In keeping with the “eagle warrior” idea that ties in with the “supremacy” oriented theme of this trecena, the first day of this time frame (1 Men – “Eagle”) brought forth massive May Day demonstrations as hundreds of thousands of people around the globe took part in International Workers’ Day rallies in support of various human rights causes. This included major expressions of outrage in the U.S. against Arizona’s controversial new immigration law which enables officials to detain and question anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. During the evening of that 1 Men day New York City’s Times Square had to be evacuated for several hours as a bomb squad dismantled and removed components of a powerful car bomb that had been set by a lone terrorist who was later caught as he was attempting to leave the country.
In Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi, however, it was the weather that was acting as a warrior as it rained . . . and rained . . . and rained . . . leading to flash floods that submerged cars, cascaded into buildings, killed at least 29 people, displaced thousands, and even inundated The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, one of that state’s most famous structures. By 4 Etz’nab’ (May 4th) over $1 billion in damage had been done. On that 4 Etz’nab’ day Pablo Picasso re-emphasized “supremacy” in the field of art as his “Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust” painting sold for $106 million at Christie’s auction house, setting a new world art auction record.
But the battles during this time frame were far from over. On May 5th the intense “storm” oriented energies of 5 Kawak brought thousands of demonstrators into the streets of Greece as a general strike halted work throughout the country and protestors battled with riot police as they expressed their frustrations over the austerity measures that were being taken by the Greek government to deal with the financial crisis in that country. Despite the violence, during which rioters attempted to storm the parliament buildings, the austerity bill was passed the following day (6 Ajaw). A few days earlier (on 2 Kib’) the European Union had agreed to provide Greece with a $145 billion bailout loan, to be spread over three years.
As the turbulence in Greece was boiling over on that 5 Kawak day, another fierce storm was rampaging across southern China as torrential rains and savage winds (including a tornado) battered homes, uprooted trees, generated flash floods, and displaced thousands of people. At least 58 people were killed. The legacy of that energy turbulence also spilled into the following day as the U.S. stock market plunged dramatically for a brief period, setting off a major panic as billions of dollars worth of stocks disappeared for a few tense minutes during a “Flash Crash”.