Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.09.2018, Side 10

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10 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • September 15 2018
The big billboard by the side of the highway
said, “Vikings!” When I was able to check
into it, I found that there was a Viking exhibit,
called The Vikings Begin, at Mystic Seaport Museum
in Mystic, Connecticut. (Yes, this is the same
Mystic as Mystic Pizza of Julia Roberts fame.)
Mystic Seaport Museum is a living museum,
meant to look like a 19th-century fishing
village. Created from 19th-century buildings from
the area that were transported to Mystic, you find a
small village with buildings staffed by people you
would expect to see in the 19th century. You can
learn how newspapers were printed or how rope
was made, among other things. They have a great
collection of figureheads from ships.
Along with the village, the museum also has
exhibit space. Although exhibits typically focus on
American maritime history, they had developed
a relationship with the Gustavianum Museum of
Uppsala University in Sweden and became the host
of this Viking exhibit. While not a huge exhibit,
there is a great collection of artifacts on display,
some from as far back as the 7th century. They
also have video and text talking about the Viking
Age, including the role of women. The focus of
the exhibit is on how the Norse culture evolved,
hence the “begin” of the exhibit title. Some of
the more striking items on display are Viking
helmets (obviously, without horns). One helmet
has eyebrows decorated with gold and garnets.
Wouldn’t that be fun to wear? There are swords
with intricate carvings, as well as jewellery. There
are also items on display that Vikings acquired
through trading and you can see how the cultures
combined.
Most of these artifacts have never before left
Sweden. This exhibition will run in Mystic until
September 30. It then moves on to the Nordic
Museum in Seattle, Washington, starting October 20.
MYSTIC VIKINGS
Merrill Albert
Providence, RI
PHOTOS: MERILL ALBERT
Helmets from The Vikings Begin
at Mystic Seaport Museum
Frettablaðið – Economic affairs are expected
to dominate Alþingi’s agenda this winter. In
addition to work on the budget, wage discussions
and fishing fees will have top priority. Social
Democratic Alliance chair Logi Már Einarsson
said that the government would have to contribute
something concrete to the wage discussions sooner
rather than later. “The budget does not give any
reason for optimism that it will be possible to meet
demands for an equal standard of living, which
will be the prerequisite for successfully resolving
wage issues,” he said. He does not believe the
budget’s leeway sufficient for the government to
move vigorously to meet the challenges of these
wage agreement negotiations.
Minster of Fisheries and Agriculture Kristján
Þór Júlíússon will announce a parliamentary
bill for a new comprehensive act on fishing fees
and bills on salmon farming, including one on
natural resource fees. “Lowering of fishing fees
has been proclaimed. There will probably be
some minor decorative amendments to appease
the Left-Green Movement, but the purpose will
remain the same – just to lower the fees. What
we want is that this national share shall be
completely clear – that we achieve reconciliation
on who owns the nation’s share of the natural
resource,” said Reform Party Chair Þorgerður
Katrín Gunnarsdóttir. In addition to discussions
of wages and fishing fees, Þorgerður predicts that
healthcare issues will be prominent in politics
this winter.
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir (Left-
Green Movement) will also bring issues to the
winter agenda, which some observers expect to
provoke much discussion. Worth mentioning
in this regard is re-examination of the Act
on the Central Bank of Iceland. Amongst the
considerations is increasing the number of deputy
governors of the bank from one to two.
Reprinted with permission from Icelandic News
Briefs, published by KOM PR.
PARTY CHAIRS EXPECT CLASHES IN ALÞINGI
mbl.is – Foreign Minister
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson
embarked on a four-day visit
to China in early September.
He held meetings with Vice
President of the People’s
Republic of China Wang
Qisan and Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi. According
to Guðlaugur, China has
become one of the world’s
main economic powers, and its
influence in the international
system has become very great.
He said it was important to
get an opportunity to discuss
the countries’ mutual interests
directly with two of China’s
highest-ranking leaders.
“Trade ranks highest since
it has grown steadily with the
entry into force of the free
trade agreement. We agreed we
could utilize more opportunities
in that area,” said Iceland’s
foreign minister. Among the
issues discussed were better
utilization of the countries’ free
trade agreement, air traffic, and
tourism. The governments of
the two states are interested in
establishing direct scheduled
flights between Iceland and
China.
Climate change was also
near the top of the agenda at
both meetings, as well as the
related matter of collaboration
on geothermal energy.
Icelanders and the Chinese have
collaborated successfully in this
area for more than a decade.
Also, Guðlaugur explained
Iceland’s future leadership of
the Arctic Council, where China
is an observer.
The foreign minister
also addressed human rights.
“Human rights are a key part of
Iceland’s foreign policy, and we
should not delay putting them
on the agenda, not least now
when Iceland has taken a seat
on the United Nations’ Human
Rights Council. I presented
our position, and we had a
constructive dialogue on these
matters.”
While in China, Guðlaugur
and Chinese officials signed a
new protocol to the free trade
agreement between Iceland and
China on the health certification
of Icelandic lamb meat. In
addition, he and Vice Minister
of Commerce, Fu Ziying, signed
an agreement on increased
cooperation on geothermal
energy and electronic commerce.
Working groups to elaborate on
the agreement will be appointed,
and Iceland expects a delegation
on electronic trade this fall. “The
agreement we signed today
clearly entails mutual gains
because green energy sources are
a priority in China’s policy on the
environment and climate change,
and there we truly have many
things to offer. Collaboration
on electronic commerce is, in
addition important, for further
progress on the countries’
commercial relations, and China
is in the forefront of this area,”
the foreign minister observed
after the signing.
Reprinted with permission
from Icelandic News Briefs,
published by KOM PR.
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