Lögberg-Heimskringla - 06.11.1992, Blaðsíða 1

[ Lögberg 1
neimskringia
The lcelandic Weekly
Logberg Stofnað 14. janúar 1888 Heimskringla Stofnaö 9. september 1886
Inside this week:
Hard Times in Kinmount..............................2
New facts about cancer........................... 3
The Girl with the Botticelli Face...................4
Lest We Forget.................................... 8
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106. Árgangur Föstudagur 6. nóvember 1992 Númer 39
106th Year Publications Mail Registration No. 1667 Friday, 6 November 1992 Number 39
w
lcelandic
News

Bjami Bjarnason, Marketint Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson, Sale news conference introducin Director, and s Manager, ata g the New Oii
New oil coulcf 200.mil. IKR SdVö
■ The lcelandíc oil imp Oliufélagið (Esso) has stí tion of a new oíl, Esso ort company irted importa- Light Marine
Diesel, which could resul t ín an annual
:SðVt.ng ot zuu tnii. iixK t industry, or an average of 15 - 2 mil.
per normal size stern trc twler. The oil,
imported from Norway, is better suited I
I to lcelandic conditions than the diesel I
fuel (Gasolía) currently us ed. Most fish-
ing vessels ín lceland are engines that can bum this equipped with new oil whích
can also be used for land based
engines. The cost of the oil is consider-
ably less than oil used up to now, is
easier on engines and d oes not need
pre-heating.
Courtesy of Morgunblac ið & Timinn

•Íl A V \lMðörulAv i STÆÐI E j^ o *** J/ 0 25 km Urvopi-n^V,:, F' 7\fUÓTS0ALS- | i . r* V* " VIHKJUN
Proposed Hydro lines

vpUSv vOliv©m»
■ iwo new hydro hnes of lceland to Akureyri concern. The routes cl trom the east 1 are of great I losen for the I
I lines run through some ot the most
I spectacularly scenic areas and at the
I same time environmentally sensitive.
The main line runs thro lands down to Bár ugh the hígh- ðardalur at
Suðurárbotnar close t The other line runs f through Möðrudalur, Gi down to Reykjahlíð m then down by the ea where some of the m o Svartárkot. arther north Tmsstaðir and Mývatnssveit, st of Mývatn ost beautiful
scenery is to be fo Dimmuborgir, Höfðí und namely and Kólf-
astrandarvogar. It is understandable t hat concerns
nave Deen raisea Ðy tni area as well as those wl environmental issUes ; lOCqlS in Lfl»S rio care about . They worry construction
about damage during and distorted scenery..

Birgir
J
In response to the article on the
front page of the October 2nd
issue of L-H, I first want to make
the point that I have greatly admired
the excellent job done at the paper
over the past few years - both with
regard to editing, layout, and typeset-
ting - and I hope for continued good
results in the future. I want, in partic-
ular, to commend Hulda and others
responsible for proofreading for their
admirable job of ‘cleaning up’ this
aspect of our paper, which is so
important (the paper is a reflection of
our Icelandic-Canadian and
American community).
There is one niggling detail, how-
ever, that I would like to comment
on - that being the frequent use in L- .
H and other publications of the terms
“Western Icelanders” or “Canadian
Icelanders.” Although a keen sup-
porter of our Icelandic heritage and
culture here, I take great exception to
the use of these terms in reference to
those of us who today are Canadians
or Americans “of Icelandic descent.”
We are, after all, Canadians and
Americans - not Icelanders! Writing
from the viewpoint of a Canadian,
however, I won’t presume to speak in
this letter for American readers - or,
in fact, for anyone but myself.
The distinction between what I
would call “Icelandic Canadians”
and “Westem Icelanders” might seem
petty and insignificant - but the dif-
ference is both real and significant.
This point is perhaps clearer viewed
in light of the present political and
cultural crisis facing Canadians.
Many Canadians would be quick
to condemn the idea that we who live
and derive our living from this coun-
try are anything but “Canadians” -
period! They feel that even hyphenat-
ing our Canadianism (Icelandic-
Canadian) is wrong and inappropri-
ate. Personally, I cannot accept this
overly simplistic solution to the prob-
lems of Canadian disunity. We
should not - in this country built by
our immigrant forebears - ever be
ashamed to acknowledge our her-
itage, as this is as much a part of our
Canadian identity as anything else,
and it is one of the rights and free-
doms we as Canadians enjoy. It
might even be considered a duty of
Continued on page 7
A debate worth having
Perhaps the ultimate
question confronting
members of the many
ethnic groups that compose
the cultural mosaics and
ethnic melting pots of North
on this page Nelson
Gerrard, writer, publisher
and historian of the
Icelandic National League
of North America, makes a
very cogent argument for
America is that of identity. By Tom Ölmon one point of view that may
Who are we? The longer a be attracting increasing
group has been here, the more dif-
fícult the question is to resolve.
The Icelanders have been in
North America for more than a
hundred years. Those who have
arrived recently or, who, at least
were bom in Iceland, don’t have to
wonder much about it — they are
Icelanders who have chosen to
become Americans or Canadians.
It is their children and grandchil-
dren who will have to struggle with
the question. For those whose fam-
ilies have been here for three or
four generations, however, it is
not so easy to resolve. One part of
the equation is fairly straightfor-
ward; we are Canadians and
Americans and most of us are
proud of that. But how does the
other part of the equation fit in, the
part that of us that is Icelandic?
In a thought provoking article
support. Not everyone will sub-
scribe to it, but they will have to do
some serious thinking to counter
it.
ecause this is an issue that
lies at the very heart of
North American experience
and which has been debated and
argued for decades without being
settled, Lögberg-Heimskringla
intends to examine it in some
detail, beginning with Nelson’s
article in this issue. Watch for
future opinions about the issue and
let us know your thoughts on it.
This is a debate that all of us —
whether we call our ourselves
Americans of Icelandic descent,
Icelandic-Canadians or Western
Icelanders — should be able to get
their teeth into it, and I am grateful
to Nelson Gerrard for opening it in
such an eloquent fashion.
By Nelson Gerrard