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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

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offsite link Stop Smearing the White Working Class as Thick Sat Aug 30, 2025 07:00 | Joanna Gray
During exam result season you'll have read headlines about what thickos the white working classes are. But this smear is based on the results of those on free school meals, i.e., the non-working classes, says Joanna Gray.
The post Stop Smearing the White Working Class as Thick appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Sat Aug 30, 2025 00:35 | Toby Young
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
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offsite link Things Have Never Been Better? Don?t Make Me Laugh Fri Aug 29, 2025 17:00 | Austin Williams
Things have never been better, proclaim the optimists despite the evidence of spiralling crime and social decay. Who are you going to believe, asks Austin Williams: Lewis Goodall and Fraser Nelson or your own lying eyes?
The post Things Have Never Been Better? Don’t Make Me Laugh appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link BREAKING: Court of Appeal Rules Epping Migrant Hotel Must Stay Open Fri Aug 29, 2025 14:37 | Will Jones
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Bell Hotel in Epping must remain open to migrants despite the apparent violation of planning law in a victory for the Government and blow to campaigners.
The post BREAKING: Court of Appeal Rules Epping Migrant Hotel Must Stay Open appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Boss of Miliband?s GB Energy Admits No One Knows What It Is Fri Aug 29, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
The ?350,000-a-year boss of Ed Miliband?s GB Energy has admitted that hardly anyone knows what the quango is or why it exists.
The post Boss of Miliband’s GB Energy Admits No One Knows What It Is appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

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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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