Blog the Debt

What Are You Doing for the Next 40 Days? Join the Fast!

Post By monét cooper | Jubilee USA Staff

It’s been a busy couple of weeks as we prep for the Cancel Debt Fast, which is scheduled to launch Thursday, Sept. 6…only a few days away.

In lieu of our wonderfully incisive updates, all we have in us today is enough energy to list the highlights. During the 40-Day Cancel Debt Fast (Sept 6 to October 15) we’ll be blogging on all things related to the Jubilee Act. We have a great line-up of guest bloggers who will provide interesting analysis—sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes serious, but always provocative.

It is our hope that you visit us frequently throughout the Fast to stay updated on what’s happening at Jubilee USA and the Cancel Debt Fast.

If you haven't registered yet, register N-O-W online!

We'll talk to you next Thursday!

Peace.

P.S. Check out Nate Fishman, our outreach and congregations fellow, on the Washington Post spitting his poetry at local DC spot Busboys & Poets.

Also, Bill Harman, one of Jubilee's board members was on the radio a few days ago discussing the Cancel Debt Fast on Talk Back Live, a radio show on WBAI-FM New York. You can listen or download the 17-minute interview online at WBAI's website.

First-Person: When 'Vultures' Strike

Muyatwa Sitali, acting coordinator of the Debt & Trade Project at the Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection in Lusaka, Zambia, wrote a blog for God's Politics, Sojourner's Blog explaining the impact of "vulture funds" in Zambia. This spring, a UK court ordered Zambia to pay Donegal International $15 million. Vulture funds are the name given to commercial lenders who purchase the debts of impoverished countries on the cheap, then sue the country for the compounded interest of that debt, plus incurred expenses and other monies. Donegal initially sued for $55 million on a debt that was just over $3 million.

Says Muyatwa:

For Zambia, $15 million translates to over 60 million Zambian Kwacha, which would be enough to facilitate three private manufacturers of animal-drawn plows and other equipment appropriate to and affordable for small-scale farmers (to complement the tractors for which Zambia originally got the 1979 loan from Romania).

Read the full article

Be sure to check out our website and newsletter in September for Muyatwa's column about Zambia's challenges and triumphs. He explains the links between Zambia's ties to the apartheid struggle, its independence and debt, while also discussing the challenges faced by civil society and Parliament as they contend with China as the new lender.

If you're not signed up to receive our newsletter, email monet at monet(at)jubileeusa.org and we'll put you on the mailing list.

And the Poll Says....

Ginny over at the ONE Blog sent us an analysis from the Daily Kos about a recent bi-partisan poll taken of New Hampshire voters. One of the questions asked related to the importance candidates place on tackling the issue of extreme global poverty. Interestingly, the pollsters found:

There is bipartisan support for Presidential candidates who support measures to improve disease prevention, reduce hunger and improve education.  The majority of both Republicans (62%) and Democrats (77%) would be more likely to support a candidate who supports saving 15,000 lives a day by fighting the world’s most devastating diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Read the info on Kos or download the document from Peter D. Hart Research Associates & Mclaughlin and Associates.

Why is international debt cancellation important?

Nicole Kahn, one of our summer interns, sent us a link to iTorah where she posted an article explaining how her religious beliefs and convictions as a Jew merge with her passion for social activism and the work of Jubilee USA. Read the excerpt below, then jump to the full article:

Like so many NFTYites, I love social action.  For me, this passion stems from my South African heritage and my parents, who instilled in me the Jewish values of justice and equality.  Considering this, one can imagine my excitement when I was accepted to the Religious Action Center’s (RAC) Machon Kaplan program in Washington D.C., where I will work for the summer with one of the RAC’s coalition partners.

A few weeks after my acceptance to the program, I learned I would be interning at Jubilee USA, a multi-faith network for debt cancellation. Debt relief, which is the legal cancellation of loans by creditor institutions, did not seem like a significant issue to me at the time; however, it did not take much research to help me understand its global impact.

Read full article

David Duncombe on God's Politics

Rev. David Duncombe, an activist from Washington who has committed to fasting all 40 days of the Cancel Debt Fast, has written a blog for Sojourner Magazine's blog "God's Politics." Here Rev. Duncombe discusses the power of fasting.

Writes Rev. Duncombe:

If my upcoming fast goes like my previous two extended fasts for debt cancellation in Washington, its effectiveness will depend not so much on what I say on my office visits, but on what is said by the fast itself—the day-to-day silent witness of a body growing visibly weaker. In a sense, a fast like this takes on a life of its own apart from me. There is something of a sacramental quality to the fast, something that carries its own grace and power. I am simply a vehicle for a fasting body, the sight of which seems to touch the souls of others.

READ FULL BLOG

Rudy Giuliani Ties to Vulture Fund Manager

By monét cooper | Jubilee Staff

The New York Post reported last week that Rudy Giuliani, a Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential race, has ties to a vulture fund. Reports the Post:

Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer - founder of the $7 billion investment fund Elliott Associates - serves as Giuliani's Northeast finance chairman. He has helped raise millions of dollars for Giuliani through his business contacts and interests, and has allowed the candidate to rent planes through his leasing entity, Elliott Asset Management.

The article isn't so much about Rudy's ties as it is about Paul Singer and his dealings in the vulture fund industry.

Ecuador Is Freakin' Amazing.

Ecuador Begins Unprecedented Debt Audit

On 23 July, in Guayaquil Ecuador, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Economy and Finance launched the world`s first debt audit commission to have the full support and involvement of the government.

Why Fast? Take 5 Minutes. We'll Tell You Why.

Check out the column penned by Outreach & Advocacy Coordinator Kristin Sundell in the most recent online edition of Evangelicals for Social Action. Read the excerpt:

Some of the money needed to address extreme poverty can be generated from aid, but new infusions of aid cannot be effective until the drain of debt payments is stopped.  Pouring more aid into impoverished countries without debt cancellation is like trying to fill a bathtub with the drain open.

Take the Plate Action.

Practicing Ubuntu

Post by Jean O'Leary | Jubilee San Diego

Last Sunday, July 29, we welcomed the University Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) into our Jubilee Congregations program as we celebrated their Jubilee Sunday with a beautiful service of worship and celebration of community. 

The University Christian Church, which celebrates their centennial anniversary this year, is located in the Hillcrest/University Heights area of San Diego. 

University Christian chose Ubuntu, or humanity, as their centering theme for this day.  Ubuntu has its roots from the Nguni group of languages spoken in sub-Saharan Africa where the burdens of debt and extreme poverty are most severe.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu developed a theology centered on the concept of Ubuntu — for the people, or “I am because we are.”