♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Bretton Woods Twins,Development
at 4/13/2007 10:54:00 PM
Woman if a loving yuh looking for yuh buck upon the right man (Mr. Wolfie Man)Loving yuh looking for yuh buck upon the right one
Dem call me Mr. Loverman dem call me Mr. Lover
(World Banka gonna make you feel alright)
I am late to this, quite frankly, ridiculous story of Wolfowitz fighting for his survival as World Bank president as I limited my Internet access while away these past two days. Oddly enough, I did mention Wolfowitz's profile on Tuesday in the New Yorker that is now being cited widely for insights into Wolfowitz's special and differential treatment (sorry) of his girlfriend Shaha Riza in her reassignment from the World Bank to the US State Department together with a hefty pay raise. It is not everyday that Nouriel Roubini gets away from his soapbox on Stateside subprime carnage to comment on World Bank shenanigans, but he sets the matter in order by saying "As the World Bank rightly prods countries all over the world to pursue good governance and clamp down on corruption and nepotism, the example given by Wolfowitz in this episode has damaged the credibility and the moral authority of the World Bank in pursuing these goals." As Dr. Roubini points out, the neoconservative-friendly, multilateral institution-bashing Wall Street Journal op-ed says Wolfowitz is the target of a smear campaign who should stay while the Financial Times says he sets a poor example and must go. Sebastian Mallaby at the Washington Post is dismayed at how Wolfowitz's cronyism has sidelined development efforts. In turn, none other than Nancy Birdsall has said it's time for Wolfowitz to bid adieu.
Recent developments include Wolfowitz getting booed by World Bank staffers despite him apologizing over the issue. The 24-member World Bank executive board is mulling the matter of whether to dispose of Wolfowitz as the IMF-World Bank meetings take place in Washington, DC. Given that he has very limited respect from World Bank staffers--if he ever had any--there is little point in Wolfowitz continuing. Meanwhile, Shaha Riza is portraying herself as a "victim" of the transfer. (Gee, if getting a cushy State Department job and a big pay raise care of your boyfriend is such torture, then maybe you should not have taken the deal in the first place.) As the others have suggested, things are tough enough at the World Bank without having to deal with these soap opera-style machinations. Mark my word: there will be no end to this story in the US as Wolfowitz is recognized as one of the key architects of the Iraq invasion. Until he is gone from his post, the World Bank will just get more and more sidelined by this sideshow. I just wonder who they'd hire next if they decide to sack him? Wolfensohn, Wolfowitz...how about CNN's Wolf Blitzer? Now, there's a thought for you. I think he'd do a better job than his predecessors, actually.
In any event, here is vintage Shabba Ranks in his 1992 worldwide megahit "Mr. Loverman." Shabba has unbalanced hair; Wolfowitz has unbalanced scruples. I'll take the former:
