 |
| A Cultural Revolution poster (Source: Wikipedia) |
(To be continued in Part 2)
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
China, the Manufacturing Capital of the World... to-be (Part 1)
America was once very much like China, the manufacturing power-house of the world. America's manufacturing sector enjoyed being the world's largest and the most advanced starting from the late 1890's, surpassing Britain. Some say the wars helped boost America's economy, especially after the Great Depression of the 1930's, due to higher production of uniforms, weaponry etc.
It was not until the late 1970's that America started off-shoring manufacturing jobs to counties such as China because that was when China started relaxing regulations and encouraged foreign investment. During that time, China was undergoing economic reforms to make it more efficient and stimulate higher economic growth. At this time, many people in China were still very poor and had dismal living conditions. You could say that this low standard of living was due to the communist regime and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76. The Cultural Revolution aimed to make China more communist and 'modern' but the effects were devastating as economic activities slowed and stopped. Therefore, it was important for China to have economic reforms to try to bring China out of an economic slumber.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
What are Regional Currencies? (Part 2)
(Continued from Part 1)
That is not to say the residents of the respective regions took in the new currencies with open arms. As it is with human nature, the residents were weary at first, reluctant to participate but after 8 years, as in the case of the Chiemgauer, things took off. The Chiemgauer in its fledgling year had a dismal turnover of €75,000, but by 2011, its turnover increased to €6 200 000. Now over 600 businesses in the region accept the currency and according to reports, the residents are happy with it. After all, 1 Chiemgauer is exchangeable for 1 euro, so I guess the residents don't lose out at all.With the Berkshare, it is another success story. Last year, over 400 businesses accepted the Berkshare. In just 30 months from its launch, about 2.2 Berkshares were issued.
Regional currencies are introduced for several reasons - although the Chiemgauer did start out as a school project, it has brought benefits to the region's people and economy. Similarly, the Berkshares have gain immense attention from non-users as the financial cirsis hit the Western world in 2008. It seems that with the Berkshare, the Berkshire economy was able to stay relatively intact and stable, although the Berkshare is still backed by the US dollar, the local currency still succeeds in retaining wealth within the community.
However, there are downsides as well, the BerkShare, being backed by the US dollar, is still vulnerable to volatility in the US economy in general. The Chiemgauer does present a catch, if the note is not used within 3 months, its value depreciates and renewing the expired requires the holder to pay a sort of penalty.
I think having regional currencies is a good idea if the people in the community are willing to participate and support it fully. Otherwise, it would be hassle trying to pay for some goods at a local shop. The regional currency, of course, has many limitations, such as not being accepted outside of the specific region. I wonder, if any regional currency ever got to a stage of being so influential that it could match even a quarter, or even one tenth, of the country's currency turnover or profit, would it be a significant threat to the country's currency?
(Concluded)
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiemgauer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BerkShares
That is not to say the residents of the respective regions took in the new currencies with open arms. As it is with human nature, the residents were weary at first, reluctant to participate but after 8 years, as in the case of the Chiemgauer, things took off. The Chiemgauer in its fledgling year had a dismal turnover of €75,000, but by 2011, its turnover increased to €6 200 000. Now over 600 businesses in the region accept the currency and according to reports, the residents are happy with it. After all, 1 Chiemgauer is exchangeable for 1 euro, so I guess the residents don't lose out at all.With the Berkshare, it is another success story. Last year, over 400 businesses accepted the Berkshare. In just 30 months from its launch, about 2.2 Berkshares were issued.
 |
| Berkshares (Source: Wikipedia) |
 |
| Chiemgauer (Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540939/Rival-to-euro-as-Germans-cash-in-on-currency.html) |
Regional currencies are introduced for several reasons - although the Chiemgauer did start out as a school project, it has brought benefits to the region's people and economy. Similarly, the Berkshares have gain immense attention from non-users as the financial cirsis hit the Western world in 2008. It seems that with the Berkshare, the Berkshire economy was able to stay relatively intact and stable, although the Berkshare is still backed by the US dollar, the local currency still succeeds in retaining wealth within the community.
