Panglossian Notes

Paul Wolfowitz the latest inept Bushie, Neo-Con, GOPer or just another bad case of Bushie virus?

What is it with the people that latched on to Bush? Scandal or potential scandal seems to haunt them everywhere, even if they escape to an international agency it follows them.

The latest one of these characters to be effected by this Bushie virus is Paul Wolfowitz. Remember him? He is one of the guys: who planned the big liberation party in Iraq; who fired, maybe one of the last sensible generals in the pentagon(here to see him and here for background), the one who indicated to Congress, before the big party started, that you needed a bunch of surges to what Wolfowitz et al were saying was needed to have a successful celebration. Well, Paul had escaped the Defense Department, to zip over the Potomac and up a few blocks to the World Bank on H Street, and he did this cleverly before the inept occupation of Iraq was completely unveiled to the rest of the world. But Wolfowitz seems to have carried the Bushie virus with him and its characteristic symptoms started showing awhile back and being tracked by the Village Voice.

Seems Paul went to the Bank and dragged other Bushie and Republican hangers-on with him to fight "corruption" and, and this is what is getting him in trouble, became involved or continued his involvement with a female staff member - Shaha Ali Riza - who either directly or indirectly reported to him. The reporting thing is a no no, of course, in most reputable organizations - no one would, well maybe a few, care what you do on your own time as long as you're not scaring the horses but on public or world time, no intimate linkages, eh, it just looks bad.

As I said, the Village Voice has been tracking old Wolfowitz for sometime but once WaPo and now other "main MSM" outlets picked up the story it seems to be starting to boil. The boil is, in effect self-inflected, caused by, and this is a clear indication of Bushie virus, a combination of arrogance, self-righteousness and, most importantly, ordinary low-level stupidity.

For example, in the WaPo column of March:

"So we asked Wolfowitz spokesman Kevin Kellems who's responsible for these whopping raises. [referring to the pay increases given to Wolkowitz's bud Riza]

"All arrangements concerning Shaha Riza were made at the direction of the bank's board of directors," Kellems said."

Al Kamen
WaPo
March 28, 2007

So that's alright then, it's the Bank's Board that decide to go outside the organizations rules.

But, but, but, it seems that may or most definitely is not the case:

The dispute over the pay increase and promotion awarded to the partner of the World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz, when she was seconded from the bank to the US State department intensified on Friday when both the then head of the board’s ethics committee and its then general counsel challenged the version of events put forward by bank officials [could this be the Kellems person mentioned in the WaPo comment, hmm].

Ad Melkert, who chaired the committee and is now number two at the United Nations development programme, is said to be unhappy at the way bank officials characterised his role in the agreement over Shaha Riza, which news reports, unchallenged by the bank, say raised her salary to $193,000 (£98,000) free of tax.

Mr Melkert’s spokesman told the Financial Times it was “entirely up to management to determine the specific terms and conditions of the placement”.

A senior bank official had earlier told the FT: “After consultation with the then general counsel, the ethics committee of the board approved an external assignment agreement.”

Mr Melkert’s spokesman challenged this explanation, stating that the members of the committee “were not aware of, nor did they approve, the details of the agreement”.

The spokesman for Mr Melkert also took issue with the official’s claim that the board had “instructed” Mr Wolfowitz to resolve the issue of what would happen to Ms Riza, who under bank rules could not work for her partner, through an external assignment.

Krishna Guha Washington
Mark Turner New York
Financial Times
April 6, 2007

Reuters, yesterday, had the latest reports of the new ongoing outbreak of Bushie virus and the attempts to deal with it as the World Bank Board weighed in to try an contain any further spread:

The World Bank board is probing whether the promotion of a female staffer involved with President Paul Wolfowitz possibly violated staff rules, according to a note to bank employees on Friday.

The board, made up of representatives and advisers of the bank's 185 member countries that oversees its day-to-day operations, said in the note dated April 5 that it had met "concerning a possible violation of staff rules in favor of a staff member closely associated with the President".

"They have decided to acquire all the information related to this matter and will respond to the issues raised as soon as possible, in accordance with their responsibilities," it said.

The controversy erupted this week when the bank's Staff Association questioned the promotion and pay increase of Shaha Riza who was given an external bank assignment to the U.S. State Department in September 2005, when her involvement with Wolfowitz became public.

Lesley Wroughton
Reuters
April 6, 2007

The Financial Times, unconsciously likely, had maybe the most succinct description of the effects of Bushie virus (embarrassment resulting from hypocrisy which undermines any good intentions):

"The claim that Ms Riza received special treatment could hugely embarrass Mr Wolfowitz, who has championed the cause of good governance globally."

But the last word for now should go to the Foreign Policy Blog - Passport which asked the rhetorical question:

"Given Wolfowitz's crusade to fight corruption in countries that receive Bank aid, doesn't it seem a little hypocritical to hand your girlfriend inordinate bonuses?"

As I said a most important symptom of Bushie virus is low-level stupidity. If you're going to lie get your ducks in a line. Don't assume that other responsible and, likely professional people who are not Bushies, will back your lies if you haven't check with them first. Don't they teach this stuff at fraud school any longer?

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Stupidity, World Bank

Poor baby Okalik, dreaming of being a strong man?

You wonder sometimes about this leader from Nunavut, Okalik and his frustrations.

He told a group of ambassadors at a conference in Whitehorse about his difficult life. Seems his biggest problem may be that someone might ask a question. From the CBC report, he indicated that:

"Using the consensus style of government, with no political parties, means during budget debate all 18 MLAs can ask as many questions as they want, ... ."

For some reason he thinks that this does not happen in a party style parliamentary system.

"It can be frustrating at times," said Okalik [when people ask questions I presume]. "Those days you wish you had party politics."

Blogger's comment in square brackets.

He is supposedly a lawyer, at least he seems to have passed the bar examine in Canada's newest territory Nunavut.

I wonder if he has practiced law? I think he was made the leader of this territory the day he also got called to the bar so maybe that's his excuse for being frustrated, poor baby, no time for any real world experience.

The reason I raised this is that his statements at times seem to make little or no sense and indicated a marked lack of understanding of any parliamentary system whether it be the political party variety or the consensus type.

I would have thought that a graduate of any Canadian law school might know the basics of the Canadian governing system.

Oh well, I guess it's not required if you are, Okalik.

I wonder what party he might dream about forming when he is out on the golf links.

I wonder if he might think that actually developing policy and really leading a party could maybe be just a bit, as he'd clearly think based on his comments to the ambassadors, frustrating.

Why?

Well, of course, because someone might ask a question.

Glad what an idiot. Maybe he needs an internship in a failed foreign state where no one asks questions.

I'd say that stringing this so-called territorial leader's comments together indicates one of the serious problems facing this new territory and it isn't the housing, education or general social issues normally trotted out as dilemmas in this part of the Arctic.

It is that the territory seems to have a completely immature and badly functioning political system and this is underlined and highlighted by the Leader Okalik.

Technorati Tags: Canada, CBC, Democracy, Nunavut, Politicans, Stupidity

Tory Government!

I think the Emerson behavior is completely inexcusable.

Everyone can be nicy nicy about it but it has pointed a pretty ugly finger at our so-called Canadian democracy.

This guy should be run out of town on a rail.

Jeffrey Simpson in a "to and fro" with G&M readers today called his behaviour undemocratic.

A very polite way of describing completely unacceptable behavior on the part of a politician.

Sorry Jeffrey this guy needs to be given a message. You maybe competent as a technocrat but we don't want you in our political system: you smell. You are odious.

Harper, unfortunately has shown really bad judgement at the beginning of his tenure and tried to paper it over with sweet comments that odious Emerson served Paul Martin well and has now gone over to the CPC.

Jesus is the guy, Emerson, a Deputy Minister or a Member of Parliament representing a particular party.

Seems that the odious Emerson is nothing but a Deputy Minister.

Would have been nice if he'd told his constituency this, you'd think.

Ah, but no, not part of the modern politicians reason for being.

In consumer law I think there are mechanisms for correcting this type of flim flam - even though for this particular character the rail and some tar and feathers may be more appropriate.

Guess we'll have to wait to see what the polls say. I'll bet the Vancouverites will forgive:

"oh he is a really nice man"

"he never let his dog shit on my lawn"

I'm just waiting for it. See I have a theory that too many laits diminish your gray matter, least those cells that have something to do with self-respect.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Canada, Globe and Mail, Politics

My First note in awhile!

So the election is now 5 days away. Me, I voted last Friday as soon as the advance polls opened. I admit I have systematically avoided any articles, media assessments and blog commenting on this particular election since early December, until the beginning of this week.

I also avoided any TV coverage but did pick up what seem to be the main direction of the campaign from CBC radio news coverage.

At the beginning of the campaign I did considered some Harper announcements: here and here.

Since Monday I've read quite a few blogs commenting on the Conservative Party of Canada's (CPC) platform -"Stand Up for Canada" - and have now read it once.

I know the Liberal Party's policy proposals, I think. They were mainly contained in "The Plan for Growth and Prosperity" which was part of the November 14th of Fiscal Update delivered by Minister Goodale but also followed from the 2005 federal Budget and the various Bills pasted in late June.

Other than Minister Goodale's documents PM PM summarized Canada's coming challenges in a September 21st speech. I'm not sure what Harper thinks are the challenges the country faces other than the sponsorship scandal from the Chretien era.

Here is a summary of the 10 main points from the the Toronto Star:

1. Canada must invest heavily in child care and education, from early childhood to university and beyond, to produce a more highly skilled and innovative workforce.

2. We must welcome skilled immigrants who can fill jobs vacated by older workers.

3. We must upgrade language training and credentials recognition to compete with other countries for immigrants.

4. We must invest heavily in Canada's cities to turn them into world-class magnets that attract the best and brightest from places like China and India, and that attract foreign investment.

5. We must encourage private sector investment and job growth in innovative sectors.

6. We must capitalize on our comparative advantage in supplying energy to a resource-hungry world.

7. We must provide world-class health care to an aging population.

8. We must stake out our claims to the North, and its untapped resources.

9. Canadians must strive to be good global citizens by promoting growth and development, thwarting terror, battling climate change, curbing pandemics and challenging those who disrupt international peace. These trans-boundary issues affect us all, as our ties to the rest of the world become ever tighter.

10. And Canadians must do it all in a fiscally responsible way through balanced budgets, and a gradual paring down of the national debt. We do not want to saddle future generations with a crippling bill.

The Toronto Star
PM's clear vision of Canada's future
Sept. 21, 2005

The whole speech is here if any care to have a quick look before it goes next Tuesday maybe.

Although I generally agree with the 10 points as a pretty good assessment of what is likely needed in the coming years to ensure and maybe improve the county's standard of living, I was never convinced that PM PM had the talent to lead the country there.

My reading of the CPCs platform doesn't indicate as grand a vision. But if Harper gets in time will tell, I guess. So far the policies he has outlined as his party's preferred course of action seems parochial.

Harper's comments from yesterday, elaborated on today, about having checks on a government formed by the CPCs power because of Senate, judicial and senior civil servant appointments made by past government's are, to me, a disturbing indication of his mind set.

Senators are generally appointed along party lines but judges and senior civil servants no.

Why would he insult the judicial branch of government with an attack on their neutrality? And what was he thinking with his comment about senior civil servants?

Maybe he was trying to assure reasonable knowledgeable individuals that because our form of democracy - a parliamentary system - has no clear cut "checks and balances" or separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government not to worry so much about any CPC legislative initiatives.

The civil servant comment, maybe something similar to Mulroney. I think Mulroney ended up being less suspicious. As I recall Mulroney made a few changes, he brought Stanley Hart in to be Deputy Minister of Finance and got rid of Ed Clark (this was rumored to honour a promise to Peter Loughheed to axe the civil servant most identified with the National Energy Program).

