@scingram: that looks cool. i'll need to check that out.

by the time any proposed tunnel is even made and the roads needed to connect the cities are done it would be at least 30 years from now. so those other issues preventing my mythical roadtrip would possibly be corrected by then anyway.

x23

Isn't there quite a bit of seismic activity across the Bering Strait?

chaoslink

Ever seen the documentary "Long Way Round" ([www.longwayround.com]) with Ewan McGregor? Even if you could get to Russia, it's still not that feasible to just merrily drive to the rest of Europe....

scingram

"Before building a tunnel between [Chukotka] and Alaska, there should be a road built between Anadyr, the capital of Chutotka, and the rest of Russia."

not only that... but there is no road connecting Nome to the rest of Alaska. that in and of itself will be a pretty big undertaking.

right now the tunnel would connect two cities that are only air-accessible. not the best plan i have heard of. oh wait... i forgot about the modern Nome railway...

[seagrant.uaf.edu]

that said... i hope it does happen. being able to drive to Russia and by extension all of Europe would be completely 100% awesome. i can't believe how many people hate road trips with such a passion that they can't imagine that *driving* from east coast US to the UK or South Africa wouldn't be about the best adventure ever.

x23

Notice he did this after he heard about the rouge pieces of free for the takin rocket parts on farms. See the real plan is to drill under farmers lands obscound with the free space stuff and build his own mercenary fleet of space ships to supply his fortress of fierceness in low earth orbit. The drill was the final piece of the puzzle. NOW insert pinky! Mmmmhhwaaaaaaaaa!

General Tsao aka Ivan the Impaler

@s0crates82: Oh I get the oil link. The problem generally is that from the edge of Highway 3 in Alaska to Seattle is another 2,200 miles.

And Highway 3 only gets you about a third of the way into Alaska. Alaska needs a lot more roads/good roads before this would even be all that useful.

So both for distance and domestic infrastructure reasons, not to mention weather, shipping seems to just make more sense logistically and financially.

...and I guess conceivably Russia might want to open a direct oil pipeline to Alaska, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Even then, I'm not sure the tankers they've been using for the last few years aren't ultimately a cheaper and more efficient option.

92BuickLeSabre

It's like Red Dawn, but upside down and no Charlie Sheen.

bpatten

Rumours that Abramovich also intends to buy Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, and convert it into some sort of volcano base, are completely unfounded. And he doesn't know what you're talking about when you ask about kidnapped nuclear scientist Igor Rocketmanachov, or "Project Lava Beam".

Sockatume

Vee understand. After all, vee are frum ze land of Chocolate.

duckballs

@Kaiser-Machead: Mmmh... chocolate.

hanswurst0815

@Cobolman2: Why do random towns in the US have the worlds largest inane kitchen tool?

Kaiser-Machead

@geisrud

I think he blew a seal....

naptownman

Obviously, there has been a drum circle reported in Sochi. They'll need the drill in case a full-blown hippie jam festival breaks out.

cheesing_my_balls_off

Why the heck do you need the world's largest drill at a resort town for?

Cobolman2

@hanswurst0815: With their sudden obsession with chocolate and cars, they're not good villains anymore.

Kaiser-Machead

@92BuickLeSabre: Shortsighted.

Think trains. Think oil.

Russia has huge reserves of petroleum, tapped and untapped, and a land link to North America would make it very easy to gather infrastructure equipment from North America, as well as a way to conveniently pipe us oil they'd like to sell us.

Building roads increases trade.

s0crates82

It's for Project Vulcan. He will hold the world ransom for.......10 million dollars.

Git Em SteveDave

@92BuickLeSabre: what is he really drilling big holes for?

to stash stuff? and if so what kind of stuff?

flyboy

I totally can't wait to be able to drive from a part of Alaska with no people to a part of Russia with no people! And back again!!!

92BuickLeSabre

The only thing more useless than that tunnel is Sen. Stevens' bridge to nowhere.

dingus

He shouldn't have sacked mourinho, they won't win anything this year.

Oh this isn't a football blog.

rohan1

Damn it, America. We are losing the Power Tools cold war! Home Depot better get their act together.

Monty

@hanswurst0815: By the way, what happened to the german villains? Any Bond movie should have one...

hanswurst0815

A russian company named Infrastruktura and a german company with the name of Herrenknecht... you're right, that sounds so stereotypical, it MUST come straight out of a Bond movie.

hanswurst0815

Excellent use of camouflage, Mr. Abramovich.

Way

"Presumably the spokesman then only put his pinky in his mouth and began to laugh diabolically."

My therapist does the same thing, and I have yet to know what the hell this means.

Kaiser-Machead

see...i only know him by making chelsea the dominant footy squad of the epl(meaning: buying all the great players and sitting the shit ones)...how i hate chelsea

now only if he had a hairless cat and wasnt so russian..

ftw5000

Does that make you Horny baby, YEAH!

Sloth

@Geisrud: I don't think its milk.

duckballs

I think this dudes trying to compensate for something.

duckballs

Does he have a little bit of a "Got Milk?" 'stache going on there?

Geisrud

So, any chance that he will use that drill to pierce the heavens?

Hanael

LOL! Maybe he wants to emulate Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and make some EPIC DRILLS.

RebootEDC