Anticorruption mural in Jakarta. Translation: “If we are like this, how can we fight corruption?” (Photo: Eric Hontz/CIPE) At the Sixth biennial assembly of the World Movement for Democracy , this year held in Jakarta, Indonesia, I heard a recurring theme in many of the workshops and conversations in between sessions – corruption is a large and growing problem for democracies around the world. Corruption effects established and emerging democracies in strikingly similar ways; it decreases the legitimacy of existing institutions and creates a high level of cynicism among voters.  Perhaps the issue was always there, but advances in information technology and greater access to a multitude of channels of communication has brought the issue out of the shadows.

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World Movement for Democracy: Dealing with Corruption

As the world celebrates the annual Earth Day for the 40th time today, there are many achievements to point to with greater environmental awareness among citizens and businesses alike, and new technologies that make economic growth much more environmentally friendly. When we look closer at how this progress has happened, though, it takes more than good will and technological advances to ensure responsible environmental stewardship

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40th Anniversary of Earth Day

Today’s Daily Angle comes from  Wikinvest Wire member  Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism. You can read  the full article on NakedCapitalism.com We met last week with a savvy  German investor, one who unlike many of his peers, is well aware of the German bank exposure to Greek and other Club Med debt. He argued that  Greece will default within six months

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Was Greece Rescue Futile, and is Portugal Next?

Presidential and vice-presidential candidates in Colombia during presidential debate in Barranquilla organized by Fedesarrollo. (Photo Credit: El Heraldo) Being in the US it is sometimes hard to understand the dynamics of elections abroad.

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Colombia: It’s all about the economy

The global financial crisis in West Africa, despite being less severe or immediate than in the U.S. or Europe, has affected local economies, governments, and citizens alike

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Private-Public Dialogue in West Africa: Moving Beyond the Financial Crisis Toward Democratic Development

A front page story in today’s New York Times details how large banks are profiting from serving a majority of microfinance clients, fueling debates about the high interest rates they charge to poor borrowers.

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On profits and progress

Demonstrations continued Thursday in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, as people massed in front of the main government building on the city's central square. (Photo: Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press) The unrest sweeping Kyrgyzstan in recent days is a potent reminder of popular frustration with endemic corruption, government mismanagement, and stalled economic development.

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Searching for a silver lining

One of Djezzy’s ads at Algiers International Airport Houari Boumediene‎ in the Algerian capital of Algiers. (Photo: CIPE) Most Algerians — from business to government to families — would agree that the partial privatization of telecommunications in Algeria has widened their choices of service-providers and deals, and has contributed to the development and growth of the communications industry in Algeria. Most Algerians would also agree that and an advanced telecommunications technology is a vital part of Algeria’s infrastructure and development, is essential to the health and competitiveness of the Algerian industry locally, regionally and internationally, and is a key enabler of productivity across the Algerian economy and society.

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A game beyond the soccer field

Golf for a Cause with Good Morning Sunshine – Susan G. Komen for the Cure Philadelphia : “Golf for a Cause with Good Morning SunshineMay 1, 20108:30am — 3:00pm Event type: Community Event Location Juniata Golf Club 1391 East Cayuga Street Philadelphia, PA 19124 Rise and Shine in the Radiant Hope for a Cure 2010 Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure Team ‘Good Morning Sunshine’ invites everyone to join them in ‘painting the greens pink’ during a golf fundraiser plus Beef -n-Beer social Saturday, May 1. A great way to enjoy the first bright, warm days of spring, Golf for a Cause is sure to get everyone in the swing of empowering the breast cancer movement in the last days leading up to the Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure! ‘Tee up’ for one or both of the fun events of this double-bill opportunity, both held at the beautiful Juniata Golf Club: Golf outing: $65 per person (includes the Beef-n-Beer), shot–gun start time 8:30 AM (please note, there are no afternoon golf events) Beef-n-Beer only: $30 per person, start time 1:00 PM Highlights include DJ John Galeone of Sonic Groove Productions, great raffle opportunities and fabulous food.

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Golf for a Cause with Good Morning Sunshine – Susan G. Komen for the Cure Philadelphia

WHEN: May 15 th , 2010 REGISTRATION: 7:30AM-8:20AM RACE START: 8:30AM WHERE: LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL PARKING LOT RYAN AVE AND SACKET ST. ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE HERO THRILL SHOW FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE SURVIVORS OF FALLEN POLICE AND FIRE AS WELL AS THE MAYFAIR MEMORIAL PLAYGROUND “This event is sanctioned by USA Track & Field .” $100 & UP SPONSORSHIP Your company name will be listed on the T-Shirt, your company name will be listed on the race website and your company will be mentioned on the day of the race. Company: _________________________ Website: ______________________________ Contact Name: ______________________Email Address: ________________________ Address: ___________________________ City, State, and Zip:_____________________ Phone: _____________________________ Fax:__________________________ _______ Amount: _____________________________ Please return this form by APRIL 15, 2010 with a check made payable to: The Mayfair Business Association, 3530 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19149

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2nd Annual Fallen Heroes Run and Walk

A bar discipline decision issued by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court yesterday: In this bar discipline case, the respondent received cash belonging to an elderly client but did not make a record of the total amount received and did not…

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Burden Of Proof When Entrusted Cash Is Missing

The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the admission of most of the evidence obtained after seizure of the cell phone of an arrested defendant: The focus of our inquiry is whether the evidentiary basis for the warrant to search the cell…

