--- bitch at pulpculture.org wrote:
>
> I ask b/c some folks here have talked about the way
> that Soviets and E.
> Europeans built elaborate myths up about life in the
> USSR and E. Europe in
> order to justify their desire to emigrate -- myths
> which have held sway and
> taken hold of the popular imagination. This seems
> like just the kind of
> thing USers eat up: The Corrupt East.
>
I dunno about India, but corruption in Eastern Europe and the USSR/former USSR is definitely not just an emigre myth!
I used to wonder about why such places like those mentioned above, Africa, etc. are so corrupt until an acquaintance of mine who works in Africa explained that, without a decent safety network or pension system, the easiest way for a bureaucrat or policeman to ensure his or her financial future and that of family members is to take bribes.
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com