NationStates Jolt Archive


Wolfowitz May Not Survive World Bank Scandal

Corneliu
13-04-2007, 12:50
What does it entail? Promotion and pay hike to his Girlfriend.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265742,00.html

Can World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz survive in his job? Increasingly, there is speculation that he cannot.

Wolfowitz, 63, is facing the biggest crisis of his career: a scandal involving promotions and pay hikes to his girlfriend that threatens his control of the world’s largest and most influential anti-poverty institution, which doles out some $20 billion annually in loans and grants to developing countries.

World Bank boss admits mistake on girlfriend's job (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/13/worldbank.wolfowitz.reut/index.html)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The World Bank's board of directors adjourned a meeting on Friday over the promotion by bank President Paul Wolfowitz of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, saying it would move quickly to decide how to proceed.

In a statement, the board said it found that Wolfowitz signed off on Riza's promotion and salary increase without a review by an ethics committee nor the board's chairman. The promotion came shortly after he joined the institution in 2005.

This is nothing new by those in power however, I hope the World Bank does something about this and sends a messege.
Jeruselem
13-04-2007, 12:55
John Bolton got kicked out the UN, and now another Bush appointed lackey is in trouble. Mistake? Sure ...
The Nazz
13-04-2007, 12:55
Now if only he can be turned over to the Hague for war crimes prosecution...
Rubiconic Crossings
13-04-2007, 12:57
Wolfowitz and the World Bank deserve each other.

Ethics committee...:rolleyes:
Gartref
13-04-2007, 12:58
I guess this frees up Wolfy to be the War Czar for Bush.
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 13:01
Now if only he can be turned over to the Hague for war crimes prosecution...

That won't happen and you know it.
Zilam
13-04-2007, 13:07
That won't happen and you know it.

People can dream though ;)
Dobbsworld
13-04-2007, 13:21
People can dream though ;)

And Corny can't prevent that, much and all as he might wish to.
Kryozerkia
13-04-2007, 13:40
The pieces of the Fort Neo-con continue to crumble. 'Tis nothing but shoddy craftsmanship.
Kinda Sensible people
13-04-2007, 13:43
Ethics committee...:rolleyes:

They have a lot on their schedule right now, but they'll try to squeeze him in too.
Turquoise Days
13-04-2007, 13:47
Wait, I just re-read this thread. Ethics committee?! In the World Bank?! What a funny world we live in...
Odechant
13-04-2007, 13:54
Yeah, in hoping that this is a real-life situation I would also like to add that I personally find it amazing that such an increasingly elderly could do such obviously immoral things. It just seems to me that the more life experience you gain the more compassionate and giving you are going to become. Not huorish and greedy. Makes me sad to think about actually, in a slightly mad way. I believe I have just the smiley for something like this.
Rubiconic Crossings
13-04-2007, 14:01
They have a lot on their schedule right now, but they'll try to squeeze him in too.

Out surely? :p

Wait, I just re-read this thread. Ethics committee?! In the World Bank?! What a funny world we live in...

yeah...I nearly fell off my chair when I read that as well...
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 14:25
And Corny can't prevent that, much and all as he might wish to.

*snorts*

Idream all the time. I dream that I am the President and made the world a better place.
Zilam
13-04-2007, 14:27
*snorts*

Idream all the time. I dream that I am the President and made the world a better place.

I shudder at that thought. I'm sure it'd be far more radically right wing than the British government in V for Vendetta.
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 14:29
I shudder at that thought. I'm sure it'd be far more radically right wing than the British government in V for Vendetta.

Actually, you would be incorrect in that assumption.
Zilam
13-04-2007, 14:31
Actually, you would be incorrect in that assumption.

So, you wouldn't kill off all the homosexuals and muslims? I'm guessing you'd only make them work in one of your camps ;)
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 14:34
So, you wouldn't kill off all the homosexuals and muslims? I'm guessing you'd only make them work in one of your camps ;)

Actually no. Some of them may even be in my cabinet.
Congo--Kinshasa
13-04-2007, 14:34
I shudder at that thought. I'm sure it'd be far more radically right wing than the British government in V for Vendetta.

I doubt Corneliu (sp?) would establish a totalitarian dictatorship, put minorities in concentration camps, or commit mass terror against the people.
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 14:40
I doubt Corneliu (sp?) would establish a totalitarian dictatorship, put minorities in concentration camps, or commit mass terror against the people.

Of course not. That would violate the COnstitution o the Unite States and frankly, I do not want to be impeached.
Khadgar
13-04-2007, 14:48
Of course not. That would violate the COnstitution o the Unite States and frankly, I do not want to be impeached.

I think you need to look up the word "Dictatorship".
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 14:53
I think you need to look up the word "Dictatorship".

I know what the definition is thank you. However, I doubt i would be able to make the US a dictatorship anyway. Not without actually desolving Congress..
Nodinia
13-04-2007, 15:28
What does it entail? Promotion and pay hike to his Girlfriend.


