| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 25.1 | Iceland subject of magazine article | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jan 06 1986 20:04 | 14 |
| The January 1986 issue of Smithsonian Magazine has an article
by Robert Wernick entitled, "Sagas are still alive and kicking
for Icelanders."
This work describes the roll played by these prose narratives
in shaping the traditions and perspectives of the present
inhabitants. It also points out how valuable Icelandic literature
has been in preserving the lore of other Scandinavian countries,
notably, Norway.
For anyone interested in the history and culture of Iceland,
this 11-page article is highly recommended reading.
Neil
|
| 25.2 | Icelandic sweaters\ | TLE::SAVAGE | | Sat Jan 18 1986 10:35 | 13 |
| Looking at Iceland's travel brochure reminded me that the country
is justly famous, and highly regarded by Scandinavians in general,
for its exquisite Icelandic sweater. The traditional colors are
brown, grey, white, and black; the design is distinctive.
The genuine article is probably available in North America at
some of the larger city department stores. Many dry goods shops
in Norway, for example, carry a good selection; so, if you get to
some part of Scandinavia, look for these sweaters - they make
impressive gifts!
Neil
|
| 25.3 | | BLITZN::PALO | Rik @(oo)@ Palo | Tue Feb 04 1986 22:15 | 21 |
|
I was a foreign exchange student with AFS (American Field Service)
to Iceland for a year in 1978. I found it delightful. From climbing
glaciers to volcanoes, waterfalls (largest in europe), geysirs, lax,
brennivin and women - the place is truly a paradise. The Scouting
organization for young men and women is integrated, don't you wish
we in America had that, don't think I would have ever made Eagle!
Iceland also has the first woman president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir.
I will try to dig up some old items on Iceland for later publishing
in this notes file.
\rik palo
ps I'm almost pure 3rd generation finnish from a little finnish
settlement in South Dakota, called SNOMA, (Uncle Sam misspelled
submitted name SUOMI for Post Office registry!)
terve
\risto - (my finnish name - rikki means broke!)
|
| 25.4 | Defense | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Mon May 19 1986 09:49 | 75 |
| Associated Press Mon 19-MAY-1986 00:12
NATO's Mid-Atlantic Member More Active on Defense Matters
By HOPE MILLINGTON
Associated Press Writer
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Although it has no armed forces, Iceland is
becoming increasingly active in the military affairs of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization - mainly because of where it is.
Most of the activity is in permitting the United States to beef up its
Air Force and Navy contingents on the Arctic Circle island, a
development endorsed in the Foreign Ministry's annual report released
recently in conjunction with debates in the Althing, or parliament.
"We're now discussing military matters with our NATO neighbors to get
their perception of the situation around us," said Sverrir
Gunnlaugsson, who as defense spokesman for the Foreign Ministry is the
Icelandic official most closely involved in military matters.
"There has been a realization that the world is not going to go by us,
and we are now participating in our membership in NATO. We are the only
civilian members who attend the NATO meeting in Brussels," he said in
the report.
Iceland is on the sea and air routes used by Soviet submarines and
aerial reconnaissance planes in the North Atlantic. With Soviet
activity reported to be steadily increasing, Iceland over the past few
years has agreed to upgrading the U.S. forces which man the NATO base
at Keflavik, 25 miles from the capital Reykjavik.
Iceland joined NATO when the organization was founded in 1949, but with
its tiny population, about 240,000 today, it has no defese forces. In
1951, it entered an agreement with Washington that gave the United
States responsibility for Iceland's defense. About 3,000 U.S. Air Force
personnel and Navy fliers are based at Keflavik.
The Keflavik Air Base, which is also Iceland's international airport,
is being modernized at U.S. expense in line with Iceland's more active
stand. In 1987, a new airport terminal will be opened at Keflavik to
separate civilian traffic from military activity. Four new hangars, in
addition to the nine already in use, are being built to house F-15
fighter-interceptor aircraft. The Norwegian-designed hangars will have
walls four feet thick.
Replacing 12 F-4e Phantoms, 18 more-potent F-15s have been deployed to
Iceland in the past year. They are directed by two ground-based radars
and two aerial surveillance aircraft. An update of the radars is
planned, and two new radar stations are being built in the west and
northeastern regions of Iceland. They are expected to be completed by
1988.
The project also includes new command and control facilities and a new
system for storing and handling aviation fuel. A harbor and oil depot
are bing built for $170 million to improve fuel operations for the
Keflavik base. When complete in 1988, the harbor will be able to take
35,000-ton oil tankers.
Gunnar Gunnarsson, a member of the Icelandic government's Commission on
Security and International Affairs, said in the Foreign Ministry report
that Iceland is of "key strategic importance to NATO in order to
protect the sea lines of communications across the Atlantic."
"In view of developments in the Soviet bomber force and cruise
missiles, the Icelandic government has authorized a project to upgrade
the air barrier in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap by
increasing the air defense capabilities of the Keflavik base. The main
new development in Iceland security policy is that the past inactive
stand of the country is changing," Gunnarsson said.
Opposition Communist and Social Democratic lawmakers opposed the
building two new radar stations a year ago, but an Althing vote of
42-15 decisively approved the measure put forward by the Progressive
Party-Independence Party coalition government.
|
| 25.5 | Broadcast media | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Fri Aug 29 1986 09:50 | 14 |
| Associated Press Thu 28-AUG-1986 16:06 BRF--Iceland-Radio
First Commercial Station Breaks State Monopoly
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Iceland's first privately owned radio station
opened Thursday, ending a 50-year-old state broadcast monopoly. The new
station, called "The Wave," will broadcast daily from 7 a.m. to
midnight. It will provide hourly newscasts with emphasis on foreign
stories, and music for older listeners, said station manager Einar
Sigurdsson.
Marcus Antonsson, director of Iceland's state radio and television
service, said a commercial TV station was planned for September.
Iceland has had television service since the 1960s.
|
| 25.6 | US monopoly on cargo shipments dissolves | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Thu Sep 25 1986 10:20 | 28 |
| Associated Press Wed 24-SEP-1986 21:20 US-Iceland
Shultz Signs Treaty With Iceland Ending U.S. Monopoly On Cargo
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Declaring that common sense had prevailed,
Secretary of State George P. Shultz signed a treaty Wednesday ending a
U.S. monopoly on cargo shipments to American military forces in
Iceland. If ratified by the Senate, the treaty would end a U.S.
convention established in 1904 and open competition to Icelandic
bidders. The lowest bidder would get 65 percent of the trade and the
second-lowest 35 percent.
Foreign Minister Matthias A. Mathiesen of Iceland said the issue had
"plagued us" and even threatened lasting damage to U.S.-Icelandic
relations. The trade is worth about $10 million a year. The treaty took
2 1/2 years to negotiate. There are about 2,000 U.S. Navy personnel at
Keflavik.
"This is a lot of signing," Shultz said as he and Mathiesen signed and
exchanged several documents. "I hope it makes it really official."
Then, in a serious vein, he told Mathiesen that "it represents bringing
to a successful conclusion the resolution of a problem we've been
working on too long ... What has prevailed is common sense." Mathiesen
offered assurance that "our actions today and an early ratification of
the treaty will strengthen our relations."
Iceland, with about 260,000 people, is the smallest member of the
16-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
|
| 25.7 | Iceland thrust into the 'limelight' | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Wed Oct 01 1986 10:38 | 118 |
| Associated Press Wed 01-OCT-1986 07:39 Summit-Iceland
Short-Notice Summit Rouses Pride In Iceland
By AGUST ASGEIRSSON
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Iceland, a North Atlantic island nation of
240,000 people, known for its rich fisheries, normally is far removed
from world events like the superpower summit to be held in Reykjavik
this month. The last time this country was the focus of global
attention was in 1972, when it was host for the world chess
championship in which American Bobby Fischer won the title from Boris
Spassky of the Soviet Union.
But Iceland's leaders said Tuesday they were pleased the spotlight will
once again center on their country, at a summit between President
Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev on Oct. 11-12.
Prime Minister Steingrimmur Hermannsson and Foreign Minister Matthias
Mathiesen told reporters the first they knew of the summit plans was
Monday, when the U.S. and Soviet ambassadors asked if an Iceland
meeting was possible. "We are proud and happy that the leaders of the
superpowers show great confidence in Iceland and its people by wishing
to stage their meeting here in Reykjavik," Hermannsson said. "We will
do all our best so that the meeting can be a successful one."
He said a committee of officials was being set up to prepare for the
meeting and the strict security measures it will require. The meeting,
which the superpowers say will pave the way for a full-fledged summit
in the United States, will be held at the 162-room Saga Hotel in the
center of this capital city of 97,000 people.
Reykjavik's hotels immediately were booked solid by journalists. "Our
telephones and telexes have not stopped since the announcement," said a
reservations clerk at the Esja Hotel.
The capital is a seaside city in southwest Iceland that boasts a
smokeless environment because geothermal springs provide heat for hot
water. At the United Nations, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard
Shevardnadze said Reykajavik, "is a small, quiet city very favorable
for working and achieving results."
Iceland is the smallest NATO member, based on population, but is
ideally located for patrolling the North Atlantic for Soviet
submarines, surface vessels and aircraft. The country has no defense
forces of its own, only a coast guard that protects its fishing
grounds.
Under a 1951 agreement, the United States assumed responsibility for
Iceland's defense, and about 3,000 U.S. Air Force and Navy personnel
are based at Keflavik, 25 miles southwest of Reykjavik. The base is
used by AWACS aerial surveillance planes, F-15 interceptors and
maritime reconnaissance planes that can use sonar devices to search for
Soviet submarines.
Shevardnadze joked: "You (Americans) have a very big Air Force base (in
Iceland) so we feel very secure there."
Iceland was settled in the ninth century by Norse seafarers. A statue
commemorating the early settlers stands in the center of Reykjavik,
near the modest buildings that house government offices. The Icelandic
language is the same as the Old Norse tongue in which the medieval
Scandinavian sagas were written.
Located just south of the Arctic Circle, Iceland's midday temperature
this time of year is about 45-46 degrees. Most of the country's 40,500
square miles is a wilderness of volcanic mountains not suited for
farming. The country's wealth is based on fishing, and Icelanders enjoy
a high standard of living.
The last major international meeting in Reykjavik was in 1973, when
then-President Richard Nixon met Georges Pompidou, the late French
leader.
Iceland has one of the world's few female heads of state, President
Vigdis Finnbogdottir, who was elected in 1980. Most political power,
however, rests with the prime minister, who heads a center-right
coalition.
Tiny Island Nation Involved In Two Disputes With United States
NEW YORK (AP) - Iceland, the tiny island nation where President Reagan
will meet Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, has been involved in two
disputes with the United States in recent months.
Citizens of Iceland threatened to shut down a crucial U.S. naval base
there if Icelandic merchant ships were not given a share of the
lucrative Navy trade. After more than two years of negotiations,
Secretary of State George Shultz signed a treaty last week ending the
U.S. monopoly of cargo shipments to the naval base at Keflavik, where
2,000 sailors are stationed.
The other dispute involved whaling. In August, the United States
accused Iceland of violating the spirit of international conservation
by increasing its consumption of whale meat. If the United States finds
that a country is undermining efforts to conserve whales, it can
embargo that country's fish products or bar the country from fishing in
U.S. waters. But no action was taken against Iceland because the
country was complying technically with International Whaling Commission
guidelines.
Iceland, which lies just below the Arctic Circle in the North Atlantic,
is best known to Americans for fine wool products and for a 1972 chess
match. It was in Reykjavik, the nation's capital, where American Bobby
Fischer defeated Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the world chess
championship. Reykjavik is also a stopping point for cut-rate flights
to Europe, and many Americans use the stopover to buy wool clothing in
the airport's duty-free shop.
Iceland is about the size of Kentucky but has only about 230,000
people, about two-thirds as many people as the city of Louisville. Most
people live on the coast and make their living from the sea. It is a
country of contrasts. Large glaciers lie next to bubbling hot springs,
geysers and volcanoes. A plateau covers most of the island, but the
land drops sharply to grassy lowlands along the coast.
Reagan and Gorbachev will meet in Reykjavik on Oct. 11-12. It will be
the second meeting between the two leaders.
|
| 25.8 | Why Iceland | REGENT::MINOW | Martin Minow -- DECtalk Engineering | Wed Oct 01 1986 14:46 | 10 |
| According to news reports, Iceland was chosen because it is half-way
between Russia and the USA (on a great circle course).
You may recall a previous summit held in New Jersey, half-way between
Washington DC and the United Nations in New York.
Politics is such fun.
Martin.
|
| 25.9 | The closest thing to a military force | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Thu Oct 02 1986 10:07 | 21 |
| Re: .8:
Another reason given was the isolation: the only practical way into
the country is by air, and with so few people coming in, everyone
could be easily watched and followed. The following notes the
'welcoming committee' the Icelanders have prepared for any folks
with bad intentions:
Associated Press Thu 02-OCT-1986 05:53 Digest Briefs
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - The Viking Commando, Iceland's 15-member SWAT
team, has begun intensive training in preparation for the meeting here
between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev next
week. The squad, part of the island's 500-member police force, was
photographed for the Icelandic press going through its paces Wednesday
fully armed and gas-masked.
The Viking Commando is the closest thing Iceland has to a military
force, since the republic of 240,000 inhabitants has no army and relies
for its defense on the U.S. naval detachment at Keflavik, outside the
capital of Reykjavik.
|
| 25.10 | Althing | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Fri Oct 10 1986 16:34 | 86 |
| Associated Press Fri 10-OCT-1986 00:36 Althing
Summit Or Not, Oldest Parliament Keeps To Schedule
By MARCUS ELIASON
Associated Press Writer
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Summit or no summit, the world's oldest
parliament is sticking to schedule.
Today, the day before President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S.
Gorbachev begin their talks in Reykjavik, the 1,056-year-old Althing
opens its winter session. And while the opening will be business as
usual, the Althing has been quick to grab a piece of the Icelandic
publicity bonanza, inviting foreign reporters to drop by for a visit.
Unlike most parliaments, but very much in the Icelandic tradition, the
60-member Althing is a friendly, informal place. A visitor strolling
into the inconspicuous, gray stone building in Reykjavik undergoes no
identity check or body search.
The sweet smell of pancakes baking in the Althing kitchen wafts through
the building. A small alcove with plush leather chairs serves as a
members' club room. A chessboard is available for passing the time
between debates.
In the lobby hangs a large painting depicting one of Iceland's proudest
episodes in its struggle for independence from Denmark. It shows the
Althing members, led by the Rev. Jon Sigurdsson, rising to their feet
in 1851 in outrage at the Danish government for stationing troops near
the building.
The Althing was established in A.D. 930, 56 years after Ingolfur
Arnarson, the first Viking settler, built his farm at what would later
become Reykjavik. Originally located at Thingvallir, 30 miles northeast
of Reykjavik, it began as a forum for the chiefs of the settlers who
followed Arnarson to resolve disputes, make laws, pass sentences, trade
and entertain themselves with the exotic stories of travelers from
afar.
The Althing continued to function after Iceland came under the kingdom
of Norway in 1262, lost virtually all its powers at the end of the 14th
century when Iceland became Danish territory, and was dissolved in 1800.
