Hi, Lara,

First of all, admittedly, I have never been to Iceland, but I have checked up a little on Eva Joly and watched her extremely hate-filled, vindictive, and inciting videos on Youtube, and encourage others to watch, as well. I found it scary, to be honest!

Also, I found some of your own rhetoric to be quite loaded. Some examples would be: "opaque", "shady", "vultures", "despicable", and "never be welcomed". I would be careful about the last one: never say never!

You are using some very accusative language about Ross Beaty and anyone associate Magma Energy (that's the very reason why I suggested that Ross Beaty should sue Eva Joly for slander -- though I don't know what the point would be). I do not deny that there are vultures out there, and I have fallen prey to some myself (particularly in the music business -- and I think that even Bjork would have to acknowledge that it is one of the most crooked industries out there despite the fact that there are many idealistic songwriters and musicians) . But for Eva Joly to be spurting off that Ross Beaty is some upstart who just threw a company together in 2008 without any track record is both ludicrous and deceitful.

She is taking a half truth (Mr. Beaty did start a new venture in 2008 called Magma Energy) and is clothing it in rhetoric that paints a picture that is anything but far from being accurate. You made an accusation that I do not knowing anything about Iceland, but I wonder how much you know about Ross Beaty, and if so, why you choose to use slanderous language which even myself as a small time investor (and may I remind you, that you know nothing about me either) find extremely hurtful.

Originally, I was not going to respond, but after reading and listening to comments that were intentionally deceptive, I felt a need to voice my opinion. But I won't react anymore. It would only lead to a Palestinian/Isreali-type stalemate that would lead to two people hating each other instead of following the precepts of their underlying belief systems, or at the bare minimum, common sense. Not very fruitful, indeed; so I will refuse to retaliate hate for hate, but will periodically stand up for justice, but I realize that there are limits: I will not react when things fall into a silly tit-for-tat, especially when those tit-for-tats are based on foundless accusations. In the end, I choose to love my neighbour, regardless of nation, creed, or even political ideology.

But nationalism, racism, and protectionism don't work. I gave the example of CanCon/CRTC laws in Canada. Perhaps a better example would have been Japanese automobiles in the 1980s. The Canadian government threw a $300-$500 import tax on every Japanese automobile coming into the country. I remember at the time thinking: this is stupid! Japan makes better automobiles for a better price and why should Canadian citizens be held hostage because of a self-interest lobby group of American automobile manufacturing plants in Ontario? Better is better! Whether we like it or not.

Given economies of scale, and other factors, manufacturing and markets will go where they are best situated without this type of artificial protectionism. That is not to say that there could be misuses by corporations in cases such as slave labor or taking advantage of economic disparities. But I do not believe that either of these are true in the case of Magma Energy in Iceland. No, I'm not trying to portray Ross Beaty as some angelic godsend. He's not! He's simply a successful business man with a proven track record of putting profitable companies together very quickly and efficiently. And on that note, business and local interests need not be mutually exclusive. Did he jump on an opportunity? Of course, he did. Did he do anything outrageously illegal or unethical? I personally, doubt it. And may I point out, in Canada, many of the First Nations groups are using their land rites settlements as bargaining chips, along with some political clout. I would suggest instead of saying "never", why not try being reasonable and talking this one out?; you might even find that Mr. Beaty is not the vulture you have made him about to be and you may get a better deal than expected. The worst that could happen (depending on point of view, of course) is that he could sell off the company and walk away, which bring Iceland back to square one, and worse for wear.

Now, back to my earlier statement: never say never! From my humble standpoint, it would appear that Magma Energy's purchase of Orka was legal and it would also appear that Iceland badly needs foreign investment. Therefore, I would suggest laying down your guns and negotiating this ordeal in a level-headed way -- not overheated emotions that will only lead to a war of words, or inverting back to backward nationalism and isolationism. Frankly, the thought of Eva Joly becoming the next head of France scares the hell out of me. Such nationalistic, insular ideologies are exactly what started World War II. I would have thought we had moved forward since then, but perhaps not.

Respectfully yours,

Sammy