DEC 3 ICELAND'S PIRATE PARTY TO FORM NEW GOVERNMENT

DEC 3  ICELAND'S PIRATE PARTY TO FORM NEW GOVERNMENT

With all the Regime Change going on in the world these days, it hard to keep track. That's why the DUNER BLOG is here! Today, we're traveling far to the North...to the Arctic Circle. Iceland to be exact. Yesterday, President Johannesson announced she will "hand the mandate to the Pirate Party to form a new government" to lead the island nation.

Pirate Party? Will it be Halloween every day in Iceland? Actually, the Pirate Party is part of a global movement based on 'Direct Democracy.' Their policies involve stamping out corruption and returning the act of governing back to the people. How? They want online polling to pass new laws...not a governing body. They want public ownership of all national resources. In short, they want to tear up the 72-year old Iceland Constitution and start over. "I would like everyone in Iceland to find their pirate within," explained leader Birgitta Jonsdottir. "The pirate represents change with a collective vision of the future."

Actually...pirates were horrific murders with a vision of only themselves...but we still like Birgitta's ideology. Back in Ancient Greece, Democracy meant listening to each and every Athenian (male) citizen before making any laws. Over time, this spirit has been diluted by elected representatives, members of parliament and electoral colleges. Yuck. These people can be impediments to progress. They get slowed down by tempting offers from special interest groups. This often results in corruption. But with Pirates in power, things will be different.

However...just like their namesakes...the Pirates in Iceland also get into trouble. Birgitta, the self-described 'Poetician,' got her start as a computer hacker. In fact, she collaborated with Julian Assange to expose the infamous 'Collateral Murder' video. This exposed US military atrocities during the Iraq War back in 2007. As a Member of Parliament, she offered Icelandic citizenship to Edward Snowden. But this year's 'Panama Papers' was her coup d'état. They linked the Prime Minister to a tax evasion scheme. This enraged the nation, who responded at the ballot box.

Despite this surge, the Pirates still only account for 10 of the 63 seats in the Althing (Iceland's Parliament). The PM only asked Birgitta to form a coalition government after the two main parties failed to so in the allotted two month time frame which just expired. But the message being sent worldwide from Iceland is still clear. Across the globe, citizens are voting for "strange people" like Birgitta. "Normal people feel no one listens to them," she explained "they are marginalized and forgotten." We here at the DUNER BLOG agree. It's just difficult adjusting to Pirates and CEOs as Presidents...