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<br /> It never rains but it pours, at least in <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword>, and this time, you get to see half-a-dozen low-budget flicks vying for visibility and struggling for a successful <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword> run. Mind you, when we say half-a-dozen, we are not exaggerating – here is the complete list of six – <em><keyword id="6375259" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manjunath">Manjunath</keyword></em>, <em><keyword id="2178404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Koyelaanchal">Koyelaanchal</keyword></em>, <em><keyword id="1835898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hawaa-Hawaai">Hawaa Hawaai</keyword></em>, <em><keyword id="2069848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mastram">Mastram</keyword></em>, <em><keyword id="2093570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yeh-Hai-Bakrapur">Yeh Hai Bakrapur</keyword></em> and finally, <em><keyword id="1276718" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Khwaabb">Khwaabb</keyword></em>. So catch your breath as we run you through them quickly. There is just one common factor here – all of them turn out to be pretty intriguing, irrespective of the sluggish response at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>.<br />
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<strong><em>Manjunath</em>: Bitter to the end </strong><br />
Our first choice is <em>Manjunath</em>, a biopic directed and co-produced by <keyword id="2239399" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sandeep-A-Varma">Sandeep A. Varma</keyword>, which tells the true story of the <keyword id="6354412" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="indian-oil">Indian Oil</keyword> <keyword id="6420527" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="executive">executive</keyword> <keyword id="479971" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manjunath-Shanmugam">Manjunath Shanmugam</keyword> and his fight against the <keyword id="425101" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="oil-mafia">oil mafia</keyword> of Uttar Pradesh. The murder of this IIM braveheart for his whistleblowing act is still considered a national tragedy, but Varma’s kind of docu-drama unfolds a dark reality that’s too chilling and too gut-wrenching to give way to tears. The movie meanders at times, but the protagonist, brilliantly played by newcomer <keyword id="2239401" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sasho-Satish-Saarthy">Sasho Satish Saarthy</keyword>, takes you to a world where <keyword id="46183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Corruption">corruption</keyword> is a way of life. However, the verdict at the domestic box office has been harsh and <em>Manjunath</em> only managed to nett around Rs 1 crore after Day 4 while debut day earnings were a paltry Rs 15-20 lakh.<br />
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<strong><em>Koyelaanchal</em>: Look what’s unearthed</strong><br />
The second flick under scanner is <em>Koyelaanchal</em>, produced and directed by <keyword id="1235537" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ashu-Trikha">Ashu Trikha</keyword>. After <em><keyword id="486655" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gangs-of-Wasseypur">Gangs of Wasseypur</keyword></em> and <em><keyword id="6427325" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gunday">Gunday</keyword></em>, it is the latest from Bollywood on the exploits of the <keyword id="85025" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="coal-mafia">coal mafia</keyword> and had a huge release, especially in single screens. But the film tripped at the box office and collected about Rs 45 lakh on the opening day. Although official numbers are yet to come in, total earnings spanning the first three days are a little below Rs 2 crore, as per industry estimates.<br />
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In <em>Koyelaanchal</em>, we again come face to face with all-pervading corruption and criminal use of natural resources. This time, it is the coal <keyword id="2239403" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mafioso-Saryubhan-Singh">Mafioso Saryubhan Singh</keyword> aka Maalik (<keyword id="6430614" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vinod-Khanna">Vinod Khanna</keyword>), who rules the mines of the <keyword id="2239414" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bihar-Jharkhand-belt">Bihar-Jharkhand belt</keyword> and locks horns with <keyword id="6359011" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="District-Collector">district collector</keyword> <keyword id="2239402" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nisheeth-Kumar">Nisheeth Kumar</keyword> (<keyword id="7646" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="suniel-shetty">Suniel Shetty</keyword>) when he raises troublesome questions. <keyword id="819709" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="the-script">The script</keyword> goes haywire at times, but the USP here happen to be the thorough research and the realistic take at a time when a multi-billion-dollar Coalgate scam has deeply shaken the nation.<br />
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<strong><em>Mastram</em>: Morality decoded</strong><br />
Next comes <em>Mastram</em>, again an offbeat movie that deals with a sexually repressed society and its ingrained hypocrisy. A <keyword id="41623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Directorial-debut">directorial debut</keyword> by <keyword id="1628796" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Akhilesh-Jaiswal">Akhilesh Jaiswal</keyword>, it is the story of the <keyword id="2239404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="failed-author">failed author</keyword> <keyword id="201974" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rajaram">Rajaram</keyword> (<keyword id="2102195" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rahul-Bagga">Rahul Bagga</keyword>) whose work gets rejected because they lack <em>masala</em>. But the man finally excels as he starts writing erotica and along with that, begins a painful <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> of self-realisation. Made on a budget of around Rs 2 crore, this ‘fictional biography’ had collected around Rs 75 lakh on the opening day at the domestic box office and its earnings stood at a little over Rs 3 crore after the first Monday.<br />
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<strong><em>Hawaa Hawaai:</em> Breezy &amp; smooth-flowing</strong><br />
Back again after <em><keyword id="63220" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Stanley-Ka-Dabba">Stanley Ka Dabba</keyword> </em>(well, that one grossed a little over Rs 5 crore), director-writer <keyword id="91815" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amol-Gupte">Amol Gupte</keyword>’s <keyword id="2239418" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Commercial-entertainer">commercial entertainer</keyword> <em>Hawaa Hawaai</em> has been produced by <keyword id="106474" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fox-Star-Studios">Fox Star Studios</keyword> and hopes to do better this time. The movie netted around Rs 4.25 crore in the first three days and had an estimated budget of Rs 6 crore. <br />
