Israel ranks among Western world's most corrupt countries - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

 

 

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-ranks-among-western-world-s-most-corrupt-countries-1.321251

Israel ranks among Western world's most corrupt countries

Receiving a score of 6.1 out of 10 Israel is in 22nd place out of 33 OECD members; meanwhile, U.S. drops out of top 20 least corrupt countries.

By Lior Dattel and Reuters Tags: Israel news Israel economy U.S. economy

Israel ranks among the most corrupt countries in the Western world, according to a study released by the International Transparency Organization on Tuesday.

	Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, surrounded by ministers at Sunday's cabinet meeting at Kibbutz Degania.
	Photo by: Dror Artzi

Out of 178 countries - 1 being least corrupt - Israel was listed at number 30. But when compared to other member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Israel fared much worse.

The least corrupt countries were listed as Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore.

Israel received a score of 6.1 out of 10 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries according to the perception of corruption in the public sector.

That score positions Israel in the 22nd place out of 33 members of the OECD.

In May 2010, the OECD unanimously voted in favor of accepting Israel as a member of the group. However, Israel is the organization's poorest member, with the widest social gaps.

Israel's CPI score has not significantly improved since 2007. In 1997, Israel received a relatively high score of 7.9 ranking number 15 in the world, but has deteriorated considerably since then.

However, Transparency International identified Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, Macedonia, Gambia, Haiti, Jamaica, Kuwait, and Qatar as states where improvement had been made over the past year.

"As opposed to Israel, other countries are improving, and that is a problem," said Transparency International Israel CEO Galia Sagi on Tuesday.

"Even though corruption is discussed and condemned, politicians are not doing enough to deal with it. If the political leadership does not prioritize this issue, nothing will change," said Sagi.

The United States, meanwhile, has dropped out of the "top 20" in a global league table of least corrupt nations, tarnished by financial scandals and the influence of money in politics.

The U.S. fell to 22nd from 19th last year, with its CPI score dropping to 7.1 from 7.5. This was the lowest score awarded to the U.S. in the index's 15-year history and also the first time it had fallen out of the top 20.
 

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___

Eugenics Candidate Jim Russell Fares Better than Last Run

 

http://portchester.patch.com/articles/lowey-looks-to-12th-term-russell-fares-better-than-last-run

ELECTIONS

Lowey Looks to 12th Term; Russell Fares Better than Last Run

Nita Lowey has 62 percent of the vote with more than half of districts reporting.

By Nik Bonopartis | Email the author | 12:17am / Nov. 3, 2010

Jim Russell is used to being a sacrificial candidate in a district the state GOP considers unwinnable.

In 2008, incumbent Democrat Nita Lowey took a lopsided race with 68 pecent of the vote.

But there's an interesting story in the numbers playing out tonight – with almost 60 percent of the districts reporting, Russell is on course to outperform his 2008 effort by six percent.

That's surprising, considering Russell's campaign has been marked by controversy ever since a Politico columnist dug up a decade-old essay in which the candidate endorsed eugenics, among other things.

If the numbers hold through all remaining districts, the question is: Why did Russell make a slightly larger dent in Lowey's armor despite the scandal that plagued his campaign?

Two possible answers: Voters were casting their ballots down party lines, or – a more likely explanation – that six percent slide could represent the residual backlash against incumbents and the rise of the Tea Party. In other words, maybe any candidate would have fared better against Lowey this time around, given the national climate.

While the rhetoric and blacklash has been amplified elsewhere, with the exception of Carl Paladino's campaign, it's been muted here in New York. Lowey, who will go on to a 12th term, was never really threatened by the anti-incumbent or anti-Democrat sentiment sweeping other states.

So perhaps it's a wise choice that the state GOP didn't invest its resources in opposing Lowey this time around – if the Tea Party/anti-incumbent sentiment only sliced off six percent of Lowey's tally while other Democrats lost their seats to the same wave, it's difficult to imagine Lowey would be vulnerable, even if her opponent didn't have his own controversy to deal with.

