Iceland... 그 섬에 가고 싶다

It has been rarely reported in the mainstream media outlets what has been going on in Iceland especially since so-called 'Kitchenware Revolution' occurred in the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis.

An interesting posting titled "ICELAND. No news from Iceland? ... Why?" gives us the answer.

How come we hear everything that happens in Egypt but no news about what’s happening in Iceland:

In Iceland, the people has made the government resign, the primary banks have been nationalized, it was decided to not pay the debt that these created with Great Britain and Holland due to their bad financial politics and a public assembly has been created to rewrite the constitution.And all of this in a peaceful way. A whole revolution against the powers that have created the current global crisis. This is why there hasn’t been any publicity during the last two years: What would happen if the rest of the EU citizens took this as an example? What would happen if the US citizens took this as an example.This is a summary of the facts:

2008. The main bank of the country is nationalized.

The Krona, the currency of Iceland devaluates and the stock market stops. The country is in bankruptcy

2008. The citizens protest in front of parliament and manage to get new elections that make the resignation of the prime minister and his whole government.

The country is in bad economic situation.

A law proposes paying back the debt to Great Britain and Holland through the payment of 3,500 million euros, which will be paid by the people of Iceland monthly during the next 15 years, with a 5.5% interest.

2010. The people go out in the streets and demand a referendum. In January 2010 the president denies the approval and announces a popular meeting.

In March the referendum and the denial of payment is voted in by 93%. Meanwhile the government has initiated an investigation to bring to justice those responsible for the crisis, and many high level executives and bankers are arrested. The Interpol dictates an order that make all the implicated parties leave the country.

In this crisis an assembly is elected to rewrite a new Constitution which can include the lessons learned from this, and which will substitute the current one (a copy of the Danish Constitution).

25 citizens are chosen, with no political affiliation, out of the 522 candidates. For candidacy all that was needed was to be an adult and have the support of 30 people. The constitutional assembly starts in February of 2011 to present the ‘carta magna’ from the recommendations given by the different assemblies happening throughout the country. It must be approved by the current Parliament and by the one constituted through the next legislative elections. 

 So in summary of the Icelandic revolution:

• resignation of the whole government
• nationalization of the bank.
• referendum so that the people can decide over the economic decisions.
• incarcerating the responsible parties
• rewriting of the constitution by its people

Have we been informed of this through the media?Has any political program in radio or TV commented on this?

No! The Icelandic people have been able to show that there is a way to beat the system and has given a democracy lesson to the world

Recently, IMF's mission chief to the country, Daria V. Zakharova, said in an interview that:

“Iceland has made significant achievements since the crisis, .... We have a very positive outlook on growth, especially for this year and next year because it appears to us that the growth is broad based.”

It is translated that IMF admits that Iceland's approach was right. What was Iceland's approach, then? Jeff Neilson gives us the clear answer in his recent post in street.com:

To do the exact opposite of everything the bankers running our own economies told us to do.

• The bankers (naturally) told us that we needed to bail out the criminal Big Banks, at taxpayer expense (they were Too Big To Fail).  Iceland gave the banksters nothing.



• The bankers told us that no amount of suffering (for the Little People) was too great in order to make sure that the Bond Parasites got paid at 100 cents on the dollar. Iceland told the Bond Parasites they would get what was left over, after the people had been taken care of (by their own government).

• The bankers told us that our governments could no longer afford the same education, health care and pension systems which our parents had taken for granted. Iceland told the bankers that what the country could no longer afford was to continue to be blood-sucked by the worst financial criminals in the history of our species. 

And he also casts doubt on the sincerity in the media's surprise and applaud:

One can only assume that neither the Corporate Media nor their Banker Masters would have allowed this clear acknowledgment that Iceland was right and we were wrong to appear within its own pages, unless it felt secure in the knowledge that all the remaining Debt Slaves had been crippled beyond their capacity to ever escape this economic oppression.

Here, the purpose of this Bloomberg propaganda was not to praise Iceland's government (when both the bankers and Corporate Media despise Iceland with all of their considerable malice). Rather, the goal of this disinformation was to manufacture a new Big Lie.



The real message here for readers is that when an economic strategy of People before Parasites succeeds that there is nothing the least-bit "surprising" about this. As with all the remainder of the world around us, promoting the health of Parasites is only good for the Parasites themselves.

저녁이 있는 삶

노래야 울려퍼져라~~

하루 일을 마치고

비누 향기 날리며

식탁에 둘러 앉아

웃음꽃을 피운다

떳떳하게 일하고

당당하게 누리자

모두 함께 일하고 

모두 함께 나누자

저녁이 있는 삶

면허없이 은행을 연 사나이! "Bank" of Dave

아래는 Thomas H. Greco의 블로그 Beyond Money에서 소개된 동영상입니다.

