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It's so cool how the state has so successfully created a mechanism to shield the rich from consequences that they managed to create an entire class of failsons who believe they'd do even better without that mechanism.

Greenland’s Siumut Party Calls for Referendum on Independence Ahead of Elections

Greenland’s social democratic Siumut party has altered its strategy on independence, abandoning its prior stance of awaiting a statehood commission’s findings to instead push for a referendum during the next government term. Chairman Erik Jensen announced the shift ahead of March 11 elections, aiming to activate Section 21 of Greenland’s 2009 Self-Rule Act. This would force negotiations with Denmark on independence terms, followed by a referendum. If approved, Denmark’s parliament would have to vote on sovereignty. Should talks fail, Greenland retains the right to unilaterally declare independence at any time under international law.

The move follows internal pressure from Siumut members, including MPs Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam and Kuno Fencker, who urged immediate action. The party’s coalition partner, Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), criticized the decision. IA's member of Danish parliament Aaja Chemnitz warned that simultaneous commission work and negotiations could weaken Greenland’s position and criticised the announcement from taking attention from pressing issues during the ongoing campaign. Prime Minister Múte B. Egede (IA) has not commented on the announcement yet.

Key challenges loom. Greenland relies on an annual Danish block grant for a third of its public revenue, a contentious issue given Denmark’s likely reluctance to continue subsidies post-independence. The transfers to Greenland has been a recurring grievance for Danish reactionaries for decades as it tickles their racism as well as class hatred. A similar dispute sank the Faroe Islands’ independence talks in the 2000s when the Danish government refused to continue funding for now than two years post independence.

Pro-independence advocates hope to retain ties to Denmark through a compact of free association and continued funding for a period. In addition to a challenging geography and small population Greenland has a shortage of skilled workers, requiring foreign support for healthcare, education, and administration.

Greenland's government has stated their intent to join America's NATO pact. However an independent Greenland would not be able to fulfil Washington's demands for aggressive military posturing against Russia so the continued presence of foreign troops is a given.

Increased calls for Greenlandic independence has made Denmark's other colony reconsider relations to the metropol. In the Faroe Islands, the traditionally unionist Sambandsflokkurrin party has called for expanded autonomy, including increased control over foreign policy and is working on getting their own WTO delegation.

• Source: DR (state media), February 6th 2025

Ukraine update from a sicko that still reads daily map updates:

3/4 of the big Russian winter battles have been wrapped up. Velika Novosilka, Kurakhove and Toretsk are now done, with Chasov Yar probably wrapping up before the end of this month. Well what's next? The big spring/summer battle will probably be the Pokrovsk-Myrnograd urban agglomeration, which seems to be heading towards the classic Russian maneuver of advancing towards the flanks, then making a quick dash to a village close to the last supply line of the city, putting the city into a semi-encirclement before starting to squeeze out Ukrainian units from the city by entering it before the encirclement really closes.

Other interesting developments are happening in the Oskol front near Kupiansk and the western sector of the Pokrovsk advancement. Russia has achieved a quite remarkable breakthrough on the Oskol front, establishing a good bridgehead on the western bank of the Oskol River, and now advancing fairly quickly due to the dire state of the AFU on that front. Another bridgehead was established closer to the Russian border a few days ago, and there are reports that there's a quite significant Russian grouping on the Belgorod-Kharkov border that might dash to Velkyi Burluk against barely armed Ukrainian border guards very soon.

The western sector of the Pokrovsk front is just 3 km from the borders of Dnipro Oblast. Crossing an imaginary border on a map is not really a major accomplishment, but it is still a bit symbolic and it would be the first time since the start of the war that Russia has a meaningful presence in Dnipro, after driving through a few times during the chaos of the first two weeks of the war. The way I see it, the war is not a decisive victory without at least a small presence in Dnipro, so entering that Oblast is at least a moral victory.

What are we expecting from Equador's election this weekend? Are the Correistas gonna take back power and get the ship righted, or are we stuck with Compradoboa?

In Finland news:

Finnish national news is doing its wholesome "would you look at our great defensive alliance"-posting in the English section of the news.

But they don't forget to add a bit of ominous scare mongering:

According to the Commander of the Lapland Air Wing, Colonel Saku Joukas, the jets and their crews are prepared for anything — even though the mission is a routine one for Nato.