Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.04.2013, Side 13

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15. apríl 2013 • 13
EVENTS
Thursday 18 April
Selkirk, MB: 120th Annual Sumardagurinn
Fyrsti. Icelandic National League Bruin
Chapter invites you the First Day of Summer
Concert. Doors open at 7 p.m. Concert
begins at 7:30 p.m. Selkirk Legion, 403
Eveline St. Entertainment, raffle, food, silent
auction, fun, fellowship. Collection at the
door. Everyone Welcome.
Friday 19 April
Winnipeg, MB: The Icelandic Canadian Frón
wine pairing dinner at the Scandinavian
Centre SOLD OUT.
4 and 5 May
Markerville, AB: Spring has Sprung at
Fensala Hall. May 4, 7:30 p.m. Dessert
Theatre. May 5, 12:30 p.m. Brunch Theatre.
Details contact Bernice 403-728-3595
Saturday 20 April
Calgary, AB: 40th Anniversary of LEIC at
the Scandinavian Centre, 2 - 6 p.m.
Sunday 21 April
Nanaimo, BC: Mið Eyja – the Central
Vancouver Island Icelandic Club – Our book
club presents a Icelandic movie afternoon
from 1 – 3 p.m. Movie TBA. All are welcome.
Email solveigis@telus.net or lmhooper@
shaw.ca for more information, or call Judy
at 250-729-5581.
SATURDAY 27 April
Winnipeg, MB: The Jon Sigurdson Chapter
IODE will hold its Spring Bridge and Whist
Luncheon at Betelstadur, 1061 Sargent
Ave. at Erin. Bake Sale starts at 11 a.m.
Luncheon at 11:45, followed by card
playing. Door prizes and prizes for Bridge
and Whist. Admission $12. Tickets at the
door. Proceeds go to support the annual
IODE Scholarship Program. Everyone is
welcome.
Sunday 28 April
Nanaimo, BC: Mið Eyja – the Central
Vancouver Island Icelandic Club will hold its
monthly general meeting from 1 – 3 p.m. All
members and those interested in the club
or in Iceland are very welcome to attend.
Please email solveigis@telus.net or call
Judy at 250-729-5581.
Sunday 5 May
Winnipeg, MB: Come join us for a delicious
Sunday Brunch at the Scandinavian Centre,
764 Erin Street hosted by the Icelandic
Canadian Frón. Catered by Michael of
Bonne Cuisine, from 11 – 1:30 p.m. $13.50
for adults, $6 for children 8-12, and ages 7
and under free. Everyone welcome.
Thursday 23 May
Calgary, AB: Senior’s luncheon at the
Scandinavian Centre. Email Gwen for more
details. ldgomann@gmail.com.
Edmonton, AB: ICCE Strawberry Spring
Tea. Danish/Icelandic Library. 15212 117
Ave. 1 – 4 p.m.
ICELANDIC CLASSES
Mondays starting 1 April
Calgary, AB: Icelandic Language Study
Group. Please join us on Monday nights at 7
p.m. starting on April 1st,. There is no cost
to attend and all skill levels are welcome.
They will be held at 1320 – 16th Avenue
S.W. Please contact Natalie Wirth if you
would like to attend at ngwirth@yahoo.com
or at 403-875-9854.
Mondays starting 15 April
Toronto, ON: ICCT Language Classes
(Íslenskukennsla). Now accepting regis-
trations for spring session, 15 April until
10 June. Eight consectutive weeks (Excl.
20 May). Adult Icelandic Level 1 (Beginner)
and Level 2 (Intermediate) Contact Arden
at classes@icct.info. 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. (at
the Morningside-high Park Presbyterian
Church. Cost: $75 ICCT members, $85 non
ICCT members. Contact Arden Jackson;
classes@icct.info.
Tuesdays
Burnaby, BC: Icelandic Language Classes
for 8 weeks. 7 – 9 p.m. Scandinavian Centre,
6540 Thomas St. 604-294-2777. Cost
$50. All levels welcome. Instructor Gunnar
Hansson, Professor of Linguistics, UBC.
Wednesdays
Arborg, MB: Meet to speak Icelandic 3 p.m.