It reopened when Iceland regained some of its independence in 1848, and
its present building was completed in 1881. Since 1944, when Iceland
became a republic, the Althing has been a fully independent parliament.
Having evolved entirely on its own, it has elements of both the U.S.
Congress and the British houses of Parliament. It is elected by a
complex system of constituency and proportional voting, and after
members are sworn in, they divide into a 40-member lower house and a
20-member upper house. Since Iceland has never had an aristocracy and
has virtually no class barriers, anyone can get appointed to the upper
house.
There are five political parties: the two center-right factions
presently in coalition government, two left-of-center parties and the
three-member Women's Alliance.
Although public interest in politics is acute, with voter turnouts
among the 240,000 citizens averaging 90 percent, debate in the Althing
is calm and civil, with lawmakers rarely heckling one another.
Loudmouths are quickly silenced by the sound of the speaker hitting a
little gong with his gavel.
A speaker who gets insulting is asked to withdraw his words and usually
does. The speaker of the two houses, Thorwaldur Gardar Kristjansson,
says he can't remember ever having to eject a member for refusing to
apologize.
When Sigurdsson and his colleagues stood up to defy the Danes in 1851,
the slogan they adopted consisted of no more than "We All Protest!"
Kristjansson says the greatest debates he can remember involve the Cod
Wars, the four occasions since World War II when Iceland extended its
fishing limits to preserve its main industry, fishing, at the risk of
clashes with foreign navies. He said the Althing was always
near-unanimous in approving the fishing laws "because the very
existence of Iceland as a free and independent nation and a welfare
state was in peril."
The session beginning Friday is the last in the life of this Althing
before general elections next spring. The opening, says Kristjansson,
"is normally a great event in our society and it will not be any
different this years in spite of the summit."
|
| 25.11 | Reykjavik | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Fri Oct 10 1986 16:37 | 14 |
| Associated Press Fri 10-OCT-1986 05:25 Digest Briefs
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Were he mayor of any ordinary capital, David
Oddsson's claims might sound like campaign rhetoric: no pollution, no
debt, no slums, no unemployment.
But Oddsson is mayor of Reykjavik, Europe's smallest and northernmost
capital, and if President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
were to take a break from their weekend talks and tour the city, they
would discover that it's all quite true.
Reykjavik is not everybody's dream town. The architecture tends to the
bland, vegetation is thin this far north, and what beauty there is
comes from the mountains across the bay or the volcano on the horizon.
|
| 25.12 | Good grief, a computerized lottery yet! | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Thu Oct 16 1986 09:52 | 21 |
| Associated Press Thu 16-OCT-1986 01:08 Iceland Lottery
RI Firm Does What Reagan, Gorbachev Couldn't: Sign a Pact in Iceland
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A lottery company has succeeded where President
Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev failed - it has reached an
agreement in Reykjavik, Iceland. GTECH Corp. announced Wednesday it has
signed a contract to provide Iceland with its first computerized
lottery system by next month, and the central computer center will be
based in Reykjavik.
GTECH President Guy B. Snowden said his company will install 130
lottery computer terminals in retail outlets for the Iceland Lotto Co.
The value of the contract was not disclosed. Separate, non-computerized
lotteries are already run by two other government-licensed
organizations in Iceland, he said.
GTECH has lottery contracts in eight states; Washington, D.C.; Canada;
Singapore; Australia; and Sweden. The company designs, produces,
implements and sells computerized on-line lottery networks, principally
for government-sponsored or government-licensed operations.
|
| 25.13 | General elections | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Thu Dec 04 1986 09:28 | 15 |
| Associated Press Thu 04-DEC-1986 05:29 BRF--Iceland-Election
Iceland General Election in April
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Parliamentary elections will be held April
25, Prime Minister Steingrimur Hermannsson has announced.
The four-year mandate of the Althing (Parliament) expires April 23.
Rural lawmakers of Hermannsson's Progressive Party had favored a later
election date because the spring thaw in April often makes
transportation difficult.
Iceland has been governed by a center-right coalition of the
Independence Party and the Progressive Party since May 1983. The prime
minister announced the election date on Wednesday.
|
| 25.14 | General election 1987 | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Fri Apr 24 1987 16:51 | 54 |
| Associated Press Fri 24-APR-1987 12:42 Iceland-Politics
Iceland goes to Polls with Politics "in Chaos"
By AGUST ASGEIRSSON
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - Prime Minister Steingrimur Hermannsson, host
of last year's superpower summit, is fighting to keep his job as
Iceland votes in a general election Saturday. The 170,000 eligible
voters on this sparsely populated island face an array of competing
parties. No clear favorite has emerged.
A strengthened feminist party and a new faction formed by a disgraced
ex-Cabinet member have splintered the political picture into what
Hermannsson calls "incredible chaos." At stake are the 63 seats in
the Althing, Iceland's parliament.
In the outgoing Parliament, which had 60 seats, Hermannsson's centrist
Progressive Party ruled in coalition with the larger, rightist
Independence Party. Together, the two factions had 38 seats. An opinion
poll Wednesday in DV, a Reykjavik newspaper, gave the two parties 32
seats, barely a majority. It gave left-wing opposition parties a total
of 18 seats.
The balance of power could rest with the Women's Alliance, which the
pollsters said would go from three seats to five, and the new Citizens'
Party, with a projected eight seats. This raised the specter of
protracted post-election bargaining before a coalition is formed. After
the previous election, in 1983, it took five weeks to form a governing
coalition.
The Citizens' Party was founded by Albert Gudmundsson, a charismatic
veteran of the Independence Party who was forced to resign as industry
minister last month over a tax scandal in which he insists he is
blameless. The wholesaling company he owned was accused of failing to
report income worth $7,000 from deals with the now defunct Hafskip
shipping line, itself a subject of financial investigation.
Tax authorities say the alleged offense is not grounds for criminal
prosecution, and Gudmundsson says the unreported income resulted from
an oversight by his son, to whom he had turned over the running of the
company. But Finance Minister Thorsteinn Palsson, leader of the
Independence Party, took an uncompromising stand, saying Gudmundsson
had to resign on ethical grounds. His move transformed what promised to
be a dull, predictable election into one of the most closely fought
since Iceland became a republic during World War II.
Hermannsson, the prime minister, received acclaim for handling the
Soviet-American summit on short notice last October, but foreign policy
is not an issue in these elections. Hermannsson is running on an
economic platform, taking credit for bringing inflation down from a
runaway 130-percent rate in 1983 to 12 percent last year. The gross
domestic product grew 6 percent in 1986, the highest increase in the
Western industrialized world.
|
| 25.15 | | NZOV03::PARKINSON | Hrothgar | Mon Apr 27 1987 03:52 | 30 |
| Hey, I'm actually the first with this!
NZPA-Reuter Reykjavik
Feminists held the balance of power in Iceland yesterday after
the ruling centre-right coalition suffered a major defeat in the
general elections.
"I expect I will resign on Tuesday," the Centrist Prime Minister,
Mr Hermansson, said after returns showed that the two Government
parties would hold only 31 of the 63 seats in Parliament.
The dominant Conservative Party, which sufferd the worst rout
in its history, publicly offerd the feminists congratulations as
"the real winners of the election."
The collapse of the coalition's support thrusts the Women's Alliance
into a pivotal role and could lead to the entry of feminists into
the Government.
The party, which first sent feminists to Parliament in 1983, doubled
its vote to 10 per cent.
Iceland's woman president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, is to set the
machinery of forming a government in motion immediately after the
cabinet's expected resignation tomorrow.
The negotiations are likely to be long and tortuous, but the
most likely solution is for the two Government parties to invite
the feminists into a coalition cabinet, politicians say.
The violent personal conflicts that mark Icelandic politics make
other solutions impractical. The feminists, however, are setting
a high price for their support.
They have said they are willing to enter the Government with any
partner, but only on condition that their demands for raising women's
wages and improving social services are met.
|
| 25.16 | Iceland feminism | TLE::SAVAGE | Neil, @Spit Brook | Mon May 04 1987 11:42 | 76 |
| ANI23*** Copyright 1986 The Associated Press SISCOM IP
Women Make Gains In Iceland
An AP Extra
By MARCUS ELIASON
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) When Iceland's women paralyzed the country
with a one-day strike to demand equal rights, the government issued
emergency decrees to keep stewardesses on the job with the national
airline. But it wasn't easy. State President Vigdis Finnbogadottir is a
woman, and she had taken the day off from signing decrees. Only a
Cabinet minister's threatened resignation forced her to break ranks
with her sisters and approve the back-to-work order.
The 1985 incident illustrated a curious dichotomy in Icelandic society;
on the one hand an elected woman president and a strong record on
women's rights, and on the other an undertone of feminist anger that
erupts every so often with the force of an Icelandic volcano.
The latest eruption comes in the form of the Women's Alliance, an
all-female political party whose rapid rise culminated in the doubling
of its parliamentary strength in the April 25 general election. With
six seats in the 63-member Althing, or parliament, the women hold a
potential power-broker role among the five other parties, none of which
commands anything near a majority.
In the ramshackle former hostel that is headquarters of the Women's
Alliance, party members debate what to demand as the price for joining
a coalition government. Grandmothers share the floor with unmarried
mothers cradling babies in their arms. The atmosphere is loose and
relaxed so relaxed, some cynics say, that the women are unlikely ever
to agree on a platform.
Among Icelandic men, especially the "karlrembusuin," or male chauvinist
pigs, one detects a bemused condescension toward these unorthodox
politics. The volcano, they suggest, is more of a geyser, blowing hot
steam. No one wants to be quoted, however, for fear of antagonizing the
women.
"The men laughed at us, then they argued with us, then they tried to
ignore us. They don't laugh anymore," says Magdalena Schramm, a Women's
Alliance member of the Reykjavik city council. Married with three
children, 39-year-old Ms. Schramm became famous last year by marching
into the chamber with other Women's Alliance members dressed as beauty
queens to protest Miss Iceland contests.
The party's basic demands are for more day-care centers, equal pay and
status, better housing for newlyweds, homes for battered women, a
clampdown on pornography and sex crimes.
Abortion, contraceptives and no-fault divorce are readily available in
Iceland, and illegitimacy carries no stigma.
The party denies any left-wing bias. But its strong stance on
environmental issues and opposition to Iceland's membership in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization make members seem radical by West
European standards.
Icelandic feminists went on a one-day general strike on Oct. 24, 1975,
to mark the beginning of the United Nations Decade of the Woman.
Schools, banks and government offices had to shut. Fathers had to bring
children to work because even the babysitters were on strike. About
25,000 women rallied in central Reykjavik, more than 10 percent of the
240,000 population of the entire country.
On the 10th anniversary they did it again, this time bolstered by a
sympathetic woman president and the Women's Alliance, which had made
its first run for Parliament in 1983 and captured three seats. But
little changed. Although 60 percent of Icelandic women hold full-time
jobs and 20 percent more work part-time, they lag behind men in pay.
Some female clerks earn 43 percent less than their male counterparts,
according to the Wages Investigation Commission.
Received: 3-MAY-1987 22:58
|
| 25.17 | ANY DEC OFFICE IN ICELAND ? | BTO::BOATENG_K | | Wed Jan 04 1989 23:25 | 6 |
| Is there a DEC sales and service office in Iceland any one ??
Also is anyone on this forum from Iceland or living in Iceland
A question from a potentential tourist .....
Thanks.
|
| 25.18 | Iceland customers go to Denmark? | 16BITS::SAVAGE | | Thu Jan 05 1989 12:45 | 5 |
| Re: .17 by BTO::BOATENG_K:
In answer to your first question:
Digital sales and service support to Iceland is handled out of
Copenhagen Denmark I believe.
|
| 25.19 | | COPCLU::STS | Personal name is set hidden | Mon Jan 09 1989 10:15 | 8 |
| Re: .17 & .18
.18 is basically correct, but we only have one customer who acts
as a distributor and service the systems.
The name of the company is Kristian O. Skagfjord h.s. in Reykjavik.
Svend
|
| 25.20 | | LEROUF::PALO | �etta finnst m�r �g�tt! | Mon May 01 1989 06:21 | 8 |
|
J�, and the people at Skagfj�r� are Icelandic (and nice people), I visited
them last November...
What I'm wondering is if anybody is working on the �slenzka DECwindows
interface?
\rikki
|
| 25.21 | Icelandic history in brief | MLTVAX::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Thu Jul 13 1989 09:53 | 125 |
| Group soc.culture.nordic
article 256
From: [email protected] (Halldorsson)
Subject: On Iceland, the manuscripts, and more
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Time that I jump in to clear up some loose ends.
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Lars J Poulsen)
writes:
> [email protected] (Stuart Troutman) writes:
> >>>Does Iceland associate itself with Scandinavia at all?
Definitely. The 'nordic countries' have a lot of cultural ties, even
political. I would say that the neighbor relations are about as
friendly as you can find anywhere. While not a part of the Scandinavian
'peninsula' and being geographically somewhat isolated, Iceland
clearly belongs in that group for cultural and historical reasons.
Given its limited population it is somewhat of 'the little kid' in the
group, but hey, we always do well when we scale it on 'per capita'...
> From article <[email protected]>, by [email protected] (Steen
Linden):
> >> Iceland was once a part of Denmark and is still connected to
> >> Denmark in some ways. I think they still have to learn Danish
> >> in Icelandic schools, although they hate it, and many Icelanders
> >> go to Danish universities and other schools for higher education.
In elementary school I wound up in a pilot program that started
teaching Danish in 4th grade rather than 5th. English then came in
6th. As far as I know of the order has not changed (but then I haven't
been in an elementary school for some while now...).
There is a good reason for starting with Danish, namely, it is much
more similar and related to Icelandic than English. However, due to
overwhelming influx of English-speaking music, TV, movies etc. kids
catch up on the English really quickly. Besides, in Iceland, Danish is
not thought of being a beautiful language; it is sometimes said in
jest that the way to correct Danish pronounciation is to speak as if
you had a potato stuck in your throat... (Vaersaa god Dansker, de kan
'flame' mig hvis de vil...(Uh, yeah, I obviously haven't used my
Danish for some while...))
And now for the independence declaration story, and the manuscripts:
> Iceland was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark until 1944 when they
> declared "independence". Apparently, they'd rather be occupied by the
> USA than by Denmark :-). The decision to do this at a time when Denmark
> was unable to comment due to the occupation by German troops caused a
> lot of resentment in Denmark.
Let's look at the whole story, starting right from the beginning.
Iceland was 'discovered' by Norwegian vikings around 874 A.D., and
quickly became fully settled of vikings escaping the Harald 'the
harsh', the (first?) King of all of Norway.It stayed independent in an
anarchic, semi-feudal state until, under some hardship, it made an
alliance with the King of Norway in 1262. The alliance was that of an
independent country under a common ruler, not as a colony.
This worked fairly peacefully for a few centuries until Denmark
gobbles up Norway. The Danes decide that Iceland be theirs, and
forced Icelandic leaders, at gunpoint, to sign away the rights of the
country (similar to China did to Tibet in 1952, I guess). What
followed were centuries of misery, and suffering. Although the
apparently colder climate of the 17th and 18th centuries did their
share, these were the times of mercantilism, where colonies existed to
be exploited and raped. Trade was monopolized and imports where sold
sky-high while exports went for pennies. National treasures were
easily plundered, of which the manuscripts of the classic Icelandic
sagas were the most important. (Graphic example available upon
request).
