Jan 4, 2003

As a New Year dawns the World Federation of Trade Unions conveys Its good wishes and solidarity greetings to working people the world over, their trade unions and all the men, women and children of our planet who aspire for a better life in peace, friendship and international cooperation for social progress.

As 2002 ended, so did the People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo Fund Drive. We’re still totaling up the amounts as the last of the money comes into the office. But we can already see that this year our readers re-committed themselves to supporting this paper in a new way.

Well here we are once again, at the end of my 26th year behind these prison walls. As I reflect back on this past year I am amazed to see all the legal motion that is now happening in my case. After Clinton walked out on us in 2001, I almost felt that I didn’t have any avenues of redress left and I wasn’t sure if the campaign for my freedom could continue.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts – Luis Fernándes empezó a interesarse por cuestiones de cambio social cuando era estudiante universitario en la Universidad Georgetown en Washington. Ahora él es parte del equipo de transición para el nuevo gobierno del presidente electo Luis Inacio da Silva, mejor conocido como Lula, en Brasil.

Puede ser que George W. Bush esperaba que no tendría obstáculos para promover su agenda derechista de guerra y obsequios para los rico al ganar ambas cámaras del Congreso en las elecciones del noviembre 5.

Henry Kissinger’s abrupt resignation from the panel assigned to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks was greeted by families of the over 3,000 victims who died. But even so they expressed anger that he put his clients’ secrecy ahead of uncovering truth in the worst terrrorist attack in U.S. history.

The following is a New Year greeting from Ramon Labañino Salazar, one of the Cuban Five.


We would like to let you know how grateful we are, for all the beautiful and outstanding jobs you are doing in this battle for our freedom. Please, receive in this letter, the expression of our highest gratitude and love.

Editorial commentary


George W. Bush must have expected clear sailing for his right-wing agenda of war abroad and giveaways to the rich when the Republicans regained majority control of the U.S. Senate and added to their majority in the House in the Nov. 5 elections.

AHMDABAD, Gujarat – “The BJP’s victory is a setback for the cause of secular democracy,” said D. Raja, leader of the Communist Party of India. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 127 seats, gaining control of two-thirds of the 182-seat assembly in Gujarat, where thousands of people died in 2002 in the worst Hindu-Muslim violence in a decade.

Speculation has been rampant over why President Bush gave the boot to Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. We are told that O’Neill had to go because his shoot-from-the-hip remarks antagonized key members of Congress and the powers that be on Wall Street. Others speculated that the blood-letting was more show than go and was undertaken as part of Bush’s 2004 reelection strategy meant to show that he is, after all, concerned about the economy.