Cameron Diaz ranked most dangerous Web celeb: study

She may be known for her playful giggles and killer looks, but now movie star Cameron Diaz has become the most dangerous celebrity on the Internet.
Diaz, 37, is top of the list of the most dangerous celebrities to search for online, above second-placed Julia Roberts, according to computer security company McAfee, Inc. Last year's most dangerous Web celebrity, Jessica Biel, fell to third.
One in ten websites featuring the "Knight and Day" star contain malicious software intended to infect computers and steal data from users, according to research released on Thursday by McAfee.
Creators of malicious software use celebrities as lures, baiting fans and followers to click on and download seemingly innocuous content containing programs designed to steal passwords and other private information for profit, said Dave Marcus, director of security research at McAfee Labs.
"They know that people want to have screensavers of popular individuals. They follow hot topics on the Web and create their poisonous content accordingly," Marcus said.
"This relates to a larger trend of using social engineering lures. A lot of times a cyber criminal will mine Twitter, or follow Google Trends, to poison those links. It's very clear they will use news trends to lure," he said.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen came in at fourth, followed by Brad Pitt, one of only two men to be listed in the top ten.
"Brad Pitt is historically one of the most dangerous celebrities to search on," said Marcus. "He's always up there."
Former Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima came in sixth, followed by Jennifer Love-Hewitt and Nicole Kidman, who tied for seventh. Tom Cruise ranked eighth, and Heidi Klum and Penelope Cruz tied for ninth. Anna Paquin, the star of TV hit "True Blood", rounded out the top ten.
This is the fourth time McAfee published the annual list of dangerous individuals.

Michael Jackson top-earning dead celebrity: report

Michael Jackson's sudden death sparked an outpouring of grief around the world, but fans also opened their wallets to make him this year's top-earning dead celebrity with $275 million, Forbes said on Monday.
Jackson raked in more than the combined total of the other 12 celebrities on the list, Forbes magazine said. He was ranked third on last year's list with $90 million.
Elvis Presley came in second, earning $60 million from admissions to his former home, Graceland, which is now a museum and tourist attraction in Memphis, Tennessee, a Cirque de Soleil show and more than 200 licensing and merchandise deals.
"Jackson's spot atop our top earning dead celebrities list should come as no surprise given the renewed fan interest in music, videos and all things Michael Jackson," said Forbes writer Lacey Rose.
Jackson was 50 when he died in his Los Angeles home on June 25 last year, shortly before a planned series of comeback concerts in London. The singer left behind three children and a debt of $500 million.
But his estate has generated millions since his death, mostly through record sales, the "This Is It" concert movie, licensing rights, deals to release new albums and a Cirque du Soleil stage show in Las Vegas.
"Thanks to a lucrative catalog, hit film and album sales, the late king of pop earned more in the last year than Lady Gaga, Madonna and Jay-Z, combined," said Rose.
"The Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose trilogy of novels was made into films by director Peter Jackson, came in at No. 3 on the Forbes list with earnings of $50 million, while Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, came in fourth with $33 million.
Former Beatle John Lennon, who would have turned 70 this year, was ranked No. 5 with an income of $17 million.
A deceased celebrity needed to earn at least $5 million between October 1, 2009 and October 1, 2010 to make this year's list, Forbes said.

10 Killed at Mexican Drug Rehab Center

Mexican police say gunmen have shot and killed at least 10 recovering addicts at a drug rehabilitation center.

The killings happened late Sunday in Tijuana, near the U.S. border.The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Mexican security forces have been engaged in a brutal struggle against the country's violent drug cartels since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006.

Nearly 30,000 people have been killed since the campaign began.

Last week, Mexican security forces seized 105 tons of marijuana in Tijuana, the largest Mexican drug bust in recent years.

Are you an active blogger or user of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook?