After a long independence battle for most of the latter half of the
19th century, Iceland finally obtained sovereignty after the WWI, in
1918. Effectively, it meant Iceland was a free and independent country
and a kingdom in a personal union with Denmark. Denmark would only
take care of Iceland's foreign affairs and coast guarding. Now for the
important part: THE TREATY OF 1918 WAS VALID FOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS,
UNTIL 1943. IF A NEW TREATY HAD NOT BEEN MADE BY THEN AT THE WISH OF
EITHER OR BOTH NATIONS, IT WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE REVOKED.
Long before the WWII, the great majority of Icelanders had their
mind set on full independence, even before the end of the treaty. The
war served only to severe the ties more abruptly. In the national
referendum, about 99.7% voted, which serves to show the determination
of the people. A small faction of 'loyalists' voted against due to the
status of the Danish king at the time. Given that the independence
declaration was only a matter of time, waiting until Denmark would be
freed would not make it any easier. Although the separation really
started in April 1940, it was well over in Dec 1943, both legally and
morally.
> The resentment over the way Iceland declared independence still lingered
> when I was in junior high school. At the time, Denmark was giving
> Iceland the original Edda manuscripts that had been bought up the Danish
> (well actually probably Norvegian) trader Arne Magnusson in the 16th century
> and which had been stored in the Royal Library of Copenhagen since then.
> The lutheran minister who taught my latin class felt that we should not
> give away a whole museum's worth of stuff like that until the Icelanders
> apologized.
Returning the manuscript was indeed a noble gesture on behalf of the
Danes. Few, if any, former colonial powers would do or have done
anything of the sort. Whatever was left of the old hatred for the
treatment in earlier generations, quickly faded away.
However, let me point out a few things. The manuscripts were
Icelandic, made by Icelanders, and belonged in Iceland. Some had been
simply appropriated, others 'bought up' on the unequal terms that
prevailed in the trade, and still others had been moved to save them
from the deteriorating conditions brought about by the occupation.
Few, if any, were rightfully placed in Kobenhavn. But, although most
of the manuscripts came home, a few of them did remain in Kobenhavn.
(Finally note that Arni Magnusson was Icelandic, although he lived
all his life in Denmark (perhaps only one of his parents was Icelandic
though)).
Well, this has been long enough.
Magnus M. Halldorsson
|
| 25.22 | Icelandic language | MLTVAX::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Tue Jan 30 1990 11:34 | 42 |
|
From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Difficulty level of Icelandic
Date: 29 Jan 90 12:28:33 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
In Icelandic there are 135 different noun groups
113 different verb groups
34 different adjective groups
In Icelandic there are a few words that can be pronounced in two (or
more) different ways, the best example is "pollagalli", which has four
different meanings, depending on how you pronounce it, but normally
there is no doubt on how to pronounce the word.
In Icelandic you only need a vocabulary of 5000-7000 stems, to cover
99+ percent of the language, but the total number of different word
forms in daily usage is probably higher than in English.
Nouns: 16 forms
Adjectives: 30 forms
Verbs: 50+ forms
And then we have the possibility to combine words (like in German) into
something like "haestarettarmalaflutningsmadur". This has one
interesting side-effect: It is impossible to use dictionary-based
spelling checkers for Icelandic - it would need to have over 1.000.000
different forms to be useful.
-frisk
--
Fridrik Skulason University of Iceland
[email protected] Computing Services
Guvf yvar vagragvbanyyl yrsg oynax .................
|
| 25.23 | 'Nyalssinnar' spiritualists | MLTVAX::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Fri Feb 09 1990 09:06 | 29 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Reincarnation
Date: 8 Feb 90 10:42:02 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
There is a group called "Nyalssinnar" here in Iceland that believes
that after death you reappear on a different planet.
Their major argument goes something like this....
"If you hold a seance and ask the spirits what their surroundings look
like, they report that it is solid. Therefore they are not on an
etheral or spiritual plane, but on a material world, just like our own.
The poor spirits are just confused."
Then the "Nyalssinnar" hold seances, the "spirits" all report that they
are located on other planets. Strange :-).
As far as I know, the "Nyalssinnar" group is still local to Iceland -
they have not tried to export it to California yet - I wonder why not ?
The founder of the group died a few decades ago, but his followers are
still waiting for him to communicate back and tell them how to
establish full contact with "more advanced" planets.
----
Fridrik Skulason - University of Iceland, Computing Services.
[email protected] Technical Editor, Virus Bulletin.
|
| 25.24 | Rescuing a rock to save fishing rights | 11SRUS::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Thu Feb 15 1990 09:54 | 25 |
| From: [email protected] (Magnus M Halldorsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Save the Island?!
Date: 14 Feb 90 23:31:43 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Shahin Kahn) writes:
> So, I hear that there is a massive project underway in Iceland
> to save a small piece of rock in the northern seas. Apparently
> the rock is considered an island and has been eroding in recent years.
> Losing the island is said to cause the loss of a large area of fishing
> waters.
The island, Kolbeinsey, is a rock smaller than Rockall approximately 50
miles from the northern coast of Iceland. Since it's hopelessly
impossible for even a single soul to live there, counting it as an
island is of course absurd. But that's the way these things work, and
the amount of fishing waters endangered is significant. I think they've
estimated that if nothing is done, it might disappear in a decade or
two. I think nobody is sure how to go about fixing that, but the first
item on the list is to make a helicopter landing pad there, since the
rock is nearly impossible to enter from a ship.
Magnus
|
| 25.25 | Technically recognizes Lithuanian independence | NEILS::SAVAGE | | Mon Mar 26 1990 17:28 | 22 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Date: 26 Mar 90 10:45:45 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
From the news here in Iceland:
Back when Lithuania declared independance in 1918 (I think), it was
recognized by Denmark. At that time, Denmark was still in charge of
the foreign policy of Iceland, so the independance of Lithuania was
also recognized here. However, it appears that Iceland has never
formally recognized the the takeover of Lithuania by the Soviet Union
in 1940 - in fact it seems that we have never been requested to do so.
So it seems that Iceland is the only Nordic country to (sort of)
recognize Lithuania as an independent state.
--
Fridrik Skulason University of Iceland |
Technical Editor of the Virus Bulletin (UK) | Reserved for future
E-Mail: [email protected] Fax:354-1-28801 | expansion
|
| 25.26 | Norway's position | OSL09::MAURITZ | DTN(at last!)872-0238; @NWO | Tue Mar 27 1990 02:58 | 16 |
| re .25
Not quite true that Iceland is the only country with that position.
Norway also recognized Lithuania (& the other Baltic States) in
1921 (or '22?); they also did not recognize the annexation of these
states by the USSR, when this was done as a result of the Hitler-
Stalin pact of 1940, and have never since recognized Soviet sovereignty
in Baltikum. It has also been restated within the last weeks that
the Norwegian position is basically that of the 20's (i.e., so stated
by our foreign minister).
(From what .25 says, I would also draw the conclusion that Denmark's
position is similar).
Mauritz
|
| 25.27 | Two replys moved to Note 384 | MLTVAX::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Tue Mar 27 1990 12:59 | 9 |
| Re: last 2 replies:
Originally, two replies were entered here that further expanded on the
topic of Nordic government recognition of Baltic States' independance.
Because of the importance of that topic, I felt that it deserved its
own base note. I also wanted to try out the relatively new command
that lets moderators (and authors of their own notes) move notes in a
single motion, SET NOTE/NOTE_ID=n.n
|
| 25.28 | Adminstrative trivia | CHARLT::SAVAGE | | Thu Jul 12 1990 13:46 | 28 |
| From: [email protected] (Snorri Agnarsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Iceland trivia
Date: 11 Jul 90 12:51:03 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland
In <[email protected]> [email protected] (Magnus
Rimvall) writes:
> What kind of finer refinements (counties/"landskap") does
> Iceland have, and is there a need for decentralization and
> local independence when the total population is only 250k (?).
The country is divided into counties. Each county has an official that
used to be a combination of judge and law officer. This is now
changing, since it is inconsistent with modern ideas of separation of
those two concerns.
In addition, "large" cities have their own branches of those services.
There has been a lot of talk about decentralization, but I don't see it
in the foreseeable future. The country is very much run from
Reykjavik.
Snorri
--
Snorri Agnarsson | Internet: [email protected]
Taeknigardur, Dunhaga 5 | UUCP: ..!mcvax!hafro!rhi!snorri
IS-107 Reykjavik, ICELAND
|
| 25.29 | Supernatural population | MLTVAX::SAVAGE | Neil @ Spit Brook | Wed Jul 18 1990 10:19 | 1 |
| For an interesting article on Iceland's 'little people' see Note 405.
|
| 25.30 | Picture of Arni Magnusson on the 100 kronor bill | CHARLT::SAVAGE | | Fri Oct 12 1990 15:34 | 64 |
| From: [email protected] (Lars Poulsen)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Date: 12 Oct 90 02:58:38 GMT
Organization: Rockwell CMC
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Werner
Uhrig) writes:
>[This banknote]
>it is a unit of 100 and has the text "Eitt hundrad kronur" printed in the
>middle of one side of the bill, next to an image of Arni Magnusson (1663-1730)
>
>on the left bottom corner, the text says: SAMKVAEMT LOGUM NR. 10
>29 MARS 1961
>SEDLABANKI ISLANDS
>
>what the heck is SEDLABANKI ISLANDS? where is this bill from?
"Island" is Scandi-hoovian for Iceland
"Banki" is Icelandic for Bank
"Seddel" or some variant thereof means Note.
So, "Sedlabanki Islands" means "the Icelandic currency-issuing bank".
As to the picture, this is hard to explain in a culturally-neutral way
:-).
Arne Magnussen was a Danish merchant, travelling in Iceland [see
correction below - ed.], who discovered that the natives had the quaint
old illuminated manuscripts that they used to stuff cracks in the walls
of their farmhouses; he bought a handful of them, and took them home to
Copenhagen, where at his death he left them to the University Library.
It turned out that these manuscripts were already a couple of hundred
years old when he collected them, and much of our knowledge of Viking
history derives from the study of these manuscripts.
In the 1960's, the Danish government discovered that the appreciation
of these manuscripts had grown considerably in their homeland over the
centuries, and they were almost all given back to University of Iceland
in Reykjavik, where they are treated with the same kind of awe that the
Dead Sea scrolls enjoy in Jerusalem.
--
/ Lars Poulsen, SMTS Software Engineer
CMC Rockwell [email protected]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Snorri Agnarsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Date: 12 Oct 90 13:50:14 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland
In <[email protected]> [email protected]
(Lars Poulsen) writes:
>Arne Magnussen was a Danish merchant, travelling in Iceland, who
************** ****** Nope: Icelandic
Arni Magnusson, actually, since he was an Icelander, not a Dane
--
Snorri Agnarsson | Internet: [email protected]
Taeknigardur, Dunhaga 5 | UUCP: ..!mcvax!hafro!rhi!snorri
IS-107 Reykjavik, ICELAND
|
| 25.31 | Scouts | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Nov 09 1990 12:04 | 48 |
| From: [email protected] (Magnus M Halldorsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Boy Scouts
Date: 8 Nov 90 21:55:01 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Dave Walden)
writes:
> > I too have been a boy scout. I think it's quite militaristic, just because
> >Baden-Powell was a militarist when he founded the scouts organization
> >(In South-Africa!)
>
> I must admit that the Boy Scouts have become very less para-
> militaristic in recent years. They are very socially-aware
> and environmentally-protective (if their ads are to be believed).
> Does anyone know what their activities are like currently?
The Scouts (I'm hesitant to use "Boy Scouts", since we've been co-ed
since before I was born...) as I know them are primarily concerned with
outdoors life. Outdoors activities are the focus and goals of almost
all their work. I believe they are extremely important as outlets for
the energy of young people.
I have to admit that I've always found claims that the Scouts were
militaristic most amazing. Perhaps this is due to different
experiences. I could think of a few:
1) Given that we have no army in Iceland, we are probably too
unfamiliar with militarism, either so that we don't notice it, or so
that we don't know how to emulate it...
2) Outdoors life is probably easier in Iceland than in most places,
since it suffices to cross that next street to enter a domain of
uninhabited emptiness...
3) Leaders are probably younger there than here. It is most unusual to
see leaders, other than those of the national organization, that are
much past twenty. Small teams are led by 14-16 yr olds, and larger by
16-18 yr olds. As a result, strict, militaristic discipline is probably
less common.
4) A related issue is that hands-off approach is easier there because
of less crime problems. Parents here cannot easily let their kids roam
around under the guidance of some teenagers, or to hitch their way into
the country.
Magnus
|
| 25.32 | | HSOMAI::PALO | Hvad viltu? | Mon Nov 12 1990 11:50 | 18 |
|
Being an Eagle Scout from an American troop, and being involved in
Scouts while an exchange student in Iceland, I agree with Magnus'
comments.
In addition, I'd like to make one of my own: I found that
"brotherhood" is more nurtured in the American Order of the Arrow (the
Honoured Campers Society of the Scouts of America) where there was a
less formal environment (and, for us, more productive) as opposed to in
the everyday troop environment. There I found it more like being in a
football or basketball team -- rather competitive. In Iceland, I found
meetings to be extremely "social", and the people to be very close -
much more "brotherhood/sisterhood" promoting. The fact that it was
co-ed helped too. There were other social influences in the outings
though, too, and scout friends tend to stay friends (obviously the
tight, small culture of Iceland helps here).
rikki
|
| 25.33 | Hekla, January 1991 minor eruption | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jan 21 1991 10:23 | 91 |
| From: [email protected] (Einar Indridason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Volcanic eruption
Date: 20 Jan 91 03:07:30 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
In article <[email protected]>
[email protected] (Magnus M Halldorsson) writes:
>In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason) writes:
>
>>Just in case anybody is interested - Hekla, the most famous volcano in Iceland
>>erupted yesterday.
>
>And...? Give us the scoop, man.
>How big is it? Compared to 1947, 1970, 1983. Any power plants
>affected?
>
>Magnus
This is taken from memory of the evening news: (frisk, can you add
anything to it?)
Hekla started last thursday sometime between 1600 and 1700 local time,
and then it was big(?) Well, the evening news had 3 events: (in that
order)
The eruption in Hekla,
The Persian Gulf war,
The Lithuanien events.
Well, the eruption started big but has since smoothed out, and is now
lessening. So far it has not affected any power plants, and compared
to those years, it is not as big as the '47 one. I don't remember the
comparision that has been made. (I think that it has been compared to
the '83 one?)
The weather has covered Hekla, allmost as if it were a shy mountain(?)
Some tourist buros have organised 'sightseeing tours' to Hekla, but one
must wonder what they saw? The traffic has been great to and from Hekla
both friday and saturnday, but still the weather makes it difficult to
see it.
This was taken from my memory.
--
Internet: [email protected] | "Just give me my command line and drag
UUCP: ..!mcsun!isgate!rhi!einari | the GUIs to the waste basket!!!!"
Surgeon Generals warning: Masking the 8th bit can seriously damage your brain!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Volcanic eruption
Date: 20 Jan 91 04:25:28 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept. Ithaca NY
I've been waiting for responses from Icelanders on the net, but you
aren't doing your job there! Well, let me tell you what I know, from a
phonecall to "the land of ice and fire".
