Icelanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger.
Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population, according to a report published this month by the Icelandic Financial Services Association.
Their anger, if you remember, including the very-explicit threat to burn the government to the ground -- literally -- with road flare protests and pelting Parliament with rocks.
Remember this?
It worked. The people won, and the banksters lost, at least for now.
Banks were closed and reorganized, depositors protected and external creditors told to stuff it. Despite claims at the time of "dire consequences" they never materialized -- oh threats were made, but in the end nobody invaded and nobody did a damn thing about it, because they couldn't.
As for handcuffs, we might get those too....
Iceland’s special prosecutor has said it may indict as many as 90 people, while more than 200, including the former chief executives at the three biggest banks, face criminal charges.
That would be a great thing indeed.
The lesson here is that you don't have to put up with the banksters and the world will not end if you feed them to the sharks. Rather, what will happen is that your economy will recover.
We should all make them eat their own cooking, following Iceland's example.
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Funny isn't it. The constant barrage of misdirection on how complicated it all is. No, its simple. Wreck the banks, save the deposits of individuals. Prosecute the guilty. Separate IB from normals banks. Clear the debt and let those that made bad bets holding it get wiped out.
Steelhead23
Posts: 2043
Incept: 2008-09-09
Portland OR
It is my understanding that vultures, who purchased the assets of Icelandic banks at pennies on the dollar are within their rights to press for payment on the debts that killed Iceland's banks. Iceland is not yet out of the woods - although I believe we can see the tip of that middle finger from here. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?c....
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"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws" —Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild Benjamin Bernanke For-profit commercial banks are a menace and should be eradicated
Steel: They can try, but the government doesn't have to let them do it -- and so far hasn't.
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft.Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb. What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
Iceland has a population of 320,000. What their success proves is that the government of medium US city sized populations can actually be made to represent the will of their citizens. For population sizes "represented" by state and federal governments, forget it, especially within a money-rigged system used to so easily propagandize a mostly ignorant voting population.
Fred's a tad off with the numbers here, since the 320,000 Icelanders succeeded, but his basic idea is correct in my opinion:
"Suppose that you lived in a very small (and independent) school district and didn't like the curriculum. You could buttonhole the head of the school board, whom you would probably know, and say, “Look, Jack, I really think….” He would listen.
But suppose that you live in a suburban jurisdiction of 300,000. You as an individual mean nothing. To affect policy, you would have to form an organization, canvass for votes, solicit contributions, and place ads in newspapers. This is a fulltime job, prohibitively burdensome.
The larger the jurisdiction, the harder it is to exert influence. Much policy today is set at the state level. Now you need a statewide campaign to change the curriculum. Practically speaking, it isn't practical."
Maybe it makes sense to stock up on red flares. Does anyone know if Orion Safety Products is a publicly held corporation?
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Trading and investing is understanding about people, emotions and corruption of government, corporations, banks and people using propaganda, lies, mathematics and bankster logic working against you.
Sheesh, local government is ground zero for corruption in the US. Bought and sold on a daily basis. Judiciary, Executive, elected, managers, employees, unions... revolving doors from public office to consulting. Even when you get an honest person elected, they are still outnumbered.
They did have a significant inflation spike in 2009 though, and it's trending up again.
january 2012 6.525 % january 2011 1.851 % january 2010 6.557 % january 2009 18.583 % january 2008 5.819 % january 2007 6.863 % january 2006 4.403 % january 2005 3.957 % january 2004 2.406 % january 2003 1.401 %
I am seriously considering taking my next vacation to Iceland. There are a lot of things that I like about their country, and if I can find an Icelandic beauty to settle down with, well, all the better.
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"Winter is coming." -Motto of House Stark "Mo'lon La'be"- Leonidas "Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general" - Mark Rippetoe "Its like Calvinball."-MarvinMartian
Icelanders had the stones to tell their banksters to HTFU!
I know, I keep posting this video in response to Iceland and its response to its banksters...but I'm led to believe that there's a connection between the Icelandic character and this HTFU attitude...and EVE Online, made by an Icelandic company (CCP Games is based in Reykjavik), is another prime example of this.
For those who haven't played or followed the game, CCP's attitude is that scamming other players, for instance, is completely legit as long as it doesn't involve exploits to the game itself. It's considered as much a form of PvP as actual ship-to-ship combat is. There have been "banking scandals" on a grand scale in the game, for instance...and the usual response to those who complain about getting scammed on the forums is, you guessed it, "HTFU." You don't see this kind of attitude in other MMOs; can you imagine Blizzard taking this kind of stance in response to scams in World of Warcraft, for instance? The difference, I submit, is that Icelandic character and attitude...the same one this article celebrates.
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"There is a ready solution for anyone on the public payroll who feels that he is not paid enough: He can resign and work for a living. This applies with equal force to Congressmen, Welfare 'clients,' school teachers, generals, garbage collectors, and judges." - Ira Johnson
Holy Effing ****balls, MR. 700 Club himself just said Iceland should be modeled by the US and that we need to throw bankers and politicians in jail over the financial fraud.
IMO, that's going too far, and screws the prudent and non-risk-takers at the expense of those that had mortgage debt.
One of the Icelandic mortgage problems was that most of the debt was defined in Euros and thus skyrocketed as their currency value dropped. IMO, it would have been far better to have re-denominated the mortgage debts to Icelandic currency at the value at the time the debt was incurred, or something along those lines.
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". . . the Constitution has died, the economy welters in irreversible decline, we have perpetual war, all power lies in the hands of the executive, the police are supreme, and a surveillance beyond Orwell’s imaginings falls into place." - Fred Reed
Djloche
Posts: 3280
Incept: 2008-07-07
In the Mountains
Online
It doesn't do it at the expense of others. Debt is forgiven. Those without debt aren't robbed to pay for those debts, the debt is written off. am i reading it wrong?
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"If we wish to be free, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?"
Wearedoomed
Posts: 3586
Incept: 2009-01-14
slightly red state
Online
Such an action sets a moral hazard precedent.
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And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
