text:
Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic of Inequality to Build a Green, Inclusive, & Resilient Recovery
This event took place on March 29, 2021
Follow the event on Twitter #ResilientRecovery
(Read the event transcript in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish)
'We have to help countries improve their readiness for future pandemics.'
World Bank Group President David Malpass called on the world to move urgently toward opportunities and solutions that achieve a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in a speech today that advances the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings.
"Our collective responses to poverty, climate change, and inequality will be the defining choices of our age."
Mr. Malpass delivered the speech virtually at the London School of Economics; it was followed by a discussion with students, moderated by Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics.
See the list of Speakers
As we work toward a #ResilientRecovery, our collective responses to poverty, climate change, & inequality will be the defining choices of our age.
My thanks to Baroness Shafik & @LSEnews for their hospitality.#LSECOVID19
Read my full remarks here: https://t.co/K4vywMfLq2 pic.twitter.com/OBMutc93di
— David Malpass (@DavidMalpassWBG) March 29, 2021
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COVID-19 response: Where we stand now, and the road ahead
The World Bank Group and COVID-19 Vaccine
Debt Service Suspension Initiative and COVID-19
Read the transcript
00:00 —Welcome, everyone.
00:02 My name is Minouche Shafik and I'm the director
00:04 of the London School of Economics and political science.
00:07 And we're delighted to have you joining us for this online event.
00:11 I'm especially pleased to welcome president David Malpass to the LSE today.
00:16 David Malpass is the 13th president of the World Bank Group.
00:20 And he's been in that role since April, 2019.
00:24 And I have to confess it's an organization
00:26 that I spent 15 happy years of my career in.
00:29 President Malpass previously served as the Under Secretary of the Treasury for
00:33 International Affairs for the United States, where he represented the US
00:38 at G7 and G20 meetings, as well as on the financial stability board,
00:42 the OECD and the overseas private investment corporation.
00:46 For today's event,
00:48 he will be discussing what is needed to build a green,
00:52 inclusive and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:57 The current crisis has worsened global inequality and disproportionately
01:02 impacted those who are poorest and most vulnerable across the world,
01:06 particularly women and children. So in our conversation today,
01:11 President Malpass and I will discuss how we can accelerate a global recovery in
01:15 a way that tackles growing inequalities and improves livelihoods.
01:20 Some logistics to start for those who are Twitter users
01:23 the hashtag for today's event is #LSECOVID19.
01:28 And this event will be recorded and made available as a podcast afterward,
01:33 as usual, there'll be a chance for you to ask questions to President Malpass.
01:37 And so to submit those questions,
01:39 please send them to the Q&A feature at the bottom of your screen.
01:43 And questions will be submitted to me, and I will then convey them.
01:47 Please let us know your name and affiliation.
01:50 And we're especially keen to hear from students and alumni across the world.
01:54 Also tell us where you are.
01:56 I'm particularly delighted that two of our own LSE students will be posing questions
02:00 to President Malpass live before opening it up to the wider audience.
02:06 So with that, I'm delighted to welcome president Malpass.
02:09 And I'll ask him to deliver some opening remarks to get us started.Over to you.
02:20 —Thank you very much, Baroness Shafik,
02:24 it's a pleasure to be here with you,
02:26 a distinguished alumna of the World Bank Group,
02:29 and other distinguished World Bank alumni including Lord Stern,
02:32 our former Chief Economist.
02:34 And thanks to the LSE for hosting me virtually.
02:39 Today, I will set the stage ahead of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings.
02:44 This provides an opportunity to engage partners
02:50 on urgent matters, including work on climate change, debt,
02:54 and inequality, working toward a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery.
02:59 Let me begin by acknowledging the importance of the United Kingdom within the World Bank Group.
03:05 The UK is the largest contributor to IDA.
03:09 It is the IBRD's fifth-largest shareholder,
03:12 and I enjoy strong relationships with Prime Minister Johnson,
03:16 Secretary of State Raab, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak,
03:20 Bank of England Governor Bailey, President of COP26 Alok Sharma,
03:25 and members of Parliament, civil society, the private sector, academia, and media.
03:30 Our office in London works to promote consensus
03:34 around the international development agenda
03:37 and build a platform for collaboration on shared priorities.
03:42 More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic.
03:46 The scale of the tragedy is unprecedented
03:49 127 million infections, 2.8 million deaths,
03:54 more than 100 million people pushed into extreme poverty.
03:58 It's the equivalent of 250 million jobs lost,
04:01 and a quarter of a billion people driven into acute hunger.
04:06 Besides its immediate harm COVID-19 is leaving lasting "scars:"
04:11 closed schools and physical stunting of children;
04:15 collapsed businesses and lost jobs;
04:18 the depletion of saving and assets; and debt overhangs
04:23 that will depress investment and squeeze out urgent social spending.
04:27 COVID-19 descended on the poor like wildfire.
04:31 It was layered on several slow burning crises,
04:36 rising conflict and violence, refugee camps,
04:40 stagnant median incomes, reckless lending
04:44 and poorly chosen debt contracts,
04:46 and damage caused by climate change.
04:49 Because these crises struck at different speeds,
04:53 the natural tendency everywhere was to tackle them separately
04:57 one-at-a-time, without sufficient attention to cross-connections
05:02 that might have enabled a more effective response.
05:05 The world is developing a better line of sight forward.
05:09 Our collective responses to poverty,
05:11 Our collective responses to poverty, climate change, and inequality
05:14 will be the defining choices of our age.
05:17 It is time to move urgently toward opportunities and solutions
05:22 that achieve sustainable and broad-based economic growth without harming climate,
05:27 degrading the environment, or leaving hundreds of millions of families in poverty.
05:33 We're calling our approach to these interlinked crises GRID
05:38 —Green, Resilient, Inclusive Development.
05:41 In previous addresses,
05:43 I've detailed some of the World Bank Group's actions in helping countries
05:47 respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,
05:50 tackle what I've called the "pandemic of inequality,"
05:53 and work toward recovery.
05:55 These include new COVID-related emergency health programs
06:00 in 112 countries,
06:03 vaccination operations that we expect will reach $4 billion of commitments
06:08 available in 50 countries by mid-year,
06:11 and a quick doubling of our trade and working capital finance
06:16 to help fill the banking vacuum that hit private sectors.
06:25 Despite COVID-related work-from-home restrictions,
06:28 the World Bank had record 65% growth in program delivery in 2020
06:34 —an even bigger surge than the height of the global financial crisis response in 2009—
06:42 and this elevated level of delivery is continuing in 2021.
06:47 It's important that every commitment has the greatest possible development impact
06:51 impact and robust operational policies and review processes.
06:57 And we're building a culture of contestability,
07:00 where we encourage our highly diverse, multi-disciplinary and globally experienced staff
07:07 to challenge each other's perspectives and help to enhance the quality of operations,
07:13 throughout both preparation and implementation.
07:19 External input is vital too,
07:21 including from development professionals and schools such as yours.
07:26 Each of our Country Partnership Frameworks is developed with citizen participation.
07:31 We're working to help countries build "Country Platforms" to engage
07:36 with a wider groups of development actors
07:38 as they develop the programs we support.
07:41 External experts frequently participate in the development of our projects and programs.
07:47 And in the past year,
07:48 we've taken significant steps to enhance the accountability mechanisms
07:53 for both the World Bank, and for IFC and MIGA.
08:01 I encourage each of you to read World Bank country programs,
08:06 project documents,
08:07 and our knowledge sharing to think about what works and
08:12 possibly what doesn't.
08:14 Good development outcomes in countries are
08:16 at the heart of the Bank's mission and activities.
08:21 The challenge extends to every academic discipline, and we need faster progress across the board
08:28 —in water, nutrition, education, health, infrastructure, electricity access, governance,
08:37 regulation, taxation, connectivity, inclusion, tolerance, and a host of other critical issues.
08:47 I'm going to focus on three of the most pressing challenges today,
08:52 —climate, debt, and inequality.
08:55 I know climate is on all our minds and perhaps particularly in the UK as
09:00 the host of COP26 in Glasgow, this November.
09:05 The World Bank is actively supporting developing countries to achieve
09:08 significant progress on the climate agenda,
09:11 through the lens that investing in climate offers development opportunities.
09:16 The World Bank Group is the biggest provider of climate finance to the developing world.
09:22 My first year as president saw the biggest climate investments in our history,
09:27 and investments in my second year are on track to be bigger still.
09:31 We've set an ambitious new target of 35% for climate investments on average,
09:36 over the next five years
09:38 —meaning that 35% of the financing within our investments as a whole
09:43 is supporting developing country climate benefits.
09:47 To give you a sense of the scale of the ambition,
09:49 over the previous 5 years the World Bank Group
09:52 climate finance was 26% of a significantly smaller amount of lending.
09:59 Our climate financing will be used toward "mitigation" efforts,
10:04 to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and their impacts;
10:08 and for "adaptation" efforts, to help countries prepare for negative climate effects.
10:14 We've set a second important target in that regard.
10:17 Of our total climate finance over the next five years,
10:20 at least 50% on average will be for adaptation.
10:24 I'd expect the share of adaptation to be particularly large in the IDA countries,
10:30 which currently account for just 4% of global emissions,
10:34 even as many of them suffer life-threatening climate change impacts.
10:40 In addition to these high targets for financing,
10:43 we are working to achieve the most impact in terms of results
10:48 —actual improvements in the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions
10:52 and lives and livelihoods saved through adaptation.
10:56 To help this effort,
10:58 we're moving to integrate climate into all our country diagnostics and country strategies.
11:04 Over the next year,
11:05 we plan to complete up to 25 Country Climate and Development Reports.
11:11 We'll aim to include in this first wave,
11:14 those developing countries with the largest carbon emissions and those with
11:19 the greatest climate vulnerabilities,
11:22 We're also working to improve results-measurement
11:25 to help make sure that our financing and strategies deliver impact.
11:30 A key part of our climate action is to support countries with their Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs,
11:37 and long-term low carbon development plans.
11:42 Countries have widely varying approaches,
11:46 and we want to help them integrate climate and development as effectively as possible,
11:50 including through fiscal policy and plans for sustainable growth.
11:55 For some countries,
11:56 carbon taxation will be an effective way to help guide capital and
12:01 respond to the distributed impact of the response to climate change.
12:05 Every year, G20 countries alone put tens of billions of dollars
12:10 into subsidizing high carbon industries.
12:14 If these billions could instead be used to fund a "just transition,"
12:20 just think how much faster we could progress toward a low-carbon, net-zero world.
12:26 Green growth will involve several key systemic transformations
12:31 —for example, in energy, food systems, manufacturing, transportation
12:36 and urban infrastructure.
12:38 Each transfer transformation is complicated,
12:42 but these sectors account for 90% of GHG emissions,
12:46 so they are the key to GHG reduction.
12:50 One of the most challenging and important transformations is for countries to achieve
12:55 a just transition from coal to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.
13:03 The Bank can help countries with this, but it is complicated for a number of reasons including:
13:09 economic dependence on coal, worker displacement as the transition occurs,
13:16 the cost of new infrastructure and writing off many large, recent investments,
13:23 and the importance of identifying ways to provide rapid growth
13:27 in affordable, reliable and year-round base load to replace coal
13:32 in the national grids of developing countries facing energy poverty.
13:37 The world needs to make further technological breakthroughs
13:41 before we can achieve a zero-carbon world.
13:46 Climate presents several big challenges and opportunities
13:50 for economics, finance, and development.
13:52 I'd like to mention several and encourage public discussion.
13:56 First, how does the world help poorer countries make large investments in global public goods
14:03 such as their reduction in coal usage?
14:07 Should the costs be shared worldwide? If so, how?
14:11 Second, how can national incentives be aligned and financed
14:15 to help people transition to greener fuels and jobs,
14:19 for example using carbon and gasoline taxes?
14:23 Third, can an effective carbon credit market be created
14:28 that allows greenhouse gas emissions for some while paying for reductions elsewhere
14:36 —not just certificates of notional carbon reduction
14:39 but actual measurable and sustainable decarbonization?
14:44 Fourth, how can we properly measure the full life-cycle costs and benefits
14:49 of various climate policy choices?
14:52 Fifth, how can people in poorer countries best make the necessary but expensive adaptations to climate change
14:58 and how can they best prepare for future pandemics and natural disasters
15:04 – knowing that preparation is much better than after-the-fact disaster relief?
15:10 And lastly, how can the necessary progress on global public goods be best integrated with development
15:18 and the necessary reductions in poverty and increases in shared prosperity?
15:25 These are key questions and challenges at the core of combatting climate change.
15:30 The Bank is addressing these challenges in our analytical work in low- and middle-income countries,
15:36 and in our rapidly expanding climate operations.
15:42 I also want to comment on the debt situation facing poorer countries.
15:46 While some progress on debt is underway, including a recent breakthrough in Sudan,
15:51 many of the poorer countries are coping with record debt burdens.
15:56 Even before the pandemic, the World Bank report on Global Waves of Debt
16:01 —which studied the causes and consequences of the four waves of debt accumulation that the global economy has experienced over the past fifty years—
16:06 that the global economy has experienced over the past fifty years—
16:10 found that half of all low-income countries
16:14 were already in debt distress or at a high risk of it before the pandemic.
16:19 The pandemic has only exacerbated the debt burden on people, many of whom would be poor
16:24 even without having to pay the interest and principle on their governments' debt.
16:30 Every day,
16:31 high debt-service payments are diverting scarce resources that could be used for urgent needs:
16:38 for health, education, nutrition – and also climate action.
16:44 Since the outbreak of COVID,
16:45 the World Bank has been the largest provider of net transfers
16:49 to IDA and least-developed countries.
16:51 From April to December 2020,
16:54 our net transfers to these countries alone were close to $17 billion,
16:59 of which nearly $5.8 billion were on grant terms,
17:04 And our new commitments were almost $30 billion,
17:08 But much more is needed.
17:10 The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI)
17:15 —which I and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called for almost exactly one year ago—
17:22 has helped.
17:24 It has enabled 43 countries to postpone nearly $6 billion
17:28 in debt-service payments between May and December [2020],
17:32 with further savings of up to $7.3 billion expected
17:37 between then and its current end-date of June.
17:41 Yet so far,
17:42 the relief has been less than anticipated
17:45 because not all creditors participated.
17:49 Large non-Paris Club bilateral creditors
17:53 have only partially participated [in the DSSI]
17:57 and, most troubling of all,
18:01 bondholders and other private creditors
18:04 have continued to collect full repayments throughout the crisis.
18:09 The recent DSSI experience shows that commercial creditors won't comply
18:13 with calls for "voluntary participation" in debt relief initiatives.
18:18 As the implementation of the Common Framework commences,
18:22 G20 countries need to instruct and create incentives
18:26 for all their public bilateral creditors to participate in debt relief efforts,
18:32 including national policy banks.
18:35 They also need to forcefully encourage the private creditors
18:39 under their jurisdiction to participate fully in sovereign debt relief efforts
18:44 for low-income countries.
18:46 There are specific measures that should be considered by G7 countries
18:50 to encourage more participation.
18:53 To give just one example, sovereign immunity laws might be amended
18:57 to include immunity from attachment by commercial creditors
19:02 who refuse to participate in a Common Framework treatment
19:10 Through the Common Framework and the DSSI,
