Over 200 Children Could Have a Dental Checkup- Per Day!

It is absolutely amazing that the government is talking about putting a "sugar" tax on soda as a means to raise money so that children can have a dental check-up but has no problem finding the money to keep 22 members of parliament on minister pay for up to 6 months.  The average pay is 992.000 kr per month! Multiply that by 22 and it is 21.824.000 kr per month. If the government paid down the  dental check-up for each child 5.000 kr,( my kids check-up was about 6.000kr) 202 children could go to the dentist each day! That is over 4.300 per month and over 52.000 per year. Only 49.223 children went to the dentist last year.  The government has the money; is just that they would rather spend it on themselves. Shame on us for believing the bullshit that comes out of these politicians' mouths.

GTB

22 á ráðherralaunum

Junk Science

Exacty how is putting a tax on soda supposed to help the children of Iceland with their dental care?  Are we not already paying tax on soda?  Is the government going to put on more tax? Are they hoping the higher tax will slow the consumption of soda among children?  That system doesn't work well for alcohol or tobacco or anything else for that matter so where is the reasoning behind the higher tax on soda?  I doubt the government will use the new tax income to pay for the children's dental visits.  In fact what usually happens is the government becomes addicted to the revenue from the higher tax and then uses the sales as a cash cow to fund everything but the problem it was meant to fix. 

If the government of Iceland wants to promote better eating among children how about taking the tax OFF of foods that they consider healthy. I know this is quite a concept for any government; to REDUCE the taxes. Why for the love of goodness is there tax on milk, vegetables and fruit? How insane is that? And by the way who is going to decide what is healthy or not, some government agency?  How are we going to pay for that new committee? Oh yeah, the higher taxes on soda or anything else they deem unhealthy. More money right into the politicians' pockets. Great! What about diet soda? There is absolutely no nutritional value and it contains Nutrasweet.  It must be worse in Iceland to have a few cavities than to be overweight with brain damage caused by the artificial sweetener.. At least that's what the science says about Nutrasweet.  But who needs science when we have public opinion that says sugar, the substance the body needs everyday, is the real demon.

It is absolutely stupid to single out one food as the cause of all the dental problems in Iceland and to think a tax on it will solve the problem.  The government is trying to distract the people with a "feel good" tax instead of addressing the real problem: Affordable dental care for children.  Ögmunder needs to find a real solution to the problem because taxing soda certainly is not it. Actually there already is a solution, it's called a TOOTHBRUSH.

GTB

Sykrað gos skattlagt?

Sad to Say; The IMF is Right

What's the big deal anyway with the prime interest rate?  It is exactly at the same rate it was three years ago so nobody can complain they are paying more interest than they were. The only reason to lower interest rates is to open up the availability of credit.  The banks are nearly bankrupt so they certainly don't have any money to lend anybody even if the rates were lower. The only thing the interest rate seems to be affecting is the value of the already weak kronur.  If the Central Bank is trying to seek parity with the value of the kronur outside of Iceland  they should go ahead and lower the interest rate some more. Then we will see how low the kronur can really go.

The most difficult problems facing Iceland today is higher inflation and the ever increasing debt linked to foreign currency loans. Both are caused by the weak position of the Icelandic kronur.  Lowering the prime interest rate will not help Iceland with these two pressing problems. It is just going to make these two problems worse.

GTB

Seðlabankinn í klemmu

Shouldn't Throw Stones

So, the British politicians are just as corrupt as all the other politicians in the world.  No one in Iceland should be surprised by that revelation.  The most shocking part had to be the apology.  One hardly hears anything remotely like that out of Icelandic politicians.  The last time an Icelandic politician got caught taking money that wasn't his, he said he was owed it. A technical mistake.  Maybe Brown should try that line.  It seemed to work well here. The guy still has his job.  Or how about when another politician went to the Olympics twice, all expenses paid with her husband. I didn't hear any apology there.  I guess she and her husband were entitled to the trips at the taxpayers expense, since she still has her job.  And I wouldn't want to even go into party that took large political donations from two companies right before the law (that they wrote!) went into effect ending large donations from companies.  They did say it was legal so it must have been ok. Just like the pardoning of a thief while the President is out of the country is legal.

The Icelandic media is enjoying a small bit of shandenfreude which is fine, but they have to remember-People who live in glass houses.................

 GTB

Brown biðst afsökunar

Breasts -NO WAY, Brain matter- NO PROBLEM

I can't believe that someone posted the photos of this woman NAKED, without any clothes on for Christ's sakes, on their blog http://raggamuffin.blog.is/blog/raggamuffin/entry/871536/ I was trying to eat my dinner when I innocently clicked on the link and, well I almost got sick.  I don't not want to see anything like that ever again especially with food around.  I now have to try and clear my mind of such a disgusting and I might add, immoral sight.  Perhaps a night of American primetime  shows will help. Nothing like the everyday splattered blood and brain matter to rid the mind of a woman's breasts.

