My father was freed 70 years ago by courageous American (and British, and Canadian) boots on the ground… not by drones.

Yesterday… on Memorial Day 2015, as I try to do every year as often I can, I went down to the World War II Memorial to express my gratitude to those courageous American soldiers who, 70 years ago, April 1945, when freeing Birkenau, Sachsennhaussen, Buchenwald, freed my Polish father.

This year I was only able to speak to one single veteran of those days in Europe. Sadly most of them are gone by now… and I never got a chance to thank them all.

And while walking around the World War II Memorial, a question that has been haunting me lately came back over and over again... My father was freed by boots on the ground… not by drones… will America still have it in it to free other future fathers, if need be?

And next year, I will go there again, and God willing, I will find another one to thank!

Note: "My father Tadeusz Brodka a Pole, later Tadeusz Kurowski (his mothers surname), arrived to Auschwitz in June 1940, as one of 728, on the first train. He was registered with number 245 (tattooed on his arm). He survived taking photos. In October 1944, he was transferred to Birkenau, Heinkel Werken, Sachsennhaussen, Wausleben am see – Buchenwald. And from there he was liberated by the Americans, on April 14, 1945. They recently commemorated the 75th anniversary of that first train.

I went there again, on Memorial Day 2016. There might be millions of reason why oneself, as oneself, would not have come into being, but those reasons are usually always unknown and ignored. That is why it so special to walk the II World War Memorial when one knows why oneself, as oneself, in this case me, as the Per I am, would absolutely not have come into being, were it not for the American soldiers there honored.

PS. In Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Commencement Address given at Harvard University June 8, 1978 titled “A World Split Apart” we find: “Well-Being: Choice of pleasures: Who should renounce all, risk one’s precious life in defense of the common good… especially when the security of one’s nation must be defended in a distant land?"

PS. If someone has special information of soldiers who were present in Buchenwald that April 1945, and could be living, I appreciate the information at perkurowski@gmail.com

Memorial Day 2024: 

"E Pluribus Unum" "Out of many, one."

Red and blue, or, red or blue?

Odious debt should not be granted relief while odious conditions remain.

I am a citizen from a country that I consider corrupt and that needs to change a lot before any new debt could do it any good.

In this respect I urge you not to give debt relief to corrupt governments as that will only allow those addicted to debt to be able to hit the bars again, in the same shameful ways as before.

If the concept of odious debt is applicable in the sense that some debts should not have to be repaid if contracted in an illegitimate way, castigating the creditor, then the same concept should clearly also apply to the granting of any debt relief, punishing the debtor.

The World or Mother Earth lacks representation

Wolfgang Münchau in “This gentlemen’s agreement fails Europe too”, Financial Times July 9, makes a good case for why Europe by splitting up the European representation in international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (he argues that it is to preserve many plum jobs) ends up in fact with having no real representation at all.

I understand and agree with his point of view especially since it goes hand in hand with my opinion that since all the votes, and all the Executive Directors, and the Presidents, and so many of its staff are assigned on pure local considerations, it is the “international world”, the global order, or mother-earth itself, whatever you want to call it, that ends up being the most under represented party in these global institutions.

If we are going to be able to manage the global challenges it is urgent we look for means to break away from our parochial local chains. What about splitting at least 50% of the chairs at the Board among varied constituencies such as migrant workers, multinationals, media, educators, environmentalists, NGO’s, accountants, farmers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, service providers like nurses or plumbers, and so on? Just beware, diversity is much more about life experiences and mindsets than about gender or race.

The only constituency that has currently a representation in IMF, in fact a 100% representation, is the constituency of central bankers and this need to be changed. Europe, if you must insist on naming the next managing director in the IMF then at least do the world the favour of appointing some finance knowledgeable person that has never worked for any central bank. That would provide us with much more needed diversity than just appointing another central banker based on the local consideration that he is from Asia, Africa or Latin America.

