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Showing posts from December, 2012

Chang Ha-Joon's foolish consistency (Korea Times, January 1, 2013)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. Is the sky blue? Is the ocean water? If you suspect those are trick questions, you are right. The sky isn’t always blue ― it is reddish at sunset, dark at midnight, gray on an overcast day. The ocean isn’t water ― there’s also fish, plant life, submarines, dissolved minerals, surfboards, sunken ships, even people swimming in it sometimes. As Hoover Institution scholar Thomas Sowell wrote in his 1996 book ``The Vision of the Anointed,” people who use “all-or-nothing” reasoning can deny a statement because it is not 100 percent true in every circumstance. Such word games might be fun for college students or debaters, but there are some distinguished people who are respected for making such childish arguments about serious issues. In his book ``23 Things They Don’t Tell you About Capitalism,” Cambridge University economist Chang Ha-Joon argues that 1) “[T]here is really no such thing as a free market” and 2) “The free market doesn’t exis

Casey Lartigue a guest on TBS eFM 101.3 from 7:40 a.m.

I'm scheduled to be a guest on TBS eFM 101.3 January 1 from 7:40 a.m. You can listen live on a regular radio or online . It is live radio so things can always change. I recommend using Microsoft Internet Explorer with the radio player . Also, if you want to listen, test it around 7:30 am so you have time to figure out it in case there is a problem, don't wait until 7:39 a.m. The main topic will be about North Korean refugees. Here's the school address :: (Korea) Standard Chartered Bank 364 20 030012 Recipient name: Mulmangcho  For international donations: Standard Chartered Bank K orea LTD. Swiftcode: SCBKRSE.  Branch  code: 233644  tel;+82-2-761-0070  In studio with North Korean refugee Lee Seongmin and "This Morning" host Alex Jensen.   At the TBS twitter feed.

Why I won't go to North Korea (Korea Times, December 27, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. “Have you ever been to North Korea?” This is the question I am almost always asked here in South Korea when people learn that I have become an activist for North Korean escapees. My response is curt: “No.” “Do you plan on going?” they ask next. My answer remains the same: “No.” When they start to ask a follow-up question, I cut them off: "No." People are often just trying to make conversation, I know, but I am blunt for a reason: I am not interested in going to North Korea as long as North Koreans are held captive. I could go one day, but for now, I can do without a government-guided tour by " men-stealers and women-whippers ," to borrow a phrase from American abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. I don’t mean to criticize people who have gone to North Korea for political, educational, business, religious reasons or just plain curiosity. However, some people push me on the issue, ― and I push back. A good friend wh

Public Service Announcement for South Korean voters

Don't forget    to vote           tomorrow.     South Korea needs a president ready to work with the National Assembly for the next five years.

Comments on discussion of Korea: The Impossible Country

Yesterday I attended Daniel Tudor’s discussion about his book Korea: The Impossible Country. It was a pleasant event hosted by Barry Welsh of 10 Magazine. I haven’t read Mr. Tudor’s book so my points are based on what he said yesterday. I recognize that 1) many authors are more eloquent and thoughtful in text than in off-the-cuff discussions and 2) it is better to read the book, so I am being clear that my comments are in response to what he said yesterday. My main criticisms and comments: 1) Like Andrew Salmon and others, Mr. Tudor makes the comparison of chaebol with government. Mr. Salmon even compares the sons and daughters of the Korean chaebol with the children of the rulers of North Korea, I don't recall now if Mr. Tudor did the same. That example…I don’t know why people think there is anything witty, profound or logical with comparing the sons and daughters of business people in a democratic country with criminals in a totalitarian country using the force of blun

To be a good volunteer, use your brain (Korea Times, December 5, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. There is probably an unwritten rule that a celebrity offering to do volunteer work for a good cause should immediately be embraced. Well, that’s not what happened to Jeong So-dam, the glamorous Korean cable TV announcer when our paths crossed on Nov. 29. Ms. Jeong was the MC of an event about American political philosophy hosted by the Association for Economic Evolution. During my speech about American libertarianism since 1940, I discussed my volunteer work for North Korean refugees. After the speech, Jeong approached me, asking how she could help. I gave her the same tough love I give to potential volunteers by asking: “Who are you?” After all, if you are Bill Gates, then open your wallet. If you speak four languages, then help with translation work. So I first stress to potential volunteers: Use your brain. Tell us about your skills and interests so together we can figure out your initial role.  Jeong was good-natured about it, rather than calli