involved in a multinational journals trying to gain their government's austerity policies with spain portugal greece and italy at the forefront of the protests. meanwhile the cries of the growing unemployment in the e.u. for snowboards and why it works to search for a better life unknown member countries that managed to avert economic turmoil. ending you know founded seaward rebel blog gets its first official recognition on the west front the promise which also made it clear that supplying the opposition with weapons isn't too far away. news from russia and around the world this is actually with me hello and welcome to the program millions of european workers have united against austerity measures as a mega strike kicked off in debt ridden spain portugal greece and italy their message will be supported in other e.u. states as protests are expected all across the continent and on the eve of a day of action there were fierce clashes between factory workers and wives police in italy some of denia in spain portugal the start of this tripe was marred by angry crowds taken to of treats resulting in a numb

involved in a multinational general strike against their government as terrorists a policy with spain portugal greece and italy at the forefront of the protests. the crisis and growing unemployment in the locals and my words the search for better life a nonmember countries that managed to avert economic turmoil. and the need of founded fear and rubble blog get the first official recognition in the west from the bronx we're told so make it clear that blind the opposition with weapons isn't far away. and you saw in russia and around the world this is with me hello and welcome to the program millions of european workers have united against austerity measures as a mega strike kicked off in debt ridden spain portugal greece and italy that message will be supported in other states as protests are expected all across the continent on the eve of a day of action there were fierce clashes between factory workers and riot police and italy's song denia in spain and portugal the start of the strife was marked by angry crowds taking to the streets resulting in a number of arrests while the e.u. population is strug

embark on a multinational general strike against their governments us teresa palmer says with spain portugal greece and italy at the forefront of the protests. meanwhile the prices and while the unemployment in the eview force locals and migrants to search for a better life the norm member countries that managed to of that economic turmoil. in. the new founded fear and rebel blow get the last official recognition in the west from france which also made it clear the blind opposition with weapons isn't far away. international news live from moscow this is aussie with me hello and welcome to the program millions of european workers have united against austerity measures as a mega strike kicked off in debt ridden spain portugal greece and italy that message will be supported in other states as protests are expected all across the continent on the eve of the dab auction there were fierce clashes between factory workers and one explicitly said they sardinia in spain portugal the start of the strikers not by angry crowds taken to the streets resulting in a number of arrests and while the e.u. population i

embark on a multi national general strike against our government's austerity policies with spain portugal greece and italy at the forefront of the protests. meanwhile the crisis and growing unemployment in the e.u. feel slogans and my brains to search for a better life a new member countries that monisha of economic turmoil. and new founded seaward rebel blog gets its first official recognition on the west front from the sun we're told so many peer supplying the opposition with weapons isn't the way. international news and comment live from moscow this is all she with me you know i should paula hello and welcome to the program millions of european workers have united against austerity measures as a mega strike kicked off in debt ridden spain portugal greece and italy that message will be supported it are they use days as protests are expected all across the continent and on the eve of the day of action there were serious clashes between fuck true workers and whites police in italy some denia in spain and portugal the start of the strike was marred by angry crowds taken to the trades resulting in

workers in spain, portugal, greece, and italy went out on strike. gary hewitt reports. >> hundred of thousands packed madrid to protest austerity. it throws down a challenge not just to the spanish government but to europe's leaders. protesters are trying to enforce a general strike by blocking roads. there were clashes with police, but protests were part of a europe-wide action with hundreds of thousands of people striking against spending cuts and austerity. >> all the cuts are bringing more unemployment. >> in madrid, protesters would from stall to stall, shutting -- pulling down shutters, turning on those using restaurants, surrounding taxi drivers but continued working. there are some basic facts driving the process. spain is in recession for the second time in three years. unemployment is still going out. the economy is weakening, yet further tax increases are in the pipeline. >> there were protests in at least six european countries today. much of the transport was shut down in a country where unemployment is nearly 26%. in portugal there was

