Here Comes The Tear Gas

The tear gas appears right on schedule.

"Authorities made a series of arrests at Occupy Wall Street protests in California and Georgia on Tuesday with clashes in one city that involved tear gas being used on demonstrators.  Police said they fired the tear gas on protesters in Oakland, California, after the crowd threw paint and other objects at officers."
Source: CNN

You were warned....you say "it can't happen here?":
http://randomroving.blogspot.com/2009/04/onion-peels-in-argentina.html

"One of Robert Prechter's main themes for the downward contraction is the escalation of social unrest. Along with this comes a power struggle between the government and the people. As Americans, what should we prepare for?"
Random Roving, December 12, 2008

Angry Birds

"We're in an Angry Birds kind of world, unfortunately.  One of the reasons for this is that too many people are focusing on what isn't working and less on what is.  Instead of promoting solutions, there seems to be a 'tear it down' atmostphere at every level of society."
Cal Thomas, Conservative Columnist
Source: CNN

"As social mood becomes more positive people become more confident trusting and content. They feel little need to prepare a defensive or offensive force. As social mood becomes more negative, people become more fearful, distrusting, and angry. They are impelled to prepare to defend themselves or attack an enemy."

Elliott Wave Theorist, 1999

German Vampires

"'We are not lazy; it's the Germans, they want to take our blood,' said Eleftherios Zarkados (Greek citizen)."

Source: CNN

"Organizations like the European Union are in the process of 'fragmenting'. During an upward trending mass social mood, we make peace and sign peace treaties. We form cooperative organizations during these times and merge currencies. Now, the tide has shifted. Keep an eye on the EU. As Greece, Spain, and others continue to feel 'the pain', their partners in the EU will continue to ask 'why are we being dragged down by them?'."

Random Roving, March 30, 2010

Vladimir Doesn't Waste Any Time

Mr. Putin appears to be on a roll.  Parasite? Ouch.
"Russia and China have vowed to make progress on a long-delayed deal on gas sales, as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sought to boost ties with Beijing while likening the U.S. to a parasite."
Source: Time.com

Ten-Tola's Anyone?

"The recent violent volatility in gold prices is disrupting traditional buying patterns in Dubai, with customers moving from jewelry to bullion as they renew a focus on the yellow metal's investment potential, a trend that is prompting more city jewelers to stock gold in the form of coins and bars.  Dubai, known as the city of gold, is a long-established market for bullion and wholesale and retail jewelry. Its trade is fueled by demand from India, the world's number one gold consumer, and domestic consumption which, at 19 tons in the second quarter of 2011, makes the United Arab Emirates the second-largest consumer of gold jewelry and bullion in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia. Whereas traditional retail demand was for jewelry, there has been a change in buying patterns, said Pradeep Unni, senior relationship manager at Richcomm Global Services, a Dubai-based commodity services company and a broker of the Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange, or DGCX, which trades a gold futures contract.  Earlier while women would buy gold in the form of jewelry, now one can see men, finding themselves with a bit of spare cash, go into a jewelry shop and buying ten-tola bars," he says. A ten-tola bar, called TT bar in the trade, is a traditional Indian measure of weight that equals 3.75 ounces."
Source: Wall Street Journal

Riggin' & Exiting

“'I don’t think it’s a time to make money -- this is a time to rig for survival,' said Charles Stevenson, 64, president of hedge fund Navigator Group Inc. and head of the co-op board at 740 Park Ave. The building, home to Blackstone Group LP Chairman Stephen Schwarzman and CIT Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer John Thain, was among those picketed by protesters yesterday. 'The future is not going to be like a past we knew,' he said. 'There’s no exit from this morass.'"

Source: Bloomberg

From Pepper to Teargas?

Does pepper spray precede teargas?  It appears that these minimum wage earning security guards had their hands full at the Smithsonian.



"We have a generation of kids waking up to the reality that their parents have not only indebted them for life, but also destroyed their current job market and prospects. Kent State might end up looking like a mild one when this one peaks.  Cutting off cell phones and internet access will really get these kids fired up! 'I want my MTV!'"
Random Roving, December 12, 2009

"One of Robert Prechter's main themes for the downward contraction is the escalation of social unrest. Along with this comes a power struggle between the government and the people.  As Americans, what should we prepare for?"
Random Roving, December 12, 2008

Occupy What?

Jimmy Kimmel might have summed up the "Occupy Movement" when he captured "Occupy Wall Street" protestors saying this, "What do we want? We're not really sure! When do we want it? Now!"