In India, some companies are growingly increasingly concerned about privacy and other breaches by employees on sites like these. Lack of awareness by employees can lead to 'unacceptable behavior,' says Rajan Kohli, chief marketing officer of Wipro Technologies, which issued an internal social media policyearlier this year.

Don't fret if your employer doesn't have a similar policy in place yet. Here are some 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' that will keep you from getting into trouble with your company.

1. Identify Yourself

Many companies ask employees to disclose their relationship to their employer on social networking sites, especially if they are planning to discuss anything related to work or their industry, says Gaurav Mishra, digital and social media leader for public relations firm MSL Group in Asia.

Even if you don't mention your company name in your online profiles, nowadays it's easy enough to match executives to their firms through professional web sites like LinkedIn.com.

2. Follow the Face-to-Face Rule

Don't write anything online that you wouldn't say to somebody to their face. No complaining about your boss or company, or gossiping about colleagues. A colleague whom you might have 'friended' on Facebook could read that and pass it along to other colleagues or to your boss, landing you in a soup.

'Facebook is more publicthan most people think it is,' says Mr. Mishra.

3. Don't Share Sensitive Information

Sharing confidential information about your clients, or about an upcoming product launch or about the internal workings of your company is a strict no-no.

'The same 'rules' that apply to sharing information in the physical world apply online,' said Meenu Handa, director, corporate communications, Microsoft Corp. India Pvt. Ltd., in an e-mail message.

4. Avoid Controversial Topics

Politics and religion are two subjects that can cause passions to run high. In general, your employer would probably prefer it if you avoided these topics or were at least diplomatic when expounding on them online. 'Be careful about any racial (or) religious comment,' says Elango R., chief human resources officer at outsourcing firm MphasiS, a unit of Hewlett-Packard's Co.

5. Don't Count on Disclaimers

Sometimes people write disclaimers on their profile that say the views they are expressing are personal or that by posting links they don't intend to endorse those links. 'People disregard that,' says Anup Jain, marketing director, Pizza Hut, part of Yum Restaurants India Pvt. Ltd.

This is especially true if you hold an important post in the company. 'People don't draw a fine line between what you say and what position you occupy,' says Mr. Jain. 'If you have a controversial point of viewâ ¦they will find out about you in a few seconds.'

6. Don't 'Friend' Everyone

'You've got to be careful about whom you accept in your friend circle,' says Mr. Elango.

For instance, a 'friend' or colleague who doesn't respect your privacy may share your personal photos and information with the rest of your colleagues, or worse â ' your boss.

Avoid 'friending' people you don't trust, or someone who has shaky credentials. Remember that other people often form an impression of you based on whom your friends are.

'Sometimes you've got to be able to say no,' says Mr. Elango.

7. Use the Privacy Settings

If you haven't already done so, change your privacy settings on the social media web sites you use. On Facebook, for instance, you can select who is able to see your personal information, your 'Wall' posts, and your photos.

'You may not want everybody to see how you party,' says Pizza Hut's Mr. Jain.

Even on Twitter, you can use a setting that allows you to choose your followers. In that case, your tweets can be read only by your chosen followers.

8. Be Discreet on Fan Pages, Groups

If you have signed up as a 'fan' of your company or are active on any online groups, 'you've got to be extra careful' about what you write there, says Mr. Jain. He suggests using these fan pages and groups to glean information about your company, and to absorb public feedback. You shouldn't use them as a forum where you deride competition, says Mr. Jain.

9. Be a Talking Head

Senior company officials or those who speak to the press on behalf of the company even once in a while should consider looking at their social web pages a professional tool rather than just a personal account. That's a good way to build your company's brand, and your brand within the company.

But be sure to check with your company's top officials that they approve. Some companies, like Intel Corp., ask employees to go through training programs before taking on a role like that, according to Mr. Mishra of MSL Group.

10. Remember It's Forever

Diamonds may or may not be forever, but what you write on the Internet is (or can feel that way). Something that you write online could come back to bite you many years later.

