A high-tech eye scanner identifies asylum seekers

The Icelandic Minister of Justice intends to establish a sorting camp for asylum seekers before the government leaves power in the coming weeks.  

It will be possible to classify asylum seekers by race, religion and political opinion.  Among other things, brand new high-tech eye scanners and artificial intelligence will be used to obtain clear information about the individual.  

It will be almost impossible for asylum seekers to disguise themselves as tourists.

If an asylum application is rejected, the asylum seeker goes to a departure camp until he can be taken back to his homeland, which will be the fate of the vast majority of people according to the government's policy.   

These detention camps will be at the international airport, so technically it can be argued that the asylum seekers never entered the country and are therefore not subject to international humanitarian law.

A murky plan for whaling!

The government's newly appointed whaling representative Mr. Gunnarsson is now in deep shit after foreign parties connected to MOSSAD found information from his son that confirms his friendship with the whaling mogul Mr. Loftson and plans to grant him a whaling license for 5 years without the approval of the parliament.  A place to carry out this act before the government leaves in a few days when the election will be held again.

    

The case broke out in the Icelandic media, which received secret recordings sent by mail.

In Iceland, it is forbidden to investigate corruption, because it is more than likely that the person who does it will be investigated by the police and charged with personal espionage and information theft and violation of the laws on impersonation and privacy. He can also be sued for defamation and much more.

Iceland's government has fallen.

 The Independence Party has terminated the government cooperation with the Left Green Party and the Progressive Party. 

 The newly elected President of Iceland has not yet taken a position on whether she will allow the administration to finish its work and call for elections.

 There was a disagreement between the parties regarding the deportation of asylum seekers, and the Independence Party wanted to go the farthest in deporting immigrants by setting up deportation detention camps. 

 It is expected that the Independence Party will try to form a working government until the elections with the Center Party, which is against immigration, and the Center Right Party, which is a pro-European party. The racist party The People's Party is waiting on the sidelines ready to support the deportation bill The Independence Party if it is presented

The ghost town

The town of Grindavík was the victim of an earthquake and volcanic eruption. The lava stopped at the town border, but took down one house.

There are no more children in the town and the playgrounds and sports fields are empty

An empty school building is only a monument to a bygone era of a flourishing locality.

Only the wind plays with the swings like an invisible ghost.

Many houses have cracked floors. Below is an abyss 15 meters into the ground.

Buildings have split in two

In the distance you can see the crater and the lava that was heading for the town.

The settlement has been abandoned, but the residents are unhappy with the government's late response at the beginning of the disaster.

The community is now very scattered throughout the country.
 

Icelandic labor market like the 'Wild West'

Nineteen staff agencies are operating in Iceland, of which twelve are Icelandic and seven are foreign. It was stated in the interview program Kveikur on RUV that their employees working in Iceland receive bad treatment, poor or no wages and indecent facilities. One worker describes his situation as that of a homeless dog. 

 - There has certainly been a rich gold rush in the country in recent years. Is it mainly in tourism and construction industry. Many new companies have sprung up from the ashes, taking in cheap labor from the staff rentals, but in no way keeping up with the beautiful promises of good wages and facilities. Unfortunately, many people fall into this slavery trap. Occupational health and safety laws therefore seem not been exist in cases where there is no control over the relevant companies.

Right man in the right place?

Independence Party deputy Mr. Nielson has been appointed director of the Human Rights Office. He comes from the far right wing of the party and was previously an assistant to the former Minister of Justice. Mr Nielson has been criticized for various inappropriate comments. - repeatedly accused of spreading misogynist ideas. He has also been accused of harassing victims of sexual violence. Mr Nielson faced accusations of misogyny and authoritarianism after voting against a bill on women's autonomy over abortion. Mr Nielson has described himself as an anti-feminist.

Brutal violence is growing.

A father who killed his 10-year-old daughter referred the body to the police. The police found the body in the lava and subsequently arrested the father, who is Icelandic. This is the second girl child to be killed in a short time. Not long ago, an Icelandic teenager killed a teenage girl with a knife in the street and injured several others. A total of seven have been killed this year. The vast majority of the murders were committed by Icelanders. The general carrying of weapons by young people causes fear in society.

