Blogroll Me!
Up-coming, Canada Quandary ...
Every so often, something especially surprising shows up on This Old Brit's rickety old radar screen -- even if it appears it's avoided dectection by much more modern model's monitors.
Here's a headline that hasn't exactly had hoards of reporters and/or bloggers banging on about it. Unless anyone here knows different of course.
Canada makes show of force over disputed Arctic territory
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 24 August 2005
Cor!
Can't say I can recall at all, Canada calling out it's warships before. Can you?
Three Canadian warships were steaming through Arctic waters as Ottawa displayed a new and almost bellicose determination to protect the sovereignty of its northernmost boundaries.
Dear, dear, dear -- it appears it's actually an Arctic-aggro alarm. And according to the Canadians this whole conflict-quandary-caboodle is all down to those darned Danes from Denmark. Hmm. And we all thought that Vikings had vanished, eh?.
... a tiny island that has become the subject of diplomatic head-butting between Canada and Denmark. Both claim the barren rock, named Hans Island.
But wait, there's more.
.... with the melting of polar ice providing access for shipping, the government is anxious about possible territorial rivalries with Norway, Russia and the United States as well as Denmark.
Good, gawd!
Global warming's set to strike in more mysterious ways than most had ever imagined, it seems. Take a quick peek at this.
The melting ice, attributed to global warming, could even open the legendary North-west Passage, linking the Atlantic and the Pacific, to shipping. Canada and Russia are at odds over areas of the continental shelf in the region, with its potentially important mineral and oil deposits.
Meanwhile, the United States wants the Passage to be under international, not Canadian, control. There are also fears of clashes with the US over riches beneath the Beaufort Sea which extends northwards from the coasts of both Canada and Alaska.
Brrrr!
It's said it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Well, if this doesn't sound like there's a distinct chilling in the North American air -- I wonder what does?
At first glance this story might seem sort of funny. At second ...... well, we'll simply have to wait and see.
Ottawa is to launch a satellite to orbit above the Arctic to monitor shipping.
Ack!
Add an aerial alarm to that aqua alarm. What in the world is really going on here?
You may well ask.
There are also fears of clashes with the US over riches beneath the Beaufort Sea which extends northwards from the coasts of both Canada and Alaska.
Get the full story at the UK's Independent :
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article307841.ece
posted by Richard at Wednesday, August 24, 2005
12 Comments:
I hadn't heard about this, but I do know the US and Canada are having a "quiet" (not front page here in the US but can be found) trade wars and threats.
http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=8a2ccac0-a540-4f8a-ac65-c2b6ac1cb799
Is one of the many issues, from a Candain site.
Sandra in the lost US
Still lots of earth tremors (after all of those huge earthquakes in Feb) in the North, maybe they are helping to break up the ice quicker? Could be a valuable shipping lane??? Could be very oil rich when you consider what Russia and Alaska have in that general area. Just quessing. I am sure they know something we don't to be spending money on it.
Richard, what the U.S. means by "international control" is "American control." A lot of people have been agitating lately for Canada to assert its territorial rights, because our north is so sparsely populated that someone else could set up a harmful base there, and we wouldn't even know it. So there's agitation in Canada for us to establish a major presence there, to keep others away from us. All of North America is very vulnerable through an empty and unprotected north.
Which is why the Americans are suddenly so keenly interested (apart from the oil, which they think belongs to them just because they're Americans and they want it). Since the Americans are trying very hard to make every country on the planet loathe them, it stands to reason that they'll get more and more paranoid about possible invasion through an empty north.
Which is why Canada has to make the other countries keep their damn mitts off our territory, as soon as possible.
Thanks for that, Noel. It's good that we all help each other learn.
And sorry that your uncle paid the ultimate price for his true patriotism.
Hi Phyl, I think you've just about nailed it all - and beat me to it to answer Sandra's questions.
Good for the Canadians!
Funny how BushCo, BPAmoco and ExxonMobil can't control every aspect of the news. They can lie all they want about global warming, but when the Canadians, the level, sane, next-door-neighbor, get very touchy with the Danes, well, something's up.
The Nazis in the White House would invade Canada for sure. Problem is, they won't need to. Some plucky lawyer in a trade negotiation, a "free" market Canadian, might give up any number of public assets in exchange for a spot at the Carlyle table with Blair and John Major. The greed thing is deadly and very infectious.
You ain't wrong there, Cosmic. There's always a Judas - or few.
If the US did march on Canada, would the world just stand by and watch - again?
DAYMN! Better start stringin' up the barb wire on the border! I always knew them damned snow-backs were sneakin' in here to spy on us!
Um Phyl? I'm an American... heck, I'm even a Conservative American and I have absolutely NO designs on Canada BELIEVE me! It ain't 'Americans', it's the 'American Government', OK? The Usurpers (they aren't MY government!) who are running things here from Washington DC may feel differently, but please don't lump the American people in with the American Dictatorship, OK? It's an insult to a whole lot of decent, hard working, honest people when ya do... OK? Thanks!
In fence of Phyl [in her absence] - she's one of the good guys, juliedee.
I've know here for a long time. She has lots of American friends - who she regularly corresponds/ works/researches with.
I'm certain she simply forgot that people posting here [ somewhere new to her] would not already be aware of her real postion.
Believe me, she knows not all Americans are the same. She well knows - who is.
Duh!!
"In DEfence," of course
I figured so... it's just a bit of a pet peeve when folks lump me in with the Usurpers in Washington! Sorry Phyl... is this your ear? You can have it back!
Post a Comment
<< Home