FREE Weather summary Cold and windy w/ occasional snow though Saturday; snow and temps rising to near freezing by Tuesday. icepeople Full forecast page 3 The world's northernmost alternative newspaper Vol. 7, Issue 5 February 10, 2015 www.icepeople.net “ To believe that the governor can rescue people out, regardless of circumstances, is wrong. There is no guarantee for that. - Per Andreassen, police lieutenant Svalbard governor's office ” Svalbard Church Priest Leif Magne Helgesen, in the foreground at left, delivers a musical "Svalbardmesse" at the church Sunday with the assistance of MARK SABBATINI / ICEPEOPLE other musicians including drummer Finn Sletten, center, and flutist Randi Margrethe Larsen. At right, Ragnar Ólafsson, a former student in Longyearbyen, returns after seven years as a member of the Icelandic band Árstíðir for a Polarjazz concert Saturday. Photos by Mark Sabbatini / Icepeople. ffff dsfijhk avalanche test test test ffff dsfijhk • Work freeze: Labor strikers brave -20C. 5 PRODIGAL SONS • Oil slick: Drilling upsets goal of peace? 5 Return of short- and long-time Svalbard residents cause for killing the fattened riff at Polarjazz festival By MARK SABBATINI priest at Svalbard Church returned home in days before the show. Editor January after spending the last three months of "It was a bit rushed this week," he ac- Spend 18 months writing a complex Mass 2014 in the West Bank helping Palestinians knowledged of the rehearsals. Polarjazz aims for new musical and then bring in a handful of musicians to and protesting illegal Israeli settlements. But the performance of "Svalbardmesse" learn it during a week they're busy with other As if that wasn't enough challenge (and by the Svalbard Kirkes Trio and three guest in- and geographical boundaries projects? Challenging, certainly, but it's not controversy) to take on right before the pre- strumentalists at the church brought this year's with both local and global artists like trying to bring peace to the Middle East. mier of his sacred suite, he also debuted a new Polarjazz festival to a blessed end Sunday Leif Magne Helgesen would know. The book about the ethics of climate change three See FESTIVAL, page 6 Minding the art WENCHE RAVLO Tiny new museum offers a vision for the future, backers say By MARK SABBATINI Northern Norway Art Museum has created Editor the northernmost art museum in the As with most art, it's about more than world," the queen said during an official meets the naked eye. opening ceremony Friday night. "And an Physically, it's a nearly empty meeting exciting and inspiring place in this beauti- room with a video screen, a TV and a few ful and dramatic landscape." small black-and-white paintings on one of The 77-square-meter room behind the MARK SABBATINI / ICEPEOPLE the walls. But art lovers from Queen Sonja reception desk at Svalbard Museum looks Queen Sonja, third from left, discusses the initial art exhibit on down are calling it a profound state- more like a add-on to the historical muse- um than an attraction likely to draw visi- at the newly opened Kunsthall Svalbard with Knut Ljøgodt, ment about Longyearbyen's future place in Inside director of the Northern Norway Art Museum, right, and the world. tors on its own. But it is actually the first "By establishing a branch here, the See KUNSTHALL, page 4 other officials during a ceremony Friday. Geeze…another week of polar porn? random weirdness 120-hour seance ice-brained pirate BREAKING: storm alert Page 2 Headlines from Svalbardposten Everyone's Trying to revive Russia's guy in Heavy snow, - Gov't facing more heat on Austre Adventfjord? now a star in ghosts in Ukraine crisis winds Sunday; - Store Norske finally sells gold subsidiary spy show Pyramiden looks north rain on Monday - Newcomer's lion wins Solfestuka logo contest Page 2 Page 5 Page 8 Page 3 Page 3 MARK SABBATINI / SABBATINI Weather forecast Page 3 Events calendar Page 4 Page 2 February 10, 2015 Who's to blame and how Hopen to see the sun again soon to express your wrath Editor Mark Sabbatini Principal of principles Kristan Hutchison Psychiatrist Irene Gallion Accomplice Jeff Newsom Mailing address Icepeople Vei 210 -2- 13 Longyearbyen, Svalbard 9170 Norway BJØRN OVE FINSETH / HOPEN METEOROLOGICAL STATION Telephone A polar bear wandering near the Hopen Meteorological Station on Feb. 10 is among the first Norway: +47 41 51 46 38 lifeforms to see the sun return to Svalbard after the three-and-a-half-month polar night. Bjørn Ove NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE U.S. +1 (970) 673-4472 Finseth, a researcher at the Polish weather station, wrote on the station's official