The rights I mentioned were “won” by workers and despite the mixed bag of ills you mentioned, are not affected by the direction of my questions. Whether you are being spied upon does not negate the fact that you have a weekend, does it? Or the two wars does not take away the fact tha tyou have collective bargaining agreements in place.

As for me “selling out” on what basis do you say that? Do you know who I worked for and what union I brought into what industry that had not had a radical union in 50 years? (Hint: Warner Bros. Pictures, UE) I don´t need to justify my life to you or anyone else–I can face myself in the mirror regularly and comfortably.

While the state of the US raises the ire and frustration of many (including me) over the many ills you describe, you still haven´t directly answered my questions, not surprisingly. Your comments reflect an avoidance of the salient issue here: your inability to speak to Iceland´s situation due to ignorance and projection.

One out of ten families on food stamps. People losing their jobs, funding for Medicaid slashed, 25% cuts in higher education, funding for public education cuts that will result in much larger teacher-pupil ratios, people looking forward to working in their retirement years because their pensions were lost by Wallstreet hustlers, growing numbers of people living in tents on the edge of cities, etc. Meanwhile we engage in two wars with an increase in the Pentagon budget. We have the largest gulag system in the world with nearly 2 1/2 million people behind bars. Meanwhile the rich get richer and using our bailout money they export more jobs overseas to take advantage of cheap labor and low environmental standards. Our Constitution has been shredded, we are constantly under surveillance by various government agencies as we move ever closer to a police state.

All the wonderful accomplishments you mentioned happened in the 1930s. Is your “real” world that of the 1930s?? Looks like as a former labor leader you sold out to the corporate bosses, and are now engaged in pedaling god-stuff to the working class to keep their eyes on more heavenly pursuits.

Ron:
While I am a supporter of the SP-USA and favor a socialist system, let me ask a few historical questions. Establishment of a minimum wage, an 8 hour work day, a weekend, end of child workers, and safety standards are all ameliorations of workers conditions in a capitalist system. Do you reject those things? Giving women the right to vote, allowing the formation of unions (Wagner Act), paid sick leave and maternity leave are all benefits that workers gained under the US capitalist system. Are you against those too? What “real” world do you live in that you would reject such benefits in order to cling to some idealized pure system which will not exist outside your imagination? Our world is as it is and to work hard to making it “better” while working for the “best” is exactly what grown ups do. (Note: all those gains were brought about by the unending labors of communists, socialists, and radical labor leaders in the United States. ) My suggestion to you (and to the other kids on this site) is to quickly buy and familiarize yourselves with Buhle, Buhle, and Georgakas´”Encyclopedia of the American Left” (Revised 1998 ed.) For years it was my bedside reading when I was a union member and then president.
“Mulga” :
Which Icelandic Left-Green members have you spoken with lately? Are you on good terms with Steingrimur Sigfusson, the Left-Green leader? You must have some remarkably well-informed inside connections since the parody you paint reflects nothing I am familiar with here in Iceland.

When you say, “To be really ‘green’ means being anti-capitalist, anti-’free market’. Anyone who says otherwise is a fraud or imbecile” you are speaking in absolutes and, last I checked, you are not God in possession of such great wisdom that you are able to say such things. The purity of motivation and ideals you seem to adhere to may make you feel good, but in my experience, working with other humans tends to soften those “fundamentalist” edges and make pursuit of the possible a positive thing.

I also don´t think you understand European history well-enough to say the hyperbolic things you do. Nor do I think you understand the dynamics of politics, Icelandic governance nor the Icelandic people. My suggestion is to be more cautious. The government just got started and they will win some things and lose some things. The capitalist system is huge, worldwide, resilient, and dominating. However, resistance to it´s multifaceted nature is also resilient, and multifaceted. (Check out Ekta Parishad in India or the Brazilian Rural Landless Workers Movement) I will try to keep you and others informed about developments here as they come but maybe doing some homework (and getting out of the house more often) would make your comments more informed.
Michael:
Iceland is not one of the European states where disdain for “sharing” widespread. Iceland´s fish is a huge draw. But right you are that EU is quite a mixed bag. It´s policies are dominated by the bigger members and some thiings people like about it and some things they don´t. Unfortunately Iceland is no longer in any position to demand favorable terms and that´s one reason both the Left-Greens and the Independence Party are opposed to entry. However, a majority of Parliament is in favor, so there will be tough negotiations ahead.

What happened in Iceland isn´t just about the EU, though. The bigger issue, which I tried to convey, was that the people rose up and nonviolently threw out there government–completely. They rejected a 60+ year popular dominance of the Independent Party (making them barely 25% of the votes cast) and put in place a Left-Green alliance that rejects USAmerican style banksterism and supports people-oriented social concerns instead. That is a plus. It is not utopia (for those of you unfamiliar with the Greek understanding of the word it has 2 meanings: literally meaning “no place,” it suggests 1. that no such place exists now, and 2. that none ever will) but neither was Utopia. Right now their supporters are working hard to lead the new government and what will come of EU negotiations an unknown. As well greater Scandinavian integration (with Norway, Denmark, Sweden) is a probable outsome and may become an EU substitute compromise.

Passion is wonderful and being passionately angry about capitalist excesses and crimes useful. But passion never wins–planning does. The average Icelandic worker lives a far better life than their USAmerican counterpart and while that may not meet the (unrealistically?) high standards of the regular posters here, my guess is that should each of you have what they have here, your own perspectives might change.

On the other hand, joining the EU takes about seven or eight years. Leaving aside the internal constitutional procedures, there have to be negotiations and in Iceland’s case, that means fish. Equally, the EU will not want Iceland with its economy in a mess. There are already a few smaller Member States with problems and they will not want to “share” EU money with Iceland. So EU membership for Iceland is not a way out of the crisis but a means of preventing the same thing happeneing again in the future.