BrainPaw

  The idea of global currency has been put forward for years now. But what is global currency?  A world currency refers to a currency that is transacted internationally, with no set borders. While it is true more and more firms are becoming multinational and must deal with a number of monetary systems, it is not always feasible to develop one monetary system to do away with the exchange rate. On March 26, 2009 a UN panel of expert economists called for a new global currency reserve scheme to replace the current US dollar based system.  Other proposals have been put forth but the all have some difficulties.   The well-known economist, Keynes, advocated a global currency and argued that it wouldn’t suffer from inflation and many argue it would make conducting business more efficient.  However,  other economists argue that a single world currency is unnecessary because it would bring little benefit and increase costs. I am more inclined to agree with the latte...

  Michael Porter’s Diamond Model was first published in his 1990 book, The Competitive Advantage of Nations. It attempts to explain why one nation is more competitive than another in a particular industry. The model is often used by businesses to analyze the external competitive environment. At a country level, there are two schools of thought on country competitiveness: the economic school, which rejects Porter’s notion of country competitiveness, and the management school, which supports the notion of competitiveness at a country level. There are two schools of thought; the economic school, which ignores Porter’s notion of country competitiveness, and the management school, which supports the notion of competitiveness at a country level. The meaning of international competitiveness at the country level within in the context of Porter’s   (1990a) thesis that countries, like companies, compete in international markets for their fair share of the world markets. Trade theory in ...

  “An infinity of forests lies dormant in the dreams of a single acorn.” (Dr. Wayne Dyer) Picture the beauty of creation before the coming of civilization; before that stage of human social development and organization, which is considered most advanced. Only an acorn and things akin to it can dream the greatness of pure wilderness upon the earth. Untouched by man, the laws of nature, first and foremost, support the systems they serve; the floral and fauna thrive under the direction of nature’s laws. Plants and animals lived accordingly, nourishing the earth and allowing it to grow and flourish. Water systems give freely of themselves, nurturing the soil and plants along the way, while continuing their journey, bringing fresh cool water for animals waiting near the water holes. The rain replenishing the water reservoirs as the wind transports the seeds of new life all nurtured by the heat of the sun. In perfect harmony, the wilderness survives on its own.    The mos...

                               “ My Hope ” March is coming ! It will be spring once again, a time for new life, new understanding.  It will be yet another opportunity to come together as people of planet Earth to explore our relationship with our planet and with one another. Yet, I am really confused about what is happening in our world. I am witnessing something that has me feeling sad, a little frustrated as a young person and sometimes even a little angry. I am seeing the death of humanity! I am questioning all that we are as human beings and I am desperately looking for signs that humanity still exists.  I am seeking evidence that there is hope for us as a species, as a people, as gift to the world. But as I look for such signs, I see signs of more hate, destruction and something I do not recognize, something I cannot yet name because I honestly do not understand how a species can allow its...

We have known about the origins of our disaster for longer than we like to imagine. More than 150 years ago, George Perkins Marsh (1801–1882) published Man and Nature; or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action — a study of how human action modifies the physical world, from the crust of the earth to the atmosphere. The scope of Man and Nature is vast. Beginning with chapters on “the general effects and the prospective consequences of human action upon the earth’s surface and the life which peoples it”, Marsh then proceeds to trace. -----the history of man’s industry as exerted upon Animal and Vegetable Life, upon the Woods, upon the Waters, and upon the Sands; and to these I have added a concluding chapter upon Probable and Possible Geographical Revolutions yet to be effected by the art of man. Despite the vastness of the project, Marsh’s message to readers was clear: If people do not take care of the earth, the earth will cease to take care of them. If we now find this claim ...

    Who in their right mind would even consider living by such a so-called pearl of wisdom?  Is it not considered so? Then, tell me, how would we know anything about our world if everyone decided that was indeed better to be safe?  A ship in the harbor is safe but is that what why the ship was built??  Was it not the plan to leave the safety of the shore and sail into worlds unknown? If the ship leaves its safe haven it is certain that it may run into stormy weather and yes, there may be times when the captain will be sorry he ventured upon the open sea, but that was the purpose of the building of the ship. To go to undiscovered shores, to bring back treasures, to find new lands and people, to test the human spirit, to in search of a dream, to reach the unreachable - this was the purpose of the ship.  Nothing has changed since the beginning of time regarding this adventurous nature of men and women.  Now are we talking about reckless abandon? Indeed n...

  鬼谷子 此书着重于实践方法，具有机器完整的领导统御、智谋、策略体系，堪称 “ 中国第一奇书 ” ，它以谋略为主，兼通军事，也是我国历史上第一部在充分探索人的心理特征和心理活动规律的基础上，论述劝谏、建议、协商、谈判和一般交际技巧的书，它讲授了不少政治斗争权术，其中最重要的是取宠术、制君术、交友术和制人术。 “ 智用于众人之所不能知，而能用于众人之所不能 ” ，潜谋于无形，常胜于不争不费，是此书的精髓所在。 里面一个情节，就是女主潘金莲和别人通奸，后来她和奸夫决定害死他的丈夫武大郎，在武大郎生病期间，她在药里面放入砒霜，扶起躺在病床上的武大郎说：来，大郎，喝药了！然后武大郎七窍流血而死 。 《鬼谷子》，战国著名道家，纵横家鼻祖 “ 鬼谷子 ” 王诩的著作。《鬼谷子》，又名《捭阖策》。据传是由鬼谷先生后学者根据先生言论整理而成。该书侧重于权谋策略及言谈辩论技巧。《鬼谷子》共有十四篇，其中第十三、十四篇（转丸、胠乱）失传。（一说二十一篇，一说十七篇） 纵横家（以《鬼谷子》为代表）的哲学观，深受《老子》道家哲学的影响。纵横家的道家思想体现在其纵横 “ 捭阖 ” 的社会活动之中；纵横策士们在道家思想的指导下，力求 “ 变动阴阳 ” ，从而达到 “ 柔弱胜刚强 ” 的目的。 《鬼谷子》作为纵横家游说经验的总结，它融会了鬼谷子毕生学术研究的精华，其价值是不言自明的。该书作为纵横家的代表著作，为后世了解纵横家与道家的思想提供了不少的参考。 [1] 明英宗正统九年校正增补的《正统道藏》太玄部收录《鬼谷子》一书，不录注者姓名。然其注多避唐讳，盖唐尹知章所注。 　　我们看看上古时代的历史，可以知道古代那些大智大勇的圣者生活在人世间，之所以成为芸芸众生先知先觉的导师，是因为他们能观测世界上万事万物阴阳两类现象的变化，并能进一步了解事物存亡的关键因素，给它们立个确定的名号，还能够洞晓万事万物的生成、发展、灭亡的关键所在。他们追溯世界上万事万物的历史过程，预测它们未来的结局，洞察世人的心理特征，观察世上事物、人事变化的征兆，从而把握事物发展变化的关键。所以，从古至今，处在天地间的圣智之人在社会上立身处世，遵循的规律都是样的。由此可见，世间的事物虽然变化无穷、纷纭万端，但它们都有各自的变化规律 : 或以阴为主导，或以阳为主导 ; 或以柔为特征，或以刚为特征 ; 或以开放为特点，或以闭...