I agree with Z, we just feel like it because we are looking out more for this type of news. Combine that we all those crazies who think they know exactly when moshaich is coming and how they predict that he will come in that current year…every year without fail…and well you definitely get the hype building up in you to think that this year is different.
Fact is the same as always, when bad things happen to us it’s because we are being increasingly worse as a whole. Add in the fact that we are losing so many gedolim (which is actually a sign for moshiach) and soon our level plummets even further. We have only a couple of thousand jews in the entire world that truly can call themselves tzaddikim…out of the 15 or so million jews. It’s no wonder that things seem like they are getting worse and worse…