Molasopi at Eldhús restaurant at the Arborg
Hotel. No pressure.
Third Thursday
Arborg, MB: Changed from Tuesdays to
Thursdays. Arborg Hotel lounge, 8 p.m.,
Kaffitími for those who want to learn words
or phrases. No pressure.
GENEALOGY
Sundays
Victoria, BC: The first Sunday of each
month the Icelanders of Victoria offer a
genealogy night open-house style at Fred
Bjarnason’s. You will have the opportunity
to use his collection of genealogy books,
use his password to a variety of databases
and have an experienced hand to guide
you in your quest to find your Icelandic
ancestors. Please join us from 6 – 9 p.m.
Fred Bjarnason 250-477-3535.
LITERATURE
Lestrarfélagið Gleym-mér-ei
Winnipeg, MB
Lestrarfélagið Gleym-mér-ei, an English-
language reading society for Icelandic
Canadians and their friends, meets monthly
at the Icelandic Collection in the Elizabeth
Dafoe Library of the U of M. Anyone who
loves reading and conversation is welcome
to attend. 7 p.m.
17 April: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir – Last Rituals
30 May: Robert Johnson and Janey Westin
– The Last Norse King of North America
þorrablót
Saturday 13 April
Foam Lake, SK: Vatnabyggð Icelandic Club
of Saskatchewan annual þorrablót. Canadian
and Icelandic buffet, entertainment, dancing,
raffles, door prizes. Foam Lake Community
Hall, 321 Chant Street Advance tickets only.
Contact Joan at joan@lh-inc.ca or Stella at
306-328-2077.
Send information to appear in the Calendar of Events to catherine@lh-inc.ca.
Please include date, place, time and other particulars.
For more listings, visit our website at www.lh-inc.ca.
Icelandic Classes
Genealogy
Literature
Þorrablót
iceland News Briefs
Former Kaupthing management indicted
mbl.is – The Special Prosecutor has indicted
nine people for their involvement in Kaupthing
Bank’s extensive market manipulation with its
own shares before the banking collapse in 2007.
This involves an enormous issue on a global scale,
as well as the most extensive case that the Office
of the Special Prosecutor has brought. The accused
have been served with the indictment. They include
the bank’s former Chairman of the Board Sigurdur
Einarsson, its former President Hreidar Mar
Sigurdsson, the former President of Kaupthing
Bank Luxembourg Magnus Gudmundsson and
former President of Kaupthing Bank in Iceland
Ingolfur Helgason. The other indictees in case are
all former employees of the bank. There are said
to be five cases involved, revolving around alleged
market manipulation relating to Kaupthing Bank.
They have been combined into a single indictment.
According to Fréttablaðið, the indictment is in
part because of the bank’s purchase of 29% of
its own shares in the period 2005-2008, which
the Special Prosecutor deems to have served the
purpose of propping up the price of the bank’s
shares with the knowledge and at the direction of
its top management.
Old Landsbanki management indicted
State Radio News – Sigurjon Th. Arnason,
Elin Sigfusdottir and Ivar Gudjonsson, along with
three other employees of the old Landsbanki, have
been indicted for alleged market manipulation
involving tens of billions of krónur. The indictment
covers three separate cases. One of them is related
to loans to Imon ehf., investor Magnus Armann’s
company. Imon bought shares in Landsbanki
for ISK 9 billion (US$ 71.5M) just before the
bank’s fall in 2007. According the report of
Alþingi’s Special Investigation Commission,
all the shares were bought from the bank’s Own
Shares Department. The indictment states that
Imon received Landsbanki’s authorisation for
a ISK 5 billion (US$ 39.7M) loan at the end of
September 2008 to buy the bank’s own shares. In
2010 the Financial Supervisory Authority, Iceland,
filed a complaint on the matter with the Special
Prosecutor, and an extensive investigation was
launched. This is the first major case brought by
the Special Prosecutor against the old Landsbanki.
Thus, indictments involving all the major banks
have now been issued.
Arctic Council shall be the only forum
Fréttablaðið – Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl
Bildt and Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson
(Social Dem-ocratic Alliance) agree that it is right
that more states be granted observer status in the
Arctic Council. This will ensure the Council’s
position as the only forum for discussion of issues
related to the Arctic regions. These views emerged
in the ministers’ speeches during the opening of
an international conference on challenges and
opportunities in Arctic regions that the recently
founded Research Centre at the University of
Iceland on Arctic Regions organised this week.
