Reykjavík Grapevine


Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.03.2018, Blaðsíða 6

Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.03.2018, Blaðsíða 6
Iceland is not a country friendly to gambling. Sure, there are digital slots and scratch-off tickets, but there are no casinos. Even underground gambling is scarce at best. But even in the most intensely anti-gambling countries in the world, in any given major city you can usually find policy betting, also known as a numbers racket, or gambling in its purest form. Arguably, policy betting would take off here. Any smart bookie can offer 500:1 odds on a randomly gener- ated, publicly available, 3-digit number that can’t be easily manipu- lated - like, say, the last three digits of the day’s closing trade-weighted index for the króna. As the odds of actually hitting this number are really far greater than 500:1, book- ies could make a killing, while bettors could get a pile of tax-free cash. Everybody wins. Sadly, we’ve asked around and could find no action of this kind that we could get in on. Take note, aspiring gang- sters. Until such time as someone takes this impor- tant step, policy betting remains yet another thing missing in Iceland. PF Policy Betting The news of the death of Haukur Hilmars- son, an Icelandic activist and anarchist who in all likelihood was killed fight- ing Turkish forces in Afrin, Syria last month, has sent shock waves through the Icelandic community. His death has brought the Kurdish cause and Turk- ish abuses to the forefront of attention and discussion, and his legacy as a tireless crusader for human rights has been cele - brated. Some of the ways in which his memory have been honoured have raised criticism, if not outright condemnation, from the people who knew him best. One prime example of this was a conference held last Saturday on the Syrian situation. Attended by amongst others Prime Minister Katrní Jakobsdót- tir, the guests of honour were blogger Vanessa Beeley and writer Tim Anderson. Both of these people have been outspo- ken supporters of Bashar al-Assad, the Baathist leader of Syria whose heavy- handed response to popular protests calling for his removal has prompted a civil war. The flag of Assadic Syria graced the podium of the conference, and Anderson’s book, The Dirty War On Syria, was dedicated to Hilmar’s memory. An anarchist would not back Assad Beeley’s theories about the reality of Syria, which includes the belief that the well-documented chemical weapons attacks on Syrian civilians are a hoax and the White Helmets employ crisis actors, deviate so greatly from all evidence that not even journalists for public broad- casting wanted to interview her. More importantly, pretty much everyone Haukur stood and fought for is diametri- cally opposed to the rhetoric of Ander- son and Beeley. Haukur was not just a human rights activist; he was also an anarchist, and opposed authority in all its forms, let alone that of a brutal dictator like Assad. In Syria, Haukur fought in the Interna- tional Freedom Battalion, a group of communists and anarchists from around the world lending tactical support to the YPG, also known as the People’s Protec- tion Units, a Kurdish fighting force that has virtually eliminated the Islamic State from northern Syria and are now battling heavy shelling conducted by Turkey. Furthermore, the Kurds in the region have organised themselves within the framework of “democratic confederalism”, an anarchist form of direct democracy on a municipal level. As such, it is highly unlikely that Haukur would have felt honoured by having his name attached to Assad. Family & friends displeased The meeting had been organised in part and was conducted by former Left- Green MP Ögmundur Jónasson, who had invited Katrín to attend. She has since told the press that she had not famil- iarised herself with the work of Beeley or Anderson. Benjamín Julian, who had been a friend of Haukur’s for many years, took to Facebook to express his grave disappointment with the whole affair. “This would have been a ridiculous ceremony any day of the year, but today it’s just bitter and cruel,” Benjamin wrote. “Haukur was killed alongside the rebels, fighting dictatorship, fascism, oppression, nationalism, chauvinism and stupidity, while Assad looks at the country as his own personal property.” Whatever can be said of Assad, one thing is certain: everything Assad stands for, and Hilmar stood for, find no common ground between them. wrote. “Haukur was killed alongside the rebels, fighting dictatorship, fascism, oppression, nationalism, chauvinism and stupidity, while Assad looks at the country as his own personal property.” Whatever can be said of Assad, one thing is certain: everything Assad stands for, and Hilmar stood for, find no common ground between them. Pro-Assad Writers Hold Conference In Iceland Prompting outrage from friends & family of pro-Kurdish fighter and anarchist Haukur Hilmarsson Words: Paul Fontaine Photo: International Freedom Battalion First T EMPL A R A SUND 3 , 101 RE Y K JAV ÍK , T EL : 5711822, W W W.BERGSSON. IS BREAKFAST FROM 7 LUNCH FROM 12 Haukur Hilmarsson fought for freedom; not Assad “In Syria, Haukur fought in the Inter- national Freedom Battalion” Words: Kinga Kozłowska A: Iceland is famous for being a leader in the fight for gender equal- ity, topping the World Economic F o r u m ’ s G l o b a l Gender Gap Index for some years. On the occasion of International Wom- ens’ Day, I reached out to a sociolo- gist from The University of Iceland to delve a little bit deeper into the subject of equality between wom- en and men and to find out what could be the next pending issue. “The situation of women in Ice- land looks very good when you com- pare it to some of the other coun- tries (the United States, for example), but there is still room left for im- provement,” says Berglind Rós Mag- núsdóttir who specialises in gender issues in the context of education. “Women are welcome to participate in male-dominated sectors and we are treated more or less as equals there, but our work done in the traditionally feminine field of care - like being a nurse or a preschool teacher - is just not valued enough,” she emphasises. It seems that the wage gap between men and women is closing only in those male-domi- nated areas, while the more feminine professions are left behind. “It is im- portant to remember that becom- ing a nurse requires as many years of education as becoming an engi- neer and that it might be seen as a much more labour-intensive kind of work. Still, it is neither compen- sated nor valued accordingly and this needs to be changed in order for the society to become truly equal,” she concludes. ASK A Sociologist Q: What Could Be The Next Step In The Struggle For Gender Equality? 6 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 04 — 2018 MISSING IN ICELAND
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