Ireland named fifth most corrupt EU state

by Simon Basketter - SWP Thu Oct 31, 2002 15:27

Sorry to repost the same link as once before, but every time someone uses Transparency International as a gauge of corruption it is annoying.

"Probably the most prominent anti-corruption lobby group is Transparency International. Each year its corruption index gathers publicity as it ranks countries by levels of corruption. That it works out its league table on a fairly random survey of business opinion and doesn’t name companies that bribe might not ensure confidence. But far more dubious is the organisation itself. Peter Eigan a World Bank executive founded it in 1993. It has an annual budget of $2.5 million. A third of its funding comes from international bodies such as the World Bank. Another third comes from large corporations, including companies, such as General Electric, who have convicted of bribery. According to Eigan, “We’re not a club of angels. Many companies want to stop bribing , but they don’t know how to do it. They’re frightened of losing all their business to their competitors who will continue bribing. No one wants to stop first.”

And that is the logic of corruption in capitalism. Corruption is not peripheral to society but the logical outcome of the way that society is organised. Society is based on competition, this creates a pressure on a company to develop strong relations with the state, also means a pressure to cut others out and gain advantage over rivals. Often the methods used are secretive, underhand and border between legality and illegality. While ‘the business community’ is presented as just one other lobby group that enters the political field as equals to those to whom they are vastly superior economically, the reality is since payments are the way business is done it is also the way business does politics."
Rest at http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr252/basketter.htm

It's out of date (particularly about Enron), but the key thing in this context is why trust those who cry of we need good governance in the developing world while been paid by the institutions that oversee the system that produces the corruption in the first place.

by panda bear support member Thu Oct 31, 2002 15:22 ipsiphi23 at email dot com

a neutral state of EU with less than 6milion population Finland leads the world in telecommunications, shipbuilding, and free software.
It´s also one of the best places o find meteoritic material, reindeer, laps and blonde girls and boys.
However Finland isn´t perfect, like Ireland many of its young leave to find more exciting other places to live.
Finland has the highest rate of suicide and depression in the EU.
I love Finland. Monty Python recorded a song "Finland the place I want to be".
However currently the Soumi people are protesting at the insecurity of their neutrality and also borders, they don´t like borders.
check out;

http://www.rafael.co.il/web/
http://www.geocities.com/stop_abuse.geo/Actions/Libel-Civil/97-1184_civil.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/israel/rafael.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0323-05.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/892941.stm

http://www.greenpeace.ch/press/1998/268.html
http://www.army-technology.com/projects/gill/
http://csf.colorado.edu/forums/peace/aug98/0011.html

http://generalaoun.org/july8-12.html
http://www.janes.com/regional_news/europe/news_briefs/jdw980902_07.shtml

http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/news_briefs/jdw980902_07.shtml

http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/news_briefs/jdw980819_11.shtml

http://www.ummah.com/inewsletter/massacres/palestine/index22.htm

for some info on current Finnish concerns.
as if you will
O AS IF!

by scrapper Thu Oct 31, 2002 14:22

Fifth my arse. Our spineless journalists (pro capitalist hacks) have never bothered exposing all the corruption that has existed since the divil Haughey ran the place. FF and FG have used district/city councils to carve up massive profits to their business pals and been rewarded with brown bags.

Maybe there are more corrupt countries but what makes me sick is that none of the thieves/robber politicians get locked up. One politican, Lawlor, the biggest scumbag ever to walk the earth gets a month or two (what you or I would get for robbing a pack of rashers from the local Tesco, thats probably built on a site rezoned by FF/FG for hefty bags of cash)

Indimedia contributors spend lots of time slagging each other. Leave that to the poxy Indo, Times, Herald etc and focus your energy on the real fuckin criminals, the ones in the suits.

by x Thu Oct 31, 2002 13:56

Finland is always at the top of these lists - it's the least corrupt, it has the most free press, it's at the top of the UN's development index.... it goes on and on and on.

According to all the lists and indexes Finland is the most perfect place on the planet (cold and dark excepted).

What are they doing right?

by FF hater Thu Oct 31, 2002 13:25

Tony Fox of FF got elected on the anti-traveller platform.

He is your typical FF back slapping back stabber

by Councillor Killer Thu Oct 31, 2002 13:23

I found the local councillors that sought legal representation at Flood yesterday quite interesting.

I live in the south dublin area and I always knew they were corrupt, ask anyone.

Tony Fox, Don Lydon, Tom Hand, Liam Cosgrave.

Corrupt bastards they should be shot!