Vastly Overslept

Slept until after eleven this morning, and probably needed to. In part because of multiple interruptions overnight. One of them a GREAT HONKIN' THUNDERSTORM as a friend of mine likes to call 'em.

I've been feeling under the weather the past few days, probably as a result of eating something which disagrees with me. I was glad when gaming broke up early last night. I got home early, puttered around on the computer for a while, went to bed about the usual time.

However, as I was preparing for bed - around 12:40 - the doorbell rang! It rang slowly, first the usual first note, then a pause, then the second. No-one there when I checked.

Probably some kid pulling a prank.

There They Go Again

_SINO DAILY_ reports that thousands of corrupt Chinese officials siphoned more than $120 billion out of the country in less than two decades. Most have moved to other countries or simply disappeared.

I was just speculating a few days ago how much longer China could remain stable with the current, corrupt system. They poison their own people and lie about it, tolerate enormous abuse of the middle and lower classes by government and business, and bleed the workers white for their own benefit. Some communist paradise...

This revelation likely won't be a death blow for the current government of China, in large part because the acts were spread over so many years. I doubt there will be a single death blow. However, even a giant may be felled by a thousand tiny blows. Especially when some of them aren't so tiny.

My biggest concern about all this is the impact on the rest of the world. The loss of a major source of cheap goods isn't a major concern - there are plenty of other sources, and they should be able to ramp up quickly, with at least some capable of producing the quality desired by industry and discerning consumers. As is so common these days, the main problems would likely be financial. Industries and governments have been keeping afloat and aiding their economic recoveries by selling debt to China. Without a central government - or with one unable or unwilling to continue this practice - where will the funding come from?

The long term effects would likely be beneficial; there have been people warning for years about this practice. In the short term, though, it could hamper the recovery or even reverse it for a decade or more.