For instance, maybe you blogged about how much you hate your former company, but some years later, that same company might interview you for a managerial post. Somebody could easily find your old blog and that could damage your chances.

Hearing Begins for 5 Suspected 9/11 Co-Conspirators at Guantanamo

Six-and-a-half years after the September 11 terror attacks, the accused mastermind and four other co-conspirators are facing a war-crimes tribunal at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four others is the highest-profile test yet of the controversial tribunal system, which is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. All five men face the death penalty if convicted.

　

The defendants will face a military judge for the first time Thursday to hear the charges against them formally read. They will have the opportunity to enter a plea and may also be allowed to speak to the court about other issues, such as the conditions of their detention and interrogation. Charges against a sixth detainee were withdrawn last month without explanation, but experts note he has claimed some of the evidence against him was obtained through torture.

This will be the first public appearance for the five men, who have been held by the U.S. government for years, first in secret CIA prisons and now at Guantanamo. Reporters, lawyers and human rights activists will be allowed to watch the hearing, but no sound, video or pictures will be made public. In addition, sound from the hearing will be delayed several seconds to enable military officials to turn it off if someone reveals secret information.

The process for trying the men before what are called Military Commissions was created specifically for detainees in the war on terrorism. But the original system was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the court is now considering a case which could invalidate the revised process. Still, the senior military officer responsible for the process, Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann says the defense department is adding dozens of staff members to his team in an effort to move forward with arraignments and trials as quickly as possible.

Speaking to reporters here Wednesday evening, General Hartmann addressed one of the main controversies surrounding the process, the use of secret evidence.

"Every piece of evidence, classified or not that goes to the finder of fact will be subject to review, cross examination, challenge and understanding by the accused and his counsel," he said.

The 'finder of fact' will be a military jury. General Hartman's statement raises the possibility that secret evidence could be revealed to al-Qaida members but not to the public, but that would likely only happen much later in the process. In these commission trials, the defendants are prosecuted, judged and represented by U.S. military lawyers, but private lawyers have volunteered to be part of the defense team.

Activists like Joanne Mariner of Human Rights Watch are not convinced that this process will be fair, as General Hartmann says it will. They say the military process does not sufficiently protect the defendants' rights, particularly regarding evidence obtained through mistreatment. General Hartmann says that decision will be made by the military judge in each instance.

Mariner, who will be an observer at Thursday's hearing, says the relatives of the nearly three thousand victims of the attacks, and the public at large, deserve a more reliable process, like the regular U.S. federal courts.

"A case as important as the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States should be tried fairly in federal court so that the result is some kind of finality in which both the U.S. public and the world can recognize that the result of the trial is reliable and credible," said Mariner.

The Bush administration is opposed to using federal courts to try the terrorism suspects, in part because of the secret evidence.

The best-known of the men going on trial Thursday is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known as the mastermind of the September 11th attacks. His alleged co-conspirators are Ramzi Binalshibh, Walid Muhammed 'Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al Hawsawi. Charges against Mohammed al Kahtani were dropped, but officials say they may be reinstated later. He is believed to have planned to be one of the September 11 hijackers.

The arraignment will take place in a specially built building on this U.S. Naval Base, not far from the detention center where 275 detainees are held. Several others have also been charged and their trials are proceeding. Officials expect to charge and try more of the detainees, but some have been approved for release and others may remain in custody without being charged.

These five detainees could face the death penalty if they are convicted, but if any of them is acquitted he could still be kept in custody as an enemy combatant.

　
Both President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have said they would like to close the Guantanamo detention center, but Secretary Gates acknowledged recently that he has not made much progress toward finding an alternative way to deal with the terrorism suspects held here.

China Moves to Cool Housing Market

China is tightening limits on mortgage lending in hopes of cooling a market that has pushed housing prices beyond the reach of most Chinese.The government said Thursday that a 30-percent down payment will be required on first-home purchases, up from 20 percent. Purchases of second homes will require 50 percent down, up from 40 percent. Loans for purchases of third homes are banned.In addition, the government said it will introduce real estate taxes on a trial basis in some major cities, likely including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing.


