastructure and resources.
 
Paper money printed out of thin air and compounding “interest” doesn’t represent anything tangible.
 
Fiat money is a liability, not an asset. It carried counterparty risk, as you mentioned, with Trump possibly defaulting.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 21:15 utc | 87

 
 
https://x.com/tiberiusfiles/status/2012908271355736187
Tiberius  @tiberiusfiles 
 
Oh boy this could become an essay… 
 
So, your snake-oil foundation decided to give your peace prize to a warmongering imperialist quasifascist who publicly supported bombing campaigns on her own people… 
 
And now, now that your pathetic liberal sensitivities are offended by said scumbag deferring her prize to full-on-fascist, genocidal-mass-murdering, pedophile-king Trump, whose overtly putrid stench you wanted kept far from your little Western-PR-campaign, imperial-whitewashing prize, and so now, now — only fucking now — do you condemn your chosen recipient? 
 
It’s almost (exactly) like you don’t give a fuck about peace, really, just how you can use the leverage you have to advance a neoliberal Western hegemony that is singularly the most destructive force on earth. 
 
Fuck you all.
 
 
https://x.com/NobelPrize/status/2012826296875667648
The Nobel Prize  @NobelPrize 
 
Statement from the Nobel Foundation 
 
One of the core missions of the Nobel Foundation is to safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration. The Foundation upholds Alfred Nobel’s will and its stipulations. It states that the prizes shall be awarded to those who “have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind,” and it specifies who has the right to award each respective prize. A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed. 
 
For additional information, please refer to the Norwegian Nobel Committee:
 

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jan 18 2026 21:37 utc | 88

Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 20:13 utc
Many of us here have our doubts about global warming. All the noise about Greenland, northwest passage becoming more and more ice free. What if that doesn’t happen?
Much Ado about Nothing?

Posted by: steiniplatte | Jan 18 2026 21:38 utc | 89

@ steven t johnson | Jan 18 2026 19:27 utc | 61
 
I’m surprised that someone who likes to demonstrate his knowledge of American history as you do seems unaware of the hurdles Greenland would face in becoming a US state. First, the Greenlanders have to request statehood. Second, the president, both houses of Congress, and the Greenlanders all have to be of the same political party: if any of these should deviate from that consensus, then the entity supporting the deviating party monkeywrenches the process. Dims won’t stand for adding another Rethug state, Rethugs won’t stand for adding another Dim state.
The only possible scenario: Rethug carpetbaggers to Greenland enjoy exclusive franchise there and vote for accession; massive electoral fraud/voter suppression ensures both houses of Congress remain Rethug; Rethugs eliminate the Senate filibuster.

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 18 2026 21:52 utc | 90

If Monroe Doctrine is really in play then the pivot will be Brazil.  I still think  Iran is in for a bombing only because TACO’s ego got hurt.
 
But I expect alot of noise about Cuba but a “colour” revolution soon in Brazil to break BRICS’ move in South America. 
 
Speaking of Cuba, Maduro’s security team was cremated before being sent home. Were they poisoned? 

Posted by: Suresh | Jan 18 2026 22:02 utc | 91

steiniplatte | Jan 18 2026 21:38 utc | 88
 
 
That fleet of icebreakers Russia is building are designed for thicker ice than the big Soviet icebreaker that was taking tourists to the north pole. Perhaps the climate will warm a bit more and there will be an ice free passage or perhaps it will cool a bit and there will be heavy ice but Russia seems to be prepared for any eventuality so it is a reliable cargo route. 
After studying the ice core charts I’m not much into this man made climate change bullshit. Even through the holocene global temps have been up and down a fair bit. First instruments for measuring temperature were only a few hundred years ago and that was a cold point in the holocene..
But then looking back over a span of half a million years, the would was mostly ice interspersed by short interglacials. During those interglacials, temperatures spiked far higher than this one which looks more like a plateau than a spike or mountain peak.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 22:16 utc | 92

GH: Dr Jim Kavanagh
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAOznTgfEmc
 
“The war on terror comes to the US & Greenland – chickens coming home to roost.”
‘Eventually someone is going to have to smash the bully in the face!’
 
 Here’s hoping ‘eventually’ comes soon.

