great job .....bill clinton .......

Good Old Bill.  Still getting things done using his charm and good looks.

Let me say if for the Clinton haters....it's only because he's a fellow commy!!!  lol

Wonderful news. 

 Let me say if for the Clinton haters....it's only because he's a fellow commy!!!  lol

Maybe he set the leadership up with  hot babes!   lol      

Great news... now how about those pesky long range missile tests over allied airspace and nuclear weapons development?  Perhaps if they keep capturing and ceremoniously releasing westerners often enough, we'll all forget about that.

attleast the white house had the intelligence to send somebody expendable to do their bidding ...Hillary was probably behind this one hahahaah

hmm i wonder why they didnt send in silver tongue Joey B?? opps never mind they have nukes

What great news. Way to go President Clinton!!!

Diplomacy works better than bombs.

Getting the journalists out was Clinton's mission.

Getting them to stop their nuclear program ain't gonna happen. Sanctioning doesn't even help considering the little midget doesn't really give a rat's patooney about his people. Here is a satellite image of North and South Korea. They don't even have any freakin' lights! Maybe that little bright light on the left is the midget's castle.

Nice piece of work Bill....~anti~love the photo--who says that a black hole doesn't exists on earth...

I think the obvious is being overlooked here: reporters have no business going to some of these countries in the first place! Winning some reporting award is not worth risking your life. Reporters go to places like Afghanistan and Iraq, get kidnapped or arrested, and expect the US government to pull out all the stops to rescue them. I would like to know how much Clinton got for his little hop to Korea on the taxpayer bill.

bill took over some women who double as humidors....freeked ILL for 20 minutes, got the girls and left.

Wow Ghost.. I guess you prefer to stay in the dark.

Without these journalists, it'd be rare that we'd ever know of atrocities.  Case in point: U.S. government knew of Saddam Hussein's dirty deeds a decade before we went to Kuwait, and chose to ignore it for political reasons.  It was exactly these kinds of journalists who gave the American public (and the world public) a first hand view of Saddam's evils.

If reporters do not go into dangerous areas~ how is anyone going to find out  about what is going on? These women were in the country legitimately and North Korea saw an opportunity to make some news.

It is what the best journalists do~ go to places where the lights need turning on and watching the roaches scurry off...just look at anti's picture. Clearly North Korea needs some light! :-)

 They were arrested as they reported about the trafficking of women.

These two women illegally entered North Korea.  Good for North Korea for doing what the United States does not do----secure her borders.  Was Clinton flown to North Korea at U.S. taxpayer expense, complete with accompanying taxpayer paid secret service protection to "negotiate" the release of these two law breakers?  Will Al Gore reimburse us for the expense of returning his employees to the United States?  Clinton just can't stay out of the spotlight, can he?

Clinton is guaranteed Secret Service protection no matter where he goes-for life.

midterm - I have a feeling you'd sing a different tune if it were two CIA agents that were caught and detained..

I don't have a problem with a senior statesman going to North Korea and apologizing for the two journalists' tresspass, but it should have been Vice President Al Gore and it should have been on his dime and it should have been his personal apology to President Kim Jong Il and not that of the American people since it was his employees of his Current TV channel. Be that as it may; Huzzah, President Bill Clinton! Brilliant, by God, brilliant!

If it were two CIA Agents, they would have been there under orders from our Government. I think that's a little different than a couple of Civilian Journalists trying to make a name for themselves.

I don't have a problem with what Slick Willie did either, so long as he had permission from our State Department to go there as a U.S. Dignitary.

Either way, I'm glad they're on their way home.

The work behind the scenes was done by the State Department~ Clinton was sent by them.

The journalists were there doing investigative reporting about the trafficking of women. that does not mean giving them tickets. They were looking into human slavery~ there are law breakers all right in North Korea~ the most egregious are not the two American women.

Regardless of their place of employment the United States sends who they choose~ and as some have not been following this story: Al Gore already made attempts to secure release of the women.