 <br /> True to his pet genre, Gupte is still catering to the young audience and telling a simple tale with a touching innocence that will win every heart. But the emotional outing and catch-my-dream theme are fraught with grim realities as well. <keyword id="2234714" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arjun-Harishchandra-Waghmare">Arjun Harishchandra Waghmare</keyword> (Amol’s son <keyword id="678010" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Partho-Gupte">Partho Gupte</keyword>) is a migrant <keyword id="6377229" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Child-labour">child labour</keyword> who toils hard at a roadside restaurant in Mumbai but wants to become a <keyword id="2239398" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="champion-roller-skater">champion roller-skater</keyword>. That’s not too difficult when the <keyword id="2239405" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="kind-hearted-coach">kind-hearted coach</keyword> <keyword id="6369280" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lucky">Lucky</keyword> (<keyword id="684700" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saqib-Saleem">Saqib Saleem</keyword>) is willing to help and his poor but large-hearted peers are keen to support him as much as they can. Overall, a thought-provoking movie that flows smoothly without too many hitches.<br />
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<strong>Endno</strong><strong>te</strong><br />
The other two releases of the week are <em>Yeh Hai Bakrapur</em> and <em>Khwaabb</em>. The former is a many-layered socio-political satire, starring <keyword id="124285" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anshuman-Jha">Anshuman Jha</keyword> and <keyword id="1810577" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Asif-Basra">Asif Basra</keyword> (plus, <keyword id="2239416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shah-Rukh-the-goat">Shah Rukh the Goat</keyword>) and directed by <keyword id="468251" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Janaki-Vishwanathan">Janaki Vishwanathan</keyword>. The scathing attack on blind faith, punctuated with sharp wit, makes it an amply watchable movie. <em>Khwaabb </em>(directed by <keyword id="537936" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zaid-Ali-Khan">Zaid Ali Khan</keyword>), on the other hand, is a sports-based romance-drama starring <keyword id="1280175" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Navdip-Singh">Navdip Singh</keyword> and <keyword id="708963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Simer-Motiani">Simer Motiani</keyword>. In spite of some interesting scripts, both movies failed to impact the domestic box office – each collecting a little over Rs 1 crore after the third day.<br />
 <br /> But don’t worry too much even if there has been a box office debacle for some time now. <keyword id="14509" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajinikanth">Rajinikanth</keyword>’s <em><keyword id="1849408" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kochadaiiyaan">Kochadaiiyaan</keyword></em> is due to be released in a couple of weeks and that will surely set the box office ringing while <keyword id="2239419" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mainstream-movie-fans">mainstream movie fans</keyword> go crazy about <em>thalaiva</em>.<br />
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<strong>Images:</strong> Indiatimes

Box Office Falters But
Tales Of Corruption, Turbulence Make Their Mark In Bollywood

<br /> Welcome to another action-crime thriller with big dollops of <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> masala that has earned a decent response at the <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword>. But if you are expecting a movie featuring <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword> in the troubled 70s or a big-time gangster flick that reveals a human core, it will be better to skip <em><keyword id="6427325" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gunday">Gunday</keyword></em>. Directed by <keyword id="6368814" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ali-Abbas-Zafar">Ali Abbas Zafar</keyword>, this gun-goon-and-gal flick has loads of twists and turns, follows a long-winded <keyword id="1097560" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="storyline">storyline</keyword> and stars big names including <keyword id="106133" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ranveer-Singh">Ranveer Singh</keyword>, <keyword id="114453" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arjun-Kapoor">Arjun Kapoor</keyword>, <keyword id="1655" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Priyanka-Chopra">Priyanka Chopra</keyword> and <keyword id="16207" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Irrfan-Khan">Irrfan Khan</keyword>. But that’s where its claim to fame should end unless you are ready to ogle some brawn and oomph, a pseudo-historical account of the times and a glimpse of the City of Joy as the background.<br />
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<em>Gunday</em> was released on the Valentine’s Day (February 14) and tries hard to explore the <keyword id="1541122" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="bromance">bromance</keyword> between the male leads – the <keyword id="1739443" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="outlaw">outlaw</keyword> duo of <keyword id="19013" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="bikram">Bikram</keyword> (Ranveer) and <keyword id="17684" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bala">Bala</keyword> (Arjun). While that is commendable to some extent, the contrived love triangle involving Priyanka (<keyword id="70837" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nandita">Nandita</keyword>) looks scarcely convincing and her main utility seems to be getting the eyeballs.<br />
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Yet, the movie has done fairly well at the box office, netting around Rs 43.93 crore at home after the first weekend. <em>Gunday</em> has, however, failed to race past another action thriller, Salman-starrer <strong><em><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Jai-Ho-Salman-FightsThrough-Clichs-Fails-To-Create-A-Dhoom/articleshow/29505187.cms">Jai Ho</a></em></strong>, which earned around Rs 60 crore in the debut weekend. Overseas collections of <em>Gunday</em> stood at $2.16 million gross. But there was a drop in collection on the crucial Day 4 (February 17) and the movie netted around Rs 6.5 crore as per industry estimates. Still, we are seeing some steady traction and <em>Gunday</em> may soon enter the coveted Rs <keyword id="6567206" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="100-crore-club">100 crore club</keyword>. The flick, made on an approximate budget of Rs 50 crore including promotions, has reportedly hit over 2,000 screens across India.<br />
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Coming back to the story, let’s have a close look at what makes <em>Gunday</em> kind of unpalatable. Interestingly, <keyword id="2217" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Big-B">Big B</keyword>, who had watched the film at its Mumbai premiere, told the media that it’s “an adrenaline-packed movie.” That’s true and <em>Gunday</em> tries to capture the saga of angry young men who get on the wrong side of the law on their way to a glamorised life of crime. Does it remind you of <em>Deewaar</em>? The broad <keyword id="50138" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Theme">theme</keyword> of <em>Gunday</em> is not unlike that old classic but then, everything else has gone awry – be it storyline, acting, periodicity or dialogues.<br />