The combined actions are an attempt to curb the run-up in real estate values. Housing prices in 70 major Chinese cities were up by more than 9 percent in August over the year before.That has kept many from buying homes in a country where the annual per capita income is about $4,500.

Coffee is one of the world's most widely-enjoyed beverages

Flavor aside, scientists have recognized it as a complex blend of chemical compounds with potential health effects, both good and bad. Now, new research suggests that if you drink enough coffee, it might help you avoid certain kinds of cancer.
Dr. Mia Hashibe of the University of Utah School of Medicine was interested in the link between coffee drinking and certain cancers of the head and neck. Researchers have looked into this before, but without reaching any firm conclusions.
"There were a few studies, but the findings were not consistent across the studies," she said, "so this finding from our current study was quite a surprise. We didn't really have any expectation of which direction it could go into."
To sort out the confusion, Hashibe and her colleagues used statistical techniques to, in effect, make one big study out of the previous smaller studies.
So we combined data across nine individual studies, so we have a lot more power than previous studies that looked at this. And we included 4,000 cancer patients who have cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx [throat]. And then 9,000 controls, so controls are people who do not have cancer."
Those studies – in Europe and the United States – found that people who drank a lot of coffee were less likely to develop cancers of the mouth and throat.
"We saw a protective effect for drinking more than 4 cups of coffee per day," Hashibe said. "This was the 40 percent decrease in risk. We did not observe an association for drinking three cups or less per day."
In an interview via Skype, Mia Hashibe said there was a weak link between cancer risk and drinking decaffeinated coffee, but it wasn't statistically significant. And she and her colleagues found no evidence that drinking tea provided the same protection as drinking coffee. Their research is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Hashibe says it is not clear how coffee might protect drinkers from certain cancers.
"There are a few chemicals that are known to be antioxidants in coffee. So we are thinking perhaps those compounds are playing some sort of protective role against several cancers."
If those compounds can be isolated, maybe someday you'll be able to take an anti-cancer pill, but for us coffee lovers, the answer may just be another refill.

US, Britain Reject Annan Criticism on Oil-For-Food Scandal

The United States and Britain have rejected U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's allegations that they are partly to blame for the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. Mr. Annan made the comment in what he thought was an off-the-record meeting.

The secretary-general's remarks came Thursday at a reunion seminar of current and past U.N. spokesmen. Answering a question from a former top U.N. official, Mr. Annan defended the world body's role in the scandal-plagued Iraq oil-for-food program. He said The United States and Britain, as members of the Security Council Committee that authorized and oversaw the program, had turned a blind eye to oil smuggling by Saddam Hussein's government.

"The bulk of the money that Saddam made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food [program], and it was on the American and British watch. They were the ones who had interdiction, possibly they were also the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and that the countries themselves decided to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies," he said.

The comments drew an immediate reaction in both London and Washington. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the charges "inaccurate".

A State Department official noted that what Mr. Annan was referring to were exemptions for Turkey and Jordan that had been highly publicized, and made with the full knowledge and understanding of the United Nations.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said anyone who was not aware of the exemptions had not been paying attention. He said it was a "red herring" to try now and claim that this was some shocking new revelation.

The U.S. mission to the United Nations Friday sent U.N. correspondents a transcript of a Congressional hearing earlier this week at which the Turkish and Jordanian exemptions were explained in detail.

Spokesman Richard Grennell said the mission's reaction to the smuggling allegations was the same as it has been for some time.

"There's a fundamental difference between oil smuggling, illegal oil smuggling that was done under the table and behind closed doors, and the very public process that the American government went through to exempt certain countries. Don't forget that this exemption came before the oil-for-food program was even established," he noted.

Asked to explain Mr. Annan's comments, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general had thought he was speaking off the record.
 
