'The Interview' Billboards Come Down

And along with them, America's pride.

At ABC-7 Los Angeles:

Hollywood billboards for "The Interview" taken down after Sony cancels release http://t.co/klgKXYnHtK pic.twitter.com/UHBGCuQYbm

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 18, 2014

Sony Pictures Has No Further Plans to Release 'The Interview'

This is no temporary cancellation. Sounds like Sony's going to deep six the film.

At LAT, "Sony Pictures has 'no further release plans' for 'The Interview,' studio says"

Sony Pictures Entertainment has canceled the Christmas Day release of "The Interview" after the nation's major theater chains said they would not screen the film.

The action came as U.S. intelligence officials confirmed widespread speculation that the North Korean government was behind the devastating cyber attack, which has hobbled Sony Pictures and spread fear throughout the entertainment industry. "The Interview" depicts the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Federal investigators began briefing some legislators that the rogue state gave the order to pilfer Sony's computer system, leading to a massive leak of sensitive data, including emails, financial documents and even the salaries of Sony's top stars.

The studio said it has no plans to release the controversial movie in the future, either in theaters or via home video on-demand. "Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film," a studio spokesman said on Wednesday...

More.

Who's Behind the Sony Hack Attack?

Here's a great piece from Wired, "The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy":

Nation-state attacks aren’t generally as noisy, or announce themselves with an image of a blazing skeleton posted to infected computers, as occurred in the Sony hack. Nor do they use a catchy nom-de-hack like Guardians of Peace to identify themselves. Nation-state attackers also generally don’t chastise their victims for having poor security, as purported members of GOP have done in media interviews. Nor do such attacks involve posts of stolen data to Pastebin—the unofficial cloud repository of hackers—where sensitive company files belonging to Sony have been leaked. These are all hallmarks of hacktivists—groups like Anonymous and LulzSec, who thrive on targeting large corporations for ideological reasons or just the lulz, or by hackers sympathetic to a political cause.

More.

Also, at Twitchy, "MSM reporting that North Korea is behind the Sony hack. But where’s the evidence?":

Good post skeptical about alleged North Korea hack of Sony (TLDR: likely revenge/lulz motivation): http://t.co/PPQobRgnff
— mcantelon (@mcantelon) December 18, 2014

The Sony Hack Attack is Cyberwarfare

From Abe Greenwald, at Commentary, "This Is Cyberwar, Not Tabloid Fodder":

The Sony hacking story has largely been treated as a juicy showbiz gossip scandal. We’re probably going to regret that.

If North Korea is behind the computer hacks and threats to terrorize theaters showing The Interview, it confirms a new era of rogue-state terrorism, one for which there’s no counterterrorism blueprint. According to the New York Times, Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema has killed its scheduled New York premier of the anti-Kim Jong-un comedy. The Hollywood Reporter says that the country’s top five theater chains have pulled out of showing the film. Time says the movie’s stars, James Franco and Seth Rogen, have called off their publicity tour. A spate of film executives are backpedaling for their lives as their emails are picked through and published to viral derision. The Times’s Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes write that the theater threat “opens a new range of worry for Hollywood.”

But the danger is larger and graver than that.

In February, hackers laid digital waste to Sheldon Adelson’s Sands casino, forcing the Sands to temporarily disconnect from the Internet. It was a massive undertaking that wiped out or compromised millions of files. Bloomberg reports that “recovering data and building new systems could cost the company $40 million or more” (a figure coincidently close to the $44 million Sony sunk into The Interview). Why did hackers target Adelson? The cyberterrorists who hit him call themselves the “Anti-WMD Team.” They are based in Iran, and claim retaliation for Adelson’s hawkish remarks about the Islamic Republic. Here’s the rub, via Bloomberg:

The security team couldn’t determine if Iran’s government played a role, but it’s unlikely that any hackers inside the country could pull off an attack of that scope without its knowledge, given the close scrutiny of Internet use within its borders. “This isn’t the kind of business you can get into in Iran without the government knowing,” says James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

So, if the evidence is pointing in the right direction, dictatorships are tanking our enterprise, holding us hostage, and essentially turning us into their offshore subjects.

This isn’t a gossip story or an industry problem. It’s war. Moreover, it’s a war we don’t know how to fight...

More.

Kim Jong-un Assassination Scene from 'The Interview'

At iOTW REPORT, "Kim Jong Un Assassination Scene."