--

Being happy–is it good for the Jews? "Before Professor Dershowitz accused me of being an anti-Semite (news to me), I was a happy person. Since then, I'm still a happy person". –Michael Santomauro

An antisemite condemns people for being Jews, I am not an antisemite.--Michael Santomauro

Most of us are mentally trapped to think Jewish. Actually, it is safe to say that virtually every mainstream publication or or other type of media organ is "nothing more than a screen to present chosen views." The great battle over the last century has been a battle for the mind of the Western peoples, i.e., non-Jewish Euros. The chosen won it by acquiring control over essentially the complete mainstream news, information, education and entertainment media of every type, and using that control to infuse and disseminate their message, agenda and worldview, their way of thinking, or rather the way they want us to think. Since at least the 1960s this campaign has been effectively complete. Since then they have shaped and controlled the minds of all but a seeming few of us in varying degree with almost no opposition or competition from any alternative worldview. So now most of us are mentally trapped in the box the chosen have made for us, which we have lived in all our lives. Only a few have managed to avoid it or escape it, or to even sometimes see outside of it, and so actually "think outside of the (Jewish) box." --Michael Santomauro

Thank you and remember: 

Peace is patriotic!

Michael Santomauro

253 W. 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

Call anytime: 917-974-6367

E-mail me anything:

ReporterNotebook@Gmail.com

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___

YouTube: Israel Shahak Speaks on Zionism, Israel and Judaism

 

Israel Shahak Speaks on Zionism, Israel and Judaism 
Video 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQkgb86xytI 

Interview with Israel Shahak, author of the book, Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, published in 1994. Israel Shahak (1933-2001),was a Polish-born Israeli professor of chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was also a Holocaust survivor. During World War II he was in the Warsaw ghetto, and was later a prisoner at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He was a critic of the Israeli government, and his writings on Judaism and Zionism have been controversial. Runtime: 59 mins. 

--

Being happy–is it good for the Jews? "Before Professor Dershowitz accused me of being an anti-Semite (news to me), I was a happy person. Since then, I'm still a happy person". –Michael Santomauro

An antisemite condemns people for being Jews, I am not an antisemite.--Michael Santomauro

Most of us are mentally trapped to think Jewish. Actually, it is safe to say that virtually every mainstream publication or or other type of media organ is "nothing more than a screen to present chosen views." The great battle over the last century has been a battle for the mind of the Western peoples, i.e., non-Jewish Euros. The chosen won it by acquiring control over essentially the complete mainstream news, information, education and entertainment media of every type, and using that control to infuse and disseminate their message, agenda and worldview, their way of thinking, or rather the way they want us to think. Since at least the 1960s this campaign has been effectively complete. Since then they have shaped and controlled the minds of all but a seeming few of us in varying degree with almost no opposition or competition from any alternative worldview. So now most of us are mentally trapped in the box the chosen have made for us, which we have lived in all our lives. Only a few have managed to avoid it or escape it, or to even sometimes see outside of it, and so actually "think outside of the (Jewish) box." --Michael Santomauro

Thank you and remember: 

Peace is patriotic!

Michael Santomauro

253 W. 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

Call anytime: 917-974-6367

E-mail me anything:

ReporterNotebook@Gmail.com

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___

Elections 2010: The Jewish Take

 

From: Ami Eden/JTA Editor in Chief <newsdesk@jta.org>
Date: November 2, 2010 3:50:56 PM EDT

Dear JTA Reader:

As Americans across the country head to the polls, I just wanted to remind you to keep up with the results at Capital J, JTA's politics blog (featuring Ron Kampeas, our Washington bureau chief).

With polls predicting a Republican win in the U.S. House of Representatives, be sure to check out Ron's recent interview with U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress and the likely candidate to become majority leader in a GOP-controlled House.

Also be sure to read Ron's analysis on what a changeover in the House would mean on several issues of importance to the Jewish community.

