Introduction: The EU/IMF/Cypriot scheme to raise enough funds to qualify for the €10 billion bailout loan may not be enough. There are already talks about a second bailout. A new bailout will tax all depositors, not only those holding more than … [Read more...] about Picking Up the Cyprus Geopolitical Pieces
Contributor: Rachel Ehrenfeld
Synergic Cyber Attacks
Two major recent attacks on the Internet give us just a hint of what to expect if/when our economic and financial infrastructures are hit by different attacks at once. Cyberbunker - not a Chinese - but a Dutch webhosting company generated the … [Read more...] about Synergic Cyber Attacks
The Escalating Cost of Leading from Behind
Leading from behind in Libya cost the lives of four Americans. That U.S. policy may end up costing many more than the reported 80,000-130,000 lives that have already been lost in Syria. A basic misconception of the Arab/ Islamic world has for decades … [Read more...] about The Escalating Cost of Leading from Behind
The Sudan for Sale
Sudan is multifaceted and complicated. It involves everything from the changing geopolitics of the Middle East and Africa -- to energy and water sources, Egypt and the Sahel, control over arable land and food resources --with growing Chinese … [Read more...] about The Sudan for Sale
Disgracing Aphrodite & Cyprus Farce
Cyprus's efficient money laundering services were a common knowledge, almost as the lore of Aphrodite's frolicking on the Island's sunny shores. Yet, until the bottom fell from under the banks that weren't smart enough to better invest the money, no … [Read more...] about Disgracing Aphrodite & Cyprus Farce
Moscow by the Sea *Exclusive
Cyprus's crisis may have been prevented had the Cypriot banks used the billions of dollars they laundered for the Russians to buy assets other than Greek sovereign bonds. Good thing Cyprus Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades did not lose his … [Read more...] about Moscow by the Sea *Exclusive
Obama's Line in Tel Aviv Sands
Days before his visit to Israel, on March 14th in a direct address to the Israeli public, President Obama stated for the first time that Iran has "over a year or so" to develop a nuclear weapon. Interviewed by Israel's channel 2 TV, six days before … [Read more...] about Obama's Line in Tel Aviv Sands
Cyprus, Terrorism & Drugs
CYPRUS For the first time during the Euro crisis, depositors will contribute to the cost of recapitalizing banks. But Cyprus's bailout precedent may end up affecting bank depositors elsewhere in Europe and even in the U.S. This bailout scheme was … [Read more...] about Cyprus, Terrorism & Drugs
U.S. Challenges in North Korea *Exclusive
As with Iran, talks and lax sanctions regimes have failed to prevent North Korea's nuclear buildup. Congratulating China's new president Xi Jingping, President Obama called Xi's attention to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs that … [Read more...] about U.S. Challenges in North Korea *Exclusive
Week in Review, March 11-16 *Exclusive
Apart from the election of Pope Francis, North Korea's tearing up the 1953 Armistice and the Obama administration's sudden turnaround on missile defense in response, this was the week that the U.S. purportedly wanted to be seen as the one in which it … [Read more...] about Week in Review, March 11-16 *Exclusive