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The leader of Iceland's 'Kitchenware Revolution' reckons we have a thing or two to learn about protests

Artist and musician Hördur Torfason is the man who sparked the 2008 popular protests in Reykjavik. He’s been invited to Dublin to help plan a demonstration for this Wednesday, organised to ‘lock the Government out of the Dáil’.

ASK THE AVERAGE Irish person on the street about Iceland, and there’s a general perception that the country was far more proactive at tackling its financial meltdown than we were.

The island nation of roughly 300,000 people suffered the largest systematic banking crisis of any county, relative to its size, in October 2008. It’s managed to keep its finances in order since then, largely due to government-imposed capital controls introduced to protect the currency.

But coming up to the fifth anniversary of the collapse, there are fears that the country has merely prolonged its problems rather than solving them; a recent article in Fortune described Iceland as “Europe’s ticking time bomb,” and speculated that another meltdown could be on the cards.

According to the man who sparked the 2008 ‘Kitchenware’ protests that helped bring down the country’s government, life for the average Icelander hasn’t improved much either in the last few years — in spite of the optimism that followed the elections of April 2009.

“It feels like we’re at the bottom,” Hördur Torfason tells The Journal.ie as we meet for an interview in the lobby of the Clarence Hotel (the location was supposed to be the Grand Social, which would have been far more fitting, but it’s closed this early in the afternoon — even for leaders of foreign revolutions). “There’s no target, we don’t really know when its going to end”.

One thing that is certain, Icelanders were far more organised when it came to protesting and demanding answers from their government in the wake of the 2008 collapse. Torfason — a musician, artist and actor by trade — organised mass rallies outside the parliament in Reykjavik calling for the resignation of the administration that had overseen the economic crisis. He’s been on sort of a World Tour of Protest in the last few years, following the success of the ‘Kitchenware Revolution’.

Torfason says he felt compelled to stage the demonstrations, after the public of Iceland were left reeling with confusion after the events of October 2008.

“On October 6th, the Prime Minister of Iceland came onto national television, telling us a speech that ended in the words ‘God Save Iceland’.

“I asked the guys around me — it was in a barbershop — ‘do you know what he was saying?’”

image

(One of the ‘Kitchenware’ demos in January 2009. BRYNJAR GAUTI/AP/Press Association Images)

The following Friday, Torfason says, there were people “shaking with anger” outside the parliament building. An ad-hoc protest had been organised via Facebook, but the young man behind it had been overwhelmed by the depth of feeling of those turning out. Torfason took over the effort, and organised a protest for the following day.

The mass rallies took off, with between 3,000 and 6,000 attending for the next few months.

“This is something people had never seen before. I said to people ‘do you want another meeting a week from now’ — the response came ‘yes’, from thousands of people.”

Torfason says that at the beginning of the movement “it was all about controlling the anger”. Soon, though, he began crowdsourcing possible solutions Icelanders might want to see.

“There was a long list of demands, but eventually it got down to three — that the Government should resign, that the board of the national bank should resign and the board of the money supervisory authority should resign.”

The weekly rallies continued. The administration headed by Geir Haarde resigned the following spring; that was after the head of the Central Bank had been forced out in February of 2009 and the director of the Financial Supervisory Authority was told to stand down in January of the same year.

Torfason, as you might imagine, is keen to talk up the role the protests played in influencing this fallout. There was, of course, wider pressure from throughout society too — but it’s difficult to argue that the presence of a large group of demonstrators outside a country’s parliament might focus the minds of those within its corridors.

Now a semi-retired revolutionary, Torfason has visited twelve countries in the last three years, answering calls from groups keen to learn from his experience.

“I do a talk for an hour, about the way I see my experience in protesting.”

image

Property tax hunger striker Tony Rochford (Photocall Ireland)

He’s in Dublin to help out with a demonstration planned for next Wednesday, organised by Meath-man Tony Rochford, who hit the headlines earlier this summer as he staged a hunger strike over the property tax.

“I’m not coming here to take over. I’m here to share my experience, to share how I work. It’s brought me around the world so far…  I’m going to Greece next.

“When this came up, I thought — finally, because in 2008 I was contacting people in Ireland, Denmark, France asking ‘what are you doing over there?’. They were like, ‘what are you talking about?’

“We were the first ones to react to this bank crisis but it took the rest of the world almost two years — it was the end of 2010 when I began to get these calls from around the world.”

Torfason will be giving the politicians in Leinster House a taste of what their Icelandic counterparts experienced back in 2008 when he addresses Rochford’s planned rally this Wednesday. The stated aim of the demonstration is to “lock the Government out of the Dáil” — however, organisers insist they’ll be taking a peaceful approach, and that “the amount of people that show up will dictate what happens on the day”.

