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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

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Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#81

Post by tptacek »

forgotoldacc wrote: post #58
ccleve wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Irked me too. I'm running for state representative in House District 9, which covers much of that area. The district is drop dead gorgeous and it's growing rapidly. There's a lot here.

Pretty much everyone on earth is proud of their home area. I've never really been to a place where people didn't describe their home as one of the most beautiful places on earth. Earth has a lot of nice places. The flatness of Indiana can be calming and beautiful. But if you're driving on main roads, it's not very exciting, and it's not the kind of exciting people will fly across the world to see. And that was the po…

People do fly out to vacation in the part of Indiana he highlighted!

I'm not saying Indiana on the whole isn't flat. When I was growing up, their ad campaign was literally "there's more than corn in Indiana". I'm just saying, he couldn't have picked a worse map location to make the point with.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#83

Post by iagooar »

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times.

It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there.

Places that are so distant, with such harsh conditions and few people living there always give me a feeling I do not experience anywhere else in the world. I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature.

And believe me, it is a feeling that is overwhelming. But never have I perceived it as something negative. The opposite was true. Feeling small made me feel calm, embracing that that was the right spot for me as part of God's creation. Suddenly, all those dark clouds that followed me everywhere I went back home were... Gone.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of these places - go. It might change you in profound ways.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#84

Post by tptacek »

Arainach wrote: post #26
tptacek wrote: post #5

It's funny to me that in portraying Indiana as a "blank state" he's highlighting one of the most beautiful parts of the state (the route through the Dunes along the Michigan lakefront; if you've seen "Road To Perdition", you know what that area looks like). It's not important to the article, a complete tangent, but I can't not call that out.

Then again, that stretch also has Gary. Having grown up in that area of the Midwest, I largely agree with the author's categorization, except that "people on their way to somewhere better who got tired and decided this was good enough" describes a LOT of the midwest, not just Indiana. Significant chunks of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, most of Iowa/Kansas/Nebraska, etc. If you read the history of westward expansion,…

Gary is basically part of the Chicago metro area; it's not characteristic of the run of the state you go through between Michigan and Illinois. You don't see it until after you commit to getting onto the Skyway.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#85

Post by impossiblefork »

WalterBright wrote: post #60
impossiblefork wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I think US ownership (not necessarily of land) What would that even mean? Especially the use the word 'ownership'? I think there's zero chance of US long-term influence on Greenland. They simply have no reason to prefer foreign domination, when they can simply be sovereign. I would place independence + EU membership as more probably than any association with the US, and I think them staying within Denmark is much mo…

> They simply have no reason to prefer foreign domination The reason is they require subsidy to live there. The economy appears to run at a net deficit. The same reason the Vikings gave up on it.

I don't think the subsidy is required. The net deficit is small.

Some Swedish regions also have a net deficit relative to other Swedish regions, but that doesn't mean that they don't work out economically. After all, not all economic activity in region is taxed there. A firm in Örnsköldsvik pays their taxes to the Swedish government, and then the Swedish government distributes part back to the region.

It's around 600 million USD per year, on 56836 people. Around $1000 per head. But GDP per capita is $58,498.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#86

Post by Hzwtdqwz1 »

threemux wrote: post #47
danielscrubs wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly my thoughts. I think US ownership (not necessarily of land) is inevitable, but it is going to take a couple of decades of these kind of polarising pieces.

I think it even makes sense if it were pursued in a different way. Greenland is looking for full independence but can't really hack it financially without aid. I think the COFA (Compact of Free Association) model that we have with Palau and Marshall Islands would work well. We get expanded military rights and potentially some mineral/drilling rights, while Greenland gets protection, lots of money, access to USPS dome…

I think the Danish intelligence services should apply this model to Hawaii and Guam. It would make a lot of sense. Hawaii and Guam could get better health care on average while being semi independent. The EU could protect both with nuclear weapons.

Native Hawaiians would escape the continued mistreatment:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/hawaii-no...

I think Radio Free Denmark should launch a soft power campaign.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#88

Post by W-Stool »

hinkley wrote: post #52
Arainach wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then again, that stretch also has Gary. Having grown up in that area of the Midwest, I largely agree with the author's categorization, except that "people on their way to somewhere better who got tired and decided this was good enough" describes a LOT of the midwest, not just Indiana. Significant chunks of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, most of Iowa/Kansas/Nebraska, etc. If you read the history of westward expansion,…

Illinois has a few rust belt towns as well. Decatur is the asshole of Illinois, with a water supply to match. Though for variety, it smells like old gym socks instead. Corn processing plants are almost as bad as paper mills, and when I lived there it had two, ADM and the very aptly named Staley.

East St. Louis, Illinois would like to have a chat with Decatur about which is worst.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#89

Post by tptacek »

bradgessler wrote: post #24
tptacek wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to drive it on I-94; in fact, for many years it was faster not to, because of insane bottom of the lake traffic. You can take the Dunes Highway instead (and then keep off 94 up the Michigan shore; there's good stuff up there).

I need to do that next time I’m driving between Chicago and Michigan. I haven’t seen the dunes there yet and I bet it’s incredible.

I'm speaking up for Indiana here but honestly if you're looking for those dunescapes and beaches, western Michigan is the better bet. Road To Perdition was filmed around Saugatuck, just an hour into Michigan; that part of Michigan really is worth a trip to see (you'd want book a place to stay up by the lake for at least a couple days; it's not so much a sightseeing deal as a chill-out-by-the-lake deal).

The whole stretch though from Chicago up to Traverse City is basically where Chicago vacations.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#90

Post by bradgessler »

tptacek wrote: post #89
bradgessler wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I need to do that next time I’m driving between Chicago and Michigan. I haven’t seen the dunes there yet and I bet it’s incredible.

I'm speaking up for Indiana here but honestly if you're looking for those dunescapes and beaches, western Michigan is the better bet. Road To Perdition was filmed around Saugatuck, just an hour into Michigan; that part of Michigan really is worth a trip to see (you'd want book a place to stay up by the lake for at least a couple days; it's not so much a sightseeing deal as a chill-out-by-the-lake deal). The whole str…

I have done that! Reminded me of some dunes I scaled in Jordan.
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