Ghosts of Jeju: The history behind the resistance to a naval base on Korea’s island of peace

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When Maine-based filmmaker Regis Tremblay started digging into the history of the protest against the South Korean government’s construction of a naval base in the tiny village of Gangjeong on scenic Jeju Island, he interviewed Charles Hanley, former Associated Press reporter and co-author of the war crime expose Bridge at No Gun Ri, who told him “you have no idea the magnitude of the issues you are getting into here.”

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OPINION | Revolt of the widgets: The geopolitical becomes local in international adoption downsizing

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As I told a coworker, about to enter the same policy degree program I graduated from, policy school is a mind-changing experience. You get the chance to take apart and put together policies, for practice, in a safe, apolitical environment, and see what makes things work. It’s a grind learning it. But there is a point. Ultimately, it can give you a handle on what government does well, and what it does poorly.Policy analysts (not me, but others I admire) are an interesting mix —- some are weird bean counters, and others are big-thinking idealists. Continue Reading