Latest Posts
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So, Is This A Part of Lee Kuan Yew’s “Asian Values?”
There used to be a time, not too long ago, when the Lees of Singapore tried to position themselves as morally superior to decadent, overly liberal American culture. That was the whole "Asian Values" thing of the 1990s,… Continue reading
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Maybe Papa Lee Should Read Confucius
Emperor Lee (or whatever he is calling himself these days: Prime Minister, Senior Minister, Minister Mentor…) is telling South Korea how to be "a first class country." Singapore Election Watch turns the tables and suggests: Maybe, Mr. Lee… Continue reading
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Reflections on Analects 9.17
Standing beside a river, the Master said: "Everything passes away like this, day and night, never resting." TimeFills up and fills inpouring into each moment of our livesseeping into every crack and crevice.It flows into uswe drift along. He defined… Continue reading
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…Doomed to Repeat It.
I just have to comment on this (link via ESWN). It seems that some students in New Zealand satirized Mao Zedong by making him a "cover girl:" Fairly tame, and funny,… Continue reading
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Immoral Acts of War
Last year US marines in Haditha, Iraq, killed innocent civilians. The numbers are still in dispute but an official investigation is due to come out soon, and one military official has stated: "This one is ugly." And so… Continue reading
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“We’re more popular than…”
On March 4, 1966, a British newspaper, The Evening Standard, published a story on the Beatles, in which John Lennon made his famous quote: "We’re more popular than Jesus now…" Controversy ensued. Christians burned Beatles albums and demanded… Continue reading
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The un-Way of Barry Bonds
When we try too hard to reach a goal, when we push aside our humanity and humility, even if we accomplish it, we fail for succeeding. That is the emerging moral of the Barry Bonds story. … Continue reading
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Confucius in the Modern World
An commentary ran in yesterday’s China Daily by Qin Xiaoying entitled: "Confucius can survive in this modern world." Qin wonders why so many Confucius Institutes, which are PRC-sponsored offices for learning Chinese langauge and some "Chinese culture," are… Continue reading
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Forgetting the Cultural Revolution
By some historical accounts, 40 years ago today the Cultural Revolution began in China. I say "some historical accounts" because the Cultural Revolution is a big, sweeping series of events, stretching over years, with debatable beginning and ending… Continue reading
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Advice for Bush before his Big Speech Tonight
The Master said: "The ancients spoke little. They were too ashamed when their actions fell short of their words." Analects, 4.22 Continue reading
The Useless Tree 