The tax returns might not make as exciting read as in the heady days of 2004-2008 but they still give the public valuable information about how wealth is spread throughout society. Last year for example, Gudbjorg Matthiasdottir, the fishing magnate from Vestmann Islands topped the list a year after getting out at the last moment with her Glitnir wealth, and courtesy of making her money in a foreign currency she could afford to make former PM and CB governor David Oddson the highest paid media person in the land albeit paying him in the depleted Icelandic krona.

Unsurprisingly, David Oddson’s close allies at the libertarian website Andriki (anti-gov) and AMX.is (claimed to be also funded by the Fisheries Association) have voiced their concerns with the information being made public. And now they are asking why there is not a similar list published of those receiving benefits from the state.

So right wing libertarians in Iceland are fighting the same battle as they are in the US and the UK. Attacking entitlement payments and taxes, and making innocent souls believe they are of the same kind.

It would be interesting to see cold, hard statistics, but due to underground economies and Central European and Caribbean tax havens they might be hard to come by. Yet it is not hard to imagine that tax-evasion by the wealthiest Icelanders is of far greater cost to society than false benefits collected by the poorest.

Yet we are all supposed to feel enraged towards jobless losers who feed off our honest work, while admiring the business smarts of people who can find ways to pay less taxes than they should.

Related posts:

1. The Icelandic Discourse in A Nutshell
2. Why The Fuzz About A Man Getting A Job?
3. Why I Don’t Want To Pay For IceSave

For those who are not fluent in Icelandic, Skafti is the Icelandic version of Glenn Beck, albeit with a much smaller following, a blog site instead of a TV show and where he lacks in props he more than makes up for in derisory and outraged vocabulary.

Skafti thinks the idea of a constitutional congress is a waste of money and senseless in the current unstable environment. He has made no secret of this opinion, along with other opinions about the horrors of the current leftist government, protesters and special investigations. When Skafti first arrived on the blogging scene, people debated on Facebook whether he was real or not. His hatred of Jon Asgeir Johannesson, Baugur, the Social Democrats and professions of admiration in David Oddsson were considered too blind, too outrageous and too deep-seethed to be written by anyone who is not a comical character or a lunatic fanatic.

Others then begun pointing out similarities between Skafti’s writing style and the one used by his long time friend and libertarian ally Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson. But whoever wrote Skafti’s words, sure did not like the idea of Iceland holding a constitutional congress.

So Skafti did something unexpected. He ran for the congress with a mandate that the constitution should be left unchanged. Skafti was one of almost 500 people who ran and he did not win a place. But then he did something which was not so unexpected. He challenged the execution of the election on technical details. Of the 498 other candidates who ran, only Skafti and two other Independence Party members and supporters, Odinn Sigthorsson and Thorgrimur S. Thorgrimsson went to court attempting to get the result overturned.

The threesome complained that the voting ballots were traceable, that there was not enough privacy in the voting booths, that they were not allowed to have a representative present during counting. All debatable points in the first personal vote Iceland has conducted with so many candidates.

It is worth remembering why the constitutional congress was held in first place. Iceland had gone through a crash which was not only economic, but also moral, political and social. A political elite had abused the democracy and institutions of Iceland.  Icelanders have called for constitutional reform for decades but it has so far drowned in committees, assigned and arranged by the political parties themselves. The system of old was broken and finally after 2008, an opportunity to debate and enact necessary reform opened up.

So it was up to the Supreme Court to decide on the threesome’s complaints. To counter the threesomes’ argument they were presented with a precedent from previous elections where the result stood in spite of minor technicalities having gone wrong on the grounds that there was no evidence of malicious intent.

But the Supreme Court still ruled the election illegal. No constitutional congress. Skafti won, Odinn won, Thorgrimur won, David Oddson won and Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson won. Inga Lind Karlsdottir, the soft news television presenter who ran as a candidate aligned with the Independence Party and got in was immediately indignant in the media. Pressan.is owned by benefactors from the old system immediately questioned whether ministers should resign and debated the waste of money.

The supreme court ruling was performed by the following justices:

Arni Kolbeinsson and Jon Steinar Gunnlaugsson, both bridge partners of David Oddsson and Gardar Gislason, Gunnlaugur Claessen, Pall Hreinsson og Vidar Mar Matthiasson. All justices were appointed to the court in by justice ministers of the Independence Party during a period in Icelandic history which has been criticized harshly for corruption and bad governance, for example in the Special Investigation Report which Pall Hreinsson presented last year.

Constitutional reform is directed against the old system. The old system does not want reform.