And this is no joke, incestuous groupthink is about the most dangerous limiting factor when it comes to impede clear thinking and effective actions.

The Basel Committee is just a mutual admiration club of firefighters trying to avoid bank crisis at any cost - even at the cost of growth.

A fairly reasonable petition to the European Executive Directors of the World Bank

For countries to develop... please... let them learn to bike... on their own

The following is extracted from my Voice and Noise. It reflects what I said to my colleagues at the World Bank Executive Board while discussing in 2004 the issue whether developing countries should be allowed to use more their own country systems.

Intro: Whether to let the countries learn and develop on their own in their own way and assisting them by freely giving some of the very scarce resources or whether to impose some conditions on how they are to manage these resources is one of the most difficult balancing acts of any development policy.

There must be thousands of examples of how development funds have been squandered to no avail by bad governments and crooked politicians, and certainly there are thousand of examples of how good-intentioned agencies have, in a quite similar and yet opposite way, squandered these scarce funds by imposing absolutely misplaced rules and conditions.

As I never believed that you could create good artists by having students practice painting by numbers, this little spot number 17 blue, and as those wanting to impose more and ever stricter conditions on the borrower were in the clear majority, my devil’s advocate instincts and my normal tendency of siding with the weaker inspired me to take a very strong position in favor of allowing for a more frequent use of the countries’ own systems... and so... please...

Let them bike

Friends, listening to your exhaustive list of concerns [about how the World Bank could best assist countries in their development] I was reminded of the moments when I had to teach my daughters how to ride their bikes: I heard their mother’s anxious calls in the background; I felt my own nervousness; nonetheless, I just knew I had to let them go.

One could find and read thousands of manuals about how to put a bike together safely; about all the safety implements a kid should wear, such as helmet and wrist-guards; about all the precautions he or she needs to take, not going downhill or out on the main road; but nowhere can you find even a single manual that clearly and exactly instructs you how to learn to ride a bike. Left leg up, right leg down! Or was it right leg up first?

We need to understand that development is a bit like learning how to ride a bike and, at the end of the day it is something that must be done on one’s own. In fact, no matter how much we could help in the preparations, we will not stand a chance to achieve lasting results if we are not willing or do not know how to let them go.

It is not easy to let go, I probably even closed my eyes for fractions of seconds after letting my girls roll away on their bikes, but I let them go and they know how to ride a bike now.

So, my colleagues, in these discussions, not as caring parents but as caring development partners, let us try to act accordingly, letting them go, always remembering that, at the end of the day, countries need to do it on their own. What else could ownership mean?

Of course, anyone might fall trying, but that is exactly the risk we need to be able to take if they are going to achieve real sustainable development results and, if they fall, there is probably nothing more to do than to help them rebuild their confidence so that they can just have another go at it.

Moreover, if you try to hold the bike while they ride it, the bike might not really behave like a bike, and so they might never get the hang of it. What we really should be concerned about is that they have what is most needed at the time of trying: sufficient confidence in themselves. In fact, what unwillingly might be the first victim of all our other secondary concerns is precisely that, their confidence.

So, my colleagues, let them go, again and again and again, learning to ride their bike, and as they believe a bike should be ridden.

I know it is not as easy as it sounds and in fact I would only give someone the freedom to try it on their own whenever he or she convinces me he or she is truly ready for it, in a sufficiently confident way.

.

A B- donor?

Once again I heard in a development forum complains about the volatility of the commitments of donors. Would not rating the donor’s credibility be a good pro bono cause for the Credit Rating Agencies? Perhaps the tax deductibility allowed to funds collected by those donors could also be a function of those ratings.

Two brief comments on naming a new World Bank President

1. I would love for the world at large to be able to put forward their proposals for a new president at the World Bank but, having been an Executive Directors and having seen how so few of these EDs are truly allowed to speak out their own voice, I would also like to see that once they have received the list of candidates, they are isolated from any further interference from their capitals, and forced to reach a consensus between themselves as Executive Directors individually responsible for the Bank and the World.

