Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2012, Qupperneq 6

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2012
News | The photo
Reykjavík, 07.07—Iceland’s rising folk-pop megastars Of Monsters And Men celebrate their triumphant return from a victorious stint in the US by playing a free show at Hljómskálagarður park in downtown
Reykjavík for 18,000 excited fans eager to celebrate their homecoming. Their recent stateside stay saw them—among other things—selling tens of thousands of albums and performing at performing several sold
out shows, for celebrated music lover Jay Leno’s television programme. Read our review of the show on page 32, and listen to their music on-line if that strikes your fancy. Photo: DV / Eyþór Árnason
News | Roundup
News In Brief: Early July Edition
June ended on a somewhat predictable
note as Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was
re-elected for his fifth term in office.
If he serves it to completion, he will be
head of state for twenty years. Ólafur
said that he considered his re-election
an “unambiguous message from the
people” that they want to have a say in
the largest issues facing the nation, in
the form of national referendums.
However, professor of political sci-
ence Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson pointed
out that Ólafur’s victory was not as
sweeping as it seemed—after four
terms in office, he was only able to win
51.5% of the ballots cast. Yet when Vig-
dís Finnbogadóttir ran for re-election in
1988—challenged by Sigrún Þorstein-
sdóttir—she came away with the votes
of 67% of all registered voters. Voter
turnout was about the same in both
elections. Ólafur’s closest contender
throughout the race, broadcast journal-
ist Þóra Arnórsdóttir, said that she will
likely not get involved in politics again,
but will focus on her family.
A controversy erupted over foreign-
made sweaters, when a group of hand
knitters pointed out that some of the
famed lopapeysur—the iconic Icelan-
dic sweater—were being knitted in
China and Taiwan. They contended that
the hand knitters in Iceland were be-
ing denied work, and the labour union
Framsýn requested a list of all shops
selling foreign-made sweaters. Many
designers and sellers said the matter
was actually a question of there not be-
ing enough Icelandic hand knitters to
meet the demand for the sweaters.
For those who want a sweater knit-
ted by an Icelander, you’re advised
to check the label to see specifically
“Hand-knit in Iceland” or “Made in Ice-
land.” But keep in mind these sweaters
only date back to the ’50s, and the de-
sign was likely borrowed from Sweden,
Turkey or South America.
Speaking of foreigners, a polar bear
was allegedly spotted in north Iceland.
Originally reported by some Italian
tourists who said they photographed
and recorded the animal, the Coast
Guard and the police went into action.
They searched for the polar bear by foot
and helicopter for days while advising
residents in the area to be cautious
when traveling outdoors, but turned
up with nothing. What was reported
as “obvious polar bear tracks” turned
out to have been left by a kayaker, and
the photographs of the polar bear—on
further examination—looked more like
seals. Oh well—the year’s not over yet,
so there’s still a chance we’ll get to kill
a polar bear.
A victory for journalism in Iceland
was achieved when two journalists
won a case they took to the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against
the Icelandic state. The two journalists
in question—Björk Eiðsdóttir and Erla
Hlynsdóttir—wrote articles about the
nightclubs Goldfinger and Strawber-
ries, quoting employees who spoke of
illegal activities going on at these clubs.
However, the nightclubs—offended to
have their fine reputations sullied—filed
charges of libel against the two. Ice-
landic courts ruled that the articles be
stricken from public record, and that
the journalists be made to pay damages
to the clubs. Appealing their case to the
ECHR, the court ruled in the journal-
ists’ favour that their articles were part
of the social dialogue of an important
issue and should not be silenced. The
Icelandic government now must pay
the two journalists a combined total
of about 50,000 Euros. Strip clubs take
note!
In a more bizarre turn of events, two
stowaways managed to sneak onto an
Icelandair plane bound for Copenha-
gen, hiding inside the bathroom. While
the two were found before the plane
took off and were summarily arrested,
the incident reflected what appeared to
be a serious breach in airline security.
Isavia, the company which runs Ke-
flavík airport, examined their security
procedures that day and found noth-
ing unusual, concluding that the two
stowaways must have been very well
organized, that there was anything par-
ticularly lacking in their security. Glad
we got that cleared up.
Not everyone has had the best luck
with travel though, it seems. MP Bir-
gitta Jónsdóttir was advised by the For-
eign Ministry not to travel to the US due
to an investigation that the US Depart-
ment of Justice is currently conducting
against Wikileaks. Birgitta was once a
volunteer for the website, and did have
the contents of her Twitter account
subpoenaed by the DoJ.
The matter was fought in court, and
is still far from over. The advice she
received from Icelandic authorities, it
should be noted, contradicts what of-
ficials from the US embassy told her—
that it was perfectly OK for her to travel
to the US. The Americans might even
be right, but hey, would you take any
chances?
PAUL FONTAINE
“In a more bizarre turn of events, two stowaways
managed to sneak onto an Icelandair plane bound
for Copenhagen, hiding inside the bathroom”
Trivia | What do you know?
Trivia Question!
What had the greatest influence
on tourists’ decision to visit Ice-
land?
A. Icelandic nature
B. Icelandic culture/history
C. Attractive price offers/low airfares
D. Stopover opportunity in Iceland
E. Iceland's world-renowned ham-
burgers

Turn to page 33 for the answer.
Hint: If you know your Tom Cruise,
then this is obvious.