Someone said in December 2008, “they will wreck havoc, and keep hold of their power and influence by any means necessary”.

It is indicative of the problems Iceland faces, that those responsible for the constitutional congress did not cover all their bases.

And using and abusing every little crook and nanny, legal or otherwise, Skafti Hardarson will inherit Iceland.

Related posts:

1. Real Reform Or Just More Of The Same?
2. First Law Against David Oddson’s Type Of Governance
3. Its All Gone Fucking Fuck In Iceland

October 24 

Mr. Timothy F. Geithner, President
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
33 Liberty Street
New York, NY  10045
USA 

Dear Tim, 

Friday afternoon, October 24, 2008, the Government of Iceland
announced that an agreement had been reached with the International
Monetary Fund on a stand-by arrangement subject to IMF Executive
Board approval which could take place early in the week of November
3, 2008.  The details of the program will remain confidential until
late next week.  For the program to succeed, financing beyond that
provided by the IMF will be necessary. 

I refer to the discussions which we had towards the end of September
on our request for a currency swap arrangement between the Central
Bank of Iceland and the US Federal Reserve.  I also refer to the
discussions which we had earlier in the year on the same subject.  As
you explained to us, the main reasons for the Federal Reserve not
wishing to enter into a swap arrangement with the Central Bank of
Iceland were the relative size of the Icelandic banking system and
then in September discussions the absence of an IMF arrangement.  As
you are no doubt well aware of, the Icelandic banking system has now
shrunk significantly.  Additionally, as mentioned at the outset, the
Government has announced an agreement with the IMF on a standby
arrangement.  For it to succeed, financing beyond that provided by
the IMF will be necessary. 

I hereby request participation from the Federal Reserve Bank in the
financing of the economic program.  Swap liens are short term in
nature, but we need a financing commitment over a longer term
horizon.  Because of this, the Central Bank ideally needs a loan from
the Federal Reserve of a medium term maturity, preferably in an
amount of 1 billion USD.  We are also seeking financing from other
sources. 

I look forward to your prompt and favourable consideration of our
request.  As always, I stand ready to provide additional information
as needed.  Attached for your information is today's press release
issued by the Government. 

Yours sincerely 

REYKJAVIK 00000253  002 OF 002 

Central Bank of Iceland
David Oddsson,
Governor and Chairman of the Board of Governors

Related posts:

1. Questions that require answers
2. Why Not NAFTA?
3. Dear Dark God – Please Kill This Politician

My father has always spoken wistfully of Vilmundur Gylfason, the charismatic young politician who ruffled a thousand feathers in the seventies and early eighties with eloquent criticism of a corrupt elite and society of co-dependency and fear.

A social democrat who criticised the way the political parties traded tit for tat, the lack of checks and balances in the government and rampant corruption in the bureaucracy, Vilmundur was marginalized in the Social Democratic party and founded his own which scored four MP’s in the 1983 election. Shortly thereafter he committed suicide.

So my “why” question to my father who always says he knows everything was “Why did we have to wait thirty years for a second Vilmundur?”

In the meantime, the Independence Party and Progressive Party, who had been on the receiving end of the bulk of Vilmundur’s ire fastened their grip on society. Libertarianism conquered ideas of social democratism and instead of becoming more like Sweden and Finland, Iceland became a haven for robber barons and oligarchs, with a political scene dominated by charismatic leaders. A diet-Russia in many ways.

My father paused for an answer. “Those who were Vilmundur’s biggest rivals happened to be Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson and Steingrimur Hermannsson”. Vilmundur with his reform and democracy oratory did not appeal to the Independence Party voters anyways but those were the men who could maybe have formed an alliance with him, or fought for the same ideals. Instead they followed the populist routes, guaranteed to garner votes, but also to maintain the system where they held whatever reins the Independence Party would allow them.

The power of fear in such a small, nepotist, elitist society is massive. You either play along or are relegated to the fringes. Vilmundur’s brother, noted economist Thorvaldur Gylfason has felt that on his own skin. As one of the few critical public voices in the last ten years, Thorvaldur has had to endure an outrageous smear campaign orchestrated by Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson, Bjorn Bjarnason and their fellow members of David Oddson’s group of friends. So too has another professor, Stefan Olafsson whose statistics have not always agreed with the powers that be, showing the concentration of wealth and lowering of taxes in the upper echelons. As he could not be dismantled like the National Economic Institute, Stefan’s name, like Thorvaldur’s has constantly been linked to sinister urges, such as being linked to Baugur somehow.

