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New York, 3:29 PM
Sat Nov 28
12 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
I'm sure Harriet Tubman would have loved to read media accounts of her railroad while she was still shuttling people through it... #eunalee
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
11/13/09
PREACH!!! PREACH IT!!
I think this simple truth is at the very core of why Gawker exists: Because some people take themselves way too seriously (ie: famous for doing nothing) which make them ripe for the snarking.
Dudes, doesn't the Lings realize that there's a HUGE fascination regarding what the hell is going on behind borders in North Korea. (Hell, wasn't that why they were there to begin with?) Why do I care about the beauty of Ling Sisterhood(tm) when i could get a firsthand account of Dear Leader battshittery with bonus Clinton on Air Fuck One action? #eunalee
11/13/09
11/13/09
While a variation on the "Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (The Ling-Ling Sisterhood) could be mistaken for a film about Dick Nixon's relationship to a couple of pandas.
11/13/09
Wait, what? Did they capture Carrie Prejean now? #eunalee
11/13/09
11/13/09
China 0 #eunalee
09/03/09
Laura Ling looks like she swallowed something bitter. Japanese plums?
The VICE crew went to the PRNK one year before, *with* permission and NK handlers, and were almost jailed for taking movies there. Google 'The Vice Guide to North Korea' and watch.
Oh, and even with permission and being guys they were scared shitless.
It's not like Current & Vice don't talk. The girls knew *exactly* what they were up against.
Where were the Chinese soldiers? On their side of no man's land. The 'girls' were still on Korean soil.
What point of view? The Current clubkids were trying to one up the Vice clubkids, using the PRNK as a prop.
Every time I see one of these clubkids go to a REALLY BAD SPOT in the world and then go 'Ima scared' into the camera I just roll my eyes.
09/02/09
I also don't see the problem with Lisa Ling using every single person in her Rolodex to get her sister out of that crime syndicate of a country. It's her sister. Flesh and blood. You wouldn't have done the same? You would have had enough moral rage to declare that she did the crime and she shall do the time, and just leave her there to die?
What about the Iranian-American female journalist that was jailed in Iran for vague reasons? She lived and worked in Iran knowing full well the Iranian government has a hard-on for journalists and media types, and will incarcerate them any chance they get. Isn't that sort of asking for it as well?
When these ladies were still incarcerated in North Korea, the majority of the comments here were supportive of their release. All of a sudden now they're back on American soil, they have become ungrateful ingrates for trying to tell their stories? People begrudge them for trying to get a book deal or TV movie deal? Would you like to sit in solitary confinement in North Korea for a while with an uncertain future in exchange for possible book deal?
09/02/09
09/02/09
As for the harshness of their solitary confinement, it has been reported by "Han Park, an American academic who was visiting North Korea at the time, [that] they were housed in a guest villa designed for foreign visitors outside the capital of Pyongyang. Professor Park said that Korean officials laughed at any suggestion that the women were receiving harsh treatment. ‘We are not Guantanamo,’ he was told."
Again, it seems that Ling and Lee mishandled themselves, putting themselves, their handlers, and perhaps even the Korean underground railroad and its beneficiaries at risk.
09/02/09
09/02/09
It will be interesting to see how the several arguments weaving through Gawker and Jezebel reconcile, if ever. (Man, I'm getting whiplash trying to keep up.) Were Ling and Lee dedicated journalists who took a calculated risk? Were they naive fameballs who stumbled into making themselves the story? Were they innocents manipulated into danger by their negligent bosses?
I seem to be stuck on simply expecting Ling and Lee to accept the consequences of their judgment and actions, and even to accept that in all ways they got off much better than the true victims of the story they went (or went sent) to get: The citizens of North Korea.
09/02/09
09/02/09
Here's another thing: I read that Euna Lee was born in South Korea and then moved to California as a university student. If that is true, how could she have grown up in the ROK and not known (and prepared better for) the dangers that she faced by merely being within sight of the PRNK border?
Again, I don't know how the National Geographic's guys pulled this off without making themselves the story. Seriously, read their article and look at thier photos. Were they not in the midst of it all? I believe it had to be professionalism and good planning that accounted for their success (and lack of capture), not luck.
09/03/09
But equating what the clubkids *did* and their current [no pun intended] attitude *now*, all that's going to do is piss off elements in the PRNK to think they were punked by the Americans. Again.
They're coming off as ungrateful ingrates because they're not as 'really really really sorry that they did anything wrong' as they were before their release.
There's nothing wrong with getting a book deal or a movie [that will never be seen in the PRNK].
There *is* with going to the world press and saying 'Nuh-uh, we had backsies' (and that apology, you can shove it).
Dear clubkids. The fearless leader has a TV. He probably gets current now. And now the fugitive crossing issue is up on his radar.
09/02/09
In the meantime, I am going to keep beating the drum for the journalists over at National Geographic who successfully covered this story in depth without getting captured or putting the underground railroad there at jeopardy.
09/02/09
I'm only angry cause a lot of people helping North Koreans were compromised in the process and these women show no remorse.
09/02/09
Also,here's a protip: You can't call backsies by running back over the border once you've crossed it. Violating another country's border doesn't work like that.
