Posted by Joe on February 11, 2002 at 23:12:32:
In Reply to: Re: Ukraine is Geographic Center of Europe? posted by Observer-II on February 03, 2002 at 15:11:46:
Про дух, який панував у залізних рядах УСС, лякав ворогів і сповняв гордістю своїх, дуже вимовно свідчить лист фронтових стрілецьких частин до Загальної Української Ради, датований 11.11.1915 р.:
“Ми пішли в цю світову завірюху тільки тому, щоби наша Україна в часі цього всесвітнього, а саме смертельного змагу могла проголосити, що є і хоче бути, хоче мати власне місце під сонцем. Коли що тривожить нас, то тільки думка, чи могили наших товаришів, найкращих синів України, які виростають слідом за нами, від далекого Закарпаття аж до подільських степів, приспішать зірвання з рук України ганебних кайданів неволі”.
: RE:Do you mean Transcarpathia, a stolen territory from Czechoslovakia by Stalin? What about Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? Why are these countries more resistant to Russian-induced corruption? Are you claiming that Ukrainian soul has nothing to do with it?
: : Most of the internal strife is caused by Russians/Communists who continue to try to subvert Ukrainian freedom and democracy. Still it's questionable wether corruption is higher than in Russia. They should also measure interference into the affairs of other nations then Russia could be #1 regarding subverting the forward economic progress of Ukraine. For example Russia buys profitable Ukrainian enterprises to make them stagnant and unprofitable. This is economic or cold warfare against Ukraine.
: : : "There is no end in sight to the misuse of power by those in public office - and corruption levels are perceived to be as high as ever in both the developed and developing worlds," said Peter Eigen, Chairman of Transparency International, speaking today on the launch of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2001.
: : : According to the CPI for 2001, Ukraine's position is 83, the same as Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cameroon and Kenya, behind of Russia(79) and Tanzania (82). The last is Bangladesh (91).
: : : "The CPI also registers very high levels of perceived corruption in the countries in transition, in particular the former Soviet Union. Scores of 3.0 or less were recorded in Romania, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Peter Eigen noted: "The leaders of the countries of the former Soviet Union must do far more to establish the rule of law and transparency in government. This is crucial to their economic progress, and to the development of an open society."
: : : "The new Index illustrates once more the vicious circle of poverty and corruption, where parents have to bribe underpaid teachers to secure an education for their children and underresourced health services provide a breeding ground for corruption. The world's poorest are the greatest victims of corruption," said Peter Eigen at a press conference in Paris. "Vast amounts of public funds are being wasted and stolen by corrupt officials," he continued.
: : : TI's chairman said: "HIV AIDS is killing millions of Africans, and in many of the countries where AIDS is at its deadliest the problem is compounded by the fact that corruption levels are seen to be very high. While it is imperative that richer countries provide the fruits of medical research at an affordable price to address this human tragedy, it is also essential that corrupt governments do not steal from their own people. This is now an urgent priority if lives are to be saved."
: : : Observer's comment:Similarly, as in Africa and some parts of Asia, Ukraine has the highest increase of AIDS cases per year. In this, Ukraine is #1 in Europe.
: : : For additional details about the CPI see
: : : http://www.transparency.org/documents/cpi/2001/cpi2001.html