Bringing corruption and favoritism to the World (Bank)

April 13, 2007 3:51 AM

Paul Wolfowitz faces calls to resign after admitting he helped his SO win a promotion to a high-paying job at the World Bank. The executive board of the World Bank has said it did not approve a hefty pay rise ordered by its president Paul Wolfowitz for his partner, Shaha Riza. This comes after a 2006 pledge to target corruption and stating that staff members should be praised when they raised concerns about corruption in projects. Seems as though this new tactic is starting to work. For those with short memories, prior to being picked by the President head up the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz studied under neo-con grandfather Leo Strauss while a grad student at the University of Chicago, was a founding member of the PNAC, and an architect of the Bush Doctrine, and by extension, the Iraq War.
posted by psmealey (85 comments total)

Oops. Apologies for taking up so much FPP real estate. If there's any hope for [MI]-ification, adminstrators, can you please hope me?
posted by psmealey at 3:53 AM on April 13, 2007

wolfie: just one more pig in the pork parade
posted by quonsar at 3:58 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

I would like to see him prosecuted for this.
posted by caddis at 4:23 AM on April 13, 2007

This is my surprised face.
posted by kcds at 4:40 AM on April 13, 2007

All this "partner" and "SO" business combined with a name that doesn't signify gender to me had me checking if he was gay.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:41 AM on April 13, 2007

In the real world he would've been fired for the whole socks thing.
posted by jsavimbi at 4:47 AM on April 13, 2007

But 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 - have aroused ire among other bank employees.

*****

While facing press questions about the case, Mr Wolfowitz has tried to shift focus back to the bank's remit of fighting global poverty.

More cognitive dissonance from this fucking clown.

Fire this loser and replace him with someone less despicable. I hear Don Imus is available.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 4:52 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

the whole socks thing

Yeah, I didn't get it either. I had to look it up
posted by psmealey at 4:53 AM on April 13, 2007

She was born in Tripoli, Libya, to a Libyan father and Syrian-Saudi mother. She grew up in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom.

She is presently working for Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz Cheney, in the State Department.

(Wikipedia)

Oddly enough, we haven't heard from the Swiftboaters yet.
posted by jsavimbi at 4:54 AM on April 13, 2007

I'm a political scandal junkie, and I'm really having a hard time keeping up with Republicans these days.

And say what you will about Leo Strauss, but he'd be laughing just as hard as I am at movement "conservatives" these days. It's about holding power quietly and pulling strings discretely, according to him, not getting your gf promoted.

Whither arete?

Their motives are incredibly venal. But their greatest flaw, from Wolfowitz on down? Sheer lack of competence.
posted by bardic at 4:59 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

FIRST CLINTON!!!!
posted by Legomancer at 5:01 AM on April 13, 2007

I would like to see him prosecuted for this.

That'd be nice. Or maybe taken to Baghdad, driven into the heart of Sadr City around midnight and left there, with the words "BUSH DOCTRINE" tattooed onto his forehead.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:05 AM on April 13, 2007

Oh come on caddis, give psmealey a break. He's not taking up that much FPP real estate...
posted by Deathalicious at 5:06 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Jesus. He was just heard on BBC news, solemnly pleading that he'd done this when he was new to the position, and "navigating uncertain waters". Not sure if he was referring to being new to the job, or new to the relationship. Either could apply.

Funny that I just watched the new episode of The Office last night, when Michael tries to negotiate a pay raise with his boss/lover.
posted by Flashman at 5:10 AM on April 13, 2007

Deathalicious...LOL!
posted by Flashman at 5:12 AM on April 13, 2007

"navigating uncertain waters"

Hilarious. "Oh, handing out World Bank money to my girlfriend is wrong? I had no idea! It's my first day!"
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 5:26 AM on April 13, 2007

They shoulda picked Bono, and slapped this assclown down before he had the chance to show just how corrupt he is.

Why do people keep giving them the benefit of the doubt?

