Author: admin

Hmm proofreaders/copy editors ? Damn this is another example of an organization that really doesn’t care much for the web.

GREENPEACE SAYS
BNPP revival based on ‘faulty economics’
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:28:00 02/02/2009
Filed Under: Nuclear power, Protest
WB country director Bert Hofman declined to comment directly on the decision of the House of Representatives to clear the Filipino contractors permanently debarred from bidding for bank-financed projects.
“We’re quite confident that due process has taken place,” Hofman said at the sidelines of the yearend assessment of the Kalahi poverty alleviation program, an initiative of the government and the World Bank.
The bank’s internal investigation concluded that the three firms and two Chinese firms engaged in collusive practices to rig the bid.
“In response to questions, I elaborate on the process of investigation and evaluation and the sanctions of the Board,” Hofman said.
Hofman defended their investigation as a “very long and very careful” process, designed by the World Bank staff.
The process was approved by the stakeholders of the World Bank, including the Philippines, Hofman pointed out.
Eduardo de Luna, owner of the E.C. De Luna Construction Corp. which was banned permanently by the World Bank, denied in the two congressional hearings that he colluded with other Filipino and Chinese companies in rigging the bidding for a $33-million road project.
On January 14, the World Bank released a statement, which said it had banned the Filipino and Chinese contractors “for engaging in collusive practices under a major WB-financed roads project in the Philippines.”
Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity vice president, said in the statement that this incident was “one of our most important and far-reaching cases, and it highlights the effectiveness of the World Bank’s investigative and sanctions process.”
“As the World Bank Group continues to ramp up its anti-corruption work, INT (Integrity Vice Presidency) will remain vigilant in investigating allegations and holding wrongdoers accountable,” McCarthy said.
According to the statement, the INT is “responsible for investigating allegations of fraud and corruption in Bank-financed operations.”
BNPP revival based on ‘faulty economics’ – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

Let us remember the fact set: Merrill managed to get Bank of America to agree to buy it in September, elbowing aside Lehman. The deal is subject to shareholder approval, however. BofA, realizing it has acquired a garbage barge, threatens to scuttle the deal unless Uncle Sam lends a helping hand. Negotiations proceed behind closed doors (and neither Merrill nor BofA shareholders are told prior to the shareholder vote that BofA has agreed to do the deal subject to some form of government support).
Now we learn that after it was evident that the US taxpayer was going to subsidize the Merrill acquisition, the Merrill compensation committee accelerated bonus payments by a month to make sure they were paid out before the BofA deal closed.
Efforts are being made to minimize the amount involved (it is claimed to be only $3-$4 billion, but the fact is amounts were reserved in prior quarters that are excessive in light of full year performance. So the fact that some of the amounts were allowed for in previous quarters is misleading).
naked capitalism: Merrill Execs Pay Selves Bonuses Ahead of Schedule (and Before BofA Closing).

Ummm… Are There No Copyeditors?
Laura Meckler writes:
Washington Wire – WSJ.com: Women’s Groups Protest Dropping Contraceptives Provision in Stimulus: Women’s and reproductive rights groups expressed dismay Tuesday after the White House and congressional Democrats agreed to drop a provision from the economic stimulus package that would have made it easier for states to expand coverage of contraceptives through their Medicaid programs.
The measure had become a target of GOP attacks, such as this one from House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio “How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives? How does that stimulate the economy?” he said last week. His argument is part of a Republican hammering that too much in the bill will not serve to aid the economy.
Supporters of the measure point to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that, by the third year of implementation, the measure would actually save $100 billion per year by preventing some pregnancies and avoiding the Medicaid cost of delivering and then caring for these babies…
Surely this is $100 million a year? I mean, $100 billion a year is $1,333 in reduced Medicaid costs for every post-menarche pre-menopause woman in the United States…
🙂
Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Ummm… Are There No Copyeditors?.