(May 5, 2007) A Chinese firm will help military-run Myanmar build seven hydro-electric plants with combined power capacity likely to be the biggest in the Southeast Asian country, state media said on Saturday.
Predatory lending
(May 4, 2007) In the flap over Paul Wolfowitz’s "sweetheart deal" for Shaha Riza, World Bank staffers are demanding his resignation to protect the "credibility" of the Bank. This is rich.
World Bank rolls
(May 3, 2007) Nearly 1,400 employees make more than Condi Rice.
Defending Wolfowitz
(May 3, 2007) “I’m having a hard time whipping myself up into a state of indignation over Paul Wolfowitz. Sorry. Could it be me? Could it be the onset of delightful weather? Or could it be that Paul Wolfowitz is being railroaded?”
Sovereign debt restructuring, odious debt, and the politics of debt relief
(May 3, 2007) is more of a literature rather than a doctrine. One can find numerous arguments dating back decades arguing that new regimes should be entitled to relief from "odious debts." The actual cases of relief, however, are few.
Odious, not debt
(May 2, 2007) This article argues that the doctrine of Odious Debt, which has enjoyed a revival since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, frames the problem of odious debt in a way that excludes most of the problematic obligations incurred by twentieth-century despots.
Mr. Wolfowitz’s response to Ad Melkert and Roberto Danino
(May 2, 2007) “When the heated rhetoric of the Statements is set aside, there is substantial agreement between me and Mssrs. Melkert and Danino about many of the key facts.”
Massive flood of fresh water diverted to Taihu
(May 1, 2007) China’s water resource regulator has diverted 190-million cubic meters of water from the Yangtze River into algae-polluted Taihu Lake to improve its water quality and allow a clean water supply to resume to the residents of Wuxi, Oriental Morning Post reported today.
Statement of Ad Melkert to the World Bank’s ad hoc committee
(May 1, 2007) Ad Melkert, former Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the World Bank’s Board of Directors, disputes statements by Paul Wolfowitz and his legal team.
Notes on a scandal
(May 1, 2007) How ethical are Paul Wolfowitz’s detractors?
Why Wolfowitz should stay
(May 1, 2007) For the past few weeks, the world has been riveted by the difficulties of Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, regarding a potential conflict of interest involving the salary of his partner, also a senior official there. With the bank’s board deliberating this week over how to handle the charges, the controversy now needlessly and regrettably threatens Wolfowitz’s presidency, which has been largely defined by his energetic support for a new Africa that is struggling to emerge.
Wolfowitz says he’s the victim of smear campaign
(April 30, 2007) “The goal of this smear campaign, I believe, is to create a self-fulfilling prophecy that I am an ineffective leader and must step down for that reason alone, even if the ethics charges are unwarranted.” – Paul Wolfowitz
Submission on behalf of Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank Group to the ad hoc committee
(April 30, 2007) The submission of Paul Wolfowitz’s lawyer, Robert Bennett, to the World Bank’s ad hoc committee.
Statement of Paul Wolfowitz to the World Bank ad hoc committee
(April 30, 2007) “I find it inconceivable that the Ethics Committee did not know the details of the arrangements with Ms. Riza. The information was certainly available to them and I assume they were not negligent in their duties.”
Dutch Rub-Out
(April 30, 2007) Verdict first, trial later: the real disgrace here isn’t Mr. Wolfowitz or Ms. Riza but the World Bank itself and its self-protecting staff and European directors.


