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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. These will produce an eruption and carry desolation in their way. Fisher Ames

The quote above seems to be apt for the last few days in Iceland.  The Black report was published - all 8  or was it 9 volumes which looks at the financial collapse here in Iceland, it's build up and the fall out.  Including naming names and giving opinions on what could be done and what issues need to be looked at by prosecuting authorities.  Needless to say most Icelanders are feeling angry and depressed.  The politicians and bankers are playing the blame game... yeh what happened was wrong - but it wasn´t my fault etc etc.  As always I defer to the Icelandweatherreport for a more detailed and informed discussion on the issue.

In other news a volcano underneath the Eyjarfjalla glacier started erupting this morning resulting in a lot of melted ice moving down the river and taking out roads and flooding large areas of land.  www.ruv.is the news site has links in English for those that can´t read the Icelandic...  The ash is going 22000 m up and the prevailing winds are sending it towards Norway and Russia, which means that air traffic in Northern Europe will be affected.  For a change I am quite happy for the winds to continue to be from the North or the West... blowing the ash away from the island.  Yes, even after the report, I am still guilty of worrying about self interest.

The best thing so far out of the report is the ethics report which talks about what so and so did up to and during the banking collapse, here they point out things that certain people in positions of power or influence did that were not exactly illegal or criminal but were ethically just wrong.... it´s definitely causing a lot of discussion in the general community - and raises the question - what has happened to honesty and integrity???

Thats all for now folks.  Let´s hope the island survives this latest crisis - moral, intellectual and now physical...

7 comments:

Vicki said...

From reading the various reports and comments around in english it seems that the Black Report was quite comprehensive and detailed so hopefully it will be just too hard to ignore and file away without some justice being pursued...a lot of hot air is bubbling under the surface, needing to escape somehow..hence another eruption...I wonder if there is a metaphysical connection?

Very apt quote by the way...how long did it take for you to find that one?

Maja said...

The fact that the black report was written is quite a marvel in itself. After all the dishonesty and dealings behind closed doors, it's great that it's all coming out. Maybe some lessons will even be learnt for the future. There certainly needs to be a lot more transparency in all economic dealings, not just in Iceland, but everywhere.

There seems to be a lot of geological activity around the world lately. There have been earthquakes in so many different countries, and with the eruption in Iceland as well it seems like the tectonic plates are shifting all around the globe.

Old Knudsen said...

No one is honest any more.... except me. I hope you are doing well in these scary times I have blogged about yer wee island.

northern musings said...

Surprisingly easy to find the quote... Today's events and the images on the news make you realise how bad this really is. I am more worried about the animals that are left behind. The ash is full of fluoride which is potentially quite lethal for them and will destroy the land and the water, not nice. We are all watching the weather forecasts to see where the winds are going - better for us if they continue to go offshore but it looks like that on the weekend they will be heading inland which could mean a lot of devastation for the island as a whole. Then there is the issue of Katla - the volcano to the east of the current eruptions, it has usually erupted as a result of eruptions where the current one and when Katla blows - no one wants to be around.

judith said...

That is so scary for you guys. For weeks I've been following your post about the volcano and of course your political problems. Here in the States our news is so self-centered on the issues here at home, they don't spend much time on world events unless it involves the military. I've been wondering when Iceland would hit the news. Well last night I FINALLY saw footage of the eruption, lengthy footage. As sad as it sounds, maybe this eruption will bring some attention to your political problems. I just hope your poor little country doesn't have to fall completely apart to be noticed. Either by volcanic force of the politics.

Vicki said...

Here in Perth tonight the eruption has hit most TV and radio stations. The disruption to flights has initially caught their attention and now all eyes are on the volcano and the path of the ash.
My thoughts are with you all, hopefully it will stop spewing forth soon before too much devastation occurs.

northern musings said...

Finally Iceland has made the world map, although I doubt that this is the way that most Icelanders would want it to be known... a financial basket case or the cause of thousands of people having their travels/holidays disrupted. If you want to be a believer in karma then I think that this is a classic example of reaping what you sow. This is not good for Iceland, but it also not good for those that were bullying us. If you don´t believe in Karma then it's easy - Iceland sits on the atlantic rift, chances of eruptions are 99% what effect they have on the island or on those around us depends on the winds. C'est la vie. Again, like with the financial collapse I am blissfully unaware of it in my day to day existence - in that it is not affecting me directly - however it does affect. Let's just all hope that this has a happy ending.. the volcano starts to relax, and the ash cloud disperses and Katla decides to stay asleep a little longer.