Blog the Debt

What's Happening In Debt Elsewhere Online

Oct. 25, WebWire.com "Bishops Working for a Just Society": Seven Episcopal bishops -- all members of Bishops Working for a Just World -- traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for church policies on debt relief, the Farm Bill, and climate change. MORE

Nov. 7, SperoNews.com "The Esther Strategy": Progressive ecumenical movements advocating for social change have remained true to Esther’s example using the special access they may have to political power to further the objectives of the campaigners who sit outside White House gates proclaiming what the president, the United States, the Congress must do. These inside/outside strategies are the stuff that makes a movement. They in fact have influenced administrations to move – especially on international debt cancellation and in creating a U.S. response to the global AIDS crisis. MORE

Nov. 8, CommonDreams.org "Jubilee Act Vital for African Development": “Debt has kept Africa in bondage long after the end of slavery,” said Emira Woods. “This legislation could help break those chains. It won’t solve all of the problems of the world’s poorest countries. But it will give these struggling nations a better chance of building strong, secure and healthy societies.” MORE

Nov. 13, afrolNews.com "Liberia's debt cancellation approved": After hues and cries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has finally agreed to cancel Liberia's outstanding debts. After securing sufficient funding and pledge [US $842 million] from donor nations, the IMF promised to start the cancellation process as soon as the pledges have been honoured. MORE

Half Hour for Haiti Updates: 'My Rosary Is My Only Weapon'

By Brian Concannon Jr. | Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti

On Monday, November 26,  Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, Haiti’s most prominent advocate of non-violent social change, had an appeals court hearing on his efforts to dismiss the charges that have hung over his head for three years. The prosecutor conceded there was no evidence against him, but the appeals court did not issue a decision yet. See the "My Rosary Is My Only Weapon" blog for more details.

One of the best books on Haiti in the last fifteen years, Peter Hallward’s Damming the Flood: Haiti and the Politics of Containment, has been released. Paul Farmer says it is “an excellent book, the best study of its kind.” The book has already become an important reference work for us at IJDH, we consider it essential for anyone writing, speaking or learning about contemporary Haitian politics and U.S. policy to Haiti. For more on the book, see http://www.HaitiJustice.org. The book will not be available in bookstores in North America until April, but is available now from IJDH.

Birddoggin' New Hampshire

By Brian Swarts | Jubilee USA Network
Yes... tonight our very own Mercedes Mack [Jubilee's Operations Coordinator] was Senator Biden's first question tonight during his presentation at the Armory in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Mercedes thanked him for sponsoring the Jubilee Act [Biden is one of the original co-sponsors of the Jubilee Act (S 2166) in the Senate] and asked him if he would appoint a Secretary of Treasury who would assure that the World Bank and IMF cancel their portion of debts for impoverished countries. 

Biden's answer expressed a strong support for the importance of debt cancellation, and did clearly insist that debt cancellation must not only be from the United States, but that the World Bank/IMF (and donor countries) need to fulfill their part. 

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that Mercedes has kicked off... now we just need to keep movin!

Stay tuned for more information about bird dogging. We'll soon list some questions for you to ask presidential candidates concerning the Jubilee Act, debt and global poverty when they come to your town and stump.

Join Jubilee USA on the Eve of World AIDS Day in DC

On the eve of World AIDS Day, hundreds of people will drape Lafayette Park with red tape to symbolize the political obstacles that prevent an effective response to the HIV/AIDS crisis locally, nationally, and internationally.

WHAT: Rally and graphic visual display in front of the White House to demand change to HIV/AIDS policies.

WHEN: Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 1:00pm

WHO: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rev. William G. Sinkford (President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations), people living with AIDS, faith communities, health professionals, students. Additional speakers include Ronald Johnson, Deputy Executive Director
of AIDS Action, Geno Dunnington of DC Fights Back, and Nickie Babayeva of the International Youth Leadership Council.