I mean, take this new "Ambassador to Belgium", the Swift-boat donor, that got recessed appointed...
Who's taking bets on when he's outed as a scumbag that steals money and doesn't know his job?
Will it happen before there's an international crisis and we really NEED an ambassador that is worth a crap, or after.
posted by Balisong at 5:27 AM on April 13, 2007

An international crisis with belgium? A lot of these ambassador positions in countries we have good relationships with are staffed with cronies, and always have been.
posted by delmoi at 5:42 AM on April 13, 2007

Will it happen before there's an international crisis and we really NEED an ambassador that is worth a crap, or after.

I just got this vision of a bunch of Germans looking west out of the corner of their eyes and thinking, "Hmmm..."
posted by Cyrano at 5:44 AM on April 13, 2007

...tax-free World Bank salary to about $193,000
Tax-free?????
What sort of tax status does the World Bank hold that makes salaries there tax-free? I mean, other than "Secret Rulers of the World", of course.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:47 AM on April 13, 2007

No, I'm thinking that , say, more Muslim-esque violence pops up there. Violent mobs burning shops and cars, Then mobs of anti-car-and-shop-burners hunting down the burners and beating them senseless...

I think it would do us good NOT to have a neocon PR financer as our official mouthpiece in the region.
posted by Balisong at 5:57 AM on April 13, 2007

I remember seeing this article in my June 2003 copy of the Chicago alumni magazine and thinking, well how about that.
posted by The Straightener at 6:00 AM on April 13, 2007

Belgium, btw, is a diplomatically significant country (from the POV of the US). NATO is headquartered there, as well as some of the major institutions of the EU, and its government maintains good relations with some African nations that the US does not. You never know when those are going to come in handy.
posted by psmealey at 6:03 AM on April 13, 2007

You never know when those are going to come in handy.

Not to mention Cotes d'Or chocolate and Chimay.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:13 AM on April 13, 2007 [3 favorites]

Is there a single person associated with the president with any redeeming qualities whatsoever?
posted by pmbuko at 6:16 AM on April 13, 2007

I understand Condi Rice is a pretty decent piano player.
posted by psmealey at 6:19 AM on April 13, 2007

These guys really don't think that the rules apply to them. Although I'm really more offended that one of the main architects of Iraq get a promotion as punishment for screwing up the war planning so totally.
posted by octothorpe at 6:21 AM on April 13, 2007

Is this the same University of Chicago that didn't want Kurt Vonnegut? Maybe someone can come unstuck in time, go back to the 40's and do something about that travesty.

Oh, and I'm shocked! Shocked to find gambling here!
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:25 AM on April 13, 2007

Paul Wolfowitz makes me sick.
posted by byronimation at 6:32 AM on April 13, 2007

I understand Condi Rice is a pretty decent piano player.

"Enough with the Wagner already, Condi. Play us a nice song."
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:34 AM on April 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

It's all a "mistake."

"World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz publicly apologized yesterday for the 'mistake' of personally orchestrating a high-paying job and guaranteed promotions for a bank employee with whom he is romantically involved, as new details of his role in the arrangement emerged and staff members angrily demanded his resignation.

Wolfowitz attempted to address about 200 staffers gathered in the bank's central atrium but left after some began hissing, booing, and chanting 'Resign. . . . Resign.' He had approached the gathering after holding a news conference in which he said, "I made a mistake for which I am sorry."

Bank insiders confirmed reports from the bank's staff association that Wolfowitz directed personnel officials to give Shaha Riza, his longtime companion, an automatic 'outstanding' rating and the highest possible pay raises during an indefinite posting at the State Department, as well as a promotion upon her return to the bank."

And he lied about it.

"Until yesterday, Wolfowitz and his aides had insisted that 'all arrangements concerning Shaha Riza were made at the direction of the bank's board of directors." Bank sources said, however, that neither the board nor the ethics committee was aware of the terms of the final agreement.'"

posted by ericb at 6:52 AM on April 13, 2007

Hissing and booing! I love it.
posted by gubo at 6:56 AM on April 13, 2007

Corruption at the World Bank :O
I guess they took a break from trying to destroy the third world.
posted by chunking express at 6:59 AM on April 13, 2007

"Enough with the Wagner already, Condi. Play us a nice song."