 <br /> For one, the entire journey of Bikram and Bala looks patchy. The movie fails to give us a realistic version of the metamorphosis they have undergone – from orphan kids (migrants from <keyword id="6354759" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword>) to big-time coal mafias who are always on the run from the law. But in doing so, Ranveer-Arjun display loads of bromance; get involved in <keyword id="2065117" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shirtless-fights">shirtless fights</keyword> à la <keyword id="6354583" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Salman-Khan">Salman Khan</keyword>, and show off their biceps &amp; waxed 6-packs (imagine that in the 70s) quite unabashed. Are they the new <keyword id="2065120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Male-eye-candy">male eye candy</keyword>, we wonder? But more than that, they are the brainless brawn type who can be easily trapped by the cops.<br />
 <br /> The duo duly falls in love with the <keyword id="2065114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="gorgeous-cabaret-dancer">gorgeous cabaret dancer</keyword> Nandita (Priyanka Chopra) who obviously can’t be what she seems. So she turns out to be an <keyword id="2065123" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Undercover-police">undercover police</keyword> officer, in league with <keyword id="2065121" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ACP-Satyajeet-Sarkar">ACP Satyajeet Sarkar</keyword> (Irrfan Khan). A look at Nandita’s get-up makes us wonder whether Kolkata had ever seen such flamboyant fashion trends during that period. Still, Priyanka is playing the role of a seductress and <keyword id="77110" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Undercover-agent">undercover agent</keyword>. So she must look lethal, even when she is clad in the traditional saree. In contrast, Irrfan does a commendable job and does the voiceover, too.<br />
 <br /> What you may love about this movie is the easy-flowing chemistry between Ranveer and Arjun, some good punch lines and Irrfan’s great acting. But the flick falls flat by the end as clichés abound and not even the suspense ending can save it. Protagonists/anti-heroes of this sort can attain a different height if the storyline and the characters are handled with subtlety and sensitiveness. But <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword> Ali Abbas Zafar gives as something as crass and over-the-top as his earlier movie, <em><keyword id="440305" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mere-brother-ki-Dulhan">Mere Brother Ki Dulhan</keyword></em>. And the outcome? As Mohar Basu of Koimoi says, it’s a “sexy show gone dull.” All because talented actors are made to struggle to find their rhythm in a cliché-laden <keyword id="6371619" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="plot">plot</keyword>.<br />
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<strong>Image:</strong> Indiatimes

Box Office: Gunday Leaves
You Clueless But Cash Register is Ringing

<p>If you're planning a beach vacation, you'd better get to it soon. An alarming statistic for you: 67% of Southern California beaches? GONE by 2100. All because of sand. Even if you don't think about the grainy stuff, you use it daily. You're reading this off something made with sand, looking at it through a screen made with sand, surrounded by buildings made with concrete. I could let you guess what's in concrete, but I suspect you're already catching onto a theme here. The following is a transcript of the video.</p><p>I'll try to make this quick since we don't have a lot of time. The world is running out of sand.</p><p>Crazy right? We literally have tons of it on beaches, deserts, and under the ocean, but we're using it up faster than the planet can make it.</p><p>We use sand way more than you'd expect. Worldwide, we go through 50 billion tons of sand every year. That is twice the amount produced by every river in the world.</p><p>After air and water, sand is our most used natural resource. We use it even more than oil.</p><p>It's used to make food, wine, toothpaste, glass, computer chips, breast implants, cosmetics, paper, paint, plastics.</p><p>So where does it all come from? Well, let's ask Vince Beiser! He wrote a book on the subject, called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/World-Grain-Story-Transformed-Civilization/dp/0399576428/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=">The World in a Grain</a>.</p><p><strong>Vince Beiser: </strong>"So the sand that we use, is what you call 'marine sand.' It's the sand that you find at the bottom of rivers, and on beaches and at the bottom of lakes and oceans." </p><p>I know what you're thinking, and no, we can't use sand from the desert. Wind erosion makes the grains too round for most purposes. We need angular sand that interlocks like pieces to a puzzle. Like the sand generated from mountain rocks, pelted by rain, wind, and rivers for over 25 thousand years.</p><p>The major player for sand usage is concrete. Okay, just to clarify: cement is the lime and clay based glue that holds everything together, and concrete is the finished product that you walk on, drive on, and live inside.</p><p>Concrete is made of 10% cement (lime and Clay) 15% water and -yup: 75% sand. The concrete required to build a house takes on average 200 tons of sand, a hospital uses 3,000 tons, and a mile of a highway requires 15,000 tons.</p><p>It makes sense that the world makes over 4 billion tons of concrete annually. We need more every year. The number and size of our cities is exploding, especially in the developing world.</p><p>This change is most noticeable in China, now home to the largest urban area in the world, the Pearl River Delta. Between 42 and 60 million people call the delta home. China now has 102 cities with a population of over a million. Europe has 38. For all those new cities, they need a lot of concrete.</p><p>Between 2011 and 2013, China used more concrete than the US did in the entire 20th century. Again: in Three years, China built the equivalent to every highway, road bridge in the US. And the Hoover Dam</p><p>So it's not outrageous to hear that China also outpaces the world in cement production. By a LOT: 2500 metric tons a year.</p><p>All that cement is going to need a lot of sand to make concrete. Most of it comes from dredging Poyang Lake. An estimated 236 cubic metes of sand are taken from it every year, making it the largest single sand mine in the world.</p><p>But concrete isn't the only use for sand. China is also using tons of sand to build up islands in the South China Sea, expanding its foothold in the region.</p><p>And China's not the only nation building islands from nothing. You've seen these before. The Palm Islands and The World were major island building projects in Dubai, and required 186.5 million meters of sand. This depleted the sea floor around the United Arab Emirates, leaving importing sand from Australia as the only option when constructing the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.</p><p>It's no surprise then that the sand extraction is a $70 billion industry.</p><p><strong>Vince Beiser:</strong> "The easiest, cheapest and best quality sand actually comes from riverbeds. It's very easy to get, you just send a boat out into the middle of a river, with a big suction pump on it. Its basically like a big straw that  you drop down to the bottom of the river, suck all that sand up off the bottom."</p><p>Problem Solved? Nope! The ocean floor isn't miles of sand deep. It's a thin layer over rock, and that layer is home to microorganisms, which feed the base of the food chain. Collecting that sand disrupts fishing in the area and the landscape on shore. When removing sand from the seabed, the shore above water slides into the valley to even itself out. This still leaves shore communities open to flooding and erosion.