Why Iceland Should Be in the News, But Is Not

[G_j]

http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/728.1

Why Iceland Should Be in the News, But Is Not

By Deena Stryker

Date posted: 15 August 2011


An Italian radio program's story about Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. Americans may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.

As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example. Here's why:

Five years of a pure neo-liberal regime had made Iceland, (population 320 thousand, no army), one of the richest countries in the world. In 2003 all the country’s banks were privatized, and in an effort to attract foreign investors, they offered on-line banking whose minimal costs allowed them to offer relatively high rates of return. The accounts, called IceSave, attracted many English and Dutch small investors. But as investments grew, so did the banks’ foreign debt. In 2003 Iceland’s debt was equal to 200 times its GNP, but in 2007, it was 900 percent. The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, went belly up and were nationalized, while the Kroner lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro. At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy.

Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution. But only after much pain.

Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures. The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.



..more..

[phantom power]

1. recommend

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. Katla is about to erupt...that'll put it in the news

:wrysmilie:

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. knr

[PETRUS]

4. Inspiring. nt

[Nye Bevan]

5. Horribly written article.

For starters, this "little-known member of the European Union" is not actually *in* the EU.

The article also refers to a loan of "3 and a half million Euros". I think the author meant *billions*.

When basic facts like this are wrong I wonder what else I can trust in the article.

[PETRUS]

7. What do you doubt? nt

[Nye Bevan]

11. What can I trust? nt

[PETRUS]

17. Answering a question with a question...

Numerous independent news organizations have been reporting on this for a while. Skepticism is good citizenship and I applaud you. Do some research and cross checks. You quite obviously have internet access.

The substance of the article is that the citizens of Iceland have moved (in large numbers, and with success) against the "privatization of profits/socialization of loss" behavior of the financial sector. Do you doubt that?

[emcguffie]

12. Getting the numbers right isn't what's important in this article.

What the Icelanders did and how it is working out is what's important.

They didn't give in to the demands of the international bankers, and they are coming out on top -- not like Haiti.

[Nye Bevan]

14. Not the demands of "the international bankers".

The demands of the UK and Dutch Governments.

At least read the article.

[emcguffie]

15. Wasn't the IMF involved?

I did read the article, but my short term memory is impaired. So I make mistakes quite often. But I get the gist of the thing right.

Whatever international forces, which in this case are themselves controlled by international bankers, bring power to bear to force countries to go this austerity route, do this time and time again. And what happens is that the international bankers end up owning the country's resources.

Have you ever read (see, I can't remember the name of the book) -- it's a book by a guy who worked in international whatever, and made deals with governments about loans. Confessions of an Economic Hitman. That's it.

[thesquanderer]

21. 900 percent is far less than 200 times (n/t)

[formercia]

6. Why and how the Icelanders won their Sovereignty

They acted with unity and they did not use violence.

In countries where violence was used by the protesters, the struggle continues.

We have learned that lesson. Do not let the provocateurs goad you to violence, no matter how angry you might become. Channel the anger into something positive.

[sfpcjock]

8. Spoiler warning! (for less avid readers):

"...Some readers will remember that Iceland’s ninth century agrarian collapse was featured in Jared Diamond’s book by the same name. Today, that country is recovering from its financial collapse in ways just the opposite of those generally considered unavoidable, as confirmed yesterday by the new head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde to Fareed Zakaria. The people of Greece have been told that the privatization of their public sector is the only solution. And those of Italy, Spain and Portugal are facing the same threat.

They should look to Iceland. Refusing to bow to foreign interests, that small country stated loud and clear that the people are sovereign. {my emphasis}

That’s why it is not in the news anymore."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Actually, Diamond wrote about GREENLAND's ninth century collapse

The writer's heart is in the right place, but he really needs a fact checker.

