I think we have a bigger problem with the ruskies right now. They want to take over all our wealth. They are bankrupting us (along w/the chinese) & now they want to go in for the kill. Another reason why we need stronger leadership going forward than OBAMA. They are afraid of the GOP leadership...for sure.

I just have one question... with the ice caps melting..how will that affect our ability to extract from Alaska?

Russia says it must stake claim to Arctic resources
By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia must stake its claim to a slice of the Arctic's vast resources, the secretary of Russia's Security Council said on Friday at an unprecedented session of the council held on a desolate Arctic island.

Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter, is in a race with Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States for control of the oil, gas and precious metals that would become more accessible if global warming shrinks the Arctic ice cap.

Underlining Russia's claims to the region, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev assembled the defence and interior ministers and the speakers of both houses of parliament for the meeting on the Arctic island, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia, the world's biggest country, says a whole swathe of the Arctic seabed should belong to it because the area is really an extension of the Siberian continental shelf.

"The Arctic must become Russia's main strategic resource base," Russian news agencies quoted Patrushev as saying. The Council usually meets only in Moscow.

Patrushev, formerly Russia's powerful domestic spy chief, said competition from other Arctic powers was increasing and that Russia must strengthen transport links across its Arctic regions to drive development.

Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark -- which governs Greenland -- all have a shoreline within the Arctic Circle, and have a 200-mile (320-km) economic zone around the north of their coastlines.

Russian officials say they are entitled to a bigger share. They base the claim on the contention that the Lomonosov ridge, a vast underwater mountain range that runs underneath the Arctic, is an extension of the Siberian continental shelf.

Under the United Nations Law of the Sea treaty, any state with an Arctic coastline that wishes to stake a claim to a greater share of the Arctic must lodge its submission with the U.N.'s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Russian geologists estimate the Arctic seabed has at least 9 billion to 10 billion tonnes of fuel equivalent, about the same as Russia's total oil reserves.

Last year a submersible with a senior Russian lawmaker on board planted a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed. The crew were greeted as heroes when they returned to Moscow.

Russian news agencies said the special Security Council session was held at the Nagurskaya base, Russia's most northerly border outpost. The base is on Alexandra's Land, part of the Russian-controlled Franz Josef archipelago.

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSLC30090620080912?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Since when do we claim the Arctic?

Also, they are "bankrupting" us because of our deficit spending. Don't blame "them" for buying the paper we print to finance war and out of control consumption. We need to take responsibility.

Don't be silly...take responsibility? Don't you know we live in an "It's not MY fault" culture? We couldn't possibly be screwing ourselves into the ground, it must be someone else's fault!



(I think I've had a bit too much caffeine this morning...)

Kind of like all the people signing sub-prime mortgages asking for bail outs because they can't pay.