News Round Up, April 30, 2007
New York Times, April 30 Resignation Could Be Part of World Bank Compromise
Wall Street Journal, April 30 Wolfowitz Plans 'Substantial' Defense
Financial Times, April 30 Wolfowitz to face Panel of Bank Directors
New York Times, April 29 Document Dispute at Center of Wolfowitz Case
4 comments:
Is Wedgewood the woman that Wolfowitz was having an affair with at SAIS?
It fits a pattern --- he hires unqualified women to high profile jobs and then pays them well.
Did Wedgewood have a romantic relationship with Wolfowitz?
Is that why she wrote in support of Wolfowitz in the LA Times?
Did Wolfowitz help Wedgwood get her job at SAIS?
"Wolfowitz—an academic with a Ph.D. in political science, was dean at Wedgwood's neocon sinecure—Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)—from 1993 to 2001. Wedgwood, a lawyer with no Ph.D. in political science or anything else, reportedly joined SAIS as a "professor of law" (although SAIS is not a law school) "and diplomacy" (although Wedgwood has never reportedly been a diplomat) sometime around 2002. In one bio, Wedgwood notes that she joined SAIS "at the invitation" of Wolfowitz."
Opinion by Sarah Whalen in LA Times, April 30, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-whalen30apr30,0,364571.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Dear Executive Directors:
There appear to be a prima facie case that PW has a pattern of abusing his position at different institutions to hire / promote / provide raises / engage as contractors or otherwise provide benefits for women that are unqualified or unsuitable for their jobs.
Furthermore, it is clear that he has had romantic involvement with at least two:
- An unnamed staff member at SAIS
- Shaha Riza
Entirely aside from the propriety of him granting Riza her promotions, raises, etc. the question is, has his behavior exposed the Bank to considerable liability and disrepute by using the Bank's resources to, in effect, fund his private harem.
While there has been no pubic discussion of his romantic relationship(s) with Robin Cleveland, Susanne Folsom and Ana Palacio, it certainly raises questions as to whether such a relationship played a part in the appointment of these women to high positions.
Similarly, one of Wolfowitz's defenders, Ruth Wedgewood, who came to his defense in the LA Times, was appointed to the SAIS as a "Professor of Law" without any of the customary academic credentials like a terminal degree or at least, progress toward one.
The question for the EDs is not just Rizagate, but whether PW have had a pattern of sexual misconduct and abuse of his position / employer's resources that dates at least back to his SAIS days, and whether this pattern have continued , and is likely to continue if he is not terminated.
Under such circumstances, the World Bank Group can find itself in the same position as Astra Zeneca some years ago, when their then Chief executive in the US, Lars Bildman, systematically used the company to fund his harem.
Should the bank not act on this issue, I am afraid, the message it sends is that International Organizations are incapable of governance at a standard expected of any major multinational corporation.
Has PW's phone numbers turned up on Deborah Jeane Palfrey's telephone list yet?
IIRC His wife wrote to GWB that he may become a security liability because he likes chasing skirts and when he went to work for SEC DEF, he was asked to clean his act and that Rumsfeld will not tolerate his "womanising" habit after his fiasco at SAIS.
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