Gates of Government

As protesters converge in Greece, thousands of people in Madrid, Spain "Occupy Congress," confronting elected officials Tuesday, and at the gates of parliament-- over austerity, rising poverty, and unemployment.  Protesters speak to Democracy Now! on a video that includes clips of police/demonstrator confrontations and, in the next segment, an interview with independent journalist Maria Carrion.




More here on the police crackdown and intimidation of protesters headed towards and within Madrid-- as people accuse the right-wing government of theft of public wealth and driving the country into poverty:

 

In Greece, as thousands similarly protested austerity, in Athens, on a second day of protests, The New York Times reports

Anna Afanti, 50, a secondary school teacher, removed a surgical mask she had been wearing to ward off the tear gas to lambast Greece’s foreign creditors. “They just want to impoverish us, to bring our salaries down to the level in India and swoop in and buy everything on the cheap,” she said, referring to planned privatization.

Ms. Afanti, who traveled about 40 miles from the town of Halkida to Athens with several colleagues to attend Wednesday’s protest, said her salary had been cut by a third since the crisis hit, making it harder to care for her three children, one of whom is disabled. “I should have left this country a long time ago,” said Ms. Afanti, who teaches English and Italian literature. “Now I’m stuck here."

Courtesy of the New York Times/photographer: Angelos Tzortzinis