Some times a cigar is just a cigar~ this was not about the women,the boarders,law breaking~ it was all about North Korea's posturing.

FSU and sage:  So if North Korean "journalists" illegally enter the United States and are captured, must we let them go if they claim they were only here to investigate the subhuman conditions at underground sweat shops in San Francisco that produce high end jeans sold by Nordstrom's?

Yes, indeed Vice President Al Gore did try to arrange the release of his two journalists from North Korea by asking President Bill Clinton to go (according to ABC News). Kudos to President Bill Clinton for his successful efforts.

It would be completely different if this were reversed because in the United States similar "reporters" wouldn't be put in subhuman gulags and because we, at least most of the time, follow UN regulations.

 I'm just glad they are home.  I can't imagine what it was like for them and their families to go through this, really scary stuff.  I know it wasn't all Bill Clinton that got them out of this one but it just shows how well the US can handle things diplomatically. 

What I am interested in is how our relationship with N. Korea has changed after this incident, if at all.

The women were arrested in March while reporting from the border between North Korea and China for California-based Current Media and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign. Because the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, efforts to resolve the issue had been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in Pyongyang.

"Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it," the news agency reported. "Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view.

"There's an old saying on Vulcan:  'Only Nixon Could Go to China'".

midterm - NHtomps and Sage said it all.

Go back to the drawing board.

Here is some of their work;

Laura Ling

and

Euna Lee

Real life journalists.

dragoon~ ""The Lee and Ling families thanked Obama, the secretary of state and the State Department.

“We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home,” it said. “We are counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms.”"

Sage, this just in from AP:

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said Tuesday that the families of two reporters imprisoned in North Korea had asked former President Bill Clinton to travel to Pyongyang to seek the women's release.

A senior administration official said the families were joined in the request by former Vice President Al Gore.

Don't think ol' Al Gore had an ulterior motive to do this? Perhaps he wanted to uphold North Korea as a shining, uh darkening, example of a country that takes the global warming threat seriously. Only Pyongyang had the audacity to leave the city shining brightly like Gore did with his mansion when Earth Day was being observed last time.

Speaking of Gore, now that the journalists are back home, let's see if he doesn't lay them off anytime soon with his Current TV struggling to stay afloat: http://industry.bnet.com/me...

Maybe he should've gone instead of Bill and sequestered himself in Pyongyang's infamous "Hotel of Doom" (below) to learn from the Dear Leader how to manipulate the public through the media. On the other hand, I can see the need for him to save on the costs, reducing his carbon footprint in the process. Besides, don't we already have Chairman Maobama and his state-controlled media to show him the ropes?

if Al Gore would quit attempting to mind control us through twisted media outlets, this incident would have never happened.  I bet those women never work for him again.

Bill did do a good job, but if good judgement would have been used in the first place, he would have never been needed

dragoon~ this just in from...oh wait..

"The Lede

The New York Times

June 8,2009,1:37

CNN reported on Monday that the two high-profile names had already been proposed to the North Korean government:

Several senior administration officials said the idea of sending either Gore or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Pyongyang on a mission to get the journalists released has been floated to the North Koreans. No answer has come so far, but the expectation has been that once the trial ended, the North would accept a visit by either Gore or Richardson to secure the journalists’ release."

Note the statement from the families~ the italics part~ at 9:27 p.m.

It is very likely that the families know more about what Gore did than a writer from AP.I could find earlier references to Gore's work behind the scenes, but....

But I begin to think if I said the sky is blue and Clinton/Gore in the same sentence, we would find ourselves doing this same dance.

if Al Gore would quit attempting to mind control us through twisted media outlets, 

 There, there, learnem.  I'm *SURE* Infowar will spare you some of his tinfoil to block out the mind-control broadcasts.

.

let's see if he doesn't lay them off anytime soon with his Current TV struggling to stay afloat

Gee, I hope that "layoff" thing doesn't affect the loony religious organizations:

http://coloradoindependent....

http://www.yakima-herald.co...

http://www.usatoday.com/new...