19:13 we can identify unsustainable debt where it exists and help restructure it
19:18 to moderate levels. For countries with high risk of debt distress,
19:21 but still sustainable debt levels,
19:25 we should consider reprofiling it—by extending maturities, for example.
19:29 But all of this will require more participation than we have seen so far
19:34 from the private sector, and some official bilateral creditors.
19:40 As in the climate area,
19:41 the economic and finance challenges surrounding debt are huge
19:45 and worthy of your attention and public discussion.
19:49 First, what are the tradeoffs between assistance during liquidity crises
19:54 for near-term debt payments versus longer-term support for sustainability
20:01 that allows the people to make progress against poverty?
20:05 For which countries is it appropriate to delay principle and interest payments
20:09 but without reducing the stock of debt or the interest rates on it?
20:14 For which countries should the total debt burden be reduced
20:18 given 'low for long' outlook?
20:21 Second, how can accountability be achieved given the difference in time horizons
20:26 of those signing debt and investment contracts
20:29 and those people in the countries that bear the burden?
20:33 For example, how can a system of contracts work
20:36 when it is strongly in the interest of government officials
20:40 to accept stringent contract terms for debt
20:43 even though the long-term payments will be difficult?
20:47 Third, how should the international financial system operate
20:51 when there is no bankruptcy process for sovereign debt?
20:55 How can the system resolve the glaring imbalance between creditors,
21:00 who have the power and the responsibility to fully enforce contracts;
21:04 and debtor countries, who are often poorer and have less capacity
21:09 to resolve disagreements?
21:11 Clearly, transparency is going to be a key part of the solution to these problems.
21:16 The resistance to debt transparency is intense.
21:19 Airtight nondisclosure agreements often protect contracts, leaving their terms
21:25 – and sometimes even their existence – secret.
21:28 Some contracts include almost the reverse of a collective action clause
21:34 – a clause requiring debtors to exempt the creditor from any comparable treatment,
21:40 where debt restructuring, for example with the Paris Club, is agreed.
21:45 In debt, as in so many areas, sunlight is truly the best remedy.
21:50 Given our long-track record in helping countries to address their debt problems,
21:55 the Bank, together with the IMF, will continue to engage and support countries
22:00 in their efforts to achieve a moderate debt position.
22:05 I've discussed climate and debt in some detail
22:09 and some of the economic challenges they present.
22:12 I'd like to close with a discussion of inequality.
22:14 As I said at the outset, our response to poverty, climate change, and inequality
22:20 will be defining choices of our age.
22:23 Inequality is most apparent in the direct effects of COVID,
22:28 that hits informal workers and the vulnerable the most;
22:30 and in the unequal access to vaccines for developing countries.
22:38 Inequality is also worsening due to the focus of fiscal and monetary stimulus
22:46 on support for the formal sector and selected assets
22:50 at the expense of debt owed by future generations.
22:55 That problem is most applicable to advanced economies,
23:00 but a similar effect hits the indebted people in the developing countries
23:05 because sovereign debts and debt rollovers
23:08 have their biggest positive impact on those signing the contracts
23:13 – creditors and debtors –
23:15 whereas the burden of the debt often falls on the poor.
23:19 I spoke at length about Reversing the Inequality Pandemic
23:24 in October 2020 ahead of our Annual Meetings last year.
23:29 I explained the work that we are doing to address the challenges posed by inequality,
23:34 including our financial support through COVID-related emergency health programs
23:40 and cash transfer programs.
23:42 These inequalities raise a third set of economic challenges
23:46 I'd like to raise them to your attention.
23:49 First, what's the fastest, most effective path to better vaccine distribution?
23:55 It's important for the vaccination process to start in more countries
24:00 because vaccinations will take many months due to constraints in delivery capacity.
24:06 The World Bank will have arranged vaccine financing for 50 developing countries by mid-year,
24:13 but the supply issues are unresolved.
24:16 Second, as I discussed in the climate section,
24:19 how does the world finance the necessary investments in global public goods by poorer countries?
24:26 Third, is there any pathway to developing countries
24:29 for the massive fiscal stimulus and run-up in national debt
24:34 being applied by the advanced economies?
24:38 On the other hand,
24:45 the loss of investments, skills, and schooling during the pandemic
24:49 has been catastrophic for the developping world.
24:53 The data is clear that poorer countries are not making the gains in living standards
24:58 that were expected pre-crisis, and are falling further behind.
25:03 And, fourth, because the asset purchases by advanced economies
25:07 are so large, long-term and selective,
25:12 can the purchases be spread out more fairly
25:15 to improve global capital allocation,
25:19 benefit smaller businesses and new entrants,
25:21 and allow borrowers needing short-term financing to have more access?
25:28 Let me conclude with this:
25:30 COVID-19 has brought us to a crossroads. In our policy choices,
25:34 as we look to the future, we can avoid errors of the past.
25:38 To repair the damage, we will need integrated, long-run strategies
25:43 that emphasize green, resilient, and inclusive development.
25:48 This must be aligned with the need for policies
25:51 that help countries increase literacy,
25:55 reduce stunting and malnutrition,
25:58 ensure clean water and energy access,
26:01 and provide better health care.
26:04 We must help countries improve their readiness for future pandemics.
26:08 We need to help them accelerate the development and adoption
26:12 of digital technologies.
26:14 We need to work to improve and expand local supply chains
26:18 and strengthen biodiversity and ecosystems.
26:22 As I've emphasized during this address,
26:24 cooperation between academics, development practitioners and policy makers
26:29 also has a key role to play.
26:31 The world faces overwhelming challenges.
26:34 In some cases, the answers are clear,
26:36 and the challenge is to communicate these clearly to policymakers.
26:40 In other cases, academics – including those at LSE –
26:46 can help to break new ground, in tackling the unanswered questions
26:51 – and in doing so help to invent a greener, more resilient,
26:56 and inclusive model of prosperity for the 21st century.
27:00 The World Bank Group can be a key champion in helping to address climate change,
27:05 debt, and inequality
27:08 bringing to the table public and private sector solutions,
27:12 as well as the unique combination of analytics,
27:16 financial support, and convening power.
27:19 Today, we have a historic opportunity to change course
27:22 —to improve development outcomes for countries,
27:25 to overcome the rising dangers of climate change,
27:28 systemic inequality, social instability, and conflict.
27:33 In our efforts to rebuild,
27:35 we can generate a recovery that ensures a broad and lasting rise in prosperity
27:41 especially for the poorest and most marginalized.
27:44 It's an opportunity that we can't afford to pass up.
27:48 So I want to thank you. Thanks very much Minouche.
27:52 —Thank you, David.
27:53 Thank you for that incredibly comprehensive summary
27:56 of the biggest challenges of our time.
27:59 And I wanted to start just by picking up where you ended
28:02 about the lessons from this year and what we should learn from it.
28:07 There are clearly some countries that have done better than others,
28:10 some approaches that have worked better than others.
28:14 What would you change going forward?
28:16 Given the lessons that we have learned from this year of COVID?
28:22 —I mentioned several. So to recap a bit,
28:29 I think we need better analytics,
28:32 in the climate area because the challenges are big and there's a lot of work
28:37 to be done on that. So that's one, and the World Bank is trying
28:40 to really beef up those efforts.
28:43 That helps countries do their NDCs,
28:45 for example,
28:46 and they're engaged with the Paris agreement and it's important that they
28:51 find good ways in which to engage,
28:55 in the area of debt. I went through some of the things, you know, there,
28:58 there is this oddity, call it,
29:01 where we have a world that's based on contract law,
29:04 but we have this odd situation where there's not a bankruptcy process
29:08 for sovereigns.
29:10 So all the rest of the world really has some way,
29:14 if a mistake is made to remedy it and move forward,
29:17 but we don't have that for the sovereign debt area.
29:20 That means that it's growing fast. You know,
29:23 there's lots more money being put into it.
29:26 But there's not a way to resolve it when mistakes are made,
29:30 when a country doesn't do as well as the leaders hoped that it would do
29:34 or when the money isn't used very effectively.
29:37 So we have that.
29:40 And then I guess I'll mention, and conclude on the vaccinations:
29:45 this is a huge area
29:46 and I mentioned in the remarks that we got to get people vaccinations
29:52 actually started in many countries
29:55 because some... you know,
29:57 think of a country, if it only has the capacity to do 2000 vaccinations a week
30:02 because of the constraints in their healthcare system,
30:06 then the earlier that it can be started, the better.
30:09 And I think that's going to be an important step.
30:12 —Well, you mentioned vaccines, in your talk that the Bank had financed
30:17 programs in 50 countries, which is not a traditional area of the Bank to act in,
30:23 but you also mentioned the constraints on supply.
30:26 And what would you say going forward that we could do to ensure
30:31 equitable access to vaccine supply?
30:35 —These are, these are profound questions.
30:37 So what we hope we will have 50 countries by mid-year.
30:41 So we're in the process now, week by week, the board approves operations,
30:45 and then the countries began, they have the money
30:50 for the financing and can interact with COVAX.
30:54 All of the money can go to COVAX if it can obtain supplies,
30:59 but as you've seen in that in recent days, their supply lines
31:03 for example, from India,
31:06 appeared to be very constrained for now.
31:09 So the world is working through these contract challenges.
31:14 I think that single biggest thing that could be done,
31:19 is if there could be more transparency on the options
31:25 that the advanced economies have
31:27 meaning to really put on the table,
31:30 how much of the supply are you going to take?
31:34 And then how much is left?
31:36 And then the same thing from the suppliers and their licensees.
31:41 Some of the inventors of vaccines have licensed the production to others.
31:46 So, if each were able to have maybe in a confidential setting
31:51 an exchange of views on who has contracts
31:54 and who is required to give their supply to the advanced economies,
32:01 then that would allow us to see,
32:05 what might be available for people in developing countries.
32:09 We're I think the people are working through these problems,
32:12 but every week counts because of the severity of the pandemic.
32:19 —Like with debt relief, you point to transparency and better information
32:22 as being the key to taking a more efficient, global approach.
32:26 I wanted to ask you about debt
32:30 and the fact that we...
32:33 the system that we currently have for providing debt relief
32:37 is arguably too little, too late.
32:38 Similar to the vaccine response: too little, too late.
32:43 And, the question would be:
32:46 how could we get a better system for dealing with debt relief going forward?
32:53 —I'm glad you mentioned transparency.
32:56 I really think that governments and,
32:58 – you know, the World Bank is the keeper of one of the important databases on this –
33:04 It's called IDS: international debt statistics.
33:08 And so we do a questionnaire,
33:12 but it's an interactive questionnaire with countries every year
33:15 to say how much debt you owe.
33:18 And now we've started reconciling that with the creditor countries.
33:23 So we go back to the lenders and say:
33:27 "do you agree with this data?"
33:29 And so we're trying to have accurate data.
33:32 That's pretty comprehensive.
33:34 I'll give you one example:
33:36 in the past, if a central bank lend to another central bank,
33:40 it was maybe called "a swap"
33:41 and it wasn't counted as that,
33:43 even though interest rates might have been charged.
33:48 And so now we're trying to include that in the database
33:51 so that people can see the true commitments of their, of their countries.
33:57 And then our hope is that by having more information,
34:01 people will ask about... what's in between that data,
34:06 where are there gaps in the data. We're trying to fill those in.
34:10 And they might also try to work with countries
34:13 on ways to improve the contracts that they enter into.
34:18 One of the biggest developments in recent years has been well,
34:23 I'd like to mention two,
34:25 that have occurred over the last five years or so,
34:29 which is the routine inclusion of non-disclosure clauses.
34:34 So, for the lending that China's doing,
34:37 they're routinely putting clauses into the contracts that say you can't
34:41 disclose the nature of the contracts that makes it hard to have the transparency
34:46 and another development in recent years is that, um,
34:50 many or most of the big contracts,
34:53 the big debt contracts are now collateralized.
34:56 Meaning the governments of the countries are
34:58 committing the future resources of the country to payment of the debt.
35:03 And so the people of the country are somewhat left out of that equation.
35:09 So their country is being used...
35:11 their resources are being used to pay the debt,
35:14 and these are very hard for the financial community to untangle.
35:19 So those are some of the... I think,
35:22 a much greater degree of transparency,
35:24 and I think with the force of the G7, the G20,
35:29 with strong backing by the creditor governments
35:32 would go a long way toward improving or avoiding
35:35 these waves of debt, one after another,
35:41 that have been coming at the world for the last forty years.
35:42 —Very good point. And without transparency,
35:45 it's very hard to have fair burden-sharing in terms of debt relief,
35:48 unless all the evidence is on the table. Very good point.
35:52 I now have a question for you from Lord Nick Stern, my colleague at LSE
35:57 and another former Worldbanker.
35:59 Nick's question is:
36:01 "David, thank you so much for the very thoughtful lecture and for your commitment
36:04 to bring together the challenges of climate and development.
36:07 As the shareholders press the MDBs to step up their response
36:11 to the tasks of tackling climate COVID and development,
36:16 would you agree that the shareholders themselves,
36:19 particularly from the richer countries should be challenged
36:22 to commit to the strategies and resources for the multilateral development banks,
36:27 which will be necessary over the crucial few years ahead.
36:30 Indeed, this whole decade.
36:31 Thank you and best, Nick.
36:35 —Thank you, Nick. Yes, I agree with the thrust of that,
36:40 you know, I've mentioned in my remarks,
36:43 the World Bank has increased by 65%,
36:45 our commitments in calendar 2020 from 2019.
36:49 So that's a big increase.
36:51 And our commitment on the climate side has also had an add a big expansion
36:56 to record territory for the World Bank. Of course,
36:59 we can do more and we're making very ambitious targets into the future. Now,
37:03 if we turn that back...
37:05 I'm looking forward to working with the shareholder countries.
37:12 And, let me go through some of the ways that we can do that, and we invite that.
37:17 One is on NDCs.
37:18 So with the developing countries, they're at a point
37:22 in their development history where they're being asked
37:27 to submit or to turn in their commitments
37:33 to the Paris agreement in ways that will affect both the mitigation side,
37:37 meaning reducing some of the dirty fuels that are being used,
37:42 and also to do more on adaptation.
37:45 And so that they need...
37:48 We can really play a role by providing technical assistance.
37:52 And I think the shareholder countries,
37:54 both the developing countries themselves can do a good job of these
37:59 [inaudible] season and really own it,
38:02 put it into their development plans in ways that they're able to finance and
38:06 afford and understand and politically support within their countries.
38:11 So that's important. And then for the,
38:13 for the donor countries or the more advanced economies,
38:17 I think they can look inward at their own NDCs and participate in that effort.
38:22 One other thing I'll mention, um, to Nick is, is, and I,
38:27 I went into it a little bit in the remarks is the importance of diagnostics.
38:32 One of the things that we're doing at our new climate action plan,
38:36 which is in the process of coming out over the next couple of weeks,
38:41 is the,
38:42 is the importance of focusing or prioritizing in both areas,
38:46 mitigation and adaptation.
38:48 So if we think about the sources of greenhouse gases around the
38:53 world, they're, they're relatively concentrated.
38:57 And so the world needs to think about what is the plan for this particular
39:02 source of one of the major contributors of greenhouse gases,
39:07 because it's going to take the world to,
39:10 to focus a lot of financial resources on solving those problems.
39:15 Some of the big users of coal, for example,
39:18 right now don't have an alternative to that.
39:20 So then there has to be a con concrete plan of how are you going to finance the
39:24 transition to,
39:26 to lower carbon fuel sources in order to keep the grid
39:31 running in those, in those countries? Uh,
39:34 so that's an area where diagnostics is going to be important.
39:38 And so shareholders have to recognize that as they make the commitments to the
39:43 net zero environment,
39:44 there needs to be a much better system for carbon credits and consideration of
39:49 carbon taxation. Because as,
39:52 as what economics can contribute to all of this is that