Deportation number 1001

Iceland has deported 1000 asylum seekers this year.  When it came to the deportation of Palestinian family number 1001-1003, the government intervened in the matter at the last minute.  - Deportation was to be carried out to Spain, as the family had stopped there on their way to Iceland, with reference to the Dublin regulation.  The police were brought in to carry out the eviction.  - The police operation began with the mother and their chronically ill child being taken from the hospital in the middle of the night and without the child being discharged.  Next, the father was arrested home, also in the middle of the night, and it was not a polite knock, but the door was broken open and the father was handcuffed.   Then they were taken to the airport to be thrown out of the country. The Minister of Social Affairs heard about the case and asked the Minister of Justice to postpone the action she took.  As a result, there was disagreement in the government about the continuation of the proceedings.  In opposition racist party in Iceland condemned the postponement, but the other racist party has not commented publicly.  It is uncertain what the outcome will be, but it is clear that it is almost 'illegal' to be non-white in Iceland today. 

Another eruption near Grindavík

Another eruption started in Reykjanes last weekend and is still active. Smoke from the eruption now covers the south and the mountains cannot be seen from the towns on the coast.

This is the ninth time that a volcano has erupted in the area.

https://perlan.is/articles/reykjanes-peninsula-volcano-overview

A couple murdered in their home.

An elderly couple was murdered in their home in East Iceland. The killer stole their car and drove to Reykjavík, where the police caught him. The killer is now in custody. The reasons for the murder are not known, but the perpetrator is said to be mentally unstable.

Knife attack at a cultural festival

A knife attack has been carried out on two young people who were present at a cultural festival in the capital Reykjavík. 

 The victims of the attack were a teenage boy of foreign origin and a teenage girl who is critically injured. The attacker, who is a 16-year-old boy, was arrested shortly after and is in custody. The motive for the attack is not known.

A serious accident in an ice cave in the Icelandic National Park

A serious accident occurred in an ice cave in Vatnajökull National Park. 

 23 people were in the cave when a five fathom high ice wall collapsed on the people. One person died and another was seriously injured, but others managed to escape the slide. 

 At first it was believed that two others from the group had fallen under the ice wall and rescue teams worked for 24 hours to break the ice from the cave and three helicopters worked to bring rescuers and equipment to the place.

 No more people were found under the ice, as it turned out that the registration of the number of people on the expedition was not correct with the American tourism company Ice Pick Journey, because two people who had bought a trip did not attend the expedition.

- Ice cave exploration is especially dangerous during the summer when the glacier is soft and moving, 

In the national park there are many ice caves, most of them natural but difficult to access. Therefore, some ice caves are man-made tourist traps. Rules for ice-cave tours and safety requirements are extremely poor in Iceland. 

Photo: https://www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is

The newly elected president accused of corruption

The newly elected president of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, who will take office on August 1, has been accused of corruption after she bought a brand new Volvo EX 30 electric car on special loyalty terms from the car agency. In addition, the future president posed for the company's advertising photo. It has also spread that the CEO of the company is on the president's guest list at the inauguration. 

 Many people feel that this case reeks of corruption, which in itself is not uncommon in the upper echelons of Icelandic society.

The media covering the case also make it clear that it is a case of corruption.

However, there are no rules of conduct for the presidency, and the president can therefore act according to his own discretion and conviction.

MORE CORRUPTION IN ICELANDIC POLITICS

New laws have entered into force in agriculture: 

1. Meat production plants will be allowed to merge without restrictions.

 

2. Product centers will be allowed to carry with them any kind of consultation regarding division of labor, pricing or other aspects of the operation. 

 

3. The provisions on the supervision of the Competition Authority and, depending on the circumstances, the prohibition of unauthorized agreements or decisions by manufacturers, which were in the original bill, are repealed in the law.

 - It didn't take long until a large company bought the competitor and thereby became the market leader. 

-Among the members of parliament who made the law is a part owner in one of these companies.

