What this also means is that getting rid of the smelters altogether would have a negligible financial effect on Iceland. Measure that against the costs of the industry that do not show up on the financial ledgers–the dying sheep and horses, the decreased health of those living near the power plants, the degradation of the environment, and on and on, and I’d say the aluminum companies have negotiated a wonderful deal for themselves and a terrible deal for Iceland.

This past year has been a time of catching certain politicians and leaders of industry who never acknowledged their corruption before the Panama papers. According to Paul Fontaine at the Grapevine, 170 people were using offshore accounts, including at least three Icelandic government ministers, including the PM, at least three former members of Reykjavík City Council, and other Icelanders: investors, CEOs and company board members, merchants, wholesalers, attorneys and fishing industry leaders.

This only includes those that were identified in the Panama Papers. There is no reason to believe that the Panama Papers identified all of the bad guys. So I wonder if “Icelandic officials have been more than willing to do their service for free.” When you published this article, the Panama Papers had not yet been leaked. I wonder if you’d change your statement, given the existing proof of wide-spread corruption and pandering among the powers-that-be.