The Cyprus Problem - The True Villains

Cyprus a tiny island whose population amounts to less than 1 million has caught the European headlines since announcing over the weekend a staggering tax on peoples wealth, the Cypriot population and those affected by the obscene proposals have been broadcast to all major news channels, bewildered and angry people shout "Oxi" at local bank branches, "no".  Can we really blame them?  Wouldn't you be just as outraged?  I know I certainly would - but let us not forget the political rhetoric of the last few years since the banking crisis.  Certainly in London and in most of Europe indeed most of the West the call has gone out to tax the wealthy with Robin Hood style taxes as propagated by leading 'economic intellectuals' such as Bill Nighy.
Cyprus is feeling the effects of a natural extension of this leftist dogma that has seeped its way into mainstream politics, which has lead to the introduction of a wealth tax, which still to most rational minded people is obscene. In turn it leads to an examination of the definition of wealth.  Wealth is a relative term, what we are now discovering in today's climate anyone lucky enough to have savings is by definition better off than most and in turn, wealthy - however modest the deposits they hold.  It can never be equitable to punish so severely the hard work expended to find the resources to put money away, money that has already been subjected to the tax process.  The deal the EU offers is draconian compared with its liberal and lax approach to the other embattled economies of the Eurozone.  Russia remains a player and Cyprus needs to utilise her, to negotiate the best possible deal which for all intents and purposes seems to be the cause of the delay in enforcing this package.  

This tax is in my opinion tantamount to theft, as it taxes moneys already accumulated and already subjected to the proper tax system, such as income taxes, vat, corporation tax etc, by enacting it Cyprus and the EU will have crossed a Rubicon - and if crossed we are all in danger of suffering the same fate.  Cyprus is a guinea pig, if an audacious money grab like this works on a small scale with little resistance it will be tried elsewhere, in larger economies, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Ireland, France the UK, indeed Angela Merkel felt the need to tell the German people that savings in Germany were safe, make no mistake this blatant theft will be mimicked wherever possible.  Also it is important to reflect that the promise made by the EU that savings up to 100,000 Euros would have their safety guaranteed is also now null and void.  It was the powerhouse of the EU - the Commission who posited this plan and they who will ultimately break the relationship between rulers and ruled.

The term banker in the last 3-4 years has come to denote a certain type of villain they have been more vilified even than the worst types of criminal.   Indeed much of the literature surrounding this EU dictated Cypriot wealth tax in the blogosphere use the term "Bankster" (Banker and Gangster combined) and it is they who have somewhat missed the prevalent point.  Banks operate in the environment governments allow them to, the banks that are now toxic would have failed years ago had politicians not decided to bail them out with taxpayer guarantees, the banking crisis is a result of political failings.  So tax the banks, tax everyone who works at banks, tax everything the banks have got...except the only thing banks do have is our hard earned money, which I think generally speaking people would rather wasn't tampered with any more than it is.  Governments across Europe and the technocrats and autocrats that manage the EU have become corporatist in their outlook, picking winners, subsiding where required and bailing out failed governments and private sector entities to cover up their own mess, they have begun to realise that they need to approach matters differently and have decided to make Cyprus a lab rat.  It is the politicians who deserve your wrath and where anger should be directed, to the many Presidents and Prime Ministers of Europe, both elected and unelected as the case may be - to the European Elite a clear message must be sent - to the likes of Borosso and Van Rompuy indeed to the less than useless Baroness Ashton for they must understand that so long as they are unelected they should have no given right to dictate economic policy.  Not only are they dangerously dictatorial they are by no means benign.

If Cyprus is to rejuvenate herself she needs to unshackle herself from the Euro decouple and devalue - the same for Greece, and all other Southern Mediterranean countries lest they become vassals of Northern Europe and their ability to self govern extinguished. European Elections are on the horizon - use your vote wisely.

Will the Lambs Stop Screaming?

A cause for celebration.  This blog has had over 1000 unique readers.  Outstanding, I appreciate that it is an eclectic blog and that is primarily because I am an electric sort who takes an interest in a great many things, at the same time I have tried to make it as easy going as possible and as such most of the posts have been about cultural items both old and new, this post will combine both.

An old friend recently informed of the up coming "Hannibal" TV series.  At first I was reserved.  Having been a big fan of the Thomas Harris literature surrounding the Lithuanian cannibal from a disturbingly young age I've always felt in a way that translations don't always do the works justice, with the exception of The Silence of the Lambs.  Hannibal was a let down, the psychological edginess present in Lambs was sacrificed, excuse the pun, in favour of the grotesque and the ridiculous wasting a fantastic cast, Oldman, Moore, Giannini, Liotta and of course Hopkins himself.   Red Dragon was an improvement but by that time the whole premise of the Hopkins era adaptation had begun to feel tired, and the less said about Manhunter the better.  Adaptations of Harris' work have had a somewhat up and down ride from the lofty heights of Lambs to the betrayal of content and deletion of so many characters in Hannibal, or the overall poor film that was Hannibal Rising, though I personally can't help but feel that that was because the source literature simply wasn't as sublime as its predecessors. 

Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, moving away from this adaptation is a bold, but smart move.

The trailer for the new series holds a great deal of promise however, it looks bold, the cast is fantastic, Mads Mikkelsen seems an inspired choice for the deranged doctor, and the supporting cast would all be at home on Hollywoods A-List.  By delivering via a TV serial rather than a film this project should be able to deliver the detail, intrigue and character development that made Lambs the classic it is, while indulging the bloodthirsty among us with scenes we hope of an extreme graphic nature.  It will be interesting to see how on script the story will be as it seems from the advertisements that it will follow the Red Dragon novel.  Will see a lot more background to Lecter and Will Graham?  One hopes so because it seemed to me it was an undeveloped relationship in both Red Dragon and Manhunter so as to suit the limits of a film.  A TV series solves that problem.

Oh yes and before I forget to mention yet another lead role in an US TV series for an English actor Hugh Dancy.  The invasion continues and lets hope his Will Graham will have us all gripped on the edge of our seats for another taste of cannibalistic fun and games.

Hannibal Trailer