The United States of America is becoming less united by the day. A 30-year gap now exists in the average life expectancy between Mississippi, in the Deep South, and Connecticut, in prosperous New England. Huge disparities have also opened up in income, health and education depending on where people live in the US, according to a report published yesterday. The American Human Development Index has applied to the US an aid agency approach to measuring well-being - more familiar to observers of the Third World - with shocking results. The US finds itself ranked 42nd in global life expectancy and 34th in survival of infants to age. Suicide and murder are among the top 15 causes of death and although the US is home to just 5 per cent of the global population it accounts for 24 per cent of the world's prisoners.Despite an almost cult-like devotion to the belief that unfettered free enterprise is the best way to lift Americans out of poverty, the report points to a rigged system that does little to lessen inequalities. "The report shows that although America is one of the richest nations in the world, it is woefully behind when it comes to providing opportunity and choices to all Americans to build a better life," the authors said.
The United States of America is becoming less united by the day. A 30-year gap now exists in the average life expectancy between Mississippi, in the Deep South, and Connecticut, in prosperous New England. Huge disparities have also opened up in income, health and education depending on where people live in the US, according to a report published yesterday.
The American Human Development Index has applied to the US an aid agency approach to measuring well-being - more familiar to observers of the Third World - with shocking results. The US finds itself ranked 42nd in global life expectancy and 34th in survival of infants to age. Suicide and murder are among the top 15 causes of death and although the US is home to just 5 per cent of the global population it accounts for 24 per cent of the world's prisoners.
Despite an almost cult-like devotion to the belief that unfettered free enterprise is the best way to lift Americans out of poverty, the report points to a rigged system that does little to lessen inequalities.
"The report shows that although America is one of the richest nations in the world, it is woefully behind when it comes to providing opportunity and choices to all Americans to build a better life," the authors said.
Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District, encompassing the southeastern part of the state, is at the bottom of the rankings with an average life expectancy of 72.6 years. Virginia's Eighth District, covering urban northern Virginia, is at the top of the table with a life expectancy of 82.9--a difference of more than a decade. Residents of Kentucky's Fifth District have an average life expectancy equal to that of the average American three decades ago.
At least the British education system is not completely screwed up. The Guardian gets it right. They also give you lots of other details - the situation is bad enough without the need to exaggerate.
you are the media you consume.
It is only nine miles from Bearsden, an affluent north-western suburb, to Calton in Glasgow East, but the difference in life expectancy is 26 years. In Calton, male life expectancy, at 54, is lower than in North Korea, Iraq and South Yemen.
Yesterday was the last day of the 2006 Lebanon war, the final chapter of Israel's folly and Hizbollah's hubris, a grisly day of corpse-swapping and refrigerated body parts and coffin after bleak wooden coffin on trucks crossing the Israeli border, which left old Ali Ahmed al-Sfeir and his wife, Wahde, stooped and broken with grief. Ali had a grizzled grey beard and stood propped on a stick while Wahde held a grey-tinged photograph of a young man - her son Ahmed, born in 1970. "He was a martyr, but I do not know which lorry he will be on," she said. In the slightly torn picture, he looked whey-faced, unsmiling, already dead. That could not be said for Samir Kuntar - 28 years in an Israeli jail for the 1979 murder of an Israeli, his young daughter and a policeman. He arrived from Israel very much alive, clean shaven but sporting a neat moustache, overawed by the hundreds of Hizbollah supporters, a man used to solitary confinement who suddenly found himself idolised by a people he had not seen in almost three decades. His eyes moved around him, the eyes of a prisoner watching for trouble. He was Israel's longest-held Lebanese prisoner; Hizbollah's leader, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, had promised his release. And he had kept his word.The coffins - newly hammered together in Tyre before the 200 Hizbollah, Amal militia and Palestinian bodies arrived from Israel - were soon bathed in the Lebanese flag and golden Hizbollah banners, drawn by a flower-encrusted truck towards Beirut. Wahde climbed on to a plastic chair, desperate to see the box containing her son's skeleton. Old Ali pleaded to stand with her but she told him he was too old, so he stood, head bowed, amid the television reporters and young Hizbollah fighters, with tears in his eyes. Who knows if Ahmed was in one of the boxes?