During a course on the economic collapse held by the University of Iceland this summer, several respected professors balked at the suggestion that they make their power point slides and notes public. When pressed, one explained that the professors had been so burned by forces in society and within the university attacking them with smear campaigns that they feared persecution and lawsuits.

Imagine that. The bulk of what is supposed to be the nation’s best minds covering like little children in the presence of a school-yard bully.

This is relevant when considering that it is now very likely that their fellow professor, Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson appears to be spewing venom in the direction of all who dare criticize the Independence Party and David Oddson, as an anonymous opinion editor at AMX.is and having borrowed the identity of a a friend, Skafti Hardarson, constantly blogging on eyjan.is against Thorvaldur Gylfason, Egill Helgason and others who want reform. This website thinks it has uncovered enough similarities in prose to validate what most people already suspect (ironically enough cowardly hiding behind a pseudonym). That a very political pseudo-academic is undermining the University of Iceland’s reputation for political gain.

My uncle told me earlier this year that nothing good would come from raising questions like I have been doing on this blog. He literally warned me that “they would be out to get me and they would get me somehow.” It might be a job interview many years from now, or a loan that I needed, or a business deal, or made up smear or enhancing of vague connections. Imagine the sad life the generations of our parents have had to endure. The boomer generation in Iceland might have had it all as far as wealth goes but at the price of shutting up and turning the blind eyes.

That is why nobody followed Vilmundur in speaking out until finally the dam burst in 2008.

It took a new generation to grow up to do it but for many it is hard to let go. Currently the Church has risen on its hind legs and its disciples are now in the same mode as Hannes Holmsteinn, David Oddson and Bjorn Bjarnason. They find it easy to play victims of evil forces set to destroy them. The Church’s world-view corresponds well with the Independence Party’s. Domination, mission, wealth and hierarchy. A priest complains about not being able to reject the media which has had plenty to criticize the national church for lately.

Fortunately there are now many people speaking out and openly criticizing their society. Thorvaldur Gylfason, Egill Helgason, Lara Hanna Einarsdottir, Gunnar Sigurdsson, Dr. Gunni, AK-72, Jonas Kristjansson, Teitur Atlason, Iris Erlingsdottir, Baldur McQueen, Andri Geir Arinbjarnarson, Finnbogi Vikar, Valgardur Gudjonsson, Sigurbjorg Sigurgeirsdottir, Jon Gnarr, Birgitta Jonsdottir, Benedikt Erlingsson to name a few. They are up against a formidable time machine which would like nothing more than to turn back time. Maybe if Hannes Holmsteinn’s influence over the University of Iceland would be relieved we would see a new wave of academics entering the fray to move the national discourse away from the partisan fox holes.

And the stage could finally be set for the values Vilmundur spoke of thirty years ago.

I myself have written critically now for almost two years. Meanwhile I have learned a lot more about the economic and political forces at play in Iceland. 1.144 posts and you can see the development of this Icelandic psyche from confusion, fear, hope, apathy, despair, anger and finally resignment.

This is where I need to let go for a while. As a mortgage holder and a wage earning member of the public I am now in the position where I have to devote myself to keep my head above water in order not to drown financially or much worse, morally.

I seriously thought in May 2009 when the new left government was voted in that one of their main agendas would be to create financial breathing room for the public.

But now it is clear that the economic disaster has been accompanied with an almighty and maybe a much more serious political disaster. The four old parties got their weapons back way too early. And all guns are pointed at the newcomers like Jon Gnarr and the Movement. IceSave is not resolved, EU membership is held hostage by the fishing elite and eighteenth century nationalists, the fishing reform promised was swept under the carpet and the banks are now turning major profit again while the public is choking on the highest interest rates in the Western hemisphere. Oh, and Young Independence Party members want to privatize Reykjavik Energy. The corpse of the “Icelandic economic miracle” is not even cold and they are already picking the pockets.

I woke up this morning with Ras 2′s morning show on the radio as usual. The whole program was saturated with the anger and resentment gripping Iceland. It might not be all sunshine and roses elsewhere in the world but a dark cloud is hanging over Iceland and there is no consensus amongst the people on how to blow it away.

At the university where I am studying, students doing their masters degrees proudly announce that they just don’t want to read the news anymore. In the media, journalists have no qualms about serving the agendas of Jon Asgeir Johannesson on one side and David Oddson on the other, as long as they get paid enough to pay enough to the banks they’ve already paid enough to keep alive.

People are still waiting in fear for a better society.

One of Iceland’s best critics is Teitur Atlason who last week posted that he was giving up on following the events in order not to lose his sanity. I don’t know him but sent him an email to stop whining and keep on going. We need him. Now I am in his position. Whining about it all. So what am I going to do?

