Friday News Bucket

10 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on April 13, 2007 at 7:38 am

   Accused DC madam starts naming names, and it appears she has plenty more where this one came from: Houston Chronicle

   A woman charged with running a prostitution ring in the nation’s capital made good on her threat to identify high-profile clients, listing a military strategist known for his “shock and awe” combat theories as a regular customer in court documents Thursday.

   Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who is acting as her own attorney, said Harlan K. Ullman, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “is only one of dozens of such officials” who will be exposed as she prepares her defense…

   …Palfrey said she has 46 pounds of phone records that could expose thousands of clients. Her civil attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, said he gave those records to ABC so it could assist in identifying clients who could testify on her behalf.

2. 

   ask on April 13, 2007 at 7:56 am

   He’s almost done, won’t be long now.

   Pressure grows on World Bank boss

   The executive board of the World Bank has said it did not approve a hefty pay rise ordered by its president Paul Wolfowitz for his partner.

   Mr Wolfowitz has faced calls to resign after admitting he helped his partner Shaha Riza win a promotion to a high-paying job at the World Bank.

   The board of the international lender earlier adjourned a day-long meeting held to consider Mr Wolfowitz’s future.
   (snip)
   In an editorial, Britain’s Financial Times newspaper called for Wolfowitz to step down.

   “If the president stays, (the World Bank) risks becoming an object not of respect, but of scorn, and its campaign in favour of good governance not a believable struggle, but blatant hypocrisy,” it said.

   World Bank board debates Wolfowitz’s fate

   Attempting to address around 200 World Bank employees gathered in the atrium of the bank’s plush Washington headquarters yesterday afternoon, Mr Wolfowitz quickly left after a knot of staff began chanting “resign, resign” while others also hissed and booed.

   One staff member who was in the atrium said: “To see the bank’s president being heckled by his own staff was amazing. He looked shocked, very shocked, by the reaction and the anger.”

   Earlier, the bank’s staff association – which represents the majority of the bank’s Washington-based employees – called on Mr Wolfowitz to “act honorably and resign”, saying it was “impossible for the institution to move forward with any sense of purpose under the present leadership”.
   (snip)
   Mr Wolfowitz’s fate now lies in the hands of the bank’s executive board members, each representing the World Bank’s major donor nations, ranked by shares reflecting the importance of their stake. The bank’s regulations allow the president to be dismissed by a simple majority of votes by shareholders – the US being the largest with 16% of shares.

   So far, individual countries have not voiced any public support for Mr Wolfowitz, with executive board members awaiting instructions from their country’s finance ministers, who are gathering in Washington this weekend for meetings.

   While there is a real possibility the board will ask Mr Wolfowitz for his resignation, or otherwise make his position untenable, it may simply reprimand Mr Wolfowitz, thus allowing him to step down in a few months time when attention has died away.

   • 

     CabinGirl on April 13, 2007 at 7:58 am

     I love watching these creeps get taken down by their own arrogance and criminality, don’t you?

     • 

       ask on April 13, 2007 at 8:05 am

       Few things are more pleasing.
       You might enjoy this one from Wednesday – Last Night I “Met” Paul Wolfowitz….

   • 

     Oui on April 13, 2007 at 10:18 am

     .
       Wolfowitz Still Not Loved at World Bank!

     "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

     • 

       ask on April 13, 2007 at 10:51 am

       Thanks Oui,
       Don’t know how I missed your entry.

3. 

   ask on April 13, 2007 at 8:01 am

   A participatory society:
   Moose taste test road salt

   Sweden’s road administration wants moose opinion before deciding which road salt to switch to.
   A series of studies in Sweden, Finland and Canada reveal that wildlife are drawn to roads in order to try and lick road salt, Swedish news agency TT reports. Swedish road authorities will now try to choose a salt that does not tempt animals to risk heavy traffic, as well as use a type that is more environmentally friendly.

4. 

   ask on April 13, 2007 at 9:02 am

   Interracial marriages surge across U.S.

   It was only 40 years ago — on June 12, 1967 — that the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down a Virginia statute barring whites from marrying nonwhites. The decision also overturned similar bans in 15 other states.

   Since that landmark Loving v. Virginia ruling, the number of interracial marriages has soared; for example, black-white marriages increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to
   Census Bureau figures. Factoring in all racial combinations, Stanford University sociologist Michael Rosenfeld calculates that more than 7 percent of America’s 59 million married couples in 2005 were interracial, compared to less than 2 percent in 1970.

   Coupled with a steady flow of immigrants from all parts of the world, the surge of interracial marriages and multiracial children is producing a 21st century America more diverse than ever, with the potential to become less stratified by race.

5. 

   Man Eegee on April 13, 2007 at 2:41 pm

   I wonder if it was a dove?

   Air Force Two carrying Vice President
   Dick Cheney struck a bird as the plane neared O’Hare International Airport on Friday. The aircraft landed safely.

   • 

     Teacher Toni on April 13, 2007 at 2:43 pm

     Not a bird – probably an old hunting buddy who will promptly apologize to Darth.