Bono as World Bank Head.

Poststructural Pub
1

Bono May Make Short List of World Bank Candidates
Treasury Secretary Calls Singer ‘Rock Star of the Development World’


WASHINGTON (March 6) - Treasury Secretary John Snow on Sunday would not rule out the idea of Irish singer Bono, an activist on debt relief and AIDS, making the short list of potential candidates to lead the World Bank even though an American is expected to get the job.

“He’s somebody I admire. He does a lot of good in this world of economic development,” Snow said.

“Most people know him as a rock star. He’s in a way a rock star of the development world, too. He understands the give-and-take of development. He’s a very pragmatic, effective and idealistic person,” Snow said.

Snow is part of the Bush administration team working on finding a successor to James Wolfensohn, who is stepping down as head of the development bank on June 1.

Asked whether the Irish singer would make the short list of candidates that Snow is preparing for President Bush, the secretary said: “I am not going to review here all the candidates that are on the list. But I will attest to my admiration for Bono.”

Bono toured Africa with Snow’s predecessor, Paul O’Neill, who focused a lot of attention during his time at the Treasury on poverty and diseases such as AIDS in Africa.

Bono has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for international social justice efforts that include trying to persuade rich nations to relieve the debt of poor nations.

Another candidate who has surfaced is Carly Fiorina, the recently ousted chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co.

“She’s also a friend and somebody I think well of,” Snow told ABC’s “This Week.” But, he added, “I think we’re going to have to wait to reveal that next president of the World Bank for a little while.”

The administration began the search for Wolfensohn’s successor in early January and said it would talk to other countries that belong to the 184-nation World Bank. The administration wants to name a replacement before Wolfensohn’s term ends.

The United States is the World Bank’s largest member nation. The bank traditionally has had an American president.

“I fully expect that to be the case, yes, and so do the G-7 (Group of Seven) finance ministers and all of the participants in the process,” Snow said. “I’ve had any number of calls from finance ministers from around the world saying they want it to be an American.”

The bank’s sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, traditionally has been headed by a European.

Other names floated for the World Bank job include: John Taylor, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for international affairs; Peter McPherson, the former head of Michigan State University who served as Bush’s point man on rebuilding Iraq’s financial system; Randall Tobias, Bush’s global AIDS coordinator; and Christine Todd Whitman, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency.


AP-NY-03-06-05 1209EST

Should he get the job? Or would you rather he continue to write and play the great music he is known for? Personally, I’m torn…

2

I heard that He is holding out for the Papacy but he’s not to happy about having to move to a smaller house.

Slan,
D.

3

That is very scary news, putting an aging rock star in charge of a first world terrorist group! The World Bank hasn’t done any faovors for the third world except for sending them into economic ruin and bankruptcy, forcing them to take loans that they can’t pay back from US and European banks, all but closing them out of the global market place and buying goods they can’t afford as payment for those loans.

I’m in the midst of reading John Perkins underground hit: The Confessions of an Economic Hit man. Here’s a lengthy interview with him about his book.

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/site_packages/econ_hitmen/3148_perkins_interview.html


MarkB

4

I may have my students read the inteview

5

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

6

I could never support someone who can’t count.

As his song says, “Uno, dos, tres, catorce.” “1, 2, 3, 14.”

This stuff matters to bean counters.

7

:laughing: :laughing:

8

That is how they count at the World Bank! No wonder he’s on the short list.

:wink:

9

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

10

Hey, waitamint, shouldn’t STING be on there first? He was the one who brought them nekkid Brazilians Indians around and when I think World Bank, I always think about how its supposed to forgive Brazil’s debt so they will stop burning the rainforests. Or am I behind the times?

Let’s get our rock star-politicos priorities straight! After his latest song, mebbe Bono should be Ambassador to Mexico or Spain!

11

I never understood why people seem almost to worship Bono. What’s so wonderful about him?

12

Indeed. I don’t know what the big deal is, either.

Few know that his real name is Paul Hewson.

It’s the ‘one-name’ recognition thing, I think. No wonder he calls himself ‘Bono’ - if he used his real name, people would think he was the band’s accountant.

:wink:

13

The World Bank is coming under more and more scrutiny for their actions over the last 50 years and I suspect they want to put a touchy-feelie front to themselves.

What is coming to the front is that between the World Bank and the INternational Monetary Fund that between them the have basically bankrupt the third world with obressive debts that they can’t repay and the younger power elites in those countries know this and want nothing to do with them.

MarkB

14

Today somebody told me he says 14 instead of 4 because this is U2’s 14th album.

15

Never happen. The job’s only open because Bush fired the last guy for being too liberal and too interested in sustainable development.

There’s no way in hell they’ll hire someone independent, unless at the same time they make the job a figurehead only, and retain the real power elsewhere.

16

:roll:

On January 3, 2005, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn informed the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors that he would not seek a third term as head of the institution. Under Wolfensohn’s leadership, the World Bank has evolved in many significant aspects, and this is a brief summary of some of those developments during his two terms, which conclude May 31, 2005.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/PRESIDENTEXTERNAL/0,,contentMDK:20309401~menuPK:232053~pagePK:139877~piPK:199692~theSitePK:227585,00.html

“Although the World Bank is technically a United Nations agency with 184 member countries, the United States is considered the largest shareholder and traditionally has the right to appoint its president, while Europe provides the leader of the related International Monetary Fund.”
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7053521/

17

It’s no secret that the Whitehouse was displeased with the direction the world bank has been taking under Wolfensohn, a direction at odds with their philosophy.

When his term came up for renewal, I expect he was quietly informed that to avoid embarrassment he should decide against running again.

18

Well, that’s a far cry from being “fired” now, isn’t it? The man is 71 years old, afterall. Maybe he’s EARNED the break?

And by the way:

“President Bush, to the surprise of many, has in fact made decisions already which advanced at least the funding for poverty reduction way beyond anything we have had before.”

– James Wolfensohn
June 2003

19

What about the rumour which I saw recently that Wolfowitz is the prime candidate? I checked my calendar, but it’s not 1 April yet. But then again, there was Robert MacNamara.

20

Here’s the Beeb’s take, which reflects my own position.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4354839.stm

Privately, current World Bank president James Wolfensohn had made it clear that he had wanted to continue but failed to get White House backing.

He was appointed by Democrat former President Bill Clinton, and will be leaving on 1 June after 10 years in charge.

~~

Given that the man the White House chose turns out to be Paul Wolfowitz, the architect of the Iraq war, I think we can, as I predicted, see a HARD turn to the right in the World Bank
s future.