This article by Richard North asks "is God taking a hand in the Cyprus issue?" Well, I very much doubt that! Contrary to popular opinion, He does not intervene in the machinations of man - He lets us louse things up for ourselves! (Like two world wars, etc.)What REALLY makes me raise an eyebrow, is the way nobody at all, has actually done anything to stop this theft of our money, by the un-elected EU! Elected, or un-elected, it matters not - it's theft....and somebody, somewhere authorised it. They should be - at the very least - arrested!Money is the hub, around which our centuries-old civilisation revolves......damage it in any way - and "the wheel comes off"!I am staggered that the public seem to be taking it lying down, apart from verbal complaints and moaning "it's all wrong!" - which we all know it is! If it's wrong to go in a shop and steal a Mars Bar, then it surely must be wrong to steal your life savings from where you put it for safe-keeping? Be it a few pounds, or millions.I am now wondering, at what point will people actually physically revolt and say "No! Leave it alone - that's my money!"God (whichever God you like to select...and there's plenty from which to chose) is only a crutch and mental figment of the human imagination, on which we all like to lean, to give us the strength to carry on each day - each of us knowing full well that our survival on this planet largely depends on each other.The internal and minor disciplines of civilisation, cause us to respect each other and punish wrong-doers, as we march through life, trying our best to survive.Theft of our money (or any form of goods or property) is in direct contravention of the basic rules of a civilised society - to do that without any retribution on the perpetrators, is an indicator of the breakdown of society in general!Is this what we want? Is this where we are heading, our so-called "advanced civilisation"? Has the wheel gone full circle and is about to come off? All because faceless and senseless people have been picking at the "hub"?Where is the "power of the people" that I read and hear so much about? I can't see it, at the moment - can you?They take our money - and get away with it....next, the lights are due to go out! We all know it's going to happen - even the MPs know it - so are we all so stupid, so dumbed-down, so apathetic, that we are simply going to allow it to happen?The people we elect are supposed to deal with this sort of thing - and they don't appear to be doing so. If they can let the lights go out and also take our savings from our banks, I am wondering what the next stage will be - and when, or even if - the people are ever going to start resisting and really complaining properly!The saucepan of 'public opinion' is heating up fast! I am now hearing, from far and wide, cries for some good, old-fashioned public hangings!Who says "history does not repeat itself"?S
========================================Eurocrash: God takes a handTuesday 2 April 2013Potentially, one of the biggest losers in the Cyprus "rescue" is the Church of Cyprus, which has calculated that it has $130 million at risk.
It is surprising, therefore, that more has not been made of the Financial Times report which claims that the Church has successfully petitioned for an interim injunction, blocking the expropriation of its funds.
Echoing the Bank of Cyprus statement, a local lawyer is saying that, "The expropriation of property is contrary to the constitution of Cyprus and the European Declaration of Human Rights", on which grounds the injunction was sought.
The case must now go for a full hearing, for the injunction to be confirmed, but it may be resolved by other means. However, the FT says that similar attempts at legal action are expected from companies around the world. Even if unsuccessful, they are set to further muddy the already complex legal situation.
Win or lose, the damage done is considerable, but no more so than to the international reputation of the euro. As a result of the ongoing crisis, Spiegel informs us, countries in the developing world are drastically reducing their euro holdings. They are at their lowest level in a decade.
When the euro was first launched on 1 January 1999, the "colleagues" had ambitions of it rivalling the US dollar as the world's premier reserve currency. And such hopes have now been dashed: developing economies shed some $45 billion worth of euros in 2012 and have sold close to $90 billion-worth since the second quarter of 2011.
But just to remind us that there is nothing new under the sun, Die Zeit reminds us that this is not the first time that a government has made off with its citizens's hard-earned cash.
In Italy, the government Amato raised in summer 1992, with retroactive effect, a tax on all bank deposits. In Britain, the government under Wilson said in 1968 the possession of more than four gold coins - the rest had to be surrendered to the Bank of England.
Norway in 1936, the government raised without warning a special tax on all interest. In the U.S., the Roosevelt administration in 1933 forbade the possession of gold, the precious metal was confiscated and it only paid for about 40 percent of its value.
Quite simply, theft is what governments do, although the devious nature of banking transactions in Cyprus makes it difficult to determine who has been thieving from whom. But, with the Church of Cyprus now in the fray, God may be taking a hand. Things may now get a little more difficult for the Cypriot government.
COMMENT: CYPRUS COMBINED THREAD
Richard North 02/04/2013