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FROM THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER OF PHILADELPHIA
Wednesday July 19, @07:47 PM
Conversation between Heads of IMF, World Bank and American University
by Anonymous
On April 13, 2000, just before the April 16th/17th demonstrations
in Washington DC, a day-long conference was held at American University
(in DC) on various subjects surrounding the 'globalization' debates.
Activist scholars like Dr. Walden Bello and officials from the World
Bank and IMF were among the speakers that presented and took questions
from the audience.
During the break for lunch, a select mix of NGO members, professors,
and others (including business leaders?), were transported to a
luncheon at a nearby hotel to hear James Wolfensohn (president of
the World Bank) and Stanley Fischer (acting managing director of
the International Monetary Fund) speak and field questions from
the audience.
The two were unaware that the microphones on their table were activated
during their lunch. As is frequently done, the live feed from these
mics was provided to all the media covering the event (this allows
the operators of recording equipment to test their connections,
set levels, etc.)
The following is a transcript of the casual conversation that they
had, believing (we can only assume) that it was private. Included
in their conversation is Ben Ladner, president of American University,
who hosted the event. Some points need to be made.
It should not be assumed that anything said in the transcript
represents a casual conversation that the three might have had in
true privacy. Also, one can only speculate as to how any of the
three might have acted or spoken differently in the presence of
any of the others. That is, they could be altering their words,
opinions, and so on, for various political, social, or other reasons.
The decision to make this material public took into account their
right to privacy. It was decided that the general urgency of the
subject matter (i.e. 'globalization'), given their positions, outweighs
the ethical transgression. President Ladner's introduction for the
speakers is also included.
In the transcript, the following abbreviations and symbols are
used:
F: Stanley Fischer
W: James Wolfensohn
AU: Ben Ladner (president of American University)
Words enclosed in /forward slashes/ were not totally clear; the
best guess is given.
/?/ means that the word or words were unintelligible (typically
because the signal was too weak.) A /?/ is never more than a small
phrase.
Thus, a sentence like << I feel lucky to be here /?/ >>
means that "I feel lucky to be here" was clearly stated and was
followed by an unintelligible phrase. It does not mean that the
printed words themselves were in question.
Thus, << I feel lucky to be /here/ /?/ >> means that
"I feel lucky to be" was clear, "here" is a reasonable guess for
the next word, and an unintelligible phrase follows.
Other combinations should be clear by context.
Fischer's speech (with some editing and without questions from
the floor) is at: http://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2000/041300.HTM
Wolfensohn's speech may be available somewhere.
On to TRANSCRIPT
>
Intro letter
Explanation of transcript
TRANSCRIPT: Conversation between Heads of
IMF, World Bank and American University
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