Schmoozing-n-Cruising in the IMF: Observations of a CSO Rep at IMF/WB Spring Mtgs – Part 41

As seen in my last blog Marginalization & Exploitation of the Marginalized in “This Town,” jobs and assets are a “key level of change for women, their communities, and economies and fundamental drivers of economic growth and poverty reduction.” So obviously unfair trade practices which are detrimental to approximately ½ of the female labor market, should be of serious concern to policy-makers at the micro level, as well as macro level. However, as seen in my complaint to the IMF on workplace bullying, and my protests over the employ of Anne-Beatrix Keller Semadeni, as Director of Development in KEI. Not only are cushy jobs with local NGOs being passed out to trophy-wives in “This Town” who are unqualified for those positions. But, not since my tenure as President of Bogota Accueil have I seen the same vicious back-stabbing of women designed to destroy, as I observed in Ms. Keller during her tenure as Chair of the IMFFA. The immorality of Ms. Keller’s behavior was, and is, no different than the immorality of lawyers, judges and other judicial actors, who profit from the pain and suffering of victims of domestic abuse through their legal abuse. While I am well-versed in the “hanky-panky” of Ms. Keller and Ms. Happel and other “accomplices” as I have seen it for decades in all sorts of ‘Expat Wives Clubs;’ and why I am trying to “modernize” the structure. However, I wish to “modernize” FOR REAL, and not some window-dressing, smoke-screens construct from a bunch of socialite wannabes, who want to “dress-up” and “party-hardy” just like the elite are “supposed to do.” What nouveau riche always fail to understand is that with position comes responsibility.  

As I have said before, my “favorite” story of all times, is the case study of Bogota Accueil at the turn of the century, as I explain in my complaint for workplace bullying in the IMF and in the text below,

My familiarity with the mismanagement, and petty backscratching and backstabbing, that goes on in the “Expat Wives Clubs” in the modern global world is exactly the reason that I came up with the idea of Global Expats. I was on the board of the American Women’s Club of Bogota (www.fawco.org) and Bogota Accueil (www.fiafe.org), and member of the Spanish expat association in Bogota. The type of backstabbing manipulations of Ms. Keller is actually very, very common in these organizations. These organizations are a throw-back to the ‘50s, where social conservatism was alive and well—and in order to “modernize” they must first combat the bullying, nepotism, and pettiness that characterizes them, and some of their members...

Briefly, after many years of serving on the board of Bogota Accueil, and having refused to run as president in the past, I agreed to run as president. When the post had been vacated several years before, many people had approached me about running. However, I never agreed to run because I knew an American would never be “accepted” as the president of a French organization, particularly a French ‘Expat Wives Club.’ And, eventually two French women agreed to run as president and vice-president so the problem was solved. I had an extremely busy life between my “charity” work and jewelry-making classes in the morning, my kids in the afternoon, and my social calendar with non-stop lunches, dinners, and receptions in relation to my “job” of expat trailing-spouse.

I am an American-French dual national, and my ex-husband is a dual national Spanish-French, with both of us naturalized French citizens, but not of pur souche origin. But, since my children were in the French school, and my ex-husband is more culturally French (as he grew up in Morocco, in the French school, and then France) than Spanish, we were much more involved in the French expat community than Spanish or American. Unfortunately, Spanish bankers are amongst the most highly socially-conservative people I know—often comparing their management styles to that of the Reign of Terror after Louis XVI—with reports of “Madrid” having chopped off someone’s head and replacing everyone underneath with his entourage du jour almost a weekly occurrence.

So a gringa-froggy married to a Spanish-froggy were not an “acceptable” pair amongst the antiquated Spaniards of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) in Bogota. Additionally, I was not “liked” amongst the wives of my husband’s colleagues, because, as I was to learn years later, I always had to be “doing something”—and my activity clearly upset the inactivity of these women. Additionally, my ex-husband, in his bullying tactics over the years, had always done everything to sabotage my social networking efforts amongst the Americans in the countries we lived, so my involvement with them was always alone. So as a couple and family, we were almost exclusively involved with the French expat community in Bogota. 

