Richard Adams Thursday August 22, 2002 The Guardian
· Last week we highlighted the first public confirmation that Joe Stiglitz was kicked out of the World Bank as chief economist on the orders of the US treasury secretary Larry Summers, for his criticisms of the International Monetary Fund. Now there's more interesting news: Stiglitz, a Nobel prize-winning economist, thinks it may be time to abolish the IMF outright. In an interview with Doug Henwood on New York radio station WBAI, Stiglitz accused the IMF and similar institutions of being undemocratic, and of not caring about either developing nations or the world's poor. "I'm beginning to ask, has the credibility of the IMF been so eroded that maybe it's better to start from scratch," said Stiglitz. "Maybe it is time to think about creating some new institutions that really reflect today's reality." Since the IMF was founded in 1945 "the world has changed enormously", he said. "Perhaps, now, some 50 years later, it's really time to re-ask the question, should we reform, or build from the start?" Now, there's a thought.
· In case you were wondering - a survey of national lottery winners, carried out by Camelot, has found that 82% of "lotto" jackpot winners say they still buy a ticket every week. Given the odds of winning once, that's not clever. Professor Andrew Oswald of Warwick University is on hand to say: "A large windfall of money produces higher levels of happiness." Fancy.
· The new BBC2 programme Liar - a cheap and not very cheerful variation on Call My Bluff - is an utter turkey. But this week's episode did at least have the diversion of Lesley Winterflood - who managed to fool the audience into thinking that she was Martine McCutcheon's mother, and so won £10,000. In reality, Lesley works in human resources at the gung-ho financial services authority - where Sir Howard Davies regularly manages to convince his audience that he's... let's not finish that sentence, since we're in enough trouble as it is.
· Have laptops and MBAs made the old "back of an envelope" planning a thing of the past? No, not in the case of troubled United Airlines in the US - it seems a hastily scribbled business plan for United Airlines was left in a New York taxi last week, and may have been genuine. The New York Post reports that a passenger found half a torn envelope, with detailed handwritten notes on the composition of the airline's board, along with potential changes. If it's the real thing, then it's bad news for "Rono" and "Andy", who had the word "leaves" next to their names - possibly a reference to United Airlines president Rono Dutta and executive vice-president Andrew Studdert.
· An update on the Treasury staff milk saga, reported here a week or so ago. The department's milk policy unit is mulling over the peace-making offer of a a fresh milk dispenser by the Dairy Council. Meanwhile, the semi-skimmed and skimmed factions have reportedly joined forces in a bid to drive out the remaining UHT rebels.
· Speaking of the Treasury, the BBC's 10 o'clock news producers really should update their library shots of the department. Poor Rory Cellan-Jones had to do a voiceover for a piece on Tuesday that included film of the Treasury building made in late 1999 - nearly three years ago.
· Noon today is - at long last - the last day for entries to the Rebrand Lycra Competition, and your chance to save the Du Pont Corporation from the humiliation of having its fine trademark disparaged. A fabulous Guardian umbrella is the first prize, and there may be others. To whoever suggested Goretex Guerillas - oh dear, you've missed the point, since Gore-tex belongs to WL Gore and Associates. It's a tricky business.
richard.adams at guardian.co.uk