At first I thought this was a 'trick' question. Then I realized that, with the degree of mis- and non-information that Americans tend to have (or -not- have), no, this really was a serious question .. for Americans. Anyway, I sit here and think about the different approaches taken by Iceland on the one hand and the 'western establisment' on the other. I also think about the -fact- that our so-called news media usually won't talk about it, and on the far too rare occasions when they do, they down-play the effects of Iceland's course of action as much as they can. Sadly, my father was right when he said that whoever controls the media controls both the message and the information people get, therefore being able to lead people around as easily as if they had a leash with a ring in their nose.

Frankly, the only thing the "crisis" in Cyprus tells me is that the 'banksters' and ultra-rich are trying - again - to hold on to the gains their immoral "legal-thievery" have gotten them (..so far..). The =last= thing they want is for 'the common lot' to figure out what's really going on -and- =then= get fed up enough to finally =DO= something both effective and correctly aimed to make a -lasting- difference. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it may come down to the 'remedy' Madam LeFarge(sp?) shouted all the time: "a la lantern!" (Meaning, hang them from the nearest lamp-post...)

Unfortunately, speculation involving 'austerity coeffients' are lifting greedy heads. That is, given your position in the economic spectra, you can fairly accurately predict when your personal freedom will become compromised. For the poor, elderly and dependent it's already occurring, but for the so-called lower, middle and upper classes they have a few years to a decade, and our country's Mediocrity Maintenance policies and programs almost ensure nothing will be done until, like the global operative imperatives, it's way too late.