I've been reading it like mad...mostly about the United States' financial situation and China's presence in Tibet and the threat to Taiwan.

    Did you know that about 225,000 climate-change-related deaths occurred in the Asia Pacific region last year? Including malaria, flooding, etc...

    Did you know that Taiwan has been deliberately not allowing their dollar to strengthen so that the US will continue to purchase products from them, and that this is the reason that so much inflation is happening to their country now? And did you know also that Asian companies and bankers are trying to pull more and more out of betting on US currency and are being forced to by their government?

    So anyway, I was wondering if I could get some input on this: Do you think that by eliminating the minimum wage, the United States would be able to pull out of a recession faster?

    Here's the justification: If you eliminate the minimum wage, the price of labor will be at equilibrium with the market...people will be willing to work for far less - mostly minorities, the ones who, at the present time, are the ones suffering most from unemployment (approx. 9% among blacks, 5-6% among Hispanics). Subsequently, because cost of production decreases and because people are making less, prices will drop, thus fighting inflation. If we can fight inflation enough, people will buy more, and the economy will turn around.
    There is also another factor; inflation in Asian countries has in some areas (Taiwan, Vietnam) tripled over the last year alone. Since about half of the products which the United States imports are from Asia, and cost of production are going up all across the board, American consumers are going to be forced to pay more, especially at historically "cheap" stores such as Wal-Mart. In a situation like this, is it not better for America to mobilize our own shrinking workforce, even if it is in a manufacturing sense, to create products at a similar price (possible with the elimination of minimum wage), and thus help eliminate the massive trade deficit (which, if not combated, will result in a lower standard of living)? (As of January 2008, the US trade deficit in both goods and services was $58.2 billion).

    This really makes me want to find international employment...where the currency will actually have a value.

    Thanks for your thoughts! :)

1. Resolve to be the best person you know in your field.
2. Surround yourself with people who are better than you.
3. Be confident.
4. If you have an idea, don't be afraid to work for it.
5. Don't be discouraged even if you put a lot of work into something and it fails. Nothing is wasted.

Now, let's apply this to my boyfriend status (which is nonexistent):

1. I really don't know if I'm the best girl around...that's a very subjective thing. But I think I'm a good person.
2. Definitely have done this. Almost every girl I know has a boyfriend.
3. I think I'm pretty confident.
4. Yeah, I do this, too.
5. TIME is wasted. TIME I could be spending with a MAN.

    You know what I think it really comes down to?

    I just want to have something to love.

    A person, a man, a friend, a country, a school.

    You know what I love most in this world?

    Jonathan, Ariel, my mother, my novel, art, music, literature, nature, and beauty, in no particular order, except that my mother is first.

    I guess that means I should go wander the beautiful countryside and write haiku. And take Ariel with me.

    I think it is very beautiful in twilight, when the great oak tree is an almost detail-less silhouette against the fading sky, the half moon hovering above it. I love the smears of pastel-colored clouds which look like shredded cotton, stretched and smoothed onto the sky.
    I love the pond which used to be bathed in moonlight, the moon reflected in it as I walked to my bus stop in the morning...I love the birds, the small Japanese maples, the overgrown field, the small tree which they tried to cut down but which thrived nonetheless...
    Up until this point I have wished that I could call a place home...that I could truly take America into my heart and say "This is my homeland. This is where I am comfortable. This is where I love. This is where belong."
    But I have never felt that way about America. I want to return to Egypt to return to my roots for that reason...
    But what I have realized is that, wherever I have land, I become bonded to it. Where there is earth, I will have a home. There is so much comfort, so much peace, so much serenity in the small movements, the unchoreographed, simple rustlings of the land...there is no way to completely convey the feeling...it is like when lying in the arms of the love of your life. Of knowing that you are safe, that you are protected, that you are home. That is the land.
    I walked and said goodbye to the land tonight.
    But in truth, it never leaves me.
    While there is still land, there will always be hope.

    Goodnight...

And that they go for them.

"S.K.I.N. has announced that they plan on creating "high-impact, explosive rock music" that will "become the first Asian band to top the world charts."

Look out for them this year. The revolution has begun."

- [S.K.I.N.Online - Official Site]

Their site is aimed to create a large American fanbase...they're looking for staff that want to join unpaid because they want to help...hell, I would do it, if I had enough coding experience.

Miyavi, Sugizo, and Yoshiki all have an official myspace...

Screaming Orgasm recipe