Thanks for all the mails and yes, I did see the Transparency International (TI) report on corruption out yesterday. Well, I saw the headlines more than anything else, because once you get over the soundbites (Chile less corrupt than the USA! Shockah! Lefty Countries Unliked! Shockah!) there wasn't much there, Americas-wise at least. Two reasons:
1) Comparing LatAm countries and saying this-one-is-less-corrupt-than-that-one is like comparing various bodily cancers and saying that breast cancer isn't so very bad cos its mortality rate is 60%, peanuts against lung cancer.2) I lost any respect for TI as an overseeing body a couple of years ago when they repeatedly slammed Venezuela's PDVSA for not publishing its annual earnings and financials when in fact the company did (late, but they did). Once that was pointed out to TI, the body then insisted that this-or-that line item that's needed for full transparency was not included in the PDVSA financial reports, when in fact it was. The numbers in question were kinda buried, but they were there. It just showed TI for what it is; a biased, agenda-ridden organization that chooses its facts to fit the pre-conceived results and can't be bothered to do the kind of investigation that's needed for reliable stats work..
So thanks but no thanks, and IKN is not bothering with any chartmaking on the TI country numbers. I don't know what TI is like with its coverage of other world regions, but when it comes to The Americas they're lightweights.