Two Journalists Pardoned

Well regardless of your views, Obama knows who to call to get two women out of trouble. :D

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week, try the veal...


On a more serious note, glad we got those girls out of there.
 
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Don't forget to tip your moderators. ;)


Definitely a plus. I just REALLY wish I could've been a fly on the wall for the discussions between Clinton and Kim Jong Il.
 
Clinton probably threatened to make half of North Korea related to him, if you know what I mean... ;)
Good to see those two coming home and they have the former President to thank for them. Not only do I wish I were a fly on the wall in their conversation, but I can only imagine what's going to happen on the private jet back to the US! ;)
 
the_13th_redneck said:
Clinton probably threatened to make half of North Korea related to him, if you know what I mean... ;)
Good to see those two coming home and they have the former President to thank for them. Not only do I wish I were a fly on the wall in their conversation, but I can only imagine what's going to happen on the private jet back to the US! ;)
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I wonder what strange sexual favor Bill had to perform on Kim..... I Shudder to think. But then again.... It's Bill.... these two idiots that were in NORK custody were women. We all know what Slick Willy will do for a piece of tail.

I mean come on.... look at his wife. I'd go to North Korea to rescue two women if Hillary was my wife.

"If the Lear Jet's a rocking.... don't come a knocking...."
 
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It's like Louis Black said... "When did the Dow Jones go up? It went up, when he was gettin his winky wacked!.... You know what that tells me? This country doesn't need a leader.... All these people need is someone who's willing to get a hummer every now and then........ And I think I'm just the man for the job." HEH.


LOL... Dad said, and I quote... "I KNEW there was a reason I voted for that man."


LMAO!
 
I certainly agree. I think Obama might've felt Hilary deserved a consolation prize. ;) That, and he could have alienated a lot of Hilary supporters without appointing her to something big.
 
I don't think he's well liked in Southeast Asia and if his popularity has gone up, it's largely a more recent trend. I remember when he was President and he had the whole Lewinsky thing going... folks on that side of the world were not thrilled that this was the behavior of the leader of the most powerful country on earth. It gave a lot of anti-American groups (of any cause) a lot of ammunition.
When most people say he's well liked throughout the world, they usually mean he's very well liked in Europe.
 
the_13th_redneck said:
I don't think he's well liked in Southeast Asia and if his popularity has gone up, it's largely a more recent trend. I remember when he was President and he had the whole Lewinsky thing going... folks on that side of the world were not thrilled that this was the behavior of the leader of the most powerful country on earth. It gave a lot of anti-American groups (of any cause) a lot of ammunition.
When most people say he's well liked throughout the world, they usually mean he's very well liked in Europe.
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In this part of the world the whole Lewinsky thing was pretty much ignored in this part of the world and met with a resounding "who the hell cares, half his predecessors were no better just look at JFK".

During his speaking tours he pretty much spoke to packed houses and in general is thought of as a reasonably affable guy that you could have a beer with.
 
MontyB said:
In this part of the world the whole Lewinsky thing was pretty much ignored in this part of the world and met with a resounding "who the hell cares, half his predecessors were no better just look at JFK".

During his speaking tours he pretty much spoke to packed houses and in general is thought of as a reasonably affable guy that you could have a beer with.
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No arguments there but just saying it's not as "universal" as some people like to say it is.
Personally I just don't think his relationship with his wife gave him the sort of emotional support that he needed. He just shouldn't have done that while President but hey, 8 years is a long time...
 
the_13th_redneck said:
No arguments there but just saying it's not as "universal" as some people like to say it is.
Personally I just don't think his relationship with his wife gave him the sort of emotional support that he needed. He just shouldn't have done that while President but hey, 8 years is a long time...
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True enough.

The extramarital affair wasn't good, and neither was lying about it, but if someone asks me on national television if I'm having an affair I'm sure going to lie about it! :-D
 
I heard that some sanctions against North Korea were lifted as a part of the deal but I can't find sources to confirm this. Hmm...
 
the_13th_redneck said:
I heard that some sanctions against North Korea were lifted as a part of the deal but I can't find sources to confirm this. Hmm...
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Washington Post has this...

