House May Include CRs in 'Megabus.' Senior House appropriators on Wednesday said they may punt on one or more of nine remaining overdue spending bills for fiscal 2012 and avoid resolving difficult disagreements by passing continuing resolutions to cover their agencies and programs. The possibility of one or more continuing resolutions being attached to a "megabus" that would wrap up remaining appropriations for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 would signal that congressional leaders want to close this chapter of the yearlong budget fight that has dominated the Capitol. Congressional Quarterly

Negotiators Reach Agreement on $518 Billion Defense Spending Bill. The top defense appropriators in the Senate and House agreed in principle Wednesday night to a $518 billion Defense spending bill that would reduce the Pentagon's request for the deeply troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Lawmakers also decided to preserve development of the controversial Joint Light Tactical Vehicle coveted by the Army and Marine Corps. Congressional Quarterly

[Canada] Should the New $50 Bill Show an Arctic Research Boat Instead of the "Famous Five?" As part of a redesign of the $50 bill, an arctic research vessel will replace the "Famous Five," who won full political rights for Canadian women in 1930.The current $50 note features the five women whose case to have women included in the legal definition of "people" was successful at the supreme court of England - the highest court in Canada at the time. CBC News 

Polar Bear 'Cannibalism' Pictured. An adult polar bear is seen dragging the body of a cub that it has just killed across the Arctic sea ice. Polar bears normally hunt seals, but, if these are not available, the big predators will seek out other sources of food - even their own kind. The picture was taken by environmental photojournalist Jenny Ross in Olgastretet, a stretch of water in the Svalbard archipelago. "This type of intraspecific predation has always occurred to some extent," she told BBC News. "However, there are increasing numbers of observations of it occurring, particularly on land where polar bears are trapped ashore, completely food-deprived for extended periods of time due to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change." BBC News 

Colliding Geopolitics and the Arctic. Climate change is prompting a rethink regarding the geopolitical significance of the Arctic. Yet while 'classical' approaches to geopolitics cast the region as the site of a new Great Game, critical geopolitics suggests exercising caution. ISN 

Soviets as Familiar with Canadian Arctic as Canada? The old Soviet Union may have been just as familiar with Canada's Arctic waters as Canadians. Sections of Cold-War-era nautical charts obtained by The Canadian Press suggest that Russian mariners have for decades possessed detailed and accurate knowledge of crucial internal waterways such as the Northwest Passage. Those charts, which may offer the first documentary proof of the widely held belief that Soviet nuclear submarines routinely patrolled the Canadian Arctic during the Cold War, are still in use by Russian vessels. In some places, they are preferred to current Canadian charts. Alaska Dispatch

NOAA Issues Scientific Integrity Policy. NOAA's commitment to science was further solidified today with the release of a scientific integrity policy by Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "This policy strengthens the high standards we work to achieve every day to advance the science that underpins the services and stewardship NOAA provides to the American public," said Lubchenco. "The scientific integrity policy expresses our commitment to produce and use science without distortion, to be transparent and accountable in production and use of our science, and to strengthen our commitment to excellence." NOAA 

Former Chancellor Ulmer Becoming Arctic Research Scholar at UAA. Recently retired University of Alaska Anchorage chancellor Fran Ulmer will be back on campus next month when she assumes a new role - resident scholar on Arctic research. A former lieutenant governor, Ulmer is already deeply involved in Arctic research and policy. In March, President Obama appointed her chairwoman of the US Arctic Research Commission, a four-year posting. She will continue doing that, with her new UAA role complementing those duties. Alaska Dispatch 

National Science Foundation Town Hall Meeting, December 7. The Arctic Sciences Division (NSF) will hold a Town Hall Meeting from 12:00 - 1:30 pm in the ARCUS community room (San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Pacific Room J). Note the change from the AGU program book. The Deputy Director and Program Officers will discuss the Division's portfolio, some recent awards, future directions, and--most importantly--take questions and hear comments from the community. If you have questions, contact bkelly@nsf.gov.

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 16-20, 2012. The symposium was first held in 2002 to connect scientists in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and beyond in an effort to collaborate and communicate on research

activities in the marine regions off Alaska. There will be plenary and poster sessions featuring a broad spectrum of ocean science on issues of climate, oceanography, lower trophic levels, the benthos, fish and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local and traditional knowledge, and socioeconomic research. There will also be speakers, workshops and special sessions.

Workshop: Responding to Arctic Environmental Change: Translating Our Growing Understanding into a Research Agenda for Action Jan. 30-Feb. 1.  

Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. Co-sponsored by International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) and the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University. Endorsed by the International Arctic Science Committee, this workshop is the first in a planned series of meetings that aim to collectively shape and coordinate initiatives for research that directly addresses the needs of stakeholders who are affected by change or who are addressing arctic environmental change. The long-term objective is to enable local people, the arctic nations and the wider global community, including the scientific community, to better respond to a changing Arctic. This workshop is a pre-IPY 2012 Conference event. It is intended to develop a science plan that will feed into and further evolve at IPY 2012 Conference "From Knowledge to Action". For more information and to register for the workshop go here.