And a full video clip, at the Verge, "Watch the Kim Jong-un assassination that was too gory for Sony to approve."

PREVIOUSLY: "Theater Chains Pull 'The Interview', Press Appearances Canceled Amid Threats (VIDEO)."

Theater Chains Pull 'The Interview', Press Appearances Canceled Amid Threats (VIDEO)

At BuzzFeed.

More at Mediagazer.

Angry Dennis Rodman Defends Bizarre North Korea Trip

At the Boston Herald, "Raving Dennis Rodman puts a lid on it":

The Red Sox would rather not discuss Dennis Rodman’s choice of head gear after the cigar-chomping, North Korea-lovin’, face-pierced freakshow went nuts on CNN yesterday — all while sporting a black and gray “B” cap!

“I don’t have anything for you on this one,” a team spokesgal told the Track.

Not surprising. Dennis’ on-air meltdown isn’t exactly the best PR for the World Series champs!

In case you somehow missed it, Madonna’s ex-BF did an interview with Chris Cuomo on CNN yesterday and went off the rails when Chris questioned the wisdom of his latest trip to North Korea to play hoops with a band of 10 other former NBAers in honor of tin-pot dictator Kim Jong Un’s B-day.

Rodman angrily insisted that the trip was a “great idea for the world” as Cuomo questioned his bromance with KJU and whether he would press the North Korean boss on the welfare of American prisoner Kenneth Bae, who’s been held for more than a year there.

“If you understand what Kenneth Bae did. Do you understand what he did in this country? No, no, no, you tell me, you tell me. Why is he held captive here in this country, why?” ranted Rodman, who didn’t appear to know the answer to the question.

But The Worm really turned while discussing the 10 former pros — including former Celtics Kenny Anderson and Vin Baker — who were sitting behind him during the interview. All 10 looked like they’d rather be out walking KJU’s uncle-eating dogs than listening to Rodman rave.

“You know, you’ve got 10 guys here, 10 guys here, they’ve left their families, they’ve left their damn families, to help this country, as in a sports venture. That’s 10 guys, all these guys here, do anyone understand that? Christmas, New Year’s ...

“I don’t give a rat’s (expletive) what the hell you think! I’m saying to you, look at these guys here, look at them! They dared to do one thing, they came here. ... We have to go back to America and take the abuse. Do you have to take the abuse that we’re gonna take? Do you, Sir, are you going to take the abuse?”

As you might imagine, Red Sox fans were less than pleased that Rodman was wearing the Sox 
Basic Storm Grey 59FIFTY Fitted Cap ($34.99 on MLB.com) for his televised meltdown.

“Why, Dennis Rodman? Why did you wear a Boston Red Sox hat when sounding like an (expletive)hat? Why?” tweeted @DanDrezner, the Twitter handle of Tufts Fletcher School international relations professor Daniel W. Drezner.

It's a North Korean New Year!

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Happy New Year From Kim Jong-Un 'Should another war break out on this land, it will result in a deadly nuclear catastrophe and the United States will never be safe'."

And no second thoughts about deep-sixing Uncle Jang Song, it turns out, at NBC, "North Korea's Kim Jong Un says elimination of 'factionalist filth' strengthened nation," and Telegaph UK, "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un boasts of removal of 'filth' after execution of uncle":

Kim Jong-un claims in his New Year address that North Korea has been made stronger by the elimination of 'factional filth', the purge and execution of his once powerful uncle."

Kim Jong Un Uncle Executed in North Korea

You have to think about this for awhile.

This is hardcore leftist ideology in action.

At the Los Angeles Times, "North Korea reportedly executes No. 2 official."

And at the Washington Post, "In North Korea, Kim Jong Un rises and advisers are shoved aside":

SEOUL — When Kim Jong Un became leader of North Korea two years ago, he was surrounded by advisers two, and in some cases, nearly three times his age. Most had decades of experience in the Workers’ Party or military. Two were members of Kim’s own family.

But rather than lean on that support team, Kim has instead sought to dismantle it, using a series of demotions and purges to grab power almost solely for himself. Friday North Korea announced the execution of the most prominent of Kim’s advisers, Jang Song Thaek, accusing him of opposing Kim’s rise and plotting an overthrow.Continue reading.

North Korea Accuses Merrill Newman, Korean War Vet, of War Crimes

I'm having a hard time comprehending the enormity of this tyranny. The man is 85-years-old.

