Free Republic

* Ogmundur Jonasson said US authorities first told him in June 2011 that there was an 'imminent attack' on Iceland's government databases * But when they arrived in August, Jonasson claims the FBI 'sought Iceland's cooperation to frame Assange and WikiLeaks' * Jonasson said he then immediately kicked them out of Iceland * The story was widely reported on in 2013, but Jonasson made no mention of the US trying to frame Assange * It became known that the mission was part of a 'wide-ranging investigation' into Assange and WikiLeaks * Jonnason said himself he made it clear he is...

The US sent a “planeload of FBI agents” to Iceland in 2011 to frame WikiLeaks and its co-founder Julian Assange, according to a former Icelandic minister of interior, who refused them any cooperation and asked them to cease their activities. the US “sent a planeload of FBI agents to Iceland seeking our cooperation in what I understood as an operation set up to frame Julian Assange and WikiLeaks,” Jonasson said. Icelanders seemed like a tough nut to crack, though. “Since they had not been authorized by the Icelandic authorities to carry out police work in Iceland and since a crack-down...

Miss Iceland announced she is quitting the Miss Grand International beauty contest in Las Vegas after being told she has “too much fat.” Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir wrote a letter to the organization informing them of her decision after she was told to lose weight if she wanted to stand a chance to win. The 20-year old shared the letter on Instagram. “I am a very strong woman, but sometimes my strength isn’t enough,” it read.

Independence Party (center-right) 29% (21 seats) (32 needed for a majority) Left-Green Party (left) 16% (10) Pirate Party (anti-establishment) 15% (10) Progressive Party (center-right) 12% (8) Regeneration Party (center-right) 11% (7) Bright Future (center) 7% (4) Social Democrats (center-left) 6% (3)

On the freezing, windswept streets of Iceland's capital, there is little evidence that a motley crew of computer hackers and anarchists could soon form its next government. As elderly couples and swarms of tourists amble around Reykjavik, not a single outdoor canvasser or campaign poster is in sight. But inside the headquarters of the Pirate party, which lurks by the harbour, dozens of volunteers are hammering on keyboards as they spread their anti-establishment message on social media - which they say is where the real election battle is being fought. With an affluent, friendly population that is smaller than Bristol...

he past few years have been stormy for Iceland, a country threatened by volcanoes and brought low by bankers. Now, Icelanders are thinking of putting their trust in pirates. The Pirate Party, an anti-authoritarian band of buccaneers that wants to shift power from government to people, is one of the front-runners in an election triggered by financial scandal in a country still recovering from economic catastrophe in 2008.

link only in comments due to posting restriction. Strange there is almost no coverage on this story outside of iceland other than this one i found

The world’s largest viking ship has arrived in North America after crossing the North Atlantic Ocean on a journey from its homeport in Haugesund, Norway. The Viking ship, named Draken Harald Hårfagre, set sail from Norway with its approximately 32 crew members in late April and made stops in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, Canada, before making its way through the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Toronto for the Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes 2016 festival this weekend. Future stops for the Viking ship include Chicago, Green Bay and Duluth, before heading to U.S. east coast with stops in New York City...

Reykjavik (AFP) - History professor Gudni Johannesson won Iceland's presidential election after riding a wave of anti-establishment sentiment, final results showed Sunday, although the vote was eclipsed by the country's eagerly-anticipated Euro football match. The political newcomer, who won with 39.1 percent of votes, was trailed by businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir, also without party affiliation, who took 29.4 percent, according to results announced on public television channel RUV. Johannesson only decided to run for the presidency after the so-called Panama Papers leak in April which detailed offshore accounts and implicated several senior Icelandic politicians, including the prime minister who was forced...

The U.S. military must rebuild in Europe to face a more aggressive Russia, whose advanced submarines, weapons systems and geographic advantage have the U.S. “playing zone defense,” the top U.S. commander in Europe said Thursday. “We have about 20 years of a different paradigm to correct,” Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of U.S. European Command, said during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. Breedlove, who has led EUCOM during the command’s biggest transformation in a generation, said he did not foresee a need to return to a Cold War-style military posture. But the era of trying to make a partner...