Screw Joshua Bell. Let's all chip in and buy Condi a portable Casio keyboard, pluck her down at one of D.C.'s Metro stops, give her a plastic bicket for tips and see if anyone notices.
posted by ericb at 7:00 AM on April 13, 2007

This stuff would all be so much easier to take if a corrupt official didn't make such a fuss in the first place about how he was coming into office to clean up all the corruption.
posted by LeLiLo at 7:02 AM on April 13, 2007

*bucket* "It's pronounced 'bū-kā', not bŭk'ĭt".
posted by ericb at 7:03 AM on April 13, 2007

What's all this "bringing" corruption to the World Bank business?
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:03 AM on April 13, 2007

It was a play on words/neo-con political themes, Pope Guilty. I'm well aware of the World Bank's history.
posted by psmealey at 7:05 AM on April 13, 2007

Wolfie (aka a Vulcan), you're doing a heckuva job!
posted by ericb at 7:09 AM on April 13, 2007

True story - while he was still at Defense, some friends and I saw him and Riza at a decidely downmarket and nearly empty restaurant outside of DC that I often go to because it is usually empty and I hate other people. Anyway, as they sat and ate, we wondered if they were seeing each other, but there was absolutely no chemistry or smiling, so we assumed they were just working together.

Oh, and they both nipped at their food like two beta male hyenas competing over the same carcass. The way they ate dominated more of my party's conversation than his politics.
posted by Pastabagel at 7:18 AM on April 13, 2007

Newsweek: Why He’s Failing (Again).
posted by ericb at 7:42 AM on April 13, 2007

It's just so petty. Paul Wolfowitz, PNAC mastermind and architect of the neoconservative agenda busted like a Quizno's assistant manager for getting his girlfriend a sweet job.
posted by Cookiebastard at 8:01 AM on April 13, 2007 [5 favorites]

Wolfoworst makes me so angry that blood starts to trickle from my eye sockets.

He is another of my Open Cage Match Challenges. Evidently the World bank bounces emails with "Fight me you pussy PNAC war-losing chicken hawk mother fucker!" as the subject line. Go figure.

BUT I have to say that I, when and where ever I can, will give jobs or raises and favors to friends and family. Unless they are grossly incompetent. I see no problem with this. That is the way the world works.
posted by tkchrist at 8:13 AM on April 13, 2007

When it is a business you own and thus that money you give is yours, fine. When you are giving away someone else's money just because you are in control, not so fine.
posted by caddis at 8:16 AM on April 13, 2007

Tax-free????? What sort of tax status does the World Bank hold that makes salaries there tax-free? I mean, other than "Secret Rulers of the World", of course.

The World Bank is considered an "international" institution that has some leeway regarding US tax laws. This affects WB employees that are not US citizens, such as Ms. Riza. (I am a former WB employee and current consultant, and am one of 5 US citizens in a department of 60.)
posted by laz-e-boy at 8:31 AM on April 13, 2007

When you are giving away someone else's money just because you are in control, not so fine.

Are you kidding. That's even better!

Are seriously saying you never wold play favorites for your wife or family? People SAY that. But it defies the realty of what they really do.
posted by tkchrist at 8:33 AM on April 13, 2007

"Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I tell you I gotta plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon..."
posted by BaxterG4 at 8:39 AM on April 13, 2007

This New Yorker profile makes him seem sympathetic, and makes me feel like his girlfriend thing really was just a misstep, and that he's being brought down by establishment people at the WB whose feathers he is ruffling in his quest to reorganize it. Of course, maybe he IS doing an awful job, who knows?
posted by Malad at 8:40 AM on April 13, 2007

I like Wolfowitz, even if he is a bleeding heart.

Are seriously saying you never wold play favorites for your wife or family? People SAY that. But it defies the realty of what they really do.

