OH, THE shame. As usual, African countries have scored dismally in Transparency International's latest global corruption index. But hold on a minute. The rankings bring to mind the (true) story of an African businessman who swallows his cellphone microchip in desperation as police close in to arrest him for corruption involving top government officials. Such a scene is not difficult to imagine in corruption-riddled Africa, is it? Except that this incident took place not in Africa, but in France.