Eight states are members of the Council. In addi-
tion, six other states have observer status. More
states have applied for observer status, including
China. Skarphedinsson and Bildt said in their
speeches that they hope that the council will be
strengthened in the coming years. Part of this
process includes adding observers. By getting more
parties to accept the council’s criteria and rules,
“we can secure the Arctic Council’s position as the
only collaborative forum,” said Bildt. He added that
if other states were turned away, the result could
be that they would look elsewhere. More observers,
on the other hand, would not entail less power of
the member states. Skarphedinsson agreed with this
view and added that states would not be admitted as
observers unless they accepted the council’s rules
and contributed to research efforts.
Iceland has highest inflation in EEA
eyjan.is – Iceland’s inflation is many times
higher than elsewhere in Europe. At the same time
as inflation in Iceland stands at 6.2%, the aver-
age rate of inflation in other states in the EEA is
only 1.9%. This was pointed out in Islandsbanki’s
Morning Bulletin, based on an analysis of figures
from Statistics Iceland. Inflation in the Eurozone
decreased from 2% to 1.8% between January and
February. The inflation in EEA states is on average
1.9%, having decreased by 0.2 percentage points
between the months. In February 2012 inflation
in the Eurozone was 2.7% and 2.9% in the EEA.
Furthermore, this is the first time that inflation falls
below 2%, the European Central Bank’s inflation
goal, since November 2010. Based on the coordi-
nated Consumer Price Index, inflation was 6.2% in
Iceland in February this year. Thereby inflation in-
creased from the previous month only in Iceland.
Reprinted with permission from INB, published
by KOM PR
The Lögberg-Heimskringla
CaLeNDar of eVeNts
Events
It was the summer of 1955. I was thirteen years old and in Lundar for the summer.
I spent my time at my Uncle’s
garage on Railway Avenue
helping clean floors, pump gas
and fill parts shelves. Uncle
Harold paid me 50 cents a
week and he took me fishing
at least once a week. I loved
my job as I could be with my
cousins Len and Raymond.
In July the June Grass
Company came to collect seed
from the farmers. The seed was
dried and bagged by several men
at a processing plant south east
of Lundar. One day the boss of
the company was in the garage
and told Uncle Harold he was
looking for more help and my
uncle volunteered his nephew.
I went to the plant the next
day and was offered a job at 85
cents an hour. WOW! I would
be rich. I did as I was told and
after working three or four
eight-hour days, the boss asked
me to come to his trailer to talk
to him.
I was worried I had not
done the job properly or worked
hard enough. He said had been
watching me work and that since
I worked like a man, starting the
next day he would pay me like
a man. I would be getting $1.25
an hour. I was very proud of
this and remember it like it was
yesterday.
This fair man impressed
upon me the attitude I had for
the rest of my life – to work
hard and always do the best job
I could.
Brian Tomasson, a long-time member of the
Lögberg-Heimskringla Board of Directors, is the
Chair of the Subscriptions Committee. He has
been successful in maintaining the subscriber
numbers both by embracing new technology with
online subscriptions and with his persistence in
improving the subscriber base.
Born and brought up in Riverton MB, Brian
has remained true to his small town roots. He
is a gentle giant of a man who is a natural-
born storyteller. Short and pithy, his boyhood
memories of living in a small town in the early
’50s will bring a smile to any and all readers.
Many readers will recognize and remember
with nostalgia the freedoms that boys and girls
enjoyed throughout the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.
Editor’s note: If our readers enjoy Brian’s
delightful stories perhaps they will submit similar
memories of their own. Perhaps we can develop
a pattern of changes with childhood adventures
throughout the decades leading up to today.
Elva Jónasson, Winnipeg, MB
June Grass
Brian Tomasson
Winnipeg, MB
Arborg Ashern eriksdAle Fisher brAnch
376-2798 768-2733 739-2137 372-8411
642-6450 389-2550378-5121768-2437
gimli moosehorn riverton Winnipeg beAch