In the back and forth between sugar-daddy CEO Paul Wolfowitz and the World Bank over the obscene pay raise he engineered for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, Wolfowitz said he had to be the one to give her the raise because the Bank's ethics committee "members did not want to deal with a very angry Ms. Riza."
Ohhhhh.... she might get mad.... and the powerful ethics panel members are quaking under their mahogany executive desks.... give her whatever she wants.
Yep, that's Wolfowitz's defense.
According to Wolfowitz, the ethics committee told him after he arrived in 2005 that he couldn't directly supervise his girlfriend Riza, who also worked at the Bank, but declined to oversee her job transfer and compensation, instead ordering him to handle those tasks.
Seems reasonable, after all he is the World Bank's CEO. And, he could have delegated the task to a Bank Vice President.
So, just who is afraid of Virginia.... errr, Shaha Riza, and why.
Wolfowitz actually admitted Riza's "intractable position" in demanding a salary increase as compensation for her transfer forced him to grant one to avoid a lawsuit.
Hello? Doesn't that sound like blackmail. Could it be that Wolfowitz's pillow partner knows where the bones are buried. Like his role in the Big Lie leading to the invasion of Iraq? Like the inside scoop on The Decider's modus operandi? So, just give her a big ($50,000) raise to shut her up.
The Bush administration is going ballistic over the idea of Wolfowitz being canned by the outraged Bank board . Lead mouthpiece VP Cheney appeared on FOX news (where else) proclaiming Wolfowitz "is a very good president of the World Bank."
The White House is demanding Wolfowitz stay on the basis of executive privilege.... the self-proclaimed traditional right of the United States to name the head of this world institution, that his mistakes don't warrant his being fired. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is busy on the phone with overseas finance ministers pimping for the administration's favorite sugar daddy to keep his job.
Shortly we'll find out if the World Bank actually does have ethics (the dust-up over Riza isn't their only beef with Wolfowitz) or, if the Bush bully boys have now infected this once-respected world institution....
Then, the scary Riza gets to keep her job, her raise, her broom.... and, her secrets.
Showing posts with label Wolfowitz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wolfowitz. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Can't Take Wolfowitz to The Bank
Some people have a moral blind spot so big you could drive a war, or the World Bank through it.
Paul Wolfowitz manipulated intelligence to support The Decider's mandate to create the rationale for the invasion of Iraq.... and when his pivotal role in the Big Lie was exposed, in 2005 Wolfowitz was quickly shuttled off to the World Bank as its CEO.
Well, you can take White House away from Wolfowitz's stink, but you can't take the stink away from Wolfowitz. He brought his foul ethics with him.
Overpaying his girlfriend at the World Bank was just the tipping point.
As Sebastian Mallaby observes, "Wolfowitz has lost the confidence of the bank's shareholders, borrowers and staff.... including the support of those who initially welcomed him despite his record on Iraq. He has brought about the collapse in the World Bank's external prestige and internal morale..."
When Wolfowitz called his staff together recently to try to make nice, they booed and called for him to resign.
Wolfowitz's brought his ethical odor with him, part of the stench emanating from the moral black hole of The Decider's administration that has soiled our external prestige, internal morale and national honor.
This Wednesday the World Bank's board will decide if Wolfowitz goes or stays.
If he goes, look for The Decider to award him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.... joining the administration's rogues' gallery of moral blindmen.
Paul Wolfowitz manipulated intelligence to support The Decider's mandate to create the rationale for the invasion of Iraq.... and when his pivotal role in the Big Lie was exposed, in 2005 Wolfowitz was quickly shuttled off to the World Bank as its CEO.
Well, you can take White House away from Wolfowitz's stink, but you can't take the stink away from Wolfowitz. He brought his foul ethics with him.
Overpaying his girlfriend at the World Bank was just the tipping point.
As Sebastian Mallaby observes, "Wolfowitz has lost the confidence of the bank's shareholders, borrowers and staff.... including the support of those who initially welcomed him despite his record on Iraq. He has brought about the collapse in the World Bank's external prestige and internal morale..."
