Comments on: When green energy becomes the target of shady deals

By: True Viking

True Viking — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:12:29 +0000

For over 900 years this has been going on in Iceland,and that’s a fact. Icelanders couldn’t have caused all this financial damage by them selfs. They’r simply not clever enough. So finaly the time has come, foreign goverments have robbed this nation off it’s true values, the energy and fishstocks. Signing the Icesave aggrement is no different than signing the “Old treate” 900 years ago, stating that all icelanders must now pay it’s taxes to foreign authority’s and we as citizens will eventuly be forced to lett go off their ovnership over it’s natural energyresources. Come on ! where is our national pride. The time has come to stand upp and fight our enemy, the new king ( I.M.F.) I feel like i am in the middle off a sceen in the movie “Lord off the rings” where “all men” as they are refeard to, are boxed in at “Helmsdeep”, the last stand for all men against the evil powers off “Sauron” who seeks greed and world domination. So few men against so many ,the battle seems lost, but near the end an unexpected help comes from “Elfs” and the battle is won by men. Ironic isin’t it, because i do believe in “Elfs” like so many other Icelanders, and therefore we cannot lose this war. All we have to do is stand our ground and if worse comes worst we can always count on the “Elfs”.

By: Vikingisson

Vikingisson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:54:40 +0000

lessons learned from everywhere else that basic services and energy sources were privatized. The private consumers that paid taxes to start these things got hosed and the deals are never done fairly. It may already be too late but if possible the nation must put that wonderful green energy back into public hands.
I nearly had an investor ready to start a large green house business but got cold feet when this kind of news came out and news about rising energy costs for other small operators. (flower producers are angry too)

@tj3: without that initial public funding the whole sat industry would have either never happened or you’d pay a whole lot more for those precious entertainment services. It was a good case for bootstrapping an entire industry. But agreed that our costs these days are way too high. So I vote with my wallet and choose not to use cable/sat/cell tv/phone at all. Internet is the one tech service I must have. Can I get a refund on my tax investments from the 60′s and 70′s?

By: Sigvaldi Eggertsson

Sigvaldi Eggertsson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:49:13 +0000

No, this was no scam, nor a proof of irresponsibility.
This was just an example of the “old money” in Iceland preparing their children to take over just as they themselves were prepared by their own parents.
No one made any mistake in this, except Glitnir when they tried to get the loans repaid. They were never intended to!
A good example of the principle of privatizing gains and sharing out losses.

By: Joerg

Joerg — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:28:32 +0000

It’s OT, but there have already been comments about the issue of Glitnir loans, taken out by parents in the name of their underage children.

Contrary to the debts incurred e.g. by the Icesave deal, which mainly have to be repaid by the young generation, those loans, taken out by some parents in the name of their children, have already been written off – ironically leaving the losses to the taxpayer and the profits to the irresponsible parents, who are now hypocritically blaming the bank. Therefore, this is looking more like another scam, once again proving, how irresponsible the bankers were handling investors’ money.

By: James

James — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:39:30 +0000

I’m starting to wonder whether there are any Icelandic pets that own shares in the old Icelandic banks. It could be worth searching for Fido Fidosson on the share registers…

By: Gauti S igurdsson

Gauti S igurdsson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:21 +0000

How proud I am to be a part of this wonderful outpouring of love for our children!

http://www.economicdisasterarea.com/index.php/news/children-borrowing-money-from-glitnir/

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:12:41 +0000

Bullet loans to children as young as 1 year old to buy shares with the collateral being the shares themselves!!! That’s just crazy.

I’ve been reading Iceland Review today….. and I’ll have to get to the link that James posted if I can get it to load.

Karen

By: Bromley86

Bromley86 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:02:27 +0000

Won’t somebody think of the children!

I for one don’t see why tycoons should be allowed to plunder banks and have debts forgiven without also extending the same courtesy to children.

By: James

James — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:23:49 +0000

I wonder if the Icelandic banks will lend money to children to buy shares in these upcoming energy privatisations, in a similar way to Glitnir’s past lending practices:
http://www.economicdisasterarea.com/index.php/news/children-borrowing-money-from-glitnir/

By: idunn

idunn — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:45:45 +0000

“Last year, when Iceland’s economy melted down, a can of worms was opened up that showed the extent of the corruption and cronyism that has existed in this country for decades but which had been hidden or overlooked by most people.”

Thus possibly the silver lining in all this mess. Since Iceland does enjoy some marvelous natural resources, maybe the chance now to avert what would have been the widespread theft of them.