This eruption is a minor one. "A tourist eruption", they call it. I
guess that makes it similar to the '81 and '83 eruptions. Not much
lava, and no houses are in danger. (I guess Hekla has erupted
frequently enough so that no one lives too close to the mountain).
There has been some amount of ashes coming out this eruption, and it
has been widespread. That would have been quite concerning, had this
been in spring or summer time (as in '70), because of sheep and cattle.
But they are all inside now, so there will be no danger of fluoride
poisoning killing livestock as in '47 and '70.
One neat story I once heard about Hekla. I don't know if it is true,
but then on the other hand, you should never let the truth spoil a
funny story:
There was a group of nordic geologists meeting in Reykjavik 1970. The
Icelanders considered themselves of course to be the specialists about
volcanos, and gave the other a quick review of the volcanos in Iceland,
and what their status was. When it came to Hekla, the speaker
explained how the '47 eruption had obviously been its last, and to
emphasize it, he made a big cross over it on the map, declaring it dead
and inactive. But the very next morning, Hekla erupted.
The map, with its big cross over Hekla, is said to be hanging inside a
geological institute in Iceland, as a warning to young arrogant
geologists.
Kjartan
|
| 25.34 | More on Jan. 1991 events | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jan 21 1991 10:26 | 43 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Volcanic eruption
Date: 20 Jan 91 09:51:27 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Olle
Furberg) writes:
> So tell me: how big was the eruption? How reliable are predictions of
>eruptions nowadays? I hope you weren't taken by surprise!
Much, much smaller than the 1947 eruption, bur probably similar to the
one in 1970. The eruption came as a total surprise to geologists - and
in fact they are now changing their theories - Instead of saying that
Hekla erupts once per century, they now predict on the average one
MAJOR eruption per century and many smaller ones - lasting less than a
week every 10-20 years.
The small eruptions would never have been noticed, before seismometers
were introduced.
The current eruption is small - will probably be over in a few days -
very little ash, but considerable lava. It is very popular these days
to take a bus from Reykjavik to Hekla to watch the eruption.
Two other items from the news here in Iceland:
According to a recent survey, 76% of the people here support the
attack on Iraq - 24% are against (if those who were undecided are
not considered). This is interesting as Iceland is not involved in
the conflict - one Icelandic ship carried supplies to Saudi Arabia,
and one Icelander is fighting there - in the French Foreign legion,
and that's it.
When the Icelandic foreign minister was visiting Lihuania yesterday,
his briefcase was stolen from his hotel toom while he was asleep.
It was found later - nothing missing, not even 20.000 Swedish kronor
he kept there. It is assumed that whoever took the briefcase was
after the report he had received from Landbergis, regarding the
meeting with Boris Yeltsin, but that document was not kept in the
briefcase.
|
| 25.35 | The great storm, and other early 1991 events | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Feb 11 1991 13:23 | 101 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: News from Iceland
Date: 8 Feb 91 10:51:26 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
Some news items you folks out there may not have seen:
The weather last weekend caused considerable damage - no serious
injuries (a few legs were broken when people fell off roofs), but it
could have been much worse - considering the wind speed went up to 110
knots - the highest ever measured here.
The Soviet Union has officially protested our intentions to establish
diplomatic relations with Lithuania - but nobody here really cares. All
the political parties agree this should be done - the question is just
when.
Hekla is still active - not a very interesting eruption - and will
probably be over soon.
The date for the general elections will (probably) be April 20th.
-frisk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Einar Indridason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Storm in Iceland
Date: 7 Feb 91 10:20:16 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Kari
Hardarson) writes:
>A little bird just told me that Iceland saw a big storm yesterday. Could
>someone over there enlighten us voluntarily exiled Icelanders on what
>happened? I noticed that Icelandic State Radio's transmission wasn't
>receiveable this morning.
Sorry for the delay.
Last weekend (mainly last sunday) Iceland was hit with a great storm.
The speed of the wind was measured and compared agains older
measurements. This storm was the speediest, hardest, fastest,
strongest .... from the beginning of our weather measurement.
It caused a whole lot of damage. No people died although I have heard
about two cases of accidents (not great, but still). A man broke his
nose when a part of a roof entered his home through a window and
another needed some stitches after he was hit with in the face with a
showering of glass fragments, when his window shattered in. And there
are those who needed bandage or something such.
Now the damage. It was common to see 'roof-tiles' blowing around,
windows broke, cars were swept here and there, lorries and trucks
rolled over. Yes, some trucks couldn't take the wind, so they gave up
and rolled onto their side. Windows in the green-houses, around the
country, broke. It is estimated that 1/20 of every window in a
green-house broke that day.
One of two radio mast (sp?) located here in Reykjavik fell down,
disabling the long-wave broadcasting from the radio. Up north, (and
note that this is only a part of the damage), four small aircrafts were
damaged and are considered destroyed, when a house (they were kept in)
blew up.
Some houses looked like it had been bombed. I'm not kidding, they
looked like someone had places a big bomb inside and blowed it up!!!!
Ripped to pieces, litterally. You could use some fragments as
toothpicks.
Some say that about 1000 (one thousand) cars got broken windows. This
is not counting those that bumped or crashed into something else or
were hit by falling trees. I heard a report of a car that was blowed 10
meters up into the air from the ground and then he 'flew' 60 meters.
A lot of trees, both old ones and new ones, were ripped from the
ground.
At the US naval base, located in Keflavik, the 'keflavikur-radio'
reported that 'the weather conditions are now at stage 1' (whatever
that means.)
The supply of electrics fell. Majority of Iceland was without
electricity for some hours. (In the 'question of the day' that is run
in one paper, it was asked how people found the lack of electricity' :
Many found it romantic, so one wonders what will happen in nine months
time :-)
Somewhere I have seen some numbers of estimated cost, (don't trust me
completely on this one)
Estimated cost of damage from that weather last sunday:
1-2 milljardar IKR. (1-2x10E9 IKR)
--
Internet: [email protected] | "Just give me my command line and drag
UUCP: ..!mcsun!isgate!rhi!einari | the GUIs to the waste basket!!!!"
Surgeon Generals warning: Masking the 8th bit can seriously damage your brain!!
|
| 25.36 | 1991 election results | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Apr 23 1991 10:27 | 55 |
| From: [email protected] (Magnus M Halldorsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Elections in Iceland
Date: 22 Apr 91 13:10:07 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
[Thad er kominn manudagur, og engar tolur hafa verid postadar her enn.
Her koma thvi oendurskodadar tolur sem eg heyrdi utan af mer.]
These are the results that I heard:
Party Senators (prev.# Senators)
A (Social Democrats) 10 10
B (Farmers) 13 13
D (Conservatives) 26 26 - (now defunct breakaway faction)
G (Socialists) 9 8
V (Wymin) 5 6
The government (Social Democrats, Farmers, and Socialists) retains 32
out of 63 members of the parliament (before the elections they had
support from a part of the conservative breakaway faction), but (from
what I understood) the change from a double to single chamber
parliament has not occurred yet, and until that happens it wouldn't be
able to pass major legislation. Moreover, while the farmers and
socialists suggest that the government remains as is, the social
democrats are concerned about some of the socialist parliament members
that have until now been vocal opponents of major government programs,
such as the aluminium plant and the EEC negotiations.
The new leader of the conservatives has exclaimed this as victory,
while others have pointed out that the 38% the conservatives received
is far below the 50%+ showing in the polls. The socialists are quite
happy, gaining considerable number of percentage points. The Women lost
some strength, but appear to be a part of the political scene for good.
The social democrats won 3 seats in Reykjanes with 23% of the vote, up
from 18%, probably due to the popularity of the industrial minister Jon
Sigurdsson. They also won a seat in Austurland, for the first time in
history. The farmers lost some further appeal in the urban regions,
while retaining their seats. None of the fringe parties ("Greenies",
"Human party", "(Classical) Liberals", "National party") got a
significant portion of the vote.
The liberals/leftists are now most worried that the social democrats
will court the conservatives for "vidreisnarstjorn" (the same
combination as ruled from 1958-1971). The government is unlikely to sit
as is, especially given the unstable elements among the socialists, and
the wymin have never shown any signs of wanting to assume any
responsibility. It is therefore more likely than before that the
conservatives will enter the government, but with whom is not clear.
This has been a public service announcement from your local icelander
on the corner,
Magnus
|
| 25.37 | Women's Party | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Apr 30 1991 10:52 | 44 |
| From: [email protected] (Armann Ingolfsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Elections in Iceland
Date: 29 Apr 91 22:51:26 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (News system)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Magnus M Halldorsson) writes:
|> In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Jon Taylor) writes:
|>
|> > So there's a "Women's Party" in Iceland? What do they stand for?
|>
|> The Women's Party now runs in every state/county ("s'ysla"). They've
|> championed, surprisingly enough, "women's issues", which I guess could
|> be classified as family oriented. I've yet to meet anybody who claimed
|> they had a significant political agenda (I guess those are "men's
|> issues"), and they are yet to show signs of willingness to taking
|> responsibility and join any government coalition.
Since there do not seem to be any Icelandic women on the net to defend
the Women's Party, I'll try to do so. Originally, the Women's Party
was established, I think around ten years ago, with the explicit
objective of increasing the proportion of women in the parliament.
They made a point of trying to avoid being labelled "left" or "right",
claiming that their contribution did not fit into the traditional
political spectrum. Of course, everyone labelled them as leftists
anyway.
Since the Women's party was fairly successful in the first two
elections it ran in, one might say that they had already achieved their
objective of increasing the proportion of women in the parliament, i.e.
the party has been successful in removing the justification for its
existence.
As for their political agenda, In my opinion it is about as significant
as that of any other party, but with emphasis on different issues, e.g.
environmental issues, which I hope we'll agree are not "men's issues"
or "women's issues". I just heard (maybe someone can confirm this) that
the Women's party has recently stated that it is willing to participate
in just about any coalition government.
Armann
|
| 25.38 | All-night golf | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jul 15 1991 13:26 | 24 |
| From: [email protected] (John Johanneson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Golf in Iceland
Date: 14 Jul 91 00:40:31 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: University of Wisconsin Academic Computing Center
>Are there golf courses in Iceland?
The prestigious all-night Arctic Open which takes place in June outside
of Akureyri (and received extensive coverage in the the United States
this year thanks to _Newsweek_ magazine), and the opportunity for
year-round golfing fun in Vestmannaeyjar would seem to me to ensure
Iceland's position as a destination vacation spot for golf enthusiasts
world-wide. Add to this the excitement of Mother Nature's habit of
frequently rearranging Icelandic topography to ensure that golfers
don't get bored with the same course and one has a golfer's paradise!
So.. if you're asked "Golf vedur i dag?" reply: "Vitanlega,
vitfirringur!!"
:-)
-John
|
| 25.39 | Ties with Norway | INFRNO::SAVAGE | | Tue Sep 03 1991 13:31 | 44 |
| From: [email protected] (Jon Asgeirsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Date: 2 Sep 91 09:35:43 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland
In <[email protected]> [email protected] (Hans
Rancke-Madsen) writes:
>Iceland was originally colonized by norwegians who wanted to
>get out from under the norwegian king's dominion, so I'm not
>sure I'd call it a norwegian colony. I'm not sure how it got
>under the danish crown - perhaps Norway grabbed it first,
>I'll have to check
In Iceland there was an independent, democratic society from 930 to
1262. The first inhabitants came from Norway in 874 because they
didn't want to live under Haraldi h'arfagra, the first successful
Norwegian king. They founded Althingi, which is the oldest existing
parliament in the world, in 930. The Norwegian king seized power in
1262 with the help of Icelandic quislings. Althingi was allowed to
live.
The reason for the collapse of the Icelandic rule was probably that the
*state* had no executive power, there were just a parliament
(legislative) and judges.
During the independence period Icelanders were not considered
Norwegians though they had similar background and alomost the same
culture. Many Icelanders like Snorri Sturluson stayed for some time at
the Norwegian court as guests. Snorri wrote the history of Norwegian
kings (Heimskringla) among other great books, and others were poets at
the court. So Icelandic culture was always close to Norwegian but
Iceland was not a Norwegian colony until in 1262.
Later the Danes took over and we didn't get rid of them until 1944. We
did though have a sort of an independence from 1918. We are not mad
at the Danes any more. Danmark was a relatively *nice* colonial
power.
*********************************
* Jon Asgeirsson *
* Science Institute *
* University of Iceland *
*********************************
|
| 25.40 | Democracy 1000 years ago not the modern ideal | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed Sep 11 1991 17:33 | 150 |
| From: [email protected] (Jon Asgeirsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: History quarrels
Date: 4 Sep 91 12:17:37 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland
In <[email protected]> [email protected] (Rene'
Seindal) writes:
>[email protected] (Jon Asgeirsson) writes:
>>In Iceland there was an independent, democratic society from 930 to 1262.
> ^^^^^^^^^^
>This I find very questionable. Given that the vikings had no concept of
>democracy, it is doubtful they managed to create a democratic society.
If your define democracy as the system used in most western countries
today, you are right. However, that is not the right viewpoint. The
society in Iceland 930-1262 was the most democratic society in Europe
at that time. Even though the vikings did not know modern democracy
they had a very good concept of the right of the individual (No I do
not mean human rights) and to the people who settled in Iceland the
idea of a king was unacceptable.
>The fact that the local leaders used to meet and discuss various matters
>doesn't make the society any democratic. It was the landlords who met,
>and they were not elected in any way. They either inherited the power
>or fought their way to it.
There were not just local leaders who voted, but all free males in
Iceland who owned some earth (That is: all farmers and there were many
of them). Iceland is a rough country and it is bigger than Denmark so
*local* sounds a bit funny. At Althingi (the main parliament) they did
not just >discuss various matters< but made laws that were read out at
each Althingi and were later written. The man who read the laws was
elected and was called *Logsogumadur*. He did not make the laws
though and was closely watched. Besides this they had trials and made
decisions concerning the whole country. Iceland was, for example, the
only nordic country where Christianity was accepted without major
violence: One of the leaders at Althingi, Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi,
made a suggestion of compromise between the old religion and
Christianity which Althingi agreed on after some discussion (Year
1000).
Thorgeir was one of the leaders at Althingi. They were called *Godar*
and each district had it's own goda (the districts were called
*Godord*). All the districts in a part of the country had meetings each
year where the judges and godars were elected by the farmers for the
next Althingi. The godars had religious and authorative
responsibilities at Althingi but nevertheless most males and prominent
women went to Althingi. In addition to that, if a farmer did not like
his goda he could change to the goda in the next district (without
moving his farm).
Of course some families became more powerful than other and after some
time the godars in each district most often came from the same family.
On the other hand the function of Althingi was always the same and it
was important for the goda to have the support of the farmers at
Althingi.
This system was not perfect but it was pretty well organized and modern
in a way and there were some interesting laws. For example, women
could insist on a divorce from their husbands if they didn't perform
well enough in bed! As a matter of a fact some laws from this time are
still valid in Iceland (Not the one about the divorce).
I think that your idea about the vikings is probably a bit
old-fashioned. The vikings were not just robbers and rapers but viewed
themselves firstly as free men. The Icelanders would not have
structured their society as they did if they did not have known a
similar system in Norway. If you don't call this democracy in 1000
then what was it?
