Article

2007-03-20 Afghanistan

Afghan government more corrupt than Taleban

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Posted by Steve White 2007-03-20 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11129 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Sounds like a pretty big improvement to me. Talibunnies - destroy priceless cultural artifacts, beat you for shaving, kill girls for getting an education .... control everything you think and do.
Afghan Government - take bribes like the rest of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, most of Asia and half of Europe.

Gotta remember, it's a tribal society. The sheik used to get his take, now it's the new power in town.

I wonder how they stack up in the global bribery competition(in purchasing power parity terms as well as % of GDP. That would make a good dissertation, assuming you survived the research).

Posted by Snoluns Ebboluth3749 2007-03-20 01:56|| 2007-03-20 01:56|| Front Page Top

#2 Wasifi is adamant his drug conviction should not affect his ability to serve in government, and compares his situation to US President George W. Bush, who was once arrested in 1976 for drunk driving.

These guys just don't get it. DUI is bad enough, but it won't lead to large scale suffering like contributing to the drug trade. Sad thing is he wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't accepted by those who share his culture. Minimization and denial reign supreme. Unless they get the short end of the stick, then it's blood feud for the next 10 generations that it will take for the incident to be forgotten.

Posted by gorb 2007-03-20 02:25|| 2007-03-20 02:25|| Front Page Top

#3 I wonder how they stack up in the global bribery competition

Below are some results from Transparency International's 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index

Out of 159 countries, with Bangladesh and Chad at the very bottom and Iceland, Finland, New Zealand and Denmark in descending order from the top, Afghanistan is at #117:

Vietnam
Zambia
Zimbabwe [Hard to believe Mugabe is doing a better job than Karzai]
Afghanistan - #117
Bolivia
Ecuador

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-03-20 03:51|| 2007-03-20 03:51|| Front Page Top

#4 For those who are curious, the USA is #17.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-03-20 03:53|| 2007-03-20 03:53|| Front Page Top

#5 And France is #18, and Belgium is #19....

Posted by Bobby 2007-03-20 05:44|| 2007-03-20 05:44|| Front Page Top

#6 Massachusetts #20.

Posted by Besoeker 2007-03-20 08:47|| 2007-03-20 08:47|| Front Page Top

#7 Massachusetts #20.

You dropped a zero, Besoeker.

Posted by Steve White">Steve White 2007-03-20 15:50|| 2007-03-20 15:50|| Front Page Top

#8 I thought he added one.

Posted by tu3031 2007-03-20 15:58|| 2007-03-20 15:58|| Front Page Top

#9 Oh, we're going backwards? Then he dropped at least one...

Posted by tu3031 2007-03-20 16:01|| 2007-03-20 16:01|| Front Page Top

#10 Excellent! Watch the balance sheets, folks! You make me happy fore bed.

Posted by newc">newc 2007-03-20 22:50|| 2007-03-20 22:50|| Front Page Top

18:19 the Prophet
23:47 Verlaine
23:45 Eric Jablow
23:44 Zenster
23:42 gromgoru
23:42 Eric Jablow
23:41 Verlaine
23:39 Shipman
23:39 anonymous2u
23:38 Zenster
23:37 Zenster
23:32 Zenster
23:29 the Prophet
23:26 USN, ret.
23:25 Verlaine
23:23 Uneamble Fillmore6406
23:23 newc
23:22 Verlaine
23:21 USN, ret.
23:20 Zenster
23:19 Verlaine
23:15 Verlaine
23:09 USN, ret.
23:08 Verlaine