According to the TI index Britain rates at no. 17, wow! Yessiree, I mean.......... how many palms did we have to grease in TI to 'earn' such a high rating?


Back to Greece, how can this truly be a surprise it's only relatively recently that the Colonels were booted out. And come to think of it - historically, it's only yesterday since Greece was turfed out of the collapsing and ramshackle Ottoman tyranny.
Thinking on the EU, when Greece was welcomed into the fold, the colleagues and federal idealists saw the Greek entrance into the bosom of Brussels by the mother of democracy as some sort of political and propaganda coup. A drooling w***fest - for the 'grand projet' and Christendom, East meets West in the alliance of Charlemagne, a reunification of Orthodox-RC [what nostalgic clowns they all are] but believe me - that was the 'thinking'.

Greece will never change, until the people take real power back from the Colonels and moneyed elites of Athens shipping magnates - some chance, they may as well invoke the ghosts of Achilles and Theseus for help.

For an entertaining insight into how corruption operates right through Greek society Petros Markaris is your man. His Athenian detective quickly scrapes away the thin veneer of civilization which remains in Greece; if you have any imagination at all, you can't help feeling that Britain is already a long way down the same path.


Markaris is an Armenian a long time Greek resident, and the translation is superb. If you want to know how millions in European Union development funds can disappear through a Chinese restaurant and a third division football team, follow Inspector Haritos.

Thanks Richard for another interesting post, I read once that the Welsh windbag couldn't make any progress in sorting out corruption in Brussels, because it is generally acknowledged there that the UK public purse is the most comprehensively plundered in Europe.

My own brief experience as an employee of HM Government showed me how local authorities connive with quangos in making millions disappear without trace,
I guess you will have a view yourself as to where we stand in reality in relation to our European neighbours.

Edited by user 06 December 2012 01:47:46(UTC)  | Reason: typo

"Lets see here, you are a chief executive of a health trust, on your watch people, patients are dying of relatively curable diseases but for want of; basic hygiene and cleanliness and regular checks from staff paid to do exactly that, you are pulling £200k [+pension] + exes, the truth outs in print........Yet, you shift off to some other well paid sinecure and nobody says boo to a ghost.

Tim Yeo is paid £140K/annum, he also sits on the climate change committee." Quote from Ravenscar

Yes, it is very blatant - and they only find "employment" after leaving these govt sinecures if they still have some way of helping their new employers get a shovel into public money. They're not interested in doing the job, their time is spend looking for a better paid, more powerful position, which is achieved by helping out their cronies from where they currently are. This sometimes involves the transfer of large sums of money from one branch of central/local govt/quango to another.

I'd say what Richard's post makes clear is that corruption is so endemic and widespread, involving a great many people and vast sums of money that our institutions are becoming disfunctional and disabled.

Yeo and Hewitt are obvious, obnoxious and entrenched, but within all of these organisations that they so-called "manage", eg NHS, Universities, Colleges, Local Authorities and so on, massive corruption is also entrenched. Any attempt to interfere with the gangs - because that's what they are - within these organisations will definitely cost you your job, and could cost you your life.

I was suspended within hours of speaking to the auditors about the money missing in my dept; the auditor advised me to say no more about it, and my sister very sensibly pointed out that "if these people have been taking hundreds of thousands out of that place for years, they're not going to sit back and let you stop them.
You could find the brakes on your car stop working, for God sake see sense."
I did feel very threatened, and we're not talking about Mafioso, these people are "ordinary" Brits like you, and me, and um, Yeo and Hewitt.

Anyway, Ravenscar, I hope you can enjoy Markaris and corruption in Greece, as I do, safely tucked up in bed. All the best.

Edited by user 06 December 2012 02:15:06(UTC)  | Reason: additional info

Corruption - they do say Rolls Royce is in talks with the SFO.