10 January 2026 - ... on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Trump Vows to ‘Do Something’ With Greenland ‘Whether They Like It or Not’

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Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with US oil companies executives in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 9, 2026. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up threats against Europe in the wake of its invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.

President Donald Trump finished up a busy week by once again leveling threats against longtime allies over their refusal to hand Greenland over to US control.

While taking questions from reporters at the White House on Friday, Trump was asked about a reported plan to win over Greenlanders on joining the US by giving them annual $10,000 payments.

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“I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet,” the president replied. “I might talk about that, but right now we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.”

Trump: "We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not because if we don't, Russia or China will take over Greenland. If we don't do it the easy way we're gonna do it the hard way." pic.twitter.com/Pb29UqBzCC
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 9, 2026

Trump then explained his purported rationale for making Greenland a US territory.

“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland,” he said. “And we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”

Neither Russia nor China have shown any indication that they want to take over Greenland, which is currently a self-governed Danish territory. Because Denmark is a founding member of NATO, an attack on its territory from Russia or China would trigger a counterattack by all other NATO members, theoretically including the US.

Trump then informed the press that he would “like to make a deal the easy way” to acquire Greenland, before adding that “if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

The president then claimed that he was a “fan of Denmark,” even though seconds ago he hinted at using military force to seize their territory.

“The fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land,” Trump said. “I’m sure we had lots of boats go there also.”

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up threats against Europe in the wake of its invasion of Venezuela and the US abduction of President Nicolás Maduro last week.

Top Trump aide Stephen Miller on Monday refused to rule out using the military to take Greenland, telling CNN host Jake Tapper that “we live in a world… that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power.”

Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough. — Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.

Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.

Post author:dizzy
Post published:10 January 2026
Post category:Donald Trump Fascism human rights violations Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics the filthy rich
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US Oil Piracy Continues as Fifth Tanker Tied to Venezuela Seized

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Original article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

The oil tanker Olina is seized by US forces off the coast of Trinidad on January 9, 2025. (Screenshot from a video posted by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem)

The US has purloined over $300 million of oil in a month while enforcing a blockade, which UN experts say has “seriously undermined the human rights of the Venezuelan people.”

As President Donald Trump geared up for a meeting with fossil fuel executives about plans for them to tap into the “tremendous wealth” of Venezuela’s vast oil supply, the US military seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean off the coast of Trinidad on Friday morning.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted unclassified footage from US Southern Command of explosives being deployed and soldiers boarding the vessel Olina on social media.

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“As another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil, this vessel had departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces,” she said. “This is owning the sea.”

The world’s criminals are on notice.

Early this morning, the @USCG executed a boarding and seizure of the Motor Tanker Olina in international waters east of the Caribbean Sea. As another "ghost fleet" tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil, this vessel had departed… pic.twitter.com/vvS3u3nrvl
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 9, 2026

Olina, which was reportedly carrying around 700,000 barrels of crude, is at least the fifth tanker seized by the military in recent weeks and the third in the last three days after the Trump administration imposed a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers leaving Venezuela in December, a move that has been credited with hastening the country’s economic collapse.

Earlier this week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US plans to manage Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely following its illegal operation last weekend to topple and abduct President Nicolás Maduro.

According to the ship-tracking database TankerTrackers.com, the US has “seized five tankers and 6.15 million barrels in the span of a month, with the oil valued at over $300 million.”

The US has described Olinaand other ships it has seized as part of a “shadow fleet” that uses deceptive tactics—including flying false flags—to secretively transport oil for sanctioned countries, including Venezuela, Russia, and Iran.

The US has justified its blockade of Venezuela’s oil, as well as the overthrow of Maduro generally, based on the claim that its government is part of an alleged foreign terrorist organization known as the “Cartel de los Soles.”

In late December, a group of United Nations experts condemned the blockade and denounced this justification, stating that the alleged cartel does not exist. The US Department of Justice later acknowledged that the cartel was not an actual organization in its indictment of Maduro this week. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to US narco-terrorism charges.

The group of international experts, which included Ben Saul, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, and Gina Romero, the special rapporteur on freedom of association and assembly, described the blockade as “violating fundamental rules of international law.”

“There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade,” the experts said, citing the United Nations Charter, which describes blockades without UN Security Council approval as illegal acts of aggression.

They added that “there are serious concerns that the sanctions are unlawful, disproportionate, and punitive under international law, and that they have seriously undermined the human rights of the Venezuelan people.”