Jon Asgeirsson
Science Institute
University of Iceland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Antti Lahelma)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: History quarrels
Date: 7 Sep 91 22:05:47 GMT
Organization: City Lines Oy, Helsinki, Finland
[email protected] (Jon Asgeirsson) writes:
>men. The Icelanders would not have structured their society as they did if
>they did not have known a similar system in Norway. If you don't call this
>democracy in 1000 then what was it?
It sounds pretty democratic, but in reality it didn't work quite like
that. Since there was no head of the state in Iceland, no one with
enough authority to carry out the judgements of the trials, that was
left to do by the parties involved in the case themselves. Very often
those with enough might and wealth could bring, say, a thousand armed
men with them to the trial. The result is quite obvious.
With all respect; it was uniquely advanced at that time. But especially
at the end of the Icelandic independence, the Sturlunga period, the
situation was actually very close to - if not pure - anarchy, instead
of democracy.
Antti Lahelma Lehtotie 3
[email protected] 00630 HELSINKI, FINLAND
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: History quarrels
Date: 8 Sep 91 18:08:53 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Organization: DAIMI: Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Denmark
[email protected] (Steinn Sigurdsson) writes:
>In article <[email protected]>, jonasg@rhi (Jon Asgeirsson) writes:
>>Later the Danes took over and we didn't get rid of them until 1944. We did
>>though have a sort of an independence from 1918. We are not mad at the Danes
>>any more. Danmark was a relatively *nice* colonial power.
>>
> Was not! Speak for yourself mate!
I think the "relatively nice" part would describe the Danish ruling
from the late 19th century, onwards. But as you go further back in
history, it gets worse, and I believe it reaches a peak in the 18th
century. At that time every Danish merchant in Iceland had a complete
monopoly on all imports and sales in a certain region. Thereby they
could become (and some definitely were) complete blood suckers. They
decided prices on their own goods, relative to the farmer's/fisherman's
goods. Since the Icelanders needed the imported goods, the Danish
merchants could do what they wanted, at the price of lower standard of
living for the Icelanders.
This reminds me of an interesting question an Icelandic friend asked me
the other day: Couldn't the same thing happen to Iceland if it joined
the EC? After all, he claimed, it takes only a few supermarket chains
to buy the entire Icelandic fishing fleet, just to provide fish for
their stores.
I believe it is this economic independence that Vigdis Finnbogadottir
had in mind when recently asked about the EC. (From my vague memory:)
The reporter asked why Iceland wouldn't want the economical benefits of
the EC, and she replied that given the history, if it was a question of
freedom, Icelanders wouldn't mind paying some price to keep it.
Kjartan
|
| 25.41 | Universities | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Nov 15 1991 13:16 | 35 |
| From: [email protected] (Bjorn R. Bjornsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Enquire ( Address )
Date: 13 Nov 91 14:58:45 GMT
Organization: Gagntaekni/Bijective Tech.
. . .
There are SEVERAL universities in Iceland. The biggest one is the
University of Iceland (approx. 5k students). This is full feature
university except for the general lack of graduate programs in many of
its faculties (Icelanders usually get their grad. schooling abroad) and
the absence of education and fine arts faculties.
Their address english icelandic
University of Iceland Haskoli Islands
International Office Althjodaskrifstofa
Sudurugata Sudurgata
IS-101 Reykjavik IS-101 Reykjavik
ICELAND ICELAND
The second largest university is probably the University of Education
(approx. 1k students).
Their address english icelandic
University of Education Kennarahaskolinn
Stakkahlid Stakkahlid
IS-105 Reykjavik IS-105 Reykjavik
ICELAND ICELAND
--
Bjorn R. Bjornsson
[email protected]
|
| 25.42 | No Norse god names for days of the week | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Feb 10 1992 14:58 | 24 |
| From: [email protected] (Kari Hardarson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Date: 5 Feb 92 19:21:19 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
It is ironic that Iceland does not use weekday names with the names of
the norse gods in them. If I remember correctly, the church abolished
them (during the dark ages, presumably...) The Icelandic weekday names
are rather uninteresting right now:
Sunday = Sunnudagur (Same origin)
Monday = Manudagur (Same origin)
Tuesday = Thridjudagur (Literally Third day)
Wednesday = Midvikudagur (Literally middle of week day)
Thursday = Fimmtudagur (Literally the fifth day)
Friday = Fostudagur (The day of fasting)
Saturday = Laugardagur (Day when you bathe)
Kari
--
Kari Hardarson | Oh Joy! - Stimpson J. Cat
217 Jackson Circle |
Chapel Hill, NC 27514 |
|
| 25.43 | Kolbeinsey | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Mar 03 1992 15:39 | 29 |
| From: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Kolbeinsey
Date: 26 Feb 92 12:11:35 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Organization: DAIMI: Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Denmark
Sleidre writes:
>Is there anyone out there haveing any information about an Islandic island
>called Kolbeinsey?
It's a tiny island NNW of Iceland. It's not inhabited, but it is of
great importance to Iceland, since it serves as a measuring point for
Iceland's fishing zone. I recall some debate whether this should be
the case, but that has been settled by now.
The island is getting smaller every year, due to erosion. I'm not sure
of it's exact size, but I seem to recall it being of the order 10 by 10
meters. Some people feared this outpost would vanish, shrinking the
fishing zone significantly. But then somebody got the great idea to
put a helicopter platform there! Sure, we need a good, solid concrete
platform out there. This has been done, just about the whole island
got a huge concrete cap. A coincidental(!) side effect is that
Kolbeinsey ought last a bit longer.
Kjartan Stefansson
([email protected])
|
| 25.44 | Current ruling parties | CASDOC::SAVAGE | | Wed Apr 15 1992 10:45 | 24 |
| From: [email protected] (Asgeir Karl Olafsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Ruling parties in Norden
Date: 13 Apr 92 20:32:36 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742
In article <[email protected]>
[email protected] write
>Could someone tell me what the current ruling parties in Nordic countries
>(Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark) are? Where do those parties
>stand in the political spectrum (social democrat, socialist, far-right,
>center-right, etc.)?
In Iceland there is a coalition government, formed by
Sjalfstaedisflokkur (Independence Party) and Althyduflokkur (People's
Party). Althyduflokkur is a social democratic party.
Sjalfstaedisflokkur is a far-right/center-right party, depending on you
definition.
I would say the government's policies are more to the right than left.
- Asgeir.
|
| 25.45 | Party list | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Apr 20 1992 14:52 | 51 |
| From: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Ruling parties in Norden
Date: 15 Apr 92 11:10:11 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Organization: DAIMI: Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Denmark
The parties in Iceland: (Yes, there are parties in Iceland. Oh, yes,
there are politicians there as well!)
Name Rough translation % in last
election
(D) Sjalfstaedisflokkur Conservatives 38.6
(A) Althyduflokkur (Social) Democrats 15.5
(B) Framsoknarflokkur Farmers Party 18.9
(V) Kvennalistinn Women's Party 8.3
(G) Althydubandalag Socialists 14.4
The single letter in first column is each parties letter, used on
ballots. The top two on the list (D+A) form the current government.
The list is top-down in order of their right to left spectrum, as
evaluated by yours truly. Any left to right ordering is of course
simplification, and I think any reshuffling of (A),(B) and (V) can be
argued.
The conservatives bear strong similarities with the British
conservatives, perhaps a bit more moderate though. I put parenthesis
around Social, in (Social) Democrats, since they've been shifting
significantly to the right in the past decade. While some of their
ministers are busy privatizing government companies, one of them is
putting all her efforts into social housing projects.
The farmers party started that way, as a farmers party, early this
century, and it's strongest areas of support are the rural areas.
Perhaps a more appropriate name would be "Moderates," because it's hard
to classify their policies (i.e. "popular politicians").
The women's party has lasted longer than anyone expected, in a
traditional four-party system. They have only women on their ballot,
and emphasize on (surprise..) women's issues. A popular slogan: Leave
it to the practical housewife!
The socialists used to be a communist party (until the fifties?) and as
many such has gone through several identity crises. In fact the Social
Democrats are an old fraction thereof. You see, the rule is: The
smaller the party is, the more likely it is to split!
Enuff said,
Kjartan Stefansson
([email protected])
|
| 25.46 | from the CIA World Factbook | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Jun 30 1992 13:46 | 268 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Jyrki Kuoppala)
Subject: CIA World Factbook 1991 on nordic countries
Sender: [email protected] (Usenet pseudouser id)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1992 14:41:44 GMT
Copied from the gopher server tree, definitions for terms available
there.
Iceland
------------ Geography
Total area: 103,000 km2; land area: 100,250 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Kentucky
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 4,988 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark,
Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement
in the Rockall area)
Climate: temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild,
windy winters; damp, cool summers
Terrain: mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks,
icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
Natural resources: fish, hydroelectric and geothermal power,
diatomite
Land use: arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
pastures 23%; forest and woodland 1%; other 76%
Environment: subject to earthquakes and volcanic activity
Note: strategic location between Greenland and Europe;
westernmost European country
------------ People
Population: 259,742 (July 1991), growth rate 1.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 80 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Icelander(s); adjective--Icelandic
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians
and Celts
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran 96%, other Protestant and Roman
Catholic 3%, none 1% (1988)
Language: Icelandic
Literacy: 100% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1976 est.)
Labor force: 134,429; commerce, finance, and services 55.4%, other
manufacturing 14.3%., agriculture 5.8%, fish processing 7.9%, fishing
5.0% (1986)
Organized labor: 60% of labor force
------------ Government
Long-form name: Republic of Iceland
Type: republic
Capital: Reykjavik
Administrative divisions: 23 counties (syslar, singular--sysla)
and 14 independent towns* (kaupstadhir, singular--kaupstadhur); Akranes*,
Akureyri*, Arnessysla, Austur-Bardhastrandarsysla,
Austur-Hunavatnssysla, Austur-Skaftafellssysla,
Borgarfjardharsysla, Dalasysla, Eyjafjardharsysla,
Gullbringusysla, Hafnarfjordhur*, Husavik*, Isafjordhur*,
Keflavik*, Kjosarsysla, Kopavogur*, Myrasysla,
Neskaupstadhur*, Nordhur-Isafjardharsysla, Nordhur-Mulasysla,
Nordhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Olafsfjordhur*, Rangarvallasysla,
Reykjavik*, Saudharkrokur*, Seydhisfjordhur*, Siglufjordhur*,
Skagafjardharsysla, Snaefellsnes-og Hnappadalssysla, Strandasysla,
Sudhur-Mulasysla, Sudhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Vestmannaeyjar*,
Vestur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Vestur-Hunavatnssysla,
Vestur-Isafjardharsysla, Vestur-Skaftafellssysla
Independence: 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Constitution: 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944
Legal system: civil law system based on Danish law; does not accept
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic,
17 June (1944)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Althingi with an Upper
House (Efri Deild) and a Lower House (Nedri Deild)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Haestirettur)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR (since 1
August 1980);
Head of Government--Prime Minister David ODDSSON (since
30 April 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
Independence (conservative), David ODDSSON;
Progressive, Steingrimur HERMANNSSON;
Social Democratic, Jon Baldvin HANNIBALSSON;
People's Alliance (left socialist), Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON;
Citizens Party (conservative nationalist), Julius SOLNES;
Women's List
Suffrage: universal at age 20
Elections:
President--last held on 29 June 1980 (next scheduled for June
1992); results--there were no elections in 1984 and 1988 as President
Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR was unopposed;
Althing--last held on 20 April 1991 (next to be held by
April 1995);
results--Independence 38.6%, Progressive 18.9%, Social Democratic 15.5%,
People's Alliance 14.4%, Womens List 8.13%, Liberals 1.2%, other 3.27%
seats--(63 total) Independence 26, Progressive 13, Social Democratic 10,
People's Alliance 9, Womens List 5
Communists: less than 100 (est.), some of whom participate in the
People's Alliance
Member of: BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Tomas A. TOMASSON; Chancery
at 2022 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
265-6653 through 6655; there is an Icelandic Consulate General in New
York;
US--Ambassador Charles E. COBB, Jr.; Embassy at Laufasvegur 21,
Box 40, Reykjavik (mailing address is FPO New York 09571-0001); telephone
[354] (1) 29100
Flag: blue with a red cross outlined in white that extends to the
edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
------------ Economy
Overview: Iceland's prosperous Scandinavian-type economy is basically
capitalistic, but with extensive welfare measures, low unemployment,
and comparatively even distribution of income. The economy is heavily
dependent on the fishing industry, which provides nearly 75% of export
earnings. In the absence of other natural resources, Iceland's economy
is vulnerable to changing world fish prices. As a result of climbing
fish prices in 1990 and a noninflationary labor agreement, Iceland is
pulling out of a recession, which began in mid-1988 with a sharp
decline in fish prices and an imposition of quotas on fish catches to
conserve stocks. Inflation was down sharply from 20% in 1989 to 8% in
1990.
GDP: $4.2 billion, per capita $16,300; real growth rate 0%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.8% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 1.8% (1990)
Budget: revenues $1.58 billion; expenditures $1.66 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1990)
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--fish and fish products, animal products, aluminum,
diatomite;
partners--EC 67.7% (UK 25.3%, FRG 12.7%), US 9.9%,
Japan 6%
Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum,
foodstuffs, textiles;
partners--EC 49.8% (FRG 12.4%, Denmark 8.6%, UK 8.1%), US 14.4%,
Japan 5.6%
External debt: $3 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate - 0.8% (1988 est.); accounts
for 22% of GDP
Electricity: 1,063,000 kW capacity; 5,165 million kWh produced,
20,780 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: fish processing, aluminum smelting, ferro-silicon
production, hydropower
Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GDP (including fishing);
fishing is most important economic activity, contributing nearly 75%
to export earnings; principal crops--potatoes and turnips;
livestock--cattle, sheep; self-sufficient in crops; fish catch of
about 1.4 million metric tons in 1989
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $19.1
million
Currency: krona (plural--kronur);
1 Icelandic krona (IKr) = 100 aurar
Exchange rates: Icelandic kronur (IKr) per US$1--55.216
(January 1991), 58.284 (1990), 57.042 (1989), 43.014 (1988), 38.677
(1987), 41.104 (1986), 41.508 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
------------ Communications
Highways: 12,343 km total; 166 km bitumen and concrete; 1,284 km
bituminous treated and gravel; 10,893 km earth
Ports: Reykjavik, Akureyri, Hafnarfjordhur, Keflavik,
Seydhisfjordhur, Siglufjordhur, Vestmannaeyjar; numerous minor ports
Merchant marine: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 53,409
GRT/73,279 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 container,
2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
1 chemical tanker, 1 bulk
Civil air: 20 major transport aircraft
Airports: 99 total, 92 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
14 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: adequate domestic service, wire and radio
communication system; 135,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 (43 relays)
FM, 14 (132 relays) TV; 2 submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
earth station
------------ Defense Forces
Branches: no armed forces; State Criminal Police, Coast Guard;
Iceland's defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force
(IDF) headquartered at Keflavik
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 69,644; 62,248 fit for military
service; no conscription or compulsory military service
Defense expenditures: none
|
| 25.47 | Historic site described | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed Aug 19 1992 11:51 | 43 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Thingvellir
From: [email protected] (Carl E. Anderson)
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 16:31:30 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (D Anton
Sherwood) writes:
>
>I'm reading Njals Saga (Magnus Magnusson/Hermann Palsson translation) and
>wondering: What kind of a landscape is it where the Althing happens? Is it
>flat, hilly, rocky, green? What conspicuous landmarks?
