Breaking News: Ryan Olsen's mom has come to Korea. Read all about it at http://quietlywriting.post
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Twitter blackout left users feeling 'jittery,' 'naked'
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/07/twitter.attack.reaction/index.html
(CNN) -- Christina Cimino was logging onto Twitter on Thursday morning when something happened that she found deeply unsettling.
iReporter David Seaman says Twitter needs a competitor so users don't panic when it goes down.
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"I got some weird error message, and I'm like, 'What's going on!?" the 24-year-old said.
That error message was the scourge of online social networkers worldwide on Thursday as cyber-attacks shut down Twitter and caused sustained glitches in other social-media sites like Facebook and the blogging site LiveJournal.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote the sites were the victims of what "appears to be a single, massively coordinated attack." And a pro-Georgian blogger, whose accounts on Facebook and Twitter reportedly were the targets of the denial-of-service attack, told CNN the online strike was timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia conflict.
What may prove more lasting about the day social networking suffered its first major blackout is the degree to which people cared. Near-panic erupted in some corners of the Internet as people lost cherished links to their online friends, family members and news feeds. Watch CNN iReporters talk about the attack
Part of the panic relates to the sheer popularity of the sites.
Twitter saw a more than 1,300 percent jump in unique visitors between February 2008 and February 2009, according to Nielsen NetView. The site, which lets users post messages of 140 characters or less, had more than 44 million worldwide users in June, according to comScore. More than 120 million users log onto Facebook at least one time each day, the site says.
To be sure, not all Facebook and Twitter users freaked out because of the attacks. Some people even reveled in the mayhem. Blog: Could the attacks be our fault?
Don't Miss
But for people like Cimino, who said she "felt naked" without access to Twitter, the attacks were a serious reality check -- a chance to evaluate just how dependent they'd become.
"You know how you pat your pockets for your cell phone and your keys? Well it's that same kind of phantom [limb] with Twitter," she said. "It's like, 'I can't update! I can't update!' It's just one of those bugs that gets in you."
She added: "I was pretty upset, actually. It feels like a lifeline for me ... Pretty much everyone knows almost every detail of my life by what I'm doing on Twitter."
It's not worth analyzing whether these online connections are good or bad because the reality is that Twitter and Facebook are now an important part of our lives, said Marc Cooper, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.
"For many people, and not just young people, the Web is not just media, it's actually a place where they conduct their lives or a portion of their lives," he said.
"So the panic [Thursday] morning is only reflective of that. This is not just a hobby or an amusement or another accoutrement, it's actually deeply woven into their lives and is integral to their social interaction. So when it's cut off, it's a problem."
Others saw Twitter's existence as the problem and relished the chance to make fun of a Web site that has become so omnipresent in news cycles.
"Horrors!!! People will have to communicate face to face!" one user commented on CNN's SciTech blog.
Another commenter said, "Turn off your computers and read a book or get outside and discover there is more to life than cyberspace. The Internet has become nothing more than the new cocaine."
Now that Twitter is back online, the No. 1 conversation thread on the site is called "whentwitterwasdown," where users discuss what they did without their real-time Twitter updates.
Some people are mocking the blackout. A user named PaulWilks, for instance, wrote, "I took up juggling."
Others seem concerned. "I did absolutely nothing. It's like my heart was gone," wrote a user named HarajukuxBarbie. "I felt so empty inside," wrote another Twitter user called freinhar.
Some business people on Thursday realized just how much they depend on Facebook and Twitter to do their work.
Adam Ostrow, editor-in-chief at Mashable, a blog that covers social media, said the outage made it difficult for his organization to cover the news and to promote its stories.
"For someone like myself who spends all day on Twitter, it's incredibly frustrating," he told CNN.com Live 
Justin Stauffer, a 31-year-old who works in Web strategy at a marketing company near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said Thursday's attack made him realize just how dependent on Twitter he had become.
"When something that's so central to how you do your business or how you gather information goes down, yeah, you get a little jittery -- like, when's it going to be back," he said.
"I didn't break out in hives or anything like that," he said, jokingly.
David Seaman, an iReporter in New York, said he thinks Twitter needs a competitor so users will have an alternative if the site is down. Watch Seaman's talk about the issue on CNN's iReport
And Amy Gahran, who writes about social media on a blog called Contentious, said all technologies can break down, so people need to make contingency plans.