A whole lot to get away from this mess. Because I don’t want to live in a society where people like Vilmundur die away and people like Hannes Holmsteinn get to run the place.

ECONOMICDISASTERAREA.COM WILL RETURN ON JANUARY  3, 2011

Related posts:

1. Who’s Still Listening?
2. How Did Baldur The Bureaucrat Become A Multi-Millionaire?
3. On the society we could have had

A new group ascended to power within Heimdallur, its Reykjavik youth organization last night.

It has been hailed by the Icelandic “Fox News”, the website AMX.is as “idealistic people with a clean slate” lead by newcomer Hlynur Jonsson.

Alarm bells!

Behind AMX.is are Milton Friedman’s most loyal disciple Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson, chairman of Icelandic libertarians Fridbjorn Orri Ketilsson, former minister Bjorn Bjarnason and former Morgunbladid editor Styrmir Gunnarsson. All revolve around the sun which is David Oddson, and Morgunbladid does not spare the kind words towards AMX’s propaganda.

AMX’s take on the two groups fighting for influence within Heimdallur is unequivocal. The newcomers are clean of all the corruption surrounding the outgoing clique, the group connected to the website Deiglan and sometimes called Geir’s-arm to explain their supposed more liberal stance (and relations as his daughter and stepson are both involved) displayed by its members.

AMX managed this week to connect a couple of young ladder-climbers from the Deigla group to the massive grants received by the Independence Party from FL Group and Landsbankinn in 2006 and IceSave. So David’s re-writing of history is in full blown swing.   Or do you really believe as AMX would like you to that Andri Ottarsson, a young guy in his twenties groomed for success with a couple of months in the job could have pulled off the biggest revealed donations in Icelandic history? Or that Thorlindur Kjartansson, an obedient party puppy whose job at Landsbankinn was to market IceSave, was responsible for the saving account’s existence?

The truth hits closer to home, more exactly in the vicinity of David’s close ally Kjartan Gunnarsson who at the time was the party’s CEO and on the board of Landsbankinn.

The Heimdallur revolt is similar to the revolt which happened in the party’s National Youth Organization last winter where a “new and clean” group hijacked the elections. The Deigla group thought it had gotten away with hiding the general meeting away in the west-fjords and appeared set for an election victory when a plane arrived in the small town with a large group of “new, young and clean” pretenders to the throne. Someone paid for their flight and all their membership dues on the spot and their candidate strolled to victory.

Ah, the wonders of democracy.

That candidate, Olafur Orn Nielsen is a Morgunbladid employee, a libertarian activist and very much favourable to David’s group.

The new and clean leader of Heimdallur is Hlynur Jonsson, the son of Jon Steinar Gunnlaugsson who is one of David’s oldest friends and allies. Obviously people should not be held accountable for the sins of their fathers but the signs are ominous. Ignore these developments at your peril.

The question Independence Party members soon have to ask themselves is whether to prepare for David’s return as his libertarian group is actively securing its influence within the party.

a) Do they succumb and play along?

b) Do they have the bravery in them to take the fight?

c) Or do they do the rest of the nation the favor of marginalizing the Independence Party on the fringe by leaving en masse?

Related posts:

1. InDefence Honored By Young Independence Party Members
2. The Independence Party’s Successful Projection Of Baugur and IceSave
3. Silly Debate On IceSave

A comment from this post expressed wonder at the current situation in Iceland. Somehow many people expected things to be much worse for the general population by now. People are still going to coffee shops even if the latte is approaching the price of a pre-crash beer, there are still suspiciously many black Range Rovers in Reykjavik for a municipality outside Moscow and the homeless population still appears to find warm places to sleep. Children are going to school, playing football and teenagers are buying designer jeans for the pre-crash price of a banker’s suit.

So why do we need the EU? Isn’t everything running smooth in the state of Iceland without those pesky foreigners who apparently want our money and resources?

Peek below the surface and you might find ominous signs. More than 1.000 electricians have left Iceland for employment abroad. Most of the construction business has been wiped out. The largest construction firms which have been able to cut their staff by half and have had jobs until now are facing an alarming shortage of work as winter approaches. The financial sector is hopelessly overblown with perhaps up to 30% of the current staff basically there on an employment program. Wait for them to lose their jobs and see the effects it will have but it is estimated that each job lost in the financial sector leads to 6-7 jobs lost in other sectors.  The household debt has not gone anywhere either and while some might see relief in inflation above 5-6% it still contributes to suffocating increases in debt. Wages have gone down and so has the purchasing power. Icelandic households are playing the role of Indiana Jones running madly for the decreasing gap in the sliding door, hoping to be able to jump through with their hat before it locks them in the darkness.