39:56 incentives matter. Uh,
39:58 and also that markets forming markets has to be based on meaningful
40:03 standards. So right now there's the concept of,
40:07 carbon offsets, but not really the reality of that.
40:11 So people are paying for it and then continuing to increase their greenhouse gas
40:15 emissions, without,
40:18 without actually having a workable market in order
40:22 to, function.
40:24 So I'll throw those out as areas of interaction with shareholders,
40:28 and I could have done 10 more, but I won't, I won't go on,
40:31 but I think it's very important to think about there being kind of a,
40:35 a two ways street between the multilaterals and the
40:41 shareholders in terms of making progress.
40:44 Very good. Thank you.
40:45 And I'm now going to turn over to two LSE students who are going to ask that
40:49 questions first, you'll hear from Brian who's from the United States,
40:53 completing an MSC in health and international development.
40:56 And then you hear from Nour in Asheville,
40:59 who was an Egyptian student completing an MSC in development management.
41:03 So over to Brian Allen first.
41:06 Thank you very much, and thank you very much,
41:08 president MAlpass for coming to the LSE and,
41:10 taking the time to take questions from students. We really appreciate it. Um,
41:14 I'm interested to get your perspective on how the World Bank has incorporated
41:18 past critiques and criticisms and past learnings in formulating
41:23 and implementing the COVID-19 portfolio.
41:27 Okay. That's a great question, Brian. Thank you. Um, the World Bank.
41:33 So, um,
41:34 w it's true that we haven't done as big of vaccination
41:39 operation as the current one. Uh, but the World Bank was very,
41:44 has been very involved in healthcare really since, since its inception,
41:49 um, more and more in recent decades.
41:53 And that means that there are people within the World Bank with immense insight
41:58 on healthcare systems and health delivery systems.
42:01 And so that was one of the reasons we were able to quickly,
42:05 to move as quickly as we did a year ago. So in April and May of 2020,
42:11 in the face of the pandemic, and with people working from home,
42:14 we were able to put together a hundred,
42:18 specific country specific programs that were,
42:21 that would finance the personal protective equipment. So those,
42:27 and other, other direct COVID, health responses.
42:31 So those relationships that's be in part because the World Bank has,
42:36 relationships in country and offices. You know,
42:39 some usually pretty sizable offices in countries and,
42:43 and people that are used to dealing with the healthcare system.
42:47 And then also that we could bring to bear the knowledge of the vaccination
42:51 process. Uh, the World Bank over, over,
42:55 over decades has been involved in the vaccinations for, for,
42:59 in the treatment and vaccinations for measles and for polio, for,
43:04 for yellow fever, and for,
43:09 the treatment of malaria of,
43:11 of severe illnesses and also Ebola. And so those,
43:15 the knowledge of how specific countries deal with vaccinations
43:20 was critical. So in, October, November,
43:24 when we went to the board with vaccination programs that the board,
43:29 understood those they'd been involved in those programs input,
43:33 help put them together in an effective way. And so then in October,
43:38 November the bank working with other partners with UNICEF,
43:42 with who was able to do,
43:45 over a hundred assessments of vaccination programs in countries.
43:50 So anyway, that's a long answer, but that the point is that,
43:54 there's a huge amount of knowledge on this specific area delivery of healthcare
43:59 in poor countries, including rural areas.
44:03 And we're trying to apply all of that almost every week now,
44:08 as we bring these new programs forward, just in the last two weeks,
44:12 we've brought forward vaccination programs for Bangladesh, for the Philippines,
44:16 for Ethiopia, for Nepal, for Afghanistan and, and, and others.
44:21 And so that's,
44:22 that's just in the two weeks and we have many more
44:27 coming kind of week by week where,
44:29 and the only way that can be is to have this network of country offices
44:34 that know how to interact with the governments they're working with.
44:39 Great. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thanks.
44:42 Nour, over to you.
44:46 Thank you so much for the introduction and thank you,
44:49 president Malpass for your speech. It was really interesting,
44:52 and it's a pleasure meeting you today.
44:54 So my question is more related to education and human capital
45:01 [inaudible] needed for home-based learning, um,
45:03 and the disruption cost to education in developing countries,
45:05 and especially in rural areas.
45:07 To what extent do you think the current pandemic would have a longterm impact on
45:11 human capital and what measures do governments need to take to mitigate this
45:16 effect? Thank you.
45:18 Thanks. This is a huge problem at the beginning of the pandemic, there was hope.
45:23 I think that distance learning could be made to work. Some countries did that,
45:27 but many did not. And so,
45:29 and their school systems or the education system is a critical
45:34 linchpin for a lot of countries.
45:36 It's where girls were safe and were, were being educated.
45:40 And then that stopped all of a sudden. And so, you know,
45:45 I don't know that there's data yet, but if you think of it, how many,
45:50 how many girls that were 13 years old or 14 years old,
45:55 are, are lost to the system, because of the closure of schools,
45:59 the schools were also important in nutrition because they often provided,
46:04 the, the, some, some,
46:06 nutritious food during the day for children that are at their vital growing
46:11 stage. So I I'm just mentioning that because, I mean,
46:15 the core issue is the backward movement in,
46:18 in terms of literacy and that they,
46:21 key building blocks of skills that's working capital,
46:25 which you're asked what you're, you're focusing on, but, you know, the, the,
46:30 the education systems often are,
46:33 are important in these other areas as well.
46:37 So we've been trying to help countries be ready to
46:41 reopen as quickly as possible, you know, around the world,
46:45 different different countries have different experiences,
46:50 of, of difficulty. You know, I, I live in Washington, DC, DC,
46:54 and the schools simply aren't open.
46:56 So a full year has gone by for kids to add an impressionable age,
47:01 that,
47:02 that is very hard to substitute when you're looking at a screen.
47:07 So I mentioned all of those, we're working as hard as we can to help countries,
47:13 reopen the schools in a safe way and begin the process of kind of
47:18 recapturing, some of the loss, lost learning.
47:22 The World Bank has done a lot of several or some
47:27 reports.
47:28 Some of them really detailed reports on the cost of
47:33 the, of the school closures, you know,
47:35 and so there are big numbers around, as far as the future lost income,
47:40 $10 trillion of income lost, by the,
47:44 by the impact of the pandemic on education. And I, I, I want to close,
47:49 I I'm really troubled by the impact on, girls and the vulnerable,
47:53 because the,
47:54 one of the one part of that development that's been going on is to
47:59 try to use school systems as, as,
48:03 a place of safety and advancement for people that are
48:07 left out by their society. And so th that's one of the most,
48:11 I think harmful losses in this area, and we're trying to get it back.
48:16 Good. I've got over 50 questions for you.
48:19 So I'm going to turn to them as quickly as I can.
48:21 I'll start with Holly McKinsey.
48:23 Who's an LSE MSC student in international relations,
48:27 and she asks [inaudible] estimates,
48:29 developing countries have immediate needs of two and a half trillion to combat
48:33 the Ben devek.
48:34 You noted the World Bank will make full billion available to developing
48:37 countries by 2021.
48:40 So the World Bank is far from the only organization assisting developing
48:43 countries, tackle the pandemic.
48:45 How can the international community work together to meet the short fall?
48:49 Uh, this is the,
48:51 the age old important question of development that,
48:56 resources that are available through the World Bank.
48:59 The World Bank has the biggest in,
49:01 in most fields by far compared to other
49:05 international organizations, including,
49:09 arms of the United nations. Uh,
49:11 but it doesn't have nearly enough money in your, your, your, your point.
49:16 It sounds like 2.5 trillion versus, versus,
49:21 a few billions of dollars. So exactly right. We,
49:25 we need to prioritize the things that we work on,
49:28 but the bottom line answer to yours,
49:31 the question is there won't be enough. Uh, we need a lot more,
49:36 I think, from
49:37 [inaudible]. So that's one source, but especially from the private sectors, you know, for a lot of the countries that we work in, the biggest source of funds is remittances from t heir people working, across borders. Um, which is an amazing thing.
49:53 If you think about, as, as the people leave the country,
49:56 they find jobs and they make enough money that they can send
50:01 extra home back to their families or to their cousins. They're there,
50:06 they're there or invest. One of the big,
50:08 biggest sources of foreign direct investment for,
50:12 for the poor countries is their own,
50:15 their own citizens living abroad who have made enough money,
50:19 that they can invest back in their Homeland. Um,
50:22 so those are trends that we need to encourage World Bank works hard to try make
50:27 remittances cheaper so that there's not such a, a spread.
50:31 I mentioned Sudan briefly in my remarks, we've just, they,
50:36 they were able to, um, unify their exchange rate in,
50:46 It's a, it's a breakthrough because by unifying the exchange rate,
50:50 then people abroad are much more willing to put money into the country. Uh,
50:55 and so those are steps that are important in Ethiopia and Nigeria yet to be
50:59 taken because those, dual exchange rates block the inflow.
51:04 So I've mentioned several things, I guess, in conclusion, to,
51:09 to get enough money for the UNCTAD goals.
51:13 We've got to recognize that non-governmental sources,
51:18 not, not even multilateral development banks,
51:21 it's got to come from the people of the country and in outside
51:25 investors recognizing the value of the climate in the country. That,
51:31 and, and, and that means,
51:33 really having systems that allow,
51:38 foreign direct investment, local investment.
51:42 Oftentimes the biggest need for the countries is to have the rich people that
51:47 actually still live in their country,
51:50 investing heavily in new businesses within their country.
51:53 We could think about Nigeria. It has a huge amount of assets,
51:58 but not enough investment in new businesses and new entrance in women,
52:02 businesses and so on around Nigeria.
52:05 So the biggest single source for this is going to be those
52:10 people that, the, the, the, the,
52:13 the investors who have the potential to put money into the
52:18 poorest countries.
52:20 Okay. So I've got a question from Joy Bailey who asks,
52:23 can constant growth ever be sustainable.
52:26 Is there a role for deep growth?
52:30 Um, no, I, I think history shows there will be cycles,
52:34 but I do think that growth for poor countries can be
52:39 achievable. Um, and you can think of it as a catch-up.
52:43 I think of it as knowledge sharing,
52:45 if the people in the poor countries no have access to
52:50 information, access to electricity, to clean water,
52:53 and then they can look at how agriculture is being done by their
52:58 neighbors.
52:59 And then they can do a better job in agriculture and on up the chain.
53:04 I know this is, you know, there are,
53:06 there's been a lots of work in development theory. Uh,
53:10 I think of it in terms of, of a recipe that you, you know,
53:15 you have a recipe where you need all the ingredients to come together,
53:19 and then you're able to make that, that,
53:21 that progress that would be sustainable growth. So I,
53:25 I guess I want to say, but, you know, for macro economists,
53:29 there's always going to be some ups and downs, some kind of cycle,
53:33 but from my standpoint for development, we certainly should be trying to have,
53:39 uh, a world where many of the poor countries can grow year after
53:44 year after year, by,
53:46 by putting together the elements that make it possible for their people.
53:52 I'm going to take a final question on climate change from Harriet [inaudible] an
53:56 LSE alumna. She asks as companies come out of lockdown,
54:00 they can reset supplier relationships by local and green.
54:05 How would you advise companies to use the supply chains to be more green
54:10 and could a global approach to supply chains actually be
54:14 counterproductive to tackling climate change?
54:18 Um, I mean, that's a complicated question,
54:21 and I would say we need to apply diagnostics or data let's let's
54:26 research, that point, that I guess she is,
54:31 as she is making, um, I,
54:35 I think that trade and commerce, meaning,
54:40 villages trading with each other people within villages trading with each other,
54:44 you know, there's,
54:45 there's an original concept that you have comparative advantage in something
54:49 that you know, how to do. And the goal,
54:52 one goal of economics is to share that with someone else who has a different
54:57 comparative advantage, and that means across borders as well.
55:01 So global supply chains, I think,
55:04 should be supportive of, of,
55:08 of a greener outcome. Um, that goes, I guess, I'll,
55:12 I'll re repeat one of the points I made that well,
55:16 w so diagnostics is going to be important,
55:20 but then we also need to,
55:22 keep an eye on prioritizing within the,
55:26 within the supply chain where the most effective use of,
55:30 of, trade is going to be. And that gets us into, you know,
55:36 these really tough economic questions of carbon pricing and
55:41 of, of carbon taxation and the incentive structure in order.
55:46 One thing I think we should do is try to make sure that there aren't
55:52 global supply chain,
55:53 some of the global supply chains probably should be identified
55:58 as being counterproductive to the green, goals that, that,
56:03 that people are working towards. And so maybe prioritizing those,
56:08 I, I guess I I've, I've wandered around a little bit in my answer,
56:12 but that answer to her is I think we need the diagnostics in order to
56:16 identify some of the global supply chains that maybe could be,
56:21 could be improved. And then other ones I will assert,
56:26 probably are very valuable the way they now operate.
56:31 Okay. Well, I think, we're going to have to,
56:36 to wrap up, although I've got 59 questions now today,
56:42 but I think it's only fair to, um,
56:44 to stop at this point and thank you for that,
56:48 that incredible overview of the issues,
56:52 many of which you'll be tackling in the upcoming spring meetings and,
56:57 and hopefully with great success.
56:59 I also wanted to thank the audience for the excellent questions,
57:03 thank our students,
57:05 for joining in and invite everyone to join us again for future LSE
57:10 events, which we hold regularly. And in which we, we entice,
57:14 outstanding speakers from all over the world,
57:17 president Malpass it's been a pleasure to have you here. And,
57:21 and please do come visit us again, hopefully in person.
57:25 Minouche, Baroness. Thank you so much.
57:27 And thanks everybody for the great questions and the, great,
57:30 great interaction. We covered a lot and I welcome it. And,
57:36 con thanks. Thanks LSE. Thanks Minouche. Bye.
57:40 Bye. Everyone take care of yourselves, right?
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The World Bank Group's Response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) Pandemic
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Minouche Shafik
Director of London School of Economics
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2017 marked the year China's ban on imports of 24 types of solid wastes took effect. News headlines such as "Recycling chaos in US" (NPR) and "Impending crisis for UK waste recycling" (The Independent) have inadvertently revealed the enormous environmental cost for China as the global waste recycling center.
Few Europeans and Americans are aware that one of their largest exports to China is solid waste. Every year, millions of tons of unsorted scrap paper, discarded textiles and other items are shipped to China for recycling.
As a poor economy short of resources in the 1980s, China accepted the solid waste but over the years paid a heavy price as environmental damage and health problems resulted from the process of recycling them. Meanwhile, some entities in and outside China illegally smuggled sub-standard garbage with no recycling value, adding insult to injury.
So as China steps up its fight against industrial pollution and environmental degradation, the decision to give up on solid waste imports is reasonable from a domestic perspective.
On the external side, however, it appears that some quarters in the West have taken China for granted as being a dumping ground for solid waste.
One example would be thinly-veiled finger-pointing, most recently seen in a December headline of a Daily Telegraph report. It read: "Decades of recycling progress under threat after Chinese ban British rubbish," as if it's China's fault that Great Britain wouldn't be able to take care of its own rubbish.
The inconvenient truth is that China's waste-trading partners know such recycling entails legal challenges, intense opposition by constituents as well as huge costs in their countries.
Benefiting from previously-permissive Chinese import practices, these industrialized economies over the decades exported pollution and skirted responsibility.
So instead of insinuating -- wrongly -- that it's China's decision that leads to stockpiles of waste in the West, more light should be shed on the West's "waste deficit." In other words, the unwillingness and unpreparedness to deal with waste at home, and its collateral damage in China.
Relocation of pollution and waste, though rarely talked about, has long been a de facto strategy by developed economies that took advantage of the often lax environmental standards in developing countries.
In terms of solid waste in China, it's come to an end in 2017.


