WATSON THE VICTOR Does terrorism pay off in Iceland?
When Paul ventured to Iceland in 1988, offering himself up for trial, the State was suddenly keen to dismiss the matter and simply deported the defiant Ahab as quickly as […
BOMBING-STARVATION-BOMBING:
When I first went to Saudi-Arabia in the summer of 1991, they hailed me as liberator. Granted, they mistook me for an American. These days, if Europeans are mistaken for […]
Iraq: A Timeline:
3000 BCE: The city of Babylon arises in the region that is now Iraq. August 1920: British forces, having already taken over much of Iraq, struggle to seize control over […]
THE PRICE OF HESITATION
“In politics, an organized minority is a political majority.” – Jesse Jackson On March 18, 2003, a decision was made that could have meant the end of the political career
Baghdad Blogs
From “Baghdad Burning,” The United States has ended its physical search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq, which was cited by the first administration of President
Us and them
Western Civilisation thinks in term of binary opposites. There’s black and white, left and right, men and women, us and them, truth and lies. This was particularly apparent durin
Making Sense of the Chaos
Guðbjörg Sveinsdóttir, a psychiatric nurse, was invited to Baghdad in May 2003 by the International Red Cross (IRC) to evaluate the condition of mental health care in Iraq. Duri
LIVING THE GOOD LIFE ON A MINIMALIST BUDGET
“Grant me two coins, one to buy bread and sate my hunger, the other to buy a flower and enjoy the beauty of life.” As a student in the city […]
THE TYRANNY OF DISTANCE
It used to be terribly expensive to get away from here. There were only flights available through one airline and a ferry that only sailed during the short summer to […]
Letters
Dear Mr. Gunnarsson, Greetings! My name is Amia Srinivasan, and I’m a second-year student at Yale University in the U.S., though I studied and continue to live in London. Over [&
WHY EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT:
The road to hell The Great Depression wiped out the demand for coffee, Brazil’s major export. In 1930, Getulio Vargas seized power in a military coup, and democracy was only [&he
WE TRUST YOU . . . SORTA
Yeah, those were simpler times. Today’s immigration laws have been worked over a tad. In addition to the bureaucratic waltz described above, there have been a few changes made, a
THE CONTROVERSIAL MARRIAGE BETWEEN ANKARA AND BRUSSELS
The European Council has already decided Turkey’s fate. On December 17th 2004, 25 governments agreed that negotiations would start, although with no guarantee of accession, if Tu
HOW CARELESSNESS CAN BECOME CENSORSHIP
Haukur Hauksson is an Icelandic journalist fluent in Russian who has been living in Moscow for 15 years and graduated from the journalist faculty of the Moscow State University (MG
Iceland, Scandinavia, rest of world
It was a good year for Grapevine. We came back last June all guns blazing, and suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a media debate which finally found its […]
THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR CHILDREN?
So, why are Icelanders so enthusiastic about having babies? Well, primarily, in a country with such a high standard of living, the state ensures that individuals who choose to have
THE FACE OF ICELANDIC FOOD:
By Valur Gunnarsson An American book from 1965 called The Art of Scandinavian Cooking (a contradiction in terms, you may be thinking) states: “The cold climate of the North dema
How not to anger your host
However, one thing bothers you. Does your friend/acquaintance really want you for company, conversation and/or sex – or for your capacity as a mule? Not a mule for drugs, of [&he
Where do they go from here?
Davíð Oddsson Having spent almost a decade as top dog in the city, and then another decade as top dog in the country, people wondered what he would do when […]
Letters
Hi there I just wanted to thank you for sending me the paper to Fréttablaðið. It’s nice to know you can be expecting it. How are things going for you? […]
How to Enforce Your New European Rights
Politicians all around the world are usually very skilled in making headlines by announcing statements that do no create formal rights or procedures in practice. Strangely enough,