jacktellslies | Ísland er land mitt!

Recent Events in Icelandic Politics:
A Brief Summary by a Useless Dandy Who Doesn't Know Very Much About Politics At All

by Jack Grey

I was in Iceland very shortly after the collapse of the banks. The administration in power then was seen as incompetent, having failed to prevent the economic crash and incorrectly and inadequately responding to it after the fact. There have been protests going on since that time, the vast majority of them non-violent. Usually protests there involve people banging pots and pans and making noise, demanding attention. But more recently the tone changed: protesters began throwing Skyr, the Icelandic yogurt; snowballs; and eggs at the main government building. A few threw rocks, and the police responded with pepper spray and tear gas. The heads of government were secreted away through hidden underground tunnels. Talks occurred between the police and the people of Iceland, and the vast majority of the people agreed that violence was unacceptable. When at a subsequent rally rocks were thrown again, non-violent protesters formed a human wall, protecting the police and the agitators from one another. It's a beautiful image. When Obama was inaugurated, the Icelandic response was actually jealousy, and the situation there intensified. Most of the news I've been getting hasn't included this fact, but my host claims that when the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister both stepped down, they did not officially do so because of the protests. They resigned because they were both diagnosed with cancer. Icelanders seem to be treating this as deus ex machina. The new Icelandic Prime Minister is Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir. Most newspapers seem to be referring to her as Ms. Sigurdardóttir, which is incorrect. The Icelandic patronymic simply indicates that she is Sigurdar's daughter; her name is Jóhanna, and she ought to be called such in print. And Jóhanna is, among many other things, a former airline stewardess, a former labour union organiser, and a lesbian. She is, in fact, the first openly gay leader of a nation in the modern world.

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I don't think you give yourself enough credit. Fields such as military strategy and economics require in depth study to gain any sort of real understanding, but politics is pretty simple for anyone of middling intelligence. And I'm under the impression that your intelligence is better than middling.

Where I find that most smart people get confused about politics is that they're not willing to accept that there are, in fact, a great number of people willing to lie outrageously, and on a consistent basis, in tandem with each other, for decades. I think that once you accept how truly depraved a person can become, politics becomes clear. There are factions, each wanting power. Most of them are willing to do anything to get it, and lying is usually the most efficient way. It's how children behave. If you can understand children, you can understand politics.

I think you know far more than you're willing to admit.

*laughs* I sometimes do, yes.

"The Icelandic patronymic simply indicates that she is Sigurdar's daughter..."

i am sigurd's daughter. my father, sigurd lars saebo...changed to saboe when his father, also sigurd lars saebo, entered this country.

my real name is linda.

i'm proud that a woman sharing a part of my name is in charge. ;-)

Awesome!

ain't it???
*grin*

The fact you make a point of saying 'modern world' pleases me.

Who's the PopeJeremy guy, above, who sounds like me when he talks but makes unsubstantiated claims about children?

Jeremy is a friend of mine from Pittsburgh, and the guitarist from ThouShaltNot. He's the one with whom I have distant plans to go hunting.

He does sound like you, yes. You're both prone to finding yourselves involved in squabbles in the comments sections of other people's live journals, too.

Oh, really? What kind of hunting, btw?

Ha. Actually, that hasn't happened for some time. This may be due to my not reading commentary.

We were discussing archery. He has actual experience in this, but hasn't gone in years. I'm the first person to express interest who isn't a part of the unsavoury, distressingly masculine subculture that tends to surround killin' stuff in the woods.

Don't hide your talents.

Mm. I don't especially like killing animals. They don't deserve it. But I have and I will. I don't think anybody who enjoys it or treats it as a 'sport' should be trusted. Castrate the fuckers before they breed.

~snort~ You know full well I can't. Not those ones, anyway. It would be like a drill hiding its bit.

I think you eat even more protein than I do, and I get mine for free. You've stolen someone's everlasting pigs, haven't you?

No, I don't like killing animals either. But I feel more responsible about eating meat if I've had a hand in the process. I expect, however, that once I've set out to do it any success will feel quite thrilling. It's a complicated little knot.

Me? I'm hurt you would even suggest that I may have stolen protein from those less fortunate than myself.

Well, murder is a neat way to part that particular Gordion knot.

*smiles* For how long have you considered the gods your social inferiors, pretty sidhe?

I'm not convinced that encouraging people to buy more flesh is actually different than killing a thing myself.

Oh. And the stuff we'd be killin' would most likely be deer.

It's only true if one forces the past to accept a modern definition of gay, but yes, it was necessary.

Agreed. The ancient approach to sexuality is considerably more genuine and thus less compartmentalised.

And which ancient approach to sexuality would that be?

The one I am referring to. Essentially the Greco-Roman one. Altho the Greek model was extremely compartmentalised, just in a different way.

Ignore me. It was a ridiculous statement.

Of course, if you believe the Romans the Celts used to expect people to fuck them just because they were staying in the same house.

I've used that method on a number of occasions. I always rather enjoyed it.

Having more front than Harrods pays off.

She is, in fact, the first openly gay leader of a nation in the modern world.
Alexander the Great still probably had prettier palm-frond wavers and more nubile dancing slaves.

I hope that this will not always be the case. Surely some despot will arise with an eye for the dramatic and aesthetic rather than the merely cruel?

tangentially related:

http://www.verneglobal.com/

!!

Are you doing that?

no, alas, we're only going to amsterdam. *sigh*

Pft. Pft! God, I miss Amsterdam.

come with us. we're going in about 2 weeks, i think.

...how much?

no clue... like everything it's TBD

Ísland er land mitt!

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