</p><p><strong>Vince Beiser: </strong>"The recent floods in Houston were actually made worse by sand mining in the San Jacinto River. The San Jacinto is one of the rivers that borders Houston. It's also an excellent source of sand. It has been mined very heavily for sand for the past ten, twenty years." </p><p>Up to 90% of the world's beaches have shrunk an average of 40 meters since 2008. If you haven't noticed a change in your favorite beach, you're not alone. Popular shores replenish their dying beaches with even more sand, imported from elsewhere. And if we keep it up: Almost 70% of Southern California's spectacular beaches could be completely eroded by 2100.</p><p>Governments worldwide have begun to regulate and restrict sand mining and concrete production. Now Problem solved, right? Actually, It's caused an entirely new problem: The Black Market of Sand Illegal sand mining has lead to the rise of the Sand Mafia, India's strongest criminal organization.</p><p>This interconnected group of businessmen, drivers and criminals use their influence, and if that fails, violence and murder to keep the sand flowing illegal sand generates $2.3 billion a year, employing 75,000 of India's impoverished to dive for sand in rivers. Divers work 12-hour days, diving up to 200 times and making only $15 a boatload. Many suffer from bleeding ears and headaches. Deaths and drownings go unreported.</p><p>Worldwide, illegal sand mining has destroyed entire islands. Two dozen Indonesian islands have disappeared around the same time Singapore imported 17 million tons for it's massive 50-mile land expansion. It wasn't until 2010 that dozens of Malaysian officials were charged with accepting bribes and sexual favors for importing the illegal sand.</p><p><strong>Vince Beiser: </strong>"The first thing that we're going to see in this country, the sort-of canary in the coal mine, that will really let us know that things are starting to get bad, is prices. I believe this is one of the reasons that housing prices have gone up so much, in pretty much all of America's big cities, because the price of sand has about quintupled in the past 30-40 years. And that's one of the critical inputs whenever you're building a house, of course, is sand for the concrete."</p><p>We do have some alternatives. While crushing rocks and recycled concrete is expensive, it can be used to create concrete-quality sand. Glass bottles can be ground to make 'recycled glass sand' to replenish beaches. Yes, it's totally safe, and no, it won't cut you.</p><p>Finally, UN Environmental Program suggests better pricing and taxing on sand mining to encourage these alternatives. They also recommend an immediate need for creating regulations in all countries, as well as international waters.</p><p><strong>Vince Beiser: </strong>"The questions isn't 'how can we use less sand?', it's 'How can we use less everything?' Trees, water, fish, we're overusing all of those things, and sand is just another thing we should be adding to the list. Well, we're on track to be a planet of at least 9 billion people in the next 20 years. Most of them are going to want to consume resources the way we do in the Western world, and that is just physically impossible."</p><p>If we want to enjoy these things, while still enjoying this thing, we need to protect this thing, before we run out of time.</p>

The world is running out of sand - and there's a black market for it now

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Special forces of the Ukrainian police, known as 'Berkut', gather in the grounds of Dynamo Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, where violent protests have broken out.</p></div><p></p></div>Over the last two and half months, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have protested the increasingly authoritarian direction of President Viktor Yanukovych's government. At the forefront of Ukrainians' objections to the government <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25895716">are a special police force known as the Berkut</a>, or "Golden Eagle."</p>
<p class="p1">During the Euromaidan Protests, Yanukovych has deployed up to 5,000 members of the Berkut to assist in protest management, including the use of water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets. Rather than quelling the disturbances, the Berkut has fanned the flames, using increasingly brutal measures to fight protesters.</p>
<p class="p1">The Berkut are a special police force that has had a long history of brutality, abuse, torture, and other measures in service of whatever political regime is in control of Ukraine. The force was first formed in 1988 as part of the Soviet OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit), an elite riot police and paramilitary force.</p>
<p class="p1">In 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the force reformed as the Berkut under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was stationed in every province. Originally established to fight organized crime, the force has been increasingly utilized to maintain law and order and break up "mass events," such as riots and protests. </p>
<p class="p1">Check out their recruitment video here (It's in Ukrainian):</p>
<p></p>
<p class="p1">Since their inception, they have been involved in numerous scandals, including violently dispersing peacefully protesting coal miners in 1998,  violently attacking protesters <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_without_Kuchma">during the Ukraine Without Kuchma protests</a> in 2001, as well as sadistically attacking protesters during the current Euromaidan protests. </p>
<p class="p1">Berkut members are carefully selected and trained extensively. Prior to joining, Berkut men must have army service, as well as two to three years of law enforcement experience. They are usually paid between one and half to two times more than a regular police officer. </p>
<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Stringer</span></p><p class="caption">Berkut officers clash with anti-government protesters in Vinnytsia, 125 miles southwest of Kiev.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The semi-autonomous Berkut police often act with impunity for their actions, leading some <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/01/24/ukraines_public_enemy_number_one_the_police">to call them a "mafia-style organization</a>." Some efforts have been made over the years to rein in Berkut power, most notably by Yuriy Lutsenko (now an opposition leader) under President Viktor Yushchenko. Lutsenko set up human rights experts and oversight groups to monitor the activities of the Berkut and other members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.</p>
<p class="p1">When current President Yanukovych came to power, these measures were rolled back. Yanukovych appointed a close ally to run the MIA and, since,  the Berkut has upped its brutality. </p>
<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko</span></p><p class="caption">Berkut police officers hold a man lying on the ground during clashes between police and pro-European protesters in Kiev.</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p class="p1">During the current protests, there have been numerous instances of reported Berkut brutality. The most recent reports charge Berkut with firing at protesters and a video has surfaced of Berkut officers parading a naked protester around on a snow-covered street. A Berkut officer grabs the man and kicks him as he is placed on a police bus. You can see the video below (<strong>WARNING: It is graphic</strong>):</p>
<p></p>
<p class="p1">The Euromaidan Protests <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-euromaidan-riots-in-ukraine-2014-1">may have started over a trade agreement dispute</a>, but it's end could hinge on serious reform of the country's most brutal police force. </p>

The Berkut: The Special Operations Force Responsible For Kiev's Most Violent Crackdowns

The Tucker Carlson origin story

