Know When To Walk Away

The current government of Iceland should now just walk away from negotiations.  There never was any obligation for Iceland to pay back the British or Dutch. There is also no will for the Icelandic taxpayers to pay for a debt they now see they don't owe.  The negotiations are over, at least from Iceland's point of view.  Now the British and Dutch have only two options, come to Reykjavík with a deal that says Iceland owes them basically nothing or take Iceland to court. There has never been any desire on the British end to go to court simply because they know they have no legal grounds for a claim against Iceland. So basically, if the government could just stand up against the British and Dutch, the Icesave problem is solved. The British and Dutch can keep the Landsbanki assets, that was the purpose of freezing them in the first place. The worst that could happen from now on is that the IMF won't lend Iceland any more money.  From the stream of foreign experts appearing on Silfur Egils that say Iceland should not assume any more debt, that lack of an IMF loan will be a blessing. As for the fear of becoming a pariah state, watch the interview on Silfur Egils today. http://dagskra.ruv.is/sjonvarpid/4472556/2010/03/14/3/ According to Alex Jurshevski, Iceland is already a pariah due to "no unity in the political system" and "no focus on debt management".  Most fortelling is his comments on Iceland's plan to acquire more debt:

If you take those loans, you will be even less attractive to investors.

This is similar to to what the economist (and Nobel Prize recipient)  Joseph Stiglitz said to Egill Helgason last year. http://www.gregg.blog.is/blog/gregg/entry/958865/ Is anybody in the government listening? Do they have a plan to pay off the money they plan on borrowing? The answer to both those questions is NO. Paying debt by borrowing money sounds like the 2007 way of dealing with the problem. The leaders of the government have learned nothing from the current crisis, except how to repeat the process.

GTB


mbl.is Gengur hćgt ađ koma á fundi
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Ţráinn Bertelsson hafđi ekki rétt fyrir sér

Ţráinn Bertelsson hafđi ekki alveg rétt fyrir sér ţađ eru ekki 5% islendinga sem eru fávitar heldur 1,8% sem eru ţađ.

 

GTB


mbl.is Nei sögđu 93,2%
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Read the Writing on the Wall (Or in this Case.. the Hand).

How stupid can Sarah Palin be? Is she incapable of simple memorization? Or just ignorant to what the people she is supposed to represent want? No further proof should be needed as to her incompetency and inability to be the potential leader for the Republican Party or the Tea Party.  Perhaps she can still do a birthday party if there is a need for a clown.  This woman makes George Bush look intelligent, no easy accomplishment by any standard. Two more years of Sarah Palin is a painful thought. It is time to put this Cinderella story to rest.  Sarah is never going to fit into the glass shoes of the President of the United States. School is out for Sarah Palin. Time to read the writing on the wall and stop writing the hand.

 

GTB


mbl.is Palin međ glósur í lófanum
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The Third Time is the Charm

Jóhanna wants to have a new agreement with the the British and the Dutch before the national referendum on the current agreement. This will be the third try at a settlement.  But Jóhanna must realize that the next agreement has to be significantly better that the previous two, since it has been made clear that Iceland has no obligation to repay anything. This will prove difficult to achieve given Jóhanna's disposition to bend over backwards to satisfy the British and the Dutch in her quest for the holy grail of EU membership.

Any agreement that is simply a reworking of the previous two agreements will be met with stiff opposition from the public who will feel they have been robbed of the opportunity to have their say in the matter.  Another petition to the President will most likely follow and there should be little doubt that with enough pressure, Ólafur will use his power and not sign a law for the third time in his career.

 

GTB


mbl.is Jóhanna: Skynsamlegra ađ leysa án ţjóđaratkvćđagreiđslu
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Best Point So Far

It ( the UK government) also argues that as much as 90 per cent of the repayment it seeks could come from liquidation of Landsbanki’s assets.

