or at least a very fucking large chunk of it

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/whats-the-russian-for-santas-workshop/



[Edited on June 29, 2007 at 7:43 PM. Reason : a]

6/29/2007 7:42:09 PM

no one would ever want that shit

6/29/2007 7:47:40 PM

damn i never knew all the countries were as close as they were

6/29/2007 7:52:11 PM

Quote :

"What Russia and all the other nations are after isn’t the vastness of icy brine between their shores so much as what is underneath it — potential oil and gas reserves worth hundreds of billions of dollars, which are growing more feasible to explore and develop as the polar ice cap shrinks, easing access for drilling rigs. "

oic

6/29/2007 7:53:21 PM

Quote :

""What Russia and all the other nations are after isn’t the vastness of icy brine between their shores so much as what is underneath it — potential oil and gas reserves worth hundreds of billions of dollars, which are growing more feasible to explore and develop as the polar ice cap shrinks, easing access for drilling rigs. ""

cue salisburyboy for the "zions create global warming to melt ice cap to have access to oil" bit

6/29/2007 10:03:08 PM

Seward's folly

[Edited on June 29, 2007 at 10:07 PM. Reason : dsfal;]

6/29/2007 10:07:15 PM

"Oh No! Russkys! Hide the Vodka!

6/29/2007 10:09:34 PM

So now it'll be called North Polski?

6/30/2007 2:15:36 AM

They can have all the oversized iceberg they want.

6/30/2007 8:58:25 AM

they'll probably find some incredible natural gas reserves up there, and it's a strategic location for being able to export anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

6/30/2007 10:57:23 AM

I thought oceans were unclaimable and all international?

6/30/2007 12:33:01 PM

Quote :

"damn i never knew all the countries were as close as they were"

I'm curious, how did you think it worked up there?

7/2/2007 1:38:59 PM

Quote :

"Seward's folly"

Alaska was referred to as Seward's Ice Box when we first got it......even though we paid very little for it he still caught hell from the public, but it turned out to be a great purchase.

7/2/2007 1:45:36 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/01/arctic.grab.ap/index.html

Quote :

"Russia to sink flag to Arctic Sea floor in oil, land grab MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- An expedition aimed at strengthening Russia's claim to much of the oil and gas wealth beneath the Arctic Ocean reached the North Pole on Wednesday, and preparations immediately began for two mini-submarines to drop a capsule containing a Russian flag to the sea floor. The Rossiya icebreaker had plowed a path to the pole through an unbroken sheet of multiyear ice, clearing the way for the Akademik Fedorov research ship to follow, said Sergei Balyasnikov, a spokesman for the Arctic and Antarctic research institute that prepared the expedition. "For the first time in history people will go down to the sea bed under the North Pole," Balyasnikov told The Associated Press. "It's like putting a flag on the moon.""

Pfffft....yeah, whatever losers.

8/1/2007 3:53:46 PM

russians are fucking nuts

when they aren't trying to scam other people through ebay craigslist and the internets

they are trying to claim icy water

8/1/2007 3:55:51 PM

In the news a few days from now: RUSSIAN SUB: Trapped under the ice!

I really hope they got their shit together with those subs. All they need is another military fiasco where all their sailors die because they don't have the tech to rescue their sailors, nor the sense to realize that the other nations that want to help in the rescue really DID just want to help in the rescue.

8/1/2007 6:28:30 PM

and take zer secrets

8/1/2007 6:34:51 PM

IM UNDER UR ICECAPZ STEALIN UR SECRETZ

8/1/2007 7:35:16 PM

The news is really making a big deal out of this.

I thought that international diplomacy was past the point of ownership via poking with a flag pole.

8/1/2007 7:51:23 PM

The US still owns space and the moon though.

[Edited on August 1, 2007 at 8:55 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2007 8:55:08 PM

if anyone should be upset it should be canada, scandanavia, or denmark. I think the US should sit this one out and try not to embarrass itself in world politics again till Bush leaves office.

This kinda reminds me of the dispute between Saudi Arabia, and those other arabian countries over the border in the middle of that big barren sandy desert

[Edited on August 1, 2007 at 9:28 PM. Reason : l]

8/1/2007 9:27:38 PM

All your north pole are belong to us

8/1/2007 10:33:53 PM

In Russia, the North Pole claims you!

8/1/2007 11:36:43 PM

Quote :

"damn i never knew all the countries were as close as they were"

8/2/2007 4:44:02 AM

Quote :

"I thought oceans were unclaimable and all international?"

8/2/2007 9:50:05 AM

Quote :

"I think the US should sit this one out"

completely agree with you.

8/2/2007 10:03:47 AM

:carlface:

it's ocean right? you can't claim shit past 200 nm off your shores (economic zone)


[Edited on August 3, 2007 at 10:54 AM. Reason : check]

8/3/2007 10:53:40 AM

No big deal, we just deploy our Imperial Walkers - Hoth style.

8/3/2007 10:57:33 AM