Tag Archives: Donald Trump
Random weirdness for the week of June 13, 2017
John Lennon celebrates a 50th anniversary by sticking his face in snow. Doomsday Vault Derangement Syndrome continues with links to Nazis and global human infertility. Threats from space cannibals. And can palm trees Make Svalbard Great Again?
Grave new world: Global leaders, scientists face era of darkness in Arctic as Trump leads war on enviornment, facts
Drilling for oil in our backyard is good for the environment. Climate change is rich with blessings. Building up rival militaries is essential as we enter a new era of cooperation.
Those aren’t “alternative facts,” as such. Just the alternative way of thinking from politicians, scientists, business leaders and others pondering the future of Svalbard and other Arctic areas during the days immediately surrounding the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. While his name wasn’t necessarily brought up often during conferences and other events – indeed, the administration’s presence at them was minimal – the aura of uncertainty from the election and other tumultuous events during the past year lingered heavily.
Pick the ‘fake news’ headline: 1) Scientists discover energy source of Rudolph’s nose; 2) Trump wants to starve Santa’s reindeer
Rudolph has a wonderful nose. An ingenious nose. Amazing ability. Tremendous energy. And brilliantly red.
If that sounds like praise from a certain orange-hued megalomaniac, consider this other shocking exposé: “Trump wants to starve Santa’s reindeer. Why, they are barely able to pull all that weight now! Who knows what will happen if all the funding flowing to scientists and universities for global warming is cut? Might have to cancel Christmas!”
Random weirdness for the week of Nov. 13, 2016
Plenty of folks have suggested Svalbard as an ideal destination for U.S. residents wanting to flee instead of being ruled by The Don, but at least one person is asking Santa to give the gift of a much simpler solution – albeit one that may have people here wishing for a wall.
Random weirdness for the week of Nov 29, 2016
We’re still trying to normalize our brains After Trump, but as it turns out maybe Svalbard should breathe a sigh of relief because Crooked Hillary’s e-mail scandal extends all the way up here, according to Wikileaks.
Moving to Canada after Trump is tricky; moving next door to the North Pole is easy – if you can cope
Cat Cooke, 31, owns an extremely cool business that books and handles logistics for bands on tour. And she runs it from one of the most extremely cool places on Earth, emigrating there in August with no more hassle than a tourist buying a plane ticket.
Letters to the Future: A year after Paris is there any hope for climate change action in the new ‘post-truth’ era?
A year ago writers, scientists, artists and others were asked to predict the outcome of the Paris climate talks as if writing to their children’s children, six generations hence. Those letters would likely be very different today.
Random weirdness for the week of Nov. 8, 2016
In the words of some people, this is the third time our unstable editor been evacuated during the past year. Um, close but not quite. As almost all journalists know, to evacuate somebody is to give them an enema.
A bigly bubble? Many Svalbard residents say they don’t expect Trump presidency to have an impact here
While talking about Donald Trump can stir up lots of the ugliness among Svalbard residents that was prevelant during the election season, many don’t expect his presidency to have much impact on the archipelago.
Svalbard’s remoteness and unique laws means life exists in something of a bubble, according to some locals interviewed and responding to a social media inquiry the day after the election that resulted in what the media is calling “the biggest upset in American political history.”
Here’s your ‘OMG! Trump won the election!’ guide to what it may mean for Svalbard
Tourism and research/work involving environmental issues will suffer. People and businesses that buy things from and/or travel to the U.S. and some other countries will benefit. Russia will get even more aggressive in the Arctic, which means Norway may step up commercial, military and other activities in the far north as well. And, yes, there will probably be a slight uptick in the number of U.S. residents and students, but hardly a mad stampede.
