Occupy Althingi

While traveling abroad, as part of Stinque International Outreach, I happened to be in Reykjavik overnight before heading west to the fjords. Iceland has a population of just over 300,000, of which 200,000 live in the capital. In the summer months there are more tourists on the island than inhabitants. Our global financial collapse began in earnest when three small icelandic banks were taken out of government control, decided they wanted to replace JP Morgan, made crazy deals, promised the moon, and then cratered.

To rescue/punish the nation, the IMF imposed harsh penalties, strict austerity measures, and a gradual repayment of the huge private debts the banks had accrued with public money. Icelanders said ‘fuck you’, threw out the government, elected a woman as prime minister, and took their finances back under government control. Will they make it?

The demonstration was noisy but peaceable. Large motorbikes roared around downtown (3 streets) till the wee hours.

Everybody pretty much knows who everybody is. When I was there I was told there were twelve people who were responsible for the collapse. They were calling out their names before the parliament (seen here). What no one could understand was why they hadn’t been arrested. Now it seems they have. Others have fled and are being pursued by Interpol.

So if Iceland led the way into the collapse could they now be showing us the way out?

Note to Stinquers contemplating a visit: liquor is very expensive.

Benedick
5:45 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011
comment »

8 Comments

Dodgerblue

7:16 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

Yes. Their economy is improving and they recently sold a dragon-boat full of bonds. Also, it would seem that they learned something from the financial collapse, unlike, say, us.

chicago bureau

7:19 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

Meanwhile: a pro tip from the Stinque Lawyers’ Caucus: never have a heated argument with an attorney on the day of moderate civil unrest. Your ability to be sympathetic to anyone (including members of Occupy Chicago) is severely diminished.

Penalty: one stiff drink at local bar.

7:25 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

Question for RML: Lefty sent me some info on the White House shooter, apparently a certified nut case. Here’s my question: What kind of accuracy would you expect from a crazy guy firing through a car window at a target 750 yards away, using a Rumanian semi-automatic rifle?

JNOV will never finish this fucking sweater!

7:36 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

@Dodgerblue: Rum fucks up your accuracy every time.

7:40 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

@JNOV will never finish this fucking sweater!: Yeah. I can’t even pee straight while drunk.

jwmcsame

7:42 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

@Dodgerblue: one mother fucker round the white house a while back hardly ever missed unfortunately:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_sniper_attacks

redmanlaw

8:17 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

@Dodgerblue: Homes did manage to hit a 168 ft x 70 ft target at 4/10ths of a mile, so you gotta give that to him. Would that constitute “accuracy?” Only in the broadest side of a barn sense.

The maximum effective range for the 7.62 x 39 mm round used in the AK-47 is about 400 yards, after which it loses a lot of energy and drops like a rock. At 400 yards with a rifle zeroed to hit the bullseye at 200 yards, it drops about 47 inches below the point of aim and about 101 inches at 500 yards, so for discussion purposes let’s call it a drop of 240 inches, or 20 ft, at 750 yards. You’d have to aim 20 ft above the target to have a chance of hitting it.

Good marksmanship form does not come to mind in considering the White House shooting. Instead, I see a guy holding the rifle up in the air at a bit of an angle and firing while making an exhortation of some kind or another. Some rounds just happened to hit the White House.

But, hey, I had some Israeli night sights put on my Glock today (60 percent off – couldn’t resist). The groups spread out with distance because I wasn’t shooting from a rest, but I was hitting my target generally where I wanted out to 20 yards.

SanFranLefty

11:52 pm • Thursday • November 17, 2011

@Dodgerblue: You didn’t say WHY I thought he was a completely nutto – namely, the fact that the dude was wearing a LA Dodgers hat when arrested.

Occupy Althingi

Odorama

My Stinque

Classic Stinque

Search

Wild Stinque

Latest Comments

The Stinque Rimshot Button

StinqueMail

Stinquers