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Demeter

(85,373 posts)
19. Five Ways the US Can Have an Icelandic Revolution
Thu Jun 6, 2013, 08:10 AM
Jun 2013
http://www.alternet.org/world/iceland-revolution?akid=10526.227380.efIFiU&rd=1&src=newsletter850837&t=20&paging=off





We have to nationalize the banks. We have to get rid of the government. We need to have access to the internet seen as a human right. We need to have a new Constitution," said Birgitta Jonsdottir, founder of the Icelandic Pirate Party. Jonsdottir, a lifelong political activist and recently re-elected member of the Icelandic parliament was describing the four central demands of the new political revolution sweeping Iceland since the financial collapse. "We can create power and be the government and be the media. If Iceland can do it, you can do it."

The struggle in Iceland is ongoing, but the nation's people have achieved monumental results in a relatively short amount of time due to the nature of their movement building. They managed to arrest and jail the bankers who wrecked the economy. When the government privatized public banking institutions to their friends, essentially for free, and made the people pay for their bailouts, the people threw them out of office and refused to give the banks their money. And since Iceland only recently achieved independence from Denmark in 1944, their boilerplate constitution had never been updated. The movement in Iceland successfully used direct democracy to crowdsource a new constitution via Facebook and Twitter, and that crowdsourced constitution was widely supported by the people as the official model for a new constitution.

While Iceland's politicians have since ignored the will of the people, a budding new political force in Iceland is building a movement in parliament to change that. We can learn from Iceland and accomplish similar goals here.

1. Strive For Unity

2. Turn a Few Central Demands into Goals...Keep it basic.

3. Be the Banks

4. Be the Government

5. Crowdsource a New Constitution

We're on the precipice of a revolution here. Everybody is pissed. We all know what we want. We have examples all over the world of solutions to implement. All it takes is a little organizing....


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Batten down the hatches! Fuddnik Jun 2013 #1
Ooh, sounds good. Our nearest IHOP is 15 miles away, though. tclambert Jun 2013 #2
Where is this.... AnneD Jun 2013 #42
Andrea? We already had Alvin and Barbara! Demeter Jun 2013 #3
Andrea is what was left of Barbara after it crossed southern Warpy Jun 2013 #53
We got hardly any rain from any of the storms last year Roland99 Jun 2013 #23
It's like a fricken' waterfall out there. Fuddnik Jun 2013 #30
IMF admits to under-estimating damage austerity would do to Greece xchrom Jun 2013 #4
Have they admitted austerity doesn't work? tclambert Jun 2013 #5
GASP! hush -- you'll upset the apple cart. nt xchrom Jun 2013 #6
Well, maybe in this "special case" Demeter Jun 2013 #7
Good thing that the AnneD Jun 2013 #43
EU proposals would take control of Libor from London xchrom Jun 2013 #8
French jobless rate climbs to highest level in 15 years xchrom Jun 2013 #9
Bank of England keeps rates at 0.5% and QE steady xchrom Jun 2013 #10
India raises duty on gold imports as demand surges xchrom Jun 2013 #11
This is why I have been laughing at the gold prices.... AnneD Jun 2013 #44
UGLY German Manufacturing Orders xchrom Jun 2013 #12
Why Markets Have Been Rallying While Commodities Have Been Tanking xchrom Jun 2013 #13
More than meets the eye. westerebus Jun 2013 #28
Your clear vision is very depressing Demeter Jun 2013 #34
The up side is you know. westerebus Jun 2013 #57
Westerebus..... AnneD Jun 2013 #45
ETF gold shares have been dumped. westerebus Jun 2013 #56
Exactly.... AnneD Jun 2013 #58
SEC Approves NYSE Proposal to Temporarily Restore Stock-Volatility Curbs Demeter Jun 2013 #14
How Elite Economic Hucksters Drive America’s Biggest Fraud Epidemics By William K. Black Demeter Jun 2013 #15
Bilderberg Group Gathers Global Elite in UK xchrom Jun 2013 #16
OH.... AnneD Jun 2013 #46
Buzz - move over, miss AnneD nt xchrom Jun 2013 #47
Don't worry... AnneD Jun 2013 #49
SEC moves to tighten regulations on money market funds Demeter Jun 2013 #17
Births Rise as Parents-to-Be Renew Confidence in Economy xchrom Jun 2013 #18
This is totally ass-backwards Demeter Jun 2013 #35
The 1st thing I thought: how many couldn't xchrom Jun 2013 #41
Right, they're grasping at straws here Warpy Jun 2013 #54
Five Ways the US Can Have an Icelandic Revolution Demeter Jun 2013 #19
ANYBODY HAVE A WEEKEND THEME? Demeter Jun 2013 #20
shrug -- you all know i am shallow creature. xchrom Jun 2013 #22
1976 -- The Year of Denim Tansy_Gold Jun 2013 #26
james dean and marilyn... xchrom Jun 2013 #29
Excellent choice.... AnneD Jun 2013 #48
I was just thinking along same lines as Tansy - just a bit more broadly bread_and_roses Jun 2013 #27
Given that most jeans are made in places like Bangladesh Tansy_Gold Jun 2013 #31
Okay, but I warn you, I gave up denim a long time ago Demeter Jun 2013 #36
I still wear jeans in the winter. Tansy_Gold Jun 2013 #38
I buy my jeans at the goodwill stores DemReadingDU Jun 2013 #39
I sound so hick.... AnneD Jun 2013 #50
Dimon Sees ‘Scary’ World as Interest Rates Return to Normal xchrom Jun 2013 #21
That would mean... AnneD Jun 2013 #51
US Futures - trying to gain back some of yesterday's losses Roland99 Jun 2013 #24
ETA News Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (06/06/2013) mahatmakanejeeves Jun 2013 #25
MYSTIC PIZZA {calling out my food peeps} xchrom Jun 2013 #32
That settles it, we eat at MY place Demeter Jun 2013 #37
! xchrom Jun 2013 #40
Remind me to tell you of... AnneD Jun 2013 #52
!!! xchrom Jun 2013 #55
WILL THE FEDS TRY TO KILL SAC CAPITAL? xchrom Jun 2013 #33
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