================================================= Expat Worlds Monthly Digest ================================================= March, 2004 Vol. 6, Issue 03 .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== THE STORY =================== (Compliment from the Expat World Newsletter) -=How Corrupt=- -=A Scam - Beware the newest Country and its King=- ==== OTHER EZINES ================ -=Asia Times Online=- -=A Daily Dose of Happiness=- -=The Malorky Journals=- -=The Scam Report=- ==== EW SPECIAL ================== -=Get your Camouflage PP Before Prices Increase=- ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... == -=Trivia=- -=News Story=- -=Traveller's Tales=- -=Jokes=- ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============= -=MyPrivacy=- ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD == -=Table of Content=- ==== THE STORY ================================== HOW CORRUPT? Where do you live? Jakarta? Do you find that high-value bank notes go missing from your back pocket on a regular basis? Does it often seem that the traffic cops are running a business? Is it impossible to get a telephone installed without the widespread greasing of palms? If the answer to those questions is 'yes', you might want to take a look at the countries towards the bottom of the list on this page. You probably live in one of them. Each year for the past ten years, Transparency International has compiled a "Corruption Perceptions Index", which ranks countries as to how corrupt they are. Despite a few surprises - France comes below Chile - there is a depressing familiarity about the list. At the top come the rich, peaceable nations - European mainly. At the bottom are the war-torn, the poverty stricken and the third-world. It is impossible to decipher the causal relationship between corruption and prosperity - is a place corrupt because it is poor, or poor because it is corrupt? It is likely that the two 'co-vary', as statisticians say - they each help cause the other. Comparing corruption to GDP is instructive. Unsurprisingly, the shape of the two lists looks remarkably alike. The impact of corruption on a country can be deeply painful. It isn't just a case of individuals wearily having to fork out a bit of money now and again to get things done. Corruption is a hammer-blow to a nation's chances of improving itself. In 2002, Transparency International estimated that one third of Angola's GDP was stolen by corrupt officials and business people. That means that almost US $2,000 million ended up in Swiss bank accounts instead of improving the lot of the country's population. Corruption isn't a mysterious fact of human life. There are some obvious reasons why it happens. One is the example set from the top. In a non-functioning state, where government is unable to pay salaries and organize amenities, there is pressure to be corrupt. The head man handsover a bag of cash to a subordinate (let's say he is in charge of traffic management). The subordinate, who is subject to little or no supervision, can decide whether to use the cash to pay salaries or buy his wife a Mercedes. Actual traffic cops don't get paid. Or, rather, they do. Another problem is the tradition of 'gift-giving' in many countries which, while fine in itself, often shades into outright bribery But the news isn't all bad. Transparency International says that a number of new global initiatives are starting to act as brakes on the worst excesses. The OECD is having a go with its Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials, an agreement aimed at stopping Western companies giving bribes. In December last year, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption was signed in Mexico. It aims to allow stolen national assets - such as the many billions nicked from Nigeria by former dictator Suni Abacha - to be more easily recovered. The UK recently passed a law making it possible to prosecute British companies that use bribery overseas. Even so, no company has been prosecuted so far. Rank -Country -CPI Score (out of 10) Top 25 (least corrupt) 1 Finland 9.7 2 Iceland 9.6 3 Denmark 9.5 3 New Zealand 9.5 5 Singapore 9.4 6 Sweden 9,3 7 Netherlands 8.9 8 Australia 8.8 8 Norway 8.8 8 Switzerland 8.8 11 Canada 8.7 11 Luxembourg 8.7 11 United Kingdom 8.7 14 Austria 8 14 Hong Kong 8 16 Germany 7.7 17 Belgium 7.6 18 Ireland 7.5 19 USA 7.5 20 Chile 7.4 21 Israel 7 21 Japan 7 23 France 6.9 23 Spain 6.9 25 Portugal 6.6 124 Angola 1.8 124 Azerbaijan 1.8 124 Cameroon 1.8 124 Georgia 1,8 124 Tajikistan 1.8 129 Myanmar 1.6 129 Paraguay 1.6 131 Haiti 1.5 132 Nigeria 1.4 133 Bangladesh 1.3 ----- A SCAM - BEWARE THE NEWEST COUNTRY AND ITS KING "Man from Atlantis not in Palau" TO THE POINT -- Palau, an island nation in Micronesia, officials are warning others in the region about the "NEWEST COUNTRY", the "United Kingdom of Atlantis" and its "king," Sheikh Yakub Al-Sheikh Ibrahim, a fugitive wanted by the United States government. THEY SAY: A newly formed country that claims to exist off the northeast coast of Australia and to be ruled by a Middle Eastern king has suddenly offered to loan Palau $100 million US dollars. But among the many red flags in the generous