strike kicks off and written spain portugal greece and italy that message will be supported in of the e.u. states as protests are expected all across the continent life not to want to serve in madrid latest update on this hello to you sara today strike has been dubbed historic millions of europeans united in coordinating protests against austerity i dare off the question what can we expect. well the strike starting early today here in the trade we're in the center and you can see behind me the police cars already lining the streets we got a police helicopter overhead we're already getting figures in that being a number of arrests soon around food plus arrests already made today here in the trade of course is not just spain the striking today is portugal we've got greece we've got it's really all getting involved in this movement and a number of other countries as well belgium cyprus molton the united kingdom are also you going to be having various demonstrations throughout the day rallying around this one message and that is no new tool stereotype and now we've been covering the story

workers have united against austerity measures as a mega strike kicked off in debt ridden spain portugal greece and italy the most which will be supported in other days as protests are expected all across the continent on the eve of a day of action there were fierce clashes between factory workers and why i suppose that italy sardinia in spain and portugal the start of the strike was marred by angry crowds taking to the streets resulting in a number of arrests and while the e.u. population are struggling to make it on tuesday or to message heard some of managing to flee the turmoil and find a safe haven outside the union but still on the continent autism riffing off work. and also charity house anyone in need is welcome here in the queue for food traditionally immigrants from somalia under many years and this is new some europeans as well. who are in father of three came here from spain eleven months ago after he lost his job and gained doubts instead you do need. when i put out there i came here with hope i was forced to leave spain due to the economic crisis and bank recession here i work and

sturdy measures triggered general strikes and some of europe's hardest hit countries with spain portugal greece and italy holding a day of action in solidarity. three international space station crew members have successfully returned to earth after four months and space r.t. schon thomas followed the touchdown for. but i can say that i'm a zero five am has landed safely and it has brought with it the s.s. expedition thirty three crew with them sunny williams from the usa. from japan and europe go from russia now you know making it from space to earth is an exact science but it's never routine in fact let me tell you a little bit about what happened the undocked about two twenty six am moscow time fire the rockets at four fifty eight which brought in nearly just under an hour long process of fall to the earth through the atmosphere from about sixty three miles in the earth's surface in a rare pre-dawn in the dark landing in the cosmic sun. where it's extremely cold and there is snow on the ground and that landing happened at about five fifty three moscow time now what happens is when that capsu

a sturdy measures triggered general strikes in some of you were hardest hit countries with spain portugal greece and italy holding a day of action and solidarity. the u.s. is still reeling from a series of scandals that shook america's the fans establishment brought one of its most famous generals former cia chief the tress down the case the first look like just an extramarital affair between two people is now more about issues of national security lieutenant colonel john cook who served in afghanistan for several years believes petra's should have resigned a lot earlier over his failure in the afghan campaign. there's a lot of discussions going on that to tommy a suspect and that it was all done for political purposes we still have the unanswered questions of the benghazi issue but as far as his relationship with miss broadwell i give him much lower marks for his actions in combat than i do in in the bedroom he should have and when his counterinsurgency strategy failed to produce results some comes take military leaders and we build a very nice resume for them and it catches on and everybody st

a sturdy measures triggered general strikes in some of europe's hardest hit countries with spain portugal greece and italy holding a day of action and solidarity. or shortly after a short break r.t. special report of how gold hunters dream turns into a living hell. sigrid lumber tour. was easy to build in its most sophisticated rowboat which on fortunately doesn't do the doing about anything tunes mission to teach me. is why you should care only. you know. and realize. i'm. all. right you know. but. you can. only do it. only if they could still change your. ask. ask. people. how much they care about the women of afghanistan it's not true they don't care about the women of afghanistan. to. so. well our father. is the head of our family. our parents have five daughters and four sons they are tile a chimera elmira from an hour to an hour. and coach hamburg journey. and. my brother a kill me is go on a is not with us anymore. back is thirty two his name means golden in the curious language as the youngest son in the family of gold mine as tradition demands that he must live in his parents' house but

of more than 60% was registered in arrivals from struggling eurozone countries including spain, portugal, and greece. >> germany's second-biggest airline says its profits rose in the last quarter, but analysts are saying it is not enough to stave off a wave of job cuts. >> earnings for july to september grooved by 4.5% to just over 100 million euros before tax. that will reduce air berlin's overall losses for the year. the company is undergoing psignificant restructuring and says it is on track to return profits in 2013, but high fuel costs and a poor economic environment continued to weigh on profits. air berlin is not alone in going through some turbulence. this is not a great time for europe's airlines. >> many are struggling to stay in business. here's a look at the litany of problems they face. >> scandinavian airline sas is fighting for survival. the carrier has not turned a profit in five years. it is not alone. just last week, spain's flagship carrier said it would cut nearly a quarter of its work force in an effort to remain competitive. sas alone plans to cut more than 1/3 of its 15,000 em