Well the �xara (Ax River) falls in a waterfall over the cliffs on
the west (?) side, and flows along them into Thingvallavatn, a large
lake to the south (?, I think I'm getting the directions right, but not
sure). There are cliffs along the western part. This is also where the
Mid-Atlantic ridge cuts across Iceland, so there is a good sized gorge
at the base of the falls that the river runs through, I guess about
30-50 feet deep. On there are slightly smaller cliffs for the east
bank of the gorge/river and from them the land slopes smoothly down to
another fork of the river to the east. It's up on that rise where the
Law Rock is, and the people camped and assembled between the two forks
of the river. The two forks of the river join some hundred yards south
near Thingvallavatn. It's a very impressive place - lots of grass and
no trees. Lots of black volcanic rock.
I'm trying to describe this from memories of a visit to the site in
89, so I may have gotten some of it wrong, but I think that's mostly
it.
Cheers,
Carl
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl Edlund Anderson "Hefi ek ok aldri sva reitt vapn
[email protected] at manni at eigi hafi vidh kommit."
OR
[email protected] - Skarphedhinn Njalsson
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| 25.48 | Skiing | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Sep 17 1992 11:30 | 55 |
| From: [email protected] (George Taylor)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Downhill skiing in Iceland ?
Date: 17 Sep 92 10:18:53 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: Spider Systems Limited, Edinburgh, UK
I spent this New Year in Iceland. When I was flying up there I read an
article in the Flight Magazine which was written by a journalist and
"expert" skier who had gone to Iceland to try out the skiing. He was
extremely enthusiastic about Icelandic skiing and went slightly over
board in saying that the Alps would never be the same again after
Iceland. I'm not sure what time of year he had been there. Although I'm
sure it wouldn't have been mid-winter (unless he likes skiing in the
dark...). Probably late spring.
You should get in touch with Iceland Air and ask them if they can send
you a copy of their inflight magazine from last Christmas. Or you could
get them to fax you the relevant pages. Don't be afraid to try asking,
Icelandic people are incredibly helpfull and friendly.
This journalist had his experiences of skiing in the remote parts of
Iceland, mostly run by locals and costing very little. One story I
remember quiet clearly was of a local who had "built" his own Aircraft.
A small twin seater with skis instead of wheels. The journalist was
taken in this plane to the top of some mountains, which he had heard
about and travelled to specially to ski on, and had "the time of his
life". I think the local with the plane charged him for the aircraft
fuel and that was all. About 25 dollars. Any in Iceland know anything
more about this?
Other possible skiing chances in Iceland are the galciers. When in
Iceland, I stay in a small fishing town on the west coast called
Hellisander, near to Olavsvik. They are close to a very famous glacier
(used in Jules Vernes "Journery to the center of the earth"), Snaefells
Galcier. I know for a fact that some of the locals go up to the top of
this Glacier in spring on the "Ski-Bikes", and ski back down. A bit
risky, but worth it - so I'm told.
Any Icelanders care to comment on any of this?
George.
PS I'm a keen downhiller myself, and I wouldn't mind hearing of anyones
elses experiences or advice.
+--------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| George Taylor | Tel: 031 554 9424 |
| Spider Systems Limited | Fax: 031 555 0664 |
| Spider Park /\**/\ | Fax: 031 554 0649 |
| Stanwell Street | Internet: [email protected] |
| Edinburgh EH6 5NG, Scotland | |
+--------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
|
| 25.49 | List of natural wonders to see | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Oct 19 1992 12:00 | 44 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Kees van der Wal)
Subject: Re: Q: Info. on Iceland travel?
Sender: [email protected] (USEnet News)
Organization: PTT Research, The Netherlands
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1992 19:59:14 GMT
"must see":
The Myvatn area (not so far from Akureyri): nice lakes, strange rocks
(Dimmuborgir)
Krapla: volcanic activity (is the power station still there?)
Somewhere southwest of Husavik as another area with strangely shaped
rocks I forgot the name but the caves were called Trollahellir and a
rock called Hljodaklettar (sp?) or similar.
Askja: mountain
Dettifoss: waterfall
Skaftafell (south of the country): walk around or up to Kristinatindar
Area around Hekla: sand, rocks, volcanic ash
Landmannalaugar: hot springs, coloured rocks. From there you could
make a hike to...
Thorsmork: trees, just a nice place
Or another more day south over a mountain ridge to Skogar at the ring
road.
Hveravellir: hot springs, Langjokull (glacier)
And of course Thingvellir + lake, Strokkur (the small Geysir, does it
work?) and Gullfoss.
Did I miss something?
Have a good trip, <kees>
|
| 25.50 | More things to see and do | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed Oct 21 1992 11:25 | 56 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Sharon Fisher)
Subject: Re: Q: Info. on Iceland travel?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1992 23:06:49 GMT
Gas is expensive. Cars are expensive. Roads -- even the main Ring
Road, which goes around the country -- can be unpaved and only about a
lane and a half wide. I'd hate to drive them in other than the summer.
There are fairly standard highways near the major cities (including
Akureyi), but that's about it.
They do have a pretty good bus system around the country, though those
buses, too, don't run as often during the off season. During the
summer, they run to the extent that you can get around the country in
three days.
Strongly suggest you get a four-wheel drive with a radio or cellular
phone; that's what most people had there when I visited.
If you're there at the right time -- they only run them for about six
weeks in the summer -- take the bus trip across the central desert.
They have one to Myvatn and one to Akureyri. It's *really* desolate
and most people don't get to see it.
Of course, see the volcanoes and such around Myvatn. Try volcano
bread. I spent something like three full days in Myvatn and could have
spent more time there.
There's a gigantic, cool church in Akureyri with a great view.
Unfortunately, I was there on a Sunday so most of the stores and such
were closed. There's several nice restaurants.
In and around Reykjavik, visit the Blue Lagoon, the island of Heimay (a
day trip to an island that was almost destroyed by a volcano), the
Einar Jonsson museum. There's a village thing just out of town that
shows how people in Iceland used to live. The bus station/Reykjavik
airport has a big tourist place upstairs where you can get information
and buy tickets to things, including the busses.
Something I wanted to do is take a boat around Isafjodr, but I got
there past September 1 and it had ended.
If you don't mind dropping a hundred bucks, you can take a plane from
Myvatn or Akureyi up north over the Arctic Circle and get a Blue Nose
certificate.
Keep in mind that you get *real* late sunsets in the summer, because
it's so far north.
You might want to take a trip to Greenland. I didn't have a chance to
do that.
The whole country is full of streams and volcanoes and mountains and
waterfalls and sheep. :-)
|
| 25.51 | Occurrence of AIDS | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Nov 12 1992 14:09 | 28 |
| From: [email protected] (Asgeir Eiriksson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Stats on Iceland
Date: 12 Nov 1992 16:07:44 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc. Mountain View, CA
In <[email protected]> [email protected] (Greg Daniels)
writes:
> Does anyone out there have any statistics on AIDS, Immigration, and
>Emmigration in Iceland?
Morgunbladid 15 okt. 1992 (main daily paper)
Seven new HIV positive cases have been diagnosed in 1992, but no new
cases of AIDS. This brings the total number of people diagnosed HIV
positive to 76.
In Iceland there have to date been 22 cases of people with AIDS, of
which 12 have died. Adjusted for population, this is an occurrence rate
of 8.5 cases pr. 100.000. The ratio of HIV infected men to women is 6
to 1.
----
Hope this helps,
'Asgeir
|
| 25.52 | President's last term | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Jan 12 1993 12:40 | 18 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Inauguration question
Date: 11 Jan 93 14:12:19 GMT
Organization: Frisk Software International, Iceland
In USA they have a two-term limit, but not here in Iceland (I don't
know about Finland - the only other Nordic country to have a
president). Our president (Vigdis Finnbogadottir) just started her
fourth four-year term (and not surprisingly, there was no other
candidate), but she has said that this will be her last term.
-frisk
--
Fridrik Skulason Frisk Software International phone: +354-1-694749
Author of F-PROT E-mail: [email protected] fax: +354-1-28801
|
| 25.53 | Do Icelanders have substantial Irish ancestry? | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Feb 01 1993 13:32 | 63 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (Kjartan Stefansson)
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1993 20:49:41 GMT
I don't have an exact quote on the survey [of the genetic similarity
comparing Icelanders, Norwegians, and the Irish], but the basis of it
was comparison of the modern distribution of the blood types A,B and O.
It turned out, that given the current Norwegian and Irish
distributions, the Icelandic distribution was closer to the Irish one
than the Norwegian. In fact the researchers toyed with some simple
percentage calculations and concluded what ratio of Irish vs.
Norwegian it would take to get this composition of ABO blood types in
Icelanders. I've forgotten the exact numbers, but I seem to recall
something close to 80% Irish!
>I thought most of the colonizers to Iceland, came there from Norway
>(most of those you hear about in the sagas anyways), ...
Yes, the sagas, culture, language, cattle, and even the mice are
clearly of Scandinavian origin. Therefore the results of the blood
group distributions seemed very surprising.
>I've read that some Irelanders (Vestmenn) were settled there when the
>first Norse-descendent Icelanders came there. Were the Irelanders the
> majority of the population? Why did they start speaking a old
>Norse/Icelandic instead of the other way around?
There were some Irish monks living in Iceland when the first settlers
came from Norway, and Irish writings confirm this. Their mentioning in
the sagas seem to indicate that there were only few of them and that
they left when the Scandinavians came. But some conjecture that the
odd blood group results reflect accurately the ethnic composition in
Iceland, because these Irish people, and others from Ireland were
enslaved by the vikings.
The contradicting sagas and language would then be explained by the
fact that the conquerers wrote the history, and also that a slave
language would easily be abolished. Furthermore, some people go on and
search frantically for the missing Irish connections. I've heard some
pretty far fetched theories relating some of the Icelandic sagas to
Irish folklores.
Aside from a couple of Irish settlers/slaves mentioned in the sagas,
the ABO blood group evidence is the only indication to Irish ancestry
of the current population. It stood unrefuted until a few years ago
that someone pointed out that certain epidemics can attack one blood
group harder than others. One such epidemic (whose name I only know in
Icelandic: Bolusott) did have quite a different pattern in Norway as
compared to Iceland. It was constantly present in Norway, but hit
Iceland about once every 30 years, resulting in much higher fatalities.
There are quite a few free variables in the picture, but one can
equally well conclude that the population was entirely Norwegian in the
first place, and that todays blood group distribution is just a result
of this selection. So the conclusion is that we don't have any hard
core evidence relating todays Icelanders to the Irish.
If anyone is dying to see the above debate done by the original
researches, I should be able to dig up some references. But I suspect
most of them would be in Icelandic.
Kjartan Stefansson
([email protected])
|
| 25.54 | a thought | ITHIL::CHAD | Hi | Thu Feb 04 1993 08:29 | 8 |
| Was not Ireland conquered by the Vikings too? Dublinwas founded by a Viking
king. A substantial norse presence mixing with the irish of the time probably
left a lot of norse blood in Ireland that also influences today's Irish blood
types. (And that norse mixing is from about the same time as the norse
settling in Ireland).
Just a spur of the moment thought
Chad
|
| 25.55 | Yes, a lot of intermixing occurred in Ireland | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Feb 05 1993 15:09 | 5 |
| Re: .54:
Not _all_ Ireland was conquered but the Vikings, but the part around
Dublin definitely was.
|
| 25.56 | Many cities | TALLIS::DARCY | | Wed Apr 07 1993 14:18 | 11 |
| Many Irish coastal cities and towns along the Shannon River were
established by the Vikings. Examples include Dublin, Limerick,
Wexford, Waterford (note the viking fjord), and many more.
The Vikings were great traders and carried goods to and from Ireland.
Some of their establishments were seasonal, others permanent. They
eventually intermarried with the natives. One mark of their legacy
are the scandinavian-derived words in gaelic (irish) pertaining to
maritime and legal matters. Norway has its share of Irish treasures
in its museums.
|
| 25.57 | Ingalo Film | TALLIS::DARCY | | Mon Apr 12 1993 15:48 | 10 |
| I saw an Icelandic film called "Ingalo" over the weekend at
the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. They are showing about
10 Icelandic films this spring. The other film I saw last
year was "Children of Nature". Pretty respectable films.
Apparently, some Icelandic film agency subsidizes the films.
Their choice is based on script quality. Anyone else seen
these films?
/George
|
| 25.58 | Icelandic Horse Adventure Society | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Jun 25 1993 11:52 | 22 |
| From: [email protected] (Lars Perner)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: The Icelandic Horse Adventure Society
Date: 22 Jun 1993 17:47:48 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Sender: [email protected]
The Icelandic Horse Adventure Society is an organization for Icelandic
Horse enthusiasts. Although most activities take place in the United
States, we welcome involvement by people all over the World.
The Society publishes a quarterly magazine entitled KEILIR and sponsors
numerous other events, including seminars by trainers and show judges
from around the World. In addition, we have created a great deal of
educational material about the Icelandic Horse.
For more information, please contact
The Icelandic Horse Adventure Society
795 Entrance Road
Solvang, CA 93463, U.S.A.
Phone: (805) 688-3869 Fax: (805) 688-3994
|
| 25.59 | Planting trees | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jun 28 1993 12:35 | 25 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: Gunnar Davidsson <[email protected]>
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: NorthWork UETP
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1993 12:41:58 GMT
For most Icelandic people, planting a TREE is quite symbolic an nothing
to laugh about. Most of the land area in Iceland is "non vegetation"
area, only 1% of the total land area is in production. However about
20% is defined as "possible for production", therefore any effort to
increase this portion is appreciated. The planting of trees also
prevents and stops the blowing off of productive soil. To an American
this may sound silly, but to Icelanders this is real environmentalism
and many Icelanders are every year involved in planting trees.
Maybe adopting a whale would be the parallel situation in the US?
Imagine, the widow of the previous Icelandic Ambassador, adopting a
whale together with some celebrities in Washington, live on Icelandic
television (I guess we would laugh, yes). I am under the impression
that many [Americans] would consider adopting a whale a serious
environmental contribution, but I hope I am wrong though.
Gunnar Davidsson
[email protected]
Icelandic citizen
|
| 25.60 | Cultural milestone | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Sep 10 1993 14:15 | 28 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: Gunnar Davidsson <[email protected]>
Subject: Icelandic culture
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: NorthWork UETP
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1993 11:23:40 GMT
The Icelandic prime minister Mr. David Oddsson conducted an official
opening ceremony of the first Icelandic Mcdonalds hamburger resturant
yesterday. The great Icelandic cultural development has reached its
climax......
Kvedja Gunnar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Einar Indridason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Icelandic culture
Date: 10 Sep 93 13:44:43 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Yes, and I just saw in one of the newspapers, that from now on,
"big-mac" will now be refered to as "dabbi". (dabbi is a nick-name for
our PM :-)
--
[email protected]
|
| 25.61 | Cards an Icelander would carry | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Oct 28 1993 10:49 | 57 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Identity cards - information urgently needed
Date: 28 Oct 93 09:26:10 GMT
Organization: Frisk Software International, Iceland
[email protected] (Simon Davies) writes:
>(a) What form of official national identity cards, if any,
> exist ...?
