There's a riot goin' on
ING Commercial Banking's chief international economist, Rob Carnell, told the Czech CFA Society's Forecasting Dinner last night that one of his predictions for this year is riots. There will be fiscal retrenchment in Europe, he said, public-sector cutbacks, a nice hot summer, especially one fueled by some alcohol.... In the U.K. this has always been a great combination for riots, he said. "Not in the Czech Republic," muttered a few of the guests. "Czechs will leave instead for their cottage." In a sense, though, Czechs are already rioting. They're angry, they're cynical, they're meeting in small groups to discuss what can be done. A few hundred turned out at Prague city hall this week to call peacefully for a defenestration. Those who would be tossed out the window first are feeling the heat. Instead of repenting or retreating, though, it's almost as if they're smugly challenging the would-be defenestrators to bring it on.
Glossary of difficult words
retrenchment - (of a company, government or individual) the reduction of costs or spending in response to economic difficulty;defenestration - the action of throwing someone or something out of a window;
the heat - intensive and unwelcome pressure or criticism;
to repent - to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin;
to retreat - to change one's decisions, plans or attitude as a result of criticism from others;
smugly - in a way that shows excessive pride in oneself;
"bring it on" - a challenge to someone to carry through with a threat.