World Bank President: Did Robin Cleveland pull a Dick Cheney?

You are here: HOME - Did Robin Cleveland pull a Dick Cheney?

Did Robin Cleveland pull a Dick Cheney? [Note: pics added] So today at 12pm a number of activists again gathered outside the World Bank to thank Paul Wolfowitz for showing us all what the World Bank is really good for. At 1pm, we were joined by the folks at avaaz.org, who attempted to deliver their sack Paul Wolfowitz petition. One noteworthy rumour that was passed along there concerned Robin Cleveland.

Wolfowitz party photo.jpg
Has she pulled a Dick Cheney? Did she have her huge offices emptied out last night? Apparently she did not trust the custodial staff to carry this out and did it herself overnight. She is still at the Bank somewhere, but at an undisclosed location (perhaps a bunker in rural Virginia?). Can any Bank staff confirm or deny?

Sameer Dossani ~ May 09, 2007

Comments

Untrue.

Even Steven ~ May 09, 2007, 08:59 PM

Well, there is an empirical way to check this out.....

Is there damage to the Parking Garage from being rammed by a big SUV?

Did anyone see a damaged SUV pull away from the building in the wee hours?

Did Robin submit a bill for reimbursement of damages to her SUV or moving expenses this morning ?

Was the World Bank financed KC-767 tanker deal for LICs finalized (signed, sealed and delivered, cash paid) last nite?

Did anyone see Robin go to work at Boeing this morning?

Is she sending out new business cards that says, 'Vice President, Boeing?

Is she driving a new car and moving into a new mansion?

Did Robin's brother or other relations just got a job at Boeing?

Somebody look around and see if Robbing Cleveland is muttering "Mission Accomplished" as she scurries around.

None ~ May 09, 2007, 11:12 PM

Robin Cleveland's expertise in corruption is well established from her last job.

See the Village Voice article: http://villagevoice.com/blogs/bushbeat/archive/2006/01/morning_report_263.php:

Here's how Amy Klamper described it in a September 2004 CongressDaily story: www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0904/092804cdam1.htm:

Senators accuse Air Force officials of hiding Boeing probe documents

In a May 9, 2003, e-mail to Roche, Cleveland requested the secretary's endorsement of her brother, Peter, in obtaining a position with Northrop Grumman. Cleveland supplied her brother's relevant employment information and cited his qualifications for the job.

After forwarding the information to Northrop Grumman and offering his endorsement, Roche wrote to Cleveland: "Be well. Smile. Give me tankers now." In a subsequent sentence, he qualified the statement as a joke.

It is unclear whether Cleveland took Roche's comments seriously, but two days later, in a May 11, 2003 e-mail, Cleveland's brother thanked her for helping him secure an interview with Northrop Grumman. She replied that she hoped it would work out "before the tanker leasing issue gets fouled up."

Lt. Col. Michael Caldwell, a spokesman for Roche, described the secretary's e-mail in a Sept. 23 statement as "a light-hearted exchange between two longtime friends and colleagues," and asserted that no expectations were attached to it.

Uh-huh. Check this out, as Klamper's story continued:

Before May 2003, OMB appeared to be in staunch opposition to the Air Force's tanker proposal. Although differences between the Air Force and OMB over the details of the tanker lease continued, a shift in OMB's position on the tanker lease became apparent after Cleveland and Roche exchanged e-mails. According to a document reviewed by CongressDaily, Roche, Cleveland and Pete Aldridge — then the Pentagon's acquisition chief — met with two top Boeing executives May 15, 2003.

A second meeting between Cleveland and Boeing personnel was referenced in a May 16 e-mail among Boeing staff in which Cleveland's name appeared. In the e-mail, Boeing executive Andrew Ellis said Cleveland had detailed OMB's concerns with the lease, and had suggested ways to address the concerns of White House Chief of Staff [Andy] Card. In a subsequent May 22 e-mail from Boeing executive Jim Albaugh to Boeing executive Randall Simons, Albaugh states "OMB and Robin are on board."

Yes, Andy Card, one of Bush's key handlers.

