The Russians were offering to bail out Iceland earlier in the week with some strings attached. Iceland has always been halfway between the West and the Soviets which is why the Reykjavik summit between Reagan and Gorbachev was held there. Russia is in a better position to buy up the place than the West because her economy can't get any worse and the oil money it does have can be spent at the whim of Putin. Or maybe the West isn't so ill prepared, maybe Bill Gates wants to buy a second vacation home ... or his own sovereign country.