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Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analysts

Scorpion89

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Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analysts Say - Political News - FOXNews.com

He's won an Academy Award and a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to save the planet from global warming. Now Al Gore may be asked to embark on another perilous mission.

Speculation is swirling that the Obama administration may send the former vice president to North Korea to negotiate the release of two American journalists sentenced Monday to 12 years in labor prison -- which many view as a death sentence because of the intense labor practices of the camps

I have a better idea how about we let the North keep Al Gore so he can explain to them how he came up with the internet and how Global Warming is going to cause the ruin of Mankind and we will take back the two Reporters. Sound like a great deal to me:rofl
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I have a better idea how about we let the North keep Al Gore so he can explain to them how he came up with the internet and how Global Warming is going to cause the ruin of Mankind and we will take back the two Reporters. Sound like a great deal to me:rofl

Wow way to turn a political scenario into your own forum for how you hate Global Warming.

I hope, unlike Scorpion89, who would rather turn this into a GW forum, that if picked Al Gore can get these people home.

How about for once thinking about the two journalists and their well being, rather than turning this into your own grand Global Warming Pedestal?
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

Hopefully they'll keep him.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

Speculation is swirling that the Obama administration may send the former vice president to North Korea to negotiate the release of two American journalists sentenced Monday to 12 years in labor prison -- which many view as a death sentence because of the intense labor practices of the camps

It's highly doubtful that they would be placed in a conventional labour camp; they don't let any foreigners anywhere near those, and I highly doubt that this case is an exception.

Also, Gore is probably being sent because they are reporters for his news network (Current TV).
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I know I shouldn't feel this way, but every time I see a news story about these two reporters a little voice in my head says "so?".

It seems to me that they are so stupid that they should produce a slight, measurable decrease in the average intelligence of whichever continent they are on.

That said, I think the U.S. should just quietly pay a ransom for the dummies and be done with it. It's no doubt how things will wind up anyway.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I know I shouldn't feel this way, but every time I see a news story about these two reporters a little voice in my head says "so?".

It seems to me that they are so stupid that they should produce a slight, measurable decrease in the average intelligence of whichever continent they are on.

That said, I think the U.S. should just quietly pay a ransom for the dummies and be done with it. It's no doubt how things will wind up anyway.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

That said, I think the U.S. should just quietly pay a ransom for the dummies and be done with it. It's no doubt how things will wind up anyway.

I strongly disagree. Payment of a ransom would reward North Korea and give the cash-hungry state incentives to seize additional people.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I strongly disagree. Payment of a ransom would reward North Korea and give the cash-hungry state incentives to seize additional people.
I understand, but the alternative is to leave them where they are, and the Public will not accept that. Even if it's money disguised as aid, it is still money, and we will pay. We might just as well get it over with.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I understand, but the alternative is to leave them where they are, and the Public will not accept that. Even if it's money disguised as aid, it is still money, and we will pay. We might just as well get it over with.

And what? Fall victim to there tactics of bullying? You would allow America of all nations to bow down to the needs and demands of Stalinist Korea? What kind of message would that bring across worldwide? Its two people. There hardly worth the bother as it is.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

And what? Fall victim to there tactics of bullying? You would allow America of all nations to bow down to the needs and demands of Stalinist Korea? What kind of message would that bring across worldwide? Its two people. There hardly worth the bother as it is.
I'm not arguing whether it's the right thing to do or the wrong. I merely point out that we will be willing to go to great expense to retrieve the reporters who will no doubt claim to have been well treated and bear no grudge. In that case, I see no reason to prolong the suffering.

Personally, I think that in this case NK is well within its rights and that we should take notes on how a sovereign nation traditionally treats the sanctity of its borders.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I'm not arguing whether it's the right thing to do or the wrong. I merely point out that we will be willing to go to great expense to retrieve the reporters wh o will no doubt claim to have been well treated and bear no grudge. In that case, I see no reason to prolong the suffering.

Personally, I think that in this case NK is well within its rights and that we should take notes on how a sovereign nation traditionally treats the sanctity of its borders.