 GTB

Ungfrú Kalifornía í vandræðum

And I Believe You.....NOT!

It would be not only impossible to guarantee the safety of Hydroxycut here in Iceland, but irresponsible for the salesperson to do so.  The American recall is based on liver problems and not problems related to the heart.  To claim the Hydroxycut is safe in Iceland would require that the salesperson knew which ingredient was the cause of the liver problems.  The information coming from the FDA states-

The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products.

So how can the saleperson be so sure of the safety of his product when the FDA doesn't even know which ingredient is the cause of the problem?  Simply stated- He can't.

Until there is more information on the specific ingredients that are the cause of the problem, Hydroxycut made anywhere cannot be guaranteed as safe at any dosage.

GTB

 

Annars konar Hydroxycut hér á landi

The IWC, Gridlocked, and Sometimes Landlocked?!

Japan and other whaling nations have decided to vote in a block in the upcoming IWC meetings in Portugal.  This is in response to the  decision of anti-whaling (pro wacko) nations, especially those in the European Union, to vote in a block. This action guarantees gridlock in the meeting and continues to degrade the already weak position of the Commision.  The IWC, if it wishes to survive, must accept that its purpose is not to protect whales indefinitely but to formulate a strategy for sustainable hunting of whales. The Commision was supposed to have undertaken that decision by 1990 but the anti-whaling member have continually stalled any action.  Even more annoying is the addition of members to the IWC (especially in the EU) that have no history of whaling or any prospect of starting since their countries are completely landlocked! A few examples are:

The Czech Republic

Hungary

Luxembourg

Slovakia

Switzerland

It is very difficult to take the IWC seriously any longer and whaling nations should just withdraw and form a new orginization composed of nations that ACTUALLY have an interest in the management of whaling stocks. 

The EU as a whole should not be involved in any decisions about whaling. Just look how well they have managed their cod stocks.  If anything, Iceland should be teaching the EU how to manage the natural resources of the sea.

 

GTB

Hvalveiðiráðið í sjálfheldu

A Better Idea

There is no need for Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson to work at regaining the people's trust.  He just needs to do the honorable thing and resign.  How important do these politicians think they are that instead of just quitting the job they are no good at doing, they feel the need to hang on at the expense of their party and the nation?  Guðlaugur, you tried politics and you failed. Now move on please  for everyone's sake. And on the way out try and take Þorgerður and Árni with you.

GTB

Vill vinna traust á ný

Conspiracy Theorist

Árni Johnsen, covicted felon, and member of the Althing (I know, I know)  complained today that there is an organized movement within his own party that struck his name off the ballot list is the previous elections.  He especially points to Sjálfstæðismenn is Árborg for leading the offensive. 

Árni appears to be clueless as to why members of the district he represents would not want him back into the Althing.  Could it be for stealing from taxpayers or trying to cover up the theft? Perhaps it is the way he said he was compensating himself for his "work" or the actual conviction and two years in prison? Or maybe it was the way he got a pardon from his own party without ever apologizing for his actions? ( The apology, by the way, would require Árni feel some sort of shame and I have already said in a previous blog there is a serious shortage of that kind of feeling among Icelandic politicians)  http://www.gregg.blog.is/blog/gregg/entry/798760/

No, Árni seems to think it is all personal and  even wants to have the law changed to stop such dishonest actions from voters. I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

Árni is the biggest clown in the circus called government.  Although he certainly should never have been allowed to hold public office again it is almost worth keeping him around purely for the entertainment value.

GTB

Árni Johnsen segir skipulega unnið gegn sér

You Reap What You Sow

There was a real chance that Árni Johnsen would not make it into the Althing this time.  17% of the people who voted for the Sjáfstædisflokkurinn list crossed his name off. But he only dropped down one seat so he is still in.  Árni has repeatedly  been the top person to have his name crossed off since returning to politics in 2006 following his conviction AND PRISON SENTENCE for corruption, fraud and embezzlement.  A great summary of what Árni did can be read in English here- http://icelandweatherreport.com/2006/11/corruption-thy-name-is-arni-johnsen.html

The best part of Árni's story is not his conviction (although it is quite a good story) but how he was pardoned for his crimes by his own party.  Apparently the President of Iceland is the only one who can pardon an individual but (get this!) when the President is outside the country (as he was in August 2006) the Prime Minister (from Sjáfstæðisflokkurinn) et al. assume his power and guess who they decided to pardon?  You guessed it.  For along time Sjáfstæðisflokkurinn got away with many corrupt and questionable moves like the pardon of Árni Johnsen and yesterday they finally paid the price.  What else could they have expected than what they deserved.  As the saying goes- "You reap what you sow."

GTB

Árni Johnsen niður um þingsæti