Birgitta Jónsdóttir
Encyclopedia
Birgitta Jónsdóttir is a member of parliament
of Althing, the Icelandic parliament, formerly representing the Citizens' Movement
, but now representing The Movement
. Her district is the Reykjavík South Constituency. She was elected to the Icelandic parliament in April 2009 on behalf of a movement aiming for democratic reform beyond party politics of left and right. Birgitta has been an activist and a spokesperson for various groups, such as Wikileaks
, Saving Iceland
and Friends of Tibet in Iceland. She acts as a spokeswoman for the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
.
, Birgitta is also a poet, writer, artist, editor, publisher, activist and has used the internet for these activities. Her first poetry collection was published when she was 22 years old by Iceland's biggest publisher, Almenna Bókafélagið, AB books, in 1989. Birgitta organized "Art against war" where a number of Icelandic artists and poets came out to protest the war in Iraq. Birgitta set up the first Icelandic online art gallery in 1996 for the Apple Shop in Iceland. Birgitta has participated in several international projects related to writing and activism including "Poets Against the War", "Dialogue among Nations through Poetry", and "Poets for Human Rights". She also edited and published the two international books The World Healing Book and The Book of Hope which contains writings by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Rita Dove, the Dalai Lama
, Rabbi Michael Lerner, John Kinsella, and Sigur Rós
. Birgitta is a founder of Beyond Borders Press and Radical Creations. Birgitta is a part of International Network of Parliamentarians’ for Tibet (INPaT)
and had an important role in the making of the Collateral Murder video, including co-production. She has advocated to make Iceland a haven for press freedom and is the chief sponsor of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
.
On 18 June 2010 she told ABC News' Brian Ross that Wikileaks will be releasing a leaked video of a US airstrike in Afghanistan
"hopefully very soon".
On 7 January 2011, Birgitta announced on her Twitter
page that she had been notified by Twitter
that it had been served by the United States Department of Justice
with a subpoena demanding information
"about all my tweets and more since November 1st 2009." According to Glenn Greenwald
of Salon.com
:
On 14 April 2011 Wired Magazine online published an article "WikiLeaks Associates Hit Back Over U.S. Twitter Records Demand" describing a "contentious legal battle with the Justice Department" with the three Wikileaks volunteers, charging in a court filing that the government’s argument “trivializes both the Parties’ and the public’s constitutional rights.”
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
of Althing, the Icelandic parliament, formerly representing the Citizens' Movement
Citizens' Movement (Iceland)
The Citizens' Movement is a political party in Iceland, founded by a number of grassroots movements in the lead up to the 2009 election during the Global Recession, which hit Iceland particularly hard....
, but now representing The Movement
The Movement (Iceland)
The Movement is a political movement in Iceland. It has 3 members of parliament in the Alþingi . All of them are former Citizens' Movement MPs.*Þór Saari, economist*Margrét Tryggvadottir, editor...
. Her district is the Reykjavík South Constituency. She was elected to the Icelandic parliament in April 2009 on behalf of a movement aiming for democratic reform beyond party politics of left and right. Birgitta has been an activist and a spokesperson for various groups, such as Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
, Saving Iceland
Saving Iceland
Saving Iceland describe themselves as "a network of people of different nationalities, who do not intend to stand by passively and watch the Icelandic government in league with foreign corporations slowly kill the natural beauty of Iceland." They have been highly critical of the aluminum industry...
and Friends of Tibet in Iceland. She acts as a spokeswoman for the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
The International Modern Media Institute is an international institution developing havens for freedom of information, speech, and expression. It creates supportive and attractive jurisdiction for the publication of investigative journalism and other threatened online media...
.
Life and career
Born in ReykjavikReykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Birgitta is also a poet, writer, artist, editor, publisher, activist and has used the internet for these activities. Her first poetry collection was published when she was 22 years old by Iceland's biggest publisher, Almenna Bókafélagið, AB books, in 1989. Birgitta organized "Art against war" where a number of Icelandic artists and poets came out to protest the war in Iraq. Birgitta set up the first Icelandic online art gallery in 1996 for the Apple Shop in Iceland. Birgitta has participated in several international projects related to writing and activism including "Poets Against the War", "Dialogue among Nations through Poetry", and "Poets for Human Rights". She also edited and published the two international books The World Healing Book and The Book of Hope which contains writings by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Rita Dove, the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, Rabbi Michael Lerner, John Kinsella, and Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
. Birgitta is a founder of Beyond Borders Press and Radical Creations. Birgitta is a part of International Network of Parliamentarians’ for Tibet (INPaT)
Press freedom initiatives
Birgitta was an active volunteer for WikileaksWikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
and had an important role in the making of the Collateral Murder video, including co-production. She has advocated to make Iceland a haven for press freedom and is the chief sponsor of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
The International Modern Media Institute is an international institution developing havens for freedom of information, speech, and expression. It creates supportive and attractive jurisdiction for the publication of investigative journalism and other threatened online media...
.
On 18 June 2010 she told ABC News' Brian Ross that Wikileaks will be releasing a leaked video of a US airstrike in Afghanistan
Granai airstrike
The Granai airstrike, sometimes called the Granai massacre, refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians, mostly children, and including women, by American aircraft on May 4, 2009, in the village of Granai in Farah Province, south of Herat, Afghanistan...
"hopefully very soon".
On 7 January 2011, Birgitta announced on her Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page that she had been notified by Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that it had been served by the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
with a subpoena demanding information
Twitter subpoena
On 14 December 2010, the United States Department of Justice issued a subpoena accompanied by a national security letter to Twitter in relation to ongoing investigations of WikiLeaks...
"about all my tweets and more since November 1st 2009." According to Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...
of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
:
The information demanded by the DOJ is sweeping in scope. It includes all mailing addresses and billing information known for the user, all connection records and session times, all IP addresses used to access Twitter, all known email accounts, as well as the "means and source of payment," including banking records and credit cards. It seeks all of that information for the period beginning November 1, 2009, through the present.
On 14 April 2011 Wired Magazine online published an article "WikiLeaks Associates Hit Back Over U.S. Twitter Records Demand" describing a "contentious legal battle with the Justice Department" with the three Wikileaks volunteers, charging in a court filing that the government’s argument “trivializes both the Parties’ and the public’s constitutional rights.”
Present Parliamentary Committees
- Member of the Parliamentary Review Committee on the SIC report since 2009.
- Member of the Committee on the Environment since 2009.
- Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs since 2009.
- Member of the Icelandic delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since 2009.
External links
- Official website
- Jónsdóttir: On U.S. Subpoena of Her Twitter Account over WikiLeaks - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Birgitta Jonsdottir Video Archive