At the New York Times, "North Korea Accuses Detained U.S. Veteran of War Crimes":

BEIJING — North Korea accused an elderly American veteran of war crimes, and released a video Saturday of him confessing to “hostile acts” during the Korean War and while he was a tourist there last month.

The veteran, Merrill Newman, 85, of Palo Alto, Calif., who has been held since Oct. 26, appeared on the video dressed in a blue American-style shirt and wearing rimless spectacles as he read excerpts from the apology from several sheets of white paper.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency released a full text of the apology, in which he asked for forgiveness. The agency said in a separate statement that Mr. Newman was involved in the killing of innocent civilians during the Korean War.

Mr. Newman, a retired technology executive and a world traveler, went to North Korea on a trip organized by a licensed tour group to fulfill a longtime desire to see the country where he had served as an infantry officer, his family said.

There was no indication from North Korea what the next steps would be. The State Department had no immediate comment.

Right. No comment. This f-king administration won't lift a finger for an American patriot now terrorized by a communist totalitarian regime. This is why Americans hate Barack Obama. He plays footsie with murderers.

More at the link.

Panama Charges North Korean Freighter Crew

Bizarre story.

At NYT:

Panama brushed aside North Korea’s demands on Thursday that it release an impounded North Korean freighter and its 35-member crew, pressing criminal charges against all aboard for endangering public security by attempting to transport a concealed cargo of Cuban weapons through the Panama Canal.

The charges against the crew members, lodged by the office of the prosecutor, Javier Caraballo, heightened the Panamanian confrontation with North Korea over the ship, the 450-foot Chong Chon Gang, which had been awaiting permission to cross the canal for the voyage home after a visit to Cuba.

The vessel was impounded on Sunday after the crew, armed with what officials called sticks, tried to fend off Panamanian marines investigating whether it was carrying contraband. They found old radar, missile and aircraft components buried in the hold of the ship, underneath more than 200,000 bags of Cuban brown sugar.

A statement by the prosecutor’s office said all the accused had exercised their right to remain silent when the charges were formally lodged. The crew was expected to remain in detention while the Panamanian authorities finished unloading the vessel, which could take days.

The criminal charges were announced as North Korea broke its silence over the impounded ship and demanded that Panama let the vessel and crew depart. A statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry asserted that the ship had been transporting the Cuban weapons to North Korea for refurbishment under a legal contract. The North Korean statement also criticized Panama for using what it called the pretext of searching the vessel for narcotics and for Panama’s violent treatment of the crew.

The seizing of the vessel has cast a light on the clandestine maritime trading practices of North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated and impoverished countries, which has been further hobbled by United Nations sanctions over its nuclear weapons and proliferation activities.

North Korea Threatens Missile Attacks on United States, South Korea

At the Guardian UK, "North Korea says it is ready to launch strike against US bases," and "North Korea says it is in 'state of war' with South."

And at the New York Times, "In Pyongyang, Bluster, Fakery and Real Risks." (At Memeorandum.)

And see the commentary from Ron Radosh, at PJ Media, "North Korea Rattles Its Sabers: Evidently, a Threat That Must Be Taken Seriously."

Sick: Dennis Rodman Defends His 'Friend' Kim Jong Un

I'm not embedding the video.

Dennis Rodman's already hard to look at, and the man's cluelessness is enough to make you barf in any case.

At ABC News, "Dennis Rodman 'This Week' Interview: NBA Basketball Star Discusses Kim Jong Un, North Korea Visit."

And no props to George Stephanopoulos. A lousy interview.

More at the Weekly Standard, "Dennis Rodman Defends Rogue North Korean Regime" (via Memeorandum).

Dennis Rodman's North Korea Diplomacy

Awesome.

From Rick Morrissey, at the Chicago Sun-Times, "Dennis Rodman in North Korea: Diplomat or dingbat?"

And from Jonathan Kay, at the National Post, "A look inside the monstrous North Korean gulag system that Dennis Rodman will never see":

Dennis Rodman — former basketball player, pro wrestler, cross-dresser, boyfriend to Madonna, B-movie performer and reality-show star — is man who will play to any audience. That apparently includes North Korea’s government, the world’s last truly totalitarian regime.

This week, Rodman was in Pyongyang shooting hoops with local teenagers, and providing state media with propaganda fodder as he made the tour of communist shrines. It is all part of a vaguely defined “basketball diplomacy” TV project, and Rodman is Tweeting the usual bromides expected of celebrities out of their depth, such as “Looking forward to sitting down with [leader] Kim Jong Un. I love the people of North Korea.”