"It was my fault,” said Mr. Eckhard. “I didn't tell him that the UN TV camera was on and everyone in the building was listening to his remarks. He thought he was talking to a private seminar."

The oil-for-food program ran from 1996 to 2003. It allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil to buy critical supplies for Iraqi civilians at a time when the country was under a U.N. economic embargo.

Investigators say, however, that Saddam's regime made billions of dollars in illegal profits, both by corrupting the humanitarian program and through illegal oil sales totaling as much as 20 billion dollars.

Mr. Annan has been harshly criticized for U.N. mismanagement of the program, and for his son's involvement with a key oil-for-food program contractor. One U.S. Senator has repeatedly called on the secretary-general to step down.

But in what he thought were off-the-record comments Thursday, Mr. Annan bristled at the criticisms, which he called politically biased and ideologically inspired. He told the media seminar he sees the oil-for-food scandal as largely "an American story." He said in the rest of the world, there is still a lot of respect and enthusiasm for the world body and what it does.

A new study finds the economic crisis is hitting a key engine of growth - foreign migrants

The report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warns this trend could hurt richer and poorer nations.

　

Immigrants are an important part of the labor market in richer nations - making up about 10 percent of the labor force and taking jobs native workers cannot or do not want to fill. But a new study finds the economic downturn means hard times for these immigrants, as unemployment rises and governments increasingly favor native workers.

Released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the report also predicts the crisis will lead to a drop in immigration to OECD countries for the first time since the 1980s.

　

Thomas Liebig is an economist at the OECD.

　

"In many, most, OECD countries, unemployment (among migrants) is rising much more rapidly than among native populations," Liebig said. "And there are a number of reasons. First, all migrants are more often represented in sectors such as construction, hotel and gastronomy - and also manufacturing - which are more cyclical. They are much more hit by the downturn."

Liebig says migrant workers also tend to hold part-time jobs that demand unskilled labor, which again makes them vulnerable.

Migrants working in the 30-OECD nations come from all over the world - in the case of the United States, many hail from Latin America. In western Europe, they come from Africa and eastern Europe.

Just a few years ago, they were a critical factor in the economic booms witnessed in Spain, Ireland and Britain. And the money they sent back to their families in the form of remittances was also important to the economies of developing nations.

Almost one-in-10 immigrants working in Spain was unemployed during the first quarter of this year, for example, almost twice the unemployment rate of local workers. Immigrants also face discrimination in their host countries, many of which are tightening their immigration policies.

But Liebig says that does not necessarily mean these migrants are going home.

"We still have the (economic) crisis in origin countries. So financial incentive might not be sufficient to incite migrants to go back in a situation where they face even poorer working conditions in poorer nations," Liebig said.

The OECD is urging governments not to slam the door on migrants and to adopt fairer immigration policies because they will need foreign labor in the future when the economy picks up.

senior State Department official on Monday criticized, as "awful," a reported plan

The Obama administration is already upset over the warm welcome the Libyan government gave last week to the man convicted of the 1988 Pan Am airliner bombing over Scotland.

As host country of the United Nations, the United States is obligated by treaty to allow Mr. Gadhafi and other world leaders to attend U.N. activities.

But officials here are making no secret of their unease about his reported plan to pitch his trademark Bedouin tent at the New Jersey residence of Libya's U.N. mission chief during his stay.

The Libyan leader greets visiting foreign dignitaries in a tent at home. And in recent years, he has stayed in a tent while attending some international meetings.

A report in Newsweek magazine this week says Mr. Gadhafi decided to put up the tent at the Libyan residence in Englewood, New Jersey after having been denied permission to pitch the elaborate tent in New York's Central Park.

　
The plan has stirred opposition in Englewood, which has a large Jewish population and which is near the homes of some family members of Americans killed in the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, for which Libya accepted responsibility and paid compensation.