austerity on those we are helping to bail out, how do we guarantee that we can finance greece, may be spain, may be portugal again, may be italy -- maybe greece, maybe spain, maybe portugal again, maybe italy? both firms saying there is no alternative, and they must impose restrictions and cutbacks if they are expected to provide billions in bailouts to countries such as greece. >> where is the debate then on member states? angela merkel is the leader who is most associated with austerity as a policy. francoise hollande in france came to power on a wave of anti- austerity. where is the debate? >> francois hollande gave a long interview to a newspaper only last month, saying that the traditional franco-german motor driving the european union is set to stall because of these deep divisions over what to do, but even he -- even francoise hollande, if you look at him, he is imposing austerity measures in france as well. christine lagarde at the intenational monetary fund would say that the idea is for creditors to take a hit so ordinary workers do not have to suffer too much, but it is a horrible balancing act.

the latest walkouts in spain, portugal and greece caused flight delays, shut down manufacturing plantsnd slowed traffic at retailers. union employees are protesting government budget cuts to healthcare, education, and pensions, while taxes are going up and so is unemployment. the number of union workers participating in the largest walkout this year is reported at 80%. critics say it's not likely to have an effect on goverment officials who are making the cuts. the fda is seeking more power from congress. following a recent outbreak of meningitis, the fda is asking lawmakers for the power to inspect pharmacies that re-combine drugs to meet special needs of specific patients under a doctor's prescription. it's called "drug compounding" and is a practice overseen primarily by state regulators. 32 people died of meningitis after receiving tainted shots. a week before thanksgiving, an animal activist group is accusing the nation's largest producer of turkey meat of abuse and neglect of live turkeys. according to mercy for animals, undercover investigators at butterball spotted employees th

of strikes and protest against government austerity programs in europe sweeping across spain, portugal, and greeceay. labor unions have called those protests and other than as the largest since the start of the will or recession of 2008. but many economists say it will likely have no political impact says union members have become an increasingly small minority of european workers. the convent overall is suffering from purchased fatigued. the country can avoid its own fiscal cliff, with the only solution is to raise taxes on americans and businesses earning over $250,000 per year. a group of top ceos, they were encouraged. my next guest says rising tax rates will stifle business growth and cost jobs. good to have you with us. >> good to be here. lou: this president wants new taxes. that is a heck of an initial bargaining position. >> the president talks about tax rates. he wants tax rate increases, and the converse tht into dollars. the real question is can you raise tax revenue? the only way we will raise a teeseven of revenue is private sector growth, and you're not going-private sector grow

protests are taking place in spain, greece, portugal, and italy. more action is planned in some of the eastern european union states. in madrid, hundreds of flights have been canceled, doesn't have been arrested after scuffles with police early this morning. our correspondents are following these. good to see you all. let's start with you, chris, in lisbon. what is happening there? >> the streets are fairly quiet, partly because most public transport has been shut down. a lot of the flights here have been cancelled as well. most schools are closed and so are a lot of public offices. we have not seen many demonstrations so far, although we spoke to some union members who had been picketing from the early morning hours this morning. they feel that the mood is beginning to change. for a long time there had been this acceptance that austerity was necessary and that changes had to come, but now the feeling that it has gone too far and is being done too fast, that not many people can take the source of austerity much longer. a lot of people are still goi

least the developed countries are the top countries in europe worst or best of the streets in greece spain portugal and italy to protest the relentless austerity measures being shoved down their throats by conservative technocrats in spain where austerity has pushed the unemployment rate to a european high of twenty five percent major trade unions walked off the job grounding flights and grinding public transportation to a halt similar labor actions took place in greece where parliament recently passed another new round of austerity measures even in france where socialist president francois hollande has attempted to makes more progress of policies in with austerity more than one hundred thirty demonstrations were held today by labor unions that argue austerity policies threaten the european social model this is the first time since the start of the eurozone debt crisis several years ago that we've seen labor organizing crossing borders to bring about cot and wide protests against us. so could this be the turning point when the power of organized people finally overcomes the power of organized banks