The blue-carbon scandal

Piles of wood shavings left on Grundartanga by the environmental princes of the Running Tide company be burned to power a metal alloy factory. The wood piles plus 300 tons of limestone powder in sacks and a number of equipment were advertised for sale after Running Tide suddenly stopped all operations in Iceland and the United States. The company washed 20,000 tonnes of wood pulp into the sea last year, claiming to sequester carbon. This was done with the government's permission and the company intended to profit significantly from carbon mess by selling intended carbon sequestration.

Journalists at Heimildin investigated this carbon fraud. https://heimildin.is/grein/22167/

Tourism is on the brink.

The number of tourists has decreased considerably since last year, and the largest airlines have resorted to a number of layoffs. The reason for the decrease in the number of tourists is considered to be the price level, where companies in the tourism industry have priced themselves out of the market, frequent volcanic eruptions in the vicinity of the international airport and road closures. Last but not least, poor transport, useless roads and a number of serious accidents involving tourists.

The police went berserk against the protesters

On Friday, May 31, the protest was called by the association Iceland - Palestine to protest inaction in the affairs of Palestine.  The protest was held at the meeting place of the government.  Among the demands of the protesters is that the Icelandic state imposes trade restrictions on Israel and ends political relations with the country.   

About 150 people participated in the protest, which was peaceful.  The police soon arrived at the scene and began to disperse the protesters with harsh tactics.  Some protesters were dragged away on their feet, while others were sprayed with caustic acid in their faces and eyes, and some had to go to the hospital.   

Justice Minister Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir defended the actions of the police and said in the parliament today that the protests were no longer considered peaceful.  

-It has long been known that the Icelandic police support methods that can be compared to fascism.  Not so long ago, some Icelandic police officers decided to wear fascist symbols inside their clothes.

Halla Tómasdóttir 7th president of Iceland

Halla Tómasdóttir won the presidential election on Saturday with over 32% support.  It was expected in advance that former PM Katrín Jakopsdóttir would win the election, as opinion polls indicated that.  She had the support of the right wing of the government.  Voters seem to have voted tactically when they got to the polling station, because other 10 candidates didn't get involved in the fight between these two women.  

Mrs. Tómasdóttir has worked as a business economist, teacher and lecturer internationally.   She founded the company Audur Capital in 2007 and hosted the Þjóðfundin in 2009, where a random sample of the Icelandic people gathered in Laugardalshöll to discuss the basic values ​​and the future vision that would concern the path of reconstruction following the banking collapse.  Organized organized the international equality conference Inspirally WE2015 (Women Empowerment).  Chosen as Europe's female entrepreneur by Cartier, McKinsey and INSEAD. 

Another humanitarian scandal

Four women who were victims of labor trafficking turned themselves in to the Icelandic authorities. The four women were immediately arrested and handcuffed and placed in solitary confinement. Their phones were taken from them and no one was allowed to have a conversation with them. 

 A few days later they were put on a plane and first flown to Germany and refueled and then they were flown to an unnamed African country where they were left at the airport. 

 This procedure received criticism in the Althing, but the Minister of Justice Gudrun Hafsteinsdóttir says that the case does not concern her.

The current three-party government is mainly right-wing and increasingly opposed to the presence of foreigners in the country.

Policy change at Samfylking

'Samfylking' is an opposition party that is considered pro-European, defender of minority rights, humanitarian and multicultural. Now it looks like there will be a change of direction with the new chairman, Kristrún Frostadóttir. At a recent party meeting, immigration issues were discussed. It was strongly hinted that changes in focus are ahead in the party, which are related to the restriction of immigrants and refugees. A discussion that has only been found in far right parties and other extreme small parties.

Certainly, there are unsolved problems associated with the large number of foreigners in the country. The reason for the increase is primarily the enormous growth in tourism, which calls for a large workforce that is not available domestically and must be obtained abroad. Also, the low wage policy has led to a lack of domestic labor to work in services for hospitals, retirement homes and municipalities, and this labor also has to be sourced from abroad. the same applies to factories and fish processing. This calls for a high demand for housing, and construction contractors do not have access to enough domestic labor to build a large number of apartment blocks in a short time, so they also have to source labor from abroad.

