Archive for June, 2005

New World Bank Chief Says Aiding Africa Is His Top Goal

Wednesday, June 1st, 2005

WASHINGTON, May 31 – When he becomes president of the World Bank on Wednesday, Paul D. Wolfowitz says, Africa will be his top priority.

“Nothing would be more satisfying than to feel at the end of however long a term I serve here that we played a role in changing Africa from a continent of despair to a continent of hope,” he said Tuesday at his first news conference.

To underline that commitment, he will travel to Africa in June.
Full: nytimes.com

Oh Oh. Wolfowitz is coming to ‘change’ Africa. Run.

The Five-Bedroom, Six-Figure Rootless Life

Wednesday, June 1st, 2005

…As a subgroup, relos are economically homogenous, with midcareer incomes starting at $100,000 a year. Most are white. Some find the salaries and perks compensating; the developments that cater to them come with big houses, schools with top SAT scores, parks for youth sports and upscale shopping strips.

Others complain of stress and anomie. They have traded a home in one place for a job that could be anyplace. Relo children do not know a hometown; their parents do not know where their funerals will be. There is little in the way of small-town ties or big-city amenities – grandparents and cousins, longtime neighbors, vibrant boulevards, homegrown shops – that let roots sink in deep.

“It’s as if they’re being molded by their companies,” said Tina Davis, a top Alpharetta relo agent for the Coldwell Banker real estate firm. “Most of the people will tell you how long they’ll be here. It’s usually two to four years…”
Full: nytimes.com

This is what the American Dream has come to: a life no human being should live.