I always had lots of ideas of what could be done with Bogota Accueil, or any of the expat associations, with which I was involved, but my input was never welcome anywhere. The president when I entered the board, was an older socially-conservative woman, who clearly never encouraged any kind of openness or free thought in the board meetings.  When that woman left, I had had hopes that the incoming president and vice-president, who were younger, would be open to new ideas and projects. My hopes were squashed in the very first board meeting with the two new younger (mais de pur souche) French women, who I was to learn had only agreed to become president and vice-president in order to “save” Bogota Accueil from the demise of having an Amerloque as president.

The “reprieval” only lasted a few years, as the president’s husband was transferred back to headquarters in Paris, and the vice-president begrudgingly served out the remaining term; at which point I was obligated to volunteer as president. I had done everything except gotten down on my hands and knees to two of the wives of the president of a large French multi-national in Colombia to run as president, instead of me. I even offered to run as vice-president, she as president, and I promised (crossed my heart hope to die, promise) that I would do all the work. All they had to do as president was preside at official functions, and come to enough board meeting to make it legal. I knew I could run the organization, but I also knew I needed a pur souche French woman to “legitimize” my authority on the board by serving as president, even in title only, with me assuming the responsibilities and workload. The ‘Expat Wives Clubs’ are increasingly having problems finding volunteers for their boards—particularly presidents—because it is a lot of work, for no money. And, this was exactly the situation in Bogota.

Presidencyships of Expat Wives Clubs is no longer the enviable sought after position it once was. The aftermath of WWII was the heyday of these organizations. And, presidencyships were highly prized positions within the expat communities, with Embassies and multinationals opening their doors and pocket-books for these organizations and the local charities they sponsored. Not only have the expat communities changed, but the entire matrix has changed. The world is no longer polarized economically or politically, with the Third World countries and their colonial structures creating much demand for highly sought after presidencyships of Expat Wives Clubs which had great power in developing and directing social networks within the expat community, as well as their interaction with local communities.

In their heyday, many of the women on these boards had an entourage of help in their homes, as well as help from the staff under their husbands in the office. Of course, what this structure attracted was queenships filled with intrigues and conspiracies—with a strong influence on who knew who, and who knew what in the expat community as well as local upper-classes. Third World countries were the rule rather than the exception in post WWII and Europe in ashes, with the Americans on top of the proverbial colonial totem pole. At that time the Federation of American Women’s Club (FAWCO), was the only Expat Wives Club global structure in existence, and were heavily influenced by colonialism, and in later decades by social conservatism. 

While both of the women I had been lobbying to become president were conservative, and I knew they would not be willing to change any of the programs or activities Bogota Accueil offered—which was a shame, at least they were both good candidates. Not only were they pur souche French, they also had the personal knowledge and experience needed; as well as the fact that their husbands were presidents of two of the largest French multinationals in the country. Finally, one of these women agreed to step in as president. That was until the out-going president and her entourage got in a cat-fight with this woman, who understandably dropped out of the race, leaving me with the booby-prize. 

I so, so did not want to run as president, particularly since the incoming board included several vipers whose husband’s worked at the French Embassy, and a friend of mine whose husband worked there, had warned me about. So I knew what lurked beneath the kissy-kissy, smiley veneer of these women. Also, as stated in psychological tests on me that I “perceive situations in which I find myself with great clarity.” And it is true. I read people very well.

(But my “reading people very well” is not a secret, or magic trick. I read people very well because I actually listen to what they say, and I observe them. Most of our communication is non-verbal, and you can tell a great deal not just by observing how people interact with you, but also with others—in which case the veneers of the Good Fairy Godmother which actually hides an Evil Queen Stepmothers (see Table 20: “Woman’s Sexism,” Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman by Phyllis Chelser) are quickly seen through, in order to, if not prevent the knives from being thrown in one’s back in the first place, will allow one to know how to pull them out of your back, and maybe even throw a few back.)  

