Previewing US History as Collapse of Europe Continues

Uh oh...here comes more from P.I.I.G.S. (mainly the I for Italy).  The Telegraph is reporting that violent protests have erupted as a result of a 3 vote win by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he has staved off the vote of no confidence.  Central Rome is apparently on lock down.

So far this year, we have seen riots in Spain, London, Iceland, Ireland and Portugal.  I guess it's only a matter of time before we will see austerity riots in the USA because there is no chance in hell that people will willingly give up their free lunch. 

French Pension Riot Through Pictures

The Big Picture has a 40 page spread of photos with captions covering the above mentioned French riots.  And, just announced to me by AK Fan, the French Senate has passed the pension reforms for austerity that has been the hot button topic in Europe this week.  I wonder if this will increase the fervor of the riots in France? 

Are these pictures a prelude to what we may see here in the USA as Congress votes in the coming years to raise retirement ages, cut benefits, and hopefully, pay down our debts?  Ugliness indeed.