2014-11-13 Atlas Liberty Forum

I am now in New York City, been living it up the last few days at the Atlas Liberty Forum. We had worked closely together during the year, doing a podcast, speaking together in China and Hong Kong, and then in the USA.

I was the moderator of a session with her. There were so many people expressing interest that the session was moved to a larger room. She was great, as usual, had many people in the audience (men and women) crying as we discussed her story. She will go on to bigger and better things, I know!

* My Atlas colleagues went out of their way to praise me and single me out. It was a great moment, to have so many people so focused on what is happening to North Koreans. Many were asking what they could do to help.

At the final dinner, Yeonmi was invited to give a toast to freedom!

* The keynote speaker at the dinner was legendary chess champion Garry Kasparov. He has already achieved fame and fortune, there is no reason for him to be hanging out with us. But he speaks firmly in favor of freedom.

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

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

2018-09-28 Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens

Most of the people who contact us at TNKR naturally want to tutor North Korean refugees. Many potential volunteers are shocked shocked shock ed to learn that they can volunteer with TNKR in other ways. I tell many of them: "Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens. There are also delivery people, accountants, marketers, personnel, and a host of other positions." Earlier this year, we began developing the TNKR Volunteer Leadership Academy. I'm still waiting for someone to take over that little project. Until then, I will continue with developing it. And be developing it, I mean telling people, "Don't write me a long business plan about what you would like to do. Just start doing it, keep me updated and in the conversations, then let's talk and update." We have had a recent influx of volunteers who want to help TNKR in other ways. Jackie Cole is now running our Instagram. She constantly surprises me with the flyers and videos she posts. I made it clear from the ...

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 ...

Random scenes in Seoul

Yesterday morning I stopped by to buy some kimbab 김밥 at one of the places that sells rolls for 1,000 won (about $.80, depending on how much the Korean or U.S. government have screwed up their respective currencies). I stop by there often so of course the woman there recognizes me. Of course, they probably recognized me from the first time I went there... Yesterday, she asked in Korean if I liked tan mu gi 단무지. I said yes, that I loved it. As I was trying to pay, she hurriedly cut some up right then, then fed it to me, like I was a 6 year old child... I could see everyone in the shop watching... then, I said, "맛있어요!" delicious! I could see everyone smiling. I'm surprised they didn't start applauding. * * * Friendly fights Saw a funny fight the other day. Two guys in a restaurant were wrestling with each other, knocking over at least one table. I watched, not really interested in getting involved. They could be two friends fighting over a woman or for some other reason,...

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