Greenland independence, good idea or not?

[renard_ruse]

Greenland has progressively moved toward independence from Denmark since the landmark transfer of home rule in the 1979. In 2008 it took over nearly all internal government functions as well as having a say in its foreign policy.

Yet it remains a part of the Danish realm and more importantly receives hundreds of millions of dollars in transfer payments from the Danish government.

Can Greenland survive if it were fully independent and severed all remaining ties with Denmark? Is it even a good thing to pursue in the first place? Thoughts or opinions?

 

[Liar]

How many Greenlanders are there? Twelve?

 

[Lancecastor]

Can Greenland survive if it were fully independent and severed all remaining ties with Denmark? Is it even a good thing to pursue in the first place? Thoughts or opinions?

If Santa Claus relocated there, he'd have the right climate, better logistics and it would bring much needed employment to the region.

 

[killallhippies]

How many Greenlanders are there? Twelve?

fifty odd thousand. i'm oddly ashamed that i knew that.

i still googled before submitting though. google says 56,749.

 

[Lancecastor]

I think we need some charts and numbers and shit for this thread so we can get Ish and Vette and Miles and them in here yelling about who's lying about the REAL numbers and all.

Or, we could start calling each other names right now and cut to the chase.

 

[renard_ruse]

I wonder what full independence would mean for neighboring territories in Canada which also have large Inuit populations?

They may demand independence from Canada like their cousins in Greenland. Nunavuut already has semi-autonomy.

 

[Voodoo5150]

fifty odd thousand. i'm oddly ashamed that i knew that.

i still googled before submitting though. google says 56,749.

Only be ashamed when you can spell the name of Iceland's volcano that was causing air travel havoc in 2010.

(Eyjafjallajökull)

 

[Lancecastor]

I wonder what full independence would mean for neighboring territories in Canada which also have large Inuit populations?

They may demand independence from Canada like their cousins in Greenland. Nunavuut already has semi-autonomy.

Canada already has a "dispute" with Denmark/Greenland over some islands they think they own that are actually Canada's.

The 'skimos jump the ice floes between those places anyway...great way to sneak in extra duty free smokes.

 

[renard_ruse]

Canada already has a "dispute" with Denmark/Greenland over some islands they think they own that are actually Canada's.

The 'skimos jump the ice floes between those places anyway...great way to sneak in extra duty free smokes.

Last time I was at the airport in Montreal I was talking to an Inuit dude who was heading back up north. He had about a month's supply of cakes and pastries from Tim Horton's he was taking back to his village. Said you can't get stuff like that up there. I'm not making this up.

 

[thør]

The Chinese will be buying Greenland, lock, stock and barrel. It's in the works.

 

[thør]

Last time I was at the airport in Montreal I was talking to an Inuit dude who was heading back up north. He had about a month's supply of cakes and pastries from Tim Horton's he was taking back to his village. Said you can't get stuff like that up there. I'm not making this up.

You've evidently not been up north. This is not news.

 

[killallhippies]

Only be ashamed when you can spell the name of Iceland's volcano that was causing air travel havoc in 2010.

(Eyjafjallajökull)

yeah, that i definitely did not know. i'm not even sure i can say that.

 

[Lancecastor]

Last time I was at the airport in Montreal I was talking to an Inuit dude who was heading back up north. He had about a month's supply of cakes and pastries from Tim Horton's he was taking back to his village. Said you can't get stuff like that up there. I'm not making this up.

People on Lit are primarily urban and have no idea about semi-rural or rural life, let alone extra-rural living.

 

[StephenHawking]

this was one of those it absolutely doesn't fucking matter what the answer is threads, right?

 

[Lancecastor]

this was one of those it absolutely doesn't fucking matter what the answer is threads, right?

Normally, yes...but it's a Renard thread...he's actually serious about his arcane topics.

The upside is it keeps the Raving Loon Americans away...because 99.9% think Greenland is where the world supply Romaine Lettuce comes from, so it's near California or Mexico.

 

[KingOrfeo]

It's not like Denmark rules Greenland heavily now. Would independence really make any perceptible difference in the dialy lives of Greenlanders? Would their taxes go up or down, etc.?

 

[Lancecastor]

It's not like Denmark rules Greenland heavily now. Would independence really make any perceptible difference in the dialy lives of Greenlanders? Would their taxes go up or down, etc.?

Greenland controls 87% of the world supply of ice cubes.


...and a bunch of rare minerals nobody cares about unless you're in the miniature circuit or tiny battery game.

...oh yeah and a bunch of oil.

....and whales....sperm whales hide there and have diplomatic immunity.

....and the strippers are super hawt

 

[KingOrfeo]

If Santa Claus relocated there, he'd have the right climate . . .

Not for much longer, he wouldn't.

 

[KingOrfeo]

yeah, that i definitely did not know. i'm not even sure i can say that.

I don't believe the Icelanders can say it.

 

[KingOrfeo]

fifty odd thousand. i'm oddly ashamed that i knew that.

i still googled before submitting though. google says 56,749.

And -- I don't even need to google this -- roughy half of them are of Danish descent and the other half Eskimo/Inuit/whatever-they-call-them-in-Greenland. They seem to get along well enough now, but independence as an issue could conceivably divide them . . . and then, at some point, the U.S. would feel obliged to send in troops . . .

 

[KingOrfeo]

I wonder what full independence would mean for neighboring territories in Canada which also have large Inuit populations?

They may demand independence from Canada like their cousins in Greenland. Nunavuut already has semi-autonomy.

See post #16 -- they have semi-autonomy now, what would they actually do with more?

Of course, if that did happen - if Inuit nationalism were really to catch icefire -- then, it is conceivable to imagine a new trans-polar nation of "Arctica" which would include all Inuit regions in the New World -- Greenland, and Nunavut, and most of the Northwest Territories . . . and northern Alaska. And then the Russians would start getting annoyed over agitations in northeastern Siberia . . .

But, if Inuit independence-and-unification requires war . . . the Inuit have never, ever, in all their history and known prehistory, done that before. We can't expect they'd be very good at it.

 

[killallhippies]

I don't believe the Icelanders can say it.

shit might as well be welsh.

 

[bronzeage]

What fucking difference does it make?

 

[thør]

See post #16 -- they have semi-autonomy now, what would they actually do with more?

Of course, if that did happen - if Inuit nationalism were really to catch icefire -- then, it is conceivable to imagine a new trans-polar nation of "Arctica" which would include all Inuit regions in the New World -- Greenland, and Nunavut, and most of the Northwest Territories . . . and northern Alaska. And then the Russians would start getting annoyed over agitations in northeastern Siberia . . .

But, if Inuit independence-and-unification requires war . . . the Inuit have never, ever, in all their history and known prehistory, done that before. We can't expect they'd be very good at it.

Ain't happening.....

 

[thør]

How many Greenlanders are there? Twelve?

There's due to be more.

Linkage