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[Ripclawe]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...ews.html?in_article_id=474547&in_page_id=1811

Denmark will enter the race to claim a slice of the Arctic ice pack when it sends an expedition on Sunday to gather evidence for a claim on the potentially oil-rich territory.

The Scandinavian country joins a band of nations looking to exploit the territory's vast resources as it opens up under global warming.

Russia made the first steps last week when it sent two small submarines to plant a tiny national flag under the North Pole.


And Canada, the United States and Norway also have competing claims in the vast Arctic region, where a U.S. study suggests as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas could be hidden.

The month long Danish expedition will seek evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,240-mile underwater mountain range, is attached to the Danish territory of Greenland, making it a geological extension of the Arctic island.

That might allow the Nordic nation to stake a claim under a U.N. treaty that could stretch all the way to the North Pole, although Canada and Russia also claim the ridge.

Helge Sander, Denmark's minister of science, told Denmark's TV2 on Thursday: "The preliminary investigations done so far are very promising. There are things suggesting that Denmark could be given the North Pole."

The Danes plan to set off from Norway's remote Arctic islands of Svalbard aboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden, which will be assisted by a powerful Russian nuclear icebreaker to plough through ice as thick as 16 feet in the area north of Greenland.

Expedition leader Christian Marcussen said: "No one has ever sailed in that area. Ships have sailed on the edges of the ice but no one has been in there."

The team includes 40 scientists, 10 of them Danish, and the crews of the icebreakers, which will use sophisticated equipment, including sonar, to map the seabed under the ice.

"We will be collecting data for a possible (sovereignty) demand," Marcussen said. "It is not our duty to formulate a demand of ownership."

The Arctic nations will have to prove under 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, that their claims are genuine.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper travelled to the Arctic this week to assert his country's sovereignty, and the United States sent an icebreaker north to map the ocean floor for its own claims.

The Russians, Canadians and Danes all have overlapping claims in the polar region.

Martime law expert Oeystein Jensen, of Oslo's Fridtjof Nansen's Institute, said: "It is unclear how this can be resolved. There is a lot of prestige and vast resources at stake."

The Arctic race is on!!!

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/245117

RESOLUTE BAY – Canada will build two new military facilities within contested Arctic waters to bolster its sovereign claim over the fabled Northwest Passage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today.

He said the Canadian Forces will install a new army training centre and a deepwater port at distant points of the Arctic archipelago that has been coveted for centuries as a possible trade route to Asia.

“Protecting national sovereignty, the integrity of our borders, is the first and foremost responsibility of a national government, a responsibility which has too often been neglected,” Harper said, citing what he called the “first principle of Arctic sovereignty: use it or lose it.”

The prime minister made the announcement barely 600 kilometres from the magnetic North Pole in one of the coldest settlements on Earth.

 

[itsinmyveins]

Sneaky danes ey..?

 

[TemplaerDude]

why do we need bases there?

is there something interesting there? can people live there?

sounds boring as sin to me.

 

[itsinmyveins]

why do we need bases there?

is there something interesting there? can people live there?

sounds boring as sin to me.

THE FROZEN ALIENS, DOH!

 

[Like the hat?]

the thought of oil drilling at the north pole frightens me

 

[Shalashaska]

why do we need bases there?

is there something interesting there? can people live there?

sounds boring as sin to me.

Because there's a ton of resources there. Think Alberta x1000.

I think it should go to either us or Russia.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

Argh! One does not drill for oil there. Contaminate that water and you've fucked over everything for everyone forever. Typical Denmark.

 

[Ned Flanders]

You know, the irony of melting the polar ice caps (largely from carbon emissions from oil-burning machines) in order to go to the north pole to find more oil, is just mindblowing.

 

[JohnyDeepthroat]

why do we need bases there?

is there something interesting there? can people live there?

sounds boring as sin to me.

RTFA... it says oil.

This article makes me think 2 things:
1) apparently global warming is now a good thing.
2) Stephen Harper is an ass

Spoiler

even if he is my ass

 

[Tamanon]

They better use footage from Balto when showing their bases getting built.

 

[Forsete]

The race is on gentlemen.. again.

 

[Clydefrog]

Denmark is about to start World War III:

The Kingdom of Denmark is preparing to claim ownership of the North Pole, according to a Danish media report.

In a document leaked to the Danish newspaper Information, Denmark will ask the United Nations to recognize the North Pole as a geologic extension of Greenland, the vast Arctic island that is a Danish territory. Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen confirmed the annexation attempt, Information reported.

According to The Copenhagen Post, "The kingdom is expected to make a demand for the continental shelf in five areas around the Faroe Islands and Greenland, including the North Pole itself."

