The Flashlight, April 6-13, 2007
THE FLASHLIGHT, April 6 – 13, 2007
World Bank Scandal
NY Times 4-13. There is a lively scandal about the President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, and his “companion” of two years, Shaha Ali Riza, a graduate of the London School of Economics and Oxford and “companion” of Dr. Wolfowitz. Wolfowitz is charged with directly arranging a large salary increase for his companion at the time of her transfer to the State Department. She is currently working there under the direction of Elizabeth Cheney, daughter of the Vice-President. Shaha’s salary was increased from $132,660 to $193,500, tax free because she has diplomatic status. This might have been overlooked if Wolfowitz were not very unpopular among World Bank employees for his role in planning the Iraq War. They regard him as unqualified to run the Bank and booed him when he gave a speech to them recently.
Paul Wolfowitz is legally separated from his wife, Clare. Shaha Ali Riza is divorced from her Cypriot Turkish husband, Bulent Ali Riza. She is a Muslim, born in Tripoli, Libya. Her father is a Libyan and her mother a Saudi-Syrian. She is an ardent feminist and a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs. Wolfowitz was the leader of the hawk clique in the Bush Administration.
Iraq
NYTimes 4-11. During the demonstration in Najaf several hundred people shredded and burned American flags and said, “Death to America” “Leave, leave occupier!” The story was underplayed by the US press.
PBS 4-11. More than half of Iraqi doctors have fled the country and hospitals have a severe shortage of them.
NYTimes editorial 4-12. “There is no possible triumph in Iraq and very little hope left.”
NYTimes 4-12—4-13. A suicide bomber was able to penetrate the Green Zone in Baghdad and to set off an explosion just outside the doors of the chamber of the Iraqi Parliament building. The number of dead is uncertain. It is thought that the bomber sneaked in as a member of the entourage of a member of Parliament. Such individuals do not have to be searched. The staff of the US Embassy in the Green Zone was untouched. They never leave the Embassy, which has additional very strict security even though it is within the Green Zone.
About the same time a truck bomb blew up the Sarafia Bridge across the Tigris River. It was built 60 years ago and many Baghdadis grieved for its loss. About 70% of its steel structure was destroyed. The bomber drove his truck to the middle of the bridge and abandoned it. An Iraqi looked inside the cab and saw detonators. He fled. Ten minutes later the truck blew up.
US News
2008 Presidential campaign. Move-On.org poll.
Among democrats, Obama (1) and Edwards (2) lead in the polls. [The worse the situation in Iraq, the more it hurts Hilary Clinton’s ratings.]
4-8. NBC. Hilary accepts money from PACs – lobby money; Obama does not. Edwards is showing himself to be better informed and tougher than in 2000..
Infiltration of the federal government by people with a fundamentalist religious agenda:
NYTimes 4-13, Paul Krugman. In the last six years large numbers of people with a fundamentalist religious agenda have been appointed to federal jobs.. Many are graduates of Regent University, founded and headed by televangelist Pat Robertson. Monica Goodling, a graduate of the law school of this University, was recently forced to resign from the Justice Department, where she served as counsel to Alberto Gonzales. The Reverends Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell agree that the 9/11 attack was the responsibility of “the pagans, the abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians and the ACLU.”
World Bank Scandal
NY Times 4-13. There is a lively scandal about the President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, and his “companion” of two years, Shaha Ali Riza, a graduate of the London School of Economics and Oxford and “companion” of Dr. Wolfowitz. Wolfowitz is charged with directly arranging a large salary increase for his companion at the time of her transfer to the State Department. She is currently working there under the direction of Elizabeth Cheney, daughter of the Vice-President. Shaha’s salary was increased from $132,660 to $193,500, tax free because she has diplomatic status. This might have been overlooked if Wolfowitz were not very unpopular among World Bank employees for his role in planning the Iraq War. They regard him as unqualified to run the Bank and booed him when he gave a speech to them recently.
Paul Wolfowitz is legally separated from his wife, Clare. Shaha Ali Riza is divorced from her Cypriot Turkish husband, Bulent Ali Riza. She is a Muslim, born in Tripoli, Libya. Her father is a Libyan and her mother a Saudi-Syrian. She is an ardent feminist and a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs. Wolfowitz was the leader of the hawk clique in the Bush Administration.
Iraq
NYTimes 4-11. During the demonstration in Najaf several hundred people shredded and burned American flags and said, “Death to America” “Leave, leave occupier!” The story was underplayed by the US press.
PBS 4-11. More than half of Iraqi doctors have fled the country and hospitals have a severe shortage of them.
NYTimes editorial 4-12. “There is no possible triumph in Iraq and very little hope left.”
NYTimes 4-12—4-13. A suicide bomber was able to penetrate the Green Zone in Baghdad and to set off an explosion just outside the doors of the chamber of the Iraqi Parliament building. The number of dead is uncertain. It is thought that the bomber sneaked in as a member of the entourage of a member of Parliament. Such individuals do not have to be searched. The staff of the US Embassy in the Green Zone was untouched. They never leave the Embassy, which has additional very strict security even though it is within the Green Zone.
About the same time a truck bomb blew up the Sarafia Bridge across the Tigris River. It was built 60 years ago and many Baghdadis grieved for its loss. About 70% of its steel structure was destroyed. The bomber drove his truck to the middle of the bridge and abandoned it. An Iraqi looked inside the cab and saw detonators. He fled. Ten minutes later the truck blew up.
US News
2008 Presidential campaign. Move-On.org poll.
Among democrats, Obama (1) and Edwards (2) lead in the polls. [The worse the situation in Iraq, the more it hurts Hilary Clinton’s ratings.]
4-8. NBC. Hilary accepts money from PACs – lobby money; Obama does not. Edwards is showing himself to be better informed and tougher than in 2000..
Infiltration of the federal government by people with a fundamentalist religious agenda:
NYTimes 4-13, Paul Krugman. In the last six years large numbers of people with a fundamentalist religious agenda have been appointed to federal jobs.. Many are graduates of Regent University, founded and headed by televangelist Pat Robertson. Monica Goodling, a graduate of the law school of this University, was recently forced to resign from the Justice Department, where she served as counsel to Alberto Gonzales. The Reverends Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell agree that the 9/11 attack was the responsibility of “the pagans, the abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians and the ACLU.”
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 12:18 PM
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