2015-04-24 Cherie Yang speaking to the US military

It was great speaking along with Cherie Yang and another speaker (who prefers to remain anonymous) on the US army base.

However, I forgot to inform them about one key fact: The soldiers would be dressed in military fatigues. They both stopped walking when they saw the US soldiers. The other speaker, who had served in the North Korean military, went outside to smoke a cigarette. He returned a few minutes later, then left again.

Then finally he told us that he was so nervous that he wasn't sure he could give the speech. He had been taught to kill US soldiers, that US soldiers were blood-thirsty and enjoyed killing for fun. Seeing them in their uniforms alarmed him.

He calmed down and gave the speech.

Cherie was also quite nervous, so I asked her to stand with the soldiers to take a photo, but she refused at first. So I took her there, and took a photo with her!

But as you can see from some of the photos, she was having a great time talking with the soldiers.

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2021 reflection:

* At that time, we didn't have a real organization.

* One US soldier made this happen. As usual, even when there are many people around, it takes one person to lead and push through things. When there is pushback or the usual people raising concerns, one person needs to answer the objections and keep things moving. There are many great ideas in this world that never get done because some people mistake their words for action.

* It took more than a week for us to get the photos approved. We had to censor the US soldiers at the orders of the US military. Finally, about a week later, they approved us posting the photos, then the next time we had an event on the US army base, we were allowed to take the photos and post them without any of them being censored. The event was held on April 15th, we uploaded the photos on April 24th.

* If you think such an event is great, I'm happy to hear your opinion! Let's hope your thoughts lead to action. www.lovetnkr.org/donate

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working." She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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