“Those who lack the skill and talent to get the ball, go for the man” This quote from an online forum sums up the political debate currently underway in Iceland. People without the required skills and talent to handle the issues at hand compensate by attempting to take the players who do out of the game. In [...]

This month I have taken part in founding a start-up abroad. There are four partners in the firm, two Icelanders and two Finns, one residing in the US. The idea came about in Iceland, but when it came to incorporating there were some serious issues we had to ponder. 1. Currency restrictions and worthless ISK. The business [...]

The rationale for a representative democracy is that the issues facing a government are too varied and detailed to expect the electorate to adequately study each issue. The fear is that modern propaganda can be used to bamboozle the masses into agreeing to laws that are not in their best interest or to permit a [...]

Worrying himself sick every night over the household’s finances, he decided that the correct and responsible thing to do would be to talk to his bank. The bank’s friendly customer representative brought out a spreadsheet and started entering information about his earnings and spending. “This is what you have to do”, she said. “You have to stop [...]

The word is about, there’s something evolving, whatever may come, the world keeps revolving They say the next big thing is here, that the revolution’s near, but to me it seems quite clear that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating - Shirley Bassey / An Independence Party MP being caught in dirty business? For Arni Johnsen, substitute Asbjorn Ottarsson. The [...]

I am starting my second semester studying for a Master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Iceland. I am so far mostly satisfied with the quality of the courses on offer. I find the topics discussed, be it globalization, history of Icelandic foreign affairs, theories, nationalism and international institutions very interesting and I am [...]

until the end of February…the investigation committee’s report… …now what?

According to DV.is Asbjorn Ottarsson, Independence Party MP paid himself and his wife 65 million ISK in dividends from their fishing company Nesver in 2008. The company lost 574 million ISK in the same year and had a negative equity of 157 million ISK. This is one of the 63 people who is supposed to provide a [...]

It is clear as dayligth that the political and financial elites which control the “four parties” decided early in the economic collapse to sacrifice the indebted households in the country. This was done while a fortress was erected around owner of capital and the criminals who bankrupted the country. Most things indicate that the politicians decided [...]

Excerpts from a farewell letter from someone who’s been in regular touch throughout the year. A foreigner living and working in Iceland, someone who’s been working hard and taking the time to study the language, whose first emails showed as much bewilderment as the rest of us,  ”I went from living in one of the world’s richest countries [...]