Yet the obvious answer to the latter point is this: if the assets of the bank are that valuable, why not write off the debt, in return for the claims on these assets? (Wolf)

 If the current government actually believes that the assets of Landsbanki will cover 90% of the Icesave debt as they have been claiming throughout negotiations, than Wolf's suggestion should be the focus and goal of any renegotiation.  No one will be disappointed over the loss of Landsbanki's assets to avoid a debt Iceland does not owe in the first place. 

 GTB


mbl.is Bretar og Hollendingar hćtti einelti
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Matthew 15:11

"Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." -Jesus
I'm sure Jesus had assholes just like Pat Robertson in mind when he said those words.



GTB
mbl.is „Haíti-búar sömdu viđ djöfulinn"
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PR Opportunity

The President 's decision not to sign the current Icesave legislation was necessary and will prove to be historic for one simple reason.  His action has done what  ALL the current Icelandic politicians have failed miserable to do- thrust the Icesave debacle to the forefront of foreign new services and foreign governments, bringing wanted attention to strengthen Icelands position and weaken the British and Dutch position. The President's actions, even if accidental or unintentional, are helping Iceland's reputation and might help avoid a blunder that will burden the Icelanders with massive debt for decades. This is truly a positive PR opportunity.

 

GTB


mbl.is Lipietz: Veikur málstađur
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Kann hann ekki ađ lesa?

 Stjórnarskrá lýđveldisins Íslands

26. gr. Ef Alţingi hefur samţykkt lagafrumvarp, skal ţađ lagt fyrir forseta lýđveldisins til stađfestingar eigi síđar en tveim vikum eftir ađ ţađ var samţykkt, og veitir stađfestingin ţví lagagildi. Nú synjar forseti lagafrumvarpi stađfestingar, og fćr ţađ ţó engu ađ síđur lagagildi, en leggja skal ţađ ţá svo fljótt sem kostur er undir atkvćđi allra kosningarbćrra manna í landinu til samţykktar eđa synjunar međ leynilegri atkvćđagreiđslu. Lögin falla úr gildi, ef samţykkis er synjađ, en ella halda ţau gildi sínu.


mbl.is Jađrar viđ stjórnarskrárbrot
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03.10.2009

"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into
prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying
to lift himself up by the handle."

                                                          Sir Winston Churchill


Something or Nothing

Össur and Ögmundur should to be commended for telling the British government throught the BBC radio ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00mvd4g )that Iceland wants to pay its obligations but will not be bullied into paying more than it can.  This should serve as a wake up call to both the British and Dutch governments that they have to accept the Icesave agreement as it is with the preconditions attached.  This guarantees that they at least have a possiblility of repayment.  If the two insist on pushing the issue further, the Icelandic government will collapse.  The next government to take its place will kill the Icesave deal completely and then the British and Dutch will not see one Euro in repayment.

 And why should Iceland repay the Icesave deposits anyway?  The Dutch and British are forcing this deal because they do not what to accept their responsibility for the deposits.  After all the saving accounts were approved by their financial supervisory agencies so they have some legal obligation for repayment also. By squeezing Iceland with the IMF loan and EU membership instead of with legal action, everyone can see how weak their own legal arguments are.

It may be better for Iceland if the Icesave deal fell through.  Do not believe the threats that no one will loan Iceland money if this deal is not completed.  That is, for lack of a more succinct word- bullshit. Just listen to what the economist (and Nobel Prize recipient)  Joseph Stiglitz said to Egill Helgason (http://dagskra.ruv.is/sjonvarpid/4472532/2009/09/06/ ). People and institutions that loan money do so to make money.  They are forward looking- i.e. Are you going to pay THEM back? So which is more likely? - Iceland getting credit with little foreign debt and all its assets(workers and machinery) available or Iceland getting credit with a debt 200 times greater that the GDP? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the answer to this one. 

So the British and Dutch governments, if they want to see any repayment had better back off and accept the deal.  Hopefully they will be the pigheaded idiots they have been so far and will end up getting nothing. Iceland will actually be better off because of it.

 

GTB


mbl.is Segir Breta og Hollendinga fjárkúga Íslendinga
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