read it and truly weep
 clipped from www.haaretz.com
Israel is ranked 30th out of 180 states in the 2007 "Corruption Perceptions Index," released Wednesday by Transparency International, a global NGO committed to fighting corruption The ranking represents a slight improvement from 2006, when Israel came in at 34th, receiving a score of 5.9 out of 10, as opposed to this year's 6.1 Britain is ranked 12th and the United States 20th, with scores of 8.4 and 7.2, respectively The survey focuses on corruption in the public sector and among politicians, and the organization defines corruption as "the misuse of entrusted power for private gain." Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for first place on the list Gross, the chairman of Israel's Transparency International branch, said that more than half of the 180 states that were examined received scores of three or less, which indicates that funds needed for education, medicine and infrastructure are being pocketed by politicians
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