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mike Coppola/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">George Soros.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Well before Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, I sent a holiday greeting to my friends that read: "These times are not business as usual. Wishing you the best in a troubled world." Now I feel the need to share this message with the rest of the world. But before I do, I must tell you who I am and what I stand for.</p><p>I am an 86-year-old Hungarian Jew who became a US citizen after the end of World War II. I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails. The formative experience of my life was the occupation of Hungary by Hitler's Germany in 1944. I probably would have perished had my father not understood the gravity of the situation. He arranged false identities for his family and for many other Jews; with his help, most survived.</p><p data-line-id="cdc2a36c8051434186b452739071ff56">In 1947, I escaped from Hungary, by then under Communist rule, to England. As a student at the London School of Economics, I came under the influence of the philosopher Karl Popper, and I developed my own philosophy, built on the twin pillars of fallibility and reflexivity. I distinguished between two kinds of political regimes: those in which people elected their leaders, who were then supposed to look after the interests of the electorate, and others where the rulers sought to manipulate their subjects to serve the rulers' interests. Under Popper's influence, I called the first kind of society open, the second, closed.</p><p data-line-id="558da6a33d084283ba2a0dc20711dd50">The classification is too simplistic. There are many degrees and variations throughout history, from well-functioning models to failed states, and many different levels of government in any particular situation. Even so, I find the distinction between the two regime types useful. I became an active promoter of the former and opponent of the latter.</p><p data-line-id="7295d3efbd73493abdda8f6719736f2f">I find the current moment in history very painful. Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of closed societies - from fascist dictatorships to mafia states - are on the rise. How could this happen? The only explanation I can find is that elected leaders failed to meet voters' legitimate expectations and aspirations and that this failure led electorates to become disenchanted with the prevailing versions of democracy and capitalism. Quite simply, many people felt that the elites had stolen their democracy.</p><p data-line-id="5610d6b66c344cdfb244023bc74f3f8c">After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the sole remaining superpower, equally committed to the principles of democracy and free markets. The major development since then has been the globalization of financial markets, spearheaded by advocates who argued that globalization increases total wealth. After all, if the winners compensated the losers, they would still have something left over.</p><p data-line-id="ee5a1471f5174fbc99eee3b944c2192c">The argument was misleading, because it ignored the fact that the winners seldom, if ever, compensate the losers. But the potential winners spent enough money promoting the argument that it prevailed. It was a victory for believers in untrammeled free enterprise, or "market fundamentalists," as I call them. Because financial capital is an indispensable ingredient of economic development, and few countries in the developing world could generate enough capital on their own, globalization spread like wildfire. Financial capital could move around freely and avoid taxation and regulation.</p><p data-line-id="13abc52a5c0944afac82804122cd6b7a">Globalization has had far-reaching economic and political consequences. It has brought about some economic convergence between poor and rich countries; but it increased inequality within both poor and rich countries. In the developed world, the benefits accrued mainly to large owners of financial capital, who constitute less than 1% of the population. The lack of redistributive policies is the main source of the dissatisfaction that democracy's opponents have exploited. But there were other contributing factors as well, particularly in Europe.</p><p data-line-id="1638049f5c0b43b5832eb7654730dd35">I was an avid supporter of the European Union from its inception. I regarded it as the embodiment of the idea of an open society: an association of democratic states willing to sacrifice part of their sovereignty for the common good. It started out at as a bold experiment in what Popper called "piecemeal social engineering." The leaders set an attainable objective and a fixed timeline and mobilized the political will needed to meet it, knowing full well that each step would necessitate a further step forward. That is how the European Coal and Steel Community developed into the EU.</p><p data-line-id="ece863f81c7843978ce0fc2f33f95f39">But then something went woefully wrong. After the Crash of 2008, a voluntary association of equals was transformed into a relationship between creditors and debtors, where the debtors had difficulties in meeting their obligations and the creditors set the conditions the debtors had to obey. That relationship has been neither voluntary nor equal.</p><p data-line-id="47abffe9e3eb40958d0f3bb6da44b47a">Germany emerged as the hegemonic power in Europe, but it failed to live up to the obligations that successful hegemons must fulfill, namely looking beyond their narrow self-interest to the interests of the people who depend on them. Compare the behavior of the US after WWII with Germany's behavior after the Crash of 2008: the US launched the Marshall Plan, which led to the development of the EU; Germany imposed an austerity program that served its narrow self-interest.</p><p data-line-id="bdfd596d01bc4a22932b457272fe486c">Before its reunification, Germany was the main force driving European integration: it was always willing to contribute a little bit extra to accommodate those putting up resistance. Remember Germany's contribution to meeting Margaret Thatcher's demands regarding the EU budget?</p><p data-line-id="f161d4b446504a6081cc178835d4454a">But reuniting Germany on a 1:1 basis turned out to be very expensive. When Lehman Brothers collapsed, Germany did not feel rich enough to take on any additional obligations. When European finance ministers declared that no other systemically important financial institution would be allowed to fail, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, correctly reading the wishes of her electorate, declared that each member state should look after its own institutions. That was the start of a process of disintegration.</p><p data-line-id="ff2e6c70521d4fb9aeddfdb65ed4c46b">After the Crash of 2008, the EU and the eurozone became increasingly dysfunctional. Prevailing conditions became far removed from those prescribed by the Maastricht Treaty, but treaty change became progressively more difficult, and eventually impossible, because it couldn't be ratified. The eurozone became the victim of antiquated laws; much-needed reforms could be enacted only by finding loopholes in them. That is how institutions became increasingly complicated, and electorates became alienated.</p><p data-line-id="112ac13b7d8943fb858610c23d353a2e">The rise of anti-EU movements further impeded the functioning of institutions. And these forces of disintegration received a powerful boost in 2016, first from <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/focal-points/brexit-limbo">Brexit</a>, then from the <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/focal-points/trump-an-american-horror-story">election of Trump</a> in the US, and on December 4 from Italian voters' rejection, by a wide margin, of <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/italy-referendum-eurozone-by-philippe-legrain-2016-12">constitutional reforms</a>.