Most Corrupt Countries (2011)

Transparency International has just released its Corruption Perception index. Leading the pack as the most corrupt country is Somalia and North Korea both # 182 and this is closely followed by Myanmar and Afghanistan who both shared the 180th spot. People were asked to rate their governments from 1~10 with 0 being the lowest and 10 being given to the country without corruption. North Korea and Somalia were both given a rating of 1 by its citizens and Myanmar and Afghanistan both got 1.5.

The United States Ranked #24 at 7.1 while the UK got 7.8 from its citizens and ranks #16. The cleanest government is said to be New Zealand which got a score of 9.5.

Where does the Philippines stand? It’s #129 with a grade of 2.6. Whoa!

This is however a big improvement for the country since its 2010 rank is #134

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US PRESIDENTIAL CONVOYS

A columnist for a Philippine newspaper talks about the costs and massive preparations required by the US Secret Service whenever President Bush and other (US Presidents) travel outside of Washington DC. I remember watching a CNN report that showed how big a US presidential convoy is, compared to the two vehicle transport being used by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK.

Land Reform: Land of Bondage Land of the Free

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T he DOHA round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations intends to promote the opening of markets and promoting free trade. This April, the latest meeting failed to reach a conclusion. Director-General Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization delivered a speech before the US Chamber of Commerce on April 23, 2007. Here are excerpts from his speech. "T oday we know that the Doha Development Round will not be concluded until and unless all these participants are ready to walk the extra mile and table additional contributions to the collective success of this multilateral enterprise. It is clear that the contributions will be linked to the degree of development and wealth of each participant, with the world poorest countries making the smallest contribution. It is also clear that no one will be asked to move first: countries will have to move in concert, like a big orchestra playing to the same tune. For the moment, a group of major actors — the EU, US, Brazil, India — d

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