Unfortunately, at the time Ingrid Betancourt was promoting her book and launching her presidential candidacy in Bogota, and I had the subversive idea that it would be the perfect opportunity for Bogota Accueil to listen to her speak to the French community—who unfortunately were not being very supportive of Ingrid. I had gone to her book launching and first presidential campaign event, and was dismayed to see very few French, or other expats, in attendance. While the out-going president at first agreed with my idea, when she got together with the other board members, they all decided that this was in violation of the non-political position of the organization, and were scandalized by my subversive idea. (I thought this ridiculous. I was not proposing a $10,000-a-plate, fund-raising dinner, sponsored by Bogota Accueil—just a speech.) So I told Ingrid’s sister, Astrid, that I would host something personally at my home and invite the French expat community there, so Bogota Accueil would not be involved at all. Ingrid was kidnapped in the interim, so I never was able to organize anything. However, it did give the vipers amongst the group more ammunition for how “highly unacceptable” I was as president of Bogota Accueil—with my subversive and highly unorthodox ideas. 

So before I was even voted in as president (with 3 votes en blanche), the ambiance within the incoming board members resembled more of a war zone, than a social group charged with task of “welcoming” French families to Bogota. The two women whose husbands worked at the French Embassy proceeded to trash my good name to anyone in the French community who would listen, and after a particularly turbulent annual gala dinner of the association (a month after the elections, changed from before the elections by the out-going president), the vipers called an emergency board meeting requesting my “abdication.”

When I refused to “abdicate,” they called for a vote by the board to oust me (along with one of the vocales on the board, that they didn’t “like,”). The vocale in question was a woman that these vipers had requested I kick off the board a week after the elections. They had never liked that I had defied them, and had never wanted this particular vocale on the board in the first place. When the vipers had requested that I oust the vocale, I told them in no uncertain terms, that I did not have the power to do such a thing, nor would I be involved in any such subversive, and highly immoral activities. In response, I sent a copy of the by-laws to all board members to please read them thoroughly—without indicating why I was making a request for obvious reasons. 

By afternoon, my illegal “impeachment” as president had made its way around the Embassy people, and my friend who had warned me about the vipers in the first place, saw me while picking up our children at school. She came running up to me shouting “C’est un coup d’etat! C’est un coup d’etat! Je t’avais dit ! Ces filles-la sont rein d’autres que des vipers! Bien fait pour elle. Laisse-les dans leurs merdes ! Bogota Accueil va se couler sans toi!” I laughed, but unfortunately, I knew what she said was true. Anything left of a semblance of an organization would be destroyed by these two vipers by the end of the year.

Then, my friend (and even my husband), got mad at me when I accepted to return as president the next day. The vipers had been told by the revisor fiscal of the association that what they had done was totally illegal. If they wanted to oust me out, they had to have a reason, and call an extra-ordinary meeting of the association for a vote for my impeachment. So they recanted, and asked me to return. Shortly thereafter, the two vipers resigned, and the association was left without a vice-president or secretary. The unliked vocale became secretary, but in the process I had lost any kind of power and authority, I might have had to initiate any new ideas or energy into the association. So I kept the association afloat, and found a new French expat woman to come in as president the next year—telling her “it’s really not a lot of work.” After the elections, however, I told her “You are one of the few people I have ever lied to. This is a lot of work.” She responded, “It’s ok. I knew you were lying when you told me.” And, we both laughed.

Unfortunately, what is a lot of work in these organizations is dealing with the back-stabbing, cat-fights that go on. The ‘Expat Wives Clubs’ structure has so much potential of providing the assistance the expat families need, if this petty back-stabbing culture that it so engenders can be removed from the equation. And, is exactly what Global Expats is all about. See the following (with links to the Global Expats: Concept & Structure, Trailing Spouse and Expats Family: Challenges and Solutions, and Global Expats Business Plan):

As seen in the text above, positions as President (or Chair) of ‘Expat Wives Clubs’ have not only incessant social obligations, with luncheons, receptions, and dinners with “important” people in the community, but it takes extra-ordinary organizational and management skills to keep these associations afloat with all of the back-scratching and back-stabbing that goes on within “management.” I naively thought that by getting everyone a salary in the matrix, the back-stabbing and back-scratching would be reduced, if not eradicated. However, as my case for workplace bullying in ICD obviously shows, this is not the case. The disorder and chaos that I observed in ICD often made me shake my head in dismay, thinking Patsy Guyer, former Senator J. Bennett Johnston’s Executive Assistant, and one of my mentors in life, would have “a fit,” then a “field day” cleaning up the mess—see my blog Lessons Learned in Our Nation’s Capitol and Global Governance.

