Reykjavík Grapevine


Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2018, Blaðsíða 4

Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.05.2018, Blaðsíða 4
What Are Iceland- ers Talking About? The latest eruptions from Icelandic social media Words: Paul Fontaine Photo: Art Bicnick The hottest topic on Icelandic social media at the time of this writing is Israel’s win at Euro- vision, who pulled to the top of the list thanks to the popular vote. Icelanders are generally very criti- cal of Israeli foreign and domes- tic policy, and the recent spate of Israeli soldiers shooting unarmed Gaza protesters didn’t help endear anyone to Israel’s win. While a lot of Icelanders have been suggesting Iceland boycott Eurovision next year—especially as it will report- edly be held in Jerusalem—others have emphasised the importance of separating the artist from their country of origin. Regardless, convincing Icelanders to boycott their beloved Eurovision is noth- ing short of a monumental task. With municipal elections coming up, people are more talk- ing about the issues at stake in Reykjavík rather than the parties running. Of particular inter- est to capital area residents is a proposed development of Örfiri- sey, located at the very tip of the Reykjavík peninsula which is currently the home of several large oil tankers. The Independence Party wants to develop Örfirisey into a kind of Icelandic version of Bahrain’s Floating City. Interest- ingly, this idea was also floated in 2005 by then Independence Party Mayor Vilhjálmur Þ. Vilhjálmsson, but after it was pointed out that putting a bunch of single-family homes at the far end of town would tremendously increase car traffic in the city, he withdrew the idea in favour of developing Vatns- mýri (where the domestic airport is currently located) instead. Speaking of the capital, the controversy over the Harpa concert hall pay scandal is still raging. As you might recall, the director of Harpa was awarded a 20% pay rise while service workers were asked to take a significant pay cut. Initially, management was dismissive over the discrep- ancy, but then everyone from union leaders to city councilp- ersons began to chime in across social media. It wasn’t long before the director asked for her pay rise to be rescinded, and there is currently some talk about nulli- fying the service worker pay cut. Which just goes to show you: sometimes being mad on the internet really can make a differ- ence. Another topic of great conten- tion right now is a tax on soft drinks. Minister of Health Svan- dís Svavarsdóttir, of the Left- Greens, has introduced a bill from the Directorate of Health that would increase the tax on sodas— a measure the Independence Party has been decidedly against—while lowering taxes on fruits and vege- tables. You’d think this would be a harmless non-partisan idea, but in fact, it faces strong opposition not only from the Independence Party but also from business leaders. In fact, the Federation of Icelandic Industries has likened the bill to a form of discrimination. Who knew that Pepsi you’re drinking had human rights? 4The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 08 — 2018First Harpa was the source of a recent pay controversy Published by Fröken ehf. Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík www.grapevine.is grapevine@ grapevine.is Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association www.saf.is Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25,000 copies. PUBLISHER Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson hilmar@grapevine.is +354 540 3601 publisher@ grapevine.is EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Valur Grettisson valur@grapevine.is MANAGING EDITOR John Rogers john@grapevine.is ART DIRECTOR Sveinbjörn Pálsson sveinbjorn@ grapevine.is NEWS EDITOR Paul Fontaine paul@grapevine.is TRAVEL EDITOR John Rogers john@grapevine.is PHOTO EDITOR Art Bicnick art@grapevine.is WEB EDITOR Alice Demurtas alice@grapevine.is LISTINGS DIRECTOR Hannah Jane Cohen listings@listings.is LAYOUT Þorsteinn Davíðsson COPY EDITOR Natalie Ouellette EDITORIAL INTERNS Kinga Kozlowska Juliana Iluminata Phil Uwe Widiger ILLUSTRATION Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir Elín Elísabet CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alexander Jean de Fontenay Alice Demurtas Aron Ingi Guðmundsson Björn Teitsson Björn Halldórsson Cairán Daly Greig Robertson Hannah Jane Cohen Juliana Iluminata Wilczynski John Rogers Kinga Kozłowska Phil Uwe Widiger Paul Fontaine Rex Beckett Shruthi Basappa PHOTOGRAPHERS Art Bicnick Alexander Húgó Atli Már Hafsteinsson Baldur Kristjánsson Cairán Daly Hörður Sveinsson Magnús Andersen Kinnat Sóley Sam Finney Timothée Lambrecq Tony Sandoval SALES DIRECTORS Aðalsteinn Jörundsson adalsteinn@ grapevine.is Helgi Þór Harðarson helgi@grapevine.is EDITORIAL +354 540 3600 editor@grapevine.is ADVERTISING +354 540 3605 ads@grapevine.is DISTRIBUTION & SUBSCRIPTIONS +354 540 3604 distribution@ grapevine.is PRESS RELEASES listings@grapevine.is GENERAL INQUIRIES grapevine@grapevine.is FOUNDERS Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson, Hörður Kristbjörnsson, Jón Trausti Sigurðarson, Oddur Óskar Kjartansson, Valur Gunnarsson The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 21 times a year by Fröken ltd. Monthly from December through February, and fortnightly from March til October. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations along road #1, and all major tourist attractions and tourist information centres in the country. You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles in the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’). Cafe Paris | Austurstræti 14 | 101 Reykjavík cafeparis.is | cafeparis@cafeparis.is | +354 551 1020 BREAKFAST BRUNCH LUNCH DINNER § § §
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