None ~ May 09, 2007, 11:48 PM

Can't wait to see those pictures, because I went down to the alleged "rally" from 15th Street at around noon to see what was going on. The view was less than heroic. What I saw were four people who may have been Bank Staff, but one was wearing torn up shorts so I hope not. After they met up, in rolled a number of vehicles that deposited Avaaz.com personell and their professional team of event coordinators and publicity agents. They were dressed in business attire, but all told amounted to very few people.

In other words, hardly a rally. Maybe a hand shake session, but it amounted to little. Given the reality, I do note the irony that for a person who has little difficulty in accusing others of being dishonest, you have no qualms about posting a thread that is at its core the most dishonest tripe I have seen in quite some time.

As I have reviewed this site, and in light of what I observed, it is my opinion that far from being a watershed venting by large numbers of WB Staff, the number of people who actually actively express displeasure within the WB's ranks is most likely miniscule, and the contributors to this particular site are most likely a small cadre of perhaps 10 people who post to stir trouble and anti-Americanism through the internet. It is an absurdity that it someohow attempts to reflect the feelings of the Bank Staff generally.

More than that, I think most contributions come from spurned staffers whose work was less than steller and who are simply using the internet to spread viscious rumors about people with whom they have an axe to grind.

DC Worker ~ May 10, 2007, 01:21 AM

Poor,Poor Kevin or DC Worker or whoever you are?
Still belligerent for having to exit .
Please read this post by Ian Williams in The Guardian: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_williams/2007/05/the_big_bad_wolfs_big_head.html.

Wolfie is not alone as a hypocrite reformist of the White House
"This hypocrisy is sadly not unique. The Europeans joined with the Americans last week to thwart the further investigation by Unesco into yet another Bush appointee to go off the straight and narrow road of probity. Following the hasty departure of former Republican congressman Peter Smith, after auditors had found him steering contracts to Navigant, a UN-based consultancy with few apparent qualifications for them, the non-aligned members urged Unesco to "take appropriate disciplinary action," against Smith and to reinstate the whistleblowers he had transferred." :o

Anon ~ May 10, 2007, 01:51 AM

You're talking shop.

I do not work in your shop, nor have I in the past.

I am thankful for life's small blessings in that regard.

The fact that you have turned this into a personal thing is, in a word, wierd.

DC Worker ~ May 10, 2007, 02:14 AM

So "WB Wonk" is today "DC Worker"? How's the trolling going, Wonk? You're not very good, maybe a -3 on a scale of one to 10.

A tip from Trolling 101 here. If blog owners care to, they can track commenters' IP addresses, see who is trolling and name-changing, and ban them from commenting. They often just let the troll go into meltdown, though, to prove their larger point. Sizzle sizzle.

US staffer for change ~ May 10, 2007, 02:14 AM

US Staffer: I am not World Bank Wonk (whoever that it).

And has it passed your cognitive sense that the same ability exists for the World Bank when posts are made from their computers? Talk about dense.

DC Worker ~ May 10, 2007, 02:26 AM

To: The DC Worker. Re: Comments on Wednesday (9) Protest Rally...

First: from your writing and spelling capability, you appear to be a high school dropout!

Second: the World Bank's Staff Association had rightly and expressly called off any form of protest until the Board had completed its deliberations and farly conducted the due process.

Now, go back to the trailer with your trash!

Washingtonian ~ May 10, 2007, 03:40 PM

Washingtonian:

Further spin, I see. Now the fact that four people were present is a result of the World Bank's Staff Association calling off any form of protest, yet according to you, there was indeed a "protest?" Interesting, if misguided, spin. I say no one was present because you and your ten little friends are the only ones making noise. The cadre at work.

I think I may stick around. It appears rather obvious that you have never had anyone disagree with your ravings. How amusing.

DC Worker ~ May 10, 2007, 05:08 PM

Before I put an end to the bickering by closing this thread to comments, I thought I'd mention that the first World Bank protest I went to was about four people back in 1995. In the words of Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Sameer Dossani ~ May 10, 2007, 08:52 PM

"Keep track of the rumored candidates, power plays and buzz."
The Washington Post

Next & Previous

« Delay requested: some tips for Wolfowitz's lawyer. | HOME | Germany and Paris. »