The problem is that under these conditions and the housing shortage, housing prices have risen to usurious prices, and the same applies to rental prices. Icelandic is hardly spoken anymore in many workplaces and not at all in tourism and the restaurant sector. English is most commonly spoken. The problem spreads to the schools, where English and Polish are spoken more than Icelandic.

The number of refugees, especially from Ukraine and Venezuela, but also from other war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Palestine have created pressure on the housing market, where the state is obliged to provide housing for refugees.

Domestic refugees from disaster areas have added to the pressure and created tension in the housing market.

As the discussion is now, it seems that the only solution that people see is to put restrictions on refugees and immigrants and to deport people for crimes or any kind of violation of the law.

The Icelandic fish farming scandal

Another scandal has arisen with the new far-right administration that recently took office without elections. It is actually the same people who were in the outgoing right-wing government that was dissolved after Prime Minister Katrín Jakopsdóttir decided to seek the office of President of Iceland.

The case concerns the rights of large Norwegian companies in aquaculture in the Icelandic fjords with processing rights for 16 years. Until now, there has been no official control over the activities of these companies, and the companies have had to control themselves. This has led to the fact that an incredible number of farmed salmon have escaped from pens and entered nearby and distant salmon fishing rivers, destroying the wild populations that have lived there and been used for sport fishing.

Now the far-right administration is going to accept serious comments about monitoring with new laws, but instead give the Norwegian companies an unlimited operating license forever. The fjords will be their property which can be mortgaged or sold like any other property right. This has caused bad blood in the opposition, which claims that Norwegians are being given national ownership.

The PM abandons the sinking ship on the sea of ​​inflation.

The Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakopsdóttir, has asked for a solution for herself and the government, and plans to take over the presidency as the current president, Guðni Jóhannesson, plans to step down.  Katrín will compete with 70 other candidates in the elections that will take place on June 1.  It is expected that she will receive a majority of support - The surplus of government's  agreed that the right-winger Bjarni Benediktsson will take over as the next prime minister.  The government's main issues are reducing the rights of foreigners, maintaining stable inflation and preparing for the construction of more power plants.  Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir will again take over the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs as she is well versed in foreign affairs.

Rat holes in Icelandic tourism

Iceland is in the 19th place for the most corruption in the world.

 Recently, another scandal surfaced when the police arrested an Icelandic/Vietnamese restaurant king and sealed his chain of businesses, which include Wok on and Pho Vietnam resturants. 

 The restaurant king is accused of human trafficking and even slavery. 

 The government and the police have known for years that everything was not according to the rules at the restaurant chain, but now they have decided to clean up the company. 

 It is also thought-provoking that this police operation is being carried out right now when anti-foreigners are burying themselves in the political debate and legislation has been tightened in view of the presence of foreigners in the country.

 The catering and tourism world in Iceland is known for being liberal with regulations and employee contracts, as it is largely run on foreign labor, so it would not be surprising that this issue stretched far and wide.

The Prime Minister's party is disappearing

Opinion polls show that the Left Green party is unpopular and would not make it to parliament if the elections were held now. This is the Prime Minister's party that has supported the right-wing conservative party in one scandal after another. For example, the Prime Minister has supported the new Foreign Secretary of the Conservative Party in rejecting payments to UNRWA for aid to Gaza residents. Also, the Prime Minister has not complained even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dragged its feet in rescuing people from Gaza who have the right of residence in Iceland. 

 It is not surprising, however, that the other racist parties add a small growing following from the last election. The two main racist parties currently in opposition are the People's Party and the Central Party. It is likely that these parties will be willing to cooperate with the Conservative Party after the next parliamentary elections next year.

 Xenophobia is growing strongly within these three groups. The second largest party is the pro-European Samfylking party, which was originally founded as the Democracy party but has often oscillated between right-wing and left-wing policies. The new chairman seems to plan to drive the party further to the right in the next election.

The SOLARIS Saves people from extinction

 More than a hundred persons from Palestine, who have received a residence permit in Iceland, have been waiting for months for the help of the Icelandic government to escape the ethnic cleansing of the Israeli government. 

