Cyprus

For a brief historical moment, Alexis Tsipras and his political party, Syriza, ignited hope that Greece could resurrect a long-dormant Leftist tide in Europe.
A new Greece was being born out of the pangs of pain of economic austerity, imposed by the European Union and its overpowering economic institutions – a troika so ruthless, it cared little while the Greek economy collapsed and millions of people experienced the bitterness of poverty, unemployment and despair.

So. The US economy is just fine. The post-recession 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation has cured all. Banks have lots of cash. Congress is your friend and that certain-to-pass Tax Cut and Jobs bill will finally allow you, your family and America to… MAGA.
Really?!

The other day I was in a shopping mall looking for an ATM to get some cash. There was no ATM. A week ago, there was still a branch office of a local bank – no more, gone. A Starbucks will replace the space left empty by the bank. I asked around – there will be no more cash automats in this mall – and this pattern is repeated over and over throughout Switzerland and throughout western Europe. Cash machines gradually but ever so faster disappear, not only from shopping malls, also from street corners. Will Switzerland become the first country fully running on digital money?

By Jeremy Salt | Palestine Chronicle | December 28, 2017 ‘Violence is not the way.’ How often did we hear Tony Blair say it? We know that violence should not be the way but we know that it is often is. The ‘we’ definitely does not include Blair, an architect of extreme violence in the […]

1st post of the day linked immediately below

And a Dead Battery in My Car.. Extreme Cold Continues as People Die It's very, very plausible that the Eastern Med may heat up. I've relinked a few posts from 2017 covering the tensions in the area. They definitely relate to the latest news!

Tom Secker and I finish off our trilogy of episodes discussing House of Cards. This month we look at the last season The Final Cut. We discuss Francis’ long political career as it begins it’s twilight phase. Tom and I talk at length about the Cyprus story-line which introduces foreign policy to the show for the first time. We touch on FU’s complete lack of expertise in this realm and how it contributes to his ultimate demise. Tom and I also discuss whether Urquhart’s experiences as a young man in Cyprus made him into the psychopathic individual he is as Prime Minister.

21st Century Wire says…
According to reports this morning, the captain and crew of the ‘Far Right’ ship C-Star chartered by Pegita-linked group “Defend Europe,” were arrested and detained in Northern Cyprus.
The ship was en route to its “patrol mission” in the Mediterranean after being stopped in the Suez Canal days earlier.

After a marathon Thursday night negotiation between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, with the UN facilitating the process, talks to reunify the divided island collapsed amid anger and recriminations in the early hours of Friday.
This marks an end to what many Cypriots saw as the most promising opportunity in generations to heal decades of conflict between the divided communities.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference, after the last session…

The marathon two week talks to reunify Cyprus have seen hourly ups and downs, with the latest news coming out of Crans-Montana in Switzerland amounting to what may be a very positive outcome, if confirmed.
Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported this afternoon that Turkish Cypriot sources claim that a United Nations announcement of a ‘framework agreement’ has already been prepared.

Peace talks for Cyprus have faced a grave setback after Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu explicitly ruled out withdrawing Turkish troops from Cyprus, a sovereign state that Turkey has partly occupied since 1974.
Cavusoglu called the removal of Turkish troops a “non-starter” and told groups representing Greek Cypriots to “wake-up” if they thought that such an option would be realistic.
Most Greek Cypriot activists continue to demand the full withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus as conditions for reunification.
Peace talks continue in Geneva.