Earlier this month, at Ny Alesund, I went aboard the Norwegian Polar Institute's research vessel, the Lance.

BBC: The 'big melt' at the roof of the world

So a golden rule of survival in this settlement is that every building must have its front door unlocked - and that includes those of the hosts, the Norwegian Polar Institute, and of the French and Germans, the British, the Indians, the Chinese and many others.

BBC: So remote, it could pass for Mars

The '"lost" photographs, thought to be missing for much of the 20th Century, were acquired by the Scott Polar Research Institute in the spring.

BBC: Captain Scott Antarctic photos shown in Cambridge

Dr Lewis-Jones, the former curator at the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, who first met Mr Lowe in 2005, called him a "hero".

BBC: Last 1953 Everest team member George Lowe dies, aged 89

Just as Olbermann and Napolitano are joining forces in denouncing the current plans for discovering spending cuts, two other polar opposites are pitching for an end to corporate welfare: Ralph Nader and the Cato Institute.

FORBES: The Wolf and The Lamb Deficit Plan