이 동영상은 내노라하는 대형 글로벌 은행들의 작태 (금리조작, 검은 돈 세탁 등)가 폭로되고 있는 상황에서 '돈의 문제 (즉, 신용, 부채, 은행)'와 관련한 시사물로 2개의 인터뷰 꼭지로 구성되어 있습니다.

첫번째 꼭지에서는 두 분의 전문가와 나와서 문제의 핵심을 아래와 같이 진단합니다. 

• 신용의 창출이 은행가의 키보드 입력으로 마술처럼 창출된다는 점 (Money is created out of thin air!)
• 그 신용의 창출이 감독 관리 되고 있지 않다는 점
• 그 신용이 이자를 지급해야 하는 부채의 형태로 창출된다는 점

두번째 꼭지에 출연한 분은 Dave Fishwick라는 영국의 한 사업가인데, 이분이 정말 걸작입니다! 문제를 바라보는 시각도 매우 단순 직관적이며, 그에 대한 해답 역시 단순 직관적입니다. 

"우리가 은행을 털면? 당연히 감옥에 갑니다. 그런데, 은행이 우리를 털면? 그들은 보너스를 받습니다. 이런 '수정과 위의 잣'같은 일은 중단되어야 합니다." ("When people rob banks, they go to prison. When banks rob people, they get bonuses. That has to stop!")

"대마 불사라고요? 그건 애초에 있어서는 안되었다는 것을 의미할 뿐입니다!" ("If a bank is too big to fail, it's just too big to exist. It should'n be there in the first place!") 

결국 Dave는 팔자에도 없는 은행가가 되고 마는데, 그 사연은 영국의 Gaurdian지에 실린 <나는 왜 'Bank' of Dave를 세웠는가 Why I opened the 'Bank' of Dave>에 잘 설명되고 있습니다.

원래 Dave는 Burnley라는 영국 랭커셔의 작은 도시에서 미니버스 판매업을 하던 사업가였습니다. 2008년 불어닥친 금융위기로 자신의 고객사들이 어려워지자, 자신의 미니버스 매출도 덩달아 줄어들었고, 평화로운 도시는 "TO LET" (세 놓음) 간판으로 매일 도배되고 맙니다. 이때 Dave는 자신이 벌어 놓은 돈으로 자금난에 시달리고 있는 고객사들에게 빌려주면 지역경제에도 도움이 되지 않겠냐는 생각으로 이미 신뢰가 구축되어 있던 고객사들에게 돈을 빌려주기 시작합니다.

이 과정에서 Dave는 은행업이라는 것이 얼마나 간단한 일인가를 깨달게 되고, 이윤 추구가 아닌 '지역사회에 기여'를 목적으로 하는 아주 작은 은행을 세우면 어떨까하는 생각을 하게됩니다.  그러나, 수백만 파운드의 자본금이 요구되는 은행업 면허를 취득하는 것은 Dave에게는 현실적으로 불가능했고,  설립 취지를 설명하기 위한 면담 조차도 금융당국 관련자들은 응하지 않을 것이라는 것을 그는 잘 알고 있었습니다.

그래서 그는 금융당국의 면허가 아닌, 자신의 비젼에 동조하는 지역 사회 구성원들의 성원과 협조를 얻어 2011년 9월에 Bank on Dave을 설립하게 됩니다. (영국의 금융당국인 Financial Services Authority의 규제를 받지 않는 '소비자 신용업' 면허로 운영). 현재 매주 평균 약 2만 5천 파운드의 대출업무를 수행하고 있고, 그 수익은 보너스 지급이 아닌 지역 사회 발전을 위해 전액 기부된다고 합니다.

제 꿈은 제가 세운 은행과 같은 작은 은행들이 우후죽순으로 생겨나서, '보너스'가 아닌 '사람'이 그 중심에 있는 은행 시스템으로 돌아가도록 하는 것입니다. 이 과정은 마치 절벽위에서 점프를 한 후 낙하하는 와중에 비행기를 만들어 착지하는 것과도 같습니다. 허나, 이제까지 제가 깨달게된 바로는, 다른 사람들 역시 저마다의 도구를 들고 뛰어내릴 것이라는 것입니다.
My dream is for small "banks" like mine to spring up all over the country, and to go back to a system of banking that's focussed on people, not bonuses. This whole process has felt like jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down. Hopefully, thanks to what I have learned, other people will at least have some of the tools to change how we bank in Britain.

The Great Dictator 아 ... 채플린!

In the midst of brutality in Syria; and of racketeering of the criminal global financial elite; and of smell of gunpowder toward WWIII, I recall the great speech of The Great Dictator, a comedy film directed and produced by Charlie Chaplin.
The film and the speech was released and addressed in 1940, more than 70 years ago, but still finds an echo in my heart! How about yours? We, all and each, are and should be the Great Dictators in our lives and in this world!