Fear and anger without any direction or leadership might not progress far.  An angry leader has to appear. Stay tuned.

Competition For 3rd Place Begins

"The next four years will be very challenging on all fronts. As I've stated before, the economic cycle is must stronger than a political party or individual politicians. The psychology of the masses will drive the direction. I believe that the Democrats will be navigating the ship through major rogue waves. At the end of that process, the party will be in shambles. At that point, the masses will be disenchanted with both parties. At 'the bottom', there will be a third party that finally gains some steam and becomes a viable competitor. That party will probably be somewhere in the middle."
Random Roving, November 8, 2008

"The coalition of thousands of anti- Wall Street protesters in New York and cities across the U.S. has the potential to grow into the 'Tea Party of the Left,' said Brayden King, who’s written on social and political movements at Northwestern University."
Source: Bloomberg

This will be fun to watch. Red vs Blue Tea Parties!

And The Next Hoffa Will Be?



Jimmy Riddle Hoffa

"The cavalry arrived in Lower Manhattan. Representatives from no fewer than 15 of the country's largest labor unions joined the Occupy Wall Street protesters for a mass rally and march today in New York City."

Source: ABC



"The cycle will likely bring unions back to strength as fear and anger 'drives the herd closer together'."

Random Roving, November 24, 2009

Who will be the "Hoffa" of this era?

That Didn't Take Long

It seemed like yesterday that I made a Putin post?!?!  He doesn't waste any time.
"One week after announcing that he will return to the presidency next year Vladimir Putin has laid out a grand vision to bring Russia's former Soviet neighbours back into the fold.  Putin proposes the formation of a 'Eurasian union', a bloc that could boost Russia's influence on the global stage. The proposal – from the man who once dubbed the Soviet Union's collapse 'the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century' – raises the spectre of the Russian prime minister's imperial designs."
Source: The Guardian

Remember, when mass social mood is focused on "fear and anger", the herd moves closer together.  Picture that herd of sheep when the wolf appears atop the hillside.

Michael Lewis On Charlie Rose

This is a fascinating interview (2nd half about Iceland, Ireland, and Greece).
http://www.charlierose.com/

Now The Prisoners?

"In a downward trending mass social mood, it's very likely that labor strikes will become very popular again. We might even see a professional sports strike in the next few years. An angry mob loves a strike and a picket line. The cycle will likely bring unions back to strength as fear and anger 'drives the herd closer together'."
Random Roving, November 24, 2009


We barely escaped the NFL.  The NBA isn't looking good.  Now the darn prisoners are striking!!
 
"A hunger strike conducted by California prison inmates has swelled to 12,000 participants, advocates for the inmates tell the Los Angeles Times."
Source: LA Times
 
Now how can we convince the prisoners to continue this strike for a really long time?

Protesting Protection

In a scenario similar to the police in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the Greek police have now decided to protest.  So who arrests the non-police protestors?

"The very people who have been charged with protecting the Greek parliament and politicians from furious crowds and who have even been criticised by Amnesty International for their heavy-handedness, the Greek police, have themselves now begun to protest EU-IMF austerity.  On Monday, police from the Special Guards unit climbed Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in Athens, to hang a giant black banner underneath the hill’s famous Chapel of St. George saying 'Pay day, day of mourning'.  Some 50 striking police officers protected the banner from police who remained in service and who had been sent to tear the banner down."
Source: EU Observer

The Onion Starts To Peel in the U.S.?

"Protesters have descended on Boston’s Financial District, setting up a tent village and decrying what they see as the economic hardships of ordinary Americans - one of several such demonstrations erupting across the country.  The group, called Occupy Boston, is inspired by Occupy Wall Street, a demonstration entering its third week in Manhattan’s Financial District that led to the arrest of 700 people Saturday on charges of blocking the Brooklyn Bridge. The effort has spread to several communities nationwide, with tens of thousands of people participating."
Source: Boston.com

I'm still dumbfounded that my 2009 post, "The Onion Peels In Argentina" has captured 17254 views representing 47% of all posts on this blog.  I've revisited the page many times, and conclude that the combination of "a picture is worth a 1000 words" and a variety of hot topics explain the popularity.

Recent news of protests in the U.S. confirm that the N. African protests are not about youth seeking democracy.  It's about a worldwide populace continuing the evolution across a new phase of the cycle where "fear and anger" are the dominant emotions.  Happy and greedy peaked in July, 1999.