</p><p data-line-id="5e525f9e4e954be4ac231e8b6a57fb94"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP/Matt Rourke</span></p><p class="caption">Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on in Washington, DC, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Democracy is now in crisis. Even the US, the world's leading democracy, elected a con artist and would-be dictator as its president. Although Trump has toned down his rhetoric since he was elected, he has changed neither his behavior nor his advisers. His cabinet comprises incompetent extremists and retired generals.</p><p data-line-id="008cae29f748440e80b61c1fa1f64ced">What lies ahead?</p><p data-line-id="dfd1f067b88c4a3d8140ac77152eb09a">I am confident that democracy will prove resilient in the US. Its Constitution and institutions, including the fourth estate, are strong enough to resist the excesses of the executive branch, thus preventing a would-be dictator from becoming an actual one.</p><p data-line-id="18affbe9a576499eb732c3b419dce2e4">But the US will be preoccupied with internal struggles in the near future, and targeted minorities will suffer. The US will be unable to protect and promote democracy in the rest of the world. On the contrary, Trump will have greater affinity with dictators. That will allow some of them to reach an accommodation with the US, and others to carry on without interference. Trump will prefer making deals to defending principles. Unfortunately, that will be popular with his core constituency.</p><p data-line-id="55749dfdf03e4cdf9eca1bed0ff29eb4">I am particularly worried about the fate of the EU, which is in danger of coming under the influence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose concept of government is irreconcilable with that of open society. Putin is not a passive beneficiary of recent developments; he worked hard to bring them about. He recognized his regime's weakness: it can exploit natural resources but cannot generate economic growth. He felt threatened by "color revolutions" in Georgia, Ukraine, and elsewhere. At first, he tried to control social media. Then, in a brilliant move, he exploited social media companies' business model to spread misinformation and fake news, disorienting electorates and destabilizing democracies. That is how he helped Trump get elected.</p><p data-line-id="67f3cb8e702046af974acaa6642c47ea">The same is likely to happen in the European election season in 2017 in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. In France, the two leading contenders are close to Putin and eager to appease him. If either wins, Putin's dominance of Europe will become a <em>fait accompli</em>.</p><p data-line-id="ec240ca0c77443caa1416fcd5f084a70">I hope that Europe's leaders and citizens alike will realize that this endangers their way of life and the values on which the EU was founded. The trouble is that the method Putin has used to destabilize democracy cannot be used to restore respect for facts and a balanced view of reality.</p><p data-line-id="7e41b490729743cda04b9cef9beebcbe">With economic growth lagging and the refugee crisis out of control, the EU is on the verge of breakdown and is set to undergo an experience similar to that of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Those who believe that the EU needs to be saved in order to be reinvented must do whatever they can to bring about a better outcome.</p><p data-line-id="7e41b490729743cda04b9cef9beebcbe"><em>Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017. This essay has been republished with permission. It was<a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/people/george-soros"> originally published</a> on December 30, and Soros discussed it further during a Davos dinner in mid January. </em></p><p class="tagline">The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-study-debunks-strongest-argument-against-global-warming-climate-change-2017-1">A new study just blew a hole in one of the strongest arguments against global warming</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="41cTV3ODE6lScG4haYqmvmNGCs1JhD5w" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

GEORGE SOROS: 'These times are not business as usual - Wishing you the best in a troubled world'

<p></p>
<p>In contrast to previous Chinese leaders, Xi has been adamant that no one is untouchable. Big targets like former security czar Zhou Yongkang and former military chief Xu Caihou, once thought untouchable by even top officials, were some of the first to fall in Xi's crusade.</p>
<p>While Xi and the Party are notoriously tight-lipped about the inner workings of the Communist Party, they have been remarkably open about the illicit goods, cash, and properties found in the hands of the corrupt officials they've taken down.</p>
<p>Of course,<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Xi may have a hidden motive for being so transparent - to convince the public he's winning the battle against corruption. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">W</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">hatever the reason, he's given Western observers an unprecedented view into the level of corruption of Chinese officials</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></p>
<p>Here are a few of the more outrageous examples:</p>
<h3>Zhou Yongkang</h3>
<p>Zhou Yongkang once belonged to the all-powerful Politiburo Standing Committee and served as national police chief when he came under investigation in July 2014. His arrest in December could be a move to add legitimacy to Xi's corruption campaign. It was previously taboo to investigate current or former members of the Politiburo.</p>
<p>NTD Television <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1162487-hong-kong-magazine-reveals-crimes-and-wealth-of-chinas-former-security-czar/">reported Zhou's ill-gotten</a> gains, which include assets totaling $16.05 billion.</p>
<p>Here's a taste of Zhou's confiscated spoils:</p>
<ul>
<li><span>Cash stashed in Zhou's residences totaling $300.3 million dollars in US dollars, Euros, Yuan, British Poundnds, and Swiss Francs.</span></li>
<li><span>62 cars including military Jeeps and a tourist bus</span></li>
<li><span>55 paintings by famous painters with a market value between $128 million to $161 million</span></li>
<li><span>Hundreds of foreign and domestic bank accounts belonging to Zhou and relatives totaling $6.06 billion.</span></li>
<li><span>Petroleum, aviation, wine, and financial securities with a total value of $8.24 billion</span></li>
<li><span>Foreign securities and bonds totaling $27.3 million</span></li>
<li><span>326 properties all over China totaling $1.76 billion in value</span></li>
<li><span>42,850 grams of gold, silver, and gold coins</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>General Xu Caihou</h3>
<p>General Xu, formerly the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, confessed to taking bribes in October after the party's seven-month investigation found he took huge bribes for promoting people in his command. He was expelled from the Communist Party and had his rank of general revoked. </p>
<p>When investigators came to Xu's 21,500 square-foot Beijing mansion, the extent of Xu's corruption became obvious. In the basement, investigators <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/22/china-reacts-to-massive-corruption-tally-of-a-fallen-general/">found more than one ton (in weight) of cash</a>, as well as countless jade, emeralds, calligraphy, and paintings, according to Foreign Policy. It reportedly took more than 10 military trucks to cart off the loot. </p>