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 18 2026 22:19 utc | 93

LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 21:15 utc | 86
 
The petro-dollar. A faith based currency…. Faith goes and the paper becomes worthless.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 22:22 utc | 94

MOATS, with George Galloway: ‘Blackmail’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeGallowayOfficial
 
“Pay up or Greenland gets it| Trump tariff threat| Blair ‘rules’ Gaza| Harry’s war.”
 

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 18 2026 22:22 utc | 95

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jan 18 2026 21:37 utc | 87 As I understand it, Knut Hamsun passed on his Nobel to Joseph Goebbels. Maria Corina Machado is in appropriate company at least. 
Posted by: malenkov | Jan 18 2026 21:52 utc | 89 It is truly remarkable that you still don’t understand—or are shameless enough to pretend not to understand—the many, many commenters who defend their Trumper precisely because it’s smashing precedents. (God knows the actual precedents set by Trump’s more thuggish predecessors—it’s a lengthy list—are bad enough.) What they call smashing the Deep State or ending the anti-civilization machination of the PMC means fixing things so that they can’t go back to the way it was. (A near quote from Nixon, as I remember.) So, yes, rigging the Senate and House as much as possible under specious pretext, aka the color of law strikes me as very possible. The real argument against the possibility is that even the employees of the billionaires (aka politicians of both parties) are worried about breaking up NATO. The first step, actually getting Greenland is the political obstacle. But as one of the so-called motives for Trump’s weird obsession? Yes, it’s possible. Trump knows a handful of Democrats (usually the powerless hacks like the clowns at Lawyers Guns & Money collective) have toyed with statehood for DC and Puerto Rico. Tit for tat. The precedents you cite are exactly what keeps any genuinely powerful Democratic Party politicians from trying to carry out even a sensible reform like statehood for PR. But again, that’s not what people here at MoA who love Trump love him for, they love him for not abiding by norms. Haven’t you been paying attention? Or is it simply that of course you don’t notice what you simply assume, much less argue with it?
 

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jan 18 2026 22:30 utc | 96

DunGroanin @ 81, 83:
 
Before you post the comment, just make sure that the symbols in the bar above the space where you are texting the comment are not highlighted in blue or any other colour. If any one of them is highlighted – the space around it will be a different colour – just click on the symbol and the colour should disappear. 
 
I see you were trying to hit the quotation symbol and you must have hit the symbol (the crossed-out ABC) as well. 

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Jan 18 2026 22:34 utc | 97

Malenkov@2152:  You missed one…unless standards have been dropped by passed legislation.  The matter hinges on the number of residents of any given territory (that territorial status would be step one), before the entity can even make their case to become a state.  At present, that old 50,000 marker would not be fulfilled unless several thousands of “carpetbaggers” move in and augment that island’s current population level, which I seem to recall is less than 20,000 residents.

Posted by: aristodemos | Jan 18 2026 22:42 utc | 98

Posted by: steiniplatte | Jan 18 2026 21:38 utc | 88
 
####
 
What if it is happening, but you don’t believe in it?
 
If a tree falls…
 
If Climate Change, as marketed, is real, it will not matter if mankind believes or disbelieves it.
 
The sun rises and sets regardless of whether people want it to.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 18 2026 22:42 utc | 99

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 18 2026 22:16 utc | 91
IIRC the North West Passage is ice free for less time even than the Northern Sea Route, plus it is not so deep and runs through narrow channels. In addition it will probably be the next international dispute between Canada and the US:

The contested sovereignty claims over the waters may complicate future shipping through the region: the Canadian government maintains that the Northwestern Passages are part of Canadian Internal Waters,[10] but the United States claims that they are an international strait and transit passage, allowing free and unencumbered passage.[11][12] If, as the head of a Canadian mining company claims, parts of the eastern end of the Passage are barely 15 metres (49 ft) deep,[13] the route’s viability as a Euro-Asian shipping route is reduced. In 2016, Chinese shipping line COSCO expressed a desire to make regular voyages of cargo ships using the passage to the eastern United States and Europe, after a successful passage by Nordic Orion of 73,500 tonnes deadweight tonnage in September 2013.[14][15][needs update] Fully laden, Nordic Orion sat too deep in the water to sail through the Panama Canal.

 

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 18 2026 22:43 utc | 100

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