Technorati Tags: Canada, Politics

CBC TV still shines a bit

I really missed the CBC when they were on strike. I shifted over to listening to New York Public Radio which also has very many more interesting podcasts then current up on the CBC site.

But now they are back I'm glad they are up to their old tricks of making great TV documentaries. Last nights Fifth Estate was a good example. Check out the some of the reaction on US blogs.

Last night Ideas also had 2 economists, Joseph Stiglitz and Stefano Zamagni discussing globalization at the same time as the Fifth Estate. Boy the CBC has to get more of its radio shows up as podcast.

George Stroumboulopoulos', the hour, I think has found a unique format for CBC - appealing and irreverent like Jon Stewart's Daily Show - but not a satire.

It is hard to say what the proposed review would do. Likely hard to find a really independent group to conduct any evaluation. Besides the problems with the CBC don't nor never have seemed to be with the talent available more clashes between managers and the creative staff. And the clashes seemed to originate from lack of funding.

Technorati Tags: Canada, News and Politic, Politics

Some notes

When I get almost completely bored (maybe better disgusted) with reading about the US Senate debating whether or not to completely remove access to the Great Writ - habeas corpus - from those they considered unacceptable for this basic liberty I can turn on the TV.

There I can watch the US chief executive, G. W. Bush (GWB), lecturing China, on his trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, about democracy and basic liberties. It is becoming hard to keep in some sensible context what the USA is actually about anymore. Interesting he stayed away from mentioning human rights, that would simply caused open laughter to most outside the USA. The USA, I suspect, has lost its authority to lecture any country on human rights for about a generation.

They appear now to have a completely cartoonish individual as their CEO and so it is hard to say who would take comments from him as representing anything serious. Lecturing China from Japan and using Taiwan as an example, this guy is dumb or lost his briefing book. I suspect the polite Chinese will show their patience and an understanding of the simple folk and cleverly ignore the poor fool.

The great republic struggles under GWBs administration with basic elements of common law, liberty and human decency. But I guess lecturing others about the USAs own failings may give him some sense of superiority.

I always liked Loony Tune characters but maybe not in a position to effect the real world.

I had thought of writing a short note on 3 governments I regularly watch. The point would be to see if I could draw any common threads among them. Maybe later.

Technorati Tags: International Trade, News and Politic, Politics, Stupidity

Just the beginning!

The question as to whether or not there will be a new federal government soon - i.e. PM PMs minority government falls - commands lots of print and airtime space.

However, following up on old problems that need to be resolved before the country shifts gears into the new century maybe independent of which party forms any new government.

Jeffrey Simpson at the G&M had indicated the nature of the questions that need to be asked in dealing with one these matters.

But no one is going to go down the road of forced re-settlement again, are they? The law suits aren't settled from the last couple of centuries attempts at social engineering - residential schools for example.

So even if someone gets the bright idea, stop.

I don't want to pay from it nor do I want the next generation to pay for policies that backfire.

The fact that I immediately jumped to re-settlement as a solution may, of course, mean that I'm already disqualified to think of a way out of this type of problem. It means I think that small isolated communities with no economic rationale for existence are doomed to substandard living conditions relative to the population as a whole in a modern world.

Richard Gywn over at the The TO Star points to an attitudinal change in the population that may mean very different answers to hard questions if they are asked now.

This actually may mean that the current crop of federal politicians could, in the immediate term, get things quite wrong. Case in point PM PM has indicated already that he wants to throw more money at the problems.

To put things into some context, maybe it's time to take a breath, eh. Hope PM PM can keep his problem solving spendthrift inclinations under control.

I wonder how much of this will filter into the policy halls. Realistically, I wonder how much will pass into the public perception which now, I would think, assumes that the worse is always going on.

So, most from Kashechewan have got a trip out, usually a good thing for those in a remote community if it isn't for medical reasons. I suspect Wal-Mart may notice an increase in sales as people do the sensible things and stock up before the trip back.

Will anything really change though? I hope it will but there will have to be movement on both sides for any real solution to occur and about this I'm much less optimistic.