And then there are the Jewish Democratic lawmakers fighting for their political lives.

Whether you're spending today fearing the Tea Party or reveling at the chance to send President Obama a message, don't forget to vote. And don't forget to visit JTA's politics blog tonight!

Ami Eden
Editor in Chief, JTA

P.S. Now you can stop giving to all of those candidates and start supporting our politics coverage with a generous donation to JTA (no pork, we promise).

--

Being happy–is it good for the Jews? "Before Professor Dershowitz accused me of being an anti-Semite (news to me), I was a happy person. Since then, I'm still a happy person". –Michael Santomauro

An antisemite condemns people for being Jews, I am not an antisemite.--Michael Santomauro

Most of us are mentally trapped to think Jewish. Actually, it is safe to say that virtually every mainstream publication or or other type of media organ is "nothing more than a screen to present chosen views." The great battle over the last century has been a battle for the mind of the Western peoples, i.e., non-Jewish Euros. The chosen won it by acquiring control over essentially the complete mainstream news, information, education and entertainment media of every type, and using that control to infuse and disseminate their message, agenda and worldview, their way of thinking, or rather the way they want us to think. Since at least the 1960s this campaign has been effectively complete. Since then they have shaped and controlled the minds of all but a seeming few of us in varying degree with almost no opposition or competition from any alternative worldview. So now most of us are mentally trapped in the box the chosen have made for us, which we have lived in all our lives. Only a few have managed to avoid it or escape it, or to even sometimes see outside of it, and so actually "think outside of the (Jewish) box." --Michael Santomauro

Thank you and remember: 

Peace is patriotic!

Michael Santomauro

253 W. 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

Call anytime: 917-974-6367

E-mail me anything:

ReporterNotebook@Gmail.com

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___

GORDON DUFF: HISTORY NEVER HAPPENED, WHO IS DAVID IRVING?

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <gpduf@aol.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 2, 2010 at 2:40 PM
Subject: GORDON DUFF: HISTORY NEVER HAPPENED, WHO IS DAVID IRVING?
To: gpduf@aol.com


GORDON DUFF: HISTORY NEVER HAPPENED, WHO IS DAVID IRVING?

--

Being happy–is it good for the Jews? "Before Professor Dershowitz accused me of being an anti-Semite (news to me), I was a happy person. Since then, I'm still a happy person". –Michael Santomauro

An antisemite condemns people for being Jews, I am not an antisemite.--Michael Santomauro

Most of us are mentally trapped to think Jewish. Actually, it is safe to say that virtually every mainstream publication or or other type of media organ is "nothing more than a screen to present chosen views." The great battle over the last century has been a battle for the mind of the Western peoples, i.e., non-Jewish Euros. The chosen won it by acquiring control over essentially the complete mainstream news, information, education and entertainment media of every type, and using that control to infuse and disseminate their message, agenda and worldview, their way of thinking, or rather the way they want us to think. Since at least the 1960s this campaign has been effectively complete. Since then they have shaped and controlled the minds of all but a seeming few of us in varying degree with almost no opposition or competition from any alternative worldview. So now most of us are mentally trapped in the box the chosen have made for us, which we have lived in all our lives. Only a few have managed to avoid it or escape it, or to even sometimes see outside of it, and so actually "think outside of the (Jewish) box." --Michael Santomauro

Thank you and remember: 

Peace is patriotic!

Michael Santomauro

253 W. 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

Call anytime: 917-974-6367

E-mail me anything:

ReporterNotebook@Gmail.com

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Hobbies & Activities Zone: Find others who share your passions! Explore new interests.

---

Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center.

---

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___

Dear Charles Weinblatt: Do you agree with the Holocaust denial laws?

 

Dear Charles Weinblatt,

 

Do you agree with the Holocaust denial laws?