One of the common requirements by most nursing schools is for a student to write an essay explaining why he or she wants to be a nurse. This kind of essay helps to show the student's desire to help people and the society in general. This essay is mainly a description of the applicant's philosophy about nursing.
Below are important questions that you must ask yourself before writing this kind of an essay.
What is the urge of being a nurse? This should be the first question in the mind of an applicant before writing the essay. You should be able to provide satisfying answers to this question. Nursing is considered one of the hardest professions, so one should not just enter without consideration. This profession is sometimes thankless even after hard struggle of work and it should not be taken lightly. The student needs to study very hard and write many reports before graduating into nurse. You should therefore base your decision on this fact when answering your questions.
Do you a reason to be a nurse? Be able to present strong reason for your urge to be a nurse. If it is your academic qualifications explain it clearly in the essay. Or if it's the liking of this job after studying, say it in the essay.
Do you have the passion and patience? Working as a nurse requires a lot of compassion and patience to serve the sick people with different ailments. Try to explain this attributes in your essay in a way that the admission committee will see you as a serious student. You can even give an illustration of how you ever demonstrated compassion and patience.
Do you have the will to carry on? Some doctors or even patients may see you as a scapegoat in that you are always blamed for doing the wrong things. Explain in your essay how you will deal with this situation. Are you going to run away from the hospital or create a fight if this happens? Show it in the essay how you will deal with your colleagues to avoid personal differences.
For you to write this essay well to secure you a place in the nursing school, you can first work as a volunteer in a given hospital. This will enable you to get the real picture of working as a nurse and it will be easier for you to answer the questions.