. >> weather it is greece, spain, portugal, or italy, eurozone crisis countries have had credit ratings consistently downgraded by the major ratings agencies. a lower credit rating usually means countries have to pay higher interest on any loans they take out. they can also cause turbulence in financial markets. the european union has introduced new rules to limit their effect. other agencies will have to publish their ratings outside of stock exchange opening hours. i also have to disclose the criteria by which they make decisions, and the rules should make it easier for agencies to be sued if they have made errors when reading a country's credit worthiness. new rules should come into force early next year. critics say the report -- the reform is not a big break through and will do little to change the way agencies behave. >> so how did the markets react to that news? our correspondence sent us this update from frankfurt. >> normally, investors of the financial markets are not very keen on more control and regulations, but in this case, a little bit more regulation for rating agencies

of course that's particularly intense in countries like spain and portugal and greece. and coming more so in italy. but at the same time, there's really, about if you look at labor market developments, you can see rate growth is running at about 1.5%. if you take core inflation but you strip out the effects of indirect taxes and government driven price rises, then that's rallying at around 1.4% at the moment. so the ecb really doesn't have to be concerned about inflation pressures. but of course what the ecb would like to do is do the omt, the big problem you've really got in the euro area is the asymmetry still of the monetary policy. so you could say that what i've said is an argument for the ecb doing outright qe, but i think what the ecb wants to do is the omt. it wants to get out there buying the debt of spain, potentially that of italy, as well. >> and perhaps this will open the door for that kind of action. julian callow, thanks very much. you'll stay with us for a couple more minutes. >> plenty to come on on today's show. this week's leadership transition in chi

spain, portugal, italy, greece, belgium.he protesters to the streets today? reporter: they are saying enough is enough. this is the first time we have seen european protest. it does up the ante. it has caused headaches for people all across europe. hundreds of flights have been canceled. businesses are closed, nurses are on strike. it depends on how badly people have affected. spain win after greece, they are in real trouble. the biggest country on the continent is one in four people are out of work. some felt that their situations was to precarious. many of them wore orange wristbands to show solidarity. some did not want to close altogether. strikers went past and the voice of the mob in a game of cat and mouse. in italy, demonstrations up and down the country, tensions are one of the biggest issues in that country. in many cases, retirement age has gone from 62 up to 67, and in some cases, 69 years old. young young people are suffering in their own way in italy. one in three are out of work. bill: it is quite remarkable.

there is a big anger everywhere critic rex from spain to portugal to greece, italy, belgium and france -- a general strike sweeps across europe. millions of protest spending cuts and tax hikes they say of deepened the region's economic crisis. we will get an update from spain, where one out of four workers is unemployed. then the scandal that brought down cia director david petraeus spreads to the top commander in afghanistan. >> the president has put on hold general allen's nomination pending the investigation of his conduct by the department of defense. >> we will be joined by writer glenn greenwald, now of "the guardian." he says the stars of the national security establishment are being devoured by out of control surveillance. then noam chomsky visits gaza. >> it is kind of amazing and inspiring to see people managing somehow to survive, essentially as caged animals, subjected to constant random, says district -- sadistic punishment only to humiliate them. all of that and more coming up. >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. presi

why are the working people of greece portugal spain and italy suffering under austerity and being asked to sacrifice their pensions their wages and their jobs but after five years it's clear these policies are only making these nations debts even harder to pale it's because goldman sachs is sucking the last remaining wealth out of those nations to recoup whatever failed investments they made before the crash why have thousands of homeowners in the united states turn to suicide domestic violence and even mass murder when faced with home foreclosures when a simple solution like rewriting mortgages which f.d.r. did successfully during the great depression could put an end to the bloodshed in the misery it's because rewriting mortgages would force banks like goldman sachs to take a hit and thanks to the game they've created they actually make more money when a home they own is foreclosed on why despite mountains of evidence and banks there's a goldman sachs and other wall street institutions not been thrown in jail for the fraud in customers manipulating libel or interest rates and throwing

