May Day doesn’t get any respect in the U.S. which prefers to ignore the day. But, rumblings around the world, mostly in opposition to the mindless imposition of austerity, are on the menu — and makes one think that it’s about time the streets heated up in the same way in the U.S., not just in one Occupy Wall Street square but far more broadly.

The rumblings:

As workers around the world observed the international Labor Day holiday with demonstrations and rallies, thousands of Greeks walked off their jobs on Wednesday in the second general strike against government austerity measures this year, shutting down tax offices, leaving state hospitals to operate with emergency employees and disrupting public transportation.

The Greek protest came as workers in Asia, including Bangladeshis infuriated by the lethal collapse of a garment factory, demonstrated in cities including the capitals of Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In Istanbul, riot police officers sprayed throngs of people with water and tear gas as they gathered for a rally, defying an official ban.

More needed.