Morning Roar: "The Interview" Issue, Rubio's Ridiculous Response to Cuba, Your Social Media "Threat Rating"
Jeez, what an embarrassing week for American Pride...why? Find out right here in the Morning Roar! "The Interview" - Sony's Shame, Paramount's Blunder, and The Cost To Clever Theater Owners As of now, everyone should know about the cyber hack attack on Sony, allegedly orchestrated by the government of North Korea, which revealed some very...interesting emails and personal data for executives and everyday employees of the company. If that weren't enough, the "Fighting Kim Jongs" (as they like to be called) also hinted at 9/11 style terror attacks on theaters who would dare to show the film.The proper response to this, in my opinion, would be for Sony to laugh in the face of this and release the film. Not only for practical reasons - that a terror attack by North Koreans here in the US would be virtually impossible and insanely unlikely even if we were in all out war with that poor and downtrodden nation - but also for the sake of not bowing to terrorist threats. Sony did not take that response, and instead pulled "The Interview" from all theaters, everywhere. Now, Sony is a private entity and can do what it likes. Their hand was forced by theater chains unwilling to take the chance (who also should be ashamed of themselves) and thus refusing to show the film. However, Sony making the decision to forgo showing the film anywhere, even if a theater desired it, seems cowardly and on top of it all, stupid.I'm a publicist by trade. And I can't help but look at this situation from a PR perspective, from the standpoint of our economy (more on that later) and from the standpoint of public favor being destroyed by bad PR moves.Sony is taking far more flack and derision having pulled this film than they would had they stood up and said "we're airing it, this is America and you can't quell free speech." It was a mistake and a miscalculation on their part. There can't even be an argument that the decision was based on finance in any way, as they have already spent millions upon millions on advertising and marketing the film on top of the base filmmaking costs, and they will have to spend at least part of that again if this film comes to theaters later on.They also can't claim they were protecting the studio from lawsuits - simply, Sony can state that they are releasing the film and the theaters that air it can take any backlash on themselves - just as any theater does with any film. Theaters that run controversial films that may be picketed or vandalized can't sue the filmmaker for damages. Sony would be in the clear.In fact - were I an independent theater owner, I would be clamoring to play this film, and Sony should be going out of its way to find theater owners (like the famous Alamo Drafthouse) willing to play it for several reasons:
- The publicity would be massive. The first theater to man up and say they will show "The Interview" would get more coverage than you could read in a lifetime. Others would then line up to follow suit, and once it was deemed "safe" (or too profitable to miss out on), larger chains would follow.
- It would be completely safe. As I already said, the odds of a NK terrorist attack occurring are ridiculously low. You would have a better chance of being bitten by a shark while being hit by lighting as your plane was crashing. This was pure bravado with no substance...but, even were it not, whatever local theaters that decided to show the film would receive so much police support, screening and presence that absolutely nothing would happen. Everyone would be on high alert.
- This now sets a horrible precedent. Any questionable film will now have those who oppose it follow the handy guidebook set out by the handling of this situation. Anyone can call in a bomb threat, and you will see more of this coming.
Continuing item #3, we can extend this into broader economics in our nation. If this threat works for film, who is to say that it can't shut down the steel industry in a state? North Korea says it will bomb any of our steel mills that are active, so we better shut them down. How about other aspects of industry? How about local banks? There are a ton of those too, just like theaters. Will the response be the same from large businesses that have assets to lose?The way this should have been resolved would be to have simply let the public choose to take the risk, knowing what was possible (if highly, highly improbable). In a stare down with North Korea, do we really think that nation is going to act over a film that would lead to the utter destruction of that country and the deposing of its leader? Yes, Russia could step in, however I think if Kim Jong Un were to literally bomb theaters in the US, even they would take a step back and let their little Soviet-Era buddy burn.Freedom means that sometimes you choose to take a risk. I'd rather have that choice than have all of my options fall into the category of complete safety, which limits them exponentially. Sony, shame on you. And Paramount, shame on you too! News broke late yesterday that Paramount denied theaters from playing Team America - another film mocking North Korean leadership - in the now open rooms in revolt. Cowards abound.For more on the dire predicament faced by North Korean citizens - and what you can do to help - check out Marc Clair's interview with Ty Hicks from a recent episode of the Lions of Liberty Podcast on the "Liberty in North Korea" Program.Marco Rubio & Everything Wrong With Conservatives on Cuba Can someone explain to me again how Marco Rubio was seen as a legit contender for the GOP presidential nomination a few years ago? Because his recent ill-thought out comments about Cuba following Obama's easing restrictions and changing tactics with the island nation more or less paint him as a complete moron.
