comeback of debtors' prisons where you think those rednecks deserve it let me ask you something how's it going with paying off all your loans and bills i hope for your sake you don't miss a payment but that's just my opinion. spitzbergen is the starting point for expeditions to the north pole a little over a thousand kilometers away. is next to no sunlight each day was a little light remains continues today. in just ten days the sun will stop rising above the horizon all together. along to know it will begin.

like it is on the mainland in the middle of the night. which will just. starves. the locals say there are three four seasons here day and snowmobile season. people on the island because of the harsh environment but a very small few have chosen to live here. yet. just. be careful.

in mid november the arctic night descends on the archipelago. to great at the norwegian town of longyearbyen book an ice is a special ceremony. for many years to go was declared terra nullus old then belonging to nobody it wasn't until nine hundred twenty eight that the islands became norwegian territory but even today they enjoy a unique status. any country that signs the spitzbergen treaty can freely engage in commercial activity here no visa or is needed to visit the island and there are no customs or border posts anyone on the planet can come and settle on the occupier to go there's just one condition they must be self-sufficient. and this. place is so special because

a lot of people came here and they really didn't know how to read already they are because i think ok and already are closer to north korea. and other people all it's a foreigner no descriptors and everything about. the bill the change very fast like . this is could be very bad. if you're. about to sell some five hundred people live on the island but knowing the number of beds is more of a challenge there are at least three thousand certainly more than there are people . you know. i don't like to call my own and just give you. their history right oh it's a very rough i'm sure. everyone. there

have you ever come to over. hiring a rifle here is as easy as hiring a scooter but if a bag gets shot the investigation into whether it was really killed in self defense is as far as it would be familiar to. the island is indeed an unusual place shops provide special lockers where customers can store their guns while shopping and while deer amble freely in the streets. there is a distinct russian spirit in this small norwegian telling only two countries currently maintain a presence on the island russia and norway. this is the reason why america american high and you're here visiting. and yeah because they have a russian there yeah let me thank you these people took an interest in the russian

language for a reason they often visit the town of balanced budget for decades the neighboring towns have shared visits for sporting events. we may be different in many aspects but i'm sure everyone's happy to have a neighbor pool you see there are no other neighbors around here. and we've had a lot of enjoyable meetings in baron's burg. often how you're leaving for work yes you have a regular working day of course not it's a holiday today a holiday there are no holidays in the mind. two years ago maxim to above came to spitzbergen alone to see how it would work out. many people can't bear being

separated from their relatives. is not everyone manages to move their families here . you could not everyone can cope with the atmosphere in this arctic night. he left his wife and three children at home. we didn't feel anything for the first six months. then mum started missing dad. and so did we. well he wasn't there we could only talk on skype he had to call me every day as soon as he was home from work. knowing that he was safely back from the mine was the most important thing for me. two months ago at last moved to barrett's burg. and i'd like to spend at least ten years here and i want to settle properly and save enough money to buy flats for my kids. i do your homework yet

a bit. but. i haven't seen you for ages so does it feel better having a family with you or do you need to ask you must feel more like real man yes. in the past barrens bug was always a male domain not a place for women with children. men still account for the majority of the population. there are no old sick or socially disadvantaged people here. every inhabitant of the island has to be young and healthy enough to be able to work because. my grandfather worked here and nine hundred fifty six such as he spent two years on this island and dad always dreamed of going where his own father had worked at the show we came in two thousand and eight with my mom at the

end in two thousand and nine my wife and i came here to you know i think that i'm the head of the tourist agency and the hotel administrator that's part of my job description. although it's my wife's job to deal with the mail that rests on my shoulders to. difficult so why not during tourist season i also work as a guide. you know and when we have excursions i work in the souvenir shop in the morning i teach english at the local school which is why i'm not in the office. there's only one employer in better. cold is a russian company everything in the village the houses shops and canteen old belong to the. people can only get tibetans but once every two months. both cooks they decide to change after

a wedding anniversary stephanie has brought her two children to be with her husband . has come alone. her husband that's a first. year ago another woman came on her own she left pretty soon though. she was an accountant. usually it's the other way around. well after their husbands men try to find jobs for their wives on the island. the.

