Canaries in the Coal Mine

You think Obama is going to save us? Remember, he is not a messiah that can perform magic and miracles. That job is left to us collectively. But in the meantime, let's see whether the canaries are chirping:

From Russia: The Guardian is reporting

A wave of protests swept across Russia yesterday in one of the first signs of mass discontent with the Kremlin's handling of the financial crisis.

From China: RIA Novosti is reporting

20 million Chinese workers have received "pink slips" and are headed back to the hills.

At the same time, however, groups of wealthy Chinese are treking to America to by foreclosed properties.

From Switzerland:

Wealthy attendees of The World Economic Forum were informed that the global financial crisis has destroyed 40% of the worlds wealth

.

From Great Britain:

The rich are buying gold to keep (literally) in their mattresses.

From Saudi Arabia:

Economists here are referring to the current troubles as The Greater Depression.

From USA:

Personal bankruptcies are up only 33% to 1,086,130 in 2008

.

From Brazil:

100,000 indigenous peoples and eco-socialists met in Belem for the World Social Forum to discuss alternatives to "global capitalism", and no one paid much attention

So today's trivia question: what does the canary's song sound like?