Author: Magnús Sveinn Helgason
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/fac9446038c7afcb.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Politisation Of Achievement
Icelanders like nothing better than confirmations of their belief that they are somehow the greatest, the strongest, the most beautiful…
A Lesson In Radicalism
The Radical Summer University, organised by a group of leftists from academia and activist groups, will take place in August…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/4ea667b468490e2.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Black Swan?
Following the financial crash of 2008 one of the most common comments made was that “nobody saw it coming,” and…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/30bbfef37344c913.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Playing The Game Of ‘This Time It’s Different’
It is curious, when one considers how obvious it now seems that the Icelandic financial miracle was a giant bubble,…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/5c6e6bf3f5d8b258.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Should Icelanders Be Ashamed Of Themselves?
After the publication of the SIC report, there was a near unanimous agreement in Icelandic society that it was not…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/c05660738f48b7b4.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Whose Fault Was The Giant Icelandic Consumption Boom?
Considering the vast size of the recent Icelandic consumption boom that peaked in 2007, it is remarkable how little attention…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/aa5ce82c726216a.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Building Giant ATMs
Real estate prices, which had remained stagnant in real terms between 1988 and 2003—that is, they simply followed inflation—took off….
RVK9: WHAT DID WE LEARN?
By mid March, the case against the Reykjavík Nine (who had been accused of conspiracy to attack Alþingi with the…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/e0fc5b2614367923.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
A FAILED ATTEMPT TO DISPIRIT ACTIVISTS
While a verdict is still pending in the trial of The Reykjavik Nine, it’s safe to say that the prosecution…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/d06cb7f2e1c45f1.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Decade of Failure
While history—meaning: ‘the past’—does not change, history—meaning: ‘the narration of past events’—does in fact change. This is because we view…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/1ded45344e5f3ec.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The mysterious case of the disappearing neoliberal
In the fall of 2008 there was no shortage of proclamations that the implosion of the global financial system meant…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/2b5cc7c71bd3f192.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Witnessing a show trial or seeing justice being done?
At a hearing in the case of the state against the “Reykjavík nine” on August 17th, Ragnar Aðalsteinsson, counsel to…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/3b6a7adb4796810.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Bubblicious!
The collapse of the Icelandic financial system in October of 2008 did not only squash any dreams Icelanders had of…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/22163180aad49f9c.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The ‘Corporate Vikings’
The most iconic image of the Icelandic financial bubble was that of the ‘Corporate Viking’—the financier who engineered one daring…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/2253bb3233abecd.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Attacks On Alþingi Are Of No Concern To Alþingi
Last week the Speaker of Alþingi, Social Democrat Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir, was presented with the signatures of 705 people who…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/f64bfc65433ce7c0.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Poop Throwing Left Wing Conspiracy
One of the oldest blogs in Iceland is VefÞjóðviljinn (“The People’s Will, on the Web”—The WebWill for short). The blog,…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/5f122a96743c38dd.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
Delusions Of Financial Grandeur
As the Icelandic financial system came crashing down in the fall of 2008, Icelanders woke up to realize that the…
![](https://i0.wp.com/grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/a4523e18352b1df2.jpg?quality=95&resize=294,200)
The Imaginary Anarchist Threat
During its noon news broadcast on Friday, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service announced that police had been summoned to the…