USA: Pentagon Who?

Last week, we asked if American television networks were going to cover the story that the Pentagon coordinated pro-government statements in secret meetings with the news networks’ on-air employees. In a word: No. They aren’t going to cover that. Politico: ‘Deafening’ silence on analyst story

USA: Whistleblower Protection Office Raided

LA Times: “Federal agents Tuesday swarmed the home and office of the Bush administration official responsible for protecting government whistle-blowers, part of an investigation into whether the official retaliated against his employees and obstructed justice.” Washington Post: More than a dozen agents participated in the daylong raid, temporarily shutting down the e-mail and computer systems…

Kenya: Linking Violence & Corruption

An analysis of recent political violence in Kenya posits that corruption and failures of the democratic process, not ethnicity, are driving the conflict. While few readers here will be shocked by this conclusion, the authors do a fine job of assembling the supporting evidence. Authors Rachel Itwaru and Sarah J. Johnson: Indeed, though the killing…

Organized Crime in the Balkans

Global Integrity’s friends at The Center for Investigative Reporting – Bosnia-Herzegovina, have launched a news portal addressing organized crime in the Balkans, in partnership with a host of local muckrakers. The URL is www.reportingproject.net, or read below for background. CIR/BiH’s Drew Sullivan writes from Sarajevo: Hello friends: Very quietly we have put up our regional…

Talking Corruption in Timor-Leste

In the last month, Global Integrity’s Nathaniel Heller and I have been traveling in the South Pacific, talking with local experts about the results of the Global Integrity Report: 2007. In Timor-Leste and Vanuatu, we convened government officials, civil society activists, foreign donors and journalists to talk about corruption and governance. This is what we…