It takes time for the full blown effects of an economic collapse to be realised. And things might be so much worse…were it not for the nations of the EU and the big, bad IMF.

A few things done by the government in the event of the collapse actually prevented a much greater crisis. One was the emergency law separating the banks local debts from the foreign debts and leave the foreigners hanging while guaranteeing all deposits in Iceland. This has lead to the tedious IceSave saga but it could have been so much worse for the Icelandic public if the emergency law had not been enacted. Another thing the government did was seek the help of the IMF, a great source of shame as it was the first for a “western democracy” in more than thirty years. And severe currency restrictions were implemented, allowing the Central Bank to build up its currency reserves and maintain a false exchange rate for the ISK. If you think 150 for the Euro is bad then imagine what it would be without the restrictions. Icelandic households and businesses would be cast into an eternal darkness of debt and the state’s foreign debt would rise to the levels of full-blown national bankruptcy.

But why the ignominy of the IMF? Why not borrow directly our friends in the States, the Nordics, the EU? Well, they were approached by the Icelandic government and Central Bank in 2007-2008 without any success. It basically means that the nations we consider friends did not trust the Icelandic political elite to wind down the problems without the oversight, checks and balances of the IMF.

That opens the doors to all sorts of conspiracy theories. Isn’t the IMF and other nations just after Iceland’s natural resources? Yes, the IMF still has some left-overs ideologies of the Washington Consensus, and its record in different areas of the world is worthy of all the criticism it deserves. But it did not need to come to Iceland. It was the Icelandic government which asked for its help after burning all other bridges to safety. And the fund is very adamant about the fact that it is here as an advisor. It is up to the Icelandic government to follow its advice. And when Steingrimur J. Sigfusson listens to the IMF then you know that other possibilities have probably been exhausted.

Let’s recap. The IMF is in Iceland because the nation’s democratically elected government asked for its help.

Without the IMF, Iceland would be closer to the I am legend economic landscape some were expecting in 2008. But such a disaster has been averted by its presence and the conditional loans it has facilitated from the very nations accused of evil intentions by those who prefer playing victims instead of facing reality.

When Ogmundur Jonasson, Lilja Mosesdottir and the rest of their followers in the Left Green party and the Independence Party are shouting for the departure of the IMF and against EU membership they are doing two things that are to the detriment of their nation. They are firstly biting the hands that currently keep it fed and are willing to help after an almighty havoc wrecked by the democratically elected political elite in Iceland. And secondly they offer no realistic, alternative options as far as future plans go.

The IMF is offering Iceland a lifeline, as is the EU by looking past the currency restrictions which are in breach of the four freedoms on which the economic cooperation of European nations are based on.  And despite what some may maintain, Iceland is not realistically a self-sustainable country which can go it alone. Alone it lacks the resources needed to benefit from its natural resources. Trawlers need oil and hydro-plants need steel. Any food made in Iceland costs the public considerably more than what is imported.

And someone must be willing to buy Icelandic products and trade with the country. Currently the bulk is with Europe, but you may guess twice whether Europe needs Icelandic trade more than Iceland needs European trade? Oh, and the money currently coming from the IMF…is provided by European countries, so far despite delays on the IceSave affair being resolved.

So Iceland needs the EU for stability in trade and currency. There are several more considerable benefits, but these far outweigh any other as they will help the fallen get back on its feet.

Alternative options of shelter being discussed in Iceland are interesting to say the least.

Some people seriously claim in public that they want to explore NAFTA membership, confusing it with the much more advanced form of the European Union.

Others want to crawl back into the arms of the United States, despite the total lack of interest of the US. Bilateral agreements with nations of overwhelming strength are favourable to corrupt regimes which divide and conquer the wealth it generates. It happened in Iceland before and those who benefited find it hard to let go.

So China is also being touted as a realistic option. And it makes sense in many ways for those who want to align themselves with rapid economic growth provided through dictatorship and less concern for human rights than the pesky EU.

Populist demagogue and still president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, basking in his newfound glow of global debt fighter,  says on the news today that the stance of the Netherlands and the UK in the IceSave affair begs the question of what kind of club the EU is?

It is a club where different people gather to communicate with each other and look out for each others interests.

It is no wonder that such a concept is extremely hard for an Icelandic career politician to grasp.