<p>Here's how investigators <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4883f674-7171-11e4-818e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Jitzpsam">found the cash at the house</a>, according to The Financial Times:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The cash was neatly stacked in boxes, each with the name of the soldier who had paid the bribe in exchange for promotion up the chain of command. Many of the boxes, each containing millions of renminbi, had never been opened, said people familiar with the case.</p>
<h3>Liu Han</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Liu occupied the murky space in China between businessman and crime boss, heading up mining conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group while also leading a gang that committed murders, assaults, kidnappings, fraud, and contract rigging. </p>
<p>At the time Liu was detained, his accumulated assets <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_2.htm">totaled $6.4 billion, including hundreds of cars such as Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris,</a> 20 guns, 677 bullets, 2,163 shotgun cartridges, and more than 100 knives, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. Liu wore a diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch and often ordered bottles of French wine that cost more than $12,000.</p>
<p>At his trial, his ex-wife, Yang Xue, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_3.htm">relayed this story of how Liu dealt with government officials</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Liu Han would take me to dine with them, and offer them gifts such as gold or jade items worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan … Sometimes he would deliberately lose when gambling, just to bribe them.</p>
<h3>Liu Zhijun</h3>
<p>Liu Zhijun joined the Communist Party as a low-level bureaucrat at the national ministry of railways in the 1970s, eventually rising to become the minister of the department. This past July, a Beijing court sentenced him to death for bribery and abuse of power.</p>
<p>Liu accepted bribes totaling $10.4 million from 1986 to 2011, a<span>ccording to Xinhua. In 2013</span>, investigators seized 142.1 million in cash, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/08/liu-zhijun-sentenced-death-corruption">undisclosed amounts of shares, 16 vehicles, 374 properties, and other valuables</a>, according to The Guardian. In addition, investigators found the minister had 18 mistresses, including multiple actresses from a popular television show, nurses, and train stewards.</p>
<h3>Gu Junshan</h3>
<p></p>
<p>When police raided Gu's mansion in 2013, they found the stupendous spoils from that racket, including four military trucks worth of luxury items, a cellar of expensive wine, a gold hand basin, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11281582/Chinese-general-gives-out-Mercedes-filled-with-gold.html">a pure gold statue of Chairman Mao</a>, according to The Telegraph.</p>
<p>Gu reportedly distributed the money from the racket to his underlings by filling Mercedes vehicles with $3.8 million in gold bars and handing the recipient the keys.</p>
<h3>Ni Fake</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Ni's obsession with jade was well-known, leading party investigators to warn him about his ostentatiousness nearly two years before the investigation. By most accounts, Ni did not listen. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He </span><a href="http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/a-corruption-case-laden-with-jade/?_r=0">always wore a jade necklace and carried a small flashlight and magnifying glass</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to examine new jade that might enter his collection, according to The New York Times. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The state-run China News website reported that, on the weekends, Ni would spread out his favorite jade pieces and look at each. Every other week, he waxed his jades and, on every work trip, he would visit the local jade market. His jade collection amounted to an estimated $1.6 million in pendants, ornaments, and carved stones. The rest of Ni's bribes came in the form of cash, paintings, or property. </span></p>
<h3>Wei Pengyuan</h3>
<p></p>
<p>It is estimated that the cash, which was likely in 100-yuan banknotes, would <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-corruption-33-million-yuan-cash-seized-home-coal-chief-1717047">weigh more than 2.2 tons and climb 656 feet in the air if it was stacked</a>. </p>
<h3>Ma Chaoqun</h3>
<p>Not every official nabbed with a ridiculous fortune was a "tiger." Many, like Ma Chaoqun, were flies. Ma was a midlevel water supply official in Beidaihe, a resort town near Beijing favored by top government officials.</p>
<p>Ma allegedly used his position to stack up a prodigious fortune: <a href="http://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/china-real-estate-research-policy/low-level-chinese-official-caught-with-rmb-120m-cash-37-kg-of-gold-and-68-houses/">$19.3 million in cash, 81 pounds of gold (worth about $1.4 million), and 68 properties totaling $163 million</a>. </p>

Here's The Ridiculous Loot That's Been Found With Corrupt Chinese Officials

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>China President Xi Jinping is two years into his unprecedented fight to eliminate the corruption that permeates the Communist Party in China. Since assuming office in early 2013, Xi has vowed to "<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/11/28/apec-blue-tigers-and-flies-what-chinese-phrase-best-describes-2014/">hunt tigers and swat flies</a>," meaning he'll target both high- and low-level officials.</p>
<p>In contrast to previous Chinese leaders, Xi has been adamant that no one is untouchable. Big targets like former security czar Zhou Yongkang and former military chief Xu Caihou, once thought untouchable by even top officials, were some of the first to fall in Xi's crusade.</p>
<p>While Xi and the Party are notoriously tight-lipped about the inner workings of the Communist Party, they have been remarkably open about the illicit goods, cash, and properties found in the hands of the corrupt officials they've taken down.</p>
<p>Of course,<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Xi may have a hidden motive for being so transparent - to convince the public he's winning the battle against corruption. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">W</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">hatever the reason, he's given Western observers an unprecedented view into the level of corruption of Chinese officials</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></p>
<p>Here are a few of the more outrageous examples:</p>
<h3>Zhou Yongkang<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>Zhou Yongkang once belonged to the all-powerful Politiburo Standing Committee and served as national police chief when he came under investigation in July 2014. His arrest in December could be a move to add legitimacy to Xi's corruption campaign. It was previously taboo to investigate current or former members of the Politiburo.</p>
<p>NTD Television <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1162487-hong-kong-magazine-reveals-crimes-and-wealth-of-chinas-former-security-czar/">reported Zhou's ill-gotten</a> gains, which include assets totaling $16.05 billion.</p>
<p>Here's a taste of Zhou's confiscated spoils:</p>
<ul>
<li><span>Cash stashed in Zhou's residences totaling $300.3 million dollars in US dollars, Euros, Yuan, British Poundnds, and Swiss Francs.</span></li>
<li><span>62 cars including military Jeeps and a tourist bus</span></li>
<li><span>55 paintings by famous painters with a market value between $128 million to $161 million</span></li>
<li><span>Hundreds of foreign and domestic bank accounts belonging to Zhou and relatives totaling $6.06 billion.</span></li>
