A very strange case this one. At first I thought it was a publicity stunt by Sony, until I saw that private emails between staff as well as other stuff had been released, severely embarrassing some of the employees with the publishing of private, not so complimentary gossip, about their colleagues and fellow workers. Protection of private data...not worth it, unimportant, why bother...shouldn't have said it in the first place...I can see lots of upheavals at Sony on that one.
Then I thought it was a bit of US government propaganda, blaming the North Koreans for introducing malware into Sony's systems and using it to bolster up their perceptions of the American citizens so as to increase their funding in protecting them from cyberwars or other internet harms. The evidence, is as yet, too thin to convince me. But to see Sony withdraw the film from distribution because the distributors were frightened of being attacked by hacktivists is even more shocking still. Has America become that weak that it has to limit its free speech? Has it gone so far down the pan, that it has to allow a government like North Korea or a bunch of hacktivists or just pure thieves dictate their publication? Very strange.
I wonder what the feelings would be in the USA if North Korea produced a film comedy on assassinating Obama?
Still, there you are...is the US of A really on its knees, beaten by one of the most dangerous and tiniest states of the world, with or without a bunch of cyber crooks, or "Guardians of the Peace", a small country which takes their money and cocks a snook by keeping nuclear power and testing missiles in the Pacific Ocean. Has the USA become a country who needs their President to get on the tele and tell the people that they should go and watch the film, even after it has been withdrawn, because the distributors are frightened of being hacked? Will we see a new war, with US drones invading North Korea and bombing the shit out of them, just to show them what democracy is all about?
Will there be armed police and militia at every cinema in the USA one wonders, with guns and tazers, handcuffs and nightsticks, and L.R.A.D's (long range acoustic devices)
see url: http://cryptome.org/2014/12/nypd-lrad-nyt-14-1213.pdfat the ready, pushing the queues into the cinemas, under the pretext of protecting the population from pro-North Korean demonstrators and anti-assassination terrorists one wonders...;-) .
Will Father Christmas be hounded, his presents searched by sniffer dogs, his drones from Amazon carrying Christmas orders shot down in flames over the pick up point and little children having their sock puppets confiscated; cupcake sellers having their goods seized, whilst the National Guard, on standby, go to the market stalls full of copyright free consumer goods, imported from all over the world, mainly China, the thieves having their human rights protected and who continue to sell their wares under bogus licences. This is America folks, come and join us, get a government like us for your own society, protect free speech and human rights like us, give us your hearts and minds...else we will...come and get ya...
*/The New Colossus /* */Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,/* */With conquering limbs astride from land to land;/* */Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand/* */A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame/* */Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name/* */Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand/* */Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command/* */The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame./* */"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she/* */With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,/* */Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/* */The wretched refuse of your teeming shore./* */Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,/* */I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" /* You couldn't make it up.... ATB Sooty & Sweep