By aligning Iceland with Europe, Iceland actually has a say in its future. Realistically its voice might not be as loud as Germany’s in the EU, but bi-lateral agreements offer small states nowhere near the clout which they get as fully fledged members of the EU.

That is why the public in Iceland needs the EU, even if it finds it hard to understand through the political noise.

Related posts:

1. Why Not NAFTA?
2. Situation in Iceland – The Fourfold Dilemma
3. FT: In The Same Boat

1. There was a demand of reform in the fishing industry. It was needed because the resource was gathering in the hands of very few who in turn used their wealth to borrow intensely against it and invest in other sectors. The profits of the sector have increasingly been disappearing abroad. Oh and the UN Human Rights Council had condemned the system and claimed it was in violation of human rights. The new government indicated that reform measures would be taken. Then it appointed a reform committee dominated by industry lobbyists and politicians whose career depends on the industry. The result..a fucking fuck solution which benefits the…fishing industry.

Finnbogi Vikar, a member of the committee delivered a special opinion. “As I have said before, the appointment of this committee was a mistake because from the beginning it was clear what the result of the majority would be. One needs only to examine the interests behind the members of the committee to realise that most representatives of the wage-earning public and employees in this country have long ago taken a stand with the representatives of the largest organizations of employers and against the public’s interests after the collapse of 2008. Together these parties form a formidable power-bloc which controls a great deal in our society with the bloated undemocratic pension funds behind them. It is unbelievable that there is no demand to be made of the political parties and the politicians on this committee that they reveal the amounts donated to them from interest groups in the fishing sector in recent years.”

2. There were demands of constitutional reform. Iceland copied the Danish constitution in1944 and then Althingi neglected review and reform for decades on end, despite promises and indications otherwise. Reform is for example needed in clearer seperation of the branches, re-examination of the role of the president and timely separation of church and state. Althingi is stuttering through with a constitutional congress for which elections are supposed to be held in the autumn. The way appears clear for demagogues, special interests and representatives of the politicalparties to deliver a loud and argumentative debate and a fucking fuck result.

3. There was outrage over campaign finances. Political parties and members of Althingi were awash in cash from the finance sector, the energy sector, the fishing sector to name a few that their loyalties were not just questionable but plain obvious. The way politicians bent over backwards to exploit public utilities for the benefit of shaky corporations and ignore regulation for the suicidal financial sector left a bitter taste in the mouths of voters stuck with higher utility bills and monumental sovereign debt. So a campaign finance reform committee was created and its results are an almighty erect middle finger in the fucking fuck direction of those voters. The party‘s don‘t want real change and have just made some minor inconsequential changes.

The Movement‘s announcement. “This issue is a clear example of how Althingi is not going to consider the work of the Special Investigation Committee and its conclusions. The eight chapter of the committee’s report is named “Morality and procedures connected to the collapse of the Icelandic banks in 2008”. In Chapter 2.3 it says “One of the most obvious tool of the business sector to influence politicians are direct donations, both to parties and individuals.” The conclusion of the chapter is where conlusions are drawn and the lessons of the past are examined. “Ways to draw a clearer line between the financial sector and the political sector must be found. It can not be tolerated that the guardians of public interest act on the behalf of private companies in such a manner as was done in the event of the banking collapse.” With this new legislation, Althingi has rejected the conclusions of the part of the Special Investigation report which criticizes harshly the connections of poltical parties to the business and financial sectors. Unfortunately the financial interests of the four parties are placed above the publics. Democracy and transparancy are of little use against the mixed up priorities of those in power.

4. There was great displeasure with the president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson who had opened the doors of the presidential office to the bankers and financiers who in turn jetted him around the world to open doors to global business. The president had become a caricature who had brought the reputation of the office down. Then he managed to somehow please the special interest group InDefence by approving their call for a national referendum on sovereign debt and won some credibility back with the increasingly xenophobic, scared and confused public. So he still occupies the office, trying to reinvent his damaged image to the amazement of observers. A president who owes his people is suspectible to participate in plenty of fucking fuck demagoguery.

