i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin the show in europe, where today, millions of workers have joined a general strike to protest spending cuts and tax hikes they say have deepened the region's economic crisis. spanish and portuguese workers are coordinating their strike with work stoppages under way in greece, italy, france, and belgium. in spain, one out of four workers is unemployed, and protesters say they're furious at banks being rescued by the government while ordinary people suffer. >> stop stealing and do something useful. please, do not steal from us. it is a shame. it is a shame to see how they will lead the country. >> there are some reason behind today's strike. a cuts, the situation, as far as it is concerned, the announcement that 4500 jobs will go and salaries will be cut and so on. i think we have so many reasons. >> today's strike comes as most european governments have cut pensions and benefits, while als

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. efforts to secure a ceasefire between israel and hamas continue, we host a debate. james colbert joins us, policy director for jinsa, the jewish institute for national security affairs. yousef munayyer is executive director of the jerusalem fund and its educational program, the palestine center. james colbert, we have figures, and they're changing every moment, more than 139 palestinians have been killed, five israelis have been killed, the cease-fire has not been achieved at this point. the israeli military is continuing to bombard gaza and in tel aviv, with a bomb exploding on a bus, injuring about 21 people. talk about what is happening right now. >> you're seeing an ongoing conflict hamas is raging against israel that has been going on for a very long time. it cycles up as a mass feels more emboldened by changes in egypt, changes in support from iran and other changes related to the palestinian authority. the rapidly has increased the amount of rocket fire into israel and then too