There has to be balance. I would favor my friends first if, and only if, they are qualified and competent. It also depends on the position, etc. I see nothing wrong with nepotism or favoritism. America was found on it, the very model of the small, mom-and-pop, family owned business.


studied under neo-con grandfather Leo Strauss

_____


Strauss taught that liberalism in its modern form contained within it an intrinsic tendency towards relativism, which in turn led to two types of nihilism. The first was a “brutal” nihilism, expressed in Nazi and Marxist regimes. These ideologies, both descendants of Enlightenment thought, tried to destroy all traditions, history, ethics and moral standards and replace it by force with a supreme authority from which nature and mankind are subjugated and conquered. The second type — the "gentle" nihilism expressed in Western liberal democracies — was a kind of value-free aimlessness and hedonism, which he saw as permeating the fabric of contemporary American society. In the belief that 20th century relativism, scientism, historicism, and nihilism were all implicated in the deterioration of modern society and philosophy, Strauss sought to uncover the philosophical pathways that had led to this situation. The resultant study led him to revive classical political philosophy as a source by which political action could be judged. [Wiki]


Amen, brother.
posted by Gnostic Novelist at 8:41 AM on April 13, 2007

Of course, maybe he IS doing an awful job, who knows?

His track record, and that of his associates, does not suggest otherwise.
posted by Tommy Gnosis at 8:46 AM on April 13, 2007

Wolfowitz came into his job at the WB with a 90% disapproval rating among WB employees. Our department manager used to openly make jokes at his expense during staff meetings, and everyone laughed along.
posted by laz-e-boy at 8:53 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

At the heart of Strauss's political theories is the idea that it's okay to lie and mislead the public with any manner of lies and half-truths, because the great unwashed really don't get it and don't know what's best for them.

As a self-professed libertarian, Gnostic, you are the last person I expected to go to bat for him.
posted by psmealey at 9:08 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

Of course, maybe he IS doing an awful job, who knows?

His track record, and that of his associates, does not suggest otherwise.

I just woke up to an NPR piece about this very subject: they mentioned that he has received grudging respect with regards for his push to give more money to Africa. There are also people on the board who feel that the bank was in serious need of shaking up, but giving your girlfriend pay raises and utterly failing to commnicate with career bank employees is a stupid way to do that.

I can also see Wolfowitz's point about not wanting to give World Bank money to countries like Congo; Congo makes enough money from oil revenue to take care of it's own, but millions of dollars disappear into the pocket of corrupt officials so that the country gets WB cash. Seems a bit screwed up.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:10 AM on April 13, 2007

Harping on Wolfowitz for the sock thing is lame. I myself have worn holes through socks (even expensive ones) over the course of a single working day (part of the reason I hate socks). In fact, one of the socks I'm wearing at work right now has a hole in it, which I guess marks me as an irredeemable slob.

However, feel free to keep harping on his incompentence, neoconservatism, warmongering, cronyism, lying....etc. ad nauseum.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:20 AM on April 13, 2007

Are seriously saying you never wold play favorites for your wife or family?

"Riza’s promotion came with a pay increase that was more than double the amount allowed by staff rules. 'According to the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, she has received two raises totaling $61,000 since Wolfowitz took over as president. The group said bank payroll documents put her current annual salary at $193,590.

....Wolfowitz tried to explain away his behavior, claiming his mistakes were made because 'he had to deal with it when he was new to this institution and trying to navigate in uncharted waters.' He added that criticism of him should not focus on his role in the Iraq war. 'For people who disagree with me based on things in my previous job, I am not in my previous job.'" ^*

Video of his statement.
posted by ericb at 9:49 AM on April 13, 2007

In related news -- Documents Show Wolfowitz Lied About World Bank’s Family Planning Policy.
posted by ericb at 9:51 AM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Harping on Wolfowitz for the sock thing is lame. I myself have worn holes through socks (even expensive ones) over the course of a single working day (part of the reason I hate socks). In fact, one of the socks I'm wearing at work right now has a hole in it, which I guess marks me as an irredeemable slob."

Two words:
Toenail Clippers

(i keed, i keed)
posted by HyperBlue at 10:57 AM on April 13, 2007

Of course, maybe he IS doing an awful job, who knows?

