March 2004 - VOLUME 25 - NUMBER 3
T H E L A W R E N C E S U M M E R S M
E M O R I A L A W A R D
March 2004 - VOLUME 25 - NUMBER 3
T H E L A W R E N C E S U M M E R S M
E M O R I A L A W A R D
THE LAWRENCE SUMMERS MEMORIAL AWARD*The March Lawrence Summers Memorial Award* goes to the re-election campaign of President George Bush. The campaign is selling clothing made in Burma -- in apparent contravention of a ban on Burmese imports that Bush himself signed into law. Newsday reports that "The merchandise sold on www.georgewbushstore.com includes a $49.95 fleece pullover, embroidered with the Bush-Cheney '04 logo and bearing a label stating it was made in Burma, now Myanmar." The ban on Burmese imports, as well as other Burma sanctions, passed the Congress with bipartisan support, as U.S. lawmakers across the political spectrum have united to condemn Burma's ruling junta, which is guilty of massive human rights violations. Source: Lauren Weber, "Bush campaign gear made in Burma," Newsday, March 18, 2004. |
| *In a 1991 internal memorandum, then-World Bank economist Lawrence Summers argued for the transfer of waste and dirty industries from industrialized to developing countries. "Just between you and me, shouldn't the World Bank be encouraging more migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs (lesser developed countries)?" wrote Summers, who went on to serve as Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration. "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that. ... I've always thought that underpopulated countries in Africa are vastly under polluted; their air quality is vastly inefficiently low [sic] compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City." Summers later said the memo was meant to be ironic. |