Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.06.2006, Qupperneq 7

established in Norway and Sweden
to counter the incessant political
intrigue taking place there during
the Cold War.
While Björgvin seriously doubts
that many government wiretaps
have political motivations today,
their main focus being drug-related
criminal activity, he maintains that
a repeat of Cold War-era paranoia
and eavesdropping cannot be toler-
ated, and that while Iceland may
have a comparatively stable political
climate today, it would be wise to
have a neutral investigative author-
ity in place, should a more volatile
situation arise.
Danish Newspaper to Make Pre-
Emptive Strike on Dagsbrún
In response to the anticipated
launching of Nyhedsavisen, a free
door-to-door newspaper from
Icelandic media company Dagsbrún
that will be distributed in Den-
mark, the Danish media company
JP/Politikens Hus - which distrib-
utes the papers Politiken, Jyllands-
Post and Extra – will be launching
their own free door-to-door paper
this fall.
“We decided that going aggres-
sive was the best way,” JyllandsPost
managing director Torsten Rasmus-
sen told the Grapevine. “We believe
there are going to be some struc-
tural changes in the Danish media,
and that this is a dynamic new
media strategy.”
Rasmussen considers the move a
pre-emptive strike, to launch the as-
yet-to-be-named paper – of which
he will be the director – in time to
compete with Nyhedsavisen.
“We want to go on the offensive
but also defend our own position,”
Rasmussen told us. “As Dagsbrún
seems like it will be aggressive in
the market.”
Independence Party and Progres-
sive Alliance Takes City Hall
After preliminary talks with
Liberal Party leadership, the
Independence Party abruptly ended
their discussion with that party
at around noon on May 30th, and
have instead formed a majority
coalition with the Progressive Party.
This will make Independence Party
first seat councilman Vilhjálmur Þ.
Vilhjálmsson mayor of Reykjavík,
and Progressive Party councilman
Björn Ingi Hrafnsson chief of city
council.
The Independence Party
managed to win seven of Reykjavík
city council’s fifteen seats, needing
only one more to form a majority
coalition. While the Liberal Party
was formed in 1998 by disgruntled
members of the Independence
Party, and the two share many
similarities with each other, the
Progressives and the Independence
Party hold a majority coalition in
the national parliament.
The city coalition could be
seen as a gesture of appeasement
and support to Hrafnsson’s
former employer, Prime Minister
Halldór Ásgrímsson, for whom he
worked as an assistant. Hrafnsson
remarked earlier this month that
a Progressive Party loss of seats
- and an Independence Party
gain - in municipal elections
around the country could hurt the
parliamentary coalition. No other
member of the Progressive Party
concurred with Hrafnsson, with
Ásgrímsson making a point to
announce that the parliamentary
coalition was in no danger.
Icelander Wins Palm D’Or
Cinematographer Jakob
Ingimundarson won a Palm D’Or
award on Sunday, May 28th, at
the Cannes Film Festival for his
work in the Norwegian short film
“Sniffer”.
The film, which won in the
category of Best Short Film, was
directed by Norwegian Bobbie
Peers; a first win at Cannes for
Norway. Iceland last won a Palm
D’Or when Björk Guðmundsdóttir
was awarded one for her part in
Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the
Dark in 2000, and when Sigurjón
Sighvatsson was awarded for
producing David Lynch’s Wild at
Heart in 1990.
Israeli Embassy Issues Apology
The Israeli embassy in Oslo, which
serves as the embassy to both
Norway and Iceland, has issued
a statement expressing regret
for the treatment that Iceland’s
first lady received at the hands of
security personnel in Ben Gurion
airport. While expressing regret
that the incident took place, the
statement also mentions the fact
that according to Israeli law all its
citizens must carry their Israeli
passports when in the country, and
that the foreign ministry could
not be of assistance in this matter
because they were not informed of
Dorrit Moussaieff ’s travels.
Moussaieff, wife of president
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, was
detained for more than two hours
and had her identity called into
question when she was attempting
to leave Israel following a recent
private visit.
Half of Icelandic Merchant Fleet
Registered in the Caribbean
A staggering majority of the
Icelandic merchant f leet is
registered in foreign harbours,
chief ly in remote Caribbean islands
they never visit, most prominently
Antigua & Barbuda and St. Vincent
& The Grenadines.
“There are...various fines and
permit fees which we don’t have to
pay if we register abroad,” said an
anonymous Eimskip employee. As
to why these specific nations were
selected, there was no particular
response, although a graphics
expert the Grapevine consulted
revealed sinister undertones.
“...the strongest interpretation
(of the Antiguan f lag) would be
that it points to a willingness to
‘overcome nature’, a sinister reversed
pyramid with the sun rising over
it all, an omen of dawn, a new
civilisation, a better time.”
Whether or not this is any
indication of Eimskip’s future
strategies remains unknown.
Summer Cottage Burglars Caught
Police in Selfoss have apprehended
the people responsible for
breaking into a summer house
in Grímsnes last weekend. The
burglars apparently broke in and
threw a party, but left behind
a camera containing film that,
when developed, made it possible
for police to identify one of the
suspects.
“They were rather neat, and
didn’t break much,” a Selfoss
police officer said. “You got the
impression they were looking for
something specific, and it’s not
known that they stole anything of
value. Usually things get stolen...we
had two other break-ins of a similar
nature, and those cottages were
wrecked.”
When asked if the photographs
were considered important
evidence, the officer said “hardly.”
The Grapevine would like to open
the bidding on the photographs at
500 ISK.
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