The Israeli people have joined the a Global Insurrection Against Neo-Liberal Economic Domination in a big way over the past few weeks, as tens of thousands have been protesting against “the high cost of living and wealth inequality.” This morning, a group of protesters occupied the roof of the Tel Aviv stock exchange. They are also preparing for a nation-wide strike on August 1st.

The Israeli people consistently point to inequality of wealth as a key rallying force behind the protests. Israel ranks as the 5th most unequal in wealth distribution among OECD countries…

Hello sleeping Americans, inequality of wealth is much worse here. (#OpESR, #OccupyWallStreet)

From AFP:

“Protesters scaled the building a day after the powerful Histadrut labour union threw its support behind the demonstrators, who have set up tent cities across Israel to protest the high cost of housing….

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Here’s an excerpt from Charles Hugh Smith’s excellent new book An Unconventional Guide to Investing in Troubled Times. (You can read the ebook now – more info below.)

The root causes of global financial instability cannot be wished away or “solved” with modest policy tweaks: they are systemic.

Systemic financial instability is spreading rapidly around the globe. Nobody knows the precise timing, of course, but if we consider the systemic causal forces at work, it seems the future is now: the next few months could see unstable markets gyrate wildly and unpredictably as the latent instability breaks out and plays out into the 2012-2013 time-frame.

Here are a few of the structural causal factors behind the coming global financial instability:

1) What was once considered “impossible” has been normalized to the point that truly unprecedented imbalances are now accepted as “normal.” But the normalcy is illusory.

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There is a North America-wide strategy to take away the right to mass protest. Paul Jay, from The Real News Network, discusses the crackdown on your rights with Michael Ratner, author of the new book Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in 21st-Century America. Michael is an attorney and president of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

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First a note on the use of hyperbole: People often think I’m using hyperbole when I talk about “financial terrorism,” our descent into “neo-feudalism,” the “two-Party oligarchy,” our confirmed “banana republic” status or the fact that President Obama is a “bankster puppet.” I’m aware that most people will think I’m being overly extreme, but in these extreme times, all these terms are technical descriptions of our unfortunate political reality. Career wise, I would be better off, over the short-term, if I censored this harsh reality and used more delicate language, but I’m not interested in making a career out of this, or being accepted into some status quo supporting groupthink organization. I’m here to sound the alarm. So I have much respect for people who are also speaking bold truth to power, whatever the consequences may be. Fortunately, more people are starting to speak up.

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