It's time for Wolfowitz to go

[ck4829]

The reason Paul Wolfowitz should resign as president of the World Bank has nothing to do with Iraq, or his last job as No. 2 in Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon, or even his clashes with the bank's directors and staff. He should resign because he made clean governance his main cause at the bank, and he has fallen far short of his own standards.

The facts are not in dispute. When Wolfowitz was appointed he was in a personal relationship with a woman employed there. Since working under Wolfowitz's supervision would violate the bank's conflict of interest rules, she was reassigned to the State Department, where she initially worked under Liz Cheney, the vice president's daughter.

She remained on the bank's payroll, and it now turns out that Wolfowitz helped arrange for her to receive a whopping $60,000 raise. Wolfowitz has launched a full rearguard action, apologizing to the staff, pledging full cooperation with any investigation, and appealing to staff members not to hold his "previous job" against him.

The issue isn't his previous job. Wolfowitz had already created enough turmoil in his current job to raise serious questions about his stewardship. The directors and the staff were especially incensed about the cavalier way in which he pursued his anti-corruption agenda, paying little heed to anyone save a tight circle of advisors he brought in with him.

What might Wolfowitz himself say if he discovered that a government receiving World Bank loans was making similar sweet arrangements for the personal friends of its president? There is no way Wolfowitz can recover his credibility and continue to be effective at the bank.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/15/opinion/edwolf.php

[Demeter]

1. How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

A secretary is not a toy,
No, my boy, not a toy
To fondle and dandle and playfully handle
In search of some puerile joy.
No, a secretary is not,
Definitely not, a toy.

You're absolutely right, Mr. Bratt.
We wouldn't have it any other way, Mr. Bratt.
It's a company rule, Mr. Bratt.

A secretary is not a toy,
No, my boy, not a toy.
So do not go jumping for joy, boy.
A secretary is not . . .
A secretary is not . . .
A secretary is not a toy.

A secretary is not to be
Used for play therapy.
Be good to the girl you employ, boy.
Remember no matter what
Neurotic trouble you've got
A secretary is not a toy.

She's a highly specialized key component
Of operational unity,
A fine and sensitive mechanism
To serve the office community.
With a mother at home she supports;
And you'll find nothing like her at FAO Schwarz.

A secretary is not a pet
Nor an e-rector set.
It happened to Charlie McCoy, boy:
They fired him like a shot
The day the fellow forgot
A secretary is not a toy.

A secretary is not a toy.
And when you put her to use . . .
Observe when you put her to use . . .
That you don't find the name "Lionel"
On her caboose.

A secretary is not a thing
Wound by key, pulled by string.
Her pad is to write in
And not spend the night in.
If that's what you plan to enjoy.
No!!

The secretary ya got,
Is definitely not
Employed to do a gavotte,
Or you know what.

Before you jump for joy,
Remember this, my boy,
A secretary is not
A tinkertoy!


http://users.bestweb.net/~foosie/howto.htm