is recreate the european union i mean stop supporting some of the other economies such as greece portugal spain italy and you know kind of regroup and recreate near kenya in order for the european union generally and france this typically to reset itself the economy and the people are going to suffer or there will be significant shocks to their comfort to their pocketbooks to their households there will be a combination of both economic measures and austerity measures and needs seen across the european union and understandably so you know most citizens aren't ok with that so i do think we will start the war protests across france. and while europeans are bearing the brunt of biting austerity measures the main financial institutions institutions seems to be splashing out the european central bank is spending over a billion dollars building an ambitious double tower skyscraper for its headquarters but as the f.a. notional reports are so ready become a symbol of the ease didn't feature. at a time when many europeans are unable to pay their mortgages and are kicked out of their homes and spain's fo

do is recreate the european union i mean stats cording some of the other economies such as greece portugal spain italy and you know kind of regroup and recreate european union in order for the european union generally and france italy to respect it so the economy and people are going to suffer there will be significant shocks to their comfort to their pocketbooks to their households there will be a combination of both economic necessary and austerity measures and to meet seen across the european union and understandably so no you know was the distance ourselves paved with that so i do think we will there be war protests across france . because report up next. which is slow often enough and knows that to ride a horse you've got to catch it first. for him it's a daily routine that you're soft as a horse breeder on the island of a horn at the heart of. his life on an isolated farm is about blue sky green grass and his horses were there sometimes it gets lonely here but horses have become part of me now i've fallen off so many times sometimes they'd bite as well it's part of my everyday life. i holm

is turning around to countries such as italy greece and spain portugal and ireland saying oh you have to reduce your public expenditure whilst at the same time the european union is actually asking for more money to spend really these conflicts are ultimately inevitable when of course you have so many different competing interests and most are really reaching agreement will be very difficult playing into a lot of it as well isn't it robert your organization of course is against e.u. integration and do you truly believe that member states will be better off on their own. yeah most certainly do if countries had whites to manage their own economies as they see fit then we wouldn't have this awful austerity that we're seeing we would have had these unsustainable booms which happened in southern europe and arland in the earlier part of the century and of course we wouldn't have this enormous bust which is creating massive unemployment if their countries had their own wives to manage their own affairs and set their own legislation to their own interest rates many german economies as they se

motor loads and loads of different movements plays a big main that later the country is a portugal greece italy and spain where we've really seen the most people turning out all rallying around that single message and that is to a stereotype and this is the first time we've really thing this protest movement called food is really that is quite significant and look at the faces pick out the people that you see in the crowds did a timed out today because it's always very striking through the euro crisis with these movements that it's so you all encompassing it's the young it's the old it's families it really feels like this is affected oh all levels of society and these countries and as we said you know as the euro crisis is going on we see people getting increasingly desperate and for the first time today we see them joining forces to really have the home not message under what about the protests in the the rest of europe today even sooner. what we see in these movements all across europe to varying levels of some clashes breaking out in lisbon as well as he says some clashes here in spain ali i think it'

workers in spain, portugal, italy, and greece are holding the nation's first cross-border anti-austerity protest today. >> looking to raise as much as 3.5 billion euros. >> cisco's ceo john chambers sounds a cautiously optimistic note about the state of the u.s. and global economy. >> we've had a jump in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the uk. the wider jobless has fallen another 43,000. the rate 7.8%. that's actually a decline in that broader unemployment rate to 7.9. the total number of those employed has risen by 100,000 to 29,576,000. i think there's a record number of people employed in the uk. average weekly earnings up one point through to september, weaker than the 1.9. if you've got cpi -- sorry, rpi running well over 3%, the annual rate, what you're getting is that squeeze on real wages continuing. >> and what's interesting, i just was going back to look, these figures are so similar to the u.s. we see average earnings growth at about 1.8% year on year. the unemployment rate in the u.s., 7.9%. britain is actually a touch better. it goes to show that the f

are forming these definitions say that safe investments are government bonds maybe in greece and portugal and spain but definitely the u.s. the u.k. germany etc so it sounds like there are a number of tailwinds for u.s. government debt do you expect treasury yields to just continue to have really low record lows that are being set next year in two thousand and thirteen and also is there any element of this that you think is intentional. to your first question i think it's going to help keep you down somewhat we can't say for sure that there's not going to be some cataclysmic event that's going to precipitate flight out of the dollar or scare out of especially longer term bonds of the u.s. but in the lower tenors say definitely t. bills and maybe up to two three five years these bonds are definitely going to have . some support from all these new measures that are coming into play and as to the second part of your question it's difficult for me at least to think that some of this is an intentional if you look at japan and i know the west has looked at japan for years they have this incredible debt t

