THE STORY so far: Cody Wilson, who describes himself as a “crypto-anarchist” and almost certainly wears a Second Amendment belt-buckle, had a bright idea early last year. No government could ever oppress its people again, reasoned the 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas, if everybody in the world was able to manufacture their own guns at home.Well, not everybody in the world, exactly, but at least everybody with $8,000 to buy a 3D printer on e-Bay, or access to one of the 3D printing shops that are springing up in major cities. So Wilson set out to design a gun made entirely of high-density ABS plastic that could be printed on a standard 3D machine. He printed and tested it, and last week he made the blueprints available online... Read on

FORMER President Demetris Christofias attended yesterday’s National Council meeting on the economy. Could the politician, who bears the largest share of the responsibility for the economic catastrophe, have had anything of value to say at such a meeting? Could the man whose poor judgment and irresponsibility demolished the economy make a meaningful contribution to how we should rebuild? We think not... 10 comments

WHEN THE Cyprus bank run began earlier this year, Russians set much of the pace. Documents seen by Reuters show that as the island headed towards financial meltdown in March, most notable among companies transferring money from the country's two main banks were Russians and East Europeans.At least €3.6 billion was removed in two weeks by big depositors, according to the documents. Though many companies listed initially appear obscure, a Reuters analysis shows a significant proportion are vehicles for foreign investors more at home in Moscow or Kiev than Nicosia.The lists give an insight into the March crisis and how Cyprus, with a population of just 1.1 million, had amassed  bank deposits that peaked at €72 billion - more than four times the island's GDP... 9 comments

THE BOARD of Cyprus Airways may have made many mistakes during their term but they deserve congratulations for taking a stand over the agreement on redundancy compensations between the government and the unions. All members of the CY board submitted their resignations in protest against the government’s scandalous decision to allocate €20 million of the airline’s money to compensate staff who would take early retirement... 21 comments

CYPRUS’ economic action and direction does not have to be limited to the implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the troika.Part of the Cyprus economy has to grow in order to offset the implosion which is predicted for the near future. Is Cyprus really confined to only concentrating on the MoU transposition? Clearly not. Cyprus could indeed do much more than that in order to get out of the present crisis faster, the MoU providing the basis for this, as well as pilot projects of the European Commission. ... 1 comment

The evolution of local government in Cyprus is testament to the insistence of our politicians on setting the wrong priorities when formulating policy. This is the reason we have ended up with 30 overstaffed municipalities – we have not included the nine occupied municipalities which have a mayor - we cannot afford to sustain. We could never afford them, but in past years the central government would guarantee loans, there was rescheduling of loan repayments, funding was secured from abroad and municipalities managed to get by. Despite the persistent financial difficulties faced by local authorities, our politicians, in their wisdom, created another six municipalities in 2011, thus adding to the state’s costs... 8 comments

THE SHAMELESS audacity of AKEL knows no bounds. The party which annihilated a once-thriving economy and drastically reduced the living standards of the entire population has come up with a proposal for ridding the country of the troika and the memorandum. The full consequences of the destruction caused by the Christofias and his comrades have not been felt yet, but AKEL has already started posing as the saviour of the country, coming up with a proposal that would supposedly rid the country of the troika and allow it to renounce the memorandum of understanding... 15 comments

APART from the energy-sapping heatwave, things did not get any worse in the fortnight our establishment had been closed, which must be something to rejoice about. It is true that nothing got better, but the banks are still open, the euro is still our currency, Cyprus Airways is still flying, the Cyprob is still unsolved, Panicos is still running the B of C, there was no resignation at the investigative committee and the trains are still running on time. The end of the tunnel might still look pitch-black, but we should be happy that Kyproulla still wakes up every morning and opens for business as usual. As any member of alcoholics anonymous would tell you, we should take each day as it comes and not worry that we will not enjoy another drink for the rest of our life... 5 comments

 THE CONDITIONS created by developments in the last 12 months - the discovery of natural gas deposits and the bankruptcy of the Cyprus Republic - have given rise to suggestions that now is the right time for a settlement of the Cyprus problem.Of course when someone talks about a settlement he should bear in mind that the discussion is academic, because the Greek Cypriots do not want to hear about it. They have come to terms with partition, which they consider the best settlement. ... 9 comments

 “There was the First Reich with all the Habsburgian Emperors, then the Second Reich with the Prussians and Bismarck; Hitler called his dictatorship the Third Reich and now we have the Fourth Reich with Angela Merkel.” I had to think for quite some time, but finally I nodded. The young Cypriot lady was right.Petroula studies history, archaeology, and German at the University of Cyprus. Like her brother, she wants to continue her studies in Germany. There are five bright kids in the family and due to EU membership, Cypriots pay no university fees in Germany. It is enough to be a good student. Petroula and her brother will make it. They have a future... 14 comments