Is this for real? After literally every single member of this administration has been caught doing something despicable, you still want to give them the benefit of the doubt on this?
posted by odinsdream at 11:03 AM on April 13, 2007

Mistakes were make...
posted by blue_beetle at 11:04 AM on April 13, 2007

After literally every single member of this administration has been caught doing something despicable, you still want to give them the benefit of the doubt on this?

McNamara made mistakes but did a good job at the WB. Why not Wolfowitz? He's generally acknowledged to be a good-hearted ideologue, not a sleazebag (of course he could be incompetent or his ideology wrong). Lots of good people work in bad administrations if they think it is better than the other choices.
posted by Malad at 11:44 AM on April 13, 2007

Did Wolfowitz actually study under Strauss? I thought the neocons that were Straussians were second-generation.

Don't mistake Strauss as the poster boy for Chicago. His was a minority view, even there. I've seen numerous attempts, by both those favorable and disfavorable, to incorrectly describe various academics as "Straussian" by virtue of mere (and often tenuous) association.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:56 AM on April 13, 2007

E_B, FWIW, from the Wiki:

Wolfowitz chose the University of Chicago over his long-term favorite Harvard, as he wanted the chance to study under Bloom's mentor, Leo Strauss, who was teaching there at the time, and who, according to Mann, he thought "was a unique figure, an irreplaceable asset." Wolfowitz enrolled in a couple of Strauss' courses, on Plato and Montesquieu, but according to Mann they "did not become especially close," as the aging professor was winding down his career and was to retire before Wolfowitz graduated. Fellow student Peter Wilson confirms that "Wolfowitz didn't talk much about Strauss in those days," but as Mann points out, "in subsequent years colleagues both in government and academia came to view Wolfowitz as one of the heirs to Leo Strauss's intellectual traditions."

So (subjectively), he went to Hyde Park to study under Strauss, but it didn't really pan out. He ended up working with Albert Wohlstetter instead.
posted by psmealey at 12:17 PM on April 13, 2007

This reminds me of the Onion story - when the Clinton scandal was going on - about Saddam Hussein stepping down because of a sex scandal.
You’d figure the combsucker would go down for something, y’know, meaningful.
I’m slowly starting to revise me world view. I don’t think this is the ‘real’ world. Nor do I think it’s strictly speaking manufactured in the ‘Matrix’ sense.

I think we’re living in an ironic parody.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:18 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't understand why everyone is so outraged by this.

It's not that I don't think [insert word for giving jobs to family and friends; my mind is blank] is bad, but look at everything else the Bush administration has done -- funnelled no-bid contracts to their political contributors and former employers, etc.

Why is this particular bit of favoritism so appalling?

Isn't this just politics?
posted by jayder at 1:06 PM on April 13, 2007

I don't understand why everyone is so outraged by this.

It's not outrage. I think it's just that for all of the other malfeasance this guy has been party to, it's kind of funny that he'll probably be taken down for something so... banal.

Isn't this just politics?

Not really. Didn't Jim McGreevey teach us that using your influence in your position to get a high-paying job for your playmate really isn't the smart play? It's one thing for this to happen in the private sector (and it does, and it's not always wrong when it does), but in the public sector, there are some pretty strict and very public rules against this sort of thing.
posted by psmealey at 1:26 PM on April 13, 2007

White House predicts Wolfowitz will keep his job

In other White House predictions, War in Iraq Will Be 'Cakewalk.'
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 2:58 PM on April 13, 2007

To paraphrase the cliched sentiment:

Public sector employees must not only be scrupulous, they must be seen to be scrupulous.

In the political arena you can argue points of view for a lot of things, but the bottom line is that public sector nepotism is guilty until proved innocent. Your candidate better be the best by a mile. And that's the way it should be.

Wolfowitz screwed up and he has to go.
posted by Jakey at 3:45 PM on April 13, 2007

"Riza’s promotion came with a pay increase that was more than double the amount allowed by staff rules. 'According to the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, she has received two raises totaling $61,000 since Wolfowitz took over as president.

Okay. Now that is different than favoritism or nepotism. THAT is essentially graft and fraud.