"Hell, when you get down to it, you can lose your voice or break your writing hand or have a stroke and be unable to communicate. We are fundamentally social creatures, and when we lack our usual communication channels it's scary," she writes.
"Don't panic. Have a backup plan, and be prepared."
Cooper, the USC professor, said the fuss surrounding Thursday's attack is a sign that instant, online communication is here to stay.
Fighting the trend would be like trying to stop the ocean's tides, he said, but it's unclear where the technology will take our society.
"The bottom line is that we don't know. All of this is too new," he said. "It's like sitting around in the year 1500 and trying to figure out where the printing press was going to take us."
Friday, August 7, 2009
Senate confirms Sotomayor for high court
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32312026/ns/politics-white_house/
Senate roll call
The U.S. Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. "Yes" is a vote to confirm. Voting yes were 57 Democrats, 9 Republicans and 2 independents. Voting "No" were 0 Democrats and 31 Republicans.
State Votes
Alabama
Sessions (R), No; Shelby (R), No.
Alaska
Begich (D), Yes; Murkowski (R), No.
Arizona
Kyl (R), No; McCain (R), No.
Arkansas
Lincoln (D), Yes; Pryor (D), Yes.
California
Boxer (D), Yes; Feinstein (D), Yes.
Colorado
Bennet (D), Yes; Udall (D), Yes.
Connecticut
Dodd (D), Yes; Lieberman (I), Yes.
Delaware
Carper (D), Yes; Kaufman (D), Yes.
Florida
Martinez (R), Yes; Nelson (D), Yes
Georgia
Chambliss (R), No; Isakson (R), No.
Hawaii
Akaka (D), Yes; Inouye (D), Yes.
Idaho
Crapo (R), No; Risch (R), No.
Indiana
Burris (D), Yes; Durbin (D), Yes.
Illnois
Bayh (D), Yes; Lugar (R), Yes.
Iowa
Grassley (R), No; Harkin (D), Yes.
Kansas
Brownback (R), No; Roberts (R), No.
Kentucky
Bunning (R), No; McConnell (R), No.
Louisiana
Landrieu (D), Yes; Vitter (R), No.
Maine
Collins (R), Yes; Snowe (R), Yes.
Maryland
Cardin (D), Yes; Mikulski (D), Yes.
Massachusetts
Kennedy (D), Not Voting; Kerry (D), Yes.
Michigan
Levin (D), Yes; Stabenow (D), Yes.
Minnesota
Franken (D), Yes; Klobuchar (D), Yes.
Mississippi
Cochran (R), No; Wicker (R), No.
Missouri
Bond (R), Yes; McCaskill (D), Yes.
Montana
Baucus (D), Yes; Tester (D), Yes.
Nebraska
Johanns (R), No; Nelson (D), Yes.
Nevada
Ensign (R), No; Reid (D), Yes.
New Jersey
Lautenberg (D), Yes; Menendez (D), Yes.
New Hampshire
Gregg (R), Yes; Shaheen (D), Yes.
New Mexico
Bingaman (D), Yes; Udall (D), Yes.
New York
Gillibrand (D), Yes; Schumer (D), Yes.
North Carolina
Burr (R), No; Hagan (D), Yes.
North Dakota
Conrad (D), Yes; Dorgan (D), Yes.
Ohio
Brown (D), Yes; Voinovich (R), Yes.
Oklahoma
Coburn (R), No; Inhofe (R), No.
Oregon
Merkley (D), Yes; Wyden (D), Yes.
Pennsylvania
Casey (D), Yes; Specter (D), Yes.
Rhode Island
Reed (D), Yes; Whitehouse (D), Yes.
South Carolina
DeMint (R), No; Graham (R), Yes.
South Dakota
Johnson (D), Yes; Thune (R), No.
Tennessee
Alexander (R), Yes; Corker (R), No.
Texas
Cornyn (R), No; Hutchison (R), No.
Utah
Bennett (R), No; Hatch (R), No.
Vermont
Leahy (D), Yes; Sanders (I), Yes.
Virginia
Warner (D), Yes; Webb (D), Yes.