Or ask former Senator J. Bennett Johnston, who I quote in my blog for Patsy in regards to the escalating bullying in ICD in October 2015, (during the Annual Meetings in Peru) the chaos was so bad, that one of ICD’s divisions had “refugee” status for me, until my wrongful termination, and demise, in November 2015. (I kept thinking “there is only so many times I can ‘take a walk around the block’ before I explode with these babbling idiots”—complicated by the fact I had found a “steal” on the perfect beige pumps, only to find out one cannot actually walk in 4 in. heels. Sending me on a tirade against American shoe manufacturers and their “Chinese-binding” style shoes, as I externalized my anger against the bullies in the front office; determined that I would not be conquered by the cackling hens, nor the oppressive shoes. At the time I kept thinking of an Einstein quote, “a question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?' And, the oppressive shoes gave me some great ideas for gadgets that would wage war on shoe manufacturers who wish to oppress women with shoes that she cannot walk in!! The shoes on the market today are the American Dream version of “Chinese foot binding” and the manufacturers, along with the Dick Cheney/Bush Mafia, everyone in power in Washington, the Koch brothers and 1%ers should be made to walk in these shoes as one of the punishments for their crimes.)

Or ask, JBJ’s former Chief-of-Staff, Daryl Owens; noting that I have been requesting assistances in challenging the inaction, and illegal activity of the State Department from these lobbyists (admittedly with no money in hand,) in my own personal case, as well as my efforts on Capitol Hill and the White House for almost a decade. However, like everyone else in “This Town,” former Senator Johnston and Daryl Owen, both who are lobbyists, and ol’ timers in “This Town,” are playing ostrich and toad along with everyone else.

Never has my life-long contention that finding funding for projects is not as difficult as finding competent and motivate people for those projects. 

As I have demonstrated time and time again in my case, the problems and issues facing the world are not so much at the legislative level, but rather at the administrative level; and my case study for Workplace Bullying at the IMF, highlights the issues at hand. However, apart from the HR Department at the IMF to effectively implement progressive management styles into the functioning of the organization; are the administrative assistances, who have been “secretaries” for the past 20-30 years in DC within gigantic, bureaucracies like the IMF. When these women entered the work-force decades ago, the two main requirements were typing and shorthand speed. However, with entry of computers, and the Internet into the workplace, particularly with the oppressive high-tech liberalism (with Bill Gates at its head), the bulk of longtime assistance in the workplace at present are too technically challenged to understand the various computer systems.

These are women with high school and/or some college level education, who never rose up the ranks in the managerial pools in the HR Departments, and whose intellectual ability is limited, and who are becoming more and more confused every time a new system is introduced—which is all too often. (And, why competent workers like myself are such a threat to OM wannabe secretaries, like Adrianne Thapa.) The lack of competent admin support by long-time technically challenged secretaries is a situation which is degrading within the workforce largely due to patch-work computer systems which are having problems “communicating” with each other—just as the assistances are have problems effectively “communicating.” The administrative function in bureaucracies filled with the “life-long” secretaries punching the clock until retirement (or young colleges grad with MBAs or PhDs looking to enter the work-force and the “international” experience looks good on their resume), is creating a lack of pride and dedication to the work of all the other workers, who are either slothful and enjoying the entire scenario, or apathetic and disillusioned from all of the unbridled bullying and partying going on in their midst. 