As for the advice Torfason has been giving them, he stresses that it’s all about listening — listening, and distilling the feedback into a clear call to action:

“The confusion is in favour of the government that’s what I understood, so that’s why I asked people what they want, what they could get behind”

So, if you happen to be passing through Kildare Street this Wednesday and a softly-spoken man with an unplaceable accent asks for your take on the state of the country, spare two seconds and let him know what you think.

You never know what might happen.

Read: Three thousand sign up to ‘lock the Government out of the Dáil’ >

Read: Property tax hunger striker: ‘I’d say I won’t last too long’ >

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50 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mary Hinge
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:35 PM

    Apparently Microsoft have contacted all five users of internet explorer to warn them…

    489
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    Mute Tom Keating
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    Apr 28th 2014, 8:03 PM

    If it was only that simple, 25% of the world browser users use IE versions 6 to 11, so this is a big deal and a big impact.

    37
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    Mute Anthony Byrne
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    Apr 29th 2014, 6:58 AM

    The usual hype. Its not like ‘all of a sudden’ there is a security flaw in IE version x y or z. There have been countless flaws in every version since for ever. Let there be no panic, no ‘serious problems’.

    4
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    Mute Were Jammin
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:53 PM

    A quick workaround for XP users still using IE.

    1. Install chrome or firefox

    2. Slap yourself for not ditching IE sooner.

    389
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Pedro
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:44 PM

    Windows 8 fails to hit expected targets.

    Microsoft ends support for XP.

    Shortly after, “massive” security issue found in IE.

    Microsoft state that they will be issuing a patch to fix the security issue however XP users will be left vulnerable.

    All seems a bit too convenient to me..

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    Mute SilentFugitive
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    Apr 28th 2014, 8:18 PM

    You have my vote Pedro.

    36
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    Mute Ali Fortune
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:33 PM

    People still use IE?

    155
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    Mute Pedro
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:45 PM

    Bank of Ireland’s Business Online tool only works with IE.

    115
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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:48 PM

    The most recent IE is actually good.

    52
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    Mute ƒR()§†H@X
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:34 PM

    Apparently nearly 1 in 10 users still use it
    http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

    20
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    Mute Ian Mac Eochagáin
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:35 PM

    Our production system at work only works with IE, and version 9 at that.

    29
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    Mute Joe Brennan
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    Apr 28th 2014, 8:00 PM

    It’s closer to 1 in 5 that still use IE. The stats you posted are only for users of the w3 schools site who would generally be more tech savvy

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    Mute B9xiRspG
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    Apr 28th 2014, 9:38 PM

    If software is written that only works on IE then it’s bad development and laziness on the coder part

    17
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    Mute Virtual Architect
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    Apr 29th 2014, 12:50 AM

    I stopped using BOIs business internet service because it was so appalling. I have to go to a bank machine or make a phone call to find out my bank balance. As for internet explorer- it is only used by people who don’t know much about security.

    4
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    Mute Dave Davis
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    Apr 29th 2014, 3:55 AM

    Agreed. Bank of Ireland Business On Line is the most atrocious app online. It’s an absolute embarrassment and breaks every usability standard in existence. It looks and acts like it was whipped up in a 4th class Web design class. They charge a hefty fee for the privilege too. The only reason I still use it is because it’s the only bank that let’s you wire money to Serbia believe it or not. I hate not having a choice.

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    Mute Frank Carty
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    Apr 29th 2014, 8:39 AM

    On the contrary Jim, the opposite is true. Its very easy to develop site for FF and Chrome, compared to earlier versions of IE

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    Mute Marc Keegan
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    Apr 29th 2014, 5:03 PM

    I agree with Frank – It’s difficult to get a site to display correctly on IE and requires a lot more effort than FF or Chrome – It takes time, patience and a lot of experience to get a modern design to perform as intended on IE. (Also requires tears and a jade monkey paw).

    1
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    Mute Leopold Dedalus
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:35 PM

    “The security flaw puts almost all Internet Explorer users at risk”

    Those 30 people must be very worried

    131
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    Mute Frank
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:37 PM

    A deliberate move by Microsoft to scaremongering operators of XP to upgrade to more NSA hackable and imposing systems with built in cameras and back door snooping technology. It will be a long time before I leave from XP.

    58
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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:48 PM

    Or just move to linux.

    57
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    Mute Glen
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:21 PM

    Frank
    Out of curiosity, and I’m not being a smartass but do you cover your webcam with tape.

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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:25 PM

    Doesn’t everyone?

    53
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    Mute ged_star
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:34 PM

    Frank where exactly did you get this info

    “NSA hackable and imposing systems with built in cameras and back door snooping technology”

    Never heard such rubbish in the last 15 years that I’ve been working in IT

    23
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    Mute Glen
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:50 PM

    ged
    I have been in IT less time than you and I can say without reservation that Franks comment has merit.

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    Mute Vocal Outrage
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    Apr 28th 2014, 6:08 PM

    Are you guys off your rockers? XP has probably been compromised in terms of privacy just as much as every other OS

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    Mute ged_star
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    Apr 28th 2014, 6:35 PM

    Glen and Frank

    Where is your proof???

