New Zealand is perceived as least corrupt nation on earth, and Somalia and North Korea are seen as the most corrupt -

New Zealand is perceived as least corrupt nation on earth, and Somalia and North Korea are seen as the most corrupt - 




New Zealand is perceived as the least corrupt nation on earth, and Somalia and North Korea are seen as the most corrupt, a German watchdog organization said in a report released this week.
The United States ranked 24th least corrupt on a "corruption perceptions index," the fourth-highest in the Western Hemisphere. Canada ranked 10th, the Bahamas is 21st and Chile is 22nd.
Overall, the top spots are occupied mostly by European countries, with the exception of New Zealand, Singapore at No. 5 and Australia, which is tied for eighth with Switzerland. Other nations with top rankings are Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.
In addition to Somalia and North Korea, which are tied for last at No. 182, the bottom of the list includes Myanmar, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Iraq, Haiti and Venezuela.
The report was prepared by the independent, nonpartisan Transparency International organization, which says it drew its conclusions based "on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions."
The information used to compile the index includes "questions relating to the bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public-sector and anti-corruption efforts," Transparency International said.
Perceptions are used, the organization said, because corruption is a hidden activity that is difficult to measure.
"Over time," the organization said in its report, "perceptions have proved to be a reliable estimate of corruption."
The rankings for other Western Hemisphere countries are: Uruguay (25), Puerto Rico (39), Costa Rica (50), Cuba (61), Brazil (73), Colombia, El Salvador and Peru (tied for 80), Panama (86), Argentina and Mexico (tied for 100), Bolivia (118), Ecuador and Guatemala (tied for 120), the Dominican Republic and Honduras (tied for 129), Nicaragua (134), Paraguay (154), Venezuela (172) and Haiti (175).
The index uses a scale of 1-10 to measure perceived corruption, with zero representing highly corrupt and 10 being very clean.
New Zealand, the highest-ranked nation, has a 9.5 score. Somalia and North Korea, the lowest-ranked, have 1.0.
The United States scored 7.1, while Canada is 8.7 and Chile is 7.2. Haiti, the lowest-ranked nation in the Western Hemisphere, scored 1.8. Next-worst is Venezuela with 1.9.


Read more -
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/03/world/corruption-perceptions-index/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Groupon deal gaffe sparks grotto chaos and Santa Wars - FURIOUS parents hurled abuse at Santa and his elves -

Groupon deal gaffe sparks grotto chaos and Santa Wars - FURIOUS parents hurled abuse at Santa and his elves - 




FURIOUS parents hurled abuse at Santa and his elves after a boob by discount website Groupon saw thousands besiege his grotto.
Terrified kids sobbed amid mega queues for an advertised winter wonderland train ride — which did not exist.


Horrified Penny Ward, who organised the grotto, said yesterday: "One man even verbally threatened the lady dressed as a Christmas tree. One elf was so upset she resigned. It was a nightmare."


She told how at least 2,000 families turned up clutching vouchers after Groupon contacted her to let it plug the York grotto — part of the city's St Nicholas Fayre.


Penny insisted she never mentioned a train ride, adding: "I'm not surprised people were disappointed — Groupon had sold it as this amazing winter wonderland but it's just a small Christmas grotto."


Gaffe-prone Groupon, which emails subscribers with special offers, apologised — and blamed "a technical error".


Read more -
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3975746/Groupon-deal-gaffe-sparks-grotto-chaos.html

U.S. Spent $200M on Egypt Election -

U.S. Spent $200M on Egypt Election - 




The Obama administration spent some $200 million on democracy building in the lead-up to the elections this week in Egypt.


But with 65 percent of the vote going to Islamist candidates, it doesn’t appear the money was well spent. 


Stephen McInerney, executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy, told Campaigns & Elections magazine that $65 million went to Egypt after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and an additional $100 million was earmarked for economic development but also to train Egypt’s nascent political parties.


The money is going through the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute. 


A Washington-based consultant who works with USAID and the State Department says the focus of the aid to Egypt has been on helping the smaller political parties that are competing against the better organized Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s party.


This week saw the first round of Parliamentary elections, with voting in nine of the country’s 27 provinces. The staggered elections will continue over the coming months. The Freedom and Justice Party won 40 percent of the vote on Wednesday, with an additional 15 percent going to the Salafis, a group of hard-line Islamists who reject the right of women to vote. 


Read more - http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/us-money-egypt-elections/2011/12/02/id/419829#ixzz1fV2nH7t4