Posted on 03/31/2006 12:50:01 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK - Former President Clinton's attempt to marshal the resources of the world's wealthy and influential to solve global problems resulted in $2.5 billion in pledges during a signature conference held last year.
This year, he wants even more.
On Friday, the former president was joined by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he discussed plans for the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative and from the September 2005 gathering.
Clinton described major strides in addressing global health challenges like HIV infection in Africa, saying the CGI had negotiated testing and treatment for 250,000 people and would probably reach a million or more by next September.
But he also warned of a growing crisis brought about by global climate change and said the U.S. had not responded adequately to the threat.
"I don't understand why we in our country are in denial about this," Clinton said, adding that Great Britain and other countries in western Europe had cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 15 percent with no detrimental impact on their economies.
Bloomberg, a Republican, praised Clinton's efforts as "vitally important."
Clinton spokesman Jay Carson said there had been good progress on the commitments from last year, though some pledge-makers have had problems fulfilling their commitments. He wouldn't name those who were struggling but said there was still time for them to come through.
This year's gathering is set for Sept. 20-22 in New York with some of the focus on poverty, public health, energy and religious conflict. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, investor Warren Buffett and French President Jacques Chirac are among those expected to attend.
The 2005 session drew about 800 people at $15,000 a head.
Some of the more than 300 plans that resulted from that session:
• Three philanthropists and a group called Vital Voices Global Partnership collected nearly $170,000 to help women in the Middle East gain business skills.
• A doctor hoping to get medical supplies to needy parts of the world gained the support of the World Health Organization and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in an initiative valued at $500,000 a year.
• Deutsche Bank launched a $75 million microfinance consortium.
• Three of the larger commitments that Carson said were being met: Swiss Re, a reinsurance and financial services organization, pledged $300 million to start an investment fund to promote clean energy in Europe; Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter pledged $100 million to fight Third World poverty; Sudanese businessman Mohamed Ibrahim pledged $100 million to create an investment fund for African companies.
Commitments already are rolling in for 2006, including a $5.5 million promise from the Global Consumer Group at Citigroup to expand microfinancing efforts in 25 countries.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton gives a speech at the Guildhall in central London, Tuesday March 28, 2006. Clinton's 45-minute speech on progressive politics and globalization, organized by the Smith Institute, a Labour-leaning political think tank, touched on a wide array of topics, including the war in Iraq, job outsourcing, the threat of communicable diseases and even the Danish cartoons that infuriated much of the Muslim world earlier this year. (AP Photo/John D. McHugh, Pool)
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, left, listens as Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown answers questions after their keynote speeches in The Smith Institute Lecture at Guildhall in London, Tuesday, March 28, 2006. Clinton's 45-minute speech on progressive politics and globalization, organized by the Smith Institute, a Labour-leaning political think tank, touched on a wide array of topics, including the war in Iraq, job outsourcing, the threat of communicable diseases and even the Danish cartoons that infuriated much of the Muslim world earlier this year. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, Pool)
Sounds like BJ's speech was all over the map....nothing solid as usual from slick!
Well, The Stain is always "complaining" about how much money he has and that he's not taxed enough under GW Bush, so maybe The Stain should start donating all those speaking fees he receives to the poor.
FRom the caption above..
the threat of communicable diseases?
just letting Bubba visit your village is good cause to be on the lookout for them
This guy's never earned an honest dollar in his life but he sure knows what to do with everybody else's.
komrade krinton should make a one-way trip to his masters in red china and stay there!
So.... whose pockets will get lined with some gold this time around? Certainly it never gets to the people who really need it.
Wait a minute, est ended world hunger in ten years. Just get them to take of all this other stuff, too.
If we made private schools in Mexico that promoted America's cultural values...limited government/private industry/self responsibility/moral fortitude...I would put in a little money. I don't know if the Mexican government would allow such, but I think it's really the only long-term way to change Mexico.
The culture there has to change.
A couple weeks of Hill playing the stock market should net him half that amount.
But what does Clintoon care . . .
. . . it's not his money!
That's a lot of money to listen to a guy who's best known for being caught wacking off on an intern in the White House.
where's the audit of last year's expenditures?
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