Jesus speaks often about His Father's kingdom. When He does it is usually in his parables. He describes it as a magnificent buried treasure, a tiny planted seed, and yeast fermenting dough. Jesus encourages that each is worthy of seeking. He says that when we discover this kingdom, it will change your life forever.
Is it like holding a winning lottery ticket giving us millions of dollars and security for decades to come? Jesus says it's even more than that. It's a treasure that fills us with joy and contentment transforming our lives that we never want to give it up. And it is something that wells up from within and nothing else is capable of ever matching it. Jesus is talking about a moment in our lives that actually puts us in touch with God, his Father.
In trying to understand this, I want to share this experience, which helped me to understand more deeply Jesus' parables about the kingdom.
Recently, I saw magnificent beauty in a sunrise. Through the dawn blue sky, an orange light with brilliant shades of purple running through it pierced this fresh morning light. Small puffy clouds kept swallowing this blend of colors, smearing them across the vast morning sky. The entire spectacle held my attention. I became lost in the immensity of brilliant colors. I knew in that instant that God was in this beauty. This moment was his gift.
Through the tints and hues of colors, I saw that God loves me no matter what and through this beauty God was embracing this world and me. Despite catastrophic floods, possible terrorists' threats, the existence of greed and corruption, and the personal losses of those we love, God has a plan, and its still in effect.
Our God is alive, and his plan is for us to keep trying to be all that we are capable of becoming, even when we fail, which we often do, because God continues calling us forth to try again.
Even when feeling overwhelmed, God is near, acting through this sunrise to give us the joy we need. This new day is God caring and seeing us. This sunrise is proof God is with us. Even if clouds come to darken our sky, they will pass because God is near.
These moments of beauty and joy are God's gifts. They are given to help us forget for a little while that things can go wrong. They are reminders that God sees us, loves us, and cares for us, and that Jesus his son is always accompanying us. This moment is God's kingdom real and present. It is a pearl of great price that we want to buy at all cost.
This sunrise is a kingdom of God experience. Jesus promises this can be ours for all eternity. All of us experience moments like this in our lives. For example: when a toddler son who never speaks turns and suddenly says his first words clearly and plainly, "Mommy, ice cream." Or the extreme delight of a mother watching her daughter hold her own newborn daughter for the first time. And the good news that a son declared lost in battle is found alive and safe. Any, and all of these moments, are special for God is there too.
The kingdom of God transforms these ordinary life moments into spectacular moments of grace that can come at any time. Like that scenic sunrise, beautiful as it is, is a small dose of what God has planned for everyone in eternity.
Sep 13 Jesus desires trust when we understand and even when we don't!