 The government has been inactive for months. People who live in this country and are desperately waiting for their families have repeatedly requested a conversation with the government. Its wishes have been almost exclusively rejected or not answered. 

 The SOLARIS Icelandic humanitarian organization has now managed to save the lives of 12 Palestinian people from Gaza on their own with public funding. Mostly women and children are in this group.

https://www.solaris.help/palestina

The minister closes the door - Icelandic politics III

 Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, Member of Parliament for the South and Minister of Justice and Minister of Security, has approved changes to laws that limit the rights of foreigners in Iceland and increase the powers of the police to interfere with fellow citizens.

The minister is a member of the Independence Party, which is far to the right in Icelandic politics.

The new immigration law will prevent asylum seekers and refugees from having access to the country while their cases are being examined. It will also be prohibited to provide legal aid to these people. Closed sorting camps will be set up at the border (International Airport) those foreigners who do not qualify under the new law will be sent to closed departure camps until they can finance their own departure. There will be no possibility of communion with Icelandic society.

The new police law gives the police authority to investigate and intervene without reason or suspicion. In this way, the police can investigate foreigners with a residence permit without informing the person concerned. Police can also initiate extensive searches and background checks on protesters, opposition parties and political dissidents without their knowledge.

The coalition parties Left Green  and the Progressive Party have approved these methods.

The People's Party, which has bred xenophobia, has welcomed this new law.

Samfylkinging party, which is a pro-European party, has changed its policy and now supports this law.

The pirate party, on the other hand, is opposed to this and considers the law offensive to human dignity.

The mask falls. Icelandic politics II

 Racism and xenophobia have become a growing problem in Icelandic society. The lid has fallen off the wormhole and some political parties have dropped their masks.

 The animosity is focused mainly on refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers after the main ruling party, the Independence Party, spoke out reference with restrictions on arrivals and deportation camps for foreigners.

 The Central Party and the People's Party (extreme parties) have long shown their hostility towards foreigners, but now that the Independence Party has adopted this policy, racism has increased, as can be seen in the comment columns of the mainstream media as well as social media.

 Recently, Samfylking (the largest opposition party) also started to speak against foreigners, a party that until now has followed the European Union on issues and attitudes that appear there.

 The other government parties are the Left Greens, with roots in the communist party, but they show a neutral policy, except perhaps especially in animal protection and environmental issues. The progressive party, which is a popular realist party with roots in agriculture, is not particularly expressive.

 The Independence Party has its roots in the business and financial sectors and has followed a right-wing policy as it happens every time in the neighboring countries, especially the United Kingdom and the United States.

 In the opposition, the Pirates are the second most powerful party despite their young age. They are primarily a humanitarian party that also fights against corruption that has long occurred in Icelandic society, such as that which led to the economic and banking collapse of 2008.

 It is clear that the rights of foreigners will be narrowed in the coming years with changes in laws and regulations that limit presence and residence and employment opportunities in the country.

 A new president will be elected this summer. The president is an apolitically elected and largely unproblematic office, but it is somewhat personal and open to what extent a president chooses to use influence and authority or issues.

 The outgoing president chose ineffectiveness and apathy in his office, which allows the ruling parties to adjust their sails according to the wind.

Continued bad luck

 There are still problems with central heating in Reykjanes county after lava from the last volcanic eruption destroyed the heating pipe that serves the entire county, including the KEF terminal. An attempt was made to connect an alternate route that ran underground under the lava, but it was also found to be unusable. It will take many days to build a new pipeline. According to many, the energy company was very poorly prepared for natural disasters in the region despite the warnings of scientists since 2021. It has also suffered from power shortages and has repeatedly been cut off. It is the same energy company that is responsible for electricity in the county.

The weather is cold and frosty so the county's residents are struggling to keep their houses warm. Electricity is not reliable enough to be used for large-scale power generation, and other heating equipment is non-existent or very limited.

The government has been trying to react as events happen, but mainly preventive measures have been taken to protect large companies in the area.

An eruption happens again

 

There was a tragedy in Reykjanes, which is the next county to the east of us.  