However, there are downsides as well, the BerkShare, being backed by the US dollar, is still vulnerable to volatility in the US economy in general. The Chiemgauer does present a catch, if the note is not used within 3 months, its value depreciates and renewing the expired requires the holder to pay a sort of penalty.
I think having regional currencies is a good idea if the people in the community are willing to participate and support it fully. Otherwise, it would be hassle trying to pay for some goods at a local shop. The regional currency, of course, has many limitations, such as not being accepted outside of the specific region. I wonder, if any regional currency ever got to a stage of being so influential that it could match even a quarter, or even one tenth, of the country's currency turnover or profit, would it be a significant threat to the country's currency?
(Concluded)
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiemgauer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BerkShares
What are Regional Currencies? (Part 1)
On September 19th 2012, the latest city in the UK to have its own regional currency is the city of Bristol. It is known as the Bristol Pound (£B) and it comes in four denominations: 1, 5, 10 and 20. Good news for the residents of Bristol, because one Bristol Pound is exactly exchangeable for one pound sterling. The Bristol Pound denominations are complete with designs submitted by those in the community.
 |
| Bristol Pound denominations (Source: http://bristolpound.org/news?id=3) |
There are many synonyms for 'regional currency', including local currency, community currency and alternative currencies, though they do not necessarily have the exact same meaning. We will focus on local currency and regional currency here.
Two of the most well-known local/regional currencies include the Chiemgauer and the Berkshare. The Chiemgauer is used in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany and was introduced in 2003; the Berkshare was introduced in September 2006 in the region of Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA. They are popular with residents of respective regions.
(To be continued in Part 2)
Cheers
zhusun
(To be continued in Part 2)
Cheers
zhusun
Sunday, 23 December 2012
Significance of the Winter Solstice to the Chinese
With the 2012 apocalypse subject aside, let's move to a more grounded and cultural view of the annual event known as the winter solstice.
As you might remember from your Geography class - I had to refresh my memory reading some material on the web - the winter solstice typically falls on the 20-22 December and marks the start of winter.
In the East, there should be multiple interpretations of the event. I know of a few associated to the Chinese culture. Every year, the Chinese celebrate the 'Dongzhi' Festival, or as I like to call it, 'Tangyuan' festival. It is a time when families reunite and share tangyuan soup, a dish of glutinous rice balls cooked and eaten in sweet soup. I remember watching a TV programme that says that a family reunion on this day is more important than during the Chinese New Year. I've also heard from my family members that eating tangyuan signifies that you have grown a year older. Besides that, some of my friends worship their ancestors or pray to their gods on this day.
I'd like to learn more about how different cultures celebrate the winter solstice. So if you have knowledge of or experience any sort of cultural significance towards this day, feel free to drop a comment below. Thanks.
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi_Festival
As you might remember from your Geography class - I had to refresh my memory reading some material on the web - the winter solstice typically falls on the 20-22 December and marks the start of winter.
In the East, there should be multiple interpretations of the event. I know of a few associated to the Chinese culture. Every year, the Chinese celebrate the 'Dongzhi' Festival, or as I like to call it, 'Tangyuan' festival. It is a time when families reunite and share tangyuan soup, a dish of glutinous rice balls cooked and eaten in sweet soup. I remember watching a TV programme that says that a family reunion on this day is more important than during the Chinese New Year. I've also heard from my family members that eating tangyuan signifies that you have grown a year older. Besides that, some of my friends worship their ancestors or pray to their gods on this day.
I'd like to learn more about how different cultures celebrate the winter solstice. So if you have knowledge of or experience any sort of cultural significance towards this day, feel free to drop a comment below. Thanks.
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi_Festival
Friday, 21 December 2012
Another Failed Apocalypse Prediction
It's 22-12-12. I'm living to type these letters and words right now. There is still electricity - hence my computer is functioning. Hey, I'm connected to the internet. Go figure. The earth survived 21-12-12, like it has for 4.54 billion years.
