Another quick-and-dirty edition today, as I went to Byodo-in Temple and Lanikai early in the day.
Anyway, I thought this picture of the volcano beneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier totally kicked ass, which is why I put it up there. The smoke and ash led to flights across Europe being canceled, including those from South Korea. And I must say, Iceland looks pretty green for April.
- Possibility of North Korea having sunk Chonan seen as greater after observation makes damage from external source most likely possibility (Reuters, WaPo, BBC, UPI, AP via WaPo, Bloomberg, CNN, Yonhap)
- Samsung says workers at chip-making plant do not face higher cancer risk (AP via WaPo, Financial Times, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
- Korean Air joins other carriers in canceling flights to Europe because of ash from Iceland volcano (Reuters, Bloomberg)
- Justice Ministry says suspects in sex offense cases will be subject to full identity disclosure (Yonhap, Joongang Daily)
- Police investigate accusations of professional StarCraft match (BBC, Korea Times)
- North Koreans mark birthdate of DPRK founder Kim Ilsung, while defectors and anti-Pyongyang activists mark occasion with propaganda-laden balloon launch near DMZ (Yonhap)
- Critics of President Lee note that the Chonan would never have sunk if it had been riding on top of one of these in the first place (Yonhap)
A few more erruptions and global cooling will be the new terror facing the planet.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to google the weather in Iceland. The winters there are much less severe than those in South Korea. Has something to do with it being warmed by the Gulf Stream.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, "The Amazing Race" passed through the country with Harry Smith and weatherman Dave Price running along on this leg. The two spoke at length about Iceland's unique topography and weather. I believe they even delved into the reason for its being--volcanic activity.
Actually, John, as you might well know, that "new terror" is an old one. That volcanoes and particulate matter can bring about global cooling is precisely the reason for fears of a coming ice age back in the 1970s, which led to (a) reduction of particulate matter and (b) an expansion of temperature gauging capabilities, which puts us to where we are today.
ReplyDeleteAs for Iceland, I know they have extremely moderate (ha ha) weather for their latitude, which skirts the Arctic Circle, but that's pretty green even earlier than I thought.
A fun fact I learned when I was a kid, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Iceland (at least up until the 1980s) was 4°F, which really isn't that cold (by contrast, California's was -45°F, Florida's was -2°F, and Hawaii's was 12°F), while the highest temperature ever recorded in Iceland was 84°F.
I have an online acquaintance from Iceland who would talk about the weather a lot. He's in Sweden now and finds it way too cold.