The level of violence meted out by the Empire against its opponents is clearly on the rise: from Tahrir Square in Egypt, to the many Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, to the constant saber-rattling against Iran, the Empire is clearly cracking down on its opposition.
This new trend is particularly striking in the USA.  People who have never lived in the USA or who, even more so, have never studied here, do probably not realize the amazing degree of freedom US colleges have enjoyed in the past.  Let me illustrate this by a simple example.
I got one of my college degrees from The American University in Washington, DC.  Of of the teachers at this university was a former Ambassador of Grenada to the USA, until Reagan invaded the small island to show the world that the USA was still a superpower after its Marines had just been blown up to smithereens in Beirut two days earlier.  While the USA could impose a puppet-regime in Grenada, it could do nothing to remove this (now ex-) Ambassador from American U. because, in essence, all US colleges had a semi-official status of extra-territoriality due to their academic nature.  Sure, the Reaganites hated having this Marxist ex-Ambassador speaking her mind not only on campus, but also off-campus, but there was nothing they could do about it.  That was the type of freedom US colleges enjoyed as recently as 1986.
So while the pepper-spraying of protesting students in UC Davis might not appear like a big deal to non-Americans, to those Americans old enough to remember the 1980s (or even the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960) this is an outrage which goes against everything the USA was supposed to stand for.
Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, after being
hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest.

What matters here is not that some pepper sprayed in the eyes of the students, its the clear message this sends: the time for freedom is over and now we will do what was so unthinkable even very recently.  This is why protesters are being beaten up with batons, tasered, pepper-strayed and even killed in greater and greater numbers: the regime is sending a simple and clear message to its subjects: give it up, or we will crush you.

The gloves are also off in Egypt where the torture and murder of pro-democracy demonstrators has resumed.  Amazingly, stunningly, the Egyptians have found in themselves the courage and internal resources to continue the fight.  The expression “heroic people” is, as a rule, hyperbole, but in the case of the Egyptian people it seems quite appropriate to me.
The Empire probably feels emboldened by its comprehensive success in Libya and by its hope to repeat something similar in Syria  (the counter-examples of Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia seem quickly forgotten amidst all the high-fiving and back-slapping about the “great NATO victory” in Libya).  Amazingly, the always inept and useless Arab League has learned nothing from its shameful role in the Libyan war and seems to be willing to repeat exactly the same actions against Syria.  The only good news here is that at least China and Russia seemed to be saying “no way, not again!”.  But does that really matter?  In a world were UNSC Resolutions carry no weight at all, and in which the current UNSC does not even seem be able to produce a majority in favor of a Palestinian state – does it make any difference at all what Russia or China have to say?
The bottom line is clear: both the Obama Administration and the US regime which it currently represents are clearly headed towards a dramatic increase in violent actions.  On one hand, the economies of the USA and the EU are tanking, the political elites are as hated and as openly challenged as ever while, on the other hand, brazen acts of illegal violence yield what the rules of the Empire think of as “successes”.  Add to this the upcoming elections in the USA, and a Zionist lobby gone insane with a typical mix of arrogance and paranoia, and you get an explosive cocktail.
Sadly, it appears that we must brace ourselves for a major increase in violence, both inside the USA, and internationally.   Yes, the days of this Empire are numbered, but only in the long term.  For the foreseeable future it still has a lot of “reserve capabilities of violence” to inflict on all its opponents.
The Saker