crisis averted!

We can all let out a collective sigh of relief now that Canada and Denmark have decided to agree to work on beginning to think about solving the problem of who owns a small piece of uninhabited rock in the Arctic. (Previously on SFB: canada valiantly defends uninhabited rock.) This CBC article on the new developments is, frankly, hilarious:

"The decision [not to decide who owns the island] has caused friction more than once. In 1984, Denmark's minister of Greenland affairs raised a Danish flag on the island. He then buried a bottle of brandy at the base of the flagpole and left a note saying 'Welcome to the Danish island.'"

Incidentally, the note, which was scribbled on a scrap of lined paper, caused a great stir among the two seagulls who sometimes fly over the island.