bono for the world bank?

[all_i_want]

should bono head the world bank? whatd happen to U2? what would happen to the world bank?

what do you think?

 

[wizard2c]

Reply

Hi!

Quite honestly, I'm not that familiar with the World Bank........you don't hear too much news commentary on the subject.......but Bono sounds like he understands it quite well........so let's give him the job......

carol
wizard2c

 

[A_Wanderer]

Um, no.

 

[deep]

One major Newspaper say yes.

 

[deep]

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-bono25feb25,1,3305816.story
EDITORIAL
Bono for the World Bank

February 25, 2005

Bono, the U2 rock star, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he is a credible candidate. But we have a better idea on how best to recognize his effective lobbying on behalf of African development — Bono should be named the next president of the World Bank.

Don't be fooled by the wraparound sunglasses and the excess hipness. Bono is deeply versed in the issues afflicting the least-developed nations of the world, as former Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill learned when he traveled the continent with the musician.

O'Neill, an uber-wonk, came back singing Bono's praises. Bono even brought ultra-conservative Sen. Jesse Helms to tears by relating poverty in Africa to passages in the Bible.

Bono may not have a PhD in economics, but he'd have plenty of real economists around the bank to consult. Bono is the most eloquent and passionate spokesman for African aid in the Western world. And given that both ex-President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have in recent years made Africa one of their focuses, that's saying something.

Bono led the Drop the Debt campaign in 2000, seeking to forgive billions in loans to the Third World, and in 2002 he co-founded Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa, a serious group that seeks to raise awareness of Africa's problems and lobby governments to help solve them. It could hardly ask for a better spokesman than its founder, whose fame has helped open doors that other lobbyists spend decades trying to crack.

Bono could enhance the World Bank's image and sell its poverty-reduction mission far more effectively than the other deserving candidates being mentioned for the job, which traditionally goes to an American — a tradition that deserves to be broken, even if not in favor of the Irish rock star.

For one thing, Bono could mobilize public opinion in favor of getting rich nations to abide by their commitments to development aid, which they rarely meet.

The singer likes to tell the story of how he got interested in Africa after visiting Ethiopia following the Live Aid benefit for Ethiopian famine relief in 1984. At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, he compared contemporary indifference to Africa's plight with the indifference of some who saw Jews being herded away on trains during World War II. Surrounded by titans of industry at Davos, he also spoke of aid to Africa in terms of brand identity: Brand America is doing poorly around the world, he said, and spending more on poverty relief would help market the country and its products.

President Bush, who has a large say in who will get the job, should realize that Brand America and the branding of both the World Bank and development generally would benefit greatly if Bono gets the nod.

 

[coemgen]

I think he should keep his day job, but maybe later on in life...

 

[dandy]

bono needs to remain non-partisan to keep his wide sphere of influence with everyone from the pope to nelson mandela to bush.

personally, i'm confident that bono is too cool for the world bank, and i suspect he has some strong opinions about how it operates.

 

[verte76]

I think he might do a good job, but I also happen to think he would prefer to keep the job he has. I'm selfish enough to want him to remain my favorite singer.

 

[Liesje]

Bono could publicize for the World Bank, but HEAD it? God no! The man hardly graduated from high school. Bono, we love you, but an "honorary" degree just doesn't cut it when it comes to economics and international finance.

 

[BVS]

Why would Bono take a suit job? I think he can do greater things where he is.

This job is too stifled by politics for Bono.

 

[Mullen4Prez]

The band would be destroyed if bono got the job

 

[BonosSaint]

Then Bono becomes just another politician I don't want to listen to.

 

[Irvine511]

keep Bono special.

he has more influence being a maverick rock star who can wield his massive public following as a weapon to create the political change he desires -- i.e., playing free concerts in the districts of obstinate Congress members who refuse to fund 3rd World Debt relief. i'd love to see them actually kick some ass, play a free concert, and project "Rep. So-and-So kills Africans" on a huge screen.

and he could do this throughout the great 8 nations.

the president of the world bank could never do that.

 

[beau2ifulday]

Sure, if he wants to prematurely kiss U2 goodbye.

Of course not.

 

[U2Kitten]

No way! Bono hates mundane finance and math. He likes talking but not doing the work. No offense, it's just not his thing.

 

[desire25]

No way! Bono hates mundane finance and math. He likes talking but not doing the work. No offense, it's just not his thing.

and we all know how politics run the world bank.
and which countries or country has most influence in it.

no.

 

[Tania]

Bono for world bank? Yeah, right. Give up daily grind as do anything I like rockstar to be suited up and work in a bank? After all the years of his lifestyle he probably would never make it too work on time

 

[deep]

Wolfowitz discusses World Bank mission with Bono


WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Paul Wolfowitz, whose nomination as World Bank president has stirred controversy, discussed poverty and development issues with Irish rock star Bono in two phone conversations on Thursday, an adviser said.

