Which is for me what makes the UK scoring as highly as it has so very surprising. I also work in the public sector (currently) and have seen first hand how very corrupt things are on an everyday basis. It doesn’t seem that a person can be recruited or a contract can be awarded without some degree of favouritism, influence or bias, even at a very basic level. I’ve worked for both national government and local government and quite honestly, I’ve been appalled by my experiences.
How Corrupt Is Your Country?
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
Which is for me what makes the UK scoring as highly as it has so very surprising. I also work in the public sector (currently) and have seen first hand how very corrupt things are on an everyday basis. It doesn’t seem that a person can be recruited or a contract can be awarded without some degree of favouritism, influence or bias, even at a very basic level. I’ve worked for both national government and local government and quite honestly, I’ve been appalled by my experiences.
Since 2017, Hungary has become a much more corrupt place, although it has been pretty bad before.
Anyone who has heard of Viktor Orbán and Ferenc Gyurcsány probably knows this.
Anyone who has heard of Viktor Orbán and Ferenc Gyurcsány probably knows this.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
There was a very interesting article a number of years ago by the journalist Roberto Saviano who is famous for his work on uncovering mafia linked corruption in Italy.
In this piece he claimed that the UK and particularly the City of London was the heart / centre of global financial corruption.
I'm not an expert on corruption by any means (though I have seen a lot of it in my life) but it strikes me that Saviano may well have a valid point when it comes to networks of financial corruption.
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get real, corruption is part of ALL political systems. I am not aware of any factual system that ranks all countries.
It is indeed. Sad, but I don't think you can really get away from it, unfortunately.
After a lit bit of research, my country (Brazil) holds the 106th place on the ranking according to the 2019 ranking, made by Transparency International. Everytime my parents and I go see the news, there's at least one topic about corruption. Also, we are known for Operation Car Wash, which helped to show how corrupt my country is.
Currently ranked 102nd and I'm not surprised in the slightest. The justice system for corruptors in my country is an absolute joke. You'd get 5 years in prison for stealing a chicken but corruptors themselves only ended up serving a year or less for every trillion of Rupiah they can take. There's been a debate over death sentencing these corruptors, but only time will tell if that's ever gonna happen.
I think the UK has increased its level of double standards today.
For weeks now, the government has said that it can't afford a pay rise of more than 1% for nurses. A member of the House of Lords supported this, despite there being about 800 peers, which have seen their untaxed pay go up from £300 to £325 a day - that's a rise of over 8%. Some peers are active. Others can be there for years and never say anything. In fact, peers can get £325 for signing in and then signing out. Easy money.
Today, Boris Johnson has said that the UK will increase the number of nuclear missiles it has. Each missile is more powerful than the bombs that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If the UK launched a missile, it could kill millions of innocent people. A missile would damage China or Russia, but each country would be big enough to survive. If that country aimed a missile at the middle of the UK, that could be the end of that. There is no justification for the UK having nuclear weapons, especially when politicians tell other nations that they can't have nuclear weapons.
This is not the time to even consider spending money on nuclear weapons. There are too many people who have lost their jobs and too many young people who have little hope of ever buying or renting somewhere to live.
For weeks now, the government has said that it can't afford a pay rise of more than 1% for nurses. A member of the House of Lords supported this, despite there being about 800 peers, which have seen their untaxed pay go up from £300 to £325 a day - that's a rise of over 8%. Some peers are active. Others can be there for years and never say anything. In fact, peers can get £325 for signing in and then signing out. Easy money.
Today, Boris Johnson has said that the UK will increase the number of nuclear missiles it has. Each missile is more powerful than the bombs that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If the UK launched a missile, it could kill millions of innocent people. A missile would damage China or Russia, but each country would be big enough to survive. If that country aimed a missile at the middle of the UK, that could be the end of that. There is no justification for the UK having nuclear weapons, especially when politicians tell other nations that they can't have nuclear weapons.