2. If we are going to waste time just to haggle on who is going to be the next President of the World Bank, I would much rather have just about anyone named so that the Bank could go back and focus at the real issues. While an Executive Director of the World Bank (2002-2004), I calculated the cost of each of the EDs jointly debating an issue to cost around 80.000 US dollars per hour. Therefore I raised my voice quite noisily when the Board had to spend many hours discussing a salary increase of US$ 40.000 for our then president, Jim Wolfensohn, just so that he would earn as much as his counterpart at the IMF. Frankly, I do not know what I would have done with a Wolfowitz incident and now the follow up; I might have just gone berserk

The World Bank needs a president credible to the world (and to the USA).

My friend and as an Executive Director of the World Bank former colleague Otaviano Canuto is quoted in FT May 22 saying with respect to the appointment of the next president to substitute for Wolfowitz that the selection should be “based on the merits of a plurality of candidates regardless of nationality” and who could argue with that, though of course the problem of defining what are these “merits” remains.

The first and foremost merit that I believe a World Bank president must have besides the basics is to be able to generate enough credibility outside the small world of the World Bank. This is so since no matter how this multilateral twists and bends, the chances for most of the poor of this world to come out of their misery in a sustainable form lies in being able to connect with the real world. Also the World Bank itself is dependent on this connection if it is to strengthen its role as a global public-goods producer.

And so, unfortunately, we might be back to square one where the best we can hope for now, is for the United States to nominate a person that fully and truly represents the United States, and counts with the favourable opinion of Europe. By the way I would never view such a candidate as a foe but, if I did, I much more prefer to work with an impressive foe than with a diddling friend.

Let us not despair though; the time will come when the world will be ripe for Otaviano Canuto’s proposal, and much faster than what we can imagine.

Let us keep the eyes on the ball!

If we want good government results that have a chance of doing what is humanly good for humanity, in a shrinking world, that could only happen through more credible and better governed multinational institutions. But in this case, while rolling up or shirtsleeves to get going at it, we must also learn about how to prioritize our efforts.

Instead of beating the good guy on the head, just because he is more amenable to being beaten on the head, and start with a World Bank and that no matter Wolfowitz and some others, in relative terms, still stands out as a shining example of relative good governance in the world, we should all concentrate more on where good governance is much more lacking and much more needed, namely the United Nations.

May I humbly suggest we keep our eyes on the ball!

Per Kurowski
Chairman
The Voice and Noise Foundation for International Development and Global Strategic Action

And now it is for the World Bank to convince the world that it was more than about politics

Now when after so much procrastination, by all, Wolfowitz has finally resigned it is now the World Bank’s turn to convince the world that all this was indeed an institutional fight over what is right or wrong, and not some political bickering against an unpopular president.

Having had the privilege to act as an Executive Director of the World Bank (2002-2004), I am truly convinced of the high human quality of all its people but, given that out there, for instance in the world of blogs, there exist so many 100% professional haters who don’t care a iota for the World Bank as long as they get their sweet revenge on Bush or Wolfowitz, now the World Bank’s directors, staff and managers must act decisively on the fundamental governance issues, so as to distance themselves as much as possible from these loonies.

One of the first tasks has to be to review the whole concept of external assignments or secondments, since it beats me how it could have reached that point where someone could even have thought of this as a useful instrument for removing to a distant place a conflict of interest of the President, at the expense of the World Bank. Can you even think of a listed corporation trying to argue with the IRS about the deductibility of salaries paid in such a way?

As with this it should be clear that there was a serious problem even before Wolfowitz intervened pushing promotions and salary increases, something that the Executive Board also valiantly recognized, it is obvious that the institutional integrity teams, and all other, have some solid homework to do before they can re-launch the good governance and anti corruption initiative the world needs so much, and that unfortunately seems to have hit an iceberg, while still in port. I am certain that they will succeed.

