(Bo)No Debt!

Sweet victory ahead on debt relief? | csmonitor.com:
"The 10-year battle to wipe out the debt burden of the world's most impoverished nations is reaching a climax.

Hopes are running high that when leaders of the richest countries gather next month in Scotland, they will insist that two key players - The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - forgive billions of dollars of debt.

The logic behind debt relief is twofold: 1) Countries no longer indebted would have more money for education, health programs, sanitation, and services for the poor. 2) Many of these loans are so-called 'odious' debts, made by onetime dictators instead of elected representatives. Since the United States has already persuaded other countries to forgive loans made to Iraq under Saddam Hussein, the logic goes, then debts made under other former dictatorships, from Nigeria to the Philippines, deserve similar treatment.

The US stance on Iraqi loans, plus repeated high-profile protests at international meetings of wealthy nations, have moved debt relief from the bottom of the international agenda to near the top.

In addition, thousands of people are expected to protest in Scotland July 2 to help keep President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the other leaders of the G-8 (the G-7 industrial nations plus Russia) on track to forgive billions of dollars of debt, primarily for poor sub-Saharan nations, when they meet four days later in Gleneagles, Scotland.

'Expectations have been raised very high,' says Mark Engler, an analyst with Foreign Policy in Focus, a New York think tank."

What's this....something good has come from the Iraq invasion? Alert George W., he should be draping himself in this, but alas, my guess is more promises with little to back it up.
"The gold....it's in the...."

If Bono Ran the World Bank ...

If Bono Ran the World Bank ... - What the job entails. By Daniel Engber

More speculation, this time from the fantastic "explainer" column at Slate. Also saw a brief clip on Fox about Bono and the World Bank. Read the article to find out why Irishman Bono is an unlikely choice.

"Entirely Serious" About Bono

Top News Article | Reuters.com:

"Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor Andres Martinez said the suggestion of Bono to head the World Bank was entirely serious, although he said the newspaper was also making an effort to 'take chances' and be 'less predictable' on its opinion page in recent months."

Will it happen? Naaaaaaaah.

Bank-o on Bon-o says LA Times

Bono for the World Bank:

"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."

Is the LA Times sincere? I can't tell if this editorial is reality-based or Hollywood fantasy, but kind words for Bono indeed.