The Western Confucian

Libera Sing Vaughan William's Sempiterna (Conditor Alme Siderum)

2009-11-28T23:03:00.004+09:00

Conditor alme siderum
Aeterna lux credentium
Christe redemptor omnium
Exaudi preces supplicum

Qui condolens interitu
Mortis perire saeculum
Salvasti mundum languidum
Donans reis remedium

Laus honor virtus Gloria
Deo Patri cum Filio
Sancto simul paraclito
In sempiterna saecula

Creator conditor perpetua
Exulta clamava in saecula
Above, something for Advent, which begins tomorrow.

An Anti-Christian, Anti-Thoreauvian, and Anti-American Editorial

2009-11-28T22:48:00.007+09:00

"Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox leaders are going too far when they declare they will break laws on abortion and same-sex marriage," suggests this editorialist — Christian leaders' stance on civil disobedience is dangerous.

However, an important point is made in citing the Manhattan Declaration that "a Methodist institution was stripped of its tax-exempt status when it declined, as a matter of religious conscience, to permit a facility it owned and operated to be used for ceremonies blessing homosexual unions." Catholic Worker foundress Servant of God Dorothy Day had the wisest approach in simply refusing tax-exempt status altogether — Anarcho-Catholicism in a Nutshell:

The Declaration's conclusion, that "[w]e will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's[, b]ut under no circumstances... render to Caesar what is God's," should be carried out whole hog by rejecting tax exempt status altogether.

F.T.A., R.I.P.

2009-11-28T22:36:00.007+09:00

"We are not going to offer anything to the U.S. side," said a South Korean Embassy official in Washington, quoted in this report — U.S.-South Korea free-trade pact stalls over politics. I guess that's what the U.S. gets after six decades of subsidizing South Korea's defense. Ivan Eland said it most succinctly in Ungrateful Allies:

Despite plundering their colonies at gunpoint (for example, the Spanish Empire looted the gold from Latin America) and creating sheltered markets for their goods overseas (for example, British mercantilism), even the formal empires of old were not cost-effective, according to classical economists. The informal U.S. Empire that defends other countries abroad using alliances, military bases, the permanent stationing of U.S. troops on foreign soil, and profligate military interventions is even more cost-ineffective. U.S. forces cannot plunder, and rich allies, such as South Korea, excessively restrict their markets to U.S. goods and services.Of course, as Jeffrey Tucker warned us, such deals are nothing but "mercantilism in disguise" — Free Trade versus Free-trade Agreements.

The Fruits of South Korean Neo-Colonialism

2009-11-28T22:21:00.008+09:00

"The collapse of the economy after a coup and political crisis have worsened the lot of the urban poor, with children suffering the most," begins this report, without once mentioning the country responsible for it all — Madagascar's children face hunger, abuse and neglect.

These earlier posts on this blog provide the background — South Korea's Madagascar Land Grab / Imperial Korea? [Guest Column by Taru Taylor] / Malagasy Revolt / Korea's African Neocolonial Adventure Comes to an End.

War and Divorce

2009-11-28T22:17:00.003+09:00

Bill Kauffman's observation that "the first casualty of the militarized U.S. state is the family", made in his 2003 article, George Bush, the Anti-Family President, comes to mind with this news today — Divorce rate rises in military homes.

Bailouts for Bankers, Not for Old Folks

2009-11-28T22:10:00.005+09:00

"Older Americans who were raised on stories of the Great Depression and acquired lifelong habits of thrift now find themselves crowding soup kitchens and food pantries in greater numbers for the first time after seeing retirement funds, second jobs and nest eggs wiped out by recession" — Recession sends older Americans to food pantries. "Catholic Charities USA, which has 170 agencies across the country helping the needy, issued a 2009 third-quarter report that found a 54 percent increase in requests for food and services from seniors nationwide compared to the same period last year."

Perry Como Sings It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas, 1958

2009-11-28T16:45:00.005+09:00

Secular songs like the one above are the bane of many Christians, and surprisingly even many Catholics, this time of year. I like them, though. They are an innocent reminder during Advent that Christmas is on the way, as are the lights, holly, and snowmen.