This is not the time to even consider spending money on nuclear weapons. There are too many people who have lost their jobs and too many young people who have little hope of ever buying or renting somewhere to live.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I totally agree with everything you've said here.
To Boris I believe the motive for these nukes is strategic post Brexit to ensure that Britain remains of geopolitical importance and critically of importance to a post Trump America which may be questioning the "special relationship".
By upgrading the nuclear arsenal he safeguards relevance in the Biden administration's eyes in a world which is in a new cold war.
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Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Ermmm and what about Franco ?
I would like to think you have exercised a little more doubt / critical thinking when it comes to the recent history of your country tio.
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I think there's something wrong when charities ask us to pay for basic needs of people living in countries ruled by people who live in luxury. Something should be done to depose the rulers and retrieve the money.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
In theory yes absolutely but in practice the rich western nations and their intelligence agencies have a considerable vested geopolitical and economic interest in keeping the corrupt wealthy elites of Africa or Asia or Latin America in that position so that they continue exploiting their natural resources which made the west rich in the first place.
It is convenient for them to then assert that the humanitarian issues and socioeconomic (and environmental ) conditions of such countries are unrelated to this meddling and are the domain / province and responsibilities of charities / NGOS and not reforms in foreign policy or restrictions on the free market.
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Kakapo
Well-Known Member
That was the best government in the recent history of my country, obviously. Not sure what you mean about exercising more doubt/critical thinking, really not much of that is needed for realize that now we are in the worst level of corruption (and worst things than corruption) in the whole history of Spain, is far enough with be aware of some of the countless atrocities our current government is keeping doing.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Ok well your lack of subtlety on the Franco issue is quite surprising but thanks for honestly revealing your fascist political leanings.
I totally disagree but then again I would because I despise religious fanaticism absolutely hate fascism and am disgusted by war crimes and criminals.
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Kakapo
Well-Known Member
Oh well your absolute lack of subtlety on Franco issue and from what I see, any other political issue, is more than surprising, is ever quite disgusting besides being incredibly wrong, but thanks for honestly revealing your communist stalinist political leanings, it's more than sad that you defend vehemently the most atrocious mass assasins of innocent people in the recent history of mankind.
I totally disagree but then again I would because I despise any kind of fanaticism (including religious and antireligious ones, and the fanaticism that you are showing in this thread too) and I absolutely hate extremism and terrorism and I'm disgusted by war crimes and criminals (most of which were commiteed by people of your same branch of political tought).
I totally disagree but then again I would because I despise any kind of fanaticism (including religious and antireligious ones, and the fanaticism that you are showing in this thread too) and I absolutely hate extremism and terrorism and I'm disgusted by war crimes and criminals (most of which were commiteed by people of your same branch of political tought).
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I lived in Spain, studied Spanish history and that of the Civil war intensively while I was there and visited the battlegrounds and sites.
Completely wrong about that tio as I am not a communist and I like democracy (the Spanish Republic was a broad coalition of many different political schools of thought that encompassed both the left and center).
Well then if you despise religious fanaticism you clearly are unaware that Franco was a zealous and fanatic Catholic fundamentalist who sabotaged secularization of the Spanish State for decades.
Furthermore you are clearly unaware of the existence and role of the Falangists and Carlist militias and death squads and their fervent Catholicism and all of the war crimes that these most bloodthirsty of groups involved themselves in.
Additionally you would also be unaware of the major role that the Cuerpo de Ejército Marroquí (African army) played in Franco's millitary campaign many of whom (ironically considering that Franco used the rhetoric of "Reconquista") were Moroccan Islamic fundamentalists and who also participated in the worst war crimes during the civil war.
Both sides committed terrible crimes and neither of these can or should be absolved from this but you are more than a bit off on your sources there tio. Current estimates by historians (and I anticipate you will call these "marxists" so I'll just check you there and state that the majority of these are non-partisan objective scholars of history) suggest that it was the Nationalists who committed the most war crimes at about 170,000 deaths of prisoners of war and civilians during the civil war and after.
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