When Wolfowitz called his staff together recently to try to make nice, they booed and called for him to resign.
Wolfowitz's brought his ethical odor with him, part of the stench emanating from the moral black hole of The Decider's administration that has soiled our external prestige, internal morale and national honor.
This Wednesday the World Bank's board will decide if Wolfowitz goes or stays.
If he goes, look for The Decider to award him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.... joining the administration's rogues' gallery of moral blindmen.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Bush Power Failures
The Decider derided Bill Clinton for his personal behavior, and promised to bring a new moral tone to the White House.
What a joke.
The latest chapter of the Bush administration's ongoing trashing of our country and government are the "lost" Karl Rove emails sought by Congress in various abuse of power investigations. We're talking about at least four years' worth of missing emails diverted to the Republican National Committee account that the White House has admitted was an improper use of a political email account to conduct official business.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in an angry speech on the Senate floor accused the White House of lying about the matter..... "You can't erase emails, not today.... They've gone through too many servers. Those emails are there-- they just don't want to produce them. It's like the infamous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes."
Then there is the sorry spectacle of our Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rehearsing for weeks about his "story" before appearing before a congressional committee next Tuesday regarding firing of U.S. attorneys and other abuses of his office.
Even though going through mock testimony sessions lasting up to five hours a day, an insider admits that Gonzales still can't get his story straight. The White House is stonewalling demands by Congress for testimony and records related to the prosecutor firings. The Bushies are insisting that Rove and other aides be interviewed privately, without a transcript and not under oath. An aide to Gonzales has refused to testify, taking 5th amendment protection to avoid self-incrimination.
The latest revelation of a Bush insider's high moral tone comes by way former under secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz.... a manipulator of intelligence before the invasion of Iraq.
In 2005 he was awarded the presidency of the World Bank where Wolfowitz now admits he made a "mistake" by personally orchestrating a high-paying job and guaranteed promotions for a bank employee with whom he is romantically involved. His 200 staffers are so taken with him that they began hissing, booing and chanting "Resign.... Resign" when he attempted to address them after they angrily demanded his resignation.
This is our morally bankrupt Bush administration, hiding behind a smokescreen of religion and patriotism, mouthing a moralism totally disconnected from their scurrilous actions.
What a joke.
The latest chapter of the Bush administration's ongoing trashing of our country and government are the "lost" Karl Rove emails sought by Congress in various abuse of power investigations. We're talking about at least four years' worth of missing emails diverted to the Republican National Committee account that the White House has admitted was an improper use of a political email account to conduct official business.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in an angry speech on the Senate floor accused the White House of lying about the matter..... "You can't erase emails, not today.... They've gone through too many servers. Those emails are there-- they just don't want to produce them. It's like the infamous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes."
Then there is the sorry spectacle of our Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rehearsing for weeks about his "story" before appearing before a congressional committee next Tuesday regarding firing of U.S. attorneys and other abuses of his office.
Even though going through mock testimony sessions lasting up to five hours a day, an insider admits that Gonzales still can't get his story straight. The White House is stonewalling demands by Congress for testimony and records related to the prosecutor firings. The Bushies are insisting that Rove and other aides be interviewed privately, without a transcript and not under oath. An aide to Gonzales has refused to testify, taking 5th amendment protection to avoid self-incrimination.
The latest revelation of a Bush insider's high moral tone comes by way former under secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz.... a manipulator of intelligence before the invasion of Iraq.
In 2005 he was awarded the presidency of the World Bank where Wolfowitz now admits he made a "mistake" by personally orchestrating a high-paying job and guaranteed promotions for a bank employee with whom he is romantically involved. His 200 staffers are so taken with him that they began hissing, booing and chanting "Resign.... Resign" when he attempted to address them after they angrily demanded his resignation.
This is our morally bankrupt Bush administration, hiding behind a smokescreen of religion and patriotism, mouthing a moralism totally disconnected from their scurrilous actions.
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