Word: reykjavik
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...European Difference Europe's political landscape has not always been so welcoming. Thirty years ago, as Sigurdardottir began her political career, "Iceland was extremely homophobic," says Baldur Thorhallsson, a political scientist at the University of Iceland. Education changed that. Over the last 30 years Samtokin '78, a Reykjavik-based gay-rights organization, worked with the national media to produce news programs that gave gay men and women a human face, and acquainted the public with the prejudice gays encounter. Activists visited high schools to create gay role models and counter stereotypes. By 1996 the country had legalized gay civil unions...
...Iceland, Sigurdardottir now sits at the head of that table. In a country where gay men and women have few battles left to fight, she's thought of first as a politician. That may explain the media's indifference to her sexuality. Some editors in Reykjavik say they ignored it to respect Sigurdardottir's privacy. Thorhallsson, of the University of Iceland, who is himself gay, believes that shows there is still work to be done. "It's a strange claim because she isn't in the closet," he says. "It shows that the media doesn't really know...
...obligations. British Financial Services Minister Paul Myners even said the country risks becoming a pariah state. Both Britain and Holland hinted that they may block a $10 billion International Monetary Fund rescue package for the country, and Iceland's Scandinavian neighbors shelved a $2.6 billion loan they had promised Reykjavik. On top of all that, Fitch Ratings lowered Iceland's credit grade to junk status last week. (See the worst business deals...
...heart of downtown Reykjavik sits a freshly painted pink building. The innards of the two-story metal structure have been gutted to make way for smooth concrete floors, diamond white walls and racks of clothing from Icelandic retailer, Nikita. Just a year ago, the same building was being readied for demolition. In its place were plans for an ultramodern shopping mall stretching several blocks across the capital's commercial district. Then came the crash...
...promise of Icelandic design even lured Israel-born Sruli Recht to open a store on the outskirts of Reykjavik in a neighborhood locals call the fishpacking district. Just two months old, the 135-sq-m boutique cum design studio sells wallets made out of discarded Nile perch skin and Minke whale - commercial whaling is both popular and legal here - and floor-length sweaters. "Everyone was looking at what happened here as a catastrophe, but I see it as an opportunity," says Recht as he toys with a mannequin wrapped in mounds of black knitted Icelandic wool. A gust of wind...