The unethical behavior which is covering-up for workplace bullying in large bureaucratic agencies, as well as Expat Wives Clubs, is causing great damage to the effectiveness of these organizations—and why strengthening the ability of governments to increase taxes, is so dangerous from a public-policy perspective (as covered in the first part of my blogs for the IMF/WB Spring Mtgs). In all of my years of experience in the workplace, or dealings with arrogant civil servants in Consulates around the world, over passports and visas (the ONLY services they provide), never have I observe such hysteria, chaos, and unethics within an association than I observed in the IMFFA under the “direction” of Ms. Keller. Then to add insult to injury, Ms. Keller turns around and tells the IMF HR Department that I am the “babbling idiot, trophy wife” that is incompetent and needs “getting rid of,” so she can schmooze with Nobel prize economist such as Joseph Stiglitz, and the MD’s wife, Anne Sinclair. Ms. Keller defamed my character with the IMF HR, and “terminated me” because she did not want to share the limelight with anyone, as well as for anyone to find out that the “leadership,” to which Ms. Keller refers to on her profile for Director of Development, was mine, and NOT hers.

Under her leadership, the association gained visibility both within and outside of the IMF. Among other achievements, Anne-Beatrix obtained a memorandum of understanding between the IMF and IMFFA as well as substantial budget increases at a time when funds were cut throughout the institution.

At least my year as Presidente of Bogota Accueil, the two vicious vipers and bullies I had to battle and put in their place, were underneath me, being my vice-president and secretary. Also, they did not literally have power over my very survival in their hands, like in the case of Ms. Keller.  The year prior to my entry into the IMFFA, the board had discussed how they needed a “professional” to modernize the IMFFA. If the IMF had search the entire planet, they would not have been able to find a more “professional expert” in how to “modernize” the ‘Expat Wives Clubs,’ than me.

If Ms. Keller had been honest, she would have requested that IMF HR hire me as a contractual, with a professional salary, and given me credit, where credit was due. The joke to this whole story is that Ms. Keller was obviously “seduced” at the idea of getting her photo taken with Anne Sinclair and schmoozing with her, and fooling HR Department personnel and economists, such as Joseph Stiglitz, that she is a “great leader” with energy and dynamics (as seen in the text of her bio at Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) above). I am well familiar with the queen-for-a-day women like Anne-Beatrix Keller, who I’ll admit is a great sales person, as she does “sell herself” well. And, sell herself often. However, beyond all of her bellowing and bowing-n-scraping, there lacks substance, sincerity, integrity, and intelligence.

Ever since 2006, I have been looking for partners for Global Expats. Both technical assistance in building and managing the website, as well as building a global sales team. (All the CVs see my website model as a means to an end—making a quick buck—but for me it is a tool, in a much larger project). Unfortunately, everyone in the expat community, human resources, as well as the global mobility industry are “buying into” high-tech liberalism, with nice looking websites, awareness campaigns, and cheerleading the "solution" du jour. This is why projects like the IMFFA under Anne Beatrix Keller and Sarah Happel, and FAWCO initiatives under Pam Perraud and My-Linh Kunst, are nothing but ‘smoke-screens’ and ‘window-dressing’ for corporate greed and their maneuvering to promote social conservatism. And, why projects such as these can get funding and backing from the corporate world and global mobility industry, but Global Expats cannot.

So if Anne-Beatrix Keller, Sarah Happel, and others had been forthright and hired me as a contractual, with a “correct salary,” rather than profit from my work as a temp “secretary” making $15/hr. and living in rat-infested group houses, barely covering rent and food, with no money for health insurance, and worried sick for my children, (see my blog Abuse and Torture Go Far Beyond Broken Bones, It Breaks the Heart and Spirit and is So Designed posted in 2009). And, with every spare minute, spent researching the issues, or letter writing to “public authorities” implicated (see postings on www.warondomesticterrorism.com, noting that only about 1/2 of my correspondence to authorities is posted there).

Laura Nader was right, Americans are the most prolific letter writers on civil issues, and I may have set a record with my letter writing. The present situation of Ms. Keller's, Ms. Happel's and everyone else implicate would be very, very different, had Ms. Keller, the board of the IMFFA, as well as implicated IMF HR personnel had acted in an ethical and forth-right manner. My story, and the explanations and argumentations in FfD: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is living proof that under the present paradigm in “This Town” which promotes rigid-hierarchies, bow-scraping, back-stabbing, and back-scratching; not only will SDGs and MDGs will NOT be achieved, the world will continue to sink further and further into its demise. 