Yesterday was the last day of the 2006 Lebanon war, the final chapter of Israel's folly and Hizbollah's hubris, a grisly day of corpse-swapping and refrigerated body parts and coffin after bleak wooden coffin on trucks crossing the Israeli border, which left old Ali Ahmed al-Sfeir and his wife, Wahde, stooped and broken with grief. Ali had a grizzled grey beard and stood propped on a stick while Wahde held a grey-tinged photograph of a young man - her son Ahmed, born in 1970. "He was a martyr, but I do not know which lorry he will be on," she said. In the slightly torn picture, he looked whey-faced, unsmiling, already dead.
That could not be said for Samir Kuntar - 28 years in an Israeli jail for the 1979 murder of an Israeli, his young daughter and a policeman. He arrived from Israel very much alive, clean shaven but sporting a neat moustache, overawed by the hundreds of Hizbollah supporters, a man used to solitary confinement who suddenly found himself idolised by a people he had not seen in almost three decades. His eyes moved around him, the eyes of a prisoner watching for trouble. He was Israel's longest-held Lebanese prisoner; Hizbollah's leader, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, had promised his release. And he had kept his word.
The coffins - newly hammered together in Tyre before the 200 Hizbollah, Amal militia and Palestinian bodies arrived from Israel - were soon bathed in the Lebanese flag and golden Hizbollah banners, drawn by a flower-encrusted truck towards Beirut. Wahde climbed on to a plastic chair, desperate to see the box containing her son's skeleton. Old Ali pleaded to stand with her but she told him he was too old, so he stood, head bowed, amid the television reporters and young Hizbollah fighters, with tears in his eyes. Who knows if Ahmed was in one of the boxes?
As the International Criminal Court seeks an arrest warrant against the president of Sudan, the Rome Statute, the foundation treaty for the ICC, turns ten years old. It took two years of fierce wrangling, but on July 17, 1998, the Rome Statute was signed, establishing the functions, jurisdiction and structure of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), which came into existence four years later. "Rome should provide a signal that crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression will in the future no longer go unpunished," said the head of the German delegation in Rome, Gerd Westdickenberg. The fundamental idea that emerged from the Rome conference was that every country should pass laws that would require even high-ranking politicians and military officials to answer charges of human rights abuses before a court.
It took two years of fierce wrangling, but on July 17, 1998, the Rome Statute was signed, establishing the functions, jurisdiction and structure of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), which came into existence four years later.
"Rome should provide a signal that crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression will in the future no longer go unpunished," said the head of the German delegation in Rome, Gerd Westdickenberg.
The fundamental idea that emerged from the Rome conference was that every country should pass laws that would require even high-ranking politicians and military officials to answer charges of human rights abuses before a court.
Has he really got no idea what he's saying?...
Merrill Lynch on Thursday said it lost $4.6bn in the second quarter following $9.4bn in credit-related write-downs. The performance, which trailed analyst expectations, brings Merrill's losses for the last four quarters to about $18bn and has left the battered investment bank scrambling to sell assets to raise capital. Merrill shares dropped 8 per cent in after-hours trade to $28.06 and Moody's downgraded the bank's senior long-tern debt one notch to A2 from A1.The bank confirmed it would sell its 20 per cent stake in Bloomberg back to the financial news and data provider for $4.425bn and make other asset sales worth about another $4bn. Merrill failed to reach a deal to sell all or part of its 49 per cent stake in Blackrock, the asset management group.
Merrill Lynch on Thursday said it lost $4.6bn in the second quarter following $9.4bn in credit-related write-downs. The performance, which trailed analyst expectations, brings Merrill's losses for the last four quarters to about $18bn and has left the battered investment bank scrambling to sell assets to raise capital.
Merrill shares dropped 8 per cent in after-hours trade to $28.06 and Moody's downgraded the bank's senior long-tern debt one notch to A2 from A1.
The bank confirmed it would sell its 20 per cent stake in Bloomberg back to the financial news and data provider for $4.425bn and make other asset sales worth about another $4bn. Merrill failed to reach a deal to sell all or part of its 49 per cent stake in Blackrock, the asset management group.