low you are allowing cheaper money everywhere and you know the problem with spain and now portugal and of course italy and greece there's six percent plus treasury rates are killing them they can't pay that debt now but it's not a sinner but a cheer for a change an optimistic note hala great in sort of pop freakonomics dot com thanks pete on the program they are quite welcome kevin pleasure right ok let's talk business not no much cheering for in the u.k. you paying for gas is a bit of a scandal or a citizen to rumble over them scandals taken it too far but there's a there's a complaint about the way the gas companies are charging when you go for it well basically regulators right now have discovered that there was at least one case when trading in gas prices was very artificial and that was on the day which ended the energy year for gas prices and when the index for the next year is being set so this could lead them to think that happening all over all over the place every day and so have the in my program just for a great. i don't welcome to the business news on r.t. russia has come one step closer to developi

and the crisis-hit countries are expected to fare even worse -- spain's gdp is expected to shrink by 1.4%. portugal's by 1.8%. greece's by a massive 4.5%. the report predicts the gdp of the eurozone as a whole will shrink by 4%, but it says germany is unlikely to fall into recession thanks to robust demand on the domestic market. >> to the markets now and the greek rescue package encouraged investors this tuesday. our correspondent sent us this update from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the stock market's, nobody really thought that the euro group would send greece into bankruptcy, but in the end, investors, of course, appreciated this new rescue package for athens. it gives time to breathe, as people were saying here, and it has set a better mood here in the share market, especially banking shares have been on the recommended lists so far. investors are saying that banks take profits out of this rescue package if the politics are able to stabilize the political environment. this also helps the financial community. >> and a quick look at the market numbers now -- the dax closed 0.5% up. euro stoxx 50 closing just sl

you know this is really a euro wide problem in a couple of days we're going to see portugal joined by greece joined by spain joined by a number of other. and she's killed in a euro white general strike remember back you know so again this is very much pastis just a greek problem they were the ones they needed sorting out german chancellor angela merkel she was very much tougher these southern european countries were not she's doing the rounds we saw her in greece a month ago met with wide public discontent and again today in portugal that she was expecting a warmer welcome and she certainly hasn't got the one that the anger that we've seen here today in portugal absolutely mirroring what with things happening all across europe at the moment you know travel across europe for you for euro talking going to brussels today as well as. these billion dollar bailout the talks continue here all eyes are going to be on that meeting today of of course top of that list is going to be great is going to be getting that next tranche of money it's actually quite embarrassing for the greek government of the moment that's be

southern europe we see things coming to a standstill in spain and portugal other protests and demonstrations strikes coordinated strikes in italy belgium greece and elsewhere here in britain we're not in gauging in strike action but the first time we are taking protest action in solidarity with the trade union movements across europe this is a real sea change for the movement the trade union movement here in britain but also across europe and it's because people are realizing that if we are to turn back this devastating tide of terrible and useless cuts which are devastating people's lives then we have to take collective action ourselves as ordinary people as trade unionists as an employed pensioners we have to say that there are other economic policies available that will not only devastation and it's time for our leaders our political leaders our economists and bankers to change their policy austerity is not. what you say you say there are other options to try and quell the austerity what are those options was apparently the politicians have no idea. well they have to look for example to the united states a different type of economic approa

there will be some of that because we're seeing deals with spain and with greece we saw deals with ireland and portugalall of that does respond to those feelings of cultural difference but i think in the long run the whole goal of the euro. is to minimize the impact of those cultural differences on people's standard of living and on their financial environment a couple of questions arise right away talking a little bit more on cultural differences yes we see different european leaders work on a common solution to save the year or to save the unity of the european union but still it seems so heart to find an agreement is specially if we see how germany is reacting to greece and how the u.k. is opposing the e.u. financial policies for example so is it lack of trust or is it yet once again the cultural differences that really come in the way of their finding the common solution there are cultural differences but they're not just european national differences if that was the only issue then the united states as one nation would be able to solve its policy problems by agreeing on a solution as you know the