Currently, most Lehi City services and departments (except public safety) are available Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Due to a desire to make Lehi City staff available each weekday to respond to citizen needs, Mayor Johnson has asked Lehi City Administrator Jason Walker to work with each city department to create a plan to add Fridays to staffers' workweek.
Additional hires may be needed in some areas, particularly in utilities, but the Mayor's hope is that most departments' current staff can massage schedules to accommodate the extra day. In some cases, city workers have expressed the difficulty in obtaining daycare prior to 7:00 a.m. A shorter work day in a five-day-a-week schedule would be beneficial to employees who have children in daycare for nearly 11 hours currently.
Mayor Johnson likes the idea of offering "flex-time" to workers to meet individual situations and to cover the needs of the city. "We will make sure our full-time employees get their 40 hours," said Johnson.


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Q: Correctly upload react native source maps to Bugsnag I'm trying to setup Bugsnag on my react native 0.59.1, but I am not able to properly upload source maps.
The bugsnag-react-native plugin is properly installed and linked and I see errors in my bugsnag dashboard, the only problem is to properly use the source maps.
What I tried
In one of my javascript files, I added a simple fake error:
Bugsnag.notify(new Error('Error'))

The, following the official documentation I generated the bundle file and the source maps:
react-native bundle \
   --dev false \
   --platform android \
   --entry-file index.js \
   --bundle-output android-release.bundle \
   --sourcemap-output android-sourcemaps.map

I uploaded them to bugsnag:
curl https://upload.bugsnag.com/react-native-source-map \
 -F apiKey="XXXXX" \
 -F appVersion="10.0.2" \
 -F appVersionCode="100004" \
 -F dev=false \
 -F platform=android \
 -F sourceMap=@android-sourcemaps.map \
 -F bundle=@android-release.bundle \
 -F projectRoot=`pwd`

In my bugsnag settings I can see the source maps with the proper versions:

But in the error report I get:

Note: I checked and the versions of the source maps are the same of the version in the event App tab.
I honestly don't know what to try anymore, do you have some ideas?

A: I'd advise you raise this directly with us at Bugsnag via the Support link on the dashboard so we can look at the details of the errors on your account and advise on why the source maps aren't being applied.
Looking at that screenshot though I suspect the issue may be that you're using RAM bundles in which case you'd need to use the react-native ram-bundle command in place of react-native bundle:
https://docs.bugsnag.com/platforms/react-native/react-native/showing-full-stacktraces/#generating-source-maps
Thanks!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


As per the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "The improvement reflects important reforms implemented by Indian policymakers toward building and sustaining an innovation ecosystem for domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors alike". For the second year in a row, India's score represents the largest gain of any country measured on the Index. The improvement is an outcome of specific reforms such as accession to the WIPO Internet Treaties, the agreement to initiate a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with international offices, and a dedicated set of IP incentives for small business. The development was also attributed to few pro-IP policies of the Modi Government such as 'Accelerating Growth for New India Innovations', 'Startup India' and 'Digital India'.


Karnataka boasts of a world-class education system, but the claim rings hollow when seen in the light of the severe lack of teachers at its colleges. The academic year has kicked off, but colleges cannot shrug off a gloomy feeling because of a staggering number of vacant lecturer and professor posts.
The education department has allotted around 3,524 assistant professors, assistant lecturers and professors to the 17 state universities, but around 1,561 vacancies are unfilled. This means, there is a 44.3 per cent deficiency in lecturers.
Recently it had been reported that 391 degree colleges in the state do not have principals. That there are no lecturers too in many colleges adds to education system's woes.Sources from the department of collegiate education said government Science degree colleges do not have enough lecturers so they are shutting down. The situation in the Arts Department is worse. There is close to a 30 per cent dip in admissions for the Arts combinations.
The state government made an announcement recently that students of Engineering, Medicine and Polytechnic streams, including the first-grade colleges for the academic year 2017-18, would be given laptops. The state government is also offering free bus passes to SC/ST category of students. But all these gestures fall short of the goal of education without a good number of lecturers.
An expert said the quality of education will dip. As of now, the department has recruited guest lecturers; consolidate lecturers and full-time temporary lecturers.
PhD from Vikram University? Observe Caution for Government Job!


Would you be interested in sharing experiences, good practice and ideas in a learning and development network with colleagues from other departments? Civil Service Local networks are a great way to enable closer working between departments and civil servants.
We are establishing a cross-departmental network for those involved in organising learning and development. The purpose of the network will be to share information about departmental learning priorities, share and open access to more development opportunities and share good practice. We know from our conversations with departments that there is a demand for this and have received a good response from colleagues who want to be part of it.
We already have networks for Continuous Improvement (CI) and Communications and Engagement and for an idea of the benefits of these networks you can read about the experiences of Yorkshire and the Humber and north east CI network members.
If you would like to join the first meeting of the Learning and Development Network please register your interest with Anne Hunter.