“This president has proven today that his foreign policy is more than just naive, it is willfully ignorant of the way the world truly works,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday afternoon, speaking to the press directly after the president’s remarks from the White House. “What these changes are going to do is, they will tighten this regime’s grip on power for decades to come.”
Rubio suggested that he would use his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to block the president’s new policy toward Cuba. “I anticipate I will be the chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of [the] Foreign Relations [Committee], and I anticipate we are going to have a very interesting couple of years discussing how you’re going to get an ambassador nominated and how you’re going to get an embassy funded,” Rubio said.
Because what we've been doing for the past FIFTY YEARS has been working so well, right, Marco? So why try anything new? Especially something that could help relations, boost economic benefits and trade and help spread social change in Cuba. If you played Marco Polo with Marco Rubio, you'd be lonely - he would drown in the pool after forgetting to breathe and you'd be stuck yelling to nobody for 10 minutes before giving up and opening your eyes.Let's get a take from our Editor Marc Clair, who I asked about this issue, knowing he's encountered many Cubans in his world travels:
Rubio is naive, and it's this policy of "sanction sanction sanction" that has "tightened the regime's grip" if anything, as they can point at and blame "Big, Bad American" for all their ills. (See an earlier piece on sanctions having the opposite of their desired effect here) Luckily the Cubans I've met don't buy this one bit - they're against the sanctions but are largely pro-US, at least the ones who have grown up exclusively under Castro.
Exactly - they already like the U.S. and will like it even more after encountering the culture and the socioeconomic benefits that US investment and tourism would bring.Here's a fun trick you can play if you ever want to confuse a neocon - just drop this Thomas Jefferson quote on them: "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."As our own John Odermatt added, "It confuses them because they love the founders, but have been brainwashed to think sanctions and embargo actually work."And BONUS! Ron Paul also wrote on the matter today. I bet you can guess his take.Tool Gauges Your "Threat Rating" To Police via Social Media Let's end on a low note - Cops using social media (the window into our SOULS, dagnabit!) to gauge the level of "threat" that we pose to police through a tool named Beware. From The Free Thought Project:
The officer enters your license plate into a mobile application on his laptop. In a matter of seconds, this application crawls over billions of records in commercial and public databases, including all available social media engagement, recent purchases and “any comments that could be construed as offensive.” The application then determines if your “threat rating” is green, yellow, or red.Up until this point, you have never committed a crime, you have never been violent, you have never even so much as run a stop sign. However, this police officer now knows that you made a comment about him punching the (insert handcuffed and helpless victim example here) on facebook, and he literally sees red (your threat rating).What happens next? Does a routine traffic stop for driving 10 miles over the speed limit morph into a situation in which you now have a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm pistol with Streamlight TLR-2s laser site being aimed just above your left ear?
This type of monitoring should be made completely illegal, and I'll explain why. This provides a pre-conception that is completely removed from the current situation or the actions of the subject in question. This is PROVOKING police to act more violently and to be more suspicious than is warranted when dealing with the community they are supposed to protect and serve.I actually personally know most of the people I am connected with on social media, and a lot of them post idiotic things that I know don't relate to the way they act in person. We are not the same people online that we are in real life, especially when it comes to outrage. Police, law enforcement and the government as a whole can't seem to understand that. This technology will only lead to amplified violence and the creation of even more of an "us against them" mentality...both from the police towards the citizenry and vice-versa.Have a great weekend, everybody.The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
