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The cat is out of the bag, says Diana Furchtgott-Roth. The vitriolic reaction to Congress?s plans to cut tax credits for renewables lays bare how 'cheap' wind and solar really are, and how subsidies are never enough.
The post The Renewable Industry’s Dirty Little Secret Has Just Been Exposed appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Britain is Turning into a Hotel for the World?s Criminals Sat Jul 05, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Britain risks becoming a hotel for?the world's criminals, warns Guy Dampier in the Telegraph, as new analysis?reveals that illegal small boat migrants are 24 times more likely to go to prison than the average Brit.
The post Britain is Turning into a Hotel for the World’s Criminals appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Germany is Not Being Honest About Who is Assaulting Children at Swimming Pools Sat Jul 05, 2025 11:00 | Eugyppius
In the last 10 years, Germany has welcomed a lot of ill-behaved young men for no discernible reason, and along the way citizens have had the dubious privilege of discovering whole new categories of crime, says Eugyppius.
The post Germany is Not Being Honest About Who is Assaulting Children at Swimming Pools appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Defunding Gavi is Good for Public Health Sat Jul 05, 2025 09:00 | Dr David Bell
The Left is in a panic over the defunding of the Gavi 'Vaccine Alliance'. But while the global vaccine industry has been lucrative, the biggest drivers of improved health are sanitation and nutrition, says Dr David Bell.
The post Defunding Gavi is Good for Public Health appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Pet Hates: Are Muslims in Britain Really Trying to Ban Dogs? Sat Jul 05, 2025 07:00 | Steven Tucker
Are British Muslims trying to ban dogs? It's a rumour that's been swirling for years ? and it's true that in Iran hardliners occasionally moot the idea. But in this case the rumour seems to be false, says Steven Tucker.
The post Pet Hates: Are Muslims in Britain Really Trying to Ban Dogs? 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

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Government Shutdown Solutions Could Leave Out Disaster Aid for Puerto Rico

category international | economics and finance | press release author Friday January 19, 2018 19:05author by Lydia C. Andrews - Jubilee USA Network Report this post to the editors

As the Senate and White House struggle to avert a government shutdown, US disaster victims from Puerto Rico to Texas worry a deal on relief and recovery aid will continue to be delayed.

As the Senate and White House struggle to avert a government shutdown, US disaster victims from Puerto Rico to Texas worry a deal on relief and recovery aid will continue to be delayed. Moody’s rating agency estimates that Puerto Rico alone needs an upwards of $90 billion in aid to rebuild.

“Congress has failed to deliver recovery and relief aid to millions of US citizens affected by natural disasters in the last year,” stated Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development group, Jubilee USA. “We are really concerned for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The islands were already dealing with high child poverty rates, developing world conditions and financial crises well before the hurricanes struck.”

In the last days of 2017, the US House of Representatives voted for an $81 billion dollar aid package for Texas, Florida, California, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The House Bill fell short of the requests made by the Governors of the affected areas. As of Friday morning, Senators were still trying to negotiate some relief aid funding for Puerto Rico.

“It’s absolutely essential that Congress moves forward a recovery package as soon as possible. Aid must be enough to fully fund Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to rebuild to withstand the next storm,” said LeCompte who met with Republican and Democratic leadership on moving forward a recovery package. Since September, LeCompte’s organization generated thousands of petitions, phone calls and e-mails to Congress and the White House to provide relief for the US Territories through a series of action alerts.

As Congress wrestles with a recovery package for the beleaguered islands, Puerto Rico’s oversight board and Governor are preparing to release a new post hurricane economic plan. Before the hurricanes hit, Puerto Rico was entangled in a congressionally crafted bankruptcy process to deal with $72 billion in debt. The new fiscal plan will state how debt will be dealt with in a post hurricane Puerto Rico.

“The new plan for Puerto Rico must address the devastation caused by the hurricane and the problems that caused the prior deterioration of the economy,” a group of notable economists reflected in an open statement they released on Friday. Signers included: Antonio Weiss, former Counselor to the US Treasury Secretary; Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz; Simon Johnson, former International Monetary Fund chief economist; Mario Marazzi Santiago of the Puerto Rican Institute of Statistics; former top United Nations adviser, Jeffrey Sachs; Jason Furman, former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; and Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council.

The economist release entitled, “A Fiscal Plan for Puerto Rico,” calls for debt relief and substantial aid for Puerto Rico. The statement comes as Congress, the White House and the Island’s Governor and oversight board make decisions around the fate of the 3.5 million US citizens who call Puerto Rico home.

“The new final fiscal plan cannot allow a penny to be paid for debt until Puerto Rico sees positive economic recovery and is fully funded to be able to rebuild to withstand the next storm,” LeCompte noted. “Beyond the significant debt relief needed, Puerto Rico needs to stop all debt payments for at least five years.”

For nearly two years before the hurricanes struck, religious groups in Puerto Rico and the United States were advocating various solutions to deal with the growing financial crisis and high poverty rates. Shortly before Christmas, religious groups gathered in a Congress building to call for relief and aid. Supporting and participating groups included the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United Church of Christ, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, Franciscan Action Network, the National Association of Evangelicals, Muslim Public Affairs Council and Islamic Relief.

During the prayer service, Puerto Rico's Archbishop Roberto González Nieves reflected, "Puerto Rico desperately needs a complete debt relief, funding for rebuilding, and equal access to Medicare, Medicaid and child tax benefit funding. [...] Today we pray with the persistence and tenacity of the widow of the gospel; we pray full of hope that the miracle of compassion, openness toward and solidarity with Puerto Rico may come true."

Related Link: http://www.jubileeusa.org/government_shutdown_fails_puerto_rico_economists_call_for_debt_relief
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