Investors upset over falling Pakistan share prices smashed windows of the Karachi Stock Exchange on Thursday during a day of protests that led to scuffles between traders and investors demanding the temporary closure of the stock market. The KSE 100 index dropped by 2.7 per cent to close at 10,212.92 points. The index has plunged 35 per cent from a record high reached on April 21.Last night a group of large investors and brokers set up an emergency fund to buy shares from small investors, many of whom were at the centre of the violence. The Rp3bn ($43m) fund was mainly aimed at preventing the recurrence of unrest, analysts said.The slump in investor confidence was accelerated by the weakening rupee, which dropped by 1.3 per cent due to fears of political uncertainty and an economic meltdown during Pakistan's transition to a civilian-led democracy.Pakistan's current account and fiscal deficits are unsustainable, inflation above 21 per cent is at a three-decade high, and foreign currency reserves have fallen to less than $11bn, more than $5.5bn below the record high reached last October.
The KSE 100 index dropped by 2.7 per cent to close at 10,212.92 points. The index has plunged 35 per cent from a record high reached on April 21.
Last night a group of large investors and brokers set up an emergency fund to buy shares from small investors, many of whom were at the centre of the violence. The Rp3bn ($43m) fund was mainly aimed at preventing the recurrence of unrest, analysts said.
The slump in investor confidence was accelerated by the weakening rupee, which dropped by 1.3 per cent due to fears of political uncertainty and an economic meltdown during Pakistan's transition to a civilian-led democracy.
Pakistan's current account and fiscal deficits are unsustainable, inflation above 21 per cent is at a three-decade high, and foreign currency reserves have fallen to less than $11bn, more than $5.5bn below the record high reached last October.
Emerging economies must make the fight against inflation their "top priority", the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday as it sharply raised its forecast for price increases in the developing world this year and next.Many emerging markets had to raise interest rates, cut government deficits and let currencies appreciate more to contain the inflation risk, the IMF said.The comments came as China announced mixed news on its efforts to combat inflation. Consumer price inflation continued to decline - from 7.7 per cent in May to 7.1 per cent last month - but factory gate inflation rose again from 8.2 to 8.8 per cent. Beijing said the economy grew 10.1 per cent in the second quarter, down from 10.6 per cent in the first, and it was the fourth successive quarter in which gross domestic product growth slowed. The rate, slightly below analysts' forecasts, was the lowest since the last quarter of 2005.Simon Johnson, the IMF's outgoing chief economist, told reporters that emerging economies in Asia, in particular, were in danger of falling behind the curve on inflation. Brazil was praised for taking steps to curb price pressures.The IMF expects inflation to hit 9.1 per cent in the emerging world this year and remain high at 7.4 per cent next year. The fund also marked up its forecast for inflation in the industrialised world, but inflation there would subside more quickly, it said, from 3.4 per cent this year to 2.3 per cent next.
Many emerging markets had to raise interest rates, cut government deficits and let currencies appreciate more to contain the inflation risk, the IMF said.
The comments came as China announced mixed news on its efforts to combat inflation. Consumer price inflation continued to decline - from 7.7 per cent in May to 7.1 per cent last month - but factory gate inflation rose again from 8.2 to 8.8 per cent.
Beijing said the economy grew 10.1 per cent in the second quarter, down from 10.6 per cent in the first, and it was the fourth successive quarter in which gross domestic product growth slowed. The rate, slightly below analysts' forecasts, was the lowest since the last quarter of 2005.
Simon Johnson, the IMF's outgoing chief economist, told reporters that emerging economies in Asia, in particular, were in danger of falling behind the curve on inflation. Brazil was praised for taking steps to curb price pressures.
The IMF expects inflation to hit 9.1 per cent in the emerging world this year and remain high at 7.4 per cent next year. The fund also marked up its forecast for inflation in the industrialised world, but inflation there would subside more quickly, it said, from 3.4 per cent this year to 2.3 per cent next.
After watching its glamorous female president and the all-powerful farming lobby fight each other to a standstill, Argentina was stunned yesterday by one of the most dramatic political betrayals in living memory. A crisis which has seen months of protests and threatened to starve the cities as the country's legendary gauchos battled against new taxes on agricultural exports, ended with a crushing Senate defeat for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner that left her seven-month-old government severely weakened.At the end of an 18-hour debate on the new tax bill, the final word came from her closest political ally, Vice-President Julio Cobos, who was close to tears as he cast the deciding vote against his boss. Their dispute centres on plans to raise the tax on soy exports, Argentina's main foreign currency earner, to almost 50 per cent. But it is being seen as a harbinger of the way in which the global food crisis could destabilise governments worldwide. The real importance of the farmers' victory was clear on the streets outside Congress. Hundreds of government supporters who had gathered to await the outcome of the vote screamed "assassin, assassin" at the building, which was guarded by riot police. In a nearby park, farming supporters who had watched the debate on a big screen chanted: "Argentina, Argentina" as the heads of the four main agricultural organisations embraced.
