551–560 of 823 posts
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If ground.news and Manufacturing Consent have taught me anything, it's that "legacy" / traditional media regularly ignore valid stories.
Are you saying that Haitian immigrants to the US were actually eating cats in Ohio?
Please remove this post, it's rage bait and the discussion in here is absolutely the worst thing I have seen on HN in many years.
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FWIW, as an American, I see it as a mixed bag. Our economy is stronger, but it creates a lot of wealth inequality and unhappiness.
Do you see a strong economy as a goal in itself? I see it as a proxy measure for the things that truly matter. Happiness, good health, good education, the freedom to lead your life the way you want. America fails miserably on all of those.
Please remove this post, it's rage bait and the discussion in here is absolutely the worst thing I have seen on HN in many years.
I really enjoyed the article as an interesting thought experiment. The discussion here isn't great but that's a problem solved by downvoting comments.
There are a bunch of downvoted comments from the less-popular political perspectives in the threads, but them being downvoted only decreases the quality of the conversation, because the greyed-out comments warn curious people off of participating in an increasingly hostile discussion.
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Haha, fair enough! Let’s just hope no one ends up eating their own words if Greenland - or even Canada - starts rethinking their options... Arctic politics can shift fast, and it’d be a shame to see China further sink its teeth into the region while closer ties with people who actually share similar cultures and values were on the table. But hey, I’ll happily shelve this take if Denmark and Canada keep things locked…
As a Canadian, the idea of becoming part of America makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. Our country has problems, yours is broken. It's been broken since its inception. Giving every state an equal representation in the Senate and an outsized representation in Congress meant that it was ALWAYS going to break. I the 70s a few people tried to change this by abolishing the electoral college and ensuring you vote dire…
- Trudeau’s leadership is on life support, with his own party circling the wagons to push him out. Even Liberal MPs are openly calling for his resignation. The country’s direction feels more dictated by party infighting than any grand vision.
- Economically, Canada’s in a rougher spot. GDP contracted last quarter, the Canadian dollar’s getting steamrolled by the USD, and political uncertainty is scaring off energy investments. Meanwhile, the US economy is actually growing. That’s not exactly a great look for the 'better system.'
- Housing? A total disaster. Young Canadians are stuck renting indefinitely, and wages haven’t kept pace with living costs. By comparison, even in US cities with high real estate prices, the economic mobility is still better. I know twenty-somethings who are buying homes, living life, and having large families. One friend is 25, already has three kids, and owns a home—stable as can be.
- And don't forget groceries... food prices in Canada have been soaring to the point where one in five families are skipping meals or turning to food banks just to get by. That’s not just bad policy, it’s a slow-rolling humanitarian crisis!
I’m not saying the US isn’t broken. Sure, it’s a mess in a lot of ways, but which country isn't right now?
But if we’re comparing corpses, at least one of them still twitches. Canada’s problems aren’t just political, they’re economic and cultural... and there’s no clear path out. Maybe that stomach-turning thought of joining the US will feel a bit different if things keep sliding downhill.
And about the US being 'broken since inception' - come on. Canada’s flaws run just as deep, if not deeper in certain areas:
- Political gridlock? Trudeau’s barely hanging on, and Parliament is a powder keg of internal rivalries. Party leadership fights dictate policy more than voters do.
- Representation imbalance? Alberta’s voice gets drowned out, while Quebec rides on political privilege. Sounds familiar, right?
- Judicial interference? Trudeau’s government meddling with court decisions drove his own Attorney General to resign. LOL
- Corruption? From the SNC-Lavalin scandal to WE Charity, Canada isn’t exactly shy about political favoritism and backroom deals.
- And don’t even get me started on voter disenfranchisement! Canada’s own electoral system ensures whole swaths of the population feel ignored. I mean, this is what I’m hearing from Canadians, so you’re not gonna convince me otherwise. I’ve even heard talk of civil war scenarios if the government doesn’t change, and that’s saying a LOT for Canadians. You know it’s bad when folks known for telling each other to go to hell with a smile stop smiling - and forget to apologize halfway through.
I get the appeal of CANZUK or joining Europe in theory, but let’s be real, Canada’s fate isn’t going to be saved by cozying up to the Commonwealth. If Canada collapses under its own weight, it won’t be US 'fascism' that’s the biggest threat. It’ll be watching foreign powers scoop up influence while we argue about which utopian club to join!
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So while it's kinda hard to see at first blush perhaps, Greenland plays an actual critical role in North American security and economic interests - far more than it might seem at first glance. Yeah, Trump's interest aside (which definitely brought some unnecessary circus to the topic), Greenland’s value lies in a few key areas: - Strategic Arctic positioning. It's central to Arctic geopolitics. While the Arctic ice m…
These all seem like post-hoc rationales to me, because as far as I know (and I may be wrong) no one was talking about Greenland in this context until Trump brought it up. If Greenland is that important, we already have all of the money if we wanted to buy it, and all of the tanks and planes and nuclear submarines if we didn't want to take no for an answer.
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These all seem like post-hoc rationales to me, because as far as I know (and I may be wrong) no one was talking about Greenland in this context until Trump brought it up. If Greenland is that important, we already have all of the money if we wanted to buy it, and all of the tanks and planes and nuclear submarines if we didn't want to take no for an answer.
Greenland has the population of a small US city. For the cost of only $14 per American per year, we could pay everyone in Greenland $85k/yr for life. It’s $4.5/bln a year. Greenland has already obtained some independence from Denmark and is looking for more. It’s unlikely they sell themselves to the USA directly but something that is effectively the same with a fig leaf on it could certainly happen. And if actual wor…
Economic incentives only go so far—there’s a cultural and political dynamic at play. If Greenland leans towards more autonomy, stronger US ties as a protectorate might happen naturally without needing to 'buy' anything outright. If they drift away from Denmark, North America becomes the obvious landing zone.
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These all seem like post-hoc rationales to me, because as far as I know (and I may be wrong) no one was talking about Greenland in this context until Trump brought it up. If Greenland is that important, we already have all of the money if we wanted to buy it, and all of the tanks and planes and nuclear submarines if we didn't want to take no for an answer.
The US has attempted buying Greenland a few times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_the_United_State...
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The US has attempted buying Greenland a few times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_the_United_State...
> In August 2019, the Washington Post estimated the purchase price of Greenland would fall between $200 million and $1.7 trillion Now THERE’S a price range!
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The US has attempted buying Greenland a few times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_the_United_State...
Huh. I guess I stand corrected.