Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.12.2008, Side 3

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Icelandic singer-songwriter Mugison is currently tour-ing Britain, Denmark, Ger-
many and the Netherlands,
countries where account hold-
ers in Icelandic banks have lost
their savings, primarily through
the infamous Icesave deposits.
“We’re going to call it the
Icesave tour,” Mugison told
Fréttabladid, adding that he
does not worry how people
in these countries will react
to him being Icelandic. “We
played in Britain the other day
and everyone was exception-
ally nice.”
“But when we played in
Belgium, this one woman went
crazy,” Mugison added. “We
played for 55 minutes and I
was not in the mood for encore.
[…] She said she had paid 12
euros [USD 15] and that the
[Icelandic] nation had stolen
even more money from her. She
demanded a one-hour show.”
Mugison said he had
solved the problem by playing
two songs for the woman pri-
vately. “She was very pleased
and didn’t demand a refund.
Her friend even recorded it on
YouTube.”
On Sunday Mugison was
interviewed by Danish news-
paper Politiken. “I was in an
idiot column where they ask ir-
ritating questions,” he said and
went on to explain his com-
ments thusly.
“They asked how I felt
about people planning to show
up to my concert with tomatoes
and eggs. I said that they should
by all means but not throw it at
me, just give it to me so I could
sell it at Bónus [an Icelandic
budget grocery chain store].”
Reprinted with permission
from IcelandReview.com.
Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 desember 2008 • 3
Season’s Greetings
Gary Doer
Premier
Editique docket 4046
3.92” X 6”
Deadline: Nov. 15, 2008
The holiday season is always a
unique and exciting time of year in
Manitoba. We take great joy in the
privilege we have of sharing cultural
traditions from around the world.
While one year gives way to the
next, it is natural to relax, take stock
of the past and plan for the future.
It is also an ideal time for us to
connect with our families, friends
and communities to reflect and
renew. As we gather to celebrate,
we find many opportunities to
deepen our appreciation for our
neighbours and the free and
peaceful society we live in together.
On behalf of the Manitoba
government, we thank our fellow
citizens of all cultural backgrounds
for the richness of their contributions
to this province. It is our pleasure
to wish you and your families
happiness, good health and
prosperity in the year to come.
Nancy Allan
Minister responsible
for Multiculturalism
Left-Greens rated as
Iceland’s most popular
For the first time in the his-tory of the Left-Green Movement, it is rated as
having the largest constituency
of all the political parties in Ice-
land, enjoying the support of 32
percent of participants in a new
opinion poll by Capacent Gal-
lup.
The Social Democrat Alli-
ance is almost as popular with a
support of 31 percent, while 21
percent of participants declared
their support for the other gov-
ernment party, the Independence
Party, a historic low, Frétta-
bladid reports.
The approval rating for Ice-
land’s government hasn’t been as
low since 1993, close to 32 per-
cent. In November, the approval
rating for the Independence
Party-Social Democrat coalition
was less than 50 percent since
the term began in May 2007.
A number of participants are
undecided about which party
they would vote for if there were
elections today; 16 percent said
they would hand in an empty
ballot.
A ptarmagan hunter went missing in Iceland’s southern highlands,
while herring infection struck
the nation’s fishing industry,
rendering much of the fish ined-
ible to humans. The króna has
hit a new low. Protestors barged
into Iceland’s central bank,
throwing eggs and splashing
paint on the walls, and a hump-
back whale has been fitted with
a transmitter and is being mon-
itored by the Icelandic Marine
Research Institute.
The monstrous ogres of
Christmas, Grýla and Leppalú-
di, visited Iceland’s National
Museum on December 7. For-
tune magazine has harshly
criticized Central Bank gov-
ernor Davið Oddson in a new
article, and Oddson has vowed
to return to politics if he is for
any reason forced out of his
position at the bank. Passenger
traffic at Keflavík has dropped
precipitously. A new fund has
been founded with the goal
of protecting Iceland’s natu-
ral resources and wildlife, and
a priest in South Iceland has
been found not guilty of sexual
harassment.
A student in Akureyri has
received the Young Scientist
Prize. Three films by Fridrik
Thor Fridriksson, Children of
Nature, Cold Fever and Devil’s
Island, have been re-released
on DVD with new features and
supplements. Icelandic punk
rockers Dr. Spock have re-
leased their newest album, Fal-
con Christ, and a new Icelandic
Christmas carol, composed by
Jón Ásgeirsson, was premiered
by eight different women’s
choirs across Iceland at the
same time.
The population of the
Westman Islands has increased
for the first time in seventeen
years. The Christmas tree in
Reykjavík’s parliamentary
square, which is an annual gift
from the city of Oslo, was lit
in a special ceremony; while
on the same day another was
lit across town at the Kringlan
shopping mall. Prime Minister
Geir Haarde’s request that his
salary, along with those of oth-
er high-ranking officials, be cut
by five to fifteen percent has
been turned down by the wage
council. The publisher of the 90
year-old daily Morgunbladid is
seeking investors. A new poll
shows that Icelanders are more
pessimistic now than they have
ever been before.
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Pagans honor Iceland’s
protective spirits
Members of Ásatrúar-félagid, a religious association which
honors the old Norse gods, cel-
ebrated Iceland’s Sovereignty
Day on December 1st by hon-
oring the country’s protective
spirits, the landvaettir, as de-
scribed in Snorri Sturluson’s
Heimskringla.
According to Heimskringla,
the landvaettir thwart a sorcerer
disguised as a whale from swim-
ming ashore and thus prevent
him from spying on the Icelan-
dic people for the Danish king.
During the ceremony, the
high chieftain of Ásatrúarfé-
lagid, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson,
said these guardian spirits are
still protecting the Icelandic
country and nation, Morgun-
bladid reports.
The pagan association or-
ganized landvaettir ceremonies
in five places in Iceland, Vo-
pnafjördur in the east, Eyjafjör-
dur in the north, Snaefellsnes
in the west and Straumsvík (by
Hafnarfjördur) in the south,
all places where the sorcerer-
whale tried to swim ashore, and
in Thingvellir, where Iceland’s
Althingi parliament was found-
ed in 930 AD.
During the Straumsvík cer-
emony, pagan priests of Reyk-
janes, Haukur Halldórsson,
burned a picture of Prime Min-
ister Geir H. Haarde.
The landvaettir—the Giant,
the Dragon, the Eagle and the
Bull—are depicted in Iceland’s
coat of arms and on the Icelan-
dic króna.
Reprinted with permission
from IcelandReview.com.
Mugison goes on
Icesave tour
PHoto: Leif NormaN
Mugison lays down a fearsome Mugiboogie to save his land.