Here in Iceland one gets several different cards....none of which
corresponds exactly to the proposed identity card in the UK, though.
Those cards are pretty much accepted by everybody - and many people
don't understand why some people might consider cards like this a
problem.
Now....the cards I carry or have carried in the past:
Nafnskirteni: "name-card" - distributed to everyone at the age of 14.
The collection of the photos and the distribution of the cards was
handled by the schools. I guess one could refuse to submit a photo,
and not be issued a card, but I have never heard of that happening.
This card was handy for a few years, but many people (including myself)
just discard it once they get their driving license, which now serves
as my proof of identity.
Nemendaskirteni: "Student identification card" - only issued by the
school - one is not required to have one, but it is handy for getting
discounts at various places.
Sjukrasamlagsskirteni: "Social security card" - I got this one in the
mail. It does not have a picture, only the name, the national identity
number and the name of my doctor. Right now the politicians are
debating a replacement card - similar to one used somewhere else (in
France ?), that could have the whole medical history embedded in a chip
in it. The debate, however, is not really about the card itself, but
rather about the financing of the health system.
Okuskirteni: "Driving License" - unlike the other two one is legally
required to carry this around - when driving, that is. This one is
pretty much the same as anywhere else in the world.
>(b) are they voluntary or compulsory ?
Well, you can avoid having them if you want - but why should one want
to ? It would just be too inconvenient...
>(c) What problems, if any, have you found with the cards.
> For example, are cards abused by authorities, do they invite
>discrimination, or does the lack of a card make day to
>day life very difficult ?
Only the last problem - you may be asked for one when paying by a
cheque, or (if close to the age of 20) when buying alcohol.
-frisk
|
| 25.62 | Once there were woodlands | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Mar 15 1994 12:01 | 32 |
| From: AlbSig <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Icelandic & Faeroese firewood
Date: 12 Mar 1994 10:52:43 GMT
Organization: x
Iceland used to have extensive woodlands, by todays icelandic
standards. The decline of icelandic woods is not caused by any one
thing. The climate was more favourable few thousand years ago, so
woodlands could form. These woodlands were periodically exposed to
hostile volcanic falloffs and constant soil erosion by winds and
waters.
Then man moved in ca. 1000 years ago, man brought sheep who ate leaves
and the settlers cut the trees for fuel and for coal making. Man's
activities, along with less favourable climate and the constant erosion
have all contributed to the current treelessness of Iceland.
But who needs trees ? -I live now in Finland, where trees bar the view
wherever you go, while in Iceland you can see the mountains far away
and there are no trees to bother you. True that trees prevent soil
erosion, but we can plant some grasses which are more tolerant than
trees and do the same work of protecting the soil, without spoiling the
view.
==================
C'est ne pas un P.S.
==================
Albert Svan Sigurdsson
[email protected]
Student of Geography
University of Helsinki.
|
| 25.63 | Information for travelers (long) | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Jun 23 1994 09:51 | 353 |
| Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
From: [email protected] (D Grutzmacher)
Subject: Summary on ICELAND travel Question
Organization: Edinburgh University
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 1994 11:25:35 GMT
Summary on the ICELAND travel Question.
"what to do".
There is a "Lonely Planet" series book on "Iceland, Greenland &
Faeroes". For a complete guide to Iceland I suggest to look into
getting this. Iceland is probably Europes most expensive country. So I
imagine you'll want to camp or go bed'n'breakfast. It's advisable to
book B&B before you go. If you look back a couple of 100 articles in
the soc.culture.nordic newsgroup someone posted about a week back a
list of B&B phone numbers. Go round the whole country. It's not all the
same! Take at least one inland "lowflying" flight. The country from
above is really something. Try the horse riding. An Icelandic horse is
like no other horse.
"what not to do"
Tip. Icelanders don't like being tipped. Wear your shoes in their
houses. Everyone takes off their shoes as they enter a house. If you
like a occasional beer to relax ;-) then I suggest you buy a pack of
beer in the Icelandic duty free as you enter the country. Just follow
all the Icelanders as they get of the plane. They ALWAYS buy from duty
free. You'll see why, if you go to a night club and order a beer.
Usually 6 pounds a pint. Don't wear a jumper and jeans if you want to
go out at night on the town. Icelanders over dress no matter what the
occasion. You can spot the tourist by the jumper'n'jeans. Some clubs
get a bit wild. Be careful. Especially if you chat up local girls.
Iceland is the most hospitable country I've ever been to. They almost
seem nicer to outsiders than they do to each other. Never be afraid to
ask any question of anyone.
Also most younger Icelanders speak English. German also, but this is
not as common. They all know Danish but refuse to speak or even
understand it. :-)
More on what to see
There is so much that you can see in Iceland, the nature is just out
of this world. (the NASA used the landscape of Mt. Askja to practice
for the moon voyage in the late sixties)
It depends whether you've seen fjords, glaciers or volcanic scenery
before. A week is not too much time, so you might not want to take the
bus right round the island (what I did in '88, and it was wonderful).
My favourite bits were the eastern fjords (the bus careering round
gravel roads on cliff edges) and the black sands east of Vik on the
south coast.
Eat sky'r and a'vaxtagrautur and dried fish (because you won't find
them anywhere else probably), do try and speak Icelandic a bit
(there's a good Langenscheidt dictionary which you ought to be able to
buy there), cos the Icelanders really open up if you try a bit. Go
swimming somewhere, just for the warmth and the smell. The Blue Lagoon
is OK, but there are an awful lot of tourists; same goes for Gullfoss
and Geysir and Thingvellir.
The weather will probably be OK; like Argyll but colder. And the YHs
are pretty good...
I wish I had the dosh to go back!
Iceland Air has a nice booklet about Iceland that you may be able to
get hold of if Icelandair has an office near you.
If you never get sea-sick, you should definetly go to Stykkisholm,
which is a town on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. There you can sail on
Breia- fjord. Not only is it full of many small and beautiful islands,
but also it is much fun to see all the seabirds. In the middle of the
trip the crew will throw down a small trawl, which will bring back many
specimens of the animals that live on the bottom of the sea; crabs,
sea-urchins, clams, scallops, and mussels. If you are daring enough
you can try to taste the scallops and the sea-urchin's eggs, it really
dosen't taste as bad as it sounds.
This is one of many package-trips that BSI (the Icelandic Grayhound bus
system) offers each summer. Some of the worthwhile BSI trips are:
A day trip to Thingvellir which is the spot where the Icelandic
parliament (Althing) was foundet. This is also where the North
American and the European crustal plates meet.
The "Blue Lagoon" is a very pretty lagoon formed from excess water from
a hot water plant. In it is white silica clay, which some belive is a
good medicine for psoriasis and eczema. The clay gives the lagoon a
very specilal colour, and the steam gives it a very mystic atmosphere.
In the Blue Lagoon there is a resturant, from the poolside are long
tables into the lagoon, where waiters in swimsuit serve you very good
fish. it is a unique experience.
The Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) are a group of 15 islands, named
after the irish slaves of the first Norse settler. Only the biggest
one, Heimaey is inhabited. In 1973 all the residents had to be
evacuated when a volcanic eruption destroyed a sizable part of the
island. A year later almost all of the poeple returned to rebuild the
town. On the Westman Islands is the biggest Puffin colony in Europe.
The "Golden Circle" is the most popular tourist attraction. On this
tour you will see the "golden waterfall" (gullfoss) where hundreds of
tons of glacial water cascade down some 32 meters into the 40-70 m.
deep river gorge. Only six km. to the west lies the Geysir geothermal
area, with the great Geysir, known to have erupted water as high as 80
m. in the air. Today the very active Stokkur erupts every few
minutes, some 10-20 m. high. A great tour for two of the world's most
famous natural wonders. The tour ends with a visit to Thingvellir, and
then on to Reykjavik.
The Nothern part of Iceland is very beautiful. from Akureyri (the
capital of the north) you should visit the famous lake Myvatn, the
beutiful water- fall Godafoss and the Krafla area. The Dimmuborgir
area (the black catstles) is spooky. There the stories of the
"Huldufolk" really come true. The huldufolk are small people that
live in the rocks of Iceland. The Huldufolk were created when Adam and
Eve were still in Pardise.
One day God decided to pay them a visit. Eve found out that God was on
his way, so she started to wash all her children, but she couldn't
finish washing them all, so she hid them. When God came he asked if
the children that she showed him were all the children that she owned,
and Eve said they were. Then God said that he knew that she was
lying, and since she felt that her dirty children were not good enough
to show him, he decided that nobody should be able to see them, and
made them invisible. The Huldufolk can decide if they want you to see
them or not.
A full day tour through the black rock desert to Herubrei, the queen of
Icelandic mountains, and the fertile oasis at its foot, on across the
lunar landscape to the great Volcanic caldera Askja. Askja last
erupted in 1961. The crater Viti (hell) formed by an immense eruption
in 1875 which buried parts of the farmland in northeast Iceland in
ashes, is now filled with warm sulphuric water (good for bathing).
Jokulsarlon and Skaftafell national park are very cool places to see.
Jokulsarlon is a glacial lagoon at the edge of Vatnajokull ice tounges,
which is full of magnificent floating icebergs. Skaftafell national
park is a beutiful contrast between the white icecap, the black
basaltic sands, muddy glacial waters and clear brooks in narrow
gulches, woodlands and wide variety of flowering plants is enough to
amase anyone.
It is a unique experience to go horseback riding in Iceland. There are
many companies that offer those trips.
Many of the day-trips that I have listed above have to be booked in
advance so it is very good to decide what you are going to do before
you come here, or at least to have a good idea about what you'd like to
do.
FEW POINTS ABOUT ICELAND
Area...............103.000 sq km.
Population.........266.000
Capital............Reykjavik
Highest Mt.........Hvannadalshnukur 2119 m
Largest ice cap....Vatnajokull 8.400 sq km.
Average temperature:
July.............+10.7 C
January..........Reykjavik -0.9 C
Akureyri -2,4C
MILESTONES IN HISTORY
874-930 The settlement of Iceland. Ingolfur Arnarson, the first
permanent settler, arrives in Reykjavik.
930 Establishment of the Althig assembly.
985 Eirikur the Red discover and settles in Greenland.
1000 Christianity adopted as the new religion. Leif the lucky
discovers North America and names it Vinland.
1120-1230 The age of writing. A era of tremonduos literary activity
when the Sagas were written in the vernacular.
1262 Iceland comes under the Norwigegian crown. End of the age of the
Sturlungs.
1380 Iceland and Norway come under the Danish crown.
1783-1785 The Lakagigar eruption and earthquakes.
1786 Reykjavik obtains town status.
1843 The Althing is re-established as a consultative body.
1874 New Icelandic constitution.
1904 Home rule under Denmark.
1918 Independence from Denmark.
1940 Iceland occupied by British troops.
1941 U.S forces take over defence of Iceland.
1944 The republic of Iceland founded at ingvellir.
1946 Iceland joins the U.N.
1949 Iceland becomes a founding member of NATO.
1972 Fishery limits extend to 50 miles.
1974 1100th anniversary of the settlement.
1975 Fishery limits extend to 200 miles. Cod war with Britain.
1980 Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the first woman ever to be demo-
cratially elected President of a Republic. She has been re-elected
in 1984, 1988, and 1992.
1986 Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meeting held in Hofdi house, Reykjavik.
A FEW POINTS OF INTERST
The world's first complete national census was conducted in Iceland in
1703. The population proved to be 50.358.
Reindeer are not native to Iceland, but were imported from 1770-1778.
Today, a herd af about 3000 roams free in the eastern highlands.
Icelanders have won the title "The world's Strongest Man" five times.
Jon Pall Sigmarsson won in 1985, 1986, and 1990, while Magnus
Ver Magnusson won in 1991.
Iceland's oldest law code, Ulfljotslog, dates back to the year 930. In
1281, the laws contained in Jonsbok came into effect, some of which still
apply.
Iceland's most famous monster is the serpant Lagarfljotsormurinn, reputed
to live in in a lake near Egilsstair, east Iceland. Several sightings
have been reported.
Highest recorded temperature was 30.5 C at Teigarhorn, Sout Mulasysla,
in June 1939.
National day is on June 17th. Independence day in 1944, it is also the
birthday of Jon Sigurdsson (1811-1879), leader of the movement for
independence from Denmark.
The most lava from a single eruption which has flowed on earth in
historic times was Skaftareldarhraun in 1785, which covers an area of
56 sq km., a massive 12 cubic km. of lava.
The world's first attempt to stem a lava flow with water was made in
the Westman Islands in 1974. It succeded.
The world's most active hot spring is Deildartunguhver in Borgarfjordur,
west Iceland, releasing 250 l/sec of 100 C hot water.
the world's youngest island is Surtsey, just off Iceland's south coast,
created by submarine volcanic eruption in 1963.
the World Bridge Championships, the "Bermuda Bowl," were won by
the Icelandic team in 1991.
Icelandic girls have twice been crowned "Miss World"; Holmfridur Karlsd.
in 1985 and Linda Petursdottir in 1988.
Iceland's richest cat. This lucky feline lived in Borgarfjordur, west
Iceland in the 19th century. Considerd lucky by the local populace,
he recived lavish gifts, both in the form of land and (other) animals.
31 species of plants in Iceland are protected.
Swimming is a compulsory subject for all children in Icelandic primary
schools.
Although a member of NATO, Iceland has no armed forces.
the Arctic circle bisects Grimsey, a small island off the north coast.
Icelanders have one of the world's highest ration of telephone ownership,
more than one instrument for every two inhabitants.
Europe's most powerful waterfall is Dettifoss, north Iceland with an
average flow of 193 cubic m/s.
Geysir in Haukadal, south Iceland, is the world's most famous hot spring.
It has given the name "Geyser" to the same phenomenon in several languages.
Icelanders consume more caffeine drinks than any other nation. Over 80%
of the poulation partake daily, with males averaging seven cups of coffee
per day and females six, while more than 20% of the youngsters dring cola
and further 20% drink tea.
Hell, or "viti," is the name of a crater in the cental Highlands. Now a
lake, it is still warm after a eruption more than a century ago.
IMPORTANT ADRESSES
ICELAND TOURIST BOARD
laekjargata 3, Gimli
101 Reykjavik
TEL: +345-1-27488, FAX: +345-1-624749
TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE
bankastraeti 2
101 Reykjavik
TEL: +345-1-623045 FAX: +345-1-624749
ICELAND TOURIST BOARD
655 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017
TEL: (212)949-2333 FAX: (212)9835260
ACCOMMODATION
I am afraid you will not find any cheap, or even reasonably priced,
accomodations in Iceland! Things are quite expensive there.
SUMMER HOTELS: Various hotels aruond the country operate in summer
only. Many of those are schools in winter with swimming pools and hot
springs nearby. Most have licenced resturantsand bars. Prices
for a single room with shower range from: USD 53 (breakfast not included),
and for a double room with shower from USD 84.50 (breakfast from USD 10)
EDDA HOTELS: The Icelandic tourist bureau operates a chain of seventeen
tourist-class hotels around the country under the name of EDDA hotels.
Both bed and breakfast and sleeping-bag accommodations are offered.
