6/30/11

Korea Herald, CFE conference

1) TODAY: Korea Herald article

In a Korea Herald debate, I argue in favor of legalizing or decriminalizing prostitution.

2) NEXT WEEK: You are invited...

to a joint conference hosted by the Center for Free Enterprise and the Naumann Foundation for Liberty, July 7, from 2-6 p.m. As long as the world doesn't come to an end tonight then the EU-Korea FTA will go into effect tomorrow. The FTA will be one of the topics discussed at the event. I will kick off the conference by introducing the event sponsors.

Please let me know if you are interested in attending. It is absolutely FREE of charge for attendees, we truly welcome your attendance.

CJL

6/2/11

Don't Call It A Comeback

I recently joined the Center for Free Enterprise in South Korea as Director of International Relations. Scroll down to click through to my bio. That means that I have resumed writing and speaking and will be actively seeking opportunities. Will start with letters and opinion pieces in the local papers until I hit on something worth sending abroad. As LL Cool J said, "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." This has to be one of the coolest jobs I have ever had. My boss has given me complete freedom to do whatever I want. Of course, after one year, we will evaluate. To get an idea of the kinds of things I can do, check out this original rap video created by CFE. It is a pro-free trade, anti-welfare rap. Last night my boss thanked me for giving them the idea last year, even before I joined the company.

* I helped bring the Harvard University men's soccer team to South Korea. They were here for 13 days, played 3 games, visited the DMZ, and had a lot of fun. It was a great moment for me when I proposed a toast to the team and coaches. I had proposed the idea of bringing the Harvard University men's soccer team to South Korea more than a year ago. We did a lot of planning, were amazed that they had finally arrived.

* Yesterday, I joined HPK (Harvard Project Korea) as vice president.

* Yesterday I met Korean figure skater Kim Yuna (pictured here to my right), comedian Bak Jun Hyung, and National Assembly member Cho Jeon Hyeo. The comedian was just that.

* I will be the guy to quiet the audience and introduce the presidents of two organizations hosting an international conference in early July.


* I gave speeches last week in Gyongju (conference on student activities) and Daejon (World Youth Fair). In Gyongju, I discussed my activism in Washington, D.C., to help get the school voucher program passed. In Daejon, they mostly wanted to hear about Harvard University. The staff, parents, and students treated me like a star, they wanted my autograph, to take photos with me.

* I'm not very involved in American issues these days, but a few weeks ago I signed a petition in America against the creation of a national school curriculum. I'm not opposed to a school curriculum at the family, school, district, or state level. Unfortunately, the formatting on the page is screwed up and it seems they don't know how to fix it.

My first photography credit. Page 12, issue 4 of the new Roking Magazine. Scroll through to pages 98-99 to see my photos.

CJL

6/1/11

Too Many Grasshoppers, Not Enough Ants

Here is an original rap video produced earlier this year by the Center for Free Enterprise. CFE is putting together another video, this will even include Casey Lartigue, Jr., in it.










ENGLISH VERSION

(chorus) ba bam ba, ba bam ba, ba bam ba
More grasshoppers than ants
"Ba bam ba, ra ra ra ra ra ra ra, ba bam ba
Ba bam ba, ra ra ra ra ra ra ra, ba bam ba
Ba bam ba, ra ra ra ra ra ra ra, ba bam ba
Say 1-2-3 Go
"

Where are our jobs, that's the question of the day, but we need more people who can make their own way
Who, what, when, where, the jobs created by who, always looking for someone else to come to your rescue
Take the initiatve, create, there's no free lunch, too many handouts, country's in a credit crunch
Spending money like you’re a drunk politician, we can't get saved by political magicians

Too much debt, spending money like its free, but even the National Assembly doesn't have a money tree
Tax the rich, that's what the scholars say, but tax enough, the rich hide their money on tax day
make your money, then spend it away, soon you're left with nothing on a rainy day
you just sleep, dance, complain, just wasting your talent and brains
Too many grasshoppers, not enough ants

Enough is enough
government's debts are getting out of hand
Enough is enough
too many acting like work is banned
Enough is enough
look around, you're an adult, you're not in the womb
Enough is enough
don't expect government help 'til you're in the tomb

Check it out, Independence Gate is at So-Dae-Moon
our weakness hit our country worse than 100 typhoons
We get weak, other countries get stronger
history repeats itself, we lose our freedom
Who, what, when, where, will it happen again?
Get so weak that our country is in pain
Korea in the middle, squeezed like shrimp in the big food chain

G20, yeah, we made it, that ain't no lie
like Germany and China, so we can cope with China
Korea needs to be a powerful nation, we'll have it made
we can do it, through competition, not welfare and foreign aid
Trade, competition, yeah, oh yeah, that's the way

Enough is enough
government's debts are getting out of hand
Enough is enough
too many acting like work is banned
Enough is enough
look around, you're an adult, you're not in the womb
Enough is enough
don't expect government help 'til you're in the tomb


Too many grasshoppers, not enough ants

* * *

Korean lyrics by Noh Hyun Tae and Kim Chung Ho
Translation and English lyrics by Eric DeokJin Song, and Casey Lartigue, Jr.

linked by Tom G. Palmer,