Some of the “important” people Ms. Keller might be schmoozing with at present, if she and Ms. Happel had been as interested in “helping” expat wives and families, as they were in “partying” with the “big boys” in the IMF; are people I will be asking to serve on the board of Global Expats from my boarding schools in England and the USA. People like Jenny Churchill (grand-daughter of Winston Churchill), Lady Henrietta Bathhurst, and Vinita Gupta (Cobham Hall,) and Cornelia Guest, Harriet Fulbright, and Nina Prentice (wife to former British Ambassador in Jordan, and present Ambassador in Italy) (Foxcroft). And, of course I would be delighted to have Anne Sinclair, who I have admired since the ‘80s, on the Board of Global Expats.

Ms. Keller was so seduced by the thought of schmoozing with Anne Sinclair, that like most back-stabbers, couldn’t see any farther than the nose on her face. If Ms. Keller had been smart, and not so greedy, she would be schmoozing with the likes of the people above, and others as I have yet to go through the entire list of alumnae of my alma maters who I might contact in my various political and socio-economic development endeavors.

(Worth noting here, in showing the contections of networks amongst expat wives is that the daughter of former Senator Johnston, Sally Johnston Roemer may know Vinita Gupta, as Sally is wife to former American Ambassador Timothy Roemer who resigned his post as Ambassador in India, after a trade deal with the USA went sour. And, I believe Vinita’s husband’s family might be the Indian company that won the $10billion contract that the American’s lost, see below).

On April 26, 2011, he announced his resignation as Ambassador and returned to the U.S. A press release from the U.S. embassy in India , stated ambassador Roemer leaving by June citing family reasons. Indian politician Shashi Tharoor wrote that Roemer resigned the post following India's decision to reject two American aircraft manufacturing tenders worth US$10 billion. (Wikipedia)

What schmoozers-n-cruisers, such as Ms. Keller and Ms. Happel, fail to understand in the “art” of successful networking is that it entails more than just showing up at events and parties, and passing out and collecting business cards. Really successful networking is about knowing who is who, what they do; and perhaps most importantly what to do with your networks. And, this is where the moral obligation of those in positions of power comes in. With position and privilege comes obligation—a fact of which all too many people are unaware.

Regardless to the legal implications for the IMF, and all of the members of the board of the IMFFA, regarding the actions of Ms. Keller and all those who empowered her by their silence and/or inactions, these people are grossly negligent in fulfilling the mandates of the organizations for which they work, as well as being highly, highly immoral and shameful. And, taxpayers around the world should be irate, as it is ultimately their “sweat-n-brow” who is “footing-the-bill” for all slothers-n-slackers in Washington who are playing games and partying, while economies and societies sink further and further into decay. 

I am well-versed in the biases within the global mobility industry and HR departments, in the public as well as private sector regarding “expat, trailing spouse wives.” The idea that ‘expat trailing spouses’ are empty-headed socialites, and back-stabbing socialite wannabes, who are nothing more than parasites off their husbands, is as prevalent amongst HR personnel and global vendors, as it is with lawyers and judges in family courts. Frances McRae, the Chair of the IMFFA who hired me to begin with, and who Anne-Beatrix Keller replaced in 2010, is a HR professional with decades of experience, as is Pam Perraud of the FAWCO UN initiative. As seen in these two examples, HR professionals are actively promoting social conservatism, covering-up for the issues and problems they should be exposing, and why there is such an elevated level of bullying and unethical and immoral behavior by government officials and civil servants. 

The fact that Ms. Keller holds the position of Director of Development at an NGO, with no qualifications for the position she presently holds, is once again ‘smoking-gun’ proof that the NGOs in DC exist, only to pass out as favors and “prizes” to bored housewives (as well as retiree feminists, as seen in the case of Judith Lichtman and the National Partnership for Women & Families), and NOT to qualified and ethical people. This is at the root of the Demise of Democracy in America and elsewhere by the lack of governance of brain-dead people.

