Their blogs are very good and they're not pulling any punches.

Solidarity indeed!

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg columnist Matthew Lynn talks about the Icelandic vote on paying back the U.K. and the Netherlands the so-called Icesave loan, needed to cover depositor losses at failed lender Landsbanki Islands hf. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat and Francine Lacqua in London.

and devastating at the same time. They certainly do. Of course, Sweden and Norway took responsibility for letting the Icesave viper at their people. They paid the the losses of their citizen-depositors.

They're opening this how on the road in Iceland but it's coming to a city near us soon.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

There are a lot of angry citizens in Iceland, quite rightly so. Taking a rolling punishment for a bank run by hooligans and a central bank with no integrity must be galling.

From 2005 through 2007, it looks like Landsbanki, Icesave's parent, had about $11 bil in profits, US$. Wonder where that went?

The PM faces a huge dilemma. One one side, there' access to international credit. On the other, there's an angry public that's lost a great deal. When people have little or nothing to lose, their actions are much bolder. This won't work out well, for a while anyway.

I'd be interested in visiting.

That comment made me laugh out loud. Two thumbs up creativelcro!! I hear they have the most beautiful women in the world in Iceland! I bet Will Shatner can get me a good deal on the tickets too!

To see an interesting effort in self-reliance in Iceland. Including an implicit answer to your question of capital.

They could end up with a pay-go economy, with as much as possible manufactured locally.

What is it the Icelanders need, not want, from the rest of the world?

A second point:

When did a sovereign country, Iceland, with banking in a second sovereign country, the UK, have any authority or responsibility over the operation's of its subsidiaries in the UK. Surely that's a matter for the UK banking authorities?

I guess it all depends on what legal obligation Iceland has here... if the banks go belly-up in the US, the FDIC pays out, but only up to a limit. Did the government of Iceland make a similar promise to Dutch and English bank customers? They they gotta pay out... simple as that.

But... if the bank was privately insured, and not guaranteed by the Icelandic government... or if the bank violated it's promises and thus broke their contract with the Icelandic government, then I don't see why Iceland should pay out because of lazy Dutch regulators.

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http://bexhuff.com
Of COURSE you can trust the US Government! Just ask the Indians.

and the US to crack down on financial speculation.

So the stooges Geitner and Obama are going to crack down on their bosses?

That's the problem. Here's a big part of the cure, from Numerian, Sept 22, 2008, The Money Party: Meltdown Perpetrators Position Themselves, Part 6

But the truth will emerge - the country is broke and not because we don't work hard enough, make good products, and provide quality services. We're broke because the greediest people in the world couldn't contain their greed and there was nobody watching them who wasn't benefiting. Now the watchers are desperately trying to make it all go away.

There needs to be an accounting and a correction - and not by the usual suspects.

Here's one way to start with derivatives crisis in major institutions:

"If all the top 25 financial institutions were put into receivership, and (big if) if they all could be liquidated under an agreed legal framework, many of these risky contracts could be allowed to offset each other, and much of the risk eliminated."
Private correspondence, Numerian, The Agonist, Sept. 21, 2008

But there are no leaders who have the guts to say this, not a one. Even that poor PM in Iceland, unable to recognize that she can't do things that 93% of the population opposes and claims to be a legitimate leader.

"'If the European crisis metastasizes, it could create a new global financial crisis with implications as grave as the US-originated crisis two years ago,' Papandreou said..." No kidding but the crisis can't be solved unless the problem is eliminated.

Time to reboot!

"US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the central bank was investigating whether Goldman Sachs and other financial firms may have helped Greece hide its debts over the last decade."

Bernake: Nothing improper over Greece?
Blankfein: Nothing improper over Greece!
Blankfein: Ok?
Bernake: Ok!

Obama: guarantee more troops for Afghanistan and we will help you out

They'll use wet noodles.

They'll use wet noodles.

Does the referendum mean that Iceland will not repay Icesave’s debt?

There has been much confusion about what the referendum in Iceland was in fact about. Many mistakenly believed that it was to decide whether Iceland would pay the money back or not, but it was in fact simply a referendum on the terms of the payback. There has never been any doubt that Iceland would repay at least some of the losses. On Saturday, Icelanders simply rejected the terms of the initial repayment plan, with President Grimssn stating that “the people of Iceland will not accept unfair terms”. The ‘no’ vote simply means that Iceland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will have to return to the negotiating table as quickly as possible.

France 24 Mar 8 http://tinyurl.com/ybfapzj

The previous government had negotiated what the current PM's party saw as a lousy deal. They want to renegotiate something more favorable to Iceland. The PM's comment said, basically, that the referendum was meaningless since a) the former deal was dead and b) there would be a repayment deal.

The bad deal versus no repayment issues have been conflated. When I first read about the referendum, I made the same mistake. However, the truth may be on both sides. Yes, the PM always intended to negotiate a deal. However, the voters may just have been saying, we don't want to repay anything.

The not repaying anything argument is correct, imho. The repayment is for a private bank that was rotten to the core. The people didn't pull this scam in the first place. Why do their lives have to be ruined?

At the same time, Iceland is small enough to need access to international credit. Not covering the losses by paying the Dutch and British governments would trash that access to credit and also keep Iceland out of the EU.

If the people there say NO to all of the repayment options, it will get very interesting.

...and the media are putting a massive "spin" on their reporting.

My wife observed that tins of Baked Beans are one of the most reliable investments. :-))

They are insanely good. Particularly loaded with garlic, and served over pasta, with perhaps a meatball or two!

Disclaimer: I have no relationship with Goya!

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Also: "Today Iceland, Tomorrow the World, Flat as a Pancake!" - Sgt. Schultz (slightly modified - he was speaking of Berlin).

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_{They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm.}

The solution is, imho, broad based knowledge of the hustle that's been laid on us forever. All the wars based on lies, the accelerating greed of the financial elite, etc. People need to hear this again and again in a format that's divorced of personalities. I may use Obama's name in the future, but i'll try to avoid it as much as possible. He doesn't matter. He's just an employee. It's those who own the levers of power that are important. Their names don't matter either. I call them The Money Party but there are other labels.

Your point in incremental changes is very good. Local banks, local merchants, support of regional and national products and services that are are of quality and have a social conscience.

This vote has frightened the European financial establishment. The Greek protests did a number too. Now the powers that be know the true sentiment of the people. They do their thing, we do ours but there are so many more us than "them," we're bound to win.

I had the benefit of having some local farmers who grew heirloom tomatoes. It may seem of little consequence to most people but after you taste a real tomato, not the shit they sell in stores the I never liked, you begin to appreciate what real things are worth.

Commercial and corporate are sad substitutes for the real thing.

Give me somebody with a stake in my future and who cares about me, not my money, and you give me somebody who won't screw me.

That's great!

Michael can you please link to your article in the India Times. I can't find it.

_{Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.}

I'll clarify that it under the pic. I would be thrilled if they ran it but I'm most grateful they or their bot posted the link.

Nice to see you highlighted to the largest Democracy on earth

I'm trying to find out what the low turnout means, 57% compared to 80% plus averages.

You're right. It was an excellent statement by the people. But it's one of those "you can't get there from here" situations. There's no way the Icelanders can pay this back. There are many ways that no paying it back will hurt them and their efforts to rebuild.

It's all highly instructive, a horror show opening on the road, coming our way at some point unless the system is fixed, without the input of the interested parties.