    I would be really interested in reading more info about “NSA hackable and imposing systems with built in cameras and back door snooping technology”

    So please post any proof that you both have and I will gladly read

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    Mute Frank
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    Apr 28th 2014, 7:26 PM

    Glen … I don’t need to … Dell 6400 was made long before build in web cams.

    13
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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Apr 28th 2014, 7:33 PM

    ged_star – what isolated corner of the web have you been living in? Habbo Hotel??

    https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/timeline

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    Mute Frank
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    Apr 28th 2014, 7:33 PM

    ged_star … I guess you must be still working on Windows 98 with MMX technology hardware.

    Dell have been operating outsourced (India) customer service using remote access to PC Systems for the last 15 years.

    This is quite old news….

    Broadcom has just rolled out a chip for smart phones that promises to indicate location ultra-precisely, possibly within a few centimeters, vertically and horizontally, indoors and out.

    The unprecedented accuracy of the Broadcom 4752 chip results from the sheer breadth of sensors from which it can process information. It can receive signals from global navigation satellites, cell-phone towers, and Wi-Fi hot spots, and also input from gyroscopes, accelerometers, step counters

    http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM4752

    http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/broadcom-4752-rfid-microchip.jpg

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    Mute Glen
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:16 PM

    The cost of upgrading to a different OS for businesses alone would be astronomical on the wide scale. People like XP their comfortable with it I can’t see that changing anytime soon.

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    Mute Graeme O'Connor
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    Apr 28th 2014, 6:33 PM

    They did on a mass scale when moving from Windows 95 to XP and there was no complaints about the cost then. If they’re that worried about the cost then they should move to a Unix based OS which can be used for free.

    13
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    Mute Alan Lawlor
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    Apr 28th 2014, 9:25 PM

    Win95 to XP was an improvement.
    Vista and Win8 are arguably not (Win 7 was/is good imho)
    Not everybody is tech-savvy enough to replace Windows with Linux, but that is not necessary.
    For some years, many people on XP have been switching for IE browser to Chrome or Firefox, hence IEs dwindling market share, even amongst non-mobile and non-tablet platforms. This is because there were no longer IE upgrades for xp users, therefore no support for HTML5 and CSS3 increasingly used on many websites.
    So, quick fix is to change broswer not whole OS. You also have less vulnerabilities and quicker patches when they do arise.

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    Mute Glen
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    Apr 28th 2014, 11:40 PM

    Alan
    Vista is a hybrid of XP & 7
    7 is a great OS as is XP but 8 is more touchscreen based. Linux has merit. Their disc defrag is the biggest difference as far as I can see. Personally I use Mozilla for browsing I just can’t see eye to eye with Chrome.

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:46 PM

    Use Mozilla – unless you bank with BOI.

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    Mute Alan Lawlor
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    Apr 28th 2014, 9:17 PM

    internet explorer IS mozilla

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Apr 28th 2014, 9:20 PM

    Firefox then!

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    Mute Barry O'Brien
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    Apr 28th 2014, 9:47 PM

    No it’s not, Alan. Firefox is part of the Mozilla Foundation. IE is Microsoft. You may think this because it has the word Mozilla in its User Agent string, but nearly all browsers have that for legacy compatibility reasons.

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    Mute Clau Mc C
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    Apr 28th 2014, 6:11 PM

    IE is widely used in enterprise, chrome and Firefox are more for the end/home user

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    Mute David Jordan
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    Apr 28th 2014, 8:36 PM

    The only country that has to use IE is South Korea, the government there made it a legal requirement to encrypt shopping and banking websites. However, the security software legally required uses Microsoft’s ActiveX scripting language, which is only available in Internet Explorer. Ironically, ActiveX is horribly insecure.

    “South Koreans use Internet Explorer: It’s the law”

    http://www.zdnet.com/south-koreans-use-internet-explorer-its-the-law-7000022827/

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    Mute Thors Big Hammer
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    Apr 28th 2014, 4:47 PM

    Just visit trust worthy sites and you will be fine.

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    Mute Neal Ireland
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:44 PM

    Which ones are those?

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    Mute Onlyblowingsmoke
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:40 PM

    What few of you seem to realise or know is that nearly all atm machines in Ireland still use this now security flaud software. Can any one provide information on this, are the banks likely to upgrade, at what cost to the already overcharged customers

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    Mute John McDonnell
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    Apr 28th 2014, 6:27 PM

    Most ATM’s don’t use Internet Explorer.

    19
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    Mute Crocodylus Pontifex
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    Apr 28th 2014, 7:17 PM

    The ‘m’ stands for machine so it’s either AT machine or just ATM but never ATM machine

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    Mute Shay
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    Apr 28th 2014, 5:38 PM

    People still use laptops?

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