text:
Life & relationship strategist Kenny Pugh launches program for teen pregnancy
Thursday, May 2nd, 2013, 8:29pm
In support and partnership with The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Life & Relationship Strategist, Author and Speaker,Kenny Pugh (http://www.kennypugh.com) will launch Abstinence Matters
Budding artist wins grand prize
Submitted by Sylvia Small on Wednesday, May 1st, 8:38 am
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. -- Eight-year-old Happy Leveson-Jones, a student at The Springmont School, has won a Grand Prize in Art in the 2013 River of Words Youth Environmental Poetry & Art Contest.
Sponsored by The Center for Environmental Literacy, the annual River of Words contest is the world's largest youth poetry and art competition. It celebrates both National Poetry Month and Earth Day.
Happy received an expense-paid trip to the awards presentation in San Francisco. Winning art and poetry will be published in the annual River of Words anthology, which is available from The Center for Environmental Literacy. Her artwork also will be exhibited at the Saint Mary's Library in Moraga, Calif., and at the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.
Fashion footwear mogul Steve Madden comes to Macy's Lenox Square
Submitted by Don Buckindail, Director of Digital Operations
Saturday, April 27th, 2013, 8:00am
STEVE MADDEN, the legend behind one of the world's hottest shoe and lifestyle brands will be holding a meet and greet at Macy's at Lenox Square, in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, April 27 from 2:00PM- 3:30PM.
The afternoon event will be hosted by TV personality, Julissa Bermudez, of the Style Network's hit-series Empire Girls.
Guests are invited to meet the footwear tycoon and pose for photos as he autographs complimentary branded tees and tote bags, all while a DJ spins the latest hits.
Visitors will also have the chance to win their very own pair of Steve Madden shoes*, and a special gift will be given to every customer with the purchase of any Steve Madden product on the day of the event.
Author to hold book signing at Caribou Coffee
Thursday, April 11th, 2013, 10:38am
ATLANTA -- A Mableton author will hold a book signing at a local coffeeshop next weekend.
Wayne E. Beyea is the author of The Treasure of Valcour Island. He will sign copies of the book Saturday, Apr. 20 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Caribou Coffee on Northside Parkway in Buckhead.
RELATED | 4 metro Atlanta Caribou Coffees closing
According to Beyea's publisher, Tate Publishing:
It was difficult to hide a body 30 feet long, 2 to 4 feet thick, and weighing nearly 6,000 pounds, but he knew every inch of the half-mile long, pitch-black cavern ... he stretched his massive, dark body against the cool stone wall and tried to blend into the dissipating darkness near the far end of the cavern.
Big Rich Atlanta's Sharlinda, Brie and Kahdijiha are more than just reality show stars
Friday, March 29th, 2013, 9:46am
ATLANTA--Recently I had a chance to have a three on one conversation with a few of the ladies of Style Network's Big Rich Atlanta. I was curious to find out if the show exhibited the true nature of twin sisters Sharlinda and Brie and Sharlinda's daughter Kahdijiha. While taking a time to listen to what actually builds their character, obvious strength and family bond; I noticed that the ladies were simply women with a vision and had a strong love for their craft.
Jasmine Guy takes her campaign against child sex trafficking to Georgia Perimeter College
Monday, March 25th, 2013, 1:05pm
On the heels of a successful campaign launch for "I Am Not Yours!"- a campaign committed to taking a stand against child sexual exploitation, Jasmine Guy has been making her case in national media with the likes of
Friday, March 15th, 2013, 10:05am
ATLANTA – Morgan Stanley announced today that Graham Roberts, an Executive Director, with the RM Compass Group in the Firm's Atlanta Wealth Management office, has been named to Barron's annual list of America's Top 1000 Advisors: 2013 State-by-State.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The strictest diet approach is always to live an entirely raw foods life. This is the core of the phytonutrient diet in its pure form. Phytonutrients are the finest antioxidant foods which exist in nature. In addition to that, they're a terrific wellspring of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. In the instance of Phytonutrients, they generally refer to natural foods that are quite abundant with chlorophyll.
Garlic is within this category of phytonutrients.
Glucosinolates are a category of phytonutrients. Another category of phytonutrients could be the allium compounds.
Most fruits have significant levels of sugar, so they might be consumed in moderation together with the low-carb diet. Vitamins and phytonutrients are located in produce.
They are nutrients found in the skins of several fruits and vegetables, which give the food color as well as flavor and scent. It's from such phytonutrients the fruit and vegetables receive their color, scent and flavour.
When taking an all-natural diet supplement containing zinc it is suggested to become a modest cautious as too much of the mineral might actually inhibit the immune system. Minerals and trace minerals are really an important element of a healthy food regime, and they have to be maintained at fair levels to assure this unbalanced diet can support excellent health.
High-fiber diets might also modulate glucose levels. The American diet lacks several of the nutrients important to guard someone from the hazardous components of life.
Most of these phytonutrients behave as antioxidants in the entire body. The secret to long term success with a minimal cholesterol diet would be to continually observe the cholesterol and saturated fats within the food you eat, to ensure no lousy stuff gets back in. A wholesome diet will raise the speed at which you recover from your treatment and it'll help to ensure the cancer will not return.
It will provide you raw nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your body and skin needs.
Thus, a huge number of phytonutrients within the diet confers far-reaching health benefits. There are scores and scores of phytonutrients which work synergistically to support our health. The public is most likely acquainted with certain phytonutrients, like Lycopene. 1 area to check for health problems would be to gauge the effects of the diet on people with compromised renal (kidney) function.
More and more, we're learning that somebody's diet is precisely associated with whole body health. Phytonutrients or phytochemicals have lately been recognized as playing a vital part in your health.
The normal range for the low-carb diet is 20 to 130 grams daily. 1 result of adding too large an amount of fat to your own diet is you will stop your diet plan program from working and you wouldn't shed weight. Emphasizing wholefoods within the diet and extremely few processed foods helps dieters with health gains along with weight reduction. The vegan diet is, in addition, referred to as a plant-based diet.
The immense potential for further health benefits from using this diet is currently keeping us alert for the subsequent chapter within the story of the low-carb diet. Numerous health benefits are reported for the low-carb diet. Actually, different phytonutrients have protective consequences on different sections of the body. No considerable health problems are reported for the low-carb diet.


text:
Home Article Another One Bites the Dust
You know, the most surprising thing about this is that it took so long:
The top Food and Drug Administration official in charge of women's health issues resigned today in protest against the agency's decision last week to further delay a final ruling on the whether the emergency contraceptive "morning-after pill" should be made more easily accessible.
Susan F. Wood, assistant FDA commissioner for women's health and director of the Office of Women's Health, said she was leaving her position after five years because Commissioner Lester Crawford's decision on Friday amounted to unwarranted interference in agency decision-making.
"I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overuled," she wrote in an e-mail to her staff and FDA colleagues.
This is not a good work situation for professionals. As Chris Mooney lovingly documents in his impressive new book, "The Republican War on Science", the Bush administration's attitude towards expert testimony mirrors their feelings towards protesters outside Bush's ranch. The only difference seems to be that Republicans can't understand why they let these reality-based naysayers into the building. Never mind, though, they're doing an excellent job driving such people out of the administration. Paul O'Neill couldn't take the deficit fantasies, Richard Clarke couldn't countenance the Iraq fictions, and much has been written on the veritable exodus of State Department officials and intelligence agents who decided that this would be an excellent time to explore fly-fishing. And now Susan Wood is out, another disillusioned expert whose testimony fell on bemused ears. Soon Karen Hughes will start her job, and anyone who thinks Bush appoint a seven foot tall white woman to aid our public face in the Islamic world should think about renewing their subscription to "Bridge Investments Quarterly". She's going to clean out State, long the Bush administration bureaucratic bete noire.
There's always the argument that these folks should hold on, that Woods should keep fighting and Clarke should keep pushing -- without them, who's left fighting the good fight? But the truth is, it doesn't much matter who's fighting the good fight if the American people aren't watching and the victories aren't coming. I hope Woods enjoys her next project -- God knows it'll bear more fruit than her last one.