[SIZE=+2]Special Contacts Aided Release[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 6, 2009
[/SIZE]

Former president Bill Clinton's central role in the return of two journalists detained by North Korea has once again cast a spotlight on his vast web of financial and political contacts, a network that troubled senators who weighed whether to confirm his wife as secretary of state.
In the case of the detainees, Clinton tapped wealthy business people to execute a mission that, without a special federal waiver for the aircraft to travel to North Korea, would have been illegal. A few weeks ago, one of his business contacts had the ear of Hillary Rodham Clinton in her role as secretary of state, an uncomfortable reminder of the former president's far-flung interests and associates.
The intersection of power and connections blurred the exact nature of Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea. He agreed to meet with leader Kim Jong Il two days after North Korea called his wife a "primary schoolgirl" because she had likened the country to an unruly child. The Obama administration took pains to distance itself from the mission, though officials conceded they had repeated contact with North Korean officials in the days leading up to the trip to confirm the journalists would be released if the former president traveled to Pyongyang.
Hillary Clinton, who was touring Africa while images of her husband meeting with Kim flashed on television sets around the world, felt compelled to address the conflicting messages when she spoke with NBC from Nairobi on Wednesday. "I want to be sure people don't confuse what Bill did, which was a private humanitarian mission to bring these young women home, with our policy, which continues to be one that gives choices to North Korea," she said. "Our policy remains the same."
But, in a sign that diplomatic benefits may flow from her husband's missions, she averred, saying: "Perhaps they will now be willing to start talking to us."
No taxpayer money was used to fund the trip, with the exception of the salaries of the Secret Service agents traveling with Clinton. But the former president procured aircraft and crews by tapping companies and contacts that have previously underwritten his endeavors. With some assistance from the Obama administration, he handpicked the team that would accompany him, according to sources involved in the planning.
Dow Chemical, which has contributed as much as $50,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation, provided the plane that ferried the former president from his home in Westchester County, N.Y., to Burbank, Calif. There, he boarded an all-business-class Boeing 737 jet provided by wealthy Hollywood producer Steve Bing. Clinton was accompanied by a team that included John D. Podesta, who was his White House chief of staff, and a former State Department expert on North Korea.
Bing, who is one of the biggest donors to the Clinton Foundation, with gifts totaling $10 million to $25 million, will foot an estimated $200,000 bill for the fuel, the crew and other incidental expenses for the trip, said Marc J. Foulkrod, chairman of Avjet in Burbank, which manages the plane for the executive. Bing, who is also a major donor to Democratic causes, declined to comment on his involvement in the Clinton trip, a spokesman said, saying Bing does not talk to the media.
Foulkrod said the trip was especially difficult to arrange because Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit U.S.-registered aircraft from landing in North Korea. He said that the company received a call from Bing about the flight either late last Thursday or early Friday, and that it took "an unprecedented level of cooperation" from the FAA and the State Department to secure the necessary legal and diplomatic approvals in time for Monday's departure.
The administration had wanted to send former vice president Al Gore to North Korea instead of Clinton; Gore is a co-founder of Current TV, which employs the journalists who were detained. But North Korean officials hinted that they wanted an envoy of Clinton's stature, sources said.
The breakthrough in the standoff over the journalists -- who were sentenced in June to 12 months of hard labor after being seized near the Chinese border in March -- came on July 18, when the women told their families in a phone call that North Korean officials had clearly stated that they would be released if Clinton came to Pyongyang.
U.S. officials immediately began to verify that statement with North Korean counterparts, and on July 24 national security adviser James L. Jones asked Clinton to consider making the trip. One senior administration official said full assurances from Pyongyang were not secured until Sunday, the day the former president left Burbank on Bing's jet. At the time of departure, U.S. officials knew that Clinton was scheduled to have a rare meeting with Kim.
Gore praised Bing at a news conference after the plane landed. "To Steve Bing and all the folks who have made the flight possible, we say a word of thanks, deep thanks, as well," he said. The journalists thanked Bing and also Dow and Andrew Liveris, the company's chief executive -- who also is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, another one of the former president's projects.
Bill Clinton's Rolodex is so vast that Hillary Clinton cannot help but bump into members of his network.
On her trip to India last month, she sat next to another one of her husband's donors, Mukesh Ambani, during a meeting in Mumbai with a group of Indian business tycoons. The European subsidiary of Ambani's Reliance Holdings contributed as much as $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
During the meeting, Ambani called for the establishment of joint institutions between the United States and India to develop "clean technology." As it happens, the Clinton Foundation is in talks in India with the provincial government of Gujarat to create the world's largest single solar-power project -- and Reliance is also lining up solar projects in the state. Complicating matters further, Reliance is one of the biggest suppliers of refined gasoline to Iran and could be targeted under congressional efforts to cut off Iran's supply of gasoline.
Bill Clinton in the meantime is not resting on his laurels. His office has announced that he and "leading drug manufacturers" will make "a major announcement" in Harlem on Thursday.
 
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