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Showing posts from April, 2013

Monster Meeting Tips

There are some websites telling organizers how to put together a good rally or demonstration. But in my search I didn't come across tips for people who participate in rallies. So here are some tips that I'm putting together now (will updated whenever an idea comes to me). Participate : Be a participant, not an attendee. This is an importance difference. An attendee watches. A participant gets involved, is part of the event, makes it better than it would have been. Recruit : The cheesiest pickup line is probably, "Hey, baby, what's your sign?" At tonight's rally, participants can use a similar line: "Hey, baby, what's your sign--and, wanna hold this protest sign?" Invite others : some will join the rally when asked. Even if they don't join, they can't say that no one asked them to join. It will give them something to talk about, then one day when they are watching the news or reading, they'll remember that they were invited

Casey Lartigue quoted (at length) by NK News

On Expertise and Ethics: Tourism in North Korea Does visiting North Korea as a tourist provide any useful insight? by Alexander James  , April 27, 2013           In the words of Hong Yin-chel, Head of the Publicity Bureau for North Korea’s National Tourism Administration, “tourists from the whole world” are now welcome in North Korea. Notwithstanding Mr. Hong’s enthusiasm, North Korea remains a rather niche destination for holiday makers. Receiving just 75-80,000 tourists in 2011 (in contrast, nearly ten million tourists visited South Korea that year) nuclear weaponry, rather than sightseeing, still characterizes North Korea in the eyes of many. So who actually goes to North Korea on holiday? Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of tourists are Chinese. Said to be lured by “the popularity of movies and songs from the DPRK in their youth,” North Korea’s appeal is more likely to be couched in its affordability and its proximity to the Chinese border

Latest and upcoming

"Escap e from Camp 14," with author Blaine Harden, 10 Maga zine forum, May 3, 2013 (moderator) "Road to Life " radio interview, "This Morning" on TBS eFM, May 1, 2013 (radio interview). "Road to Life"--Rally for North K orean escapees, Seoul, April 30, 2013 (speaker). " On Expertise and Ethics: Tourism in North Korea ," by Alexander James, NK News , April 27, 2013 (quoted) "Casey Lartigue update , " Plan B Lifesty les Radio Show, April 17, 2013. In terview on D reams , 2032 Magazine, April 2013.   "Western tourism on the rise, says N Korea ," by Simon Mundy, The Financial Times, March 15, 2013 (quoted) Liberty Society Emerges as a top global think tank, 2032 Magazine , March 2013 (feature article) Is Touris m in North Korea Really Booming? If tourism is growing, should it be encouraged? , NK News , February 21, 2013 (quoted) There's no place like home, The Korea Times , February 12, 2013 (op-ed)

Freedmen from North Korea (in the Korea Times)

One of the most memorable times I have had in South Korea was to go singing with some new friends who had escaped from North Korea--and getting them to dance along with me as I rapped to Will Smith's 1998 hit "Gettin' Jiggy With It." I think of that night whenever I hear such escapees referred to as "defectors." Calling them "defectors" is another victory for semantic infiltration. That process--identified by American diplomat Fred Ikle and popularized by former U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan--occurs when ideological and political opponents get their adversaries to use their language. During the Cold War, Soviet propagandists concocted-- and Westerners eventually adopted--terms such as "people`s democracies," "wars of national liberation," and "liberation movements." There are similar semantic battles in politics today ("1 percent versus the 99 percent" and "neoliberal") with the goal of puttin

Koreans are dominating the black beauty industry

Years ago I heard a black commentator say: White people have been stealing our dreams. Now Asians are stealing our hair. Jane Han of the Korea Times says Michelle Obama's new hairstyle is helping Korean wig makers in the U.S. Black activists & wig makers can't be happy about that! What's the solution? Korean politicians might suggest: Korean wig-makers in America should have their businesses shut down twice a month. * * * Madame Noire asks : Why Do Koreans Own The Black Beauty Supply Business? Casey's answer: Korean business owners are doing a better job of satisfying consumers. Korean merchant, hard at work, stealing black hair * * * I know that answer is too simplistic for people. There must be something sinister afoot. A government conspiracy. Korean collusion. Black self-hate. Whatever. After the analysis, what should be done? A documentary producer has a dream: "Well, right away, it’s a 100 black-owned stores opening up right next to

Mulmangcho April 21

I'm the International Adviser to the Mulmangcho School. The main thing I do is recruit volunteers to teach English or other skills to children who have escaped from North Korea. Yesterday, the kids won the battle. http://mulmangcho.org/?c=7%2F42&uid=1114 http://mulmangcho.org/?c=7%2F42&uid=1113  

The devil made "we" do it

Jason Lim is a columnist for the Korea Times who writes thoughtful commentaries. After going through the trauma of trying to understand Eun-jung Chung’s rambling commentary yesterday, Lim's was a delight. My only complaints about his column in yesterday's Korea Times on terrorism.  1)      According to my Microsoft Word counter, he used the word “we” 53 times. I’m not saying that using “we” is wrong. Slow down and use your brain. His constant use of the word was to explain how people think...I feel like I have been drafted as an advocate of his argument. 2)      This paragraph stands out among the others:  “Then we create a narrative that explains why this person (or group of persons) did what he or she did. And when we collectively believe in this narrative that we created, it becomes the truth of what happened. And that truth, often not supported by facts, will drive our decisions and actions.” 3)      I don't agree with his analysis so I can't jo