Denmark has set its sights on the geographic North Pole, a fixed point in the Arctic Ocean at 90 degrees north latitude and 0 degrees longitude. The magnetic north pole, the one your Cub Scout compass points to, is near there but moves around all the time as Earth's magnetic field shifts, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Five countries - Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Norway, Russia and the United States (via Alaska) - have coasts on the Arctic Ocean, but none has ever claimed ownership of the pole. Working under a United Nations mandate, high-ranking diplomats have met several times to work out a plan for mutually acceptable boundaries.
"We are in the middle of an important and civilized process of how to usefully manage the last area in the world not owned by anyone," Greenland President Kuupik Kleist told Information. "... If we did not, we would leave it to those who have already filed claims, or who will do it. It is therefore a must that Denmark is preparing claims."

It's unclear how the claim will go over with the other Arctic countries, but initial reactions have been mild.

Despite longstanding Russian interest in the region, at least one Russian media outlet was sanguine about Denmark's approach.

"This fits in well into the contemporary international law regime of the Arctic," Vassily Gutsulyak, an expert with the Institute of State and Law in the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with The Voice of Russia.

Although the Danish document downplays the economic potential of its proposed claim, the Voice of Russia said the region holds vast reserves of gas and oil, as well as such minerals as coal, gold, copper, nickel, tin and platinum. Climate change also promises to open useful shipping routes across the Arctic, it said.

Santa’s going to be piiiiiiiissseeeddd.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/18/report-denmark-to-lay-claim-to-north-pole/?hpt=C2

 

[Celsior]

Does Denmark even have a miltary?

 

[Escape Goat]

First North Pole...then the moon.

 

[Zen]

Shame it's Canada's.

 

[Meadows]

It's blatantly Ghana's

 

[Duki]

lmao joke countries think theyre gonna get it

usa gonna run all this shit when we all start fighting for oil

everybody else just maaad

 

[Lamel]

Well time to deploy some more troops. USA USA USA!

 

[Stumpokapow]

Come on, this is obviously ours.

 

[DanteFox]

Looks like santa's gonna have to defend his territory from these greedy invaders.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

However, not all Canadians are willing to let the pole go without a fight. A tongue-in-cheek editorial on the online forum The Mark said:

"We'll be damned if we let those no-good, well-dressed, soft-spoken, architecturally inclined, generally peaceable Danes get away with it."

I fucking love you, Canadians.

 

[Escape Goat]

Looks like santa's gonna have to defend his territory from these greedy invaders.

wasn't there a movie about some Canadians finding santas workshop? Then santa goes all psycho?

 

[speculawyer]

The ones who will win eventually are the ones to create an underwater drilling platform or a drilling platform that can handle being in constant motion. All that ice above the North pole floats around so if you can't really drill from it with today's technology.


And such Northern regions are often not all that good for oil. The oil source rock is generally from warmer climates and moves to poles as part of tectonic plate shifts. But during the long time & distance traveling it often leaks away or is cooked into natural gas.

 

[Lamel]

Looks like santa's gonna have to defend his territory from these greedy invaders.

[MG]http://www.workrevenge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/badass-santa-dr.jpg[/IMG]

Santa's black....another twist.

 

[markot]

If they get the north pole, then Australia gets Antarctica >_<

 

[Enosh]

well in 20 years when we'll be shooting at each other from the cold trenches of arctica, this thread won't seem that funny anymore

^_^

 

[Duki]

The ones who will win eventually are the ones to create an underwater drilling platform or a drilling platform that can handle being in constant motion. All that ice above the North pole floats around so if you can't really drill from it with today's technology.

lol "all that ice"

thats gone in twenty years too bro

gonna be digging like goddamn son

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

If they get the north pole, then Australia gets Antarctica >_<

And the U.S. gets Australia.

 

[Yoshiya]

If they get the north pole, then Australia gets Antarctica >_<

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_claims_in_Antarctica

And the U.S. gets Australia.

One way for the US to pick up its HDI, I guess.

 

[DOBERMAN INC]

Those wacky Danes. Prepare the salt bombs!.

 

[DanteFox]

And the U.S. gets Australia.

Seems fair to me. =D

 

[donkey show]

 

[SabinFigaro]

lol Denmark

 

[Dega]

Oh hell yeah! WW3 finally! Damn, i was starting to get bored. Canada, you're in the fucking way so we are gonna have to take you out first. No hard feelings!