After watching its glamorous female president and the all-powerful farming lobby fight each other to a standstill, Argentina was stunned yesterday by one of the most dramatic political betrayals in living memory.
A crisis which has seen months of protests and threatened to starve the cities as the country's legendary gauchos battled against new taxes on agricultural exports, ended with a crushing Senate defeat for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner that left her seven-month-old government severely weakened.
At the end of an 18-hour debate on the new tax bill, the final word came from her closest political ally, Vice-President Julio Cobos, who was close to tears as he cast the deciding vote against his boss. Their dispute centres on plans to raise the tax on soy exports, Argentina's main foreign currency earner, to almost 50 per cent. But it is being seen as a harbinger of the way in which the global food crisis could destabilise governments worldwide.
The real importance of the farmers' victory was clear on the streets outside Congress. Hundreds of government supporters who had gathered to await the outcome of the vote screamed "assassin, assassin" at the building, which was guarded by riot police. In a nearby park, farming supporters who had watched the debate on a big screen chanted: "Argentina, Argentina" as the heads of the four main agricultural organisations embraced.
Condoleezza Rice was George Bush's handmaiden for the war in Iraq but she is now emerging as the best hope for avoiding a military conflict between the United States and Iran. The Secretary of State, who is one of the few people with the President's ear, has shown the door to Vice-President Dick Cheney's cabal of war-hungry advisers. Ms Rice was able to declare yesterday that the administration's decision to break with past policy proves that there is international unity in opposing Iran's nuclear programme. "The point that we're making is the United States is firmly behind this diplomacy, firmly behind and unified with our allies and hopefully the Iranians will take that message," Ms Rice said. Mr Bush's decision to send the number three in the State Department, William Burns, to attend talks with Iran in Geneva at the weekend caused howls of outrage that were heard all the way from the State Department's sanctuary of Foggy Bottom to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. A parallel initiative to reopen the interest's section of the American embassy in Tehran, which would be the first return of a diplomatic presence on Iranian territory since 1979, has also received a cool response from neo-conservatives. "This is a complete capitulation on the whole idea of suspending enrichment," said Mr Bush's former UN envoy, John Bolton. "Just when the administration has no more U-turns to pull, it does another."
Condoleezza Rice was George Bush's handmaiden for the war in Iraq but she is now emerging as the best hope for avoiding a military conflict between the United States and Iran.
The Secretary of State, who is one of the few people with the President's ear, has shown the door to Vice-President Dick Cheney's cabal of war-hungry advisers. Ms Rice was able to declare yesterday that the administration's decision to break with past policy proves that there is international unity in opposing Iran's nuclear programme. "The point that we're making is the United States is firmly behind this diplomacy, firmly behind and unified with our allies and hopefully the Iranians will take that message," Ms Rice said.
Mr Bush's decision to send the number three in the State Department, William Burns, to attend talks with Iran in Geneva at the weekend caused howls of outrage that were heard all the way from the State Department's sanctuary of Foggy Bottom to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. A parallel initiative to reopen the interest's section of the American embassy in Tehran, which would be the first return of a diplomatic presence on Iranian territory since 1979, has also received a cool response from neo-conservatives.
"This is a complete capitulation on the whole idea of suspending enrichment," said Mr Bush's former UN envoy, John Bolton. "Just when the administration has no more U-turns to pull, it does another."
The decision to send Burns certainly was made by President Bush, who certainly is well aware of the controversy it will arouse domestically from his own partisans and is also well aware of the thus-far successful North Korean model. He also would know that his decision undercuts John McCain's position on Iran and his claim to superior experience, and validates Barack Obama's judgment favoring the negotiating track. The President must also know that the multilateral process will take time to unfold and any useful results might not be realized until after his term in office. So, for a change, cheers for George Bush.