Early this morning another eruption began, powerful at first on a long fissure and the lava flowed at great speed.  Visitors to the Blue Lagoon had to evacuate quickly when sirens were activated.  Everyone got away, but just a few hours later, the lava flowed over the road.  Soon after, the glowing lava tore apart a heating pipe that served the entire county, home to thirty thousand people.  

Their houses began to cool and it was bitterly cold outside.  All heaters sold out in stores within hours.  Workers on trucks, bulldozers and backhoes worked hard to build ramparts as they raced against the lava that came rushing at them.  They managed to protect the power plant for the time being and important power lines.  

Grindavík town has been abandoned since November, but now it is believed that more towns may be in danger if the volcanic activity continues in the area for a long time.

The prison is no longer decent.

 The country's largest prison in Eyrarbakki is uninviting — say administrators, inmates and public inspectors. A large number of prisoners end up in prison repeatedly, and many of them complain about the lack of rehabilitation. About half of prisoners are incarcerated for drug offenses, but prison terms do not always produce the intended results.

This was revealed in Kveikur, an award-winning investigative news program airing on RUV, Iceland's public broadcaster.

Icelandic politics- article

Iceland's government is made up of three established parties. The Independence Party (Right wing group) is the largest and is a right-wing interest group for business and large corporations. The progressive party, (Middle group) which has long been an interest group for agriculture and small fishing companies. Left Green party (Left wing group) which is a variant of the old Communist party and is a sort of neutral party, but has emphasized environmental issues.

The leader of the Right wing party is Bjarni Benediktsson, who was brought up in the party for the longest part of the collaboration, was the Minister of Finance, but recently moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a scandal and a blunder in the sale of a state-owned bank.

The leader of the Progressive Party is Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, who is the Minister of the Interior and comes from the agricultural sector and is a former veterinarian. The party has distanced itself from political disputes, but the disaster in Grindavíkur town rests on its shoulders.

The leader of the Left Greens is Katrín Jakopsdóttir, who comes from a well-established family of parliamentarians, literary critic and writer. She is the Prime Minister of Iceland. She does not express her personal opinion, or the opinion of her party, but supports the Right wing party in all issues.

The government held its ground in the last election and is now halfway through its second term. Her main subjects have been the COVID issues, which she managed to work through successfully. Inflation that has been very poorly managed, Natural disasters that the administration has not been very successful in solving and Immigration and refugees. There are so many difficult collective bargaining agreements ahead.

The main disagreements with the people are whaling and refugees. In general, the nation does not support whaling, but it is carried out under the auspices of the Independence Party and has come into conflict with environmental considerations in the Left Green Party. During the war in Ukraine, the government agreed to accept the refugees who sought Iceland. The same will does not apply to the Palestinian people who are refugees from Gaza.

In foreign affairs, the Icelandic government has not taken a very hard stance against the Russians in the war with Ukraine, but has more or less followed the other Nordic countries in their stance. In response to Israel's attacks on Gaza, the Icelandic government has been soft in its stance and rather neutral, except for a few members of parliament on the far right who have expressed support for Israel's actions in Gaza.

The only opposition party that has criticized the government's lack of action and lack of will in humanitarian matters is the Pirate Party, which is the third largest party according to opinion polls.

The largest opposition party is Samfylking, (a coalition of left-wing democrats) whose main goal is for Iceland to join the European Union.

Tragedy in Grindavík town.

 A few days ago, a man fell into a crevasse. He was working to putty in surface cracks with another worker. The other man had to shrink away, then the incredible thing happened that the ground opened up and the man fell down. Rescuers descended into the crevasse 20 meters deep and searched for two days with drones, but did not find the man. There was a strong underground river down there that had probably taken the man away. The night after the rescuers stopped searching, there was a rumbling in the air and great earthquakes began and new cracks opened up everywhere. Shortly after, an eruption began. Rescuers had built ramparts to stop the lava and protect the town. Then the strange thing happened that a new eruption opened inside the ramparts and the glowing lava floated into the town and the houses began to burn. All residents have left the town for the second time since last December. 

(The image is not related to the content.)