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chuck Weinblatt <csw2@bex.net>
Date: Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Subject: RE: Academic Freedom and Holocaust Denial
To: ReporterNotebook <reporternotebook@gmail.com>

Yes.  European Holocaust laws protect Jews from bigots who did not learn from the Holocaust; it is necessary to prevent another genocide.  I dearly love free speech.  But, I would be in favor of the same type of laws against denial of the American genocide of Native Americans.  The blood of six million innocent Jewish men, women and children has not detracted Europeans from continued anti-Semitism.  In fact, Jew-hatred is on the rise today.  So, yes, I agree with the laws.  Even as a writer and published author, I agree.  I deplore censorship and I adore free speech.  I wish that the world would never require any law that inhibits free speech.  Yet, when I see that the same sentiments that led to the murder of my innocent family (because they were Jews) exist today in Europe, then I understand why such laws are necessary.  As long as there are people who deny that Nazi Germany murdered millions of innocent people, and those people promote their mendacity via public means (the Internet), then there will be a need to prevent them from spreading that poison to vulnerable minds. 

 

Captured German war records prove that millions of innocent Jews (and tens of thousands of other innocent people) were systematically exterminated by Nazi Germany - mostly in gas chambers. Those poor people were murdered because they did not fit into the Nazi vision for a pure Aryan society.  These facts have been proven repeatedly through countless thesis and dissertation research papers.  Virtually every PhD in History in the world will stake their career on these known Holocaust FACTS.  Despite this knowledge, Holocaust deniers ply their mendacious poison everywhere, especially with young people on the Internet. The deniers have only one agenda - to distort the truth in a way that promotes antagonism against the object of their hatred (Jews), or to deny the culpability of their ancestors and heroes (Germans). 

 

Museums and mandatory public education are appropriate tools to dispel bigotry, especially racial and ethnic hatred.  Books and films can also establish the veracity of genocides, such as recent Holocaust films.  They help to tell the true story of the perpetrators of genocide; and they reveal the abject terror, humiliation and degradation resulting from such blind loathing and prejudice.  We must disclose the cruelty and horror of genocide to combat the deniers' virulent and inaccurate historical revision.  By doing this, we protect vulnerable future generations from making the same mistakes. Yet, when people ignore genocide education, then we have no recourse but to enact laws that prevent the denial of such proven genocide.  I guarantee that millions of Jews perished in the Shoah.  I did not need to conduct five years of daily research to understand this.  But, it is no less a fact than the fact that the moon orbits the earth, or that gravity exists. 

 

Whenever we stand up to those who deny or minimize genocide we send a critical message to the world.  As we continue to live in an age of genocide and ethnic cleansing, we must repel the broken ethics of our ancestors, or risk a dreadful repeat of past transgressions.  A world that continues to allow genocide requires ethical remediation.  We must show the world that religious, racial, ethnic and gender persecution is wrong; and that tolerance is our progeny's only hope.  Only through such efforts can we reveal the true horror of genocide and promote the triumphant spirit of humankind.

 

Charles Weinblatt

Author, Jacob's Courage

http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

From: ReporterNotebook [mailto:reporternotebook@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 5:16 PM
To: csw2@bex.net
Subject: Re: Academic Freedom and Holocaust Denial

 

Dear Charles Weinblatt,

 

Do you agree with the Holocaust denial laws?

 

--

Peace is patriotic!

 

Michael Santomauro

253 W. 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

 

Call anytime: 917-974-6367

 

E-mail me anything:

ReporterNotebook@Gmail.com

 

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

---

Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center.

---

Hobbies & Activities Zone: Find others who share your passions! Explore new interests.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___

Royal British Legion's shameful Hitler visit revealed after 75 years | Mail Online

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325204/Royal-British-Legions-shameful-Hitler-visit-revealed-75-years.html

Peace.
Michael Santomauro
@ 917-974-6367

What sort of TRUTH is it that crushes the freedom to seek the truth?

__._,_.___

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 1

Visit Your Group

MARKETPLACE

Hobbies & Activities Zone: Find others who share your passions! Explore new interests.

---

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

---

Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___