Rodman’s ignorant inanities (another Tweet declared “Maybe I’ll run into the Gangnam Style dude while I’m here”) are especially insulting to victims of North Korea’s gulags — whom Rodman will never meet or see, and whose very existence is denied by the North Korean regime. Just this week, as Rodman was being led around by his North Korean hosts, a new satellite-imagery analysis released by the Committee of Human Rights in North Korea showed that the regime is expanding its gulag network dramatically, even as it struggles to ward off another round of mass national starvation.

The term “gulag” is thrown around liberally in the post-Soviet era to describe any sort of remote prison facility. But the North Korean gulags are the real Siberian-styled deal: sprawling work camps where political prisoners spend years being tortured and worked to death. Only a few dozen former gulag prisoners have made it out of the country, and it is only thanks to their eyewitness reports that we know anything about life in these medieval prison camps.

Continue reading.

Provocative North Korean Rocket Launch

At Fox News, "Defiant North Korea releases photos from its 'provocative' rocket launch."

And there's an ABC News video report here, "North Korea Missile Launch Successful."

North Korea to Olympians: No Medals Means Labor Camp

From Ericka Andersen, at the Heritage Foundation:

What if not winning a gold medal in the Olympics meant being cast out of society and forced into a labor camp when you returned home from London?

Such is the fate awaiting some North Korean athletes who fail to bring home medals. Adding insult to injury, the athletes are actually forced into training at a young age by the Communist Party’s Sports Committee.

While North Koreans are dedicating their wins to their “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-un, the fear of failure terrifyingly fuels the drive to win.

Medal winners will return home to prize money, cars, and other lavish gifts as the government demonstrates its appreciation for illuminating North Korea positively on the world stage. Gold medalist Kim Un-Guk, who set an Olympic record in 62-kilogram weightlifting this year, said he “won first place because the shining Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un gave me power and courage,” according to ABC News.

Continue reading.

North Koreans Meet Their First Lady

At the New York Times, "North Korean Leader Marries."

North Korea's Nuclear Embarrassment

The Los Angeles Times reports, "North Korea's failed missile may foreshadow nuclear test":

Experts say that experience suggests the embarrassment of Friday's missile launch will encourage North Korea's young leader to test a nuclear device soon. Meanwhile, the U.S. cancels food aid.

But I'm really tripping on this video from last week, "North Korea threatens 'merciless punishment' as it readies rocket launch."

More from Telegraph UK, "Inside North Korea: Empty screens and blank faces as rocket launch fails."

North Korean Launch Fails

See the report at the Wall Street Journal, "Pyongyang Admits Test of Rocket Collapses; U.S. Condemns 'Provocative Action'."

And from the editors, "A Pyongyang Joke" (via Google):

North Korea's declared intention in launching a ballistic missile Friday morning was to place a satellite in orbit to mark the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder. After the missile's failure 80 seconds into its flight, current leader Kim Jong Eun will have to come up with some other firecracker for his grandfather, probably another nuclear test. Maybe that will fizzle, too.

The missile failure is now being portrayed as a crashing humiliation for the North, particularly after it had invited foreign media to inspect the launch site. No doubt it represents a loss of face for the young Kim and his military machine, which spent an estimated $450 million on the missile. That the North admitted the failure to its people over state TV may also suggest that the Great Successor's political grip isn't firm.

Then again, more than the North Koreans should feel humiliated by the launch. It was only in February that the Obama Administration struck a deal with Pyongyang, offering 240,000 metric tons of food aid over the next year in exchange for the usual promises of good nuclear behavior. We warned at the time that the North was certain to break the deal. They did so within weeks.

Why they broke their word as quickly as they did is a good question. Maybe it reflects the regime's internal power dynamics—or maybe the North figures it can extract a bigger bribe if it first indulges in some outrageous behavior. It won't be the first time they've played that game to profitable effect.

Whatever the case, the North's decision to launch is also an indication of its disdain for the protests of the U.S. and its allies...

Read it all at that top link.

BONUS: From Dana Pico, "The First Street Journal scoops everybody, with the first film of the failed North Korean rocket launch."

North Koreans Sent to Labor Camps for Not Crying Enough Over Death of 'Dear Leader'

Seriously.

At London's Daily Mail, "Punished for not crying: Thousands of North Koreans face labour camps for not being upset enough about death of Kim Jong-il."