Big oil in the Arctic: Collective wisdom in a melting world by Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson
This week I read this illuminating article about the disruption that oil has brought to Alaskan Inuit communities. The piece deals with how fossil fuel extraction is just one part of the systemic injustices which have worked to undo Indigenous practices and connection to the land: “just one hole in the boat”.
Needless to say, it seemed relevant to discuss interference in the Arctic during this frosty month.
greenlandic parallels
Trump’s repeated proclamations to annex the autonomous territory of Greenland, the world’s largest island and part of Denmark, have shaken countries of the Global North. The blatant strong-arming of the U.S to try to coerce Denmark and the EU into conceding this territory, including credible threats of military force and a trade war, has given the imperial core a taste of its own medicine, and rung a possible death knell for the NATO project.
As Canadian PM and former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney outlined in a much-shared speech at Davos, Switzerland, the U.S-led ‘rules-based’ international order is ending. That is, the order of Western countries to do what it wants to the Global South, but never attack each other. Carney’s main point was that middle powers like Canada must move away from reliance on large actors, a failing dynamic exposed by Trump’s erratic second term.
One of the grim advantages of Trump’s shameless aggravation in the past year is how it lays out the bullying and boisterous nature of the U.S empire on the world stage. It is no longer covert: from kidnapping Maduro in Venezuela to the fascist squads of ICE executing American citizens like Renée Good and Alex Pretti (Rest in Power) on the streets of Minnesota.
Although Trump has since backed down from his most unhinged Greenland provocations, this level of escalation in the first (?) month of 2026 outlines the stakes of our new reality.
but why Kalaallit Nunaat?
It was fascinating to read Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson’s account of growing up in Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska in the Arctic Circle, which has comparable practices to other Inuit communities in the Arctic circle, including Greenland and parts of Canada and Russia.
Rachel talks about how the discovery of oil disrupted the way of life of her people, the Iñupiaq. Though development and infrastructure came in the form of schools and hospitals, so did extreme pollution and loss of habitat, rupturing a centuries-long subsistence lifestyle.
It is no surprise then that mineral extraction is a core part of Trump’s interest in Greenland, and even as his more extreme rhetoric makes way for ‘civilised’ talks, the exploitation of the island’s natural resources has remained a key part of the discussions.
These resources, including rare earth minerals – crucial for green energy technology – and likely fossil fuel reserves, lurk beneath the white veneer of the land. It is this treasure which has attracted the man in charge, who definitely likes his metals gaudy.
Natural resources are the lifeblood of imperial ambitions and a central reason for war: military or economic. Though something more explicitly destructive may have been avoided, a further deal for more U.S bases in Greenland will continue the cycle of Western domination in the Arctic.
we stan our anti-imperial qween (jk)
One of the funniest things to me is when Trump accidentally makes a good, even anti-Imperialist point. When he said about Denmark’s ownership of Greenland, “the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago does not mean they own the land,” leftists felt that in their bones.
Denmark’s colonisation of Greenland in 1721, and subsequent rule over the island, has put its Indigenous inhabitants through the processes of Christianisation and discrimination for their identity and beliefs.
Though the Inuit people of Greenland, the Kalaallit, have received more support and autonomy from Denmark since a 2008 self-governing referendum, the wounds of imperialism have not begun to fully heal, and moves towards greater sovereignty abound. Now they have to contend with a second much more powerful settler-colony vying for their land, and by extension, further endangering their way of life.
I found this brief interview of Greenlandic politician and content creator Qupanuk Olsen helpful:
Trump’s damaged mind is obviously not a decolonised one. His acts of aggression to Greenland are just following the suit of what European powers have done for centuries. He just wants to be the emperor. It’s not a case of opposing European colonialism, it’s the U.S wanting to replace it.
As the world holds its breath to see what the villain-in-chief will do next, know that he’s only acting in step with centuries of American empire. Only, everything’s on the table now.
~ Tommy
Tea mould being kept by youths in China as a pet?
I, for one, welcome our new mould overlords.
Apparently there is a recent trend of young people in China cultivating tea fungi from bottled tea drinks and keeping them as pets. This is achieved by leaving a drink open in a warm space. Sit back, and let the mould form your new Simba.
I actually think this is pretty innovative, it doesn’t harm anyone unless it is drunk by accident. It seems more low-maintenance than having a real pet.
Tea mould pets are an interesting development for youths to forge somewhat rebellious or counter-cultural communities in China via social media, and practice a form of DIY expression. That is until the trend becomes something that can be commodified more easily. Watch this space, tea mould kits coming to your town.
Shiva Baby (2020, directed by Emma Seligman)
This is how you do an actually scary film, without it being a horror.
The tension is built well in this comedy-drama starring Rachel Sennott as an aimless recent graduate, who attends a Shiva (Jewish mourning ritual) with her neurotic parents, to much calamity and anxiety. The other attendees include her secret sugar daddy, unbeknownst to his wife and other guests, as well as her successful ex-girlfriend, and an array of inquisitive relatives who push her balancing act of a life to its extremes.
Highly recommend watching it as a case study of discomfort in social situations, as well as an exploration of autonomy, sexuality and insecurity.
Arooj Aftab – raat ki rani (Khruangbin Remix)
This is the collab you didn’t know you needed: a soulful blend between the styles of Pakistani Jazz vocalist Arooj Aftab and psychedlic funk masters Khruangbin. It’s a haunting song to get lost in, somewhat trip-hop and downtempo, but infectious, with so much replay potential. It’s got that dreamlike quality that I always seek in music: something other-worldly that takes me out of myself.
Raat ki rani are night-blooming jasmine flowers, apparently prized for their ethereal scent, which suits this song perfectly.
Past Present Future – Politics on Trial: Nelson Mandela vs. Apartheid
This is a great insight into the trial in South Africa which sent Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists to prison for decades for daring to oppose the system of racial segregation they were forced to live under.
The host David Runciman provides an in-depth narrative about the trial, and the tactics and outcomes which made it so contested. He makes an important point about how Mandela, against the strong advice of his lawyers, chose to give a speech in the defence proceedings in which he outlined the vision of the African National Congress (ANC), and infamously said he was willing to die for the cause of freedom.
His lawyers feared this action would be treated as a provocation and the death penalty would be imposed on the activists. Thankfully, it was not – and the speech became one of the most iconic articulations of liberation in the 20th Century:
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Personal information of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents leaked
ICE, the Americanised Gestapo, is completely out of control, emboldened by a regime that defends and justifies its extrajudicial killings, cold-blooded murder on American streets.
This is a mirror of the brutality that the American empire has wrecked on the globe: now it is spreading more ferociously within its own militarised borders. Resistance to this danger has to take many forms.
I thought it was tactical that the details of thousands of alleged ICE agents and Border Patrol employees were leaked to an online watchdog group, after the killing of Renée Good. This sparked different citizens across the country coming forward to out their neighbours. And ICE agents are often doxxing themselves.
The masked, anonymous nature of ICE agents contributes to their protection so exposing them is crucial to demystifying their power and treating them as what they are: thugs of the state.
Diversity of tactics to oppose ICE raids has been encouraging: full solidarity with those striking and marching on the freezing streets of Minneapolis.
print photos of you and your friends and family
Trust me, don’t just rely on the cloud to secure your memories. Make a photo album, put these photos up in your home. You will notice things in print that don’t come across as through a screen, and you can associate your living space with these moments from your life.
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