Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2006, Qupperneq 8
Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir Wins
Miss World 2005
Part-time police officer and law stu-
dent Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir
was crowned Miss World in Sanya,
China last month. Vilhjálmsdóttir
told Icelandic reporters she intends
to travel, but will resume her studies
for her law degree soon.
Prime Minister Halldór Ás-
grímsson sent a letter of praise to
Miss World 2005 winner Unnur
Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir on behalf
of the Icelandic people. However,
feminists Edda Jónsdóttir, Katrín
Anna Guðmundsdóttir and Rósa
Erlingsdóttir criticised the PM’s
statement, saying that it demeans
their struggle for women to be ap-
preciated for their merit instead of
their appearance.
Shortly thereafter, Margrét
Sverrisdóttir, the vice chairman
of the Women’s Rights Society of
Iceland, issued a statement saying
that the Feminist Association of
Iceland was “rude” to say that Miss
World 2005 winner Unnur Birna
Vilhjálmsdóttir won the contest
based on her appearance alone. “We
believe that Ms. Vilhjálmsdóttir
won for many reasons other than
her appearance,” said Sverrisdót-
tir in part. “Even though we’re not
fond of these contests, we can see
no reason to do anything other than
congratulate her.”
Women from Iceland were also
crowned Miss World in 1989 and in
1962.
Mouse Head Found in Frozen
Vegetables
A mouse’s head was found in a
bag of Hátíðarblöndu brand frozen
vegetables last month. The Ministry
for the Environment has issued a
recall on the vegetables, which bear
the “best fyrir” (sell by) date of 8
November 2007.
According to RÚV, Óskar Ísfeld
Sigurðsson of the Food Inspec-
tion Supervisory says that the raw
vegetables are processed “overseas,”
and suspects that the mouse head
originated from outside Iceland
- despite the fact that mice do exist
in Iceland.
It is not known what became of
the mouse’s body. Anyone who has
purchased Hátíðarblöndu brand fro-
zen vegetables with the 8 November
2007 sell-by date are asked to return
the package to the store where they
were purchased.
Hekla to Erupt Within Next Four
Years
Geologists have predicted that
Hekla, Iceland’s most active volcano,
will in all likelihood erupt within the
next four years. The last eruption
was in 1999, and was very mild.
Recent readings of the area show
pressure building within the volcano.
How great the eruption will be is not
yet known.
Cost of Citizenship Application to
Rise
According to a bill put into parlia-
ment by Minister of Finance Árni
Mathiesen, the application fee for
applying for Icelandic citizenship
will be raised by 1,350 ISK to 10,000
ISK, while the fee for announcing
citizenship will be raised by 1,350
ISK to 5,000 ISK.
According to Morgunblaðið, a
portion of the bill will also raise the
cost for applying for permanent work
and residence status. In addition, this
same bill proposes adding a 2,000
ISK fee for applying a child’s name
to the Name Committee, which
has the power to either approve or
reject a child’s name as legal. This
power does not apply to foreign-born
parents—who may name their child
according to their own traditions.
Former Equal Rights Director
Wins Suit Against State
Valgerður H. Bjarnadóttir, the
former director of the Equal Rights
Office, was awarded six million ISK
(about 100,000 USD) in damages in
the Supreme Court last month, with
the Ministry of Social Affairs being
the one to foot the bill.
According to Morgunblaðið,
Bjarnadóttir contended that she was
unfairly pressured into quitting her
job by Minister of Social Affairs
Árni Magnússon.
Bjarnadóttir told reporters that
the court’s ruling was a “victory for
justice in this country,” while Min-
ister Magnússon said he was happy
that the case was finally closed.
Foreign Minister: Farmers Should
Expect Competition
Foreign Minister Geir H. Haarde,
at a conference of World Trade
Organization (WTO) ministers, said
that farmers in Iceland should expect
to compete in the international
market. According to RÚV, Gylfi
Arnbjörnsson, managing director
for the Confederation of Icelandic
Labour Unions (ASÍ), added that
if import tariffs are raised alongside
subsidies to farmers, this will ef-
fectively eliminate competition and
result in rising prices for consumers
in Iceland.
Eggertsson to Run for First Seat
Reykjavík City Councilman Dagur
B. Eggertsson announced last month
his intention to run for the first seat
for the Social Democratic Party
in the city council elections this
spring. “The Independence Party
has enjoyed the space left behind,”
since the dissolution of R-list, said
Eggertsson, “without offering any
ideas. This is why I’ve decided that I
can no longer sit idly by.” Eggertsson
promised a “hard battle” right after
the new year. Among the ideas in his
platform are the creation of 6,000
new apartments, the elimination
of the wage difference between the
sexes, and the reduction of car traffic
downtown.
Iceland Begins Exporting Sand
Sand is becoming one of Iceland’s
fastest growing exports. Ómar
Antonsson, who owns land in
Hornafjörður, has so far sold 5,000
tonnes of sand to the US, with 1,000
tonnes slated for export in January.
Antonsson says the sand is sought
after for its black colour, and he ex-
pects to sell 10,000 tonnes by 2007.
Falun Gong Seeks Damages from
Government
The Alþingi Ombudsman has
reached the decision that Icelandic
authorities did not have legal provi-
sions to deny entry into the country
to suspected Falun Gong practition-
ers during Chinese president Jiang
Zemin’s visit to the country in 2002.
To that end, Icelandic authorities in-
structed Icelandair to deny individu-
als in at least ten airports in Europe
and North America the right to
board the company’s Iceland-bound
aircrafts.
