Quick Updates

Juan Cole - Iraqi government collapsing as Sadrists pull out of cabinet. Mallawi probably would not survive a vote of no confidence. The division is that a majority of Parliament wants America to set a date and leave.

Unsafe language - Glenn Reynolds did not take long to go stupidly political on Virginia Tech shootings.

Then again, White House reacts to tragedy by reassuring the NRA.

Jim reminds me via email that Bolton is a boob - The Former US UN ambassador says we have no interest in Iraq’s well-being. The "we broke it, you own it theory."

Trying to summarize the World Bank scandal, Socialist perspective: Paul Wolfowitz, after negotiating his own lucrative package at the World Bank, found out his mistress could not work with him due to their nepotism regulations. He personally oversaw new contracts transferring her to the US State Department while she still kept her tax-free World Bank salary, giving her an over $60,000 raise to $193,590 and guaranteed 8% annual raises, and she would get her old position or better back at the new salary plus a new raise when Wolfowitz left. Incredibly, the girlfriend has issued a statement saying that she is the victim in this scandal. Wolfowitz also brought in other GOP operatives to get in on tax-free $250,000 salaries despite their having no development banking experience. Wolfowitz, one of the head neo-cons responsible for the Iraq War, is, of course, leading an anti-corruption drive. Another detail that emerged from this affair is how little the US funds the World Bank, it is now a European operation. The way the World Bank breaks it out is that the United States and Japan only contribute 12%. Wolfowitz has also insisted on greatly increasing loans to important allies of the US like Pakistan and Iraq and new African oil nations without regard to standards and corruption. The WP had important developments.

Tags: Iraq, war, NRA, killings, guns, Bolton, Wolfowitz, corruption, liberal news