Bad News All Around

Okay, sorry for being so depressing today, but, well, depressing stuff happens. First of all, if you haven't gone to the IMAX to see Kilimanjaro, you really should check it out, especially since it's not going to be pretty for very much longer (from billmon):

"Africa's tallest mountain, with its white peak, is one of the most instantly recognisable sights in the world. But as this aerial photograph shows, Kilimanjaro's trademark snowy cap, at 5,895 metres (1,934ft), is now all but gone -- 15 years before scientists predicted it would melt through global warming."

Not to mention that Wolfowitz has been selected by Bush as the next head of the World Bank...even CNN has figured out that he will likely dole out money to the poor countries that support U.S. policies, and refuse aid to those who do not:

In addition to Wolfowitz's strong support for the Iraq war, Steve Radelet, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and a former undersecretary at the Treasury, said last week the Europeans were nervous that Wolfowitz would prove similar to former World Bank head and Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

Radelet said McNamara was accused of channeling aid to nations based not on need but on their support of U.S. policy.

Although not a formal code, traditionally the United States chooses the head of the World Bank while the Europeans pick the head of its sister organization, The International Monetary Fund. Both the U.S. and the Europeans have veto power over each other's choices.

More on this later...like from Think Progress - actually they have another short blurb on him:

One of the primary objectives of the World Bank is to combat global poverty. Outgoing World Bank president James Wolfensohn understood the link between global poverty and global security. Paul Wolfowitz, however, remains blind to the impact poverty has on dangers like terrorism and civil unrest.

“If we want stability on our planet, we must fight to end poverty. Since the time of the Bretton Woods Conference, through the Pearson Commission, the Brandt Commission, and the Brundtland Commission, through to statements of our leaders at the 2000 Millennium Assembly - and today - all confirm that the eradication of poverty is central to stability and peace.” – Outgoing World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn, 10/3/04

VERSUS

“These people are not fighting because they’re poor. They’re poor because they fight all the time. ” – President Bush’s nominee for World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, Congressional Testimony, 6/6/96