Great news... now how about those pesky long range missile tests over allied airspace and nuclear weapons development?

Good news there too.  Maybe we can once again set up the kind of relationship we had before Shrub got in and screwed things up.   The one set up by the guy who was in there before Shrub.  What was his name again? 

But yes: good job, Bill.

Sage - "But I begin to think if I said the sky is blue and Clinton/Gore in the same sentence, we would find ourselves doing this same dance."

It is quite possible that I think the same of you. I'll leave it at that.

I was just talking to Cat and she brought up the possibility that a payoff was made to North Korea in exchange for the release of the girls.  That possibility has not been anything I've heard or read since yesterday when the release took place.   But as Cat pointed out, every time we got concessions from the North Koreans, a payout was made to them.

The way it was reported on TV last night the release was more diplomatic than commercial.  Kim Jung has always been fascinated with western culture.  He has a profound admiration of Bill Clinton and expressed his desire over the years to meet him.  Bill Richardson and Al Gore have been working on this case for months and Hillary Clinton officially joined those efforts when she became Secretary of State.  Hillary Clinton recently had a dialog with Kim Jung in that capacity and it was soon after those talks that the idea of sending Bill Clinton to North Korea was proposed.  Jung readily agreed.

Regardless of what the conservatives in America think of Bill Clinton, he is revered in other countries.  I'm glad he was able to use his that power and his diplomatic skills to bring those girls home.

Obama was right.  Talking to your enemies is better than calling them insulting names.     ie  "axis of evil".  We know how well that worked for us. 

dragoon~ lol then we agreee! :-)

No harm ,no foul.... just the facts as they say.

and Hillary Clinton officially joined those efforts when she became Secretary of State

I would say "unofficially."

.

Hillary Clinton recently had a dialog with Kim Jung in that capacity

If true, I'm surprised.  I don't think that happened.

You're right Random.  She "unofficially" had a dialog with Kim Jung in order to pave the way for Bill Clinton to gain entry into that country.   She also had to talk to the Chinese to get their approval for B Clinton's plane to fly over their air since B Clinton would be flying that route to N Korea.  She also had to get the approval from Obama to let a US citizen into N Korea in an "unofficial" diplomatic role.

My,  you're cranky.

*I'M* cranky?
 

:)

Just couldn't find any news coverage links that indicated she had communicated with KJI at all.  I can see her paving the way for the Chinese airspace--maybe she had *THEM* talk to him?

The problem with saying that SecState talked to North Korea directly (I gather our UN guy talked to theirs) is that the Obama Administration is trying to downplay any diplomatic contact being used in this issue because the wingers would go nuts over it.  Look how they jumped on Obama "apologizing" to Europe when he did no such thing.

After reading some of these replies, it's no wonder 1/4th of those polled by this newspaper thought the rescue was a bad thing. That's how much they hate Billy. Kudos to the conservatives who gave him a little credit.

You remember Billy, the guy that left the nation with a surplus. If Bush had left us with a surplus, I wouldn't care if he had trysts with farm animals much less interns.  As long as they were PETA approved, antibiotic free, organic animals that is. LOL

Speaking of William Jeffersons, (without the Clinton last name), the former Democratic Legislator was just convicted of bribery.

You remember him, the guy with all that cash in the freezer.

As a person who voted democrat...GOOD! His cellmates are probably gonna put something in his "Freezer" now.

11 out of 16 counts.  Not bad for the Justice Department which initially bungled the investigation so badly.  Let's hope the prosecution didn't screw up the way they did Stevens, with the crooked senator in Alaska.

Well Stevens certainly made Jefferson look like a hack when it came to bribes. Maybe they should be cellies.

Midterm: this comment is on your 8:11pm comment

"jounalist illegally in this country should we arrested them, sure and put them in gitmo thats what we do.