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Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
A Blog About Human Rights

offsite link UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights

offsite link 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights

offsite link Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights

offsite link Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights

offsite link Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Mar 29, 2024 00:04 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Women?s Team with Five Male Players Wins Football Competition After One Male Player ?Broke Opponent?... Thu Mar 28, 2024 19:30 | Will Jones
A women?s football competition has been branded misogynist after it was won by a team featuring five transgender players, amid accusations one had broken an opponent?s leg in two places.
The post Women’s Team with Five Male Players Wins Football Competition After One Male Player “Broke Opponent’s Leg” ? But Teams Who Refuse to Play Against Them Are Branded “Discriminatory” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Further Evidence Gaza Casualty Numbers Are Fake Thu Mar 28, 2024 17:36 | Will Jones
The evidence that the Gaza casualty numbers from the Hamas-run Health Ministry (now over 32,000) are wildly inflated continues to mount. Mark Zlochin looks at what the proportions of male and female UNRWA workers tell us.
The post Further Evidence Gaza Casualty Numbers Are Fake appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Don?t Be Fooled by the ?Britain is Growing? Fairytales Thu Mar 28, 2024 15:22 | David Craig
Don't be fooled by the 'Britain is growing' fairytales, says David Craig. Any 'growth' is accounted for by the hike in the benefits bill and in civil servants' pay and a heap of other unproductive deficit spending.
The post Don’t Be Fooled by the ‘Britain is Growing’ Fairytales appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Climate: The Movie is a Perfect Cure for Climate Anxiety Thu Mar 28, 2024 13:00 | Toby Young
Climate Change: The Movie, the new film by Martin Durkin, should be shown at every school in the country to disabuse anxious young people of the idea that we're in the midst of a 'climate emergency'.
The post Climate: The Movie is a Perfect Cure for Climate Anxiety appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Moscow attack reminds us of the links between Islamists and Kiev's fundamentalis... Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:57 | en

offsite link Failure to assist a people in danger of genocide, by Hassan Hamadé Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:32 | en

offsite link Yugoslavia March 24, 1999 The Founding War of the New Nato, by Manlio Dinucci Sun Mar 24, 2024 05:15 | en

offsite link France opposes Russian Korean-style peace project in Ukraine Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:11 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N°79 Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:40 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Congressional Hearing Examines Puerto Rico Debt Crisis

category international | economics and finance | press release author Tuesday February 02, 2016 22:02author by Greg Williams - Jubilee USA Report this post to the editors

Religious Development Group Testifies on Human Impacts

The US House of Representatives held its second hearing on Puerto Rico's debt crisis this year. The hearing focused on potential legislative solutions including bankruptcy protection and an economic oversight board.

Washington DC - The US House of Representatives held its second hearing on Puerto Rico's debt crisis this year. The hearing focused on potential legislative solutions including bankruptcy protection and an economic oversight board. At the hearing, Puerto Rico Congressperson Pedro Pierluisi announced that the Natural Resources Committee will draft legislation to address the crisis based on independent oversight and bankruptcy.

Former Washington DC mayor, Anthony Williams and Eric LeCompte, head of the religious development group Jubilee USA, were among the experts who testified to twelve Members of Congress on the Committee. "This hearing is exactly the type of attention this crisis needs," stated LeCompte. "It was a constructive conversation and now it's critical that Congress acts."

The hearing, "The Need for the Establishment of a Puerto Rico Financial Stability and Economic Growth Authority," took place in the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs within the Committee on Natural Resources. Beyond the testimony provided by former DC Mayor Williams and Jubilee Director LeCompte, statements were heard from ‎Carlos Garcia, Former Chairman and President of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico; Professor Simon Johnson, Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; and Thomas Moers Mayer, Partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, LLP.

Two pieces of legislation would grant Puerto Rico's municipal entities access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. One of those bills, introduced by Republican Sean Duffy, would also create an economic oversight board to monitor the island's finances.

"A bankruptcy process and budget transparency are both critical to a solution for Puerto Rico." LeCompte commented.

LeCompte noted the impact of self-imposed austerity on the island, including cuts to health spending as the Zika virus now spreads in Puerto Rico. Some special education teachers are now not being paid and the island may not be able to fulfill pension obligations. Puerto Rico owes $72 billion in total debt and it's debt per person ratio is six times the median average of US states.

"The situation on the island is grave," stated LeCompte, who works with religious leaders representing more than 95% of the island's population. "Austerity isn't the answer, Puerto Rico can't cut or tax its way to economic growth."

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 550 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee's mission is to build an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. www.jubileeusa.org

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