The bell from HMS Hood has been unveiled by the Princess Royal to mark the 75th anniversary of the Royal Navy's largest loss of life from a single vessel. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen - who funded the expedition to retrieve the bell from the seabed of the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland - attended the event at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard where the bell has gone on display. Anne struck eight bells at midday during the ceremony, held with HMS Victory as a backdrop, watched by descendants of some of the 1,415 sailors who died when the battleship was hit...

Norwegian researches opened a tomb containing the remains of descendants of Viking leader Rollo in Normandy, France on Monday with the aim of putting an end to a centuries-long debate: was Rollo Danish or Norwegian? Norwegian researchers opened a tomb containing the remains of descendants of Viking leader Rollo in Normandy, France on Monday with the aim of putting an end to a centuries-long debate: was Rollo Danish or Norwegian? “We have worked on investigating this for about seven years, so to finally obtain material that we can test for DNA is huge,” historian Sturla Ellingvåg told NTB. Rollo was...

For months, Scandinavian countries have accused Russian military planes and ships of slipping into their waters without permission. It’s made many Nordic governments wary of the Kremlin’s intentions in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Russia’s assertive behavior is driving Sweden and Finland — two countries that have never been part of NATO — closer to the alliance. At present, Norway, Denmark and Iceland make up NATO’s Nordic members. According to Anna Wieslander at the Atlantic Council: Denmark has played a key role, with some support from the United Kingdom, putting Baltic Sea security and the perspective of relevant...

Submitted by Ingrid Carlqvist via The Gatestone Institute, The library in Arvika surprised patrons by offering Arabic language courses. Many Swedes wondered if offering courses in Swedish to the Arabic-speaking immigrants would not be more productive. The library, however, does not offer any such service. The Immigration Service released a new report on April 8, entitled "Are You Married?", which showed how its own case officers allow child marriages. Swedish authorities have approved hundreds of polygamous marriages among immigrants, law professor Göran Lind revealed on April 4. An asylum seeker was arrested April 23 for kicking his wife in the...

Pres. Obama said that Nordic countries would make the world “more secure and more prosperous” if "we" would just let them run things. Welcoming the leaders of Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland to the White House on Friday, Obama said that, if “we” let Nordic countries control the world, that “they could clean things up”: “So I really do believe that the world would be more secure and more prosperous if we just had more partners like our Nordic countries. There have been times where I’ve said, why don’t we just put all these small countries in charge for...

… Obama welcomed the leaders of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark to the White House on Friday morning. At a simple indoor ceremony, Obama says the countries are a “model of cooperation” and “punch above their weight” particularly on humanitarian and environmental efforts. …

Several years back, I visited Iceland in the dead of winter. I was researching a book on global happiness, and the small Nordic nation intrigued me. What was this country, adrift in the freezing North Atlantic, doing perched atop the world’s happiness rankings? In pursuit of answers, I buttonholed anyone willing to talk, dined on harkl (rotten shark), drank excessively, and, of course, took a dip in the Blue Lagoon, the otherworldly geothermal waters that have become synonymous with Icelandic bliss. Shortly after I left, Iceland’s largest banks went belly up and the nation’s economy teetered on the verge of...

Reykjavik, Iceland — Monday night, thousands of impassioned college students took to the streets of Villanova, Pennsylvania, to take a stand for what they believe in. Thousands gathered, many of whom clashed with police to stand up for their cause — NCAA basketball. Had these college students, been at the wildlife refuge in Oregon to protest BLM land grabs, they would have been called terrorists. Had they been in Ferguson, Missouri to protest police killings, they would have been called thugs. Instead, these inebriated individuals who started fires, assaulted cops, and caused other people injuries — are called “revelers.” It...

Barack Obama has called for international tax reform in the wake of the revelations contained in the Panama Papers. “There is no doubt that the problem of global tax avoidance generally is a huge problem,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “The problem is that a lot of this stuff is legal, not illegal.” The US president said the leak from Panama illustrated the scale of tax avoidance involving Fortune 500 companies and running into trillions of dollars worldwide. “We shouldn’t make it legal to engage in transactions just to avoid taxes,” he added, praising instead “the...

he prime minister of Iceland resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to political pressure two days after an enormous leak of documents from a secretive Panamanian law firm about offshore shell companies and tax shelters. The resignation of the prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, was the first prominent political fallout from the document leaks known as the Panama Papers, which have shed a harsh light on the private financial activities of many rich and powerful people.