see also: corruption
Maplight.org, is a Berkeley, Calif.’ company that opens the kimono on politicians, their financial ties with interest groups, and how they vote on bills in U.S Congress or state senate.
The site creates an extraordinary transparency not seen anywhere else. For example, it shows in great detail that several large corporations donated money to Rep. Kevin Brady around the time of his supporting vote of a free-trade agreement with Oman. On the day before the vote, someone associated with Lyondell Chemical gave him $1,000. Lyondell, Coca Cola and Dow Chemical are all shown as supporters of the bill. Such supporters gave twice as much money to politicians who supported the bill than they did to those who voted against.
So what’s driving founder Dan Newman, given that this company is a non-profit? It can’t be money. His answer: Politicians tend to be chosen according to how effective they can raise funds, which means many problems — whether healthcare, technology policy, or global warming — aren’t getting solved. “When I tried to explain campaign contributions are causing this, I was waving my hands too much,” he said. “We created Maplight to show people specifically how issues they care about are connected with campaign dollars.”
There are lots of other features. You can select individual politicians, and see what money is going to them, categorized not merely by company, but by interest group industry category (oil, transportation, etc). That’s because Maplight tags each donation according to which industry it comes from, not merely the company. Maplight tracks each congressional bill, and tracks which organizations have opposed or supported it. It also lets you sort by interest group, and shows which bills they’ve donated money to.
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Transparency Index
Transparency International: Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index is a composite index which ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials. This index indicates the views of national and international business people and analysts about the levels of corruption in each country. The highest (and best) level of transparency is indicated by the number, 1. The lower (and worse) levels of transparency are indicated by higher numbers -- 100 and above.
|
|
Country
Rank |
Country |
1 |
Finland
Iceland
New Zealand |
4 |
Denmark |
5 |
Singapore |
6 |
Sweden |
7 |
Switzerland |
8 |
Norway |
9 |
Australia
Netherlands |
11 |
Austria
Luxembourg
United Kingdom |
14 |
Canada |
15 |
Hong Kong |
16 |
Germany |
17 |
Japan |
18 |
France
Ireland |
20 |
Belgium
Chile
United States of America |
23 |
Spain |
24 |
Barbados
Estonia |
26 |
Macao
Portugal |
26 |
Portugal |
28 |
Malta
Slovenia
Uruguay |
31 |
United Arab Emirates |
32 |
Bhutan
Qatar |
34 |
Israel
Taiwan |
36 |
Bahrain |
37 |
Botswana
Cyprus |
39 |
Oman |
40 |
Jordan |
41 |
Hungary |
42 |
Mauritius
South Korea |
44 |
Malaysia |
45 |
Italy |
46 |
Czech Republic
Kuwait
Lithuania |
49 |
Latvia
Slovakia |
51 |
South Africa
Tunisia |
53 |
Dominica |
54 |
Greece |
55 |
Costa Rica
Namibia |
57 |
Bulgaria |
59 |
Colombia |
60 |
Turkey |
61 |
Poland
Jamaica |
63 |
Lebanon
Seychelles
Thailand |
66 |
Belize
Cuba
Grenada |
69 |
Croatia |
70 |
Brazil
China
Egypt
Ghana
India
Mexico
Peru
Saudi Arabia
Senegal |
79 |
Burkina Faso
Lesotho
Moldova
Morocco
Trinidad and Tobago |
84 |
Algeria
Madagascar
Mauritania
Panama
Romania
Sri Lanka |
90 |
Gabon
Serbia
Suriname |
93 |
Argentina
Armenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Eritrea
Syria
Tanzania |
99 |
Dominican Republic
Georgia
Mali
Mongolia
Mozambique
Ukraine |
105 |
Bolivia
Iran
Libya
Macedonia
Malawi
Uganda |
111 |
Albania
Guatemala
Kazakhstan
Laos
Nicaragua
Paraguay
East Timor
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia |
121 |
Benin
Gambia
Guyana
Honduras
Nepal
Philippines
Russia
Rwanda
Swaziland |
130 |
Azerbaijan
Burundi
Central African Republic
Ethiopia
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
Togo
Zimbabwe |
138 |
Cameroon
Ecuador
Niger
Venezuela |
|
142 |
Angola
Congo, RC
Kenya
Kyrgyzstan
Nigeria
Pakistan
Sierra Leone
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan |
151 |
Belarus
Cambodia
Cote d'Ivoire
Equatorial Guinea
Uzbekistan |
156 |
Bangladesh
Chad
Congo, DRC
Sudan |
160 |
Guinea
Iraq
Myanmar (Burma) |
163 |
Haiti |
|
|
Source: This material is derived from the 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. Last updated in 2007.
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