YEAH MY DAD WILL KICK YOUR ASS BIATCHES!!!

Current Mood: sad
Is it normal to go through the quarter-life crisis when you’re 18? Well, is it? WTF is wrong with me?!? Depression is rage turned inward. Well, I guess that pretty much explains it. Don’t get me wrong, my life is great. I can’t wait to start college in the fall, and I can’t wait to start on my job this summer. Each step I take forward is a step to total independence. And believe me, I’m a lot happier now than I’ve ever been. But…I don’t know, I guess I’m turning to an absurdist. The more I read Ecclesiastes, the more I find myself concurring with what the wise man’s saying. It’s depressing as fuck to know how hard I’ll have to work to reach the comforts of being wealthy. Malibu mansion? Sinecure? Servants? Is it really all vain? Is all the hard work and suffering worth it? I read somewhere once that, yes, money can buy you happiness, but it can’t buy you joy. So what should I strive for? Satisfaction? Perhaps. I mean, the wise man eventually concluded, after much introspective thinking, that the only good a man can do is to be content with what God has given him. Happiness is shallow and fleeting. Satisfaction is lasting and deep. Maybe I need to have more faith.
But anways, for some reason, whenever I feel bad, listening to this song makes me feel better.

I think it’s because it’s so honest, heartfelt, and is exactly how i feel at times. yeah…
technorati tags: hello kitty

Where do I see myself in the future? When I am asked this question, there are many different scenarios that shuttle through my mind like distinctly colored woofs going back and forth on a loom. In one scenario, I am wearing a suit and a red tie, and I am in the streets among other feminists protesting the plight of women under Shariah Law. In another scenario, I am wearing a rainbow-colored bandana around my forehead, and I am on a stage in front of millions of Muslims, giving a speech that will galvanize the moderate Muslims to stand up to the religious oppression of gay people around the world. Still in another scenario, I see myself as an inquisitive journalist, never searching for and never accepting anything but the truth. But in all these scenarios, I see one thing in common: I see myself trying to make the world into an ideal place, and I see myself speaking passionately about the truth in such an impartial, lucid way that everyone cannot help but agree with what I’m saying.
So I still haven’t directly answered the question. Where do I see myself in the future? After carefully contemplating all the scenarios in my mind, I decided to culminate all my aspirations into one goal: to become a human’s rights activist. I see myself making and signing petitions that protest injustices against defenseless Americans and then sending them to congressmen, pushing and lobbying for new laws in America and in other countries that are protective of and beneficial towards women and gay people, and most importantly, I see myself giving powerful and moving speeches to moderates around the world which will spur them into action against the radicals and their violent, irrational agendas. To give an example of how my speeches could potentially be beneficial towards all those who hear them, I will refer you to a speech I made in the small group I was a part of named “The coexistence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews for peace,” when I was a freshmen in high school. In this group, there was radical named Achmed who spewed out vitriolic sentiments on every group meeting we held. Although Achmed’s hateful rhetoric was offensive to all of us moderates, we kept our mouths shut because we were afraid of the scathing backlashes Achmed was well -known to give people he disagreed with. However, one day, I decided to brake out of my protective shell, and fired back at Achmed. When Achmed told us members that we, as moderates, were going to be defeated by radicals like him because “radicals love death more than moderates love life,” I responded by standing up furiously and saying “No Achmed. The survival of the fittest dictum dictates that in order to survive on this planet, one must not only have strong adaptation skills, but one must also have a very strong will to live. No, Achmed, you radicals will never defeat us moderates. You know why? Because we hate death more than you love death, we love life more than you love death, and most importantly, we love life more than you love life!” As I gave this small speech in front of the members of the group, I could feel the light in me slowly making my eyes clearer and brighter, and I could feel the glimmer of hope illuminating in all of the members of the group. However, most importantly, as I gave my speech, I could see droplets of tears welling up in Achmed’s eyes. That is when I realized that Achmed was actually waiting for someone on the side of life to give him hope that there was more passion and meaning in the side of life than in the side of death. In addition, I believe most radicals go to the side of death in hopes to be resurrected, in hopes that through death they will find eternal life, and in hopes that the side of death will be different from the side of life in that it will not give it’s members death through the ignorance of apathy.

Furthermore, I believe my speeches could ultimately help me reach my goal of turning this world into an ideal place, for most of the “radicals” and moderates in this world are simply looking for passion and meaning, namely, for life, and I believe through my speeches I could turn some of the radicals from their self-destructive behavior and spur the moderates to stand up to the tyranny of the radicals. Today, there is not really a voice in this vast wilderness of death and destruction that is passionate or lively enough to move anyone into action. However, in the future, I see myself changing all of that. I see myself ultimately bettering all of humanity by encouraging every man and woman to better his or herself first. Finally, I see myself spreading the truth to everyone, the truth that every single life on earth is precious, and the sanctity and hope of life will survive and conquer the sanctity and hope of death.
bullshit

Considering I only spent three hours researching and writing, I think I concocted a great report for my uncle. He’s in Shanghai right now, and he asked me to write a report for him on the yuan vs. the dollar. My mom is actually mulling over sending me to China to work for him!! That would be the most awesome job ever! Also, it would be a great experience, and “spending time working for my uncle in China while simutaneously being wary of the organ harvesting police” would look great on my resume. XD well here is the report. What do you guys think about it?