The World Bank deserves more than a banal political row

The Ethics Committee proposed a solution to Mr. Wolfowitz’ “conflict of interest” that could have the poverty fighting World Bank paying out US$1.950.000 over the ten years of what could be his presidency (US$ 130.000 plus 50% benefits per year), while receiving absolutely no services at all. No matter how delicately you phrase it as a secondment, this sure must be a crazy and an unethical proposal. How come they did not just help her (or Wolfowitz) find another job for which the Bank did not have to pay? Should that have been so difficult?

Mr. Wolfowitz, who as President should know that something is not right just because an Ethics Committee proposes it; then went on influencing so as to raise the potential cost of this proposal for the Bank to US$2.700.000. For this Wolfowitz should resign; and most seem quite clear about that.

It is hard though for me to understand why there has been so little discussion about the Ethics Committee’s initial proposal. Although I was an Executive Director at the World Bank, 2002-2004, I came there from the private sector, and so I might not possess sufficient intimate knowledge of all the nuances of diplomatic affairs… (which could perhaps just be lucky me).

I sincerely believe that the overwhelmingly good staff, management, board members and presidents, present or past of the World Bank, as well as a world that needs a respected multilateral institution where global challenges can be discussed, they all deserve that this affair is handled correctly, on the basis of what is right or wrong, and not just as a banal political row, of a for or against Wolfowitz.

We need to make more of a world bank out of the World Bank

Sir of course the "World Bank has greater problems than Wolfowitz", as E.A.S. Sarma says, May 8, but if he as a Former Secretary of Economic Affairs of India really believes that "setting up an Independent People's Tribunal to place the policies and programmes of the World Bank under the scanner, is part of finding the path for their own development", then may I suggest he has himself a bigger problem, as so do those who like my country Venezuela believe they are better off outside the World Bank.

Lets face it, the World Bank, after 64 years of activities has an outstanding accumulated portfolio of $103bn which compared for instance just to the $62bn in remittances made only last year to their homelands by the Latin-American migrant workers is a drop in the ocean, much more so when the financial flows to the richest country of the world are such staggering amounts that we are better off not even mentioning them.

As I see it, the faster we split up the bank in two completely separate areas, one for the development issues of the poor, laggard or left behind countries, and one for the global world development issues, the better chances we have of making a big dent in the poverty and a truer world bank out of the World Bank. At the Word Bank's Executive Board instead of reshuffling the seats among countries, we need to assure the representation of international actors such as multinational corporations, migrant workers and international labour unions.

By the way, if I had the luck and honour to be left in that division of the World Bank in charge of helping the laggards catch up, I know exactly what I would do. I would put all my efforts to strengthen the confidence of the poor people in their own capacity, so that they dare to ride a bicycle on their own, instead of trying to make their misery more liveable, holding their bikes, or offering them scapegoats and excuses for their falls, such as the World Bank.

Perkins’ Confessions… a rough book tour is not punishment enough!

I just read the Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. It is a repulsive autobiography, I guess about the mother of all mid-life crises, as the author describes his remorse with the active role he played in a conspiracy aimed at inducing developing countries to incur excessive debts so as to subjugate them and control their natural resources. That individuals could on purpose miscalculate in order to gain benefits is a fact of life, but that this would be happening with malice on a worldwide scale and as part of an American conspiracy is just too much to fathom—and then just sit back.

I haven’t the faintest clue whether the book is true or not and in fact I don’t care because, in either case, Mr. Perkins needs to be prosecuted. Either by American or international courts for committing fraud and crimes against humanity, or, by the same courts, for seeding that kind of distrust that makes it so much harder for good people to trust good people—a basic requisite if the world is to stand a chance.

Something should be done, soon, before it gains more credibility. The book is already a New York Times Bestseller and even though it states that the “World Bank doesn’t help them [the poor countries] to defend themselves. In fact, it forces them into this position,” on the back cover we read a former lead economist of The World Bank saying that it “succeeds as a wake up call because the reader cannot help but assess his or her role on a personal level, thus providing impetus for change.” Pearson ends his book with, “Like all confessions, it is the first step toward redemption.” Good for you! But, pal, a rough book tour is not punishment enough!

