Thread: MSM Hiding Iceland Revolution Against Banksters

A story missing from our media: Iceland's on-going revolution General

by Deena Stryker
Saturday, 27 August 2011 08:19
30 Comments



An Italian radio program's story about Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. We may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.

As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example. Here's why:

Five years of a pure neo-liberal regime had made Iceland, (population 320 thousand, no army), one of the richest countries in the world. In 2003 all the country’s banks were privatised, and in an effort to attract foreign investors, they offered on-line banking whose minimal costs allowed them to offer relatively high rates of return. The accounts, called IceSave, attracted many UK and Dutch small investors. But as investments grew, so did the banks’ foreign debt. In 2003 Iceland’s debt was equal to 200 times its GNP, but in 2007, it was 900 percent. The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, went belly up and were nationalised, while the Kroner lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro. At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy.

Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution. But only after much pain.

Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures. The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.

Protests and riots continued, eventually forcing the government to resign. Elections were brought forward to April 2009, resulting in a left-wing coalition which condemned the neoliberal economic system, but immediately gave in to its demands that Iceland pay off a total of three and a half million Euros. This required each Icelandic citizen to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5% interest, to pay off a debt incurred by private parties vis a vis other private parties. It was the straw that broke the reindeer’s back.

What happened next was extraordinary. The belief that citizens had to pay for the mistakes of a financial monopoly, that an entire nation must be taxed to pay off private debts was shattered, transforming the relationship between citizens and their political institutions and eventually driving Iceland’s leaders to the side of their constituents. The Head of State, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, refused to ratify the law that would have made Iceland’s citizens responsible for its bankers’ debts, and accepted calls for a referendum.

Of course the international community only increased the pressure on Iceland. Great Britain and Holland threatened dire reprisals that would isolate the country. As Icelanders went to vote, foreign bankers threatened to block any aid from the IMF. The British government threatened to freeze Icelander savings and checking accounts. As Grimsson said: “We were told that if we refused the international community’s conditions, we would become the Cuba of the North. But if we had accepted, we would have become the Haiti of the North.â€

this is a MASSIVE Story and is very telling of what the Goverment DOESNT want you to know

The PIIGS countrys are all going down in flames because they were forced to pay for the fraudulent Bank Loans

Iceland on the other hand said "Kiss our A@@" we will not pay for those fraudulent bank loans

Iceland sold the bank and the Banks assets to pay back the bad loans and is now in a FULL RECOVERY

now why wouldnt the MSM or the Federal Government want you to know this

you better start thinking about it and come up with your own conclusions

like I said

this is a MASSIVE Story and is very telling of what the Goverment DOESNT want you to know

'Black Swan' Author Taleb: Banks Have Hijacked Society

Tuesday, 23 Aug 2011 08:45 AM
By Julie Crawshaw

“The Black Swanâ€

Obama's Newest $700 Billion Bank Bailout

Mike Shedlock

President Obama is in Fantasyland or in some alternate universe. He wants to strengthen the housing market provided

The plan helps a broad swath of homeowner
The plan stimulates the economy
The plan costs next to nothing

So says the New York Times in U.S. May Back Refinance Plan for Mortgages http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/busin ... wanted=all

The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.

One proposal would allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance them at today’s lower interest rates, about 4 percent, according to two people briefed on the administration’s discussions who asked not to be identified because they were not allowed to talk about the information.

A wave of refinancing could be a strong stimulus to the economy, because it would lower consumers’ mortgage bills right away and allow them to spend elsewhere. But such a sweeping change could face opposition from the regulator who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and from investors in government-backed mortgage bonds.

Investors may suspect a plan is in the works. Fannie and Freddie mortgage bonds had been trading well above their face value because so few people were refinancing, keeping returns on the bonds high. But those bond prices dropped sharply this week.
Uninspiring Nonsense

Frank E. Nothaft, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, said the federal action could instill confidence.

"It almost seems to me you want to have some type of announcement or policy, program or something from the federal government that provides that clear signal that we are here supporting the housing market and this is indeed a good time to really consider buying," Mr. Nothaft said.

Quite frankly that is idiotic as one of my readers noted in an email. That government needs to step in and artificially support housing prices is not inspirational.

Moreover, two tax credits that blew up just proved it.

The idea that you can do something at no cost to fix the housing market is pure lunacy. I am not sure which of the following terms applies best

Holy Grail of Housing
Free Lunch
Perpetual Motion Device
Fountain of Youth
Pain with No Gain

I like number 1 best, but 1, 2, and 5 are solid choices.

The Keynesian clowns are of course very supportive of the general idea, led this time by Treasury Secretary Geithner and Christopher J. Mayer, an economist at the Columbia Business School.

Mayer says "This is the best stimulus out there because it doesn’t increase the deficit, it accomplishes monetary policy, and it reduces defaults in housing"

Mayer is obviously another believer in various free lunch ideas that cost nothing but will save housing.

[b]Tom Lawler (on Calculated Risk's site) slammed some of these ideas back in July in Lawler: “Slam-Dunkâ€