Rise of the Yuan; decline of the U.S. dollar
The relationship between China and the U.S. is often described as a yin-yang accord; China, with its dark, recent past under Mao’s “Cultural Revolution,” along with its current totalitarian regime, is often seen as the night-time, namely, the yin side of the duo. By the same token, the U.S., with its paternalistic approach in handling world affairs, along with its democratic government that serves as a beacon of light to the rest of the world, is often seen as the dominant male, namely, the yang side of the duo. Therefore, when this dynamic duo has a balanced relationship, there is harmony in the global economy. However, when there are disruptions in this circle of trust, there is an imbalance in trade, which is evidently shown in the U.S.’s trade deficit with China.

As shown in the graph, the value of the U.S. trade deficit is somewhat inversely proportional to the value of the U.S. dollar; towards the end of the graph, as the U.S. trade deficit reaches a record high, the value of the U.S. dollar sharply declines after a steep climb. The reason for this is partly due to top administrative policymakers and national industry officials prompting a depreciation of the U.S. dollar in hopes that the windfall of such a measure would be a higher demand for cheaper U.S. exports. Thus, as the theory goes, the U.S. would export more than it would import, and in time, it would correct the trade imbalance. However, to fully understand all the factors and forces behind the curtain manipulating the appreciation and depreciation of the currencies, one must not explicate the political forces as the only motivating factor, but rather recognize the market forces as an important player too.

U.S. Dollar to Chinese Yuan Exchange Rate

Reasons for the rise of the yuan
The most noticeable reason for the revaluation of the yuan is the fact that, in 2005, China’s central bank deep-sixed the yuan’s peg to the dollar in favor of one against a basket of the world’s leading currencies. Bowing to U.S. pressure and criticism that China purposefully undervalued its yuan to gain an edge over the U.S. in trade, Chinese officials discarded the 11-year peg to the dollar, resulting in the yuan’s immediate two percent gain against the U.S. dollar. In addition, although the yuan is often referred to as “fiat money,” there are also market forces that determine the yuan’s value. For example, out of a direct consequence of China’s high economic growth rate-more than 9 percent per year on average- foreign direct investment(FDI) in China has dramatically increased over the years. As a result, the value of the yuan has also increased. Finally, in the midterm 2006 election, the American people voted a majority of protectionist Democrats into office. Therefore, in the future, due to hostile and wary D.C. representatives, Chinese officials may be pressured to appreciate the yuan even more to appease China’s second biggest trading partner, the U.S.

Reasons for the decline of the U.S. dollar
As someone once said, “The past is prologue to the future.” To fully understand why the U.S. dollar is in a perpetual state of decline, one must go back to August 13, 1971, when Richard Nixon categorically and definitively did away with the gold standard. Because millions of “Eurodollars”(dollars that turned worthless in 1971 because countries failed to convert them to gold) are still floating around in the world market, and because the absolute value of the U.S. dollar cannot be known, the value of the U.S. dollar has steeply plunged during inflationary intervals in our economy since that time. Globalization is also a key factor in the depreciation of the U.S. dollar, as evidenced in the 1980’s when Japan’s economy emerged as a formidable competitor, and the value of the dollar against the yen was halved. Another important factor is a decline of FDI in the U.S. due to the high business and information risks from the recent implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. However, perhaps the greatest reason for the recent decline in the dollar is the growing U.S. economy’s twin deficit. Aggravated in part by a growing increase in U.S. defense spending, the twin deficit is seen by many leading macroeconomists as the main perpetrator responsible for the current devaluation of the U.S. dollar.

Consequences of the trade disproportion
The impact of the growing trade imbalance between China and U.S. on the global economy will hit both countries most valuable assets-poor manufacturers and middle-class families, respectively- the hardest. Because a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar will lead to an increase in the price of Chinese imports, the ubiquitous Wal-Mart, whose super centers are well-known for low prices, will soon face a dramatic increase in the prices of its goods. Also, because Wal-Mart’s patrons are usually low to middle-income families, the rise in prices will hurt this sector of society as consumers will not be able to afford many needed products. Due to lack of American consumer spending, demand for Chinese manufactured goods will decrease, and this will eventually lead to a recession in China and unemployment for poor exporters and manufacturers. In turn, the U.S. economy would head into recession as a result of a decrease in goods imported from China and a decline in consumer spending. Because most of the major economies in the world are export-based and depend heavily on the U.S. market, a declining U.S. economy will eventually translate to extreme hardships for the world economy.

Conclusion
Heretofore, U.S. authorities and administrative officials have not intervened to prop up the declining U.S. dollar. Some welcome it as a sign of strong growth in the U.S. economy; others see it as a trivial matter best handled by the natural forces in the U.S. market. However, because of the instability of the U.S. currency, many foreign investors are shying away from U.S. markets for fear of high risks and low returns. As a result, because the lack of investment causes slow economic growth and stagnant employment, many businesses in America have suffered. In addition, further appreciation of the yuan has impeded foreign investment and has slowed China’s economic growth rate. Taking all this into account, it is imperative that the U.S. government stop pressuring China to revalue its currency, and instead allow China autonomy in handling its own economic affairs. Furthermore, the central bank of China should re-fix the yuan’s value closely to the U.S. dollar’s value, and it should also permit both currencies to chase each other as their values go up and down, analogous to the way the white shape chases the black shape in the universally pervasive orb. If China and the U.S. can achieve taking back the status quo ante when their economic relationship was balanced and healthy, then this dynamic duo will roll on to the sunrise of the future globalized, one-world economy in one piece. And, ideally, as long as these two are in economic harmony, the world economy will be stable.