However, apart from an example of the highly unethical behavior of employees and their spouses at the IMF, in the case of the IMFFA. The case study of workplace bullying in ICD offers a perfect example of, how and why, intellectual property theft is encouraged and promoted within the IMF by management. The case of workplace bullying in the IMFFA explains how, and why NGOs in DC are being used to hand out cushy, high-paying jobs to those who participate in the illegal and unethical “hanky-panky” that dominates Washington. As seen on my website www.warondomesticterrorism.com, the break-down in the rule of law in the USA is such, that even though I have ‘smoking-gun’ cases against the IMF and IMFFA (as well as a whole slew of other people) until lawyers, literally have blood-money (and lots of it) swimming up their greedy noses, for human rights violations, they will not present cases to the national courts. Since the only motivating factor for lawyers around the world is money and greed (or fame and fortune in the case of NGOs), the people complicit to rampant human rights violations continues to grow and grow.

As seen in the case study of Wilcox vs. Spain, restricting women’s access to assets during a divorce, as well as failing to recognize or compensate her for her contribution to their families, as well as society (for no financial remuneration), is seriously marginalizing upper-middle class trophy-wives. For decades these women have been fulfilling the same function in their husband’s career, that HR personnel are supposed to be fulfilling at present, along with all the coaches, NGOs, and healthcare professionals, and have successfully been doing it for thousands of years—much more successfully than the party-hardying with no substance or direction, that is going on at present, I might add. The corruption caused by misogynistic courts has also redistributed billions, if not trillions of dollars and euros from women to men in the past decades; leaving displaced homemakers vulnerable to the unscrupulous landlords and employers who can, and do, exploit these women, shamelessly—as seen in my workplace bullying complaint at the IMF.  

To add insult to injury, in the IMF, and in “This Town,” the attitude towards exploitation and intellectual property fraud is, “C’est à la mode at present! You should try it sometime! It’s lots of fun!” As long as this is the reigning “ideology” within the Fund and throughout “This Town,” those whose responsibility it is to promote stable economies, and policies which achieve the SDGs and MDGs so often bantered around, will continue to fail in their mandates.  

As seen in the report World Bank Group Strategy (FY16-2): Gender Equality, Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth below,

As seen in the text above, vs. the reality of what is going on within the IMF (and other bureaucratic organizations in DC, on top of the NGOs) is that the RHETORIC IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE REALITY. (Everyone in DC needs to read Phishing for Phools and watch more soap-operas, rather than reading fairytales!) Some of the faulty constructs in the text above is due to the fact that “services” to citizenry do not exist. Regulatory agencies are turning a blind-eye to rampant and systematic human rights violations of citizens everywhere, with no relief in the courts due to elevated unethical and criminal behavior of lawyers and judges. In the best case scenarios, civil servants are “punching the clock” and “seat warming,” and in the worst case scenario are getting involved in highly illegal behavior. For example, child protection services (CPS) in countries around the world are trafficking children, rather than protecting them from abuse. But, governments claim “their hands are tied,” with inane gobbledygook claims of “immunity” under the principle of “judicial independence.”

An additional issue to debunk in the international rhetoric is that “full participation” rates of women is a “good” objective in terms of gender equality. The failure of policy-makers to provide for the challenges women face in their jobs as mothers and care-takers in their families is more oppressive than in the past system, which locked women up in the home and marriage. While men need to be encouraged to participate in housework and child-rearing in societies, the reality of the situation is that the roles that mothers and fathers play in socializing and educating their children are different. (This presents certain challenges for same sex couples raising children, but a challenge which is not unsurmountable with a paradigm shift.) One of the ONLY things I have ever been 200% SURE about as to what I want to “be when I grew up” was to be a mother. (My only regret in life was that I did not have more children. However, given my current situation, I thank God for not having more lives to worry about, than I do at present.) For policy-makers and governments to not recognize a woman’s primordial and biological maternal instinct, and desire to raise her children, as well as control her reproductive organs, is highly discriminatory under human rights standards, and any standards of fairness and justice.

So today’s Ostrich, Toad, Bellowing-cow Award goes to the newly appointed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. While I totally support Hillary Clinton and will strongly encourage everyone to vote for her for President, she MUST pull her head out of the sand as to the plight of women and children across America, and take draconian and Herculean efforts to clean-up the federal agencies who are supposed to be doing their job—governing the courts, and all of the supposed professionals “servicing” them.  Please see my letter to her in 2014. A letter to which, of course, I never received a response.