Iceland is Exporting the Truth
By louisehartmann
After Iceland's near-economic collapse exposed deep-rooted corruption, the country is looking to become a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers from all around the world. Their Parliament in June unanimously voted for an Icelandic "Modern Media Initiative" protecting journalists. The project is taking off with the help of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. This comes while there is a growing tendency of governments to muzzle secret information on the internet. Birgitta Jonsdottir, the member of parliament behind the initiative, said, 'We took all the best laws from around the world and pulled them together, just like tax havens do, in order to create freedom of information and expression, a transparency haven." Some countries export oil, some countries exports cars, and now Iceland want their main export to be the truth. If George W. Bush was still president the bombing would begin tomorrow.
Comments
#2
The Iceland bill was introduced in February... see "Iceland aims to become an offshore haven for journalists and leakers" (Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab - www.niemanlab.org/2010/02/iceland-aims-to-become-an-offshore-haven-for-j... )
It passed into law in mid-June... "Iceland rewrites law to create haven for investigative reporting" (The Independent - www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/iceland-rewrites-law-to-create-h... )
And back in March, Glenn Greenwald went into fantastic detail addressing Assange, Wikileaks, the Iceland factor, and the nature of the Corporate and Political elites arrayed against a global free press: "The war on WikiLeaks and why it matters" - www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks
#3
Hopefully the spirit of reform runs deep enough to call into question what is perhaps Iceland's biggest suck-up to capitalist ideology: their proprietary DNA database. Ayn Rand accused the British people of trading freedom for free dentures, but the Icelandic people did it in the name of capitalism.
#4
Thom,
Regarding the christianist who called in a bit ago talking like he was an authority on Sharia Law and Islam, could you ask these folks where they get their information? They always seem to speak with such unshakeable certainty that one would assume that they have taken classes, read in-depth texts, etc.
Love your show and listen when I can. thanks!
lp
#5
Thom is questioning if he should continue to call himself religious, sounds like he's discovered the land-mine on Road to Damascus.
#6
GODISNOTAMERICANCANYOUPASSTHEACIDTEST?
#7
Oh no, now the cover up artists know who will disclose the truth, they only need to tap and monitor one countries internet traffic to see where information is coming from and going to, this plan was obviously initiated by the insidious control freaks of the flying flapjack makers.
Nice to see somewhere that truth is still considered important enough to be protected by more than 200 year old parchment and little else. I wish Iceland well and hope that people with things to get out will be able to get their information there but the first problem with that is, they have to learn from the weakia (weak media) that this exists.
#8
Re:http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks
Glenn Grenwald is a valuble resource for us. His articles on America's two-tiered criminal system are excellent.
#9
Great news. Finally, somebody exporting something we can all use. Maybe we can create an econimic market out of truth.
#10
So we have a digital data haven protected by the sovereignty of a remote island nation? Sounds more then just a little like a plot line from Neal Stephenson's 1999 cyber-punk novel "The Cryptonomicon." Art meet Life - Life, Art...
DancingBear
#11
Sounds good that Iceland is attempting to supersize free speech with a clearinghouse for the truth. How come Iceland does not update their immigration laws that only allows scandanavian ancestry to immigrate to Iceland, in other words you have to be blond haired and blue eyed to become an Icelandic citizen. Is this still law in Iceland? If so, why is Iceland against a melting pot?
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"With the ever-growing influence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profit above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people first again."
From Screwed:
"If we are going to live in a Democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class. Thom Hartmann shows us how the ‘cons’ have wronged this country, and tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American."
From Cracking the Code:
"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
This is encouraging. In crisis is opportunity. Let's not squander ours.