While the US has been mostly focused on the Gaza situation and now the first 100 days of the new Obama administration, the world economic situation is deteriorating.
As DKos' isolani pointed out months ago, the US is making plans to deal with social disorder.
Beginning in October, the Army plans to station an active unit inside the United States for the first time to serve as an on-call federal response in times of emergency. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent thirty-five of the last sixty months in Iraq, but now the unit is training for domestic operations. The unit will soon be under the day-to-day control of US Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command. The Army Times reports this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command. The paper says the Army unit may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control. The soldiers are learning to use so-called nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals and crowds.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
China offers a blunt warning that civil unrest may break out in that country this year.
Due to deepening economic difficulties and social security problems since the second half of 2008, enterprise closedowns, layoffs and labour disputes have significantly increased, triggering a rise in mass incidents," it said.
"Economic pressures affect the sentiment of various social strata, and disadvantaged groups in particular are seeing their livelihood threatened. Their pent-up discontent could easily burst out... and spark mass conflicts."
http://news.theage.com.au/...
And England smells the doom.
Privately, something close to desperation is starting to develop inside [the UK] government. After watching the slide in bank shares on Friday, one cabinet minister did not altogether joke when he said: "The banks are fucked, we're fucked, the country's fucked."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
Lithuania / Latvia
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Iceland
http://network.nationalpost.com/...
Bulgaria
http://www.iht.com/...
Greece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
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Spain's new unemployed: And worse to come
http://www.economist.com/...
On the other side of Eurasia, the government keeps a stern hand on the tiller and prevents civil unrest by arresting a financial blogger. Because, as we all know, blogging your concerns about government policies is tantamount to treason.
South Korea's financial prophet: Paranoid seclusions
http://www.economist.com/...
From the comments, as skillet reminds us, trouble can be found a little closer to home ...
Darkening days in Juarez: Many fear Mexican city's drug violence puts nation at risk of collapse
http://www.chron.com/...