5. It became clear in the banking collapse that on the global stage Icelandic politicians had neglected making friends, forming alliances and providing shelter for their citizens. Timothy Geithner laughed at advances made by David Oddson, the Nordic countries offered concerned but sound advice and Britain offered solutions. Instead Icelanders followed the lead of the Independence Party‘s leaders and decided to sulk, play the victim and accuse the international community of a siege. When things were coming to a heat, the Social Democrats delivered a plan that could restore Iceland‘s credibility abroad and solutions to the volatile currency and mounting public and national debt. An application was made to join the EU. And then the xenophobes, cold war relics, special interests and racists hijacked the debate to the point that grown up, educated people want the IMF out without any alternative solutions to Iceland‘s currency and debt problems, a national referendum designed to exit NATO without any alternative solutions towards Iceland‘s defences and to retract the EU application without ever having to offer alternative plans to restore Iceland‘s economic viability and international credibility. Meanwhile in the real world, Iceland recently dropped almightily the World Economic Forum‘s Report on Global Competetiveness as far as macroeconomic environment goes and is ranked number 138. The Independence Party, the Centre Party and the Left Greens have offered no solutions or propositions on how to restore Iceland‘s standing. They are currently getting away with spewing venom all over the only realistic and credible plan available. Oh and fucking fuck IceSave is still unresolved.

6. The media came under plenty of scrutiny for not delivering scrutiny at all. Now it is in the hands of Jon Asgeir Johannesson and David Oddson. Editor in chief David Oddson even has the nerve to accuse the State Broadcasting Channel of bias because a reporter there is the sister of Exista‘s CEO, implying that her media can not be trusted with delivering news. Apart from maybe DV, the media is worse than before. When investigative reporting was needed, Channel 2 cut theirs from the program and gave the nation cooking lessons from the wife of Baugur‘s head of finance. Agenda, propaganda and fucking fuck through your mailbox and television screen every day.

7. There were loud calls for debt reform through restructuring and write-offs. For a moment, people actually believed that those who had accumulated the greatest debts would have to pay the most. Then reality bit hard and cold. The government‘s promise of a fortress around Icelandic households ended up in solutions which benefitted those who had geared themselves the greatest. Those with a 100-200% mortgage were bailed out, especially if they could find members of Althingi willing to do their bidding within the banks. Those who had saved and put down payments on their homes were left to rot with their inflated debt. And what about Jon Asgeir Johannesson, Bjorgolfur Thor and their kind? Well they have so far managed to score deals with the banks on massive write offs domestically so they can manouvre deals where they can get back their companies abroad. And they have been granted stand-still agreements where their debt collects no interest and is not gone after either. Many of the same people are still main actors in the business sector. Bjorgolfur Thor has been seeking tax-exemptions while wage-earners are experiencing higher taxes and higher utility bills. Did you think Sigurdur Einarsson, wanted by Interpol a few months ago was here to be questioned the other day? No he was here in talks to buy a fucking fuck financial institution.

8. There was need for someone to hit the refresh button in the political arena but so far it seems like the old guard has gotten away with a restart. The Social Dems were and still are unable to find anyone with remotely the same political credibility as Johanna Sigurdardottir. The ladder below is crowded with wallflowers and followers of men. If Johanna has enough then it does not bode well for the only party with a plan for the nation. Meanwhile the Independence Party, Left Greens and Centre Party are ablaze with infighting. All three parties are currently letting the monkeys run their circus and if it were not for Steingrimur J. Sigfusson‘s incredible turn from idealism to realism then all bets would probably be off. But it says all about the unruly waters of Icelandic politics that isolationist xenophobe Ogmundur Jonasson has had to be brought in to the government again to appease his followers. The Centre Party is currently in suicidal mode as requests for rampant demagoguery is fully provided elsewhere. And then there is the Independence Party which freed from the oppression of David Oddson almost managed to start a self-examination and reconciliation process, only to fall prey to the rampant partisanship and playground politics of their great leader again. The party‘s ladder is also crowded with hungover leftovers from the heady days. The only realistic challenger to the madness is former vice-chairman Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarssdottir who has the financial freedom thanks to the former banks and little political reputation left to lose. New pretenders on the political scene have been pushed out by the Citizen‘s Movement which collapsed in record time and the Best Party‘s moves are under relentless attack from the four parties. It is not just an economic crisis anymore but an all out fucking fuck political crisis.

9. According to rumour there are people preparing to take the law into their own hands this weekend if the parliamentary committee charged with determining the responsibility of the elected officials named in the Special Report this spring comes up with a fucking fuck whitewash. It is to the Icelandic nation‘s outstanding credit that not one of the politicians or the businessmen most responsible for the ponzi economy which collapsed has been physically hurt so far. But it is to the incredible detriment of the political system‘s inability to appropriate blame that ordinary Icelanders are being heard in private conversations saying that “If I do it alone then it is murder, but if a group of us do it then it is a revolution. I am too angry.” The government and Althingi apparently now must be careful. An indebted and outtaxed public might cross new boundaries if they continue seeing Jon Asgeir and Bjorgolfur Thor parking their Range Rovers in Laugavegur, if Sigurdur Einarsson returns to Icelandic banking or if David Oddson claims his kingdom back. Lady Justice is in a fucking fuck pickle in Iceland these days.

