<p>Reporting back as promised: Just returned from seeing Interstellar. No previews for The Interview, but don’t know if it was even a planned release at Regal Cinemas. Don’t believe it was.</p>
<p>It is interesting that on a forum dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding we are still missing the impact of capitulating to what is essentially electronic arson.</p>
<p>No doubt Sony left the front door unlocked and they will bear the huge cost of that mistake. The role of our government here is to protect our rights. Whether that is the right of free speech, intellectual property rights, or the right to stuff our faces with popcorn and watch an inane movie.</p>
<p>Although I am pretty certain this isn’t sufficient provocation to resume the Korean war, especially with a nuclear armed North located so very close to our dear friends in Seoul and Tokyo, identifying pressure points, partners, and appropriate incentives to bring this wayward bunch into the community of nations is a sensible endeavor.</p>
<p>The Obama administration can’t protect every network nor should they. However, as we continue to negotiate in Iran and North Korea, and more urgently as we deal with Mr. Putin and the neo-expansionist Russia, I hope we impress upon them our determination to protect rule of law and intellectual property.</p>
<p>
The First Amendment only protects us from our gov’t punishing our free speech. It doesn’t protect us from other gov’ts punishing our free speech.</p>
<p>I didn’t run out and shop after 9/11 to prove my patriotism and I don’t intend to watch a stupid movie to that end either. </p>
<p>@GMTplus7 If I am not mistaken, the motivation for the creation of the US was to protect us from the abridgement of our rights by other countries !</p>
<p>The founders goal was to ensure "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, "</p>
<p>Are you suggesting its okay for Canadians to sail across the border and burn down a house in D.C.? Since our constitution doesn’t protect us. Of course not ! </p>
<p>Of course Canadians are wonderful neighbors and haven’t thought about such actions for the last 200 years. </p>
<p>Granted this hacking event isn’t the war of 1812 but protecting the sovereignty of the US is essential.</p>
<p>“It is interesting that on a forum dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding we are still missing the impact of capitulating to what is essentially electronic arson.”</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone has missed anything - but no one can force the movie theaters to show it or Sony to release it. The other movie studios were also pressuring Sony to not release it because they feared it would stop people from going to other movies in those theater complexes - during the very lucrative Xmas period. </p>
<p>Personally, I don’t agree with these decisions but I support a corporations right to make that decision. After all, corporations are people, too. </p>
<p>Busdriver, your last post about Sharpton isn’t worthy of a response. </p>
<p>As to our not reacting to disparaging things said about our leaders, does no one remember the reaction by people in this country to the Dixie Chicks remarks about George W. Bush? </p>
<p><a href=“CNN.com - Dixie Chicks pulled from air after bashing Bush - Mar. 14, 2003”>http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/dixie.chicks.reut/</a></p>
<p>Then there was our ridiculous reaction to the French not supporting our invasion of Iraq. We are not above over reacting to perceived slights. French’s mustard even had to release a statement that the company’s name was a family name so they wouldn’t be swept up in the controversy and negatively affected by our over reaction to the very word “French.” </p>
<p><a href=“Freedom fries - Wikipedia”>http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_fries</a></p>
<p>The recent attacks on corporate information structure show the need to develop a new secure network protocol for internal use and the need to hire competent IT managers and IT engineers. The current internet structure is too weak and IT people are too incompetent. </p>
<p>Maybe we should follow China for now: block internet access from the world.</p>
<p>Re: post#85: I think busdriver’s comments are paraphrasing what Herman Cain says about Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He repeatedly calls then agitators and race baiters.</p>
<p>Jym, so? Doesnt make it any more worthy to comment on, IMO. </p>
<p>Thats fine. No need to comment if you don’t choose to. Was just saying others share her perception.</p>
<p>George Clooney and I are on the same page. We must be soul mates. </p>
<p>The assassination scene:</p>
<p><a href=“Watch the Kim Jong-un assassination that was too gory for Sony to approve - The Verge”>http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/16/7400963/sony-hack-leaked-clip-the-interview-kim-jong-un-death-scene</a></p>
<p>Originally it was more graphic, but as the hacked emails reveal, the studio demanded they tone it down so fire obscures most of what was supposed to be a cartoonish and-then-his-head-explodes effect. </p>
<p>I’m not sure that a fake name and fake country, if the characters still looked Korean, would have prevented the retaliation. But knowing that they were going to release this film, it is amazing that Sony didn’t boost its security against cyber attacks. </p>
<p>Salmon Rushdie had to have armed guards around him after he published “The Satanic Verses”. Theo Van Gogh was shot dead on the streets of Amsterdam after he made a movie criticizing Islam. The cartoonist who made fun of Mohammed had to go into hiding. </p>
<p>Now we have another sort of retribution over a silly movie. Crazy, insecure people don’t like criticism. It’s really sad that millions of people suffer under the dictatorship of such a nut. </p>
<p>I understand that corporations are risk adverse. Almost no TV stations showed the cartoons of Mohammed for fear that they’d be the next target, for example. But it’s a sad day when criminals are able to control what movies we see. (And I am no Seth Rogen fan. I saw one of his movies and it wasn’t funny at all. I don’t get his appeal to audiences.)
But Sony should show some backbone and release the movie online or to free TV as an act of defiance. </p>
<p>Maybe they could do a trial release in Japan (Sony) and Canada (Seth Rogen) to see what happens. </p>
<p>"The assassination scene:</p>
<p>I didn’t think that scene was graphic at all. Nothing like the blood and gore from walking dead or other shows. </p>
<p>There is a Sony employee in South Korea who wasn’t taking the threats seriously. Head. Chopping block.</p>
<p>"A follow-up email to Pascal from Sun Yong Hwang, senior executive director at Sony Pictures Intl. based in South Korea, claimed that the threats made by the North Korean regime were not to be taken seriously.</p>
<p>“Although major presses covered below news since last night, not many people is interested in their threat,” wrote Hwang. “Because NK has constantly threaten us since Kim Jong-un regime started. NK is like a paper tiger but this is the first time for me to experience.”</p>
<p>Hwang added, “I believe the publicity is at least great.”</p>
<p>(sorry…forgot how to do quote function)</p>
<p>“Thats fine. No need to comment if you don’t choose to. Was just saying others share her perception”</p>
<p>I believe many people share my perception. I don’t think he has done a thing to help the black community, but has purely gained publicity and stuffed his pocket full of blackmail money (without paying taxes on much of it, to the tune of 4.5 million). The families of those killed during his race riots may have a stronger reaction than disgust. I have no idea why anyone would pay a cent to him, and if I was an executive, the only way I’d meet with him is if I was wearing a wire.</p>
<p>This actually seems a related topic, in a thread about threats, fear, and caving in.</p>
<p>It wasn’t even as gory as the Nazi face melt scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. </p>
<p>According to Rogen’s emails, they at first had the face more burned and showed more exploding happening before the fire took over. Also, the ending you see here was too extreme for distribution in some countries so an even milder ending was shot and officials in governments overseas were given the choice of which ending would be shown. </p>
<p>Dang, I was hoping for something like that Nazi face melt. Now that was impressive.</p>