A senior official who spoke to reporters here called the idea to put the tent in Englewood "awful," but said the State Department was still discussing its formal position on the matter.

The same official termed as "disgusting" the hero's welcome the Gadhafi government gave to convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was released from prison by Scottish authorities on Thursday because he suffers from terminal cancer.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said Libya's treatment of Megrahi will affect the U.S.-Libyan relationship.

"The celebration of his return was extremely disturbing, and we have made it quite clear to the Libyan government - both publicly and privately - that we're going to be watching very closely how they receive this man," said Ian Kelly. "And if they continued to lionize him in a public fashion, that these kinds of public demonstrations can only have a profoundly negative effect on our relationship."

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the Libyan leader, was among a jubilant crowd that welcomed Megrahi at the Tripoli airport on Thursday. The Libyan leader himself visited Megrahi at his home on Saturday.

President Barack Obama called last week for Megrahi to be put under house arrest. The senior official who spoke here noted that the convicted terrorist has not left his home since arriving there, and credited Libyan authorities with acting to limit the size of the airport crowd.

Spokesman Kelly said the United States disagreed "passionately" with the decision of Scottish authorities to release Megrahi on health reasons.

　
But he said it will not damage the traditional warm relationship between the United States and Britain and that U.S. officials accept at face value British denials that trade considerations affected the Scottish decision.

President Barack Obama is urging the U.S. Senate to pass his financial reform legislation

The president says the bill will protect consumers, banks and the financial system.
In his weekly address, President Obama says the reform bill is an ambitious effort to protect consumers from some of the financial industry's worst abuses.
"The Wall Street reform bill in Congress represents the strongest consumer financial protections in history," said President Obama.
Senators have been debating legislation to protect consumers and end government bailouts of part of the nation's economy.
Mr. Obama says the bill is aimed at the industry practices that set off the U.S. financial crisis in 2008.
"With reform, we will make our financial system more transparent by bringing the kinds of complex backroom deals that helped trigger this crisis into the light of day," he added.
The president says the bill will subject large and small banks to tougher oversight, and prevent banks from taking so much risk they could collapse and threaten the economy.
The House of Representatives passed a similar reform bill in December.
The weekly Republican Party address comes from Congressman Chris Lee, who represents the area near Buffalo, New York, which President Obama visited on Thursday.
Lee says the president is ignoring the people's wishes for less government debt and more responsible budgets.
"President Obama visited our area this week, and it was my hope that he would listen, really listen, to what the people are saying,” said Lee. “I have been in Congress 16 months, but it does not take that long to figure out that Washington does more talking than listening."
Representative Lee says the Democratic Party's plans to stimulate employment are too expensive and will hurt the economy in the long term.

World's Fairs through history have demonstrated technological innovations

Over six months, around 73 million people packed national and theme displays, an average of 397,000 daily spread over an area roughly the size of New York City's Central Park. Guinness World Records says it may launch a new category to reflect the Shanghai Expo numbers, and doesn't currently list any peacetime gathering larger than the 20 million in 2001 for an Indian pilgrimage known as Kumbh Mela.

Like the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Expo featured a dazzling opening ceremony and stifling security measures. But while the Olympics were designed to introduce the new China to a global audience, Shanghai's Expo was a pageant of foreign nations coming out to the Chinese people.

The $24 mini-world tour, however, translated into huge queues. 'Undeterred by the searing heat or soaking rain, [visitors] waited patiently in long lines to witness this much anticipated event,' China's premier, Wen Jiabao said on a final-day visit Sunday, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

It was often an eight-hour wait at Saudi Arabia's moon-shaped IMAX theater. A territorial dispute in recent months sparked protests against Japan in many Chinese cities, but the grumbling in Shanghai stemmed from the average four-hour wait to enter its exhibit inside a purple cocoon. China's monumental red pagoda was a reminder of who hosted the party and admission quotas for it filled within minutes each morning.