Seems to be a bit more to it than just his "other half".

Kevin Kellems, an unremarkable press-officer-cum-aide who had previously worked for Wolfowitz at the Pentagon, pulls down $240,000 tax-free -- the low end of the salary scale for World Bank vice presidents, who typically have PhDs and 25 years of development experience. Robin Cleveland, who also parachuted in with Wolfowitz, gets $250,000 and a free pass from the IRS, far more than her rank justifies. Kellems and Cleveland have contracts that don't expire when Wolfowitz's term is up. They have been granted quasi-tenure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/12/AR2007041201822.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

A "free pass from the IRS"? Thats kinky.
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 15:29
Seems to be a bit more to it than just his "other half".


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/12/AR2007041201822.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

A "free pass from the IRS"? Thats kinky.

One Word:

D-A-M-N
Boonytopia
13-04-2007, 15:32
And so the house of cards is falling around GW. It's disappointing this didn't happen 4, or even 8 years ago.
Jeruselem
13-04-2007, 15:34
And so the house of cards is falling around GW. It's disappointing this didn't happen 4, or even 8 years ago.

His mate Little Johnny is finding problems as well. :D
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 15:34
And so the house of cards is falling around GW. It's disappointing this didn't happen 4, or even 8 years ago.

Eight years ago, he was not in office :rolleyes:
Remote Observer
13-04-2007, 15:42
And so the house of cards is falling around GW. It's disappointing this didn't happen 4, or even 8 years ago.

Ummm... The World Bank is not part of the GWB Administration. Nor is it part of the US Government.

Wolfowitz left the US government service some time ago.

As for Wolfie, he fucked up - but it didn't have anything to do with his World Bank monetary policies - it had everything to do with mixing his private life with his hiring policies.
Demented Hamsters
13-04-2007, 16:14
Ummm... The World Bank is not part of the GWB Administration. Nor is it part of the US Government.

Wolfowitz left the US government service some time ago.

As for Wolfie, he fucked up - but it didn't have anything to do with his World Bank monetary policies - it had everything to do with mixing his private life with his hiring policies.
If you can call resigning from his job as deputy defense secretary barely two years ago 'some time ago', then yes - he did leave US government service 'some time ago'.
Also it was his old pal, GWBush who got him the job as the head of the World Bank in the first place.

Nothing to do with WB policies? what? We're just to trust that someone that nepotistic and greedy is going to be even and noble dictating monetary policy?
Leaving aside the fact he was given the job by Bush because Wolfowitz is about as far right as one could possibly go before you trip over Gengkis Khan.
Thus WB monetary policy under him was going to be as far right as one could possibly go without simply descending into demanding outright serfdom from the countries the WB lends money to.
Remote Observer
13-04-2007, 16:19
If you can call resigning from his job as deputy defense secretary barely two years ago 'some time ago', then yes - he did leave US government service 'some time ago'.
Also it was his old pal, GWBush who got him the job as the head of the World Bank in the first place.

Nothing to do with WB policies? what? We're just to trust that someone that nepotistic and greedy is going to be even and noble dictating monetary policy?
Leaving aside the fact he was given the job by Bush because Wolfowitz is about as far right as one could possibly go before you trip over Gengkis Khan.
Thus WB monetary policy under him was going to be as far right as one could possibly go without simply descending into demanding outright serfdom from the countries the WB lends money to.

Bush nominated him. The World Bank had to approve Wolfowitz.

Looks like they approved him. They could have rejected him, and forced Bush to nominate someone else.
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 16:32
Bush nominated him. The World Bank had to approve Wolfowitz.

Looks like they approved him. They could have rejected him, and forced Bush to nominate someone else.

Something most people do not understand it seems.
Nodinia
13-04-2007, 19:08
Something most people do not understand it seems.

Who is the biggest contriubutor to the world Bank and where is it based?
Lacadaemon
13-04-2007, 19:11
The real scandal is that people still think the world bank is an anti-poverty organization.

Or not corrupt to begin with.
Corneliu
13-04-2007, 19:17
Who is the biggest contriubutor to the world Bank and where is it based?

That makes no difference. The point is that the World Bank approved him. They did not have to.
New Granada
13-04-2007, 19:51
What else would we expect from someone so deeply corrupt and despicable as paul dundes wolfowitiz... one of the cheif engineers of our disasterous invasion and occupation of iraq.

Few people in recent decades have done as much to hurt the US as this worthless hack.
Nodinia
13-04-2007, 20:31
That makes no difference. The point is that the World Bank approved him. They did not have to.


The point is that the candidate recommended by the US has a weight behind him others do not. The fact is that he is a microcosm of the corruption at the heart of right wing America. Quick to spout his lofty ideals, yet quicker to jump on and get a gravy train going to fund his lackeys.

