Skip to main content

2015-02-12 John Locke Foundation (featuring Cherie Yang)

 


Cherie Yang and I spoke to the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina. 


* I was the warm-up act, so with my speech I had to keep in mind setting a foundation for Cherie's talk and saying something meaningful during my time.


During Q&A, I joined Cherie onstage. This was only her third public speech in English, so she was thankful that I didn't leave her alone. Some speakers prefer that I answer first so they can have time to collect their thoughts, but I have to keep in mind that audiences want to hear from the refugee speakers, so I keep my answers brief. Of course, I'd prefer to be able to take a seat, check my email.


* We were interviewed together for a local radio station before our speeches.


* It was really nice, the audience was so welcoming.

* A few of the ladies in the audience started crying after a few minutes of hearing Cherie talk. Then, at the end, one of the guys started crying as he said good-bye to us.


* We had a couple of Korean war veterans in the audience. Surprisingly, they were more interested in talking and learning about North Korean human rights issues rather than talking about nukes or the latest crazy dictator.

* One reason I love talking before non-experts--they are looking to learn, not sitting back smugly with a "I've heard this before" or "there's nothing new" here looks about everything, even new stuff.



* Pam Davidson--TNKR tutor and donor who has returned to North Carolina--attended the event. Afterwards, she treated us to dinner at a Mo Joe's, one of the top burger joints in the area (yes, I'm the one who chose it).


* Special thanks to the Atlas Network for sponsoring the trip, the John Locke Foundation for hosting the event as part of the William Sumner Event Series. http://www.atlasnetwork.org/event/coming-out-of-north-korea-to-freedom

www.patreon.com/caseylartigue

Support FSI via Stripe

Popular posts from this blog

Manufactured cases

My former Cato Institute colleague Bob Levy is profiled by the Associated Press for his role in the challenge to the DC gun ban. One great thing about Levy is that he tells it like it is. As the article quotes: And Levy freely admits the case is manufactured, not one that bubbled up by chance from the district's steady flow of criminal cases involving guns. He wanted presentable plaintiffs to make a case for gun rights, not criminals. "We didn't want crack heads and bank robbers to be poster boys for the Second Amendment," he said. Is there a problem with this case being manufactured? I heard a talking head on the radio complaining a while ago that this case wasn't from real DC residents, that it was from outsiders. What's wrong with that? There may be some times that it takes an outsider to challenge an injustice or bad law. Did DC residents claim that Martin Luther King Jr. was an outsider who should have minded his own business? And about the case being ...
Read more

KC=GQ

I am featured in the April 2013 issue of 2032 Magazine.
Read more

2020-11-26 My basketball story

This photo was uploaded today by my aunt Annette. This was back in the day, when 1) I had a head full of hair and 2) played basketball a lot. That first year of playing organized basketball, I focused on playing defense. It seemed that everyone wanted to shoot the ball, so I passed the ball and played defense. I probably led the league in steals, rebounds and blocked shots. I enjoyed taking on the best player from the other team, I felt like I would get better, quickly. The second year, I was a different player. I will never forget the first game that second year--we lost 29 to 26, I scored 18 points. I probably led the universe in scoring that second year, although we didn't win much. One thing I learned from that experience is that one great player 9 (at least in his own mind) can't beat a team. An eye injury ended my pro career before it began, to this day I still have floaters in my eyes because of the injury. I started wearing glasses, but the problem never went away. On t...
Read more

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) ...
Read more