Laura Ling & Euna Lee

Got a phone call from my friend who is personal friends with Lisa Ling and Paul (Lisa's husband) and I immediately caught on to the heavy weight of concern my friend was carrying. She speaks much about Lisa and Paul and so I feel like I know them--distantly. Perhaps this connection, the fact that the two journalists are Asian American women, my concern for human welfare, and the overall political state of the two nations...has gripped my attention--heart, soul and mind. I'm struck with silence, but offer words of hope and comfort to those concerned via the voices of politicians and media personalities:

Gov Bill Richardson (NM) affirms that North Korea has actually been treating the women with decent humanity, and suggests the need to separate the humanitarian vs geopolitical aspects of the situation:


Grassroots vigils sprung as a result of facebook networks. The women's families speak out and Lisa Ling offers a call for international diplomacy and dialogue:



On the analytical side, it's been interesting to see Asian American media personalities rally together panethnically to use their influence to raise political awareness. Also been interesting to see that the media networks categorizes these two Asian Americans journalists as "Americans." Perhaps having an African American President is changing the ways in which Asian Americans are publicly and politically viewed.