Below are some links to posts by Catholic bloggers on the season, with some select quotes and some of my thoughts as well:

Like the Young Fogey, "I love Christmas including in its current form, while realizing "that this, right now, isn’t Christmas" — I love Christmas. How uncool. "So to those who grandstand about commercialism, neener," he writes. "It’s when mainstream society forgets its anti-Catholicism for a while; even hard-shell Protestants put up statues of Jesus and Mary." Ditto.

A few days ago, Terry Nelson offered some ways to make the "the prep time to be as much fun as the season itself - which lasts from December 25 all the way to Candlemass - February 2" — Christmas is only a month away! I like that approach; remember the real season, but enjoy the lead-up time as well.

"It may be 'beginning to look a lot like Christmas' where you live, especially if it's a commercial centre, but that's not the same as the liturgical slide into the Christmas season that is Advent," reminds Enbrethiliel— Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Advent. To those who grandstand about "put[ting] up the Christmas decorations on Christmas eve," as one blogger from "liturgically aware Catholic home" whom she quotes does, I say, "Good for you, but the Pope puts his up on the 17^th or thereabouts."

Henry Karlson reminds us that yesterday was "the day of great sacrifice, the day of great salvation," when "a great multitude of people will go out and celebrate their materialistic salvation, going forth to the altar of consumer sacrifice and giving generous donations to the gods of big business" — Welcome to Black Friday. I agree, but more for the sound economic reasons Gary North outlines — The Season For Thrift.

Ryan W. McMaken brings to our attention "what is perhaps the first volley of the tiresome and overblown 'War on Christmas' war of words" and reminds of "the Christmas-themed culture war that the conservatives will subject us to yet again this year" — First Signs of the Yule Tide: “War on Christmas” Hysteria. "This is nonsense only Christians could come up with," says Michael J. Iafrate — ‘Tis the time to liberate, indeed! I agree, "tiresome," "overblown," and just plain "nonsense." I can hardly think of a worse way to spend the season than by getting puffed up and angry.

Finally, Peter Kim brings us some good news of local interest (but not for me in the provinces) — Gregorian Chant Missa Cantata in Seoul - 2nd Sunday of Advent.

Nowhere Men

2009-11-28T15:33:00.002+09:00

Franklin Spinney, former military analyst for the Pentagon, draws the same analogy this blogger did yesterday — Obama as LBJ. Of particular interest:

Bill Moyers just produced a stunning TV show that reminds us that it was the same evolution into incoherence that led the president into the cul de sac in 1964 and 1965. He did this by going inside President Lyndon Johnson's head to examine how LBJ,s agonizing deliberations induced him to escalate in Vietnam, even though LBJ and some of his closest confidants, like Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, admitted to each other that the strategy was not likely to work. But it becomes clear that they were sucked into a cul de sac of acting against their better judgement by a fear that domestic political adversaries, particularly conservative Republican warmongers, like Senator Barry Goldwater, would accuse LBJ of cutting and running.

A Christmas Gift From the Pope

2009-11-28T15:22:00.003+09:00

Sandro Magister brings news of "a volume with the preaching of pope Ratzinger in the last liturgical year" — The Homilies of Benedict XVI: A Model for a Confused Church. "The homilies have become a distinguishing feature of the pontificate of Benedict XVI," writes Mr. Magister. "They may be the least known and understood feature, but they are certainly the most revealing. He writes many of them himself, and improvises them at times; they are the most genuine manifestation of his mind."

The Mandate of Heaven and Reform in China

2009-11-28T15:19:00.004+09:00

"Its people have plenty to draw from in their own culture to force reform," reminds Robert Louis Chianese — Change in China must come from within. The author takes issue with the ideas of "a long tradition in China of people seeing the state 'as the guardian, custodian and embodiment of their civilization'" and "that because the government is nearly synonymous with Chinese civilization, the people do not feel a natural antagonism to the state, as we do in the West." He writes:

The author could have mentioned the Mandate of Heaven, which "postulates that Tian blesses the authority of a just ruler, but is displeased with a despotic ruler and withdraws its mandate from him, leading to his overthrow and the transfer of the Mandate to whatever new ruler would rule best."

