Author: - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Family Write-Offs

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Icelandic legislators have been particularly kind to a certain social class of Icelanders. Its members, often associated with year 2007,…

Inconvenient Truths

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In two recent decisions, the Reykjavik district court has, in effect, ruled that truth is not a valid defence to…

Words Have Consequences

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I do not believe Anders Behring Breivik is insane. Certainly, his murderous rampage was horrific and cruel. His targets were…

The Icelandic Entitlement Club

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In 1952, Israel’s premier, David Ben-Gurion, offered the new country’s presidency to Albert Einstein. Einstein, being a rather bright fellow,…

Court Nullifies Election: Better Luck Next Time

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If the Icelandic government decides to hold a second election for the Constitutional Convention, it is to be hoped that…

With Friends Like These…

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The hot item in Icelandic news these days is the American government’s attempt to obtain information about Birgitta Jónsdóttir—a member…

Total Drama Iceland

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Icelanders who lived through the first decade of the 21st century found it to be the most interesting, and the…

Liberty And Justice For All

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The concepts of liberty and justice are somewhat contradictory. If I am completely free, I should not have to justify…

Why A New Constitution?

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Iceland’s Constitution is a legacy of our prior status as a Danish colony and basically a direct translation of Denmark’s…

Protecting Free Speech in Iceland

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Earlier this year, Iceland made headlines around the world by vowing to enact the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI), in…

Iceland Is … Simmering

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The patience of the Icelandic people is wearing thin. After three years of waiting for justice, nothing fundamental has changed….

“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…”

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This summer’s special income/tax issue of the Icelandic business magazine Frjáls Verzlun is at once a bottomless source of nauseating…

The Body Electorate

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While waiting at a doctor‘s office a couple of weeks ago, I was paging through a recent copy of Séð…

What Are We Worth?

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It is no secret that the role of newspapers today is in a state of flux. The widespread dissemination of…

“Where there is no vision, the people perish”

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The problem with the Magma deal is not that it involves a heartless foreign corporation (though of course it does)…

Sour Grapes Over Icelandic Loans

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After the Icelandic Supreme Court invalidated loans indexed to foreign currencies, the banks and regulators have struggled to determine what…

Loans And Moral Hazard

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The practice of lending money to members of one’s own group for profit is generally condemned by the Bible (see,…

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

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The municipal elections throughout Iceland had a strong “throw out the rascals” feel to them. And it felt good. Independence…

The Limits Of Money

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I can understand a father working two jobs to support his family, a mother sacrificing her time to ensure that…

Barbara Ehrenreich Is Coming!

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American New York Times columnist and best-selling author, essayist, feminist, and activist Barbara Ehrenreich will be the keynote speaker at…

Apologies and Justice

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Now that the “Black Report” has finally been issued—and criminal, tax, and regulatory investigations appear to finally be nearing fruition—our…

The Politics Of Destruction

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Now that the Icelandic people have overwhelmingly rejected the IceSave bill, we have to ask ourselves: what have we accomplished?…

Accepting Responsibility

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After months of eager anticipation and numerous delays, the investigative committee created by Iceland’s legislature to investigate the dramatic collapse…

The Humbling of Iceland

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In 2009, Iceland became the poster child of the global economic downturn. The precipitous collapse of Iceland’s banks and the…