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Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link Ukraine Buys Huge Amounts of Russian Fue... Fri Jan 20, 2023 08:34 | Antonia Kotseva

offsite link Turkey Has Sent Ukraine Cluster Munition... Thu Jan 12, 2023 00:26 | Jack Detsch

offsite link New Israeli Government Promises to Talk ... Tue Jan 10, 2023 21:13 | Al Majadeen

offsite link Russia Training Iranian Pilots Ahead of ... Tue Jan 10, 2023 15:19 | The Times of Israel

offsite link Lukashenko Abolishes Copyright Protectio... Tue Jan 10, 2023 15:05 | Nikki Main

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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 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.

offsite link The WHO?s Plot to Seize Power Over Nation States in Future Pandemics Must Be Stopped Thu Mar 28, 2024 11:12 | Will Jones
The World Health Organisation is gearing up to persuade the world's governments to sign a new pandemic treaty that would allow the unelected body to seize power over nation states in future pandemics, warns Matt Ridley.
The post The WHO’s Plot to Seize Power Over Nation States in Future Pandemics Must Be Stopped appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Easter Quiz: Why Are White Things So White? Thu Mar 28, 2024 09:00 | Steven Tucker
It's hard to tell the difference these days between genuine news stories relating to 'anti-racist' ? or, more realistically, anti-white ? ideas and the spoofs and fakes. Pit your wits against our Easter quiz.
The post Easter Quiz: Why Are White Things So White? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Record Ozone ?Holes? Reported Despite 35-Year CFC Ban Thu Mar 28, 2024 07:00 | Chris Morrison
The ozone hole scare of the 1980s and the banning of CFCs was the template for the subsequent alarm promoting Net Zero. Yet the ozone hole is now back as large as ever, even after a 35-year CFC ban.
The post Record Ozone “Holes” Reported Despite 35-Year CFC Ban appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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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 >>

79 Religious and Development Institutions Join SCOTUS Filing in Argentina/NML Capital Case

category international | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis author Tuesday March 25, 2014 17:27author by Arielle Retrosi Report this post to the editors

Jubilee USA Network, a religious anti-poverty coalition, along with 78 other religious and development groups filed with the US Supreme Court in the case between Argentina and NML Capital

The Amicus Curiae brief takes the side of Argentina because the precedent of the case impacts predatory behavior on vulnerable populations. The friend-of-the-court brief argues that the case will have a detrimental impact on the poor, undo bipartisan United States debt policy and cause global financial instability. Filers joining Jubilee USA include: American Jewish World Service, Church World Service, Action Aid USA, numerous synagogues and churches across the US and a deluge of Catholic religious orders of nuns and priests. Read the full list of the 79 groups and Jubilee USA's Amicus Curiae.

"At the end of the day, this case is about a precedent that could expose developing economies to extreme predatory behavior," noted Kent Spriggs the attorney representing the 79 groups "The Supreme Court's decision will affirm or harm current bipartisan US debt policy."

The Supreme Court would likely decide by the summer whether or not it will actually hear the case. The case goes back to 2001, when Argentina defaulted on roughly $81 billion in debt. Multiple hedge funds purchased debt for pennies on the dollar. These hedge funds are called "vulture" funds because they prey on countries in financial distress and target assets that benefit poor populations. The nearly 93% of bondholders who restructured their debts with Argentina have seen the value of their bonds increase. The holdout hedge funds that are suing Argentina refused the deal several times and have instead sued for the full amount of the debt they purchased.

The Amicus brief quotes expert economists and lawyers, the International Monetary Fund, studies on debt, Adam Smith, Pope John Paul II and scriptures holy to Christians and Jews. "Our Supreme Court brief starts like a prayer, becomes a doctoral thesis summary and ends like a sermon," said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. "This case will impact millions of poor people around the world and they deserve a hearing."

In addition to Jubilee USA and its partners, Brazil, Mexico, France and Nobel Laureate and former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz have announced their intention to file on behalf of Argentina. In addition to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank has strongly criticized the behavior of these hedge funds, and the United States government has sided with Argentina in a related case before the Supreme Court. The international consensus against this behavior mirrors the bipartisan consensus around the very debt relief policy threatened by the actions of these predatory funds.

The brief powerfully examines the impacts of the case on future debt restructurings, poverty and the international financial system. The following are quotes pulled out from Jubilee USA Network's friend-of-the-court brief as submitted for filing:

"Because using law to dispossess the poor for the pleasure of the powerful offends not only the sense of justice embodied in United States policy, but the even more ancient principles of biblical justice revealed in the scriptures of our faiths, we respectfully submit this amicus curiae brief requesting that the Court accept certiorari."
"The opinion...now threatens to unravel United States debt relief policy and undo much of the progress made on behalf of the poor."
"The presence of even a single holdout can deter otherwise cooperative creditors from agreeing to restructure a country's debt...the...decision below would make holding out and suing...the most rational strategy for creditors."
"Allowing the decision below to stand would...equip financial companies that prey on the poorest nations and people of the world with a game-changing legal precedent to accelerate their predation."
"If allowed to stand, the decision in this case...has the potential to generate systemic risks in the international system."
"Upholding the decision...would harm or frustrate numerous established policies of the United States...[that] began during the Bush administration and have been continued by the Obama administration."

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