 

[midonnay]

If they get the north pole, then Australia gets Antarctica >_<

China has built two bases in OUR FUCKING TERRITORY without permission

the big boys like China and America laughs at our claim ;_;

 

[speculawyer]

lol "all that ice"

thats gone in twenty years too bro

gonna be digging like goddamn son

It may all be gone in the summer time but it will still appear in the winter time.

And avatarquote.gif

 

[speculawyer]

Santa's black....another twist.

 

[midonnay]

And the U.S. gets Australia.

I read a crappy sci fi novel years ago that proposed how this would happen.

an american submarine is covertly spying along our coast. A sailor peeking out the periscope sees a fat man getting a blowjob from a pretty woman at a party. Accident occurs, somehow a rag contaminated with nuclear material washes up on a beach.

A fucking funnel web spider gives the rag a hug and mutates to the size of a car :O

They start decimating our population.

Western Australia seeing the shitstorm in the eastern states, decides to secede. Indonesia invades Western Australia.

Australian Prime Minister asks the Americans for help. The genius yanks decide to shoot a kilometres long barrier of depleted uranium bullets along the country. They nuke the area to reactivate the bullets, creating a radioactive barrier to prevent the giant spiders from getting any further. Furthermore, they nuke Sydney.

Finally the Americans invade Australia in the name of giving humanitarian aid to the survivors.

little did they know that the spiders love radiation and are now the size of buildings....

 

[Ether_Snake]

I can't help but believe that like all things in nature, the presence of ice in the poles is necessary for natural balance and our survival. No different than deserts are needed, etc.

 

[xbhaskarx]

So all these northern countries are going to be okay with Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Madagascar, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, etc. claiming slices of Antarctica as extensions of their own countries, right?

 

[SolarPowered]

I could see how Canada, Russia, and Denmark could claim(they're certainly close enough geographically) the north. The US is just kind of strange considering the only base of operations they would have near there is in Alaska.

So all these northern countries are going to be okay with Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Madagascar, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, etc. claiming slices of Antarctica as extensions of their own countries, right?

They'd probably be pissed because most of those countries wouldn't have the capital to extract the resources from the harshest piece of land on this planet(at least not yet in India's case).

 

[Duki]

I read a crappy sci fi novel years ago that proposed how this would happen.

an american submarine is covertly spying along our coast. A sailor peeking out the periscope sees a fat man getting a blowjob from a pretty woman at a party. Accident occurs, somehow a rag contaminated with nuclear material washes up on a beach.

A fucking funnel web spider gives the rag a hug and mutates to the size of a car :O

They start decimating our population.

Western Australia seeing the shitstorm in the eastern states, decides to secede. Indonesia invades Western Australia.

Australian Prime Minister asks the Americans for help. The genius yanks decide to shoot a kilometres long barrier of depleted uranium bullets along the country. They nuke the area to reactivate the bullets, creating a radioactive barrier to prevent the giant spiders from getting any further. Furthermore, they nuke Sydney.

Finally the Americans invade Australia in the name of giving humanitarian aid to the survivors.

little did they know that the spiders love radiation and are now the size of buildings....

fuckin awesome

 

[midonnay]

They'd probably be pissed because most of those countries wouldn't have the capital to extract the resources from the harshest piece of land on this planet(at least not yet in India's case).

China recently built a "scientific" base at the highest point in antartica...

 

[Clydefrog]

China recently built a "scientific" base at the highest point in antartica...

are you fucking with me?

 

[perfectchaos007]

are you fucking with me?

I'm hoping a bunch of povished countries do stake claim in Antarctica, then eventually the Antarctican residents will rise up and stake claim in Antarctica and win the battle of independance once and for all so Antarctica would become a soverign nation and be qualified to compete in the olympics in every sport

 

[Zzoram]

Canada, Russia, and Denmark should be the only countries that even get a share of the North Pole. They're the two closest countries, AND they have the most land close to the North Pole.

The US is going to get a piece because of all that military muscle, and they'd probably attack everyone if they didn't at least get a piece.

 

[LaserBuddha]

This is cool stuff. Makes me want to pull out the old G.I. Joe winter tank thing that shot disks.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Canada, Russia, and Denmark should be the only countries that even get a share of the North Pole. They're the two closest countries, AND they have the most land close to the North Pole.

The US is going to get a piece because of all that military muscle, and they'd probably attack everyone if they didn't at least get a piece.

Barrow point is more than close enough to warrent the US to get a piece of the North Pole.

 

[jorma]

Norway and Denmark are barely sovereign nations and only because of Swedish goodwill to begin with! There's no way we're gonna let them both get rich on oil while we get nothing.

Sweden wants a piece of this action or fuhgeddaboudit

 

[Kurtofan]

The North Pole obviously belongs to France.
First the North Pole then the world.