From the monthly archives:

August 2009

Hiatus

August 31, 2009

I’m off to play hermit in a remote corner of the island, a.k.a. to work and – most importantly – THINK, with no distractions. Back in a few days! Feel free to poke around in the archives if you want. [I may not be able to resist the urge to update to Twitter via mobile, [...]

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In a berry field

August 30, 2009

It’s berry season in Iceland. At this time of year this country is filled with berries and the natives head out to what’s known as berjamó in Icelandic – which I suppose literally translates as “berry fields”. Going berry picking here is known as að fara í berjamó, which in absolutely literal translation would be [...]

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Parliament approves state guarantee for Icesave

August 28, 2009

This just in from the guv’ment press office: Today, following 10 weeks of debate, Iceland’s Parliament, the Althing passed legislation authorising a state guarantee for the loans granted by the Governments of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund of Iceland. According to the legislation, the state guarantee will [...]

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Magma Energy and the second coming on Kastljós

August 26, 2009

So Ross Beaty, CEO of Magma Energy, which is hoping to acquire a ruling share in HS Orka and exclusive rights to the Reykjanes geothermal fields for the next 130 years, was on current affairs programme Kastljós this evening [right after Lýður Guðmundsson]. Friends: never in my life have I seen a halo shine as [...]

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Like a bomb waiting to go off. Tick tick.

August 25, 2009

I must admit that I was a TAD surprised to see old Lýður Guðmundsson at the gym today. For those that don’t know, Lýður Guðmundsson is one of the former owners of Kaupthing bank. Remember that Kaupthing loan book leak on WikiLeaks? The one that exposed the billions of ISK in unsecured loans to a [...]

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The House of Flying Ideas

August 24, 2009

Believe it or not, all is not gloom and doom [read: HS Orka and Icesave] here in the Land of the Nice. A few weeks ago I accepted an assignment that consisted of looking into whether the Icelandic meltdown could really be a catalyst for facilitating fundamental social change. My client had very specific questions [...]

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More on that ludicrous Magma HS Orka deal

August 23, 2009

It’s been a busy couple of days here at the Weather Report and I realize I’ve been totally remiss in keeping you posted on the big cliffhanger under discussion in the last post [apologies for that]. Meanwhile I bet you’re all just hanging on the edges of your seats waiting to know DID THOSE FOOLISH [...]

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And while we’re looking the other way, our resources are peddled off at bargain prices

August 20, 2009

Tomorrow, a decision will be made as to whether the Suðurnes Power Company [HS orka, in Icelandic] will become fully privatized and owned by a Canadian company called Magma Energy. This is the horror story of the week. I have to confess that I have had some trouble understanding this matter and hence not given [...]

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YT as edited by Geir Haarde on BBC World Service today

August 18, 2009

Seriously, dear readers, the international media can’t seem to get enough of the kreppa baby story.* The Weather Report was quoted in a story in The Guardian today [they weren't generous enough to provide a link, though - tsk - although I've has tons of searches for my name]. That story was subsequently translated into [...]

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The Weather Report has a kreppa boom boom

August 17, 2009

What a crazy, chaotic day! I had a deadline on an assignment and had planned to spend the better part of the day working on that so I could get it sent off in a timely fashion. However, when I opened my email, the first message was from the BBC World Service telling me that [...]

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