1940년에 제작 상영된 찰리 채플린의 희극 <독재자>의 마지막 연설 장면입니다. 70년이라는 시간이 흘렀음에도 여전히 현재형으로 와 닿는 위대한 연설이자 선언문입니다.
천부적 권리와 권력을 그 어느 누구에게도 위임하거나 양도하지 않은, 우리 개개인 각자가 이 세상의 위대한 독재자가 되는 그날을 꿈꾸며!

.......

We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone. 
The way of life can be free and beautiful. 
But we have lost the way. 
Greed has poisoned men's souls;
 has barricaded the world with hate; 
has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

....... 

To those who can hear me, I say "Do not despair!" The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people will return to the people and so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers, don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder.
 Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate, only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers, don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty. 
In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke, it is written: 
"the kingdom of God is within man." 
Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men, in you, the people. 
You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power. Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfill their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. 
Soldiers! In the name of democracy, let us all unite!

........ 

Hanna, can you hear me? Wherever your are, look up, Hanna! The clouds are lifting. The sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world, a kindlier new world where men will rise above their hate, their greed and brutality.
 Look up, Hanna! The soul of man has been given wings, and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow, into the light of hope, into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up, Hanna. Look up!

런던 올림픽, 그리고 시리아 사태 Olympics and Wars

We the people have two different international wars at the same time in England and in Syria. 

The battles in England are well reported and broadcasted by state-of-art technologies. How about the other in Syria? 

I would like to strongly recommend to read the following articles to get a clearer picture and truth on 'Syria' in the tide of misinformation by the mainstream media outlets.

• What is Really Happening in Syria? by Jack A. Smitt

• The Syrian Intelligence War: A Tale of Two Security Headquarters by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya

런던 올림픽 열기가 한창입니다. (제가 있는 곳에서는 저작권 문제로 한국 방송을 통해 한국 선수들이 선전하는 모습을 시청하지 못해 아쉽습니다) 이 열기에 가려진 또다른 열전의 장소가 있으니, 다름 아닌 시리아입니다.

거리 상으로 약 3천 5백여 킬로미터 떨어진 두 지역에서, 한 쪽에서는 스포츠를 통한 평화의 축제가, 다른 한 쪽에서는 총포에 의한 피비린내 나는 전쟁이 벌어지고 있습니다.  

‘시리아 사태’라는 제목으로 언론에 보도되는 이 전쟁의 인식틀(frame)은 아래와 같습니다. 

• 시리아 사태는 '폭정을 일삼는 시리아 정부군과 이에 저항하는 반란군 (Free Syrian Army)간의 내전'이며,
• 시리아 민주화를 염원하고 지지하는 서방 국가들이 시리아 현 정권의 교체를 위해 인도주의적으로 개입하고 있으나,
• 러시아, 중국 등의 비협조로 교착 상태가 지속되고 있어 죄없는 시리아 인민들만 고통당하고 있는 상태

아주 간단합니다. 이와는 달리 위에 언급된 두 글은 이 전쟁을 아래 두 진영이 지정학적 이해관계에 따라 충돌하고 있는 냉열 혼합전으로 읽어야 사태를 제대로 이해할 수 있다고 충고하고 있습니다. 

• 미국-NATO-이스라엘-사우디 등 GCC(Gulf Cooperation Council)아랍국가들
• 러시아-중국-이란-이라크-시리아 

전 세계 이슬람 인구는 약 20억명으로 추정되고 있고, 그 중 약 87%가 수니파 (Sunni)이며 나머지가 시아파(Shia)라고 합니다. 이란이 가장 많은 시아파 인구를 가진 국가이고 그 다음이 이라크라고 합니다. 시리아는 인구의 다수가 수니파이나 소수파인 시아파가 정권을 잡고 있고, 이라크의 경우는 이라크 전쟁 전까지는 소수파인 수니파가 정권을 잡고 있었으나 미국의 '이이제이' 에 따라 다시 시아파가 권력을 잡게되었습니다. 아직 공식적으로는 미국과 서방의 '관리'하에 있지만, 종교적으로는 친이란이 되어버린 것이죠.

석유라는 전략적 자원이 매장되어 있는 중동과 북아프리카 지역에서 미국과 그 후견인인 이스라엘의 통제 밖에 있는 국가는 현재 시리아와 이란입니다. 

페르시아의 이란, 아랍의 이라크와 시리아. 이 세 나라가 벨트를 형성해 연합을 하게된다면 미국과 이스라엘이 꿈꾸는 Great Middle East 전략은 물론 대 중국 및 러시아 전략에도 심각한 영향을 끼치게 됩니다. 따라서 미국과 이스라엘 입장에서는 시리아에 반드시 '봄'이 와야만 합니다.
현금($)과 총탄의 세례, 그리고 미디어를 통한 심리전 공세에 얼마나 버틸 수 있을지...