Washington
Cantwell (D), Yes; Murray (D), Yes.
West Virginia
Byrd (D), Yes; Rockefeller (D), Yes.
Wisconsin
Feingold (D), Yes; Kohl (D), Yes.
Wyoming
Barrasso (R), No; Enzi (R), No.
Source: The Associated Press
Senate roll call
The U.S. Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. "Yes" is a vote to confirm. Voting yes were 57 Democrats, 9 Republicans and 2 independents. Voting "No" were 0 Democrats and 31 Republicans.
State Votes
Alabama
Sessions (R), No; Shelby (R), No.
Alaska
Begich (D), Yes; Murkowski (R), No.
Arizona
Kyl (R), No; McCain (R), No.
Arkansas
Lincoln (D), Yes; Pryor (D), Yes.
California
Boxer (D), Yes; Feinstein (D), Yes.
Colorado
Bennet (D), Yes; Udall (D), Yes.
Connecticut
Dodd (D), Yes; Lieberman (I), Yes.
Delaware
Carper (D), Yes; Kaufman (D), Yes.
Florida
Martinez (R), Yes; Nelson (D), Yes
Georgia
Chambliss (R), No; Isakson (R), No.
Hawaii
Akaka (D), Yes; Inouye (D), Yes.
Idaho
Crapo (R), No; Risch (R), No.
Indiana
Burris (D), Yes; Durbin (D), Yes.
Illnois
Bayh (D), Yes; Lugar (R), Yes.
Iowa
Grassley (R), No; Harkin (D), Yes.
Kansas
Brownback (R), No; Roberts (R), No.
Kentucky
Bunning (R), No; McConnell (R), No.
Louisiana
Landrieu (D), Yes; Vitter (R), No.
Maine
Collins (R), Yes; Snowe (R), Yes.
Maryland
Cardin (D), Yes; Mikulski (D), Yes.
Massachusetts
Kennedy (D), Not Voting; Kerry (D), Yes.
Michigan
Levin (D), Yes; Stabenow (D), Yes.
Minnesota
Franken (D), Yes; Klobuchar (D), Yes.
Mississippi
Cochran (R), No; Wicker (R), No.
Missouri
Bond (R), Yes; McCaskill (D), Yes.
Montana
Baucus (D), Yes; Tester (D), Yes.
Nebraska
Johanns (R), No; Nelson (D), Yes.
Nevada
Ensign (R), No; Reid (D), Yes.
New Jersey
Lautenberg (D), Yes; Menendez (D), Yes.
New Hampshire
Gregg (R), Yes; Shaheen (D), Yes.
New Mexico
Bingaman (D), Yes; Udall (D), Yes.
New York
Gillibrand (D), Yes; Schumer (D), Yes.
North Carolina
Burr (R), No; Hagan (D), Yes.
North Dakota
Conrad (D), Yes; Dorgan (D), Yes.
Ohio
Brown (D), Yes; Voinovich (R), Yes.
Oklahoma
Coburn (R), No; Inhofe (R), No.
Oregon
Merkley (D), Yes; Wyden (D), Yes.
Pennsylvania
Casey (D), Yes; Specter (D), Yes.
Rhode Island
Reed (D), Yes; Whitehouse (D), Yes.
South Carolina
DeMint (R), No; Graham (R), Yes.
South Dakota
Johnson (D), Yes; Thune (R), No.
Tennessee
Alexander (R), Yes; Corker (R), No.
Texas
Cornyn (R), No; Hutchison (R), No.
Utah
Bennett (R), No; Hatch (R), No.
Vermont
Leahy (D), Yes; Sanders (I), Yes.
Virginia
Warner (D), Yes; Webb (D), Yes.
Washington
Cantwell (D), Yes; Murray (D), Yes.
West Virginia
Byrd (D), Yes; Rockefeller (D), Yes.
Wisconsin
Feingold (D), Yes; Kohl (D), Yes.
Wyoming
Barrasso (R), No; Enzi (R), No.
Source: The Associated Press
‘Breakfast Club’ director John Hughes dies
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32320427/ns/entertainment-movies/
NEW YORK - Writer-director John Hughes, Hollywood’s youth impresario of the 1980s and ’90s who captured the teen and preteen market with such favorites as “Home Alone,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” died Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He was 59.
Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan, Michelle Bega said. He was in New York to visit family.
Jake Bloom, Hughes’ longtime attorney, said he was “deeply saddened and in shock” to learn of the director’s death.
A native of Lansing, Mich., who later moved to suburban Chicago and set much of his work there, Hughes rose from ad writer to comedy writer to silver screen champ with his affectionate and idealized portraits of teens, whether the romantic and sexual insecurity of “Sixteen Candles,” or the J.D. Salinger-esque rebellion against conformity in “The Breakfast Club.”
Hughes’ ensemble comedies helped make stars out of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and many other young performers. He also scripted the phenomenally popular “Home Alone,” which made little-known Macaulay Culkin a sensation as the 8-year-old accidentally abandoned by his vacationing family, and wrote or directed such hits as “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” and “Uncle Buck.”
“I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person,” Culkin said. “The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man.”
Devin Ratray, best known for playing Culkin’s older brother Buzz McCallister in the “Home Alone” films, said he remained close to Hughes over the years.
“He changed my life forever,” Ratray said. “Nineteen years later, people from all over the world contact me telling me how much ‘Home Alone’ meant to them, their families, and their children.”
Other actors who got early breaks from Hughes included John Cusack (“Sixteen Candles”), Judd Nelson (“The Breakfast Club”), Steve Carell (“Curly Sue”) and Lili Taylor (“She’s Having a Baby”).
Actor Matthew Broderick worked with Hughes in 1986 when he played the title character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family,” Broderick said.
Ben Stein, who played the monotone economics teacher calling the roll and repeatedly saying “Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?”, said Hughes was a towering talent.
“He made a better connection with young people than anyone in Hollywood had ever made before or since,” Stein said on Fox Business Network. “It’s incredibly sad. He was a wonderful man, a genius, a poet. I don’t think anyone has come close to him as being the poet of the youth of America in the postwar period. He was to them what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan Age.
“You had a regular guy — just an ordinary guy. If you met him, you would never guess he was a big Hollywood power.”
Click for related content
As Hughes advanced into middle age, his commercial touch faded and, in Salinger style, he increasingly withdrew from public life. His last directing credit was in 1991, for “Curly Sue,” and he wrote just a handful of scripts over the past decade. He was rarely interviewed or photographed.
NEW YORK - Writer-director John Hughes, Hollywood’s youth impresario of the 1980s and ’90s who captured the teen and preteen market with such favorites as “Home Alone,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” died Thursday, a spokeswoman said. He was 59.
Hughes died of a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan, Michelle Bega said. He was in New York to visit family.
Jake Bloom, Hughes’ longtime attorney, said he was “deeply saddened and in shock” to learn of the director’s death.
A native of Lansing, Mich., who later moved to suburban Chicago and set much of his work there, Hughes rose from ad writer to comedy writer to silver screen champ with his affectionate and idealized portraits of teens, whether the romantic and sexual insecurity of “Sixteen Candles,” or the J.D. Salinger-esque rebellion against conformity in “The Breakfast Club.”
Hughes’ ensemble comedies helped make stars out of Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy and many other young performers. He also scripted the phenomenally popular “Home Alone,” which made little-known Macaulay Culkin a sensation as the 8-year-old accidentally abandoned by his vacationing family, and wrote or directed such hits as “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” and “Uncle Buck.”
“I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person,” Culkin said. “The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man.”
Devin Ratray, best known for playing Culkin’s older brother Buzz McCallister in the “Home Alone” films, said he remained close to Hughes over the years.
“He changed my life forever,” Ratray said. “Nineteen years later, people from all over the world contact me telling me how much ‘Home Alone’ meant to them, their families, and their children.”
Other actors who got early breaks from Hughes included John Cusack (“Sixteen Candles”), Judd Nelson (“The Breakfast Club”), Steve Carell (“Curly Sue”) and Lili Taylor (“She’s Having a Baby”).
Actor Matthew Broderick worked with Hughes in 1986 when he played the title character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“I am truly shocked and saddened by the news about my old friend John Hughes. He was a wonderful, very talented guy and my heart goes out to his family,” Broderick said.
Ben Stein, who played the monotone economics teacher calling the roll and repeatedly saying “Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?”, said Hughes was a towering talent.