[yodermon]

9. WOW read this paragraph, near bottom:

To write the new constitution, the people of Iceland elected twenty-five citizens from among 522 adults not belonging to any political party but recommended by at least thirty citizens. This document was not the work of a handful of politicians, but was written on the internet. The constituent’s meetings are streamed on-line, and citizens can send their comments and suggestions, witnessing the document as it takes shape. The constitution that eventually emerges from this participatory democratic process will be submitted to parliament for approval after the next elections.

[truebrit71]

10. That article is well worth the time to read...

...maybe this is why the corporate media is so willing to marginalize/minimize/mis-characterize the OWS movement..

[bvar22]

13. Michael Lewis on Jon Stewart, Daily Show, explains it ALL.

Gotta see this clip.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-4-2011/michael-lewis




You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

Solidarity 99!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[G_j]

25. yes, he has been good

glad to see him getting exposure for his book, which looks like a must read.

[Mudoria]

16. When do the UK and the Netherlands get the money back

that they paid to cover the small investors screwed over by Iceland back?

[ljm2002]

18. Did you miss the part about private, vs public debt?

Those debts were incurred by private institutions. The bank failures were failures of private institutions. The people of Iceland refused to go into debt servitude because of the ill-advised and criminal actions of private bankers, who then turned around and tried to foist their debt on the population as a whole.

It's too bad people lost their money, no doubt. But they chose to put their money into foreign banks because of higher returns. If their own governments chose to make good on it, then it was their choice to do so, and their citizens presumably who agreed to share that burden. If their citizens do not agree, then they should look to Iceland for an example of an alternative path. It is not the citizens of Iceland who loaned the money. They are taking actions against the criminals. What else should they do? Are you saying that the people of Iceland should shoulder the burden of debts incurred by private criminals? Where does that end?

This whole thing with the IMF and other institutions trying to push austerity measures on sovereign nations is a joke. These same institutions are taken over by neocons who have pushed for the privatization of everything, including financial institutions, and also pushed for the deregulation of the financial institutions, enabling the giant crash we saw in 2008. But once it went bust, they want all of the rest of us to bear the burden, while at the same time they and their cronies have become even fatter than before.

No, thanks.

[BobbyBoring]

20. Here's the important part

America is on the road to privatizing EVERYTHING. The powers that be have done a great job of dividing the 99% so we won't come together as the Icelanders did. Rush and Billo are screaming bloody murder about OWS. It's scaring them!

[Cherchez la Femme]

19. This comment may clarify things for you:

"The Misunderstandings Leading to Outrage

At the time of the collapse of IceSave, it was public belief in the UK that IceSave was owned by the Icelandic government. There were allegations that funds had been withdrawn from IceSave in order to deal with domestic debt, which would have been illegal as IceSacve UK was a UK-incorporated company and subject to the Financial Services Authority's regulation -- withdrawing of cash that way would have been illegal, and these rumours fuelled public support in the UK for sanctions against Iceland.

However, as it turns out that IceSave was your common-or-garden privately-owned company, I can't see how we (I'm a UK citizen) can lay anything on the doorstep of the Icelandic people.

IceSave UK was a UK company working under a UK regulator. Whose problem does that make it...?

Niall "

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. I was in Iceland this summer

Their currency has collapsed, making it a much more affordable destination that it once was (They need tourists, since tourism is about the only industry that hasn't collapsed, and it's a great destination, especially for outdoors and nature-loving types, only about four hours from the East Coast of the U.S., with a small population, almost all of whom speak English.)

Anyway, I was taking a tour of the South Coast, and as our bus passed a building on a hill alongside the road, our guide said, "That used to be a women's prison, but we turned it into a prison for bankers." :7

[Cherchez la Femme]

24. Something we should be doing

but then WE lock up millions of people who have done no damage or harm at all, smoking weed in a "free country"
-- witness the latest Obama on "Legal", doctor-prescribed marijuana.

Let the people who have ruined countless lives not only go free, but give 'em taxpayer money too!


Sorry for the negativity, I'm quite pissed at the moment.