Democracy Weakening Everywhere
European Parliament Member and Investigative Judge Eva Joly received the Global Financial Integrity 2010 Exemplary Leadership Award in Washington DC e...
European Parliament Member and Investigative Judge Eva Joly received the Global Financial Integrity 2010 Exemplary Leadership Award in Washington DC e...
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
The system used by the Iceland's ruling caste to launder ill-begotten gains is simple to describe. The result is simpler still: The rich got richer and the government got stuck with the bill.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
I believe the Icelandic people are willing to undergo hardship to help our country recover from the catastrophic collapse, as long as the hardship is spread throughout the population, and those who unjustly profited from their decisions are put in their place.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
This summer's special income/tax issue of the Icelandic business magazine Frjáls Verzlun is at once a bottomless source of nauseating news and a test...
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
In his last two posts, blogger Daði Rafnsson looks back at the words of an Icelandic political legend, Vilmundur Gylfason,
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
I have always imagined that a totalitarian state would resemble Stalin's Soviet Union, but it has dawned on me lately that the most effective totalitarian regime would be one that no one (on the inside anyway) would recognize as such.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
Now that the banks have been stabilized (to some degree) as a result of massive public intervention, the very individuals who have nearly destroyed the country are ready to dance again.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
While Icelanders have been endlessly debating IceSave, our unemployment rate has continued to climb, the number of insolvencies has continued to increase, and public services have continued to decrease.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
What is especially disheartening in Iceland is that, not only did the bankers retain their compensation; they continue to draw salaries in their new positions of authority in the new banks and in the government.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
It's incumbent upon the Icelandic media and political establishment to educate the public on the reasons for and against Icesave. If we're serious about fighting for political reform and transparency that our country needs, here's a good place to start.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
I believe that none of the Icelandic political parties are actually standing up for the average Icelandic person.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
While legislators were hammering out a deal that would keep Iceland from being labeled a pariah state by the IMF and ratings agencies, President Ragnar was protecting his oligarch friends.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
The Icelandic people will, for the first time, directly exercise the nation's sovereign power in a referendum in March to approve or reject the proposed settlement of the IceSave dispute.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
This has been a very rough year for Iceland, and it's not likely to get better anytime soon. The public's anger continues to grow, and it would not be surprising if this winter sees a repeat of last winter's uprising.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
Any doubts as to whether Iceland's elite has declared war on its people were dispelled this weekend.
AP | HERDIS SIGURGRIMSDOTTIR | Posted 05.25.2011
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The second richest man in Icelandic history has filed for bankruptcy, his spokesman said Friday. Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, t...
TIME | Posted 05.25.2011
The people of Iceland are known for their resilient, go-it-alone character. It is the result of a forbidding geography: endowed with a rugged terrain ...
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
The lack of clear ethical rules and the frontier justice mentality in Iceland continues to cause confusion and raise questions about the legal profession's ability to regulate itself in Iceland.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
What we need now is for our government to stand up for us the way the British and Dutch governments have stood up for their citizens, and to reach an arrangement that is equitable for all.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
Today on Iceland's Independence Day the national anthem has been a real tear jerker for me, evoking in me a sadness and heartache that my brain usually reserves for funerals.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 11.14.2011
Ever since the Icelandic economy came crashing down with the country's bank cabal, our politicians have failed to grasp the enormity of these catastrophic events.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
"Perhaps things weren't illegal, but when do you cross the line from a framework of standard marketing practices and into bribery?"
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
Johanna and her partners have an incredibly difficult task ahead of them. However, forcing a quick referendum on EU membership should not be the cornerstone of our rebuilding effort.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
For a party that has no money and has existed as a political force for less than two months, the outcome of the Icelandic election is nothing less than miraculous.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011
A new generation of entrepreneurs is rising that may lead us, eventually, to a new order, one divorced from the old elite and all the corruption that they thrived on.
Iris Erlingsdottir | Posted 05.25.2011