“He made a better connection with young people than anyone in Hollywood had ever made before or since,” Stein said on Fox Business Network. “It’s incredibly sad. He was a wonderful man, a genius, a poet. I don’t think anyone has come close to him as being the poet of the youth of America in the postwar period. He was to them what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan Age.
“You had a regular guy — just an ordinary guy. If you met him, you would never guess he was a big Hollywood power.”
Click for related content
As Hughes advanced into middle age, his commercial touch faded and, in Salinger style, he increasingly withdrew from public life. His last directing credit was in 1991, for “Curly Sue,” and he wrote just a handful of scripts over the past decade. He was rarely interviewed or photographed.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
26 hurt as turbulence diverts U.S.-bound jet
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32266096/ns/travel-news/
A Continental Airlines jet carrying 179 people from Brazil to Texas hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic early Monday, injuring at least 26 — including four seriously — and forcing an emergency landing in Miami, officials said.
One passenger said he felt Continental Flight 128 drop without warning while flight attendants were in the aisles. Some were thrown against the roof.
Houston-based Continental said there were 168 people and 11 crew on the Boeing 767. The airline released a statement that said the fasten seat belt sign was illuminated at the time and that about 28 passengers were treated in Miami.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Elkin Sierra said four people were seriously injured and an additional 22 had bumps and bruises. A total of 14 people were taken to hospitals.
The plane was on an overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro to Houston. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the turbulence struck about halfway between Puerto Rico and Grand Turk island, north of the Dominican Republic.
The plane reported hitting severe turbulence at 4:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) and landed safely about an hour later at Miami International Airport, Bergen said.
Rio de Janeiro was also the departure airport for Air France Flight 447, which crashed amid thunderstorms June 1 in the mid-Atlantic more than 900 miles off Brazil's northeastern coast, killing all 228 people on board.
The FAA's Bergen cautioned against drawing any parallels and said the cause and severity of the turbulence in the Continental case was still being investigated. "I wouldn't draw any conclusions and comparisons," Bergen said.
Passenger Fabio Ottolini of Houston said it was about six hours into the flight when he felt the Continental aircraft suddenly drop.
"People didn't have time to do anything," he said.
Ottolini said flight attendants were serving items in the aisles when the turbulence hit. He said some flight attendants were thrown against the roof of the cabin and may have been among those injured.
Carolina Portella, 18, was on the flight and headed to college in San Francisco. She said the plane hit a little turbulence and then suddenly dropped severely. The oxygen masks popped out.
"The plane just dropped," she said. "I just grabbed the hand of the person next to me and held on."
The rest of the flight, she said, was smooth.
Airport officials say some passengers were going on to Houston on various Continental flights about midday. He did not know when the remaining passengers would be expected to arrive in Houston.
A Continental Airlines jet carrying 179 people from Brazil to Texas hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic early Monday, injuring at least 26 — including four seriously — and forcing an emergency landing in Miami, officials said.
One passenger said he felt Continental Flight 128 drop without warning while flight attendants were in the aisles. Some were thrown against the roof.
Houston-based Continental said there were 168 people and 11 crew on the Boeing 767. The airline released a statement that said the fasten seat belt sign was illuminated at the time and that about 28 passengers were treated in Miami.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Elkin Sierra said four people were seriously injured and an additional 22 had bumps and bruises. A total of 14 people were taken to hospitals.
The plane was on an overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro to Houston. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the turbulence struck about halfway between Puerto Rico and Grand Turk island, north of the Dominican Republic.
The plane reported hitting severe turbulence at 4:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) and landed safely about an hour later at Miami International Airport, Bergen said.
Rio de Janeiro was also the departure airport for Air France Flight 447, which crashed amid thunderstorms June 1 in the mid-Atlantic more than 900 miles off Brazil's northeastern coast, killing all 228 people on board.
The FAA's Bergen cautioned against drawing any parallels and said the cause and severity of the turbulence in the Continental case was still being investigated. "I wouldn't draw any conclusions and comparisons," Bergen said.
Passenger Fabio Ottolini of Houston said it was about six hours into the flight when he felt the Continental aircraft suddenly drop.
"People didn't have time to do anything," he said.