Today, coincidentally, is also the winter solstice, which is also the shortest day of the year and marks the start of winter. On this day, the north pole is at its furthest distance away from the sun. Different cultures celebrate this annual event with their own significance. I'll discuss this in another post.
This failed prediction of an apocalypse can come as a shocker - a disappointment, even - to believers, but it is no novelty. Throughout history, there have been failed attempts by priests, preachers and enthusiasts have tried in vain - and luckily - to pin-point a specific date for the second coming, or an armageddon. Calculations were even made.
I don't think the attempts to try to pin-point the day of the apocalypse will ever end, nor will be hype ever be dulled. Maybe we can all share a hope that the prophecies of an end-of-the-world continue to be wrong.
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20712815
Today, coincidentally, is also the winter solstice, which is also the shortest day of the year and marks the start of winter. On this day, the north pole is at its furthest distance away from the sun. Different cultures celebrate this annual event with their own significance. I'll discuss this in another post.
This failed prediction of an apocalypse can come as a shocker - a disappointment, even - to believers, but it is no novelty. Throughout history, there have been failed attempts by priests, preachers and enthusiasts have tried in vain - and luckily - to pin-point a specific date for the second coming, or an armageddon. Calculations were even made.
I don't think the attempts to try to pin-point the day of the apocalypse will ever end, nor will be hype ever be dulled. Maybe we can all share a hope that the prophecies of an end-of-the-world continue to be wrong.
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20712815
Thursday, 20 December 2012
The End of the World?
Lo and behold! It's the day before the dreaded 21-12-12. What have you been up to leading up to the faithful day? Have you been stocking up on food supplies? Have you been building a bunker beneath your house? Or have you just been living out each day, not expecting anything extraordinary to happen? Whatever you've been doing, I'm sure you're well aware of tomorrow's date.
According to the Mayan calender, well, there are no more days after 21-12-12. I came by a comic somewhere, and it goes like this: a man was asking an ancient Mayan why he'd stopped carving the calender, and the Mayan replied that he had run out of stone. From this, you can tell that there really are many ways to look at it.
The most popularised and if not, frightening, interpretation of the termination of the Mayan calender is the termination of life on earth. This is just a theory put forward by modern scientists. Many sorts of cataclysmic events are predicted such as shifting of poles, a sort of celestial alignment that only happens once every 26,000 years, solar storms and horrific earthquakes and tsunamis. What makes this sound rather fantastical is that different people expect so many different things to happen on one single day.
Another way to look at this is, of course, that the ancient Mayans simply ran out of stone to carve on, as mentioned above. Besides that, we can take the concept of the Mayan calender like how we take our modern calender - the Gregorian calender or Western calender. In fact, the Gregorian calender ends on 31 December every year. Do we theorise an end-of-the-world event? According to an article on the National Geographic News, the Mayan calender ends so that it can start a new cycle, actually repeating it. The circular calender that is the image of the Mayan calender is called the Long Count. The Mayans called the day of creation as Day Zero, approximately in 3114 BC. Therefore, the end of the Mayan calender simply means the start of a new, lengthy cycle. In other words, the Mayans did not prophesise an armageddon.
While I think it's a good idea to be on the alert of disasters and to be ready at all times, I don't think you should panic over the coming of 21-12-12. Let's just hope for the best.
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091106-2012-end-of-world-myths.html
According to the Mayan calender, well, there are no more days after 21-12-12. I came by a comic somewhere, and it goes like this: a man was asking an ancient Mayan why he'd stopped carving the calender, and the Mayan replied that he had run out of stone. From this, you can tell that there really are many ways to look at it.
The most popularised and if not, frightening, interpretation of the termination of the Mayan calender is the termination of life on earth. This is just a theory put forward by modern scientists. Many sorts of cataclysmic events are predicted such as shifting of poles, a sort of celestial alignment that only happens once every 26,000 years, solar storms and horrific earthquakes and tsunamis. What makes this sound rather fantastical is that different people expect so many different things to happen on one single day.