Wolfowitz adviser Kevin Kellems told Reuters the deputy U.S. defense secretary initiated the lengthy conversations with the lead singer of the rock group U2, whose name had been bandied about for the World Bank presidency.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday named Wolfowitz, a key architect of the Iraq war, to be the next World Bank president, but the choice has been controversial, especially in Europe.

An endorsement by Bono, who campaigns extensively for African aid and debt relief, could defuse some of the criticism of Wolfowitz.

Kellems said the discussions "were incredibly substantive about reducing poverty, about development, about the opportunity to help people that the World Bank presidency provides and about charitable giving and social progress around the globe.

"They clicked. They were very enthusiastic, detailed and lengthy conversations," Kellems said.

A spokesman for Bono could not be reached.

Wolfowitz first telephoned Bono on Wednesday to schedule the conversations. In the past 24 hours, Wolfowitz had spoken with a broad range of foreign leaders, bank officials and advocates for poverty reduction and international development, aides said.

"A spokesman for Bono could not be reached."


I guess they are using the caller ID.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Fear the Wolfowitz

 

[ShellBeThere]

Wow, that's fucking amazing to me!

I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, given the press attention he's been getting vis a vis the World bank job, to the point that he even gets questioned about that (and the nobel prize of course) while taking the podium for the RRHOF ceremony...

but goodness ...that some of the first phone calls Wolfowitz would make after the news of his nomination are to Bono!
Bono's support could defuse criticism...that's some serious power!
I'm presuming too it would give Wolfowitz more credibility among
europeans, and if he's a quick study perhaps it will help him craft position statements when he starts fielding criticism that he doesn't come from a 'development' background at all...

It'll be interesting to hear what comments Bono and/or DATA eventually have about wolfowitz. it would certainly be nice if this appointment didn't turn out to be a negative thing....I'd love to be a fly on the wall for any discussions they'd have about 'brand america', that's for sure!

cheers all...

 

[deep]

Wolfowitz a bad choice: World Bank needs president with commitment

A Register-Guard Editorial

Gee, wasn't it just a few weeks ago that the Los Angeles Times endorsed rock star Bono as the next president of the World Bank?

On Wednesday, President Bush nominated Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense and ideological godfather of the Iraq war, to lead the World Bank.

Talk about reality checks. While an intriguing case could be made for the passionately humanitarian Bono, it's hard to think of a more inappropriate choice than Wolfowitz for this critically important job.

As if the selection of Wolfowitz weren't startling enough, it came on the heels of Bush's naming John Bolton, a scathing critic of the United Nations, to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bush's selection of Wolfowitz, a neoconservative distrustful of multilateralism, to head a uniquely multilateral institution that promotes development and fights poverty around the world sends a disturbing message.

The nomination comes at a time when the Bush administration insists that it's trying to heal the rift with Europe over the war in Iraq. If recent trips by Bush and Condoleezza Rice succeeded in filling reservoirs of goodwill in Europe, the appointments of Bolton and Wolfowitz have drained them to bedrock.

An argument could be made that Bolton has a relevant diplomatic background and a thorough familiarity with the U.N. The same cannot be said of Wolfowitz, a former Yale professor of political science and ambassador to Indonesia.

Wolfowitz's record does not inspire confidence. He predicted the U.S. invasion of Iraq would pay for itself out of Iraq's oil reserves (he was off by only a couple of hundred billion dollars) and that joyful Iraqis would greet U.S. troops with flowers. He rejected the warning of former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Erick Shinseki, who said the U.S. military needed "several hundred thousand" soldiers to get the job done in Iraq.

Wolfowitz's record as an ultra-loyalist in an administration that prizes loyalty above all else raises the question of whether he would be able to exercise the independence that the World Bank job requires. The nominee's pivotal involvement with U.S. policy in the Middle East also raises concerns that he might shift the World Bank's current focus from sub-Saharan Africa to the Islamic world in line with U.S. efforts to promote democracy and economic reform in the region.

Bush's choice is particularly puzzling given the list of prominent, qualified individuals whose names have been mentioned for the job. They include James Wolfensohn, an Australian-born investment banker who is finishing his second five-year term and could have served a third. Others included former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Brazilian President Henrique Cardoso and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.

It will be interesting to see if European leaders reject Wolfowitz's nomination, as President Clinton once rejected the European nominee to head the International Monetary Fund. Traditionally the United States, which controls a majority of shares in the bank, selects the president of the World Bank, while Europeans pick the chief of the IMF.

As World Bank president, Wolfowitz would oversee development in the world's most impoverished regions and influence the quality of life, even life and death itself, of many who live in Africa, Asia and Latin America. These people deserve a World Bank leader who cares more about poverty reduction and economic development than advancing American hegemony.

 

[verte76]

Wolfowitz for World Bank President? May God help this ailing planet.