Original article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Post author:dizzy
Post published:10 January 2026
Post category:Donald Trump Fascism human rights violations Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics the filthy rich
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Progressives Say ‘No Taxpayer Subsidies’ as Big Oil Balks at Trump’s Call to Invest in Venezuela

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Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

President Donald Trump shakes hands with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods during a meeting with US oil companies executives at the White House in Washington, DC on January 9, 2026. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump must not give these companies billions in handouts and stick American taxpayers with the bill,” implored Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

ExxonMobil’s CEO told President Donald Trump during a Friday meeting that Venezuela is currently “uninvestible” following the US invasion and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, underscoring fears that American taxpayers will be left footing the bill for the administration’s goal of exploiting the South American nation’s vast petroleum resources.

Trump had hoped to convince executives from around two dozen oil companies to invest in Venezuela after the president claimed US firms pledged to spend at least $100 billion in the country. However, Trump got a reality check during Friday’s White House meeting, as at least one Big Oil CEO balked at committing financial and other resources in an uncertain political, legal, and security environment.

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“If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestable,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Trump during the meeting. “Significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system. There has to be durable investment protections, and there has to be a change to the hydrocarbon laws in the country.”

Exxon CEO: If you look at the commercial constructs, frameworks in place in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable. Significant changes have to be made to these frameworks, the legal system. There has to be durable investment protections and change to the hydrocarbon laws. pic.twitter.com/vpdH6ftfzm
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 9, 2026

There is also skepticism regarding Trump’s promise of “total safety” for investors in Venezuela amid deadly US military aggression and regime change.

However, many of the executives—who stand to make billions of dollars from the invasion—told Trump that they remain eager to eventually reap the rewards of any potential US takeover of Venezuela’s vast oil resources.

The oil executives’ apparent aversion to immediate investment in Venezuela—and Trump’s own admission that the American people might end up reimbursing Big Oil for its efforts—prompted backlash from taxpayer advocates.

“Trump must not give these companies billions in handouts and stick American taxpayers with the bill,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said on social media Friday. “And oil execs should commit now: no taxpayer subsidies, no special favors from the White House.”

Sam Ratner, policy director at the group Win Without War, said Wednesday that “already today, Trump was saying that US taxpayers should front the money to rebuild Venezuelan oil infrastructure, all while oil companies keep the proceeds from the oil.”

“This is not just a war for oil, but a war for oil executives,” Ratner added.

Noting that “Big Oil spent nearly $100 million to get Trump elected in 2024,” former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich—who served during the Clinton administration—described Friday’s meeting as “returning the favor” and “oligarchy in action.”

According to an analysis by the advocacy group Climate Power, fossil fuel industry interests spent nearly $450 million during the 2024 election cycle in support of Trump and other Republican candidates and initiatives.

Reich and others also noted that Trump informed oil executives about the Venezuelan invasion even before he notified members of Congress.

“That tells you everything you need to know: It was never about ‘narcoterrorism’ and always about oil,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) said on Bluesky.

The legal watchdog Democracy Forward this week filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding information about any possible Trump administration collusion with Big Oil in the lead-up to the Venezuela invasion.

Other observers shot down assertions by Trump and members of his administration that the attack on Venezuela and Maduro’s ouster are ultimately about restoring democracy.

“Want to know who’s meeting with Trump this morning about Venezuela’s future?” Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) asked on X.

“Not pro-democracy leaders,” she said. “Oil and gas executives.”

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Post author:dizzy
Post published:10 January 2026
Post category:Donald Trump Fascism human rights violations Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics the filthy rich
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‘Break with Trump before world is embroiled in conflict for oil and empire’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/break-trump-world-embroiled-conflict-oil-and-empire

US President Donald Trump speaks to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, January 6, 2026, in Washington

Campaigners call on public to join protests across the country demanding Starmer stands up to the far-right US president

PEACE campaigners have warned Sir Keir Starmer to break with US President Donald Trump now before Britain is embroiled in a “full-scale conflict” over “oil and empire” as Britons join protests around the country on Saturday.

The Prime Minister’s tepid reaction to the US attack on Venezuela and its abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores has already driven thousands out onto the streets this week.

Even more are expected this weekend at demonstrations in urban centres across the country on Saturday, including outside Downing Street at 1pm on and the US consulate in Edinburgh at 11am.

Campaigners called on the public to join them in keeping pressure on the government after the Labour leader this week said siding with Europe over the US would be a mistake in the wake of further US military threats on Greenland.

His reactions prompted further fury from activists, as the former human rights barrister also refused to say whether the US operations in Venezuela broke international law at PMQs.

Stop the War Coalition (StWC) convener Lindsey German told the Morning Star: “The British government should break with Trump and his far-right racist warmongering policies now before the world is embroiled in a full scale conflict for oil and empire.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/break-trump-world-embroiled-conflict-oil-and-empire

Post author:dizzy
Post published:10 January 2026
Post category:crap pretend Labour Donald Trump Fascism human rights violations Keir Starmer Labour Party Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics
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