Final Word from Friday, November 27, 2009
It's a familiar story, whether it's the big U.S. bank collapses (Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros.) or the Pilsen fake-degree scandal: The ones who were in charge got the money, they left the troubled institutions, and there was no real investigation, much less any indictments. The main players got away with it. "The Pilsen law-school affair isn't over," declared Právo today, and it's correct in the sense that many unanswered questions remain. Was Chair Vladimíra Dvořáková of the accreditation committee right when she said that it wasn't ordinary corruption at Pilsen but that organized crime had created a network of politicians, customs agents, policemen, secret agents and other officials for the purpose of stealing money? Were ODS Chair Mirek Topolánek and Ombudsman Otakar Motejl right when they said that Pilsen was no different from other Czech universities? The Pilsen scandal is indeed over in the sense that although more fake degrees will no doubt surface, no one in a position of power will try to get to the bottom of it.[Czech Republic Petr Uhl plagiarism]
Glossary of difficult words
outrage - a strong reaction of anger, shock or indignation;
indictment - the act of formally accusing or charging someone;
to get away with something - to escape blame, punishment or undesirable consequences (for an act that is wrong or mistaken);
to surface - to come to people's attention; to become apparent;
to get to the bottom of something - to find an explanation (for a mystery).