Just for the record I believe in equal pay for equal work. Now, that might be a reason to boycott movies if the industry doesn't shape up.

One other thought. 

ISIS. Are they sophisticated enough to accomplish such a break in to the Sony computers? What's next, banks?

...Despite (click here) the fact that a hostage reported from the scene that Haron Monis was requesting an ISIS flag, and that his actions constituted an official Islamic State attack on Australia, members of the ISIS online forum Tribune Media Jihadist do not claim he is one of theirs. In fact, they’re a bit baffled as to what all the fuss is about....

The biggest reason to break into Sony's computers were the Social Security Numbers and personal information.

The stock is taking a hit because of all the problems regarding the release of a single movie. 

The stock itself is rather lackluster except for a rather incredible spike in 1999 thru 2001. 

Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka on May 7, 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Revenues average $78 billion per year. Japan has issues with North Korea and China, but, the China 'thing' is a very old border skirmish and there was a recent agreement with the USA that these issues would be tempered somewhat. That sort of brings us back to North Korea, but, it could be someone that sincerely is trying to do some damage to Sony.

With that kind of income and assets far greater, there is little chance the shelving of one motion picture is going to harm Sony.

The current threats are somewhat unrealistic. The Oklahoma bombing took an entire truck full of fertilizer to kill people and destroy a side of the federal building. I just don't see a truck parking inside a theater to cause that type of damage. 

The attack of the World Trade Tower in 1993 was a van full of explosives. I find it a bit unrealistic to think any type of car bomb could be built on that scale in every theater in the USA showing a Sony picture. They are talking about a bomb not simply an IED or something like that. 

Metal detectors should be at the doors of theaters anyway, especially after Aurora, Colorado. I suppose Carmike is correct in being cautious, but, this type of thing can become a real game after a while. Then forget about the movie theaters being in business. That is not good. Perhaps this is a chance for the industry to regroup around patron security and find some resolve about these issues.

It is the Social Security numbers and personal information that is most valued by the break in to the Sony computers. There are many people with high incomes and they are most at risk.

Either way, it is about money not really national security. This is really lousy for a lot of people we think of as celebrities. People the American public values and loves and especially their talent. The emails are just a side show. I do believe the industry needs to address more than security of it's patrons, but, also the culture. The culture within the industry is terrible. 

Your aren't treating each other with respect. It is terrible. It makes the industry sound as though it is comprised of spoiled brats in pursuit of any trivial matter. It is juvenile and ridiculous. Stop it.

Homeland Security (click here) doesn't have a division for the entertainment industry, however, this entry can be found under "Commercial Facilities." There is a daily bulletin published by Homeland Security open for subscription.


December 12, 2014
(Reuters) - A Maryland man (click here) pleaded guilty on Friday to charges that he caused panic in a movie theater with a "bottle bomb" attack, and he admitted to carrying out five similar stunts in the region, prosecutors said.

Manuel Joyner-Bell, 20, has been held without bail since his arrest in May following a spate of bottle bomb incidents that frightened hundreds of movie patrons in Maryland and neighboring Virginia that month and in April.

He pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of possession of a destructive device, second degree assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to use a destructive device, Angela Alsobrooks, the state's attorney in Prince George's County, Maryland, said in a statement....

I find the timing odd this announcement regarding an exploratory committee comes on the heels of the Senate torture report.

December 16, 2014

By Gabriel Debenedeth

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush (click here) will “actively explore” a potential presidential campaign for 2016, he announced on Tuesday.

The announcement, in a Facebook post, makes Bush the first major likely Republican candidate to formally move toward a presidential bid.

The son of former president George H. W. Bush and the brother of former president George W. Bush, Jeb Bush served as Florida’s governor between 1999 and 2007....

The Taliban are being squeezed out of existence.

To begin with Pakistan never recovered from the flooding of years ago. Add to that their inability of the Taliban to win over the people of Pakistan and there is desperation for this militia to exist at all.

A hospital security guard helps a student injured in the shootout at a school under attack by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar, Pakistan,Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. Taliban gunmen stormed a military school in the northwestern Pakistani city, killing and wounding dozens, officials said, in the latest militant violence to hit the already troubled region.MOHAMMAD SAJJAD AP PHOTO



December 16, 2014
By Riaz Kahn
...The overwhelming majority (click here) of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the assault and rushed to Peshawar to show his support for the victims.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article4509813.html#storylink=cpy

The horrific attack, carried out by a relatively small number of militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children....

"My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now," wailed one parent, Tahir Ali, as he came to the hospital to collect the body of his 14-year-old son Abdullah. "My son was my dream. My dream has been killed."...

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article4509813.html#storylink=cpy

There is approximately 180 miles between Peshawar and Kabul. They are both significant cities. This is the region the Taliban is hoping to establish a strip of land to begin their return as the power to contend with. That is the best I can discern from their movement in the region.

In recent months the Taliban were moving back to Afghanistan after they lost the influence they were seeking failed by simply imposing their will in Pakistan. Basically, the Pakistani people rejected their idea of control. The people of Afghanistan may very well be reacting negatively to the Taliban's return and squeezing the existence of the Taliban in the region.

This is a very sad moment in the region. Obviously, the Taliban had to choose the deaths of children as they are unable to make an impact on the Pakistan military. It may be their ability to do anything but terrorize the region into submission is their only military ability.

The Taliban may be on the verge of being vanquished. That is wishful thinking, but, to realize this is a militia and not ethnicity is to carry hope this militia is finally being destroyed. 


My sincerest sympathies to the Pakistan people. They have been standing against a tide of violence for a long time. This may be the turning point they wanted to eliminate violence from their land. It so sad to realize the very painful reality of the Taliban's desperate act. These children are among the most precious of the region. It is only confirmation of the strength of the resolve of the people of Pakistan.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article4509813.html#storylink=cpy