Noah Barkin

Greenlanders Watching Turmoil in the United States Say No Thanks

Greenlanders prefer ice to ICE

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/w...

Companies reap $22bn from Trump’s immigration crackdown Palantir and Deloitte among beneficiaries of spending by government agencies

An FT analysis shows that Palantir has received $81 mln in contracts from ICE since Trump began his second term, while Deloitte has been handed new work totalling more than $100 mln from ICE and Customs & Border Protection over the same period 🧟‍♂️

www.ft.com/content/c741...

Trump officials met group pushing Alberta independence from Canada Separatists from oil-rich province try to capitalise on friction between White House and Mark Carney

Carney’s speech in Davos makes more sense after this: The Trump administration held three covert meetings with fringe far-right separatists from Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta last year

www.ft.com/content/11dc...

Was this a top hit in Germany?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=DlPH...

I feel your pain Helene

Signing up for a German event is always an adventure

This is good news. I’ve been saying for some time that there are only two options is the EU wants to remain relevant 1) member states give much more power to Brussels or 2) a group of countries around Germany & France presses ahead. There is zero appetite for the former so…

Trump's trade wars are pushing China and India closer - at least in the economic field
• In December India's exports to China were nearly 70% higher than one year earlier
• New Delhi is mulling allowing Chinese companies to invest in India again
www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Fish pile up at European ports as new digital system falters IT platform intended to crack down on illegal fishing leaves importers stranded in paperwork

Fishy: The new system, known as CATCH, requires importers to fill in manually hundreds of pieces of information that are held on certificates provided by boats to ensure the fish are caught legally 🐠 🐟 🎣

www.ft.com/content/53a9...

The Russian refinery Berlin cannot afford to lose Looming US sanctions risk cutting fuel supplies to German capital, prompting government to review Rosneft expropriation

Successive German governments have avoided expropriation for fear of Russian retaliation. But the cabinet of Chancellor Friedrich Merz may be faced with no other choice. @chassnews.bsky.social

www.ft.com/content/9515...

European leader spoke of shock at Trump’s state of mind after Mar-a-Lago meeting The Slovak PM, a Trump ally, told leaders at last week’s EU summit he was concerned about the way the U.S. president spoke to him, European diplomats said.

Slovakia’s pro-Trump PM Fico was shaken by a meeting with the US president at Mar-a-Lago in mid-January, telling fellow EU leaders that he appeared to be “out of his mind” and “dangerous”

www.politico.eu/article/dona...

Dollar slides as Trump says he is not concerned with its recent decline Greenback trades at lowest level in four years as worries over US currency mount

Trump was asked at an event in Iowa whether he was worried about the dollar’s recent fall, and responded: “No, I think it’s great.”

www.ft.com/content/04c7...

Chicken with rabbit droppings? Lecker 😋

Here’s the latest.

Trump puts blame on Pretti for carrying a registered, legal gun that he never even took out: “You can’t walk in with guns”. The NRA will love this

www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

Trump Replaces Asshole with Alternate Asshole Tom Homan said he would assume Greg Bovino's post but not his helmet.

"Anyone who thinks this administration is going to run out of assholes any time soon better think again,” Stephen Miller told reporters. “We have a very deep bench.” As they say, personnel is policy. @borowitzreport.bsky.social
www.borowitzreport.com/p/trump-repl...

Trump 🌮 tracker c/o Bloomberg

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump 🌮 tracker c/o Bloomberg

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I’m afraid that linking German FDI in China totals for 2025 to Trump’s tariffs on the EU that were announced in April (and since revised) is a fundamentally flawed interpretation of how FDI works - namely with a time lag of years.

www.reuters.com/world/china/...

EU Parliament delays decision to unfreeze US trade deal Lawmakers are divided on whether to play hardball with Washington or to ratify the deal to smooth trade relations.

US-EU trade deal still up in the air as some MEPs seek details on murky Trump-Rutte agreement on Greenland

www.politico.eu/article/eu-p...

Donald Trump signals shift on immigration crackdown as ICE backlash intensifies President seeks to tamp down growing outrage over killing of man in Minnesota by federal agents

He is now backtracking. But let’s not forget that Trump, like Noem and Miller, spread lies about the victim Alex Pettri in the hours and days after his murder by ICE agents. When it really counted, Trump doubled down on false narratives. www.ft.com/content/8b85...

US links security guarantees for Ukraine to peace deal ceding territory Washington signalled Kyiv would receive more backing after any withdrawal from the Donbas, say people familiar with talks

US pressures Ukraine to give up territory as a condition for security guarantees. The vehement reaction by the White House to this story (see quote) underscores its validity

www.ft.com/content/8ca0...

A good day for the EU. Fingers crossed that the European Parliament doesn’t screw it up like Mercosur. This deal probably wouldn’t have reached the finish line without Donald Trump and his wonderful tariffs

Israel hosts antisemitism conference with European far-right parties Netanyahu’s government invites members of groups including France’s Rassemblement National and the Sweden Democrats

Israel hosts antisemitism conference with European far-right parties

www.ft.com/content/3eb8...

Saying otherwise would be the equivalent of a CEO saying his/her company needs to live without its biggest shareholder. Not a lie. Just a reality. I imagine Rutte would phrase it differently in a private meeting with European leaders/defense ministers

Germany expels Russian diplomat over spying case Germany has expelled an individual after uncovering espionage linked to Russia and summoned Moscow's ambassador. Berlin says the move signals zero tolerance for spying under diplomatic cover.

Interesting to run into the Russian military attaché at the Indian embassy’s annual “India Day” celebrations in Berlin yesterday, only days after his deputy was expelled from Germany for spying.

amp.dw.com/en/germany-e...

Germany’s Merz Calls Fatal Shooting of US Protester ‘Alarming’ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of an American citizen by federal immigration agents in the state of Minnesota.

Kudos to Merz for expressing concern about the violence in the US. Few European leaders have done so

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Europe must stop ‘dreaming’ about defence without US, Rutte warns Nato chief says continent cannot afford to replace American security umbrella

The head of NATO can’t say in public that Europe must prepare for a world where the US is no longer there to protect it. But it does - as rapidly and determinedly as possible.

www.ft.com/content/e2f6...

Odds of a mining bonanza in Greenland are abysmally low
• Getting mine running in Arctic can cost 2-3 times as much as equivalent project at lower latitudes
• Island’s two big rare-earth projects have been plagued by difficulties and have yet to start operations
www.economist.com/briefing/202...

Unlike its G7 partners, the UK has not erected tariff barriers to Chinese EVs. It is not considering meaningful cyber-related restrictions either. It is unique therefore in its openness to Chinese products. An overcapacity guinea pig of sorts among western democracies.

www.ft.com/content/801c...

Exclusive | Trump Says Administration Is ‘Reviewing Everything’ About Minneapolis Shooting In an interview, the president says immigration-enforcement officers will “at some point” leave the area.

Trump owns this murder. His thugs, his lies.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...