Another way to look at this is, of course, that the ancient Mayans simply ran out of stone to carve on, as mentioned above. Besides that, we can take the concept of the Mayan calender like how we take our modern calender - the Gregorian calender or Western calender. In fact, the Gregorian calender ends on 31 December every year. Do we theorise an end-of-the-world event? According to an article on the National Geographic News, the Mayan calender ends so that it can start a new cycle, actually repeating it. The circular calender that is the image of the Mayan calender is called the Long Count. The Mayans called the day of creation as Day Zero, approximately in 3114 BC. Therefore, the end of the Mayan calender simply means the start of a new, lengthy cycle. In other words, the Mayans did not prophesise an armageddon.
While I think it's a good idea to be on the alert of disasters and to be ready at all times, I don't think you should panic over the coming of 21-12-12. Let's just hope for the best.
Cheers
zhusun
Further reading:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091106-2012-end-of-world-myths.html
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
12-12-12
There is some hype surrounding the date 12-12-12 which only occurs once every century. This will be the last time we see all numerals in the date repeat for the next 88 years. So some people have planned to do some significant tings today.
I can predict many couples getting married today, and especially at the time 12:12. According to the New York Daily News, 65,000 couples got married on 7-7-7. Mass weddings, anyone? Besides that, there will be concert called '121212 Concert: The Concert for Sandy Relief' to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund where the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, The Rollings Stones, Paul McCartney, Alicia Keys etc. will perform in Madison Square Garden. There are even people who will turn 12 today. A boy named Kiam Moriya is one such child whose time of birth matches the day and month of birth. Furthermore, some people are trying their luck with the lottery or other forms of gambling. Some people are starting businesses, trade, buying property etc.
Though, don't let the date's significance cower you into a corner due to fear of a doomsday event. From the years 2001 to 2012, we have witnessed these kind of days come and go with normality. Of course, you shouldn't let your guard down. Well, we being humans, always want to seek out some significance to patterns or dates that seem too good to be insignificant. This date is special, no doubt. The number 12 is significant because its everywhere: the modern 12-hour clock face; in Christianity, there were 12 apostles of Jesus; there are 12 signs in Western astrology; in the Chinese zodiac, there are 12 animals; 12 inches in a foot; 12 months in a year - obviously; 12 days of Christmas. And by the way, there are only 12 more days to Christmas. So you might think people over the ages were obsessed with the number 12.
This date should not be confused with 21-12-12 which is the prophesied 'doomsday' because the Mayan calender ends there. That topic is for another blog entry.
In the meantime, enjoy your 12-12-12, the last date with repeating numerals until 1st January 2101.
Cheers
zhusun
I can predict many couples getting married today, and especially at the time 12:12. According to the New York Daily News, 65,000 couples got married on 7-7-7. Mass weddings, anyone? Besides that, there will be concert called '121212 Concert: The Concert for Sandy Relief' to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund where the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, The Rollings Stones, Paul McCartney, Alicia Keys etc. will perform in Madison Square Garden. There are even people who will turn 12 today. A boy named Kiam Moriya is one such child whose time of birth matches the day and month of birth. Furthermore, some people are trying their luck with the lottery or other forms of gambling. Some people are starting businesses, trade, buying property etc.
Though, don't let the date's significance cower you into a corner due to fear of a doomsday event. From the years 2001 to 2012, we have witnessed these kind of days come and go with normality. Of course, you shouldn't let your guard down. Well, we being humans, always want to seek out some significance to patterns or dates that seem too good to be insignificant. This date is special, no doubt. The number 12 is significant because its everywhere: the modern 12-hour clock face; in Christianity, there were 12 apostles of Jesus; there are 12 signs in Western astrology; in the Chinese zodiac, there are 12 animals; 12 inches in a foot; 12 months in a year - obviously; 12 days of Christmas. And by the way, there are only 12 more days to Christmas. So you might think people over the ages were obsessed with the number 12.
This date should not be confused with 21-12-12 which is the prophesied 'doomsday' because the Mayan calender ends there. That topic is for another blog entry.
In the meantime, enjoy your 12-12-12, the last date with repeating numerals until 1st January 2101.
Cheers
zhusun
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)