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Hold That Call

The North Carolina State Bar has filed a disciplinary complaint that alleges misconduct by a court-appointed attorney who had represented a client for approximately six months. It is alleged that the attorney throughout the representation “made inappropriate comments of a…

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Attorney Faces Charges Of Improper Importuning Of Client

From the web page of the Ohio Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of Ohio today imposed a six month suspension against the law license of [a]Youngstown attorney…for falsely stating on a North Carolina marriage license application that he had never…

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Bigamy Suspension

Posters like these from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime are popular in Bhutan, highlighting concrete examples of corruption’s effects on democracy and development. Bhutan – self-proclaimed “Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon,” one of the world’s newest democracies, and a country fairly high up on the ‘mysterious’ chart. Bhutan has been hidden away from the world nearly since its founding

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Thunder Dragon vs. Corruption

Today’s Daily Angle comes from  Wikinvest Wire member  Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism . You can read  the full article on NakedCapitalism.com As readers may know, the financial reforms proposed by the  Obama administration barely deserve the name. The late-in-the-game efforts to rebrand the effort by putting  Paul Volcker in the forefront and patch up one of the gaping holes, that the government is backstopping risky trading businesses ( Goldman Sachs has issued  FDIC guaranteed bonds) illustrates the typical Obama chasm between rhetoric and action

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FDIC Proposes Tough-Minded Securitization Reforms; Industry Howls

Ryan Streeter makes two interesting points in his post on successes of making poverty history .  First, he notes that despite what everyone may perceive about poverty eradication, over the past several decades we have achieved tremendous successes in reducing absolute poverty around the world.   Building on this, he concludes that many of the efforts to “rethink”, “rebuild”, and “redesign” development approaches are probably misguided.  Instead, we should pay greater attention to things that have actually worked over the past 40 years and try to replicate them. Speaking of development approaches that work.  Check out remarks by Greg Lebedev on dilemmas of development assistance and why institutional reform, rather than humanitarian assistance, is key to long-term sustainable development and poverty eradication.

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Replicating Successes in Poverty Reduction

Following a democratic transition, newly elected leaders have limited time and space to make good on campaign platforms.  In January 2009, Iraqi men and women were elected to 14 provincial councils, following political campaigns in which candidates took to the streets, met with voters in face to face settings and actively sought the votes of their fellow citizens.  The newly-elected members of the provincial councils entered a level of government that was weak in relation to a central authority in Baghdad inclined towards maintaining power.  In an October 2009 Report to Congress, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction described the scope of power for provincial council members as “ambiguous.” Rather than wait for power’s devolution from Baghdad to provinces, many council members undertook study and analysis of Law 21, which outlines the power of provincial councils.  Previously supported in election campaign training by the International Republican Institute (IRI), council members turned again to the Institute for assistance in understanding their new jobs and the scope of their statutory powers.  Through 2009, Iraq’s newest class of elected officials lost little time in asserting their rights in local control over budgets, contracts and development projects. An example of the development of democratic government close to the Iraqi people can be found in Salahaddin, where the council removed the provincial governor for incompetence and lack of integrity.  The Salahaddin Provincial Council action was challenged, in court, and the council’s actions were upheld.   A similar move, involving censure of the governor, is underway in Babil. The Babil Provincial Council has gone on to pass revenue enhancement measures such as tourism fees and introduced new regulations and rules on health care licensing.  The council in Wassit passed legislation to subsidize better health care for low income people.  The Muthanna Provincial Council initiated two major water plant projects to provide clean water to the citizens of their province.  IRI governance training has found itself working in “real-time” with Anbar provincial officials on local economic development of its natural gas fields, recommending provincial council members there interact with and draw from the knowledge of Kurdish natural resource civil servants as a guide

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Democracy in Iraq…at the Local Level

The web page of the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board has a newly-posted feature, an attorney E Newsletter that in the January 2010 edition discusses highlights in bar discipline for 2009: In this issue we present our second annual survey of the…

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And The Winner Is…

The New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department imposed the reciprocal discipline of disbarment based on the attorney’s New Jersey consent to disbarment.

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Consent Leads To Reciprocal Disbarment

The Ohio Supreme Court today issued an arrest warrant for an attorney who had been publicly reprimanded in 2006 and indefinitely suspended in 2009. The court’s order notes that he was ordered to appear in person and failed to do…

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Arresting Development

Today’s Daily Angle comes from  Wikinvest Wire member  Kathy Lien of KathyLien.com and FX360.com. You can read the full article on her blog . Flash Player 9 or higher is required to view the chart Click here to download Flash Player now View the full FOREX:GBPUSD chart at Wikinvest Over the past few trading days, the  British pound has been confined to a very tight trading range.

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Down with the Pound

The dangers in suing a client for legal fees are manifest in a recent decision of the New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department. The appeal of the law firm plaintiff was dismissed: The plaintiff is a law…

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Fee Suit Draws Counterclaim

The Supreme Court of Washington vacated the conviction of a juvenile who had pled guilty to first degree sexual molestation at the age of twelve. The court found that the appointed public defender had rendered ineffective assistance of counsel

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Ineffective Representation Of Juvenile Client

Posted by Alan Childress And send cease and desist letters to Mom & Pop tshirt shops who for years have been selling clothing asking that two-word question? Why, the NFL of course.

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"Who Dat" Say They Gonna Own This Putative Trademark Two-Word Question?