tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22165230.post4353132184238580696..comments2023-12-16T16:50:25.810-08:00Comments on The Heart of the Matter: When Elites Become Parasites: The Panama PapersBarry Eislerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785333622697500192noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22165230.post-56383925204766200182019-04-16T09:47:41.163-07:002019-04-16T09:47:41.163-07:00“...the resignation and imprisonment of prime mini...“...the resignation and imprisonment of prime ministers, changes in laws, and a broader understanding of the breadth and depth of the institutionalized scam being perpetrated by global elites on the rest of us.”<br /><br />Oh, if only. My birth country of Iceland has a much undeserved reputation (thanks much to Paul Krugman, interestingly) for having made “the bank and the bankers pay”; for being one of the least corrupt countries in the world (#14 for 2018 - we used to score in the top five!); for being “an international haven for free speech* (‘scuse me while I try to catch my breath between laughing and crying), not to mention the myth about being progressive re women’s rights... Iceland distinguished itself by featuring in the Panama papers its Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Minister of the Interior, plus their spouses, plus numerous other politicians and financiers (plus singer and “anti-corruption” pontifical Bjork; btw, rock band Sigurros was last month charged with evading 151m ISK in taxes), most of whom Icelanders had/have voted back into office after these arcitects and enablers of the country’s 2008 bank collapse forced the country into bankruptcy, robbing tens of thousands of Icelanders of their pensions (my public servant parents) and life savings. Anyway, reading about the Japanese and their LDP made me think of that time (I used to write about the bank collapse (and Iceland’s “free” media) for Huffpo back then). We’re worse than the Japanese and the Americans; the slave mentality is imprinted in our DNA... Iceland’s greatest modern author, Halldór Laxness astutely described our collective national soul in 1933 in his novel The Seven Magicians:<br /><br />“Few nations are believed to have tolerated oppression and brutality with more affability than Icelanders. For ages, up to this day, they existed in tolerant passivity with their oppression, without ever making an attempt to revolt. To no other nation was the revolutionary concept so foreign. Icelanders were always willing and content to kiss the rod that roughest beat and believe that the most brutal executioner was their sincerest support and safest refuge.”<br />Sayõnara!<br /><br />*“with the creation of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI), Iceland’s Parliament passed a resolution to “strongly position itself legally with regard to the protection of freedoms of expression and information” and “resolves to task the government with finding ways to strengthen freedoms of expression and information freedom in Iceland.” <br /><br />Is Iceland a Totalitarian Country?<br />https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-iceland-a-totalitarian_b_633598<br />Free Speech Not So Free<br />https://www.huffpost.com/entry/free-speech-not-so-free_b_1034178irishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16786978215437293051noreply@blogger.com