new arrivals gather beside the personal department. stephanie brings her children with her. there's no one else to babysit because everyone who's at work. also owns a productive mine the parents. everyone has to attend a briefing when they first get here. there is going to work. she'll start as soon as her children are going to kindergarten but first we have to get used to the new home. movies in britain the kids started whimpering and i decided to leave so we wouldn't disturb anyone. it's always dark outside so i'm constantly sleepy and my eyes hurt but i'll get used to it. but other people cope somehow so will i will wait for the light i

hope will settle here well like the place. i think. now the main thing is for the kids to adapt to the climate and be healthy. the first contract is usually for six months the second for two years on average people have spent four to five years in barren spoke but there seems to be changing workers or no spending longer periods of time here printing furnished apartments and so the arctic cold trust is renovating many of the houses and was there a t.v. set yes so there it's so nice just great. to see everyone likes this place it's nice and tidy. new residents meet up at the home supply store everyone has a long shopping list. because as

a small pan. i think our first two paychecks will be spent entirely on the household number one two and the third one as well there's no cash on balance budget in two thousand and eleven there was an attempt to introduce a local currency called the bone but norwegians were unhappy about the idea of bank notes circulating on soil with the russian federation printed on them. it's rumored that to avoid conflict the government decided not to use any money at all a normal bank cards to work here either the shops only accept a special internal card which is given to all up to coles employees everyone sets their own credit limit and the balance is a ventilated ducted from salaries. it's easy squire laying money away because there is nothing to spend it on no rest trends or days cuz i'm sure that if we do you

manage to leave here for some time it will be closer to each other so this just goes to show that my uncle told me about people living there has been so wise for other men and women. it must be an island of temptation here. as an american i'd like to know what's going to go on and afghanistan from here on i am tired of this cloudy picture of where my money is going you know where our efforts have gone for the last twelve years what our veterans have fought for died for have been injured i want to know and i think that the obama administration has sort of dropped the ball in two thousand and thirteen and it's about time for them to step up and make this and make our foreign policy in this area

a priority go ok but do you can i guess what yours might be your wish international convention ending the use of drones is it close to your wish that sounds great peter and i would add on to that since we last year ended with a strike in yemen and a wedding party there and we also have obama apologizing to the innocent people that we've killed and saying that he will not allow drone strikes to be used again how are you what is your wish for two thousand and fourteen when you get i mean to have ok let's you know this is you know we're just a few days into the year so no one can say we're wrong go ahead my wish is for significant change on our investments in fighting climate change really if we do not address climate change this is going to be a human crisis that will affect the entire globe.

she did lumbered tour. was to build its most sophisticated which will include hugely goes into cuba don't worry about anything to submission to teach me really should why you should care about humans and. this is why you should. only. go to kindergarten my daughter asks me it's still done quilly going it will always be dark now i tell the sun has gone to sleep she says i want to go home i don't want to live by the sea she thought it would be warm and sunny. through n l four hundred and thirty people in bennett's book including

a hundred and thirty women and fifty five children no one is ever born on the island it's against the rules that pregnant women must return to the mainland. spitzbergen children never catch colds the virus comes survive here. it's only the newly arrived to bring infections to the island. that's why children are always quarantined for their first ten days when they can't go to school or can to go out and. sometimes though children just can't adjust to the climate. their parents either have to send them away or leave the island for good. it's too cold to go outside so the kids wrap up to play in an unheated hole where they can exercise without being exposed to the elements even though the temperature is almost the same as outside the kids are protected from the biting optic wind.

ok see itself down ok well. thank. you again heavy you know i am not. in the first year but all the students sit together in one classroom irrespective of age. the teacher gives each student individual assignments and then checks them separately. after classes the children stay in school there's nowhere else to go

and the teachers always try hard to find new ways to entertain them. you know. it was useless i realised why running small difficult here was the ed pressure on the island is higher than on the mainland and it's not difficult to brief. the worst of them all sometimes i ask myself if a normal life would make it easier for him in the future. i still don't really know . but i'm not sure if we've made the right choice. although the spitsbergen coal reserves are being depleted to continue mining is a matter of principle a presence on the go is

a political imperative for both russia and norway. the mind works around the clock so the adults work in shifts they often leave as early as six in the morning leaving dunhill to wake the younger kids. but also when the alarm clock goes off. i wake marine or in the silly they want to stay in bed we're going to still duck where we go and they ask. a brush marina's teeth i mean obviously does his own. style you can i put the kettle on and dress them. over or when i grow up i'll move to the mainland and go to university. all. i want to be an interpreter. to make good money.

but it's always good to know a foreign language. the most important event in autumn is the and he will sports competition. people from the norwegian to. visit the russian to attend. it's a tradition that dates back many years some say it began as the nine hundred thirty s. when both norway and the then soviet union was still new to the occupy lego. the norwegians told their neighbors their traditional game called. we never even seen a stick before when we started playing we didn't know the rules and we were constantly asking questions now we've got the hang of it and how one wants. to be.