Sponsors: ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), Advocates for
Youth, Africa Action, American Medical Students Association, Center for
Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), DC Fights Back, Global AIDS Alliance,
Jubilee USA, Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, MetroTeen
AIDS, RAP Inc., RESULTS, Student Global AIDS Campaign, Unitarian
Universalist Association, University Coalitions for Global Health, and The
Women's Collective

Get more info on the Nov. 30 Action in Lafayette Park

Join Jubilee USA for World AIDS Day in New Hampshire

WHEN: Friday, Nov 30 @ 7 p.m.
WHERE: First Congregational Church
                 63 South Main Street
                 Rochester, NH 

FEATURING
Stephen Lewis former Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS to UN  Secretary-General
Stephen is  a captivating public speaker and one of the world's leading voices on the issue  of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Sandra Mubina Banda Zambian HIV-positive mother,  counselor, activist
Sandra will share her story and other efforts in Zambia to confront HIV/AIDS. She will also talk about what the US should do to support this important work. 

Local AIDS Activist working with AIDS Response Seacoast in Rochester, NH

**PLUS FOOD, MUSIC AND OTHER  ACTIVITIES**

CONTACT: Brian Swarts at  202-441-6763 or brian(at)jubileeusa.org

*Sponsored  by AIDS Response Seacoast Global AIDS Alliance, Student Global AIDS Campaign and Jubilee USA Network

New York Times Profiles 'Vulture Fund' Owner & Political Heavyweight Paul Singer

Paul Singer/The New York Times

The New York Times writes a profile on Paul Singer, owner of a hedge fund that buys the debt of impoverished countries and a major player in U.S. politics. READ THE FULL ARTICLE

World Bank, IMF Charged With Short-Changing Women

Activists are pushing the World Bank and IMF to change the lens through which they view gender's role in development. Although women are the majority of the world's poor, activists say, the institutions overlook that when influencing economies.

By Allison Stevens
Washington Bureau Chief, WOMENSENEWS

WASHINGTON--After working inside the World Bank as an economist earlier in her career, Elaine Zuckerman is now on the outside glaring in.

During three days last month timed to the anti-globalization protests surrounding the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, Zuckerman's advocacy group, Gender Action, staged a series of workshops accusing international financial institutions of discriminatory lending.

Her thrust: that the World Bank--which makes loans to developing countries--and the International Monetary Fund--which monitors global finance and extends credits to stabilize economies--both undermine women's rights by exacerbating poverty, gender-based violence and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV-AIDS.

Story of Violence in Haiti No.12 on Project Censored List

Jeb Sprague over at the PopDem Blog alerted us to the fact the story about violence in Haiti written by him and Wadner Pierre, a Haitian journalist and photographer living in Port-au-Prince, also made the Top 25 censored stories of 2008 (Vulture funds was No. 10).

He sent me an email Saturday and I promised to post it today. Here's what he had to say:

That vulture funds story is soooo important.  Thank you for linking to that.

We got number 12 in project censored, with our story on violence in Haiti.

The violence in Haiti is inextricably linked to the forced policies these "vultures" are so instrumental in bringing about...

Read the Project Censored article about Haiti.

More after the jump.

Members of Congress: Cancel Liberia's $4.5-Billion Debt

On the heels of the IMF's announcement, members of Congress signed statements to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. thanking them for the recent progress on financing cancellation of Liberia’s arrears and urging them to expedite progress toward debt cancellation for Liberia.

• Statement to IMF Director
• Statement to U.S. Treasury Secretary

It was Some Vigil at SOA

By Nathan Fishman | Jubilee USA Network

It was some party Friday night--I’m not even being sarcastic.

Long story short, I finally caught a wink of sleep at 5 a.m. beside a campfire started by some Indianapolis students. A short story long is that totally friendly folks named Tony, Kathleen, and Lauren, helped me set up my totally sweet tent lent to me by Neil’s wife Jessica. And Kathleen and Lauren had attended my workshop — I led a Jubilee workshop on debt and fighting poverty at the Convention Center earlier on Friday — and are from Catholic University in D.C. so I expect we’ll see more of them.

I totally prayed in that tent for warmth in the 29-degree cold of night but also for rain, strange as it sounds. There's currently a drought in Georgia.

Camping was crazy that first night but fun and exciting. Then, Saturday I hit SOA.