The terrorist hacking of Sony, and their capitulation, prove that Capitalists are arrogant cowards

[Agnosticsherbet]

All my life I have been told how courageous, focused, and determined intrepid businessmen and corporations are in their dedicated war to squeeze every Penny, Ruble, Yuan, and Shekel out of consumers.

Put the mother fuckers to the test, and they cut and run.

(There was a tad of hyperbole in the above statement.)

(But only a tad.)

[onecaliberal]

1. You hit the nail on the head.

I guess the corporate military and/or police state wasn't down for this fight.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. You want to go to war over a movie?

[onecaliberal]

5. Where in my reply did you read that?

Oh yeah, nowhere. I'm sorry that I refuse to buy into the fear campaign. This is absurd in the extreme.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Where you said the corporate military wasn't down for this fight...

I don't know if the threat is real or not, but we are dealing with a murderous, and probably insane, regime.

Your response would be...

[Agnosticsherbet]

9. Reports say that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony and the threat to kill

theater goers who saw it.

They are deciding if and how to retaliate.

Steve Carell's movie set in North Korea is on hold. This is a direct and chilling attack on artistic expression.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Of course it is, but how better would you handle it?

If you were actually responsible for the safety of moviegoers, not just yakking on a message board.

[Agnosticsherbet]

15. That is a good question. I intended to see that move because of the threat.

I think individuals should have been able to choose how they respond.

Sony's actions have forever tarnished their brand for me.

[onecaliberal]

19. For unarmed black folks we roll out the fucking

MRAPS, for a threat coming from another country who is completely inept we run away. There isn't going to be a war. I mentioned military and police because it IS their job to protect and serve.
The point is a crazy fucker in Korea has infringed upon the freedom of speech in this country and that is NOT okay with me and shouldn't be with anyone else either.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Sony execs were aware of what the hackers had on them....only plausible explanation, and the media

attempting to play up this cyber hack as "terrorist" redefines the word.

Trigger Warning! Conspiracy Theory in progress.

.........................

This is simple blackmail and common extortion at work.

I would like them to play the movie so we can see what the hackers have that they would pay the ransom so rapidly for.

Since the target of the "terrorists" is only the movie, nothing else, the price has been paid.

I assume Sony execs had connections in politics and those emails would have been interesting also...no?

Wonder what assurances they got that all the evidence is destroyed?

[HappyMe]

8. Somebody in another thread mentioned the same thing.

I think it's quite possible that there were even more hideous emails or other nasty things that they uncovered.

[Agnosticsherbet]

10. Threatening 9/11 style attacks on theaters is a terrorist attack, by definition.

I intended to see the movie, but only because of the hacking and the threat.

[Fred Sanders]

12. There was no political component, it was to stop one movie, so it is criminal extortion. Words have

meaning.

Look up the definition.

[BootinUp]

4. Maybe so, but I am not as sure as some that

the lil insane bastard over there wouldn't try to blow somebody up. He seems to enjoy blood on the ground.

[Cicada]

7. Cowardice is often wise

On Mt Ranier I saw a man chase a bear which stole his package of hot dogs from a picnic table. He was very brave. And very stupid. Maximum macho is often stupid. Bravery is often overrated.

[Fred Sanders]

13. What?

[Agnosticsherbet]

14. Limiting artistic expression because of a government threat is censorship.

That censorship was paid for and perpetrated by the North Korean government.

I don't give a fig fart for Sony. I am concerned that some tin pot dictator can censor people anywhere in the world.

[HappyMe]

16. We should start letting

dictators tell us what we can and cannot view as far as movies go. Cuz FEAR!!1

[Rex]

25. We just did and he didn't have to do anything but ask China to hack Sony.

Of course never mind the fact that an extremely offense movie was made a few years ago in which they kill Kim Sr. And nobody died or went blind.

Lesson to take away from this - puppets get a pass, humans don't.

[former9thward]

17. Sony did not have a choice.

If the movie played and something happened at a theater an army of lawyers would have immediately sued Sony and the theater for negligence. The very same people who now denounce Sony for being "cowards" would attack them for "capitalist irresponsibility".

[Rex]

24. SO why did the movie 'Team America' not cause WWIII? Exact same kind of movie.

I guess puppets get a freebie, but people don't.

[former9thward]

26. Well, we would have to ask the N. Koreans that question.

[Xyzse]

27. Agreed.

Heck, the guy they have playing Kim Jong-Un is much much better looking than the real one.

[maced666]

18. The Sony top brass are Obama supporters.

And contributors. But you are right. True colors now showing.

[G_j]

20. one discussion mentioned the concerns of the theaters themselves, being multiplex

and worrying about people avoiding the theater altogether.

[Agnosticsherbet]

21. Essentially, capitalists freaked out.

[Odin2005]

22. Capitalists are terrified babies who make the government do thje dirty work for them.

At least the feudal aristocrats of old knew how to fight.

[Rex]

23. I doesn't make any sense, there was already a big production made about killing Kim Sr.

It was all over the world and had all kinds of publicity and nobody is dead from it!!! Why is making a movie now any different than making a movie just a few years ago?

Did NK take our chocolate milk at lunchtime? What gives?

[Xyzse]

28. Same way how there used to be a depiction of Mohammed in South Park.

They tried to make one more recently, and that got derailed.

[Glassunion]

29. I'm upset they caved as well, however what if you owned a business...

and your computer systems were hacked, and this hack prompted 2 (or 3) class action lawsuits against your business, and your business is being threatened with more hacks, as well as physical violence.

Would you simply say to hell with it and ignore the threats? It really does put them in a tough spot. What if they decided to release the movie anyway, and something (almost anything) happened at any one of the theaters across the US while that movie was being carried by the theater? With the tenacious level of litigation in this country you are guaranteed yet even more lawsuits. Keep in mind they are self insured. So, really no matter what they did they were kind of screwed. They are wimps for not showing it on one hand, and how could they be so reckless on the other.

My personal view the cowardice is not on Sony alone. I was listening to the radio yesterday and a theater chain owner had called in, and he had decided against showing the movie. He had received calls from employees, and their parents as well as customers with concerns for their safety if they show the movie. I'm sure this movie house was not alone.

[Agnosticsherbet]

31. Sony could have aired it for free.

They could send it straight to video.
They could have arranged for Apple to push it onto every Iphone.

This attack as already stopped another movie that was being made about North Korea by a different organization.

Now, there is this subject, North Korea, that no one is going to examine because the North Korean Dictator has stopped it out of fear that they will be attacked.

I find that deeply offensive.

What if next week a group of religious right hackers working for Uganda steal the information of a studio and threaten theater goers who see any movie that portrays homosexuals?

If the first question a Studio, an actor, or writer asks is, "Who the fuck will I offend with this?" then our freedoms have been stolen and we have been harmed.

[Glassunion]

33. They could have aired it for free, but the issue is the NK does not want it seen by anyone.

So the threat still stands even if distributed for free.

I hear you... I so do. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025978635

[Agnosticsherbet]

34. Well, except it would not have threatened movie goers.

But if they pushed it for free straight to every Apple device, Apple users would have been righteously pissed off.

[B2G]

30. I just love sweeping generalizations

But only when it fits an agenda.

Carry on.

[Agnosticsherbet]

32. Both sweeping and hasty generalizations are unwritten rights.

Right up there with jumping to conclusions, and the right to assume.