The tl;dr of this whole story is: Two stupid reporters do something stupid, don't want to admit it, beg for sympathy.
09/02/09
09/03/09
08/24/09
So, this story was out there. Just this year. And it seems that they were able to do their work without getting operations shut down.
So perhaps, gonzo journalism didn't work all that well if they have undone years of work and put existing organizations and refugees families at risk. (The NGS story clearly indicates that often families are moved one at a time.)
08/24/09
Televisa ran the footage of these foreigners telling Mexicans to get out of a Mexican town. The following week the Interior Secretariat cracked down on activists doing activist things on tourist visas.
The actions ended up shutting down some of the work of genuine charity organizations who were buildings schools down there (because they too were in the country only on tourist visas, which in many cases is the only way it can be done).
The moral lesson is, of course, hippies are fucking stupid and worthless.
08/24/09
08/24/09
On viewing the abysmally disgusting thread, I have to ask - what the fuck myths do Americans have left about themselves? When the fuck did Americans stop embracing people who did interesting things, who maybe followed careers out of principle? Who maybe did things that were inspiring, risky, dangerous, amazing. Americans with the eyes of gamblers and a certain noble spirit tinged with cynicism. What the fuck happened to all of you?
When did you all become a pack of self-hating, miserable, vengeful freaks who don't merely resign themselves to leaving these poor women out there in torturous conditions, but actually seem to DEMAND it.
What the hell happened to all of you? When did you get that beaten down? Is it Bush? Iraq? Is Obama's platform of integrity and principle just the last gasp of a shriveled American lung sack?
EDIT: I'm going to say this to all of you in the hope of inspiring someone, of finding someone with spirit and passion out there in this anonymous thread of disgusting miasma. Fuck you America if you're going to turn on these women. Fuck you.
08/24/09
[en.wikipedia.org]
08/24/09
As for your "F-you" rant: excellent way to win an argument!
08/24/09
08/24/09
What the fuck exactly is a journalist if they don't gamble? They're PR professionals. If you flinch from something because you're scared of your job, or scared for your life, you won't get a story that people might "need" to hear. My point is exactly what you're saying: when did Americans lose the myth of themselves as truth-tellers and upholders of freedom and liberty?
And clearly the F-you isn't an argument, but rather a rhetorical device. Since I specifically stated that, I'm not sure where you're coming from.
08/24/09
It's not gambling if no one ever loses.
These aren't "brave" women. They're fools who trifled with one of the world's most totalitarian regimes by entering the country illegally.
Why do they do it? Out of some sense of moral rectitude? Please. That's the last great myth of journalism, that it's some sort of social tool. America has watched generations of self-indulgent pedants use their "brave" reporting to land cushy gigs and big salaries to no end but their own. Our media has become a vehicle for wealthy, ego-mad hacks who look back on events like slipping into Korea as their big chance.
I can't wait for the book deal, by the way. I'm sure the cash is going toward more "bravery."
08/24/09
Should journalists take risks? Of course. But they need to be carefully considered risks. It’s not the best analogy, perhaps, but what if these women were investigating a dangerous drug cartel – should they just blunder into a no-go area after a warning, just to see what would happen? That’s the job of highly-trained undercover law enforcement personnel, in my opinion. Journalists need to ask tough questions, shine a spotlight onto sleazy, dangerous or illegal activities. I just don’t think they should be the story – their job is to inspire the crusaders, not to be the crusaders themselves. And, to address one of the other commenters, perhaps I’m naïve, but I think most journalists – save the shouting-head assholes who populate both left-and right-wing cable channels – do strive to report acurrately, and without bias. They may not (do not!) always succeed, but I think it’s the goal.
And finally, Pope JPII – you’re right – on rereading, I realize you did flag the "f-you" part as a rhetorical device. In my case, it worked – it certainly made me comment.
08/24/09
08/24/09
These two ladies (and frankly, I should exempt Euna Lee from this--she was a mere desk copy editor and not a field reporter, and only recruited for this jaunt because of her language skills, she's Korean American and can speak Korean, unlike Laura Ling) were out for capturing TV DRAMA in action! They willingly trespassed the North Korean border in search of scoop, and oops--they got caught. Nobody can convince me otherwise. Let me repeat: They willingly WENT there, and they got caught. Reckless behavior. Stupid behavior. I feel for their subsequent plight, because they are someone's daughters, but if I were their editor I would slap them across the head.
You can report this kind of story on North Korea in vivid, harrowing detail without exposing yourself like they did. In fact, the New Yorker ran a magnificent story on North Korean migration back in 2006--can't even locate the proper URL for it, I'm too miffed right now--and no source, or reporter was harmed in the process.
08/24/09
08/24/09
Not that there's anything wrong with the copy desk; in fact, I'd rather have one good copy editor than a room full of reporters who can't write a lick.
For you, snugbug, I'm going to break my policy and become someone's follower.
08/24/09
08/24/09
08/24/09
In TV? How do you edit copy in TV?
08/24/09
08/25/09
To put it another way, just because the medium is primarily visual doesn't excuse one from using proper grammar and syntax.
08/25/09
09/03/09
08/24/09
08/24/09
08/24/09
08/24/09
08/24/09
08/24/09
.. dancing around the border? uh, probably not.
08/24/09
08/24/09