In his examination, the Ombuds-
man pointed out that his examination
of this aspect of the complaint was
solely directed at the legal grounds
upon which Icelandic authorities
claimed to have made the aforemen-
tioned decision. It will be up to the
judicial system to decide whether Ice-
landic authorities are to pay damages.
According to Ragnar Aðalsteinsson,
the lawyer for Falun Gong, no deci-
sion has been reached yet whether
legal actions will be taken based on
the Ombudsman’s opinion.
Fishermen Accused of Smuggling
Meat
Fourteen crew members on two
Icelandic fishing boats admitted to
having tried to smuggle nearly half
a tonne of beef, pork and poultry
into Eskifjörður yesterday. Accord-
ing to Vísir, the meat was discov-
ered by customs officers and one
crew member was in possession of
fourteen kilos of meat, which he
said was intended for personal use.
If convicted, the crew members face
heavy penalties.
Labour Court Gives Parliament
Raise
The Labour Court decided that
wages for MPs and ministers should
increase by 8%, while the president
should receive an increase by 6%.
The general increase for workers is
at the same time 2.5%. The decision
has met with disapproval by both
labour unions and government offi-
cials, who claim the disproportionate
increases jeopardise stability in the
employment market.
Members of the government
opposition called for Alþingi to
reconvene earlier after Christmas
holidays in order to revise the laws
that regulate the labour court deci-
sions. According to Prime Minister
Halldór Ásgrímsson, revisions will
be passed when Alþingi reconvenes
after the holidays on January 17. Ac-
cording to those revisions, wages for
government officials will follow the
general increases of 2.5%.
Most Icelanders Believe in Afterlife
The majority of Icelanders - about
56% - believe that something hap-
pens after death, although there
seems to be little consensus as to
what that might be. According
to Morgunblaðið, the survey was
conducted by Gallup for Capital
Area Cemeteries, and revealed the
following:
15.3% believe that the soul leaves
the body after death. 9.6% don’t be-
lieve in any form of an afterlife. 8.1%
believe that a person communes
with God after dying. 6% believe
in reincarnation. 41.5% believe the
priest’s sermon is the most important
part of a funeral, 29.2% said it was
the music, and 3.9% said it was the
drinks that follow a funeral. 66.9%
believe burial in a coffin is the best
way to handle one’s remains, 23.5%
preferred the idea of cremation and
then setting the ashes in an urn and
9.7% chose cremation followed by
scattering the ashes.
Construction Contractor Sen-
tenced to Pay Damages
A construction firm has been
sentenced by the Reykjanes District
Court to pay half a million ISK (a
little over 8,000 USD) in damages
for not applying for work permits
for six workers from Lithuania from
2002 to 2003. According to Vísir,
the discovery was made when one of
the workers tried to enter the country
without a passport. Upon searching
his home, police found four other
Lithuanians, none of whom had
work permits. It is suspected that
other aspects of labour law – such as
paying the workers a wage that an
Icelander would receive for the same
work – were also violated.
Giant Goldfish Caught in Húsavík
A goldfish measuring 34 cm long
and weighing 850 grams was caught
just south of Húsavík early this
month. According to Vísir, Jón Sver-
risson, a goldfish expert from Rey-
kjavík, says that this may very well
be the largest goldfish ever caught in
Iceland. Giant plastic castle still not
found.
Icelander 300,000 Born
Iceland’s population officially reached
300,000 on 9 January with the birth
of a boy, son to Erla María Andrés-
dóttir and Haraldur Arnarson of
Reykjanes, in Landspítali hospital.
According to Vísir, Prime Minister
Halldór Ásgrímsson visited the child.
According to Statistics Iceland,
there is one Icelander born every
two hours, while five Icelanders die
every day. In addition, about 3,700
Icelanders emigrated from Iceland in
2005, which is the highest number to
leave the country in many years.
Protest at Ministry of Industry
Fifteen to twenty people took part in
a protest demonstration in the lobby
of the Ministry of Industry earlier
this month to protest heavy industry.
According to Vísir, police were
called, but no arrests were made, as
the protestors calmly left the build-
ing when the offices closed at 16:00.
Reports indicate that most of the
protestors were in their mid-teens.
Salaries in Iceland Higher
The average annual salary in Iceland
is high in comparison with the an-
nual salaries of people in other Euro-
pean countries, according to a survey
conducted by the European statistics
office. The annual salaries of people
working in numerous fields – includ-
ing construction, factory work and
shopkeeping – were studied. In every
country studied, the average annual
salaries of men were higher than the
average annual salaries of women.
Man Commits Suicide After Being
Accused of Rape in DV
A man in his sixties hanged himself
on the morning of 10 January, after
gossip magazine DV ran a full-page
cover photo of the man with the
headline “One-Armed Teacher Said
to Have Raped Boys.”
According to Vísir, the man
denied the charges and despite the
fact that the man was not convicted
of the charges, which Vísir says was
a case of one person’s word against
another’s, DV felt it was justified in
printing the man’s picture.
The man was found by a friend
in his home. The deceased’s brother
told reporters that the family has
been torn apart by the tragedy, and
that he called the news office of DV
to tell them the news, as he believes
the magazine had driven the man to
kill himself.
Jónas Kristjánsson, the editor of
DV, would not comment. But po-
litical commentator Egill Helgason,
writing on his website, has said that
DV has gone too far and must either
“change policies” or be folded.
News in Brief
by Paul F. Nikolov and
Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
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