News from the 17th least corrupt country (possibly)

It's official (well it's on the BBC News website) I now reside (well actually I think I only start residing here next month, but that's a whole 'nother kettle) in the 17th least corrupt country. Doesn't it just give you a warm, gooey feeling inside? A bit like a toasted marshmallow. Although it has be said that the UK is one whole point less corrupt than America, so those of you over there can definitely look down your noses at the damned, corrupt colonialists over here. It's also kind of amusing that Australia, the nation we sent our criminals to, is less corrupt than both the UK and the USA, the nation we sent our crazy religious people to (well sent may not be fully accurate, but hey give a guy a little artistic license).

I love tables like the CPI table, they are all so brilliantly arbitrary and use scary Orwellian names like, "Corruption Perceptions Index". Not to mention great press release quotes like, Corruption isn’t a natural disaster... (okay I'm being a little unfair as the full quote is, Corruption isn’t a natural disaster: it is the cold, calculated theft of opportunity from the men, women and children who are least able to protect themselves. Plus they're full of interesting information like there is a United Nations Convention against Corruption, I feel the problem will disappear entirely once it comes into force (Why isn't it already? It didn't tell me that.)

At least Zimbabwe managed to climb up to the heady position of being the (joint) 107th least corrupt coutnry. Go Zimbabwe. They've increased from 2.3 to 2.6. Although I have to say I think the index is backwards as bigger numbers in a corruption perception index should really be more corrupt than smaller numbers. That way you could give the unit a name, like a Mugabe or better yet an Aitken (although, like the unit of beauty, the SI unit might have to be a milli-Aitken).