Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.08.2010, Blaðsíða 6

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2010
We are running this thing every issue, so tourists may get a
proper introduction to Reykjavík. Cool, huh?
The cool statistics come from our cool friends at DataMarket.
They've got an almost endless amount of sexy data, free for all,
at www.datamarket.com. Also check out www.grapevine.is/
statistics for interactive graphs and other statistics!
Despite how it may sometimes seem, what with all
the pregnant ladies and guys who can’t even spell
the word condom, not everyone in Iceland wants to
procreate. In this issue we present you with a graph
of those who have gone to surgical proportions to
avoid spawning babies.
So these are the numbers of men who have had
vasectomies and women who have undergone tubal
ligation since 1981. There is a rather startling trend
shift somewhere in the mid-90s when suddenly the
guys start stepping up to the scissors more and more
to get their sperm-tunnels clipped. Then in 1999, the
women officially said ‘Fuck this!’ and tube-tying
went out of style. Maybe they were as shocked as we
were that in 1986 only 33 men underwent the rela-
tively non-invasive and reversible vasectomy proce-
dure while a whopping 660 women went through a
permanent and messy process. Vasectomies are also
cheaper, faster and are done under local anaesthetic
so it saves a bunch of hassle to doctors and patients
alike!
Check out an interactive graph at www.datamarket.com
(short link: www.url.is/3tz)
Getting The Old Snippity-Snip!
Iceland | Statistics
REBECCA LOUdER
PáLL HILMARSSON
FACTS. INSIGHT. BEAUTY.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Males
Females
200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Females
Males
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
Sterilizations 1981 - 2007
Female
Male
Source: Statistics Iceland (citing Directorate of Health) and DataMarket
The problem with the Magma deal is
not that it involves a heartless foreign
corporation (though of course it does)
or that this corporation received advice
from Icelandic regulators on how to circumvent
restrictions on foreign ownership, or that Iceland
is going down the path of exploited third world
countries (though it may be).
The real problem is the lack of vision by Iceland’s
public “servants.”
King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 29:18 that “Where
there is no vision, the people perish.” Perhaps the
wisest man of all time could see into the future, and
sent this one especially for Icelanders.
The authors of the Black Report note several
occasions when bank officials were asked what
their strategy was, their purpose, and they had
no answers. All decisions were made without
forethought, without consultation, without
consideration of the consequences. Apparently, the
decision to privatise HS Orka was in part ideological
(the mayor of Reykjanes is an old Independence
Party hand), in part a desperate attempt to get some
quick cash, and in part an attempt to help some old
friends make a few bucks on the side.
I somehow doubt that there was much
consideration by the decision makers as to how
this 130-year lease of our natural resources would
impact their great-great grandchildren. If we are
going to open our country to foreign investors—
which is not an inherently crazy idea—then we
need to set out the rules in advance. We need to
have a public debate in advance of any action. We
need to create barriers between decision-makers
and the financial benefits of privatisation. We need
transparency. We need to know where we want to
go. As the great American sage Yogi Berra put it:
“You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where
you’re going ‘cause you might not get there.”
I would have hoped that we would have learned
from our previous attempts at privatisation, but
evidently not. When fishing licenses were given to
vessel owners, despite the fact that the nation’s
maritime resources are considered to be a public
good in our constitution, there was no open debate,
there was no open bidding process, there were no
temporal limitations imposed. When the banks were
privatised, they were sold—or rather handed on a
silver platter—to political insiders without public
debate, without du diligence, without any strong
regulatory framework. When we raped our land
to create hydroelectric power for the aluminium
smelters, no vote was taken, no disclosures of
conflicts of interest were made, no terms were
published.
Seen against this historical backdrop, the
Magma deal is what we should have expected. As a
result of the Icelandic government’s current back-
pedalling, our international reputation is once again
being trashed in the business publications. We’re
unreliable, we don’t understand the importance
of contracts, we can’t keep our hands off of done
deals. A thorough investigation of this matter
should be undertaken, but I would hope that this
time it will lead to the creation of some guidelines
for decision-making by our politicians. Notices of
public meetings and requests for contracts must
be published, public contracts must be available
on the internet, and conflicts of interests must be
disclosed. The country’s energy should be devoted
to long-term strategies, rather than to the hot topics
of the week. Instead of acting like addicts looking
for their next hit, we need to act like adults planning
a prosperous and sustainable future.
“Where there is no vision,
the people perish”
Opinion | Íris Erlingsdóttir
JóN GNARR
HöRðUR SvEINSSON
Mayor's Address | Jón Gnarr
Welcome To Reykjavík
The odds of you being in Reykjavík are not great.
The greatest part of mankind is elsewhere. It is
scientifically proven. When I was little, I would of-
ten ask myself why I had been born in Reykjavík. Is
it a coincidence where one is born? Is it subject to
some universal law? Did I exist in any form before
I was born? Did I have anything to do with where
I was born? Why did Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler
not bear any children? Did they not try to? Can it
be that no child wanted them as parents? I don’t
know, but I do not believe in coincidence. I do not
believe that God plays dice, especially not when
human lives are concerned. These thoughts inevi-
tably lead one to consider Schrödinger's cat. He is
probably one of the most famous cats in the world
(maybe after Ninja Cat). Still no one knows what
it was called? What was Schrödinger's cat called?
Abracadabra? I don’t remember. Let’s call it Phoe-
nix. That is a common name for cats. Phoenix was
of the nature that it both existed and not. There-
fore, it always existed, and even if Schrödinger
killed his cat in a rather tasteless manner, it is still
alive at Schrödinger's house, while Schrödinger
himself has been dead for a long time:

Does this mean that I always existed, or that
I never existed and do therefore not exist now?
That can’t be! It would mean that all our existence
was unreal and only existed in our own imagina-
tion. If I do not exist, then neither do you. I have
a hard time believing that. The facts speak for
themselves. If I am not real, then how could I fly
to Finland, send myself a post card with a picture
of Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, fly back
home and welcome the mailman that brought me
the card? I don’t know. I am one of many Iceland-
ers that believe in elves and trolls. I mainly believe
in Moomin elves. It is more of a certainty than a
belief. I have seen them and touched them. I know
they exist. I have been to Moominworld in Naan-
tali, Finland. I have evidence; photographs, video
recordings and witnesses. I had a good talk with
Moomin Papa. He told me that life in Moominvalley
was much better after Finland joined the EU. He
encouraged us Icelanders to join the EU. He also
said that the Moomins had always existed, long
before Tove Jansson “invented” them. The Moom-
ins are eternal, at least in books.
I hope these thoughts shed some light on the
history of Reykjavík and its culture. I hope you en-
joy your time in Reykjavík, that you go swimming
a lot and tell all your friends how fun Reykjavík is,
and how everyone is always happy there and that
you will never forget your hotel, Suðurlandsbraut
and the eternally young cat Phoenix.
Jón Gnarr, Mayor of Reykjavík
Icelandic home cooking with a modern flair
Pósthússtræti 9 Reykjavík Tel : 578 2020
www.icelandicbar. is info@icelandicbar. is
Shark • lobster• Lamb • Whale • Puffin • fish • Wild game
ALL the icelandic beers Kitchen open till midnight!

Preserving quality
is our business
Open daily for lunch and dinners
Special off er on Monday
and Tuesday – 3 course dinner
for only 4200 ISK.
Reservation: tel. 552 5700,
e-mail: gallery@holt.is
Bergstaðastræti 37 s. 552 5700
holt@holt.is www.holt.is
Elegant surroundings
Superb cuisine
Modern comfort