May 13, 2006

Protest rallies and marches have rocked Puerto Rico since May Day, when the government closed down 43 agencies, throwing 95,000 people out of work due to a budget shortfall of $738 million. More workers have been added to the unemployment lines as three municipalities have closed down completely and another 12 have laid off workers because they haven’t received monies due them by the central government in San Juan.

WASHINGTON — Peace organizations hailed Senate enactment May 3 of an amendment by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) that cuts off funds for construction of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq while affirming that the U.S. does not seek “control over the oil infrastructure or oil resources of Iraq.”

ST. LOUIS — The Missouri/Kansas Friends of the People’s Weekly World held their 14th annual Hershel Walker Peace and Justice Awards Breakfast here April 29, educating listeners about Venezuela and raising $3,000 for the PWW fund drive in the process.

Under the pretense of doing something about gas prices, President Bush and Republican leaders in Congress are seeking to gut the nation’s 30-year-old system for mandating fuel efficiency of cars and trucks.

In the midst of the muddy controversies surrounding the U.S.-Iran nuclear crisis lies a larger struggle for control of the greater Middle East and Central Asian region.

When the Senate adjourned without acting on immigration legislation on April 7, the so-called Hagel-Martinez compromise bill was left hanging. Some supporters of immigrant rights saw this as a setback.

NEW YORK — Roger Toussaint, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, was released from jail on the morning of April 28 after serving less than five days of a 10-day sentence for violating the anti-strike provisions of New York state’s Taylor Law.

Four years ago, the federal government arrested Zacarias Moussaoui, 37, for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There were plenty of twists and turns in the trial, including delays caused by federal attorneys’ misconduct in coaching witnesses.