America's Financial Crisis Writ Small

2009-11-28T07:34:00.004+09:00

The story of "a woman who had never paid more than $700 a month in rent and who had relied in recent years on Section 8 housing vouchers," who claimed an "income of $163,320 a year, even though she says her 2005 income-tax earnings were less than $15,000 and she relied at times on food stamps" — The $698,000 mistake.

Lula Is Right

2009-11-28T07:28:00.002+09:00

"I don't want any gringo asking us to let an Amazon resident die of hunger under a tree," said the Brazilian president — Brazil: 'Gringos' must pay to stop Amazon razing. The "gringo" world should stop making such requests, and should only pay for Brazil for her products in the free exchange of goods.

Patrick Buchanan on "Our New Battling Bishops"

2009-11-28T07:21:00.003+09:00

"Catholicism is necessarily an adversary faith and culture in an America where a triumphant secularism has captured the heights, from Hollywood to the media, the arts and the academy, and relishes nothing more than insults to and blasphemous mockery of the Church of Rome" — Is the Church Militant Back? "Our new battling bishops may be surprised to find they have a large cheering section among a heretofore silent and sullen faithful who have been desperate to find a few clerical champions."

Dubai For Sale?

2009-11-28T07:17:00.004+09:00

AsiaNews.it is the only source I can find reporting this rather bizarre news — Emir of Abu Dhabi to buy Dubai for US$ 80 billion.

The Beatles Perform Nowhere Man at the Budokan Hall, Tokyo, 1966

2009-11-27T13:51:00.004+09:00

The above song, written about a former occupant of the Oval Office, comes to mind with this sad news about the current one, who, we should remember, was the "peace candidate" — Obama to unveil plan to add troops in Afghanistan.

Bill Kauffman made the same call a year-and-a-half ago (along with his other two main rivals at the time) — The Candidates from Nowhere. An excerpt:

Portrait of Lady

never

Liberated Mosul

2009-11-27T12:25:00.004+09:00

With Saddam Hussein deposed and executed, the city is being liberated of its Christians, in what Christians call "'a Mafia warning,' a message to Christians 'to leave the city'" — Mosul: Christian buildings attacked, Church of Saint Ephrem levelled.

Seduction by False Marriage Promise Decriminalized in Korea

2009-11-27T10:52:00.003+09:00

"The Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that a clause in the country's criminal law that penalizes a man who lures a woman into sexual relations through a false promise of marriage, is unconstitutional" — Court rules seduction law invalid. No longer will men have to worry about "a maximum prison term of two years or a maximum fine of 5 million won ($4,332) for luring a chaste woman to have sex with him through false promises of marriage or other deceptions."

The Court's curious reasoning: "(The clause) is against gender equality, and under the purpose of protecting women, it denies their right to make their own sexual decisions." That is to say, "the clause is now seen as a by-product of a male-centered patriarchal society and as unfair since it only punishes men and views women as subjects to be protected."

It appears the fairer sex agitated for the law's scrapping: "Women activists have recently raised their voices against the clause, arguing it is outdated and biased. The Ministry of Gender Equality has also maintained that the clause is unconstitutional as it restricts the victims only to women, which could be seen as belittling women."

Dirge for the Burj

2009-11-27T10:42:00.004+09:00

"Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai's explosive growth, the city is now so swamped in debt that it's asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills — causing a drop on world markets Thursday and raising questions about Dubai's reputation as a magnet for international investment" — Dubai request for debt 'standstill' raises fear. Among the "development plans and tourism plans that had plenty of hype but few details on how they would be pulled off" is "[t]he more than 2,600-foot (800-meter) Burj Dubai... scheduled to open in January as the world's tallest building."

Mark Thornton looks at the possibility that "skyscrapers cause business cycles" — Skyscrapers and Business Cycles. "Andrew Lawrence created the 'skyscraper index' which purported to show that the building of the tallest skyscrapers is coincidental with business cycles, in that he found that the building of world's tallest building is a good proxy for dating the onset of major economic downturns."