blog (http:// hopenmeteo.no) that both the bear and the sun were spotted at about 11:30 a.m. The first sunrise E-mail in Longyearbyen will be Sunday, although the surrounding mountains means the first rays of [email protected] sunshine won't reach most of the city until early March. Web site www.icepeople.net Icesheet Icepeople is published weekly (or thereabouts) on Tuesdays (or thereabouts), with printed Random bits of the week's weirdness: copies available free on a limited basis in With foreign spying in Svalbard once again Longyearbyen. Additional printed copies are A Thing in the news, it seems only fair some "You forgot the sunscreen? Oh, crap." If we available locally and by mail upon request. prominent locals are turning the tables on visi- weren't about to be crisped because volcanos Charges are on an "at cost" basis. tors by monitoring their every move. Sval- just made the ozone vanish we'd totally own the bardbutikken, which installed a few cam- polar bears 260 million years from now. Copyright stuff eras and theft-protection scanners two years ago to combat a proliferation of shoplifting Briefly Original contents of this publication can be that thrived primarily during cruise ship reproduced for non-commercial purposes free season, is going all-out this week with lots more cameras and a video screen at the en- of charge if Icepeople is credited as the MARK SABBATIINI / ICEPEOPLE Cruising: Getting out of source. The original writers, photographers trance that ensures all shoppers can see them- selves as the star of the show. Call it a hunch, Now you know how the polar bear feels: The and other contributors retain their rights to all stuffed creature just in front of this camera danger, but into 'death?' published works. but we're guessing the overwhelming madness of the crowds arriving for next month's solar might be the most photographed thing here, so Another cruise season is about to embark eclipse was more than a mild factor. Aside it seems only fair to return the favor. full speed ahead in Svalbard, but the smiles of Mainland town claims to be top Corrections policy from the fact a lot of folks might feel the need wrappers, we'll just note part of the diatribe those greeting passengers aren't being shared per-person telethon giver, a title to pinch pennies because they're paying 20,000 states "don’t expect to make a quick run to the by a lot of industry executives these days. When we screw up you'll know about it – on kroner a night for a place to stay, the fact they store or a grab a quick snack in any cafe, and They took a blow last month when Britain held by Longyearbyen for years the front page. One of the big complaints could be facing Soviet-era lines at the cash reg- above all do not be a part of The Problem (ig- issued a warning telling travelers cruising here about newspapers is they tend to bury isters might make them think about the advan- norance about taking precautions in the ex- is too dangerous. That warning may be re- corrections and clarifications deep inside tages of trying to sneak out undetected in the treme environment, treating the locals – espe- where few people who read the original article melee … And speaking of bad ideas for visi- cially kids – like zoo animals to be gawked at, see them. If we need to fix something, an alert tors during the eclipse, The Guardian was wandering uninvited into people’s homes too box on the front page will state what story is in full of them in an article last Sunday about see how the locals live, etc.)" … Still, at least error and where the full correction is printed. coming here to observe the March 20 event. the British were nicer than a write-up in the Among the classic howlers is suggesting places U.S. publication Western Journalism (at RANDALL MUNROE / XKCD.COM Submitting material to stay for as little as £90, with no mention ev- tinyurl.com/lzqls22) titled "Pictures: See The ery hotel in town was fully booked years ago. Truth Behind The Land That Obama Is Des- Letters, columns, photos and other material Our dilapidated editor went on one of his rants perately Trying To Keep Oil Drills Out Of." are welcome, but we can't offer pay for in a comment at the end of the article that's also Svalbard gets largely blown off since cars are we'd published items since nobody here is getting been posted as an open letter at our newly re- useless, "but there are a lot of great sights to You couldn’t really drive around in Google Street View; you’d have to snow- paid at the moment. Submissions in electronic launched website. Since we're claiming to offer see, including this detached head" of Lenin in mobile around.