Lögberg-Heimskringla - 31.10.1986, Blaðsíða 3

ALDARAFMÆLISÁR, FÖSTUDAGUR 31. OCKTOBÉR 1986-3
The Summit
It goes without saying that much
has been written about the summit
meeting in Reykjavík. During tþe
talks, reporters used the opportuni-
ty to write about the Icelanders, their
country etc.; in fact, whatever they
could think of. The following ap-
peared in the Arizona Republic
recently and gives an idea of what
reporters occupied themselves
with. . .
Iceland Secufity Nets 3 Out to
Shoot Dolphins
(Associated Press)
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Three men
heading out to shoot dolphins at sea
were caught in the summit security
net Sunday when an Icelandic police-
man became suspicious about their
shotgun. But the three were releas-
ed when they explained themselves,
police said.
It was the only known security
scare since Thursday, when Presi-
dent Reagan arrived for meetings
with Soviet leader Mikhail Gor-
bachev, said Thorir Oddsson, a depu-
ty police director.
If security had not been increased
for the summit, the three probably
would have gone unnoticed as they
headed for Reykjavik Harbor with a
shotgun and other equipment. But
Reagan and Gorbachev are meeting
near the harbor, and Gorbachev is
staying on a Soviet ship in the harbor.
Oddson said that a policeman
stopped the three when he saw the
shotgun. When they said that they
were out to collect dolphins for re-
search, he asked them to leave the
weapon in their car. They did so and
continued on, he said.
But the policeman, having second
thougnts, called headquarters, and
the three men were pulled in for
questioning, he said.
It was learned that they were with
the Maritime Research Institute.
Also, one man had a permit for the
shotgun, and they were let go. They
went to their boat, leaving the shot-
gun ashore, Oddsson said.
Iceland Gets the Cold Shoulder
by Charles Kelly
The Reagan-Gorbachev conference
in Iceland has gotten Icelanders all
upset, I am told, because of the way
reporters refer to.the country.
Iceland is repeatedly described as
a windblown, chilly wasteland, fit
only for Klondike bars and frozen
kippers. Plus, nobody seems to know
where it is.
At least this is the version of events
given me by Jack Karie, a former
Arizone Republic reporter and box-
ing aficionado whose wife, Inga, is
Icelandic.
"They hate to be called Eskimos,"
Karie said. "They hate to have peo-
ple say, 'Where's Iceland?' Here, In-
ga, get on the phone and tell him."
Inga comes on the line.
"I just get mad when all over the
country they are talking about my
windswept island so cold in mid-
October," Inga says.
in Reykjavík
phone is taken by Siggy Kristjansson,
a native Icelander who works as a
pilot for USAir Airlines. He says he's
tired of explaining that he doesn't live
in an igloo.
"I run into people and they say,
T've never seen an Eskimo before,' "
Kristjansson says.
Listen, say Kristjansson, Karie and
Inga: People think Iceland is a cold,
awful place because of the name, and
becausð the airport — which is all
most people see as they fly through
— is out in an area that is indeed
windswept and gray.
Well, the rest of the country isn't
like that at all, they say. It's a great
place. The average winter temper-
ature is around 35 degrees
Fahrenheit. The average in the sum-
mer is near 55 degrees. The women
are beautiful. The streets are spick-
and-span clean. The air is clear be-
cause the residents use geothermal
heat instead of coal heating. You can
start a golf tournament at midnight
in June because it's light 24 hours a
day. What more do you want?
Karie blames Iceland's bad press
on Eric the Red, a Viking.
"He named the place Icelannd so
people would go to Greenland in-
stead," Karie says.
That was a rotten thing to do, even
for a Viking, and there is only one
way to rectify the situation.
It's simple: change the name. I
don't want to tell Icelanders their
business, but may I make a sug-
gestion? Call it Paupua, New Guinea.
KGB Agent Stuck on Icelandic
Farm
Reykjavik, Iceland — Raisa Gor-
bachev's crack KGB team misplaced
one of its men Sunday.
An Iceland state radio reporter
named Sigridur Arnadottir found the
KGB agent pacing back and forth
helplessly on a farm 50 miles outside
the city.
Raise Gorbachev visited a small
chapel on a remote farm called
Burfell on Sunday morning, and the
motorcade sped off, stranding the
agent, who said his name was
Vasilyev. The KGB did not im-
mediately notice Vasilyev was miss-
ing and, by the time Arnadottir found
him, he was hungry and worried.
She gave him a ride back to town,
fed him some Coca-Cola and
chocolate biscuits — Iceland’s
favorite snack — and returned him to
the Soviet cruise ship Georgi Ots.
"I hope they won’t send him to
Siberia or anything," Arnadottir said
as she watched him trudge up the
gangplank.
-------KELANDAIR:-------
YOUR BEST VALUE TO EUROPE.
A Letter to the Vancouver Sun
Americans believe in Mickey
Mouse and Santa Claus, Icelanders
believe in elves . . . so what?
The recent media coverage describ-
ing Iceland as the host country te the
Reagan Gorbachev pre-summit meet-
ing has revealed a glaring lack of re-
search and honest information. In
providing so-called 'background in-
formation' to the up-coming talks,
many in the bloated press corps seem
to have latched on to only one quaint
angle and have reported in pseudo
astonishment that — 'Tcelanders
believe in elves and ghosts". What
has been presented is superficial and
a running bad joke whose "punch"
line recently appeared in the Van-
couver Sun. "Presidential briefing:
Iceland is a nice land" by Colin
McEnroe of Hartford, Conn. is an
unrelenting satirical derision of a
land, its people and their culture. I’ve
heard the response: "What's the mat-
ter can't you take a joke?" Well, this
joke/article is in bad taste, and
offends.
For your background information:
Iceland is a country whose popula-
tion has cherished and maintained
the only living 'classical' language to-
day — 'Old Norse’ or 'Icelandic'. This
beautiful and complex language is a
foundation to the English language
that we speak today as evidenced by
continuous references to word origin
in encyclopedic dictionaries.
England may be described as the
"Mother of Parliament" but has
acknowledged that Iceland is the
"Grandmother of Parliament" with
their establishment of the first
democratic parliament, the Althing,
before the year 1000. It was the
Icelandic Viking, Leif the Lucky,
who with a small crew braved the
North Atlantic to discover America
500 years before Columbus.
Modern day Iceland has more
books published per capita and has
the highest literacy rate of any coun-
try in the world. It is a world leader
in geothermal power production and
provides consulting expertise to
many nations. Iceland was the small
country to stand up to Russia,
England and other nations in defence
of its newly-established 200 mile
limit — established to protect the fish
stocks of the North Atlantic using the
shelf off Iceland as a nursery or
maturing ground. It is a country with
no army — Horray! It is a coun-
try with a very small pojice force
because a large one is not needed —
Hooray! It is a nation of intelligent,
gentle and peace-loving people who
care about what is going on in the
world.
Oh yes, and one more point . . .
Vikings never had horns on their
helmets.
Robert Asgeirsson
Icelandic Canadian Club of B.C.
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ICELANDAIR