To pay homage to a Little Mermaid statue that had been temporarily transferred from Copenhagen Harbor, 5.5 million people poured into Denmark's pavilion. That, noted Commissioner General Christopher Bo Bramsen, 'happens to be the nation's population.'

What it all cost is a secret that Shanghai authorities refuse to divulge. Local media estimated $40 billion was spent on a citywide upgrade including, for instance, 150 new subway stops in three years.

If each person through the Expo turnstiles visitor had paid full fare, the event's ticket sales would have generated around $1.8 billion. But millions of Shanghai residents entered free and numerous Chinese tours were government subsidized.

Now, participating nations are required to disassemble their multimillion-dollar pavilions─an ironic finale to a fair centering on sustainable urban development. Still a taboo subject: how Shanghai will redevelop the now-paved neighborhood, formerly a steelworks with low-income housing that straddles two sides of the Huangpu River. Expo authorities refused permission for an Oct. 21 conference on the subject.

Shanghai's Expo Bureau didn't respond to a list of questions.

For professional people watchers, the Expo provided unique insight into how to comfort, entertain and manage huge crowds. 'Even though it's off the charts, it's not something you can't learn from,' said Gordon Linden, co-author of newly published 'The Expo Book.'

In interviews, experts cited takeaways for global media, tourism, transportation and security companies that see Chinese as a target market. Fewer than 3% of Chinese have a passport now. But by taking 47 million trips abroad last year and another 1.9 billion domestically, China's population represents a sizable global travel trend.

The Expo reinforced, unsurprisingly, that Chinese prefer Asian food over Irish fare. Oddly, anecdotal evidence from organizers indicates visitor anxiety levels peaked in the mornings. Security officers concluded confrontation might backfire in vast crowds, so queue jumpers often went unchallenged.

Pavilion gatekeepers were deluged with demands─and bribes─to allow priority entry. Germany's Mr. Willers said he witnessed 'miracles' when wheelchair-bound visitors walked after gaining admission.

Visitors often rushed past cultural relics, like the Frida Kahlo painting in Mexico's exhibit. But they perched on $2 foam stools to enjoy Australians in hokey cow and kangaroo costumes.

Colombia tripled its shop revenue by introducing 'very basic' $1.50 bracelets when its $45 handbags went unsold, said general manager Juan Pablo Cavelier. Enthusiasm ran highest for free stamps in commemorative Expo passports.

High visitor numbers were always anticipated, and Expo organizers won plaudits for supplying ample clean water stations and toilets. After queues turned riotous during trial runs ahead of the May 1 opening, mazes to organize lines were quickly installed , helping to limit Expo incidents to daily fisticuffs .

'There is no previous scale or metric to go by,' said Mark Germyn, a theme-park veteran who was chief operating officer for the U.S. pavilion.

Fairgoers smoked, ate, sometimes urinated in queues and generated 'a staggering amount of trash,' he said. Yet, he added, 'the compression factor' meant more people entered: The roughly 11 square feet that American theme parks plan per person accommodated at least three people in Shanghai.

Millions were enchanted by coos and winks from Spain's lifelike 21-foot-tall baby named Miguelín. They were inspired by architectural flourishes on Britain's pavilion of fiber-optic strands and a United Arab Emirates sand dune in steel.

During the Expo's final week, Chile showed a red, white and blue Phoenix 1 capsule, used in the rescue of its 33 long-trapped miners.

In a U.S. exhibit that initially struggled for its $61 million financing, over seven million watched, and often applauded, a film about a headstrong girl who rallies her neighbors─a tale of individualism that for China may have looked mildly subversive.

As the fair wound down, attendance surged, topping one million on Oct. 16.

To handle the overflow outside the Saudi exhibit during the final week, paramilitary People's Armed Police recruits maintained authority. Throngs pressed chest-to-back along three tracks, each hundreds of yards long, beneath a sign that read in English, mystifyingly: 'Place Sharing and No Challenging.'