Ottolini said flight attendants were serving items in the aisles when the turbulence hit. He said some flight attendants were thrown against the roof of the cabin and may have been among those injured.
Carolina Portella, 18, was on the flight and headed to college in San Francisco. She said the plane hit a little turbulence and then suddenly dropped severely. The oxygen masks popped out.
"The plane just dropped," she said. "I just grabbed the hand of the person next to me and held on."
The rest of the flight, she said, was smooth.
Airport officials say some passengers were going on to Houston on various Continental flights about midday. He did not know when the remaining passengers would be expected to arrive in Houston.
South Korean (Fantasy) Football League
Breaking News: Best Friends start South Korean Fantasy Football League
Here is a current event for you- Zach and I have started a Football League (a Fantasy one!) via Yahoo.com
If you want to participate in our league you can. Here are the specifics as I understand them:
You need a yahoo ID.
You need to be invited by Zach. But don't worry, he will invite you (if you ask him too).
There is a live draft on Sunday, August 30 at 10pm (local time).
You can't have Wes Welker, he is mine.
Here is a current event for you- Zach and I have started a Football League (a Fantasy one!) via Yahoo.com
If you want to participate in our league you can. Here are the specifics as I understand them:
You need a yahoo ID.
You need to be invited by Zach. But don't worry, he will invite you (if you ask him too).
There is a live draft on Sunday, August 30 at 10pm (local time).
You can't have Wes Welker, he is mine.
N. Korea confirms Bill Clinton arrival
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/03/nkorea.clinton/index.html
(CNN) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton landed in North Korea early Tuesday on a mission to negotiate the release of two American journalists imprisoned there since March, according to the country's state news agency and a CNN source.
The North Korean news agency KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit in its three-line dispatch. But a source with detailed knowledge of the former president's movements told CNN late Monday that Clinton was going to seek the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current TV -- media venture launched by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore.
Meeting Clinton were the vice president of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, Yang Hyong Sop, and Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister, KCNA reported, adding that "a little girl presented a bouquet to Bill Clinton."
The women were arrested while reporting on the border between North Korea and China and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.
Since the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, efforts to resolve the issue so far have been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in the reclusive communist state.
Watch what may lie behind the pick of Bill Clinton »
Last month, Clinton's wife -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- said the Obama administration had dropped its request for Ling and Lee to be released on humanitarian grounds and instead was seeking amnesty, which implies forgiveness for an offense.
Clinton's mission comes as the United States and its allies in the region are trying to push North Korea back into stalled nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea conducted a nuclear bomb test, its second, in May, and has conducted several missile tests since then. The United Nations responded by tightening and expanding sanctions on the North.
The two nations were on opposite sides in the 1950-1953 Korean War and had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea agreed at that time to halt the development of nuclear weapons, but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.
Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000 near the end of his second term as president. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, had gone to Pyongyang in early 2000 to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il -- now widely reported to be ill.
(CNN) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton landed in North Korea early Tuesday on a mission to negotiate the release of two American journalists imprisoned there since March, according to the country's state news agency and a CNN source.
The North Korean news agency KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit in its three-line dispatch. But a source with detailed knowledge of the former president's movements told CNN late Monday that Clinton was going to seek the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current TV -- media venture launched by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore.
Meeting Clinton were the vice president of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, Yang Hyong Sop, and Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister, KCNA reported, adding that "a little girl presented a bouquet to Bill Clinton."
The women were arrested while reporting on the border between North Korea and China and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.
Since the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, efforts to resolve the issue so far have been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in the reclusive communist state.
Watch what may lie behind the pick of Bill Clinton »
Last month, Clinton's wife -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- said the Obama administration had dropped its request for Ling and Lee to be released on humanitarian grounds and instead was seeking amnesty, which implies forgiveness for an offense.
Clinton's mission comes as the United States and its allies in the region are trying to push North Korea back into stalled nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea conducted a nuclear bomb test, its second, in May, and has conducted several missile tests since then. The United Nations responded by tightening and expanding sanctions on the North.
The two nations were on opposite sides in the 1950-1953 Korean War and had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea agreed at that time to halt the development of nuclear weapons, but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.
Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000 near the end of his second term as president. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, had gone to Pyongyang in early 2000 to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il -- now widely reported to be ill.
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