XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 06/22/11

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Corrupt Chinese officials and employees have stole 800 billion yuan ($123.7 billion) of public money through 08 -

Corrupt Chinese officials and employees of state-owned companies have absconded with about 800 billion yuan ($123.7 billion) of public money over 15 years through 2008, much of it making its way to the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, according to Chinese news reports citing a central bank study.

The 67-page report, completed in 2008, was posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website this week, purportedly by mistake, and has since been taken down, although PDFs of the document are circulating in cyberspace.

In the report, which appears never to have been intended for public release, the PBOC estimated about 16,000 to 18,000 individuals have fled the country with ill-gotten funds over a 15-year period leading up to the report’s release, according to news-media accounts.

The PBOC focused upon where people went and how they got the embezzled funds out of the country.

One method, the study was cited as saying, was with the help of family or other trusted individuals who emigrated overseas, often using fake documents.

Read more - http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-central-bank-finds-officials-stole-billions-2011-06-17?link=MW_home_latest_news

N.Y. Lawmakers Approve Niagara Falls Tightrope Walk across the Niagara Gorge at Niagara Falls -

New York lawmakers have voted to allow a member of the daredevil Wallenda family to attempt a tightrope walk across the Niagara Gorge at Niagara Falls.

The state Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill directing parks officials to write regulations allowing Nik Wallenda to traverse the gorge. The Senate already approved the measure.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn't said yet whether he'll sign it.

Strict laws exist against stunts at Niagara Falls, but supporters of the Wallenda walk say it would boost tourism and the city of Niagara Falls in general.

Dishwashers harbour 'killer bugs' - the perfect breeding ground for fungi associated with potentially deadly illnesses -

The inside of the appliances, which four in ten homes in Britain own, are the perfect breeding ground for fungi associated with potentially deadly illnesses.

The moist and hot environment, combined with the alkaline water caused by the dishwasher tablets, means that the machines appear to have created a previously unknown and possibly serious threat to human health, the research paper has suggested.

The scientists studied 189 dishwashers in 101 different homes around the world. They found 62 per cent of dishwashers contained fungi on the rubber band in the door. More than half of these included the black yeasts Exophiala dermatitidis and E. phaeomuriformis which are known to be dangerous to human health.

Writing in the journal Fungal Biology, Dr Polona Zalar of the University of Ljubljana, said that "the potential hazard they represent should not be overlooked".

Her co-author Nina Gunde-Cimerman told The Daily Telegraph: "One thing that is not in the report is that we tested the dishes after they had been cleaned in these dishwashers and they were full of this black yeast, so too the cutlery that you put in your mouth. We just don't know how serious this could be."