Jeebus. These frigg'n neocon mother fuckers all have the scruples of Tony Soprano. Only less competent.

I bet Richard Perle runs a god damned identity and credit card theft ring in his basement.
posted by tkchrist at 4:08 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite]

I am starting to feel so exhausted by each new revelation. Why can't we get rid of these people?!!! I feel like screaming and running around. There are only so many times that I can write to my congressman without being called a stalker. Public protest seems to get you labled crazy even with more corruption being unearthed every day. Someone give me some kind of hope, cuz this is making nuts.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 4:55 PM on April 13, 2007

Okay. Now that is different than favoritism or nepotism. THAT is essentially graft and fraud.

Well, there is *some* justification: he got the boss's job, and because he would have been in authority over her, and that would have been a conflict of interest, so she was forced to leave. To compensate for this disruption in her career path, she got raises and a job elsewhere. Obviously, for him to have arranged all this was another conflict of interest and shouldn't have been done. But it's not quite so clear cut as a lot of people here think (at least so I understand).
posted by Malad at 6:22 PM on April 13, 2007

Tommy Gnosis:

At the heart of Strauss's political theories is the idea that it's okay to lie and mislead the public with any manner of lies and half-truths, because the great unwashed really don't get it and don't know what's best for them.

As a self-professed libertarian, Gnostic, you are the last person I expected to go to bat for him.

1. I'm not a self-professed libertarian (close, but ultimately no. I'm a Classical Conservative).

2. I disagree with the use of force to establish policy based on lie, but do you really believe that the masses understand everything? Even the most intelligent citizens only know their specialty. I don't visit a air conditioner repair man when I want my computer fixed. In a nation of hundreds of millions of people, in matters of great importance what is correct will often be opposed. The most solid proof of this in American is the fact that the abolition of slavery was never put to a vote and few would have wanted it to be. The abolition of it just happened to be the byproduct of an unjust war.

I'm don't agree or disagree with the noble lie, but I'm saying it works sometime. This doesn't mean it is morally right. I, of course, oppose big government either way. After all, what happens when a limited government engages in a noble lie? Maybe some guy gets a contract to design police uniforms. Otherwise it is innocuous
posted by Gnostic Novelist at 8:08 PM on April 13, 2007

"Big Government." People STILL say that?

Is this some sort of political version of big penis envy? Like: It's not the size of the boat... it's the motion of the ocean.

We can argue what government should or should not do but the fact is that this fear of "big" bureaucracy is misplaced and ignorant. It's a fallacy. It's cliché.

I don't care how BIG government is or isn't. I care if it is competent. It can be big AND competent.

As a business owner I can tell you this: There are only so many hours in the day and only so much people can do with their labor. You need to increase the labor base to get work done. More hands DOES make light work. Hence why institutions get big as demands on them grow. Government is no exception.

While size effects efficiency—efficiency is not the end all be all to serving the public. Integrity, trust and compassion are.
posted by tkchrist at 8:23 PM on April 13, 2007

I don't care how BIG government is or isn't. I care if it is competent. It can be big AND competent.

It can't be competent. Big government means force. Think of it like this: Imagine a one-world government. It can be effective by force (i.e. execution and expropriation) but simply cannot respond to diverse cultures. One can mock conservatism's belief in the social order, but most don't think a world government can establish it. A government cannot be big and competent because that would require flawed human beings, and all humans are flawed, to have absolute power at their hands.

Stalin lead one of the most effective governments in history. He industrialized a backwards nation in record time. He was effective (zero unemployment). The problem is that the effectiveness came at a cost. Government does not create wealth, it can only take-redistribute and it has the power of life and death.

It isn't some coincidence that we don't have people major movements calling for the abolishment of non-governmental markets. However, there is a growing movement, a number in fact, to complete bar from it (still a minority).