Levin Calls for Closing Down UBS By WebCPA staff As a Senate subcommittee and the Internal Revenue Service probe the use of Swiss bank accounts as tax havens by UBS, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., has called for revoking the U.S. banking license of UBS. "I don't think that any bank that goes to the extent that UBS has gone through to avoid doing what their what their agreements with the United States require them to do, should be allowed to continue to do business unless they clean up their act," Levin ... told ABC News. Levin's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing Thursday on tax haven banks and U.S. tax compliance. The committee has produced a report on its six-month-long investigation. The investigation examined LGT Bank in Lichtenstein and UBS in Switzerland to expose how tax haven banks are helping U.S. taxpayers evade taxes by urging U.S. clients to open accounts in their offshore jurisdictions, assisting them in structuring those accounts to avoid disclosure to U.S. authorities, and providing financial services in ways that do not alert U.S. authorities to the existence of the foreign accounts. The IRS has been looking into the possibility of closing tax loopholes that allow clients of foreign banks to avoid the Qualified Intermediary rules for reporting their holdings in the accounts. Banks have been setting up sham transfer companies and foundations to help customers hide their assets.
As a Senate subcommittee and the Internal Revenue Service probe the use of Swiss bank accounts as tax havens by UBS, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., has called for revoking the U.S. banking license of UBS.
"I don't think that any bank that goes to the extent that UBS has gone through to avoid doing what their what their agreements with the United States require them to do, should be allowed to continue to do business unless they clean up their act," Levin ... told ABC News.
Levin's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing Thursday on tax haven banks and U.S. tax compliance. The committee has produced a report on its six-month-long investigation.
The investigation examined LGT Bank in Lichtenstein and UBS in Switzerland to expose how tax haven banks are helping U.S. taxpayers evade taxes by urging U.S. clients to open accounts in their offshore jurisdictions, assisting them in structuring those accounts to avoid disclosure to U.S. authorities, and providing financial services in ways that do not alert U.S. authorities to the existence of the foreign accounts.
The IRS has been looking into the possibility of closing tax loopholes that allow clients of foreign banks to avoid the Qualified Intermediary rules for reporting their holdings in the accounts. Banks have been setting up sham transfer companies and foundations to help customers hide their assets.
From the Report: (It is not an honor to be in this one)
TAX HAVEN ABUSES: THE ENABLERS, THE TOOLS, AND SECRECY TABLE OF CONTENTS TAX HAVEN ABUSES: THE ENABLERS, THE TOOLS, AND SECRECY TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A. Subcommittee Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 B. Overview of Case Histories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 C. Findings and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Report Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Control of Offshore Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tax Haven Secrecy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Ascertaining Control and Beneficial Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Offshore Tax Haven Abuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Anti-Money Laundering Abuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Securities Abuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Stock Option Abuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Hedge Fund Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Report Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Presumption of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Disclosure of U.S. Stock Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Offshore Entities as Affiliates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1099 Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Real Estate and Personal Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Hedge Fund AML Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Stock Option-Annuity Swaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sanctions on Uncooperative Tax Havens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 II. THE OFFSHORE INDUSTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 III. EDG CASE HISTORY: AN INTERNET-BASED OFFSHORE PROMOTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 IV. TURPEN-HOLLIDAY CASE HISTORY: A HOW-TO MANUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 V. GREAVES-NEAL CASE HISTORY: DIVERTING U.S. BUSINESS INCOME OFFSHORE . . . . 42 VI. ANDERSON CASE HISTORY: HIDING OFFSHORE OWNERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 VII. POINT CASE HISTORY: OFFSHORE SECURITIES PORTFOLIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
TABLE OF CONTENTS TAX HAVEN ABUSES: THE ENABLERS, THE TOOLS, AND SECRECY TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A. Subcommittee Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 B. Overview of Case Histories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 C. Findings and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Report Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
but money laundering and tax avoidance is convenient for too many shaodowy organisations, mostly government sponsored, that there will never be a serious attempt to control this. keep to the Fen Causeway
June 9, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In 10 of 14 former Soviet republics Gallup surveyed, residents' likelihood to say most or many people in their country are afraid to openly express their political views rose significantly between 2006 and 2007. In seven countries, the proportion responding this way now represents a majority. The most dramatic increases occurred in Georgia and Lithuania; in each country residents were about twice as likely in 2007 as they were in 2006 to say many or most of their fellow citizens are afraid to express their political views. But substantial increases were also seen in countries where this perception was already common. In Tajikistan and Armenia, for example, the figures rose from about half of residents to about 7 in 10.
The most dramatic increases occurred in Georgia and Lithuania; in each country residents were about twice as likely in 2007 as they were in 2006 to say many or most of their fellow citizens are afraid to express their political views. But substantial increases were also seen in countries where this perception was already common. In Tajikistan and Armenia, for example, the figures rose from about half of residents to about 7 in 10.