<li><span>Petroleum, aviation, wine, and financial securities with a total value of $8.24 billion</span></li>
<li><span>Foreign securities and bonds totaling $27.3 million</span></li>
<li><span>326 properties all over China totaling $1.76 billion in value</span></li>
<li><span>42,850 grams of gold, silver, and gold coins</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>General Xu Caihou<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>General Xu, formerly the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, confessed to taking bribes in October after the party's seven-month investigation found he took huge bribes for promoting people in his command. He was expelled from the Communist Party and had his rank of general revoked. </p>
<p>When investigators came to Xu's 21,500 square-foot Beijing mansion, the extent of Xu's corruption became obvious. In the basement, investigators <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/22/china-reacts-to-massive-corruption-tally-of-a-fallen-general/">found more than one ton (in weight) of cash</a>, as well as countless jade, emeralds, calligraphy, and paintings, according to Foreign Policy. It reportedly took more than 10 military trucks to cart off the loot. </p>
<p>Here's how investigators <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4883f674-7171-11e4-818e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Jitzpsam">found the cash at the house</a>, according to The Financial Times:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The cash was neatly stacked in boxes, each with the name of the soldier who had paid the bribe in exchange for promotion up the chain of command. Many of the boxes, each containing millions of renminbi, had never been opened, said people familiar with the case.</p>
<h3>Liu Han</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Former mining tycoon Liu Han, who <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27533558">ranked 148th on Forbes' list of richest Chinese business people in 2012</a>, was sentenced to death last year for "<a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-05/23/c_1110826207.htm">organizing and leading mafia-style crime and murder</a>," according to Xinhua, China's official news agency.</p>
<p>Liu occupied the murky space in China between businessman and crime boss, heading up mining conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group while also leading a gang that committed murders, assaults, kidnappings, fraud, and contract rigging. </p>
<p>At the time Liu was detained, his accumulated assets <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_2.htm">totaled $6.4 billion, including hundreds of cars such as Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris,</a> 20 guns, 677 bullets, 2,163 shotgun cartridges, and more than 100 knives, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. Liu wore a diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch and often ordered bottles of French wine that cost more than $12,000.</p>
<p>At his trial, his ex-wife, Yang Xue, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_3.htm">relayed this story of how Liu dealt with government officials</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Liu Han would take me to dine with them, and offer them gifts such as gold or jade items worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan … Sometimes he would deliberately lose when gambling, just to bribe them.</p>
<h3>Liu Zhijun</h3>
<p>Liu Zhijun joined the Communist Party as a low-level bureaucrat at the national ministry of railways in the 1970s, eventually rising to become the minister of the department. This past July, a Beijing court sentenced him to death for bribery and abuse of power.</p>
<p>Liu accepted bribes totaling $10.4 million from 1986 to 2011, a<span>ccording to Xinhua. In 2013</span>, investigators seized 142.1 million in cash, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/08/liu-zhijun-sentenced-death-corruption">undisclosed amounts of shares, 16 vehicles, 374 properties, and other valuables</a>, according to The Guardian. In addition, investigators found the minister had 18 mistresses, including multiple actresses from a popular television show, nurses, and train stewards.</p>
<h3>Gu Junshan</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Lieutenant General Gu Junshan was arrested in early 2012 after his suspected involvement in a massive scheme that involved the sale of military appointments. The supposed bribery scheme involved nearly $5 billion, roughly $100 million of which Gu allegedly kept for himself.</p>
<p>When police raided Gu's mansion in 2013, they found the stupendous spoils from that racket, including four military trucks worth of luxury items, a cellar of expensive wine, a gold hand basin, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11281582/Chinese-general-gives-out-Mercedes-filled-with-gold.html">a pure gold statue of Chairman Mao</a>, according to The Telegraph.</p>
<p>Gu reportedly distributed the money from the racket to his underlings by filling Mercedes vehicles with $3.8 million in gold bars and handing the recipient the keys.</p>
<h3>Ni Fake</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The former vice governor of Anhui province in central China, Ni Fake, is one of Xi's strangest targets. He's hardly the big name that Xu or Zhou are, but the Chinese media has given him a lot of attention because of the form his loot has taken. Almost 80% of the Ni's fortune was jade.</p>
<p>Ni's obsession with jade was well-known, leading party investigators to warn him about his ostentatiousness nearly two years before the investigation. By most accounts, Ni did not listen. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He </span><a href="http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/a-corruption-case-laden-with-jade/?_r=0">always wore a jade necklace and carried a small flashlight and magnifying glass</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to examine new jade that might enter his collection, according to The New York Times. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The state-run China News website reported that, on the weekends, Ni would spread out his favorite jade pieces and look at each. Every other week, he waxed his jades and, on every work trip, he would visit the local jade market. His jade collection amounted to an estimated $1.6 million in pendants, ornaments, and carved stones. The rest of Ni's bribes came in the form of cash, paintings, or property. </span></p>
<h3>Wei Pengyuan</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Wei Pengyuan, deputy chief of the coal bureau at the National Energy Administration, has been charged with taking $5.8 million in bribes from 2002 to 2012. When investigators searched his home, they found an astounding amount of cash: $33 million or 200 million yuan.</p>
<p>It is estimated that the cash, which was likely in 100-yuan banknotes, would <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-corruption-33-million-yuan-cash-seized-home-coal-chief-1717047">weigh more than 2.2 tons and climb 656 feet in the air if it was stacked</a>. </p>
<h3>Ma Chaoqun</h3>
<p>Not every official nabbed with a ridiculous fortune was a "tiger." Many, like Ma Chaoqun, were flies. Ma was a midlevel water supply official in Beidaihe, a resort town near Beijing favored by top government officials.</p>
<p>Ma allegedly used his position to stack up a prodigious fortune: <a href="http://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/china-real-estate-research-policy/low-level-chinese-official-caught-with-rmb-120m-cash-37-kg-of-gold-and-68-houses/">$19.3 million in cash, 81 pounds of gold (worth about $1.4 million), and 68 properties totaling $163 million</a>. </p>

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