Kyŏng Namchŏl Performs Hŭimori at the People's Orchestra 100th Anniversary Memorial Kayagŭm Concert in P'yŏngyang

2009-11-27T00:59:00.006+09:00

Two From the Marmot on America, Her President, and Her Army

2009-11-27T00:35:00.006+09:00

Jeff Yang is right that America needs to return to "the Asian values of our parents’ generation — work hard, study, save, invest, live within your means —" but wrong that "it stands to reason that a 'Pacific president' is just who we need at the helm" — America’s First ‘Pacific President’ and Our ‘Asian Values’.

"They need to reintroduce dialogue as a tool of command because, although it is easy to speak to Americans face-to-face and understand each other completely, dealing with them corporately is akin to dealing with a group of Martians," said Col. J.K. Tanner, former chief of staff of Multinational Division South East, a.k.a. the British sector in Iraq — Don’t Hold Back — Tell Us What You REALLY Think of the Americans in Iraq. "If it isn’t on the PowerPoint slide, it doesn’t happen."

Steve Sailer on America and Goat Pasturage in the Hindu Kush

2009-11-27T00:14:00.002+09:00

"I don't understand why some Americans are simply unable to grasp how important these tribal struggles over the best goat pasturage in the Hindu Kush are to the American national interest" — Afghanistan.

A Bishop Takes on the President

2009-11-27T00:08:00.002+09:00

"Government-backed development projects serve the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor, Bishop Boniface Choi Ki-san of Incheon says" — Bishop slams government 'policies for the rich'. Said His Excellency, "Because of indiscreet development projects, poor people have continuously been forced out of their homes."

Thanksgiving Day Reads

2009-11-26T23:32:00.002+09:00

Bill Kauffman's history of "our loveliest secular holiday" explains how "unsentimental vendors petitioned President Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving to the previous Thursday, November 23, thus creating an additional week of Christmas shopping—and to the astonishment of those Americans without dollar signs in their eyes, the President did so" — The Grinch Who Moved Thanksgiving.

"Many early groups of colonists set up socialist states, all with the same terrible result," reminds Richard J. Maybury — The Great Thanksgiving Hoax. "Thus the real reason for Thanksgiving, deleted from the official story, is: Socialism does not work; the one and only source of abundance is free markets, and we thank God we live in a country where we can have them."

"We may not be quick to thank God for the adversities in life and yet that is a constant teaching of the Scriptures," writes Maryknoller in Korea — Giving Thanks for Adversity.

" I give thanks for Aidan and his profound disability," wrote Sinologist Sam Crane in a moving three-year-old post on his now-deceased son — A Taoist Thanksgiving.

Osama Closer to Total Victory

2009-11-26T23:12:00.006+09:00

"War may be hell, but it also doesn’t come cheap and it is time that the US taxpayer begin to question what he is getting for his money," begins Philip Giraldi — The Cost of War. He writes:

As the Obama White House is so deep in the red that even George W. Bush appears in hindsight to have been a model of frugality, it should be assumed that Obama’s "war of necessity" will not be fully funded by Congress. That means either borrowing from the Asians or just printing the money while watching the dollar slide down the toilet. It has to be assumed that the US Treasury will do a bit of both.Back in 2004, the Evil One announced his "policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy" with the same "guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers" that had been employed against what was the Soviet Union — Osama Bin Laden’s Dream of US Economic Collapse. The Evil One's observation that that it was "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration" is still true today, as is his observation that "the real loser is... the American people and their economy."

Korea's Abortion Culture

2009-11-26T22:50:00.002+09:00

"Possibly three out of four pregnancies in Korea end in abortion," reports this story on the crisis that finally has people at least acknowledging the issue — Demographic Implosion Spurs Panicked South Korea to Enforce Abortion Ban.

"There are few people who realize abortion is illegal," said Kwak Seung-jun, leader of the Presidential Council for Future and Vision. The current situation:

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