This is all without getting into the fact that the government was really effective at maintaining slavery, warfare, and other such problems, but statists rarely support that (in the 21st century) so that is a moot point. It's ironic, because the problem with big corporations is that they rely on extreme consensus due to a few individuals, and people seem to think giving these people and their methods complete control of a country is the solution to problems (as if humble family men are going to throw their lives away by running for office). Hell, I can name many corporations that are effective; I wouldn't dream of letting them have the power of life and death over me.
posted by Gnostic Novelist at 8:45 PM on April 13, 2007

I counted no less than 4 grammatical errors is the above, but I'm drunk so correcting them would be pointless. Meh, hopefully I was still clear.
posted by Gnostic Novelist at 8:48 PM on April 13, 2007

this man dragged America into that appalling war crime that is the invasion of Iraq and he is finally shot down because he raised his girlfriend's salary?

this demonstrates how fucked up the system is, not that the system is working -- don't kid yourselves if you think otherwise. He should be in the Hague answering about his lies, and the crimes committed because of those lies. Instead he's splitting hairs explaining how, yes, his girlfriend shouldn't have gotten a raise.

this is bullshit.

and anyway, speaking of competence, if I had had a key role in the creation of the unprecedented corporate gangbang that is the Iraq War, with billion-dollars no-bid contracts awarded to every fucking corporation in the military industrial complex, well, I'd have made sure that this cocksuckers at least deliver several truckloads of cash right to my house to demonstrate their gratitude. there'd be no need to scrape some 40,000 dollars off of the World Bank budget to give my girlfriend, looking like a huge asshole in front of the entire world.

they're not just criminals -- they're inept criminals, at that.

it is an eternal testament to the American people's grace under pressure that these clowns aren't hanging from lampposts after a very justifiable popular uprising. the fact that you guys are taking this shit and managing to keep your heads cool fills me with awe, seriously -- not many countries would have made it.
posted by matteo at 3:54 AM on April 14, 2007

Gnostic... wasn't me.
posted by Tommy Gnosis at 6:06 AM on April 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

Here's an interesting article on Wolfowitz's time at Cornell, where he came under the influence of Bloom that changed his life. I wasn't aware until reading the article that a instructor I am familiar with from St. John's College (though I didn't have a class with him), David Bolotin, was Paul Wolfowitz's roommate during their freshman year in Cornell's scholarship student Telluride House. Bloom arrived to teach the following year, if I have the timeline correct, and he had an enormous influence on the students in Telluride House, Wolfowitz and Bolotin and others among them.

The Straussian influence is by way of Bloom, as mentioned in a previous comment, IIRC. According to this article, Strauss visited Cornell at one point and was criticized by some of the faculty. Bolotin, but not Wolfowitz, was among three students that wrote an impassioned defense to the student newspaper.

I just emailed a couple of friends who did have classes with Bolotin if they were aware of his association with Wolfowitz.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 12:15 PM on April 14, 2007

Government does not create wealth

On the contrary, I think an excellent argument can be made that the redistribution of funds into projects like infrastructure, public health, and science, are the primary ways "wealth" is created.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 1:42 PM on April 14, 2007

Government has comparative advantage, too.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 2:08 PM on April 14, 2007

Revenge of the World Bank Secretaries
posted by homunculus at 2:37 PM on April 17, 2007

Defense Dept. Ordered a Contractor to Hire Wolfowitz's Girlfriend:

"The U.S. Defense Department ordered a contractor to hire a World Bank employee and girlfriend of then-Pentagon No. 2 Paul Wolfowitz in 2003 for work related to Iraq, the contractor said on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Science Applications International Corp., or SAIC, said the Defense Department's policy office directed the company to enter a subcontract with Shaha Riza, under which she spent a month studying ways to form a government in Iraq."

posted by ericb at 3:44 PM on April 17, 2007

Daily Show: Where is Paul Wolfowitz Now?
posted by homunculus at 10:40 PM on April 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

World Bank Deputy tells Wolfowitz to quit.
posted by adamvasco at 5:03 AM on April 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Mr Wolfowitz is said to have replied that he didn't think his resignation would be in the bank's best interests, and that he had no intentions of going."

This guy is just too fucking much.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:37 AM on April 19, 2007

Leader of World Bank Staff Group Becomes Wolfowitz's Chief Nemesis
posted by psmealey at 2:11 AM on April 20, 2007