One small step for man, one giant leap for national greed. Today, Russia attempted to stake claim on the oil deposits up at the North Pole by planting their country's flag on the ocean floor, some 14,000 feet below the surface.
Explorers traveling on two submarines dove below their ships to place the rust-proof titanium metal flag. Canada, which also claims the Arctic territory, balked.
"This isn't the 15th Century," Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay told the CTV channel. "You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory'," he said.
If only Chris Columbus' & Co.'s tactic still worked. We can only fantasize about the territory we'd claim. Fiji, Nepal, a permanent, private table at The Cheesecake Factory. The possibilities...
Related Stories:
· Russia Stakes Its Claim [BBC]
· North Pole Travel [Jaunted]
· Russia Travel [Jaunted]
[Photo: duncan] ]]>