about this. but i think we're on equal ground we're good at volleyball and always win at basketball we're about even in football and as for chess we've got a new player who will bring us victory. all the competitions are held symbol to flee. winning is a matter of both countries especially when it comes to football and bundy. only twice in the competition's history as the. norwegians at the national game. the second time was last year but fortune wasn't to smile on them this time.

the football had the fans on the edge of their seats with the team's neck and neck . as though the russians proved victorious. i lost two games. and i played with and walnuts as well. there's my boy. did you know the done he did clever boy. surprisingly the basketball game is the most dramatic. the norwegians are less than happy with the referee and one spectator is quite indignant. among them i wonder how much. do we need a ref and all know referee you can do without

a ras while you are afraid let him do it while you do it but him referee give him a whistle. don't go over there. there'll be two of you go on. to referees take to the court. the people of spitzbergen do know how to compromise. there are more than forty different ethnicities living together on the island. northern life demands tolerance and cooperation if it's to be survived. thank you. right now. the sporting event is one of the very few opportunities people have to socialize and meet up specially during the long arctic night.

you work here. and you. working often. so my guess ok. are football football ok. but you've got one. making ambitious plans to develop its own tourist industry. the abandoned mining town. will be home to the new russian tourists. and there are no people there so it's kind of like a ghost town there was one guy named toby. he tried to go for a hike so. it took him by two weeks and have had to get. picked up by officials

because you have no more food left so i think you should only do it if you have a stove yeah. but it can only be reached in daylight and that they have a game already of. the for when the polar ends and the snowmobile season begins the alcatel of those russian six will be teeming with people her. would you know there are tourists there's this they like watching us locals picking up the kids from school the guy probably tells them where the natives. that we have to say hi and smile like we go to work or come home shopping or just walk and they're gone yeah that's it we stay right back.

but that won't happen until the poland and the northern sun has risen again. for now people only venture away from the settlement for emergencies perhaps to repair vital and hard to reach equipment no one leaves the village without a very good reason. that usually people only leave the village to admired the beauty of spitzbergen oil and like watching the sea at night for nothing. there's absolutely nothing to see. during the long pole a night the residents tend to live ordinary workaday lives in new arrivals are given time to get their bearings but today is oldest first day at work. i was anxious if. you do everything on time. but i managed it fine

the husband he starts work tomorrow he's here in el to support his wife we're going to spend at least two years here but we'll have to see how it goes to here is a long time maybe six months will do it. before starting to work independently and i will shadow a colleague for a few days. i have a boyfriend. but i'm not sure she'll come here. stephanie children couldn't started kindergarten because one of them has a cold only time will tell if he can cope with the climate i was. playing marine who behaved. like i don't like kids and tomorrow you go to kindergarten yes. and let's proceed see if you.

just. that the weather is awful look how strong the wind is and it's so dark. and it will stay dark until the next day begins. on their way to and talk to the crew of the i can to make sure that face many challenges. here you have to look out for yourself crashing on to rocks trapped in pack ice in extreme conditions anything can happen and always comes up with

surprises you have to keep your eyes open because there's always something going wrong the ship carries huge reserves of water food fuel as well as helicopters and people able to survive extreme conditions they're ready for anything even an apocalypse she's really an incredible ship calling all antarctica stations this is academic a field of radio check please respond. why is the price of gold so high. demand global demand do you think oldest money. know the value of the only place we have to live of the water that we need to survive it's not compared to i mean gold we're not going to eat gold we're not going to bathe. we're not going to drink oh well clearly what i'm all is and is in

a desperate economic situation absolutely right what we're wrong to do is say there for any kind of economic development from the outside is going to be a benefit their only purpose is to extract as much money as possible to feed into the global financial system. with hard. geo political economic system that's extremely exploited to. the first was a question with the mining should even be carried out altogether can it be done. which doesn't destroy people's resources. those are pretty sure it's gross troops mining is not a what a moment from it's happening in asia africa and south america in central america in mexico and it's even happening in canada and the united states.

president rewrites his new year address pledging to fight terrorists and till about early defeated following two suicide blasts involved a grant which claimed such four lives. also this hour the machines are watching the n.s.a. is reportedly intercepting a laptop purchased online to install spying malware before they reach their destinations. relations and breakthroughs and edward snowden spice condo a long awaited nuclear deal with iran global run is against junk foods and fracking of the stories that shapes twenty four year.