The head office is at Skogarhlid 18, 101 Reykjavik TEL: +345-1-623300
FAX: +345-1-625895. Prices for rooms without bath range from USD 52
for a single to USD 68 for a double, and for rooms with bath from UDS 72
for a single to USD 99 for a double, breakfast costs USD 11 and sleeping-
bag accommodation is from USD 14
FARMHOUSE ACCOMMODATION: Icelandic Farm Holidays is a chain of farms
around Iceland offering travellers accommodation and variety of services.
some activities offered at farms are horseback riding, fishing, hunting
rounding up sheep and swimming. Accommodation is in the farmhouse,
seperate houses or cottages. Travellers can choose from bed and breakfast
or sleeping-bag accommdation. Cottages are usually rented by the week.
For a new brochure or booking, contact a travel agent or Icelandic
Far Holidays, Baendahollin at Hagatorg, 107 Reykjavik,
TEL: +345-1-623640. FAX: +345-1-623644. Prices for bed and breakfast
per person in a double room range from USD 40-70, and for sleeping-bag
accommodation from USD11-22. A cottage for one week costs on average
USD 400-600 for 4 perrsons, and USD 450-670 for 6 persons.
YOUTH AND FAMILY HOSTELS:
There are various youth and family hostels around Icelend and all people
are welcome regardless of age. Almost all hostels have family rooms
(rooms with 2 to 4 beds). A few hostels are open all year, others
operate in summer only. for further information contact the Icelandic
Youth Hostels Association, Sundlaugarvegur 34, 105 Reykjavik
TEL: +345-0138110, FAX: +345-1-679201. Price for accommoadation
is USD 20, for members USD 17, linen extra USD 4, breakfast extra USD 9.
Dirk
--
--------------------------------------------------------------
o o Dirk Grutzmacher | [email protected]
! New College, The Mound | [email protected]
\___/ University of Edinburgh | Disclaimer: the usual one
|
| 25.64 | Icelandair has a new look | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Sep 15 1994 16:21 | 79 |
| REYKJAVIK, Sept 15 (Reuter) - Icelandair, the hippy airline
that gave thousands of 60s Americans -- including a long-haired
Bill Clinton -- their first taste of international travel has
changed course to carve itself a slice of the new Europe.
Tiny by comparison with its European and U.S. competitors,
Icelandair is using the biggest advantage it has -- its home
base on an island perched half way between the new and old
worlds.
``In the last few years we have changed strategy, from being
mainly a north Atlantic carrier to mainly an Iceland-Europe
carrier,'' Icelandair President Sigurdir Helgason told Reuters at
the company's Reykjavik headquarters.
With a fleet of just 11 planes, Icelandair is no threat to
other airlines, but its reputation as a low-cost bridge between
Europe and the U.S. gave it breathing space in the 1970s and
80s, when other airlines were suffocating.
Now, with European aviation regulations loosening,
Icelandair is dipping its toe into intra-European flights. It
launched a daily Copenhagen to Hamburg flight when Iceland won
the right to fly on most European routes.
The U.S.-Europe bridge strategy is still vital for
Icelandair's survival, however, and the end of the Cold War has
had an undesired effect on its operations.
Keflavik Airport, some 40 kms (25 miles) from the Icelandic
capital, has since World War Two doubled as a U.S. airbase,
acting as a staging post for most U.S. military aircraft
travelling in and out of Europe.
With the demise of communism, the U.S. jets that screamed
into the air from Keflavik to warn of possible nuclear attacks
and to ward off Soviet spy planes have been returned to their
U.S. bases.
The sprawling Keflavik base, once crawling with U.S.
military personnel, is now home to just four F-16 fighters and
the occasional transport plane.
The Keflavik runway is one of the longest in the world and
is open all year-round, despite Iceland's arctic position,
thanks to U.S. military snow-clearing equipment.
The equipment is still there, but Icelandair worries that
the remaining U.S. jets could one day be sent home.
Gone are the days when tired travellers arrived in a
ramshackle military base to transit on to Europe.
Icelandair's new terminal ensures travellers have less than
50 metres to walk to join their Europe- or U.S.-bound flight, a
distance planners at sprawling airports in London, Paris or
Amsterdam would envy.
The privately-owned company -- it is listed on the sleepy
Reykjavik stock exchange -- has tailored its aircraft to meet
its demands and it now has one of the youngest fleets in the
world, with an average age of two years.
Its three Boeing 757s fly U.S. to Europe routes, spending up
to 16 hours a day in the air. Four Boeing 737-400s are used on
intra-European and Europe-Iceland flights and Fokker 50s fly on
domestic Icelandic routes.
Helgason said Icelandair was not looking at dramatic fleet
expansion, but would need to purchase one new jet in the next
two to three years as it pursued a target of achieving 15
percent of revenue from intra-European routes.
He said the company expected to turn a profit in 1994 after
two years of losses following a major coup earlier this year in
signing up the main Scandinavian tour operators for flights to
Florida, one of four East Coast destinations.
Icelandair's freight operations, consisting mainly of fresh
fish shipments to the U.S. and Europe, have risen 25 percent so
far in 1994 and passenger load factors are forecast to rise
sharply in the northern hemisphere winter.
A 10 percent increase in foreign tourists visiting Iceland
in the past two years had also helped, he added.
Helgason said Icelandair was looking at routes out of the
Scotish city of Glasgow -- ``because every time we fly to London
our planes fly over it'' -- and was also studying other
intra-European routes it could exploit.
For the moment, Icelandair has developed profitable ties
with Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS), linking its timetables
to fit in with SAS flights from southern European to both
airlines' main hub in Copenhagen.
Helgason said, however, that Icelandair was not looking to
expand its capital base, although he said the company was open
to suggestions that it listed shares on a Scandinavian stock
exchange.
|
| 25.65 | Avalanche, January 1995 | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Jan 17 1995 09:49 | 15 |
| From: [email protected] (Steinn Sigurdsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Avalanche in Iceland
Date: 16 Jan 95 17:10:05
Organization: IoA, Cambridge
Those not on the island-list may want to know that there was a major
avalanche in Sudavik this (Monday Jan 16) morning (6:20). As of noon,
there were 5 reported killed, one critically injured and 11 missing,
mostly children.
Weather is very bad, but rescuers from other towns have arrived with
dogs and more are on the way by ship. Several areas in other west coast
towns have been evacuated because of the potential danger.
|
| 25.66 | Avalanche update | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed Jan 18 1995 15:31 | 12 |
| From: [email protected] (Steinn Sigurdsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Avalanche in Iceland
Date: 17 Jan 95 17:12:53
Organization: IoA, Cambridge
As of pm Tue 17. Jan, the report is 12 dead, 2 critically injured, 2
missing. Something like half of them were children. Weather is still
very bad, ships heading there are having difficulty. Reportedly Sudavik
has been evacuated of inhabitants and a second avalanche destroyed more
(empty) houses.
|
| 25.67 | Concerned about constitutional change | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed Feb 22 1995 14:23 | 74 |
| From: [email protected] (Stanton McCandlish)
Subject: Iceland constitution censorship alert
Date: 21 Feb 1995 14:01:45 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
Sender: [email protected]
Forwarded message:
Subject: POL - Help needed
From: [email protected] (Sigmundur Halldorsson)
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 1995 16:21:02 +0000
To whom it may concern.
Here in Iceland there is currently under way a debate in the
legislature about a revised constitution for Iceland. Inserted in a
generally positive section on freedom of expression is a dangerous open
ended statement. It would allow the the legislature to outlaw any
expression on a wide varity of things and would have a sever chilling
effect on all freedom of expression here in Iceland. Already there are
a number of organisations working towards rebuking this part of the
constitution, but so far with limited success. Since this section
would also cover electronic data it is vitally important that it be
removed. I would like to ask your help in this matter by distributing
the following as an action alert to all your members. The following is
a translation of the section as well as the orignal text for all those
interested.
The aformentioned (the section on freedom of expression) will not
prohibit legislation that restricts the freedom of expression in order
to maintain general order (i.e. the rule of law), for reasons of
national security, to protect health or maintain general decency or to
protect the rights or reputation of any others.
Please help to rebuke this section by showing that the electronic
community cares about the freedom of expression in what ever form it
may take.
Show your feelings by sending a message where you politely state that
the second half of section 73 of the Icelandic constitution should be
removed in order to promote the free and unrestricted flow of ideas
vital to any democratic society.
E-Mail to:
[email protected] (the chairman of the parliamentary commity on foreign
affairs) and supporter of change.)
[email protected] (the office of parliament. Please Put: ATTN: Geir H.
Haarde, the Chairman of the Constitutional Reform Commity before your
message)
Or to me, and I will forward them.
Please act now as the new constitution will be voted on before the end
of this session of the legislature which will end at the end of March.
There has still not been set a date for debate, but it will be soon.
Thank you for your support.
Sigmundur Halldorsson Radio Journalist
E-mail:[email protected] Icelandic Broadcasting Service - Channel 2
Tel:Int+354-5693040 Efstaleiti 1
Fax:Int+354-5693678 Reykjavik
Iceland
--
<A HREF="http://www.eff.org/~mech/"> Stanton McCandlish
</A><HR><A HREF="mailto:[email protected]"> [email protected]
</A><P><A HREF="http://www.eff.org/"> Electronic Frontier Foundation
</A><P><A HREF="http://www.eff.org/1.html"> Online Services Mgr. </A>
|
| 25.68 | Pictures | TLE::SAVAGE | | Wed May 10 1995 12:47 | 16 |
| From: [email protected] (Ruth M. Sylte)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Pictures of Iceland
Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 21:05:20
Organization: University of California, Irvine
Those interested in Iceland might want to check out the following web
site:
http://www.infinet.com/~leep/iceland.html
----
Ruth M. Sylte [email protected] |
Center for International Education | "If you think education is
University of California, Irvine | expensive, try ignorance."
Irvine, CA 92717-2476 USA |
|
| 25.69 | Fridrik Skulason, Q & A | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Jun 01 1995 13:16 | 80 |
| From: [email protected] (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: rec.travel.europe,soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Travel to/in Iceland this summer
Date: 30 May 95 09:53:54 GMT
Organization: Frisk Software International, Iceland
[email protected] (Joel K. Furr) writes:
>1) Is it possible, in Iceland, to eat regularly if you can't/won't eat any
>form of fish or seafood?
Not a problem at all - in fact I must admit that I only eat fish very
rarely - once a month at the most.
>I've been given to understand that fish is such
>an integral part of the Icelandic diet that non-fish-and-seafood-eaters
>can have a hard time of it.
Well that is a misunderstanding - or at least a gross exaggeration. You
will have a hard time eating regularly if you are addicted to
Americal-style fast food (most of the fast-food places, including the
only McDonald's place in Iceland are located in the Reykjavik area),
but in general the food selection is quite good.
I would recommend trying the Icelandic lamb when you get here - it
wasn't until I tried this tasteless meat-substitute called lamb
anywhere else in the world that I realized how delicious it is.
Now, unfortunately you are too late to try most of the traditional
Icelandic dishes (marinated shark, sour sheep-testicles, smoked
sheep-heads, and a haggis-like blood-sausage, etc...) you would have
to come here in March for that.. but you could probably get some
unusual dishes if you wanted, like reindeer or a seal :-)
However, one warning - food is a bit expensive here...for example my
lunch today (1/2 grilled chicken with a baked potato and a large glass
of Coke) is something like $18.
>2) Is English routinely spoken by Icelanders? I am well aware that
>English is so widely spoken in countries like Norway and Sweden that the
>residents there speak it better than Americans do, but I don't know about
>Iceland.
Well, some older people, in particular those living in rural areas
might not speak English at all...but they are a rare exception.
Others...well, I'm not saying everyone speaks it fluently and
accent-free, but I don't think you have to worry about communication
problems. English is our third language - it is mandatory in schools
for at least 5 years (from age 12), and those that go on to on to
college get English for 2-3 more years. Besides, the fact that movies
are not "dubbed" in Icelandic (they just add subtitles) means that we
get considerable practice listening to English.
>3) Are there tourist hotels (i.e., hotels you wouldn't necessarily need a
>reservation at and could get a room at if you showed up in late afternoon)
>located around Iceland, at all? As far as I know, the bulk of the
>population is concentrated in/around Reykjavik and I don't know if they
>have American-style tourist hotels at all -- Holiday Inns, etc.
Well, there are the so-called "Edda" hotels all around the country -
low cost, no-frills places - however it is advisable to make a
reservation even there, if you are travelling during the high season.
>4) Can one rent a car just to drive around the country in without being
>an Icelandic citizen?
yes...however, you (obviously) need a valid driving license, and it is
strongly advised to make the arrangements before you get here - in
particular if you are travelling during the high season.
>5) If one didn't use hotels and instead wanted to camp and hike, are
>there national parks and such that one can explore?
yes...however, the quality of those places varies quite a bit.
-frisk
Fridrik Skulason Frisk Software International phone: +354-5-617273
Author of F-PROT E-mail: [email protected] fax: +354-5-617274
|
| 25.70 | Coin image | TLE::SAVAGE | | Mon Jun 26 1995 13:30 | 36 |
| From: [email protected] (Elias Halldor Agustsson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Icelandic question....
Date: 22 Jun 1995 13:17:01 GMT
Organization: University of Iceland
> Could someone tell me who the person is on the Iceland "ein krona"
> (1kr) coin? Is this an image of a norse god?
No, the image is of one of the four elements of the "tetrazoon", a
common mediaeval symbol of the four evangelists; a dragon, an eagle, a
bull and a giant (or an angel). The other three are on the 5 aurar, 10
aurar and 50 aurar denominations, now out of circulation (well, I
haven't seen any for quite some while).
The Icelandic version of the tetrazoon forms the basis of the Icelandic
coat-of-arms. Its significance derives from a story in Heimskringla:
Saga of Olafr Tryggvason, chapter 33. Haraldr Gormsson, King of
Denmark, wanted to invade Iceland to avenge some insulting verses. The
Icelanders had decided at their legislative assembly that there should
be a grieviously insulting verse composed about Harald, one for each
inhabitant of Iceland. One verse has been preserved, it tells of King
Harald metamorphosing into a horse that impregnates a mare that happens
to be his hapless steward who had metamorphosed into the mare.
So, the King ordered someone from intelligence to take a look at
Icelandic defenses. The spy metamorphosed into a whale (who needs
submarines?) and when he reached the east coast of Iceland, he was
driven off by dragons. He was then driven off from the north by birds,
from the west by a bull and from the south by a giant.
Those are still our primary defenses.
[email protected]
|
| 25.71 | Reikjavik has several USA fast-food restaurants | TLE::SAVAGE | | Tue Mar 12 1996 10:39 | 12 |
| Date: 10 Mar 1996 14:45:00 +0100
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Reykjavik questions
I was there just last year and there do exist all kinds of fast food
places in the Reykjavik area. I've seen KFC, McDonalds, Subway (yum)
and Dairy Queen. Oh, there are also a couple of Piza Huts. There are
more US Fast Food joints there then here in my hometown in Germany!
Again this proves that Reikjavik is a true capital.
Ky
|
| 25.72 | Large eruption, Oct 1996 | TLE::SAVAGE | | Fri Oct 04 1996 13:00 | 22 |
| 25.73 | Vatnajokull eruption | TLE::SAVAGE | | Thu Oct 17 1996 11:41 | 17
|