Friday

Roudup of some mainstream accounts of yesterday's World Bank action

horsie
Morrigan Phillips of Mobilization for Global Justice reviews her notes as
costumed protesters object to a one-horse race for World Bank leadership.
Photo Credit: Photos Haraz Ghanbari -- AP (From Washington Post)

Excerpt from Wash. Post article and others here below. Blustein is continuing to amaze me. It appears he has had a (temporary, at least) change of heart and is making a point of including opposition groups' complaints in his articles now. I think this may show how staying in there for the long-haul can pay off:

Wash. Post (Paul Blustein):
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Many of these activists have been scornful of the role played by European officials, who began engaging in horse-trading for other jobs after their initial surprise over the Wolfowitz nomination wore off.

Under the informal agreement that allows the United States to pick the president of the World Bank, the Europeans get to choose the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and an American traditionally holds the No. 2 job at the IMF. That system reflects the dominant role the rich nations have as the largest contributors and shareholders of the two institutions, but it has long drawn criticism as unfair and undemocratic. >>

Reuters:
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“It is disgraceful that governments have chosen to fill this important post via backdoor horse-trading, rather than through an open selection process,” said Peter Bosshard, of the California-based International Rivers Network. >>

NY Times (Eliz. Becker):
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A small band of protesters gathered Thursday morning outside the World Bank's modern headquarters here, just blocks from the White House, criticizing Mr. Wolfowitz and his stance on the Iraq war. The Global Justice Ecology Project, one of the groups criticizing the appointment, said it feared that Mr. Wolfowitz would be "the link between shooting wars and economic wars." >>

AP (Jeannine Aversa--We've got to work on her...):
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comments from David Levy

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