I have vociferously argued against the Debt Sustainability Analysis of poor developing countries which is currently so much in vogue, basically because I feel that debt should always be contracted if it is productive, not because it might be sustainable. Nonetheless, against Perkins’ Confessions my arguments do sound hollow and naïve though, come to think of it, I much prefer to live out my life with this kind of naïveté than to live with the cynicism otherwise obligatory. Perkins says he wrote so that his daughter could have a future. So do I—for my daughters and for his.

Human genetics made inhuman

Lately world leaders have issued statements labeling research into the human genetic blueprint as “one of the most significant scientific projects of all time.” They have also suggested that “to realize the full promise of the research, raw fundamental data on the human genome including the human DNA sequence and its variations should be made freely available to scientists everywhere.”

As of this moment, all I have read about the mapping of human genes has been so upsetting that it only brings to mind the title of the musical Stop the World, I Want to Get Off. I am very far from making my mind up about this difficult issue, but I need to share some of my initial concerns with as many people as possible.

A report cited in Reuters from the Daily Telegraph, London, indicates that “the government plans to allow insurance companies to use DNA testing to assess whether people are at risk of inheriting serious illness and should pay higher premiums.”

I believe strongly in the importance of the market as a means for the distribution of resources in society. However, I also believe that the benefits of development should accrue to all, not leaving any behind. What we now seem to be able to accomplish with research on the human genome multiplies manifold the difficulties of harmonizing these two previously contradicting objectives.

For instance, it would be great if genetics allowed the insurance companies to decide who will pay lower premiums, that is, those with less risk of developing serious illness. However, who will be responsible for those declared genetically second-class citizens, who will be forced to pay double or triple the premium, or who will ultimately be turned down altogether?

This problem is not limited to insurance. Reuters also reported on a conference to be held in mid-April in the United Kingdom in which “Genetic testing of children and testing for physical and social characteristics, as well as medical traits, would be high on the agenda.” Does this imply the possibility that even access to the university will some day be determined in part by genetic analysis?

What would parents who today limit their background search to asking their children who their friends’ parents are do tomorrow? Would they be obliged to ask about their genetic charts? The potential for discrimination is great, and would only reinforce the motivations of overly twisted Darwinists.

This genetic investigation might also represent a serious commercial threat for those countries that are not participating in this area. One of the companies racing to use information from gene mapping to make profits declared that it had hooked up with a center to find genes associated with breast cancer. If the efforts of this company are successful, it will be sitting on a patentable product and would be in a position to become a monopolist in a market with very inelastic demand. Can rationality be guaranteed within the openly declared and not unreasonable intention to obtain profit from the venture?

Many countries have signed commercial agreements that obligate them to respect patents to the extent of having to collaborate with other countries and punish unlawful use of protected discoveries. In the future, advancements in genetic science may force the revision of these accords, to decide whether they are still valid or whether, on the other hand and for the good of the common citizen, they should just look the other way.

What to do? It is very hard to say. Today, and just out of practical considerations, I limit myself to suggesting that all insurance companies design a plan which obligates them to issue policies for all of those who undertake a genetic examination. This policy should cover the negative impact and consequence that could arise from anyone getting access to such information.

I know this is only a Band-Aid, but what else can I do? I am not among those that resign and lie down to cry, even though this matter actually would justify just that.

From The Daily Journal, Caracas, March 2000

From Voice and Noise, Booksurge 2006

https://voiceandnoise.blogspot.com/2006/08/human-genetics-made-inhuman.html

Genes humanos hechos inhumanos 

A mediados de Marzo el Presidente Clinton y el Primer Ministro Tony Blair declararon in a joint statement que research into human genetic blueprint was "one of the most significant scientific projects of all time." Sugirieron también que "To realize full promise of the research, raw fundamental data on the human genome including the human DNA sequence and its variations, should be made freely available to scientist everywhere." Sonaba maravilloso. 