As implied by Richard Gywn, the country as a whole is moving on and about to embark on a new immigration policy. These issues need to be settled shortly or risk being completely marginalized in a new society with no residual burden of guilt for past policies of either the 19th or 20th century.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Canada, First Nation

Sorry one last link on the water mess

As usual, I think, Chantel Hebert gets to the point exactly by indicating the PM PMs government fails only test that matters.

In the broader picture of federal policy what again is it exactly PM PM has done since taking over from Chretian on December 18, 2003.

It's almost 2 years now and it is pretty hard to see any real PM PM policies.

Because of bloated federal revenues from the now famous unanticipated surpluses PM PM has been able to meddle in the provincial jurisdictions and move more revenues from one province to another.

But when it actually comes down to dealing with matters PM PM has responsibility for things go a way bit off track.

But, have faith, there will be more cabinet meetings and likely other sessions of endless round tables for the hangersonmmiut to practice airing their well honed speeches.

In the mean time just be careful of the water if you are passing through any federal lands.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Canada, Federal Provincial Relations, First Nation, Stupidity

Last note on this mess.

As I think I might have said last night, PM PM when cornered throws money at matters that annoy him. After being goaded into action by the Liberal government of Ontario, PM PM huffs and puffs his way through another mess.

"We've had cabinet meetings with aboriginal leaders, we've had round tables ... day after day, this Opposition has said nothing for aboriginal Canadians, day after day, "

CBC News
Extract from Question Period
October 27, 2005

That's the ticket PM PM. Ya that'll do it: have a cabinet meeting or a round table.

Very useful.

Cosy.

Boy I can't wait for the First Ministers' Meeting. I think I can hear the manna planes warming up already.

I'm not sure if PM PM learned his new positive technic from Bush or not, the famous Katrina type statement otherwise know as an unapology apology.

"We are very concerned about this totally unacceptable situation"

PM PM
Speaking in the House
October 27 2005

Pretty unresponsive crew until they are hit over the head with a stick. A cabinet meeting, thanks -jeez.

Andy Scott looked like he'd been caught spilling the beans again or doing something equally un-ministerial like maybe avoiding responsible.

But PM PM defended him even though the situation was totally unacceptable because Andy had been working his little hands to a nub over the last couple of years.

I hope this mess gets fixed and 12 months from now the same story doesn't come back but I'm not really hopeful.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Canada, First Nation, Politics, Stupidity

Jurisdictional confusion?

The first residents have been flown out of the James Bay community of Kashechewan because of the long running tainted water problems. Ontario finally acted when faced with what seems to be federal intransigence to assume their responsibilities. This is, at least, one reading of what happened yesterday.

More than anything else this snafu smacks of jurisdictional confusion and I'm afraid to say bureaucratic timidity. The "Who's responsible?" banter should be raised to a new high today both a Queen's Park in TO and on the Hill in Ottawa.

The federal minister responsible, Andy Scott has the usual "we are studying it, we are working on a long term plan, we are developing a new framework, we've had consultations with the community" briefing book blather that ministers' have memorized. The Ontario Minister, Ramsey, seems confused and clearly was timid about acting.

I'm glad McGuinty acted and, no matter that the provincial NDP, in their endless quest to seem relevant, will confuse the issue even more, he did act. Wonder where PM PM and his Minister Andy Scott where.

We will now be subject to rounds of finger pointing so let's see who can get the high road and make some political points - the feds or the province.

The first round goes to the province. The feds seemed to have failed again and it looks like PM PMs great plans for an aboriginal First Ministers' Meeting have been just a little highjacked.

His normal solution to being politically embarrassed is to throw more money at the source of the annoyance.

Some say that one of the main reasons the federal government has been having years and years of unanticipated surpluses is because it has short changed the residents of the province of Ontario by overtaxing them and using the revenues to send to less well off areas.

If PM PM, following his usual modus operandi, throws money at this particular problems (bad water on reserves) maybe some Ontario residents, even the ones nominally under federal jurisdiction, will get a direct benefit of provincial money being sent to the feds.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Canada, Federal Provincial Relations, First Nation