10. The public is currently in an all-encompassing state of fucking fuck delusion. Serious, well meaning, well educated people are discussing between themselves in “revolutionary” terms. Yet, they still buy Morgunbladid, access Jon Asgeir‘s cable TV, vote for the Independence Party and nod when Ogmundur Jonasson talks of Nazi Europe. Currently letters are going out to 1.000 Icelanders selected for a National Meeting on constitutional reform. Yet again, a simulated process is given priority over weighty substance in the national debate. The public has already been lead on a ride by the Citizens‘ Movement (guilty), the National Meeting (not guilty), national referendum on IceSave (not guilty) and the Gudmundur Franklins‘ of Iceland are only beginning. Instead of taking responsibility for getting to know the issues of today, voting responsibly and holding their elected officials to their words, people are talking revolutions, Right Green parties and secession from NATO, EEA and the civilized world. Good, sensible people seriously need to start taking a stand in the fucking fuck that is Iceland.

Related posts:

1. The Icelandic Discourse in A Nutshell
2. Blue Handballs and Tackles From Behind
3. Iceland Will Say No To The EU

It was the government, the supervision authorities and Landsbankinn amongst others according to a big interview in Frettabladid today.

The governments of David Oddson and Geir Haarde also know who to blame.

The banks, their owners and management.

Bjorgolfur Thor has said that Jon Asgeir Johannesson is very much to blame. And in some cases the Geir Haarde government. And his own CEO’s.

Jon Asgeir Johannesson has blamed the governments of David Oddson and Geir Haarde and the supervisory authorities.

Jonas Fr. Jonsson of the Financial Authority blames the banks, their owners and management.

All of them are correct.

Related posts:

1. The Icelandic Discourse in A Nutshell
2. Top 10: Who’s To Blame For The Icelandic Crash
3. The Independence Party FL Group/Landsbanki Scandal

In classical psychology, projection is always seen as a defence mechanism that occurs when a person’s own unacceptable or threatening feelings are repressed and then attributed to someone else.

An example of this behavior might be blaming another for self failure. The mind may avoid the discomfort of consciously admitting personal faults by keeping those feelings unconscious, and redirect their libidinal satisfaction by attaching, or “projecting,” those same faults onto another.

Wikipedia

The first successful projection involves making people believe that anyone who criticises the Independence Party, especially the Social Democrat party and its followers, are somehow working on the behest of Baugur and its gang of corrupt businessmen.

But Baugur and its minions have never been more connected to any party than the Independence Party. Even if they might have paid for a couple of Social Democratic politicians like Steinunn Valdis Oskarsdottir and though a couple of others might have flirted with their money pits, it pales in comparison with the active involvement and donations Baugur has made within the Independence Party. One of the old dogs in the Independence Party spin machine, Bjorn Bjarnason knows this best as it was he who lost ground when Baugur backed young and eager gun for hire, Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson against him in the party’s primaries. And without Baugur, there would have been less of a bite behind FL Group whose donation of 30 million ISK in 2006 was initiated by Gudlaugur and accepted by then party CEO Kjartan Gunnarsson, the trusted ally of David Oddson and Geir Haarde who sat on the board of Landsbankinn.

But hardly a day goes by without an Independence Party member or supporter trying to pin Baugur onto the Social Democrats.

The other amazing projection is to convince large parts of the Icelandic public that IceSave is a problem which the nation can thank the Social Democrats and Left Greens for. By trying to conclude the agreements, this government has accepted the poisoned chalice of being targeted by the Independence Party for treason at any turn. This neglects the fact that the whole management and ownership team of Landsbankinn held their positions because of involvement in the Independence Party and of course donations to the tune of 25 million to the party from the bank in 2006.  That year coincidentally was the year when any sensible government would have stepped in to rein in the banks after harsh criticism of their business models from all over the world. But instead, IceSave was created, then the government neglected to install measures which would have lessened its eventual impact.

But hardly a day goes by without an Independence Party member or supporter yelling “treason” at the persons left cleaning up the mess.

Related posts:

1. InDefence Honored By Young Independence Party Members
2. The Independence Party Follows The Republican Way
3. Why Althingi Won’t Approve The IceSave Deal

Courtesy of the fishing lobby.

Related posts:

1. Congratulations! Tax Queen Emerges Victorious From The Economic Crisis
2. Blue Handballs and Tackles From Behind
3. Why Whaling In Iceland?