Desde ese momento solo he leido sobre aspectos relacionados con el mapeo de los genes humanos, tan perturbadores,.que a cada momento me recuerda el titulo del musical, Stop the world I want to get off. En la materia me encuentro muy lejos de encontrar una posición pero la angustia que me crea, me obliga a compartirla con muchos. 

Lo peor fue un reporte de Reuters en el cual, citando como fuente al Daily Telegraph de Inglaterra, se indica "The government plans to allow insurance companies to use DNA testing to assess whether people are at risk of inheriting serious illnesses and should pay higher premiums." 

Para alguien que como yo cree tanto en la importancia del mercado como mecanismo de asignación de recursos en la sociedad, como en la necesidad, objetiva y moral, que el desarrollo no solo alcance una parte de la población, y deje rezagada a la otra, las posibilidades que visualize, multiplicaron por mil las dificultades de harmonizar entre los dos algo contradictorios objetivos. 

Que bueno si la genetica permite cobrar una prima mas baja a quién no esta predispuesto a ciertas enfermedades, pero, quién se responzabiliza por el que resulte declarado ciudadano geneticamente de segunda y a quién le exigiran el pago doble, triple, o simplemente le rechazaran una cobertura. 

Lo anterior no se limita a seguros. La Reuter reporta también sobre una conferencias a mediados de Abril en Inglaterra y en la cual "Genetic testing of children and testing for physical and social characteristics, as well as medical traits, would also be high on the agenda." - lo cual dibuja en el horizonte la posibilidad de que hasta el acceso a las universidades se determine por analisis genetico. 

Los padres madres quienes hoy con toda normalidad le preguntan a sus hijos sobre quienes son los padres de sus amigos, qué harán mañana? Estarán en la obligación de preguntar sobre la carta genetica? 

Aparte de su potencial discriminatorio - que solo puede reforzar los argumentos de aquellos genéticamente desviados Darwinistas que buscan la raza suprema, la investigacion genetica también presenta una profunda amenaza comercial para los paises que hoy no tienen una presencia en esta area de la economia. 

Las primeras reacciones a las declaraciones de Clinto y Blair por parte del mercado financiero de empresas y laboratorios dedicado a la ciencia genetica fue negativa - se abre el mercado y se impide el monopolio. A los pocos dias la Casa Blanca declaraba "The whole point of this is to make raw data available so private companies can innovate, create new medicine and treatment and make a profit." y las aguas volvieron a su cause. 

Lo anterior plantea inmensos retos regulativos. Por ejemplo, Celera Genomics, one of the companies racing to use information from gene mapping to make profits, said on Monday it had hooked up with a center to find genes associated with breast cancer. Si los esfuerzos de tal empresa son exitosos obtendra un producto curativo y patentable, y se ubicara como monopolista en un mercado con una demanda inelastica. Como se garantiza la razonabilidad en la declarada y nada equivocada intención de obtener una ganancia. 

Un pais como Venezuela, ha firmado acuerdos comerciales que hoy lo obligan a respetar las patentes, hasta el grado de colaborar y perseguir el uso ilegitimo de estos. En un futuro, el desarrollo genético puede obligar a revisar estos acuerdos, para decidir si se siguen honrando o si, por el contrario, para el bien de sus ciudadanos, debe hacerse la vista gorda. 

Las reacciones emotivas que el tema produce, inspira escribir. Hoy termino proponiendo que las empresa de seguro, de inmediato diseñen un seguro, de caracter obligatorio para todo quien se haga un examen genetico, y que cubra las consecuencias negativas que se puedan derivar de poseer tal informacion. 

Reconozco que lo anterior solo es un pañito caliente, pero qué hago. No soy de los que renuncio y me hecho a llorar - aun cuando en este caso si provoca.