Akureyri - 30.04.2014, Page 14

14 16. tölublað 4. árgangur 30. apríl 2014
Criticism
Our Laurel and Hardy team in
charge of the country seem to be
allergic to criticism. In a wond-
erful turnaround of values they
have accused those who criticize
their “performance” of
being guilty of trying to
take away THEIR rights
to freedom of speech.
Most of us brought up
on political satire like
Spitting Image and the
relentless Icelandic
political spiff “Spaug-
stofan” considered it our
democratic right. And
this government which
repeatedly ignores one
petition after another seems to have
little sensitivity for human rights in
general. Recent attempts to deport
foreigners seeking political imm-
unity have almost succeeded with
visions of babes being snatched
from the arms of desperate mothers
on the dockside only avoided by vast
public outcry and the fear of these
scenes being broadcast on CNN.
The former Bishop is rather upset
about what he calls mil-
itant atheist propaganda.
This was the same chap
that refused to accept
the gay marriage laws
passed in parliament
and conveniently forgot
or lost a complaint about
sexual harassment aga-
inst his predecessor. After
such a performance it is
hardly surprising that the
church has lost a certain
amount of credibility. Perhaps the
way to regain it might be to work
for the common good and seem to
put Christianity into practice rather
than looking for atheist terrorist
Bib Laden to blame.
Being a foreigner, and let’s face
it, however much you try to learn
the language and customs, you
always will remain one, there is a
question as to if you can ever allow
yourself to be critical of anything.
Sooner or later you will be served
with the inevitable rebuttal: “If
you keep complaining about our
country you can just go back where
you came from.” –or other less cour-
teous words to that effect.
My recent article about pensions
brought quite a strong rebuttal.
The implication was that I didn’t
know what I was talking about and
things were worse in the UK. So
the question remains, does a for-
eigner have any right to criticize?
Shouldn’t he just be satisfied that
Iceland has provided him with a
home and clothes on his back?
I would like to think that in 43
years in this country I might have
not only enjoyed the very good
things it has to offer. I might have
actually added something too. I
have certainly worked, paid tax-
es, and added to pension funds. I
think that gives me some say in
how things are done and the right
to free speech if I think things are
not perfect. Elections are another
way to criticize, and they are com-
ing up. And as a musician, I have
had my fare share of criticisms. I
have not always been happy with
them, but to improve as an artist
I have to be prepared to listen to
them and judge for myself if they
are relevant. If I don’t, I can never
improve or develop. Even Laurel
and Hardy did that.
THE ENGLISH CORNER WITH MICHAEL CLARKE
MICHAEL CLARKE
MATARGATIÐ FLEIRI UPPSKRIFTIR Á WWW.ALLSKONAR.IS
Helga Kvam
allskonar.is
And this government
which repeatedly
ignores one petition
after another seems to
have little sensitivity for
human rights in general.
Appelsínu íste 2L
» 10 tepokar (svart eða grænt te)
» hýði af 1 appelsínu
» 1 L vatn
» 1/2 L appelsínusafi
» 8 msk sykur
» 1 l sódavatn
Tími: 1-2 klst
Sjóddu 1 L af vatni og helltu í
stóra skál, settu þar í tepokana og
börkinn af appelsínunni, reyndu að
hafa sem minnst af beiska hvíta hlut-
anum af berkinum. Láttu trekkja í
3-5 mínútur.
Sigtaðu tepokana og börkinn
frá og hrærðu appelsínusafanum
og sykrinum saman við. Hrærðu vel
til að leysa upp sykurinn. Þú getur
notað venjulegan sykur, hrásykur,
pálmasykur, púðursykur, eiginlega
hvað sem þér dettur í hug, meira
að segja hunang. Smakkaðu til en
mundu að þú átt eftir að setja 1L af
sódavatni samanvið, þetta má því
vera mjög sterkt, þú ert aðeins að
smakka til sætuna. Sett á kaldan stað
eða í ísskáp.
Þegar þetta er orðið kalt þá bæt-
irðu sódavatninu við.
Settu þetta í glös; 50/50 te og só-
davatn, fyllt upp með klaka og sett
sneið af appelsínu með.
Það er líka hægt að nota þetta
í bollu, þá er settur 2x meiri sykur,
1 appelsína skorin í sneiðar og 1/2
flaska af rommi eða vodka.