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Rec-Room Therapy #10: Drake Featuring Drake
BYT at large March 15, 2013 Music
Allow us to reintroduce ourselves: Our name is Rec-Room Therapy. Each week or so, we debate, discuss, and dissect recent hip hop tracks, albums, and mixtapes. Today, we joyride through the mean streets of Toronto with Drake, chum up to Earl Sweatshirt, and let our hair down for Azealia Banks. Adult supervision for these activities is provided by Joshua Phelps, Marcus Dowling, Briana Younger, Steven "You Only Get Half a Bar" Place, Phil R, Joseph "Jiggawatts" Minock, Damion McLaren, and Hip Hop Hooray's Leah Manners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_uAF4o2KuI
Drake: "5AM in Toronto"
The second taste from Drake's third LP, Nothing Was the Same, "5AM in Toronto" follows surprise (?) smash "Started from the Bottom" and was produced by occasional collaborator Boi-1da.
Phelps: "All sweaters inside her luggage / You gotta love it": This is what constitutes lyricism from rap's resident shadow boxer? And who are all these supposed haters trying to take his money? Canadian taxes? A swing, and a miss, because no one's there, no one cares. Isn't it time to go back to acting?
Phil: Ooh, I want to channel my inner mean girl too: Drake, stop trying to make Toronto happen. It's not going to happen. This song is fetch, though.
Steve: Phil, stop trying to make "fetch" happen.
Damion: I wouldn't right off Toronto so soon. Just as basketball and hip hop were intertwined when they emerged here in the last 25 years, Toronto has a similar thing going on now. The best player in the country – and the best high school player since Lebron – is from Toronto, as are are a bunch of other really good players. I don't really want to hear about Toronto either, but this might be forced on us sooner rather than later. I'm pretty sure Drake is about to put a whole team of little Canadian rappers, if he hasn't already done so.
Steve: Agreed. There are a ton of good rappers randomly coming out of Toronto: Raz Fresco, the 6th Letter, Rich Kidd, Keegan Dinero, and the whole Bakersclub crew, just to name a few. I wouldn't write off Canada in general; they're obviously just trying to earn our trust so they can invade.
Marcus: The thing I enjoy the most about Drake is that he doesn't have to be told that he's the best rapper in the industry. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but he doesn't need to be convinced that he's amazing. Thus, I enjoy the fact that he's created a place where he can sit and stare down at the rest of the world of music and take aim at people who he feels are trying to step in his lane. He's not bold enough like Kanye to have a God complex; he has a "best" complex, and that's something that great artists in any industry need to have in order to truly excel. In this vein, that "Drake featuring Drake" line is priceless. If this whole album is all about pot-shots and self-reverential absurdity based in one-sided truths, I won't be mad at it. Drake's evolving as an artist, and these eras for artists – though tedious – ultimately are necessary.
Leah: What y'll don't know about the New North?!?
Marcus: Toronto's winning because they're close enough to the US to still have American tastes in what great rap should sound like, but just far enough away from America to be able to use a different perspective on what hip hop culture can evolve into.
Bri: Oh Drake. How far we've come from So Far Gone. I'd much rather he go back to rap-singing about his heartbreaks and tucking his ego behind his fake humility. Nevertheless, this song is nice. But, if he is indeed dissing The Weeknd, then I'm on Abel's side. Canada and artists near Canada (JMSN) are about to win very soon.
Leah: This track sounds like a Ray Lynch joint to me. Drake's not terrible, but it needs some horns. I like the "guns with bullets that shoot backwards" line, because none of these rappers shoot a darn thing. I'm glad that he's calling out the corporate glamorization of criminal culture to sell albums.
Bri: Gucci shoots. Wayne shoots (himself). Ross gets shot (at). So, that's to be considered.
Phelps: I have to admit, that's one of the most hated lines for me. It sounds so forced, and I took it more as a taunt that other rappers' verbal jabs aren't piercing Drake's lotion exoskeleton rather than a corporate rant. But y'all are right: I did see Kardinal Official sitting in the 2nd row at a Raptors/Bobcats game, so they're creepin on a come up, for real.
Leah: Hi, my name is Leah and I don't like guns.
Phil: He has to be considered one of the year's biggest comeback stories. Three months ago, everyone had completely written him off. Now we're looking pretty stupid. For two of the past three weeks, we've sat here praising songs that bear his mark. The question has become: Aside from high blood pressure, can anything slow down the resurgence of Uncle Phil?
Earl Sweatshirt ft. Tyler, The Creator: "Whoa"
Over four months after "Chum", Earl Sweatshirt releases a second single from Doris. The song features – and was produced by – Odd Future ringleader Tyler, the Creator.
Leah: Earl's got multis for days. I gotta say that I love his flow, even though I can't tell yet if it's affected intellectualism or the real thing. Tyler's indication in the beginning that OF might be maturing a little is exciting, but his GOLF WANG hook on just gets irritating. The production is on point.
Steve: Agreed. Great track, but the hook kills me.
Marcus: Earl Sweatshirt is a superstar. Tyler opens the track and confirms this, by hardcore "stanning out" for his dude. Doris is the album I'm waiting for, the magnum opus for the one guy who truly gets it. The Odd Future collective are like rap mathletes, the über nerds who only hang out with each other and tell jokes that kids who want to be as nerdy cool as they are laugh at just so that they can attempt to feel accepted. Earl's not the leader, but he's the best kid on the team. It's been fun to sit back and watch their development as a unit. "Whoa" is lyrical bombast to the brink of murder, with BB gun pellets instead of buckshot. What differentiates Earl from much of anyone else in his generation is that most other young rappers chose to be audacious, whereas Earl impresses with sheer talent. It's not so much that he's smart as much as he's talented with how words fit. This feels like more of a gift than anything that is really developed yet, which is both awesome and frightening. This is an incredibly well put together song. Lyrics, production, execution. All well done.
Phil: Aw yeah, it's M.E.T.H.O.D. MAN. M.E.T.H. – wait, wrong song? My bad.
I want to agree with Marcus, and I want to disagree Marcus. Let's start with the former: Earl is really good at rapping. I concur. The world concurs. But I'm not so sure Earl is good at making songs. At least, not yet. When I listen to "Whoa", I hear two great verses that Earl scribbled in a notebook a long time ago, long before this beat existed. Whether Tyler made the beat as a vehicle for those verses, or Earl heard it and said, "I have some lines that would sound good on this," is a moot point, because, either way, when you combine them with what Tyler is spewing, the end result lacks cogency. Or, worse, there's a cognitive dissonance. Earl: stoned on wordplay, pulling "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" references, reveling in that aforementioned über nerdom. Tyler: bragging about sock sales and Range Rovers. Look, I get that Earl – or the people surrounding him – may think that he needs a hype man, but Tyler is too blunt an instrument here, and I would argue elsewhere as well. As for Earl himself? He can get by on dazzling rhyme schemes for now, but at some point he has to learn to inhabit a beat rather than simply existing alongside it.
Joey: Sounds more like the R-E-U-P-G-A-N-G to me.
Bri: To Phil's point, I kind of agree, but in a different type of way. He can make a song, but only if you are already an Earl/OF fan. I don't know of too many tracks where Earl could sell a casual listener who isn't listening or doesn't care about the genius of it all. I don't know of too many tracks (that don't involve Frank Ocean) where you even think, "Oh, I could hear this playing on the radio," but then again, I don't think that's what Earl, Tyler or any of them are after. With that said, I'm a huge fan and this is lyrical devastation – the kind of song where you just keep shaking your head because you can't believe what you're hearing. I think I'm always impressed by Earl because you see [pics of] him and it's like YOU rap like THIS?! He carries it like he, himself, is unaware of how incredible he is. Doris needs to magically appear like now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7othWtGQmE
Azealia Banks: "Young Rapunxel"
After "212" and Fantasea and too many online feuds to keep track of, here is the lead single to Azealia Banks' oft-delayed, major label debut Broke with Expensive Taste. Oddly enough, it is one of two prominent Rapunzel references this week.
Leah: This may very well be Azealia's rallying cry for releasing her from the captivity of hip hop. She definitely leans more into kind of Euro IDM and horror styles here, and I think it suits her. I don't think it'll make her any friends on her new label, and I definitely think she's crying wolf on "all this new drama" since she seems to be the common denominator in all the feuds. But she's talented, wild, and not afraid to make noise, and I like it.
Steve: I'm pretty sure the screaming part is just a sample of Fallon Bowman's line in "Brackish." And that's the last Kitty reference I'll ever make.
Damion: The beat drowns Banks out. I really can't get down with it, but I can't hate on her. I like her style, love "212", and think the game needs more girls like this. She's someone who thinks outside the box – though she's no Nicki Minaj – and has some real lyrical skills. Her second verse here is kind of hot, but I wish it was longer. And just like in "212", someone needs to turn Bank's mic up. Again, this beat is terrible, but I fuck with the producer's name, Lil Internet. That's hilarious.
Joey: I hate to sound like Grouchy Ol' Uncle Swag, but is this what the kids are listening to today? This is a mess. The more songs like this I have to hear, the more and more I hate the hellspawn emanating from this marriage of rap and EDM. The people freaking out about this song on the soundcloud captions and the message boards are the ones that are either too young or too stupid to remember that the basic point of all this is to get people moving to a rhythm, not convulsing in place until the DJ creates a false, empty lull so he can "drop" the beat in the middle of the song, then going back to convulsing again. Nice stunner shades and lollipop. How was your biology test this morning? Oh, did Azealia Banks rap on this? Whatever.
Marcus: This song is terrible. I spend more time than most wallowing around in the toxic sludge that rap and EDM's marriage has become looking for rare gems of brilliance. Lil Internet is a genius for this track, and Azealia Banks is an idiot for trying to rap on it. That's Banks' problem in a nutshell. In the (Rock Rock Rock Rock) Rock-and-Roll High School that pop music has always been, she's the girl in the AP Swag class that barely got in and ultimately pulls down the average. Underground hit "212" kicked things off beautifully, Lazy Jay's bouncy house track making us want more. However, in getting to the top by being a surly asshole and jacking Munchi's moombahton and Baauer's trap without permission or co-sign has earned her neither increased favor nor a plurality of friends. Working with Lil Internet's very true-to-form take on classic 90s hardstyle is a better fit (more because, presumably, he's cool with this, so there's no fear of internet reprimand), but, yeah: In lacking the style of, say, the dude from Snap! or the lead singer of Rammstein, there's absolutely no way to mix her voice on that track in a manner that allows for her to stand out and be heard. As an artist, Banks currently floats alone in the sea of public opinion. She swims to the left, there's a slight possibility of acceptance and stardom. However, if she keeps swimming to the right, she becomes a pariah, cast adrift on her own private island, entirely unknown and alone.
Phil:
Bri: I was never a fan of Azealia Banks. I'm still not. And I would listen to this… never. (Grumpy Cat Face) But, I guess in the spirit of the Rap-EDM craze, there are many people in the world who will appreciate this.
Logan: Just stick to directing music videos and ruling twitter, @LILINTERNET. This track is okay for about about 30 seconds, but then its wheels come off and it's just a wagon full of flaming dog shit skidding into the mouth of Hell.
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H. P. Lovecraft's, "At the Mountains of Madness" Chapter 08 Read By William Hart Is Now On YouTube!
Chapter Eight of "At the mountains of Madness," has now joined Chapters 01-07 on YouTube!
O.K. I'll get back to my work on Chapter Nine.
This entry was posted in 1920's, 1930's, 3D, At the Mountains of Madness, Audio, Audio Book, Audiobook, Book, Books, Elder Ones, Fiction, Free, Guillermo del Toro, H. P. Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft Updates, James Cameron, MP3 Files, Mythos, Necronomicon, Old Ones, Readings, Shoggoths, Universal Studios, Video, William (Will) Hart, YouTube, YouTube Updates and tagged 1920's, 1930's, 3D, At The Mountains of Madness, Audio, Audio Book, Audiobook, Book, Books, Cameron, del Toro, Elder Ones, Fiction, Free, Guillermo, Guillermo del Toro, H. P. Lovecraft, Hart, James, James Cameron, Lovecraft, MP3, Mythos, Necronomicon, Old Ones, Readings, Shoggoths, Studios, Universal, Video, William, William Hart, YouTube. Bookmark the permalink.