proposal, said Palau investigators, is that the king, Sheikh Yakub Al-Sheikh Ibrahim, is a fugitive wanted by the United States for wire fraud, money laundering, income tax evasion and false statements. If that is not enough deterrent, investigators used marine law enforcement programs to locate the country with the coordinates given by a delegation that visited Palau. There, they found nothing but deep blue sea. The country's name? Hold your breath --- The United Kingdom of Atlantis. "This goes to show that money should never be the driving issue. It can get you involved with the wrong people," said Palau President Tommy Remengesau at a press conference Wednesday announcing the findings of an investigation into the kingdom's proposal. "We would also like to forewarn islands in the region because we wouldn't be surprised if this comes around," he added. A delegation of Atlanteans arrived suddenly last month and requested to meet with Remengesau, said Billy Kuartei, chief of staff for the president. Kuartei said he cautiously set up a meeting with the president's senior legal counsel, the attorney general and himself instead. The delegation also met with elected officials from Congress, state governors and some traditional leaders. Kuartei said at the same time an investigation into the kingdom and its delegation began. According to printouts from the official United Kingdom of Atlantis Web site, www.ukacrown.com, the country is located northeast of Australia, east of Papua New Guinea, southwest of the Solomon Islands, and west of Vanuatu. The Web site, which recently was no longer providing information, also states that the country was founded in 2000 and is a democratic royal monarchy based on the Sovereign Order of Ibrahim, which is said to be the oldest monarchy in the world and one-time ruler of all of the Middle East. King Ibrahim is said to be a direct descendent of the monarchy. The country's citizenry, however is touted at 40 percent Chinese, 40 percent European, 10 percent indigenous and 10 percent from several regions, according to the Web site. More than two million citizens live offshore, with only 20,000 in country. The main industry is industrial investment and financing, and the kingdom purports to create $1.6 billion annually in revenues. The capital city of Atlantis is located on the largest of 14 islands and is called Stargate. The proposal was for a low-interest loan of up to $100 million, which could be paid back over a 12-year period, according to documents submitted to the president's office. Palau would have to pay a fee of 2 percent of the loan, or up to $2 million, to Atlantis as part of the deal. The kingdom also wanted Palau to sign a number of treaties that recognized Atlantis as a country and essentially set up diplomatic relations. The delegation, none of whom Kuartei said reported ever having been to Atlantis, was accompanied by a man who said he was an ambassador from the Philippines. The delegates also claimed their kingdom had signed treaties with the Philippines and Taiwan, among other countries. Kuartei said Palau confirmed with Taiwan and the Philippines that neither country had signed such treaties, nor had the Philippines sent an ambassador to accompany the delegation. Palau also contacted its close ally, the United States, to aid the investigation, Kuartei said. U.S. Department of Justice officials reported that Ibrahim, who has multiple aliases and passports, was wanted in federal court in Texas. Due to a miscommunication, the U.S. government believed Ibrahim was in Palau and quickly asked Palau for his arrest and extradition to the United States, Kuartei said. To clear up matters, Palau released a statement. It was titled, "Man from Atlantis Not in Palau." OK EW Digest readers you have been warned! Don't take any Sand Dollars from a King from Atlantis! ==== OTHER EZINES =============================== ASIAN TIMES ONLINE Asia most trusted source for news, business,commentary and analysis from throughout Asia and our world. (www.atimes.com). ----- A DAILY DOSE OF HAPPINESS Turbo charge your day with a short, powerful, motivating message every morning. Happiness in an email! http://thehappyguy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html ----- THE MALORKY JOURNALS "The Malorky Journals: Never have a mad scientist and his giant man-eating mutant chicken been so lovable. Click here to read about their attack on a hot dog cart, among their other antics." http://www.freelancejack.com ----- INTERNET 4 DUMMIES WEB CONFERENCE Finally a program and FREE Web Conference that will give you all the facts, and you will get the 'TRUTH' GUARANTEED Owned and operated by the Staff at "THE SCAM REPORT" Register Today!! http://www.scamreport.org/intdummies.htm ==== EW SPECIAL ================================= EXPAT WORLDS BOOKSTORE TO FREEDOM For more than 15 years, Expat World has helped individuals and their corporations protect their assets along with privacy, freedom and confidentiality on personal and business dealings on a truly international scale. Now we have added another 25 unique publications which offer practical solutions to many of today's most difficult problems. Get the Bookstore to Freedome Catalog at http://www.expatworld.net and select "Downloads" from the top menu! ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... ================ NEWS STORY Indonesia considers jail for heavy public kissing JAKARTA - Couples caught kissing passionately in public in Indonesia could spend five years in jail. Members of parliament in the world's most populous Muslim country have proposed an anti-pornography bill that includes a ban on kissing on the mouth in public. "I think there must be some restrictions on such acts because it is against our traditions of decency," said Aisyah Hamid Baidlowi, head of a parliamentary committee drafting the bill. Heavy kissing could carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail or a 250 million (15,000 pounds) rupiah fine. Anyone caught flashing would face similar penalties. The bill also proposes bans on public nudity, erotic dances and sex parties, with jail terms ranging from three to 10 years. Watching such shows could lead to two years behind bars. Indonesians have long followed a moderate version of Islam, although an emphasis on Muslim practices and identification with Islamic traditions have grown stronger in recent years. ----- Law: It is legal for a male in England to urinate in public, as long it is on the rear wheel of his motor vehicle and his right hand is on the vehicle. Explanation: One of many Hackney Carriage Laws that have been unaltered for over 100 years, and it has alledgedly been done on mass during taxi/council disputes. ----- TRAVELLER'S TALES MONEY OR YOUR LIFE: A female moneylender in India gave one of her debtors a choice: Pay up or marry her. Paravya, a 50-year-old widow from Karwar, Karnataka, gave the equivalent of $600 to 55-year-old labourer Sharanappar, a widower in need of cash. Although they became firm friends only after the funeral of Paravya's husband, their relationship actually had its roots in the distant past--they had been youthful sweethearts in a different town 30 years earlier, The Times of India reported. After he comforted her during her bereavement, she made the money-or-marriage offer. Sharanappar accepted her proposal. The newspaper said the bridegroom was not as keen as she was on the wedding, but liked the idea more than having to pay back the massive loan. This may not seem the ideal basis on which to start a marriage, but in India people tie the knot for all sorts of reasons. ----- If Microsoft Built Cars 1. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car. 2. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on. 3. Occasionally, executing a maneuver would cause your car to stop and fail and you would have to re-install the engine. For some strange reason, you would accept this too. 4. You could only have one person in the car at a time, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But, then you would have to buy more seats. 5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast, twice as easy to drive - but would only run on 5 percent of the roads. 6. The Macintosh car owners would get expensive Microsoft upgrades to their cars, which would make their cars run much slower. 7. The oil, gas and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light. 8. The air bag system would say, "are you sure?" before going off. 9. If you were involved in a crash, you would have no idea what happened. ----- Oxymoron: political trust ----- ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============================ MyPrivacy MyPrivacy, a new free software from Omniquad is a privacy tool that helps you maintain your privacy by cleaning up all traces of your Internet and PC activities. It helps you erase data you may have entered like personal information in online forms, Urls in your browser address bar, files you searched for, etc. Data that otherwise would be exposed to other users of your computer. It also helps you clear the files from both the Temp & the Temporary Internet Explorer folders. Get it at ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD =============== EXPAT WORLD NEWSLETTER (VOL.16 ISSUE 03) Table of Content: - EXPATS IN ASIA - THE CITIES MOST ATTRACTIVE FOR AN ASSIGNMENT - BITS AND PIECES - 1/3 OF UK ADULTS CONSIDER WORKING ABROAD - ANYBODY BUT BUSH SAYS US EXPATRIATES - DO HERETICS SIT? - THE INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIR OFFERINGS - BEWARE COKE & POKE - HOW CORRUPT? - MALE -- FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS - PORTABLE TRADES & OCCUPATIONS - BEING A "PT" - (PERPETUAL TRAVELER) ON THE SEA - MILITARYCOVERUP.COM - PRIVACY BIG BROTHER CAN SPY ON YOU ANYWHERE - FINANCIAL PRIVACY BEGINS WITH AN OFFSHORE BANK - TAXING MATTERS -- OFFSHORE - AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD - GET YOUR KIDS (OR YOURSELF) INTERNATIONALIZED - INTERNATIONAL SNIPS AND CLIPS - LETTER FROM AMERICA - DOONSBURY'S OFFER FOR PROOF ON BUSH - CRAPPER RAPPER - FOUND ON SHIT HOUSE DOORS - THE FLATULENCE DICTIONARY YOU MISSING SO MUCH Each week the EXPAT WORLD DIGEST gives you just a smattering of what you can find in the EXPAT WORLD newsletter that we produce once a month. 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