In order to go to great lengths of recieving citizens back, we do not bow down to there demands, and encourage this type of behaviour, but to go to great lengths is to resolve the issue with combat. NK has left everybody with very little choice.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I know I shouldn't feel this way, but every time I see a news story about these two reporters a little voice in my head says "so?".

It seems to me that they are so stupid that they should produce a slight, measurable decrease in the average intelligence of whichever continent they are on.

That said, I think the U.S. should just quietly pay a ransom for the dummies and be done with it. It's no doubt how things will wind up anyway.

Yeah, it's so stupid to attempt to break open one of the most secretive countries in the world. So stupid of them to, you know, report on stuff.:roll:

Kaya said:
Stalinist Korea?

They're not Stalinist; they are Jucheist.

Personally, I think that in this case NK is well within its rights and that we should take notes on how a sovereign nation traditionally treats the sanctity of its borders.

They were not sentenced to 12 years hard labour for entering the country; they were (from South Korean sources) sentenced to 2 years for entering the country and for 10 years for "grave crimes against [the country]". They have yet to explain what these "grave crimes" are.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

It's highly doubtful that they would be placed in a conventional labour camp...

On June 8, 2009, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency published the following terse story:

The Central Court of the DPRK staged a trial of American journalists Laura Ling and Seung-eun Lee from June 4 to 8.

The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

On June 8, 2009, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency published the following terse story:

The Central Court of the DPRK staged a trial of American journalists Laura Ling and Seung-eun Lee from June 4 to 8.

The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor.

I realize what they were convicted of, but I still don't think that they will be sent to a conventional labour camp.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I realize what they were convicted of, but I still don't think that they will be sent to a conventional labour camp.

The story mentions that they were sentenced to "reform through labor." I don't believe the story would have provided that detail if they were not sentenced to a labor camp. Which camp? That remains to be seen.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

Well, we get to see how Obama's "just talk nice" to these dictators works out. I sure have reservations about that.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

The story mentions that they were sentenced to "reform through labor." I don't believe the story would have provided that detail if they were not sentenced to a labor camp. Which camp? That remains to be seen.

I'm not saying they won't be sentenced to labour; I'm saying that they are not going to put them into a camp with other Koreans because of the fact that they have never and will never let a foreigner anywhere near those. If they're not going to let foreigners anywhere near them I highly doubt that they would put American reporters inside them.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

They may give the journalists back simply on the condition that Gore leave as soon as possible.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I knew you was going to correct me on that! You or Agnapostate.

I wouldn't have bothered correcting you. Since I'm not a Marxist or a Leninist, I don't make a huge issue of distinguishing between similarly authoritarian philosophies. There is a difference to note, of course. If you'd described the DPRK as "socialist" or "communist," I would have certainly corrected you.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I wouldn't have bothered correcting you. Since I'm not a Marxist or a Leninist, I don't make a huge issue of distinguishing between similarly authoritarian philosophies. There is a difference to note, of course. If you'd described the DPRK as "socialist" or "communist," I would have certainly corrected you.

Isnt Juche just a form of isolationist communism, in the sense of the word?
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

Agna said:
Since I'm not a Marxist or a Leninist, I don't make a huge issue of distinguishing between similarly authoritarian philosophies

Well that's lame; if someone started attacking anarchism as a bunch of lifestylist vegan Crimethincers I would have at least corrected them.:(

kaya said:
Isnt Juche just a form of isolationist communism, in the sense of the word?

No, Juche is a neo-confucian ideology that was developed by Kim Il Sung from an extremely conservative interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, but is a decisive and complete split from it. It claims its revolutionary base to be the army and preaches a policy of national defense and national self-sufficiency.

It has absolutely nothing to do with Marxism.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

He is going over there to bore them to death with speeches.
 
Re: Gore to North Korea for Reporter Negotiations? Prospect Fraught With Peril, Analy

I wouldn't have bothered correcting you. Since I'm not a Marxist or a Leninist, I don't make a huge issue of distinguishing between similarly authoritarian philosophies. There is a difference to note, of course. If you'd described the DPRK as "socialist" or "communist," I would have certainly corrected you.

Not sure you could attach a label to what is going on in North Korea. What do you call a country led by Charles Manson?
 
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