Bit like Bremmer in Iraq, really.
The Brevious
13-04-2007, 20:37
I guess this frees up Wolfy to be the War Czar for Bush.

Although Colbert suggested that Rumsfeld might be available for the job ....

perhaps the two can scissor ... erm, thumb-wrestle for it?
The Brevious
13-04-2007, 20:40
Actually no. Some of them may even be in my cabinet.
Speaking of which, didja happen to catch John Bolton on The Daily Show just a lil' bit ago?

Classic. :D
Szanth
13-04-2007, 20:48
Whenever I see Wolfowitz's name, I think "Wolf Blitzer?" and I have to double-take for a second and think "Hey Wolf Blitzer isn't part of the banking industry..."
Free Soviets
13-04-2007, 22:26
That makes no difference. The point is that the World Bank approved him. They did not have to.

name me the people who have been nominated for the wb preznitzy that weren't confirmed
Aryavartha
14-04-2007, 03:39
related news that had me lolling at the irony...

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070414/asp/frontpage/story_7646902.asp
Wolfowitz brought several of his aides from the Pentagon to the World Bank on tax-free salaries that are way above the bank’s norm, it has now been revealed, because they, too, may not have found any suitable jobs in the US administration because of the roles they played in the Iraq war.

He also decided — by some accounts, to whitewash his pathetic record in Iraq — to launch a campaign at the World Bank against corruption in the bank’s borrower countries.

Wolfowitz gave that job to one of his trusted aides, Suzanne Rich Folsom, counsellor to the president and director of the department of institutional integrity.

In her latter capacity, Folsom soon targeted India as a corrupt borrower of World Bank money.

She travelled to Delhi, accompanied by a galaxy of lawyers and armed with thousands of pages of documents, alleging corruption in World Bank loans to India’s health sector.

When Folsom’s assault team landed in North Block, Chidambaram snubbed them and said he would only meet her and not be subject to lectures and prescriptions by American lawyers.

Offended, she came back here and, in tactics that have become typical of the Bush administration, persuaded Wolfowitz to suspend nearly four-fifths of a billion-dollar loan which the World Bank was in the process of disbursing for India’s health care projects.

Meanwhile, Wolfowitz met a visiting Indian cabinet minister in his hotel room here and quietly passed on a message that all World Bank loans to India would be stopped unless Delhi gave in to the demands of his aides, according to sources privy to discussions at that meeting.

While fighting corruption was a laudable objective, the dominant view in the World Bank was that India was chosen to make an example and create an impact from Wolfowitz’s new crusade.

When the message reached Delhi that Wolfowitz would, indeed, twist India’s arm to the point where it could hurt, the finance ministry worked out a compromise with the bank.

Chidambaram’s presence here this weekend would have been an occasion for India to walk tall and signal to Wolfowitz that the boot of corruption is on his foot and that it snugly fits him.:D
Top
Bautzen
14-04-2007, 04:47
Ding dong the witch is dead, which witch? The wicked witch. Ding, dong the wicked witch is dead....

*continues to sing ad nauseum*

Ahh, I'm just waiting 'till the end of Bush's term then I can sing this a third time in his second term (the first was when Rumsfeld resigned, I walked around school singing it all day)
Layarteb
14-04-2007, 06:05
Yeah I'm not sorry for him at all. Can't stand this guy. He and the neo-con's destroyed the good name "Republican" well, facilitated it...
Nodinia
14-04-2007, 19:45
The woman at the heart of the controversy that has embroiled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says she is a victim and was forced into a job transfer because of their relationship.

Fnarr, fnarr, fnarr.....

Two months after arriving at the bank on June 1, 2005, Wolfowitz sent a memo to the bank's vice president of human resources, laying out details concerning Riza's employment and compensation.

"I now direct you to agree to a proposal which includes the following terms and conditions," Wolfowitz instructed. "You should accept immediately her offer to be detailed to an outside institution of her choosing, while retaining bank salary and benefits."

The Wolfowitz memo went on say that Riza should receive a promotion, draw a salary of $180,000 and get annual pay increases of 8 percent.
Before the job change, Riza was believed to be getting paid close to $133,000. After the transfer, she received $193,590, according to the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group.

O the humanity........

Riza remains on the World Bank's payroll though she left the State Department job in 2006 and now works for Foundation for the Future, an international organization that gets some money from the department.

When asked what Riza does at the foundation, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey on Friday said his "best understanding" was that she is an adviser to the foundation's board. "I do not have a job description for her, no," he said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4713817.html
They won't even leave her dignity.....

.... rapid rises in her tax-free World Bank salary to about $193,000 - more than the $186,000 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax - ............
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6554477.stm

So shes "tax free" too? More money than Condi rice.....


I wonder if I could be a victim too....
Soheran
14-04-2007, 20:25
Corrupt thugs, the lot of them.

Perhaps they should "crusade" against themselves.