The U.S.A. did not cave in to the Sony hackers; Sony did

By Jack Brummet, Terrorism & Film Ed.

People keep postulating that the decision to cancel the release of the movie "The Interview" is caving into the hackers' demands. It is more nuanced than that.

1) These aren't the demands of hackers. The hackers were the water boys, messengers, and thieves, in this operation. They were working for Kim Jong-un and the North Korean government. Any demands and threats were, yes, delivered by the hackers, but ultimately came from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In a country under a totalitarian family dictatorship, or, really, an absolute monarchy, this means the orders came from the top, e.g., Kim Jong-un.

2) People keep writing, posting, tweeting, etc., that the U.S. capitulated to the terrorists. The U.S. Government actually had nothing to do with this. Believe me, BHO, The Supremes, and especially Congress have virtually no control or influence over Sony. This was a decision by Sony, for Sony. Sure, I wouldn't necessarily rule out that that they came under pressure from BHO, or the NSA/Homeland Security, or another three letter agency, but for now it doesn't appear they actually did.

3) This is not the U.S.A. capitulating to terrorists. It was an economic decision on Sony's part, and one they may come to regret. It appears that--despite the critical merits of the film (reportedly not very good)--it could have been a blockbuster with people wanting to see what the fuss is all about. I suspect they will end up releasing the film once the smoke has cleared. And when they do, it won't be because they're standing up to terrorists. The go/no go will be based strictly on economics.

As always, I reserve the right to switch my position 180 degrees any moment.

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F*** Yeah: Alamo Drafthouse Theater to Show 'Team America' In Place of 'The Interview'

By Jack Brummet, Film & Terrorism Ed.

From the Hollywood Reporter:  

"After Sony canceled the release of the North Korea assassination comedy The Interview, a Texas theater said it would swap the film with Paramount's 2004 film Team America: World Police for one free screening.

"We're just trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation," James Wallace, creative manager and programmer at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's Dallas/Fort Worth location, tells The Hollywood Reporter.

"American flags and other patriotic items will be given out by theater employees, Wallace says.

"The plot of Team America, co-written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, revolves around Kim Jong Il, the father of current North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The posters promoting the R-rated movie in 2004 included the tagline, 'Putting the 'F' Back in Freedom.' "

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Ex-Governor Jeb Bush is running for President

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.

He's in.  This is going to make things really interesting for some of his fellow candidates.

I bet he's in at least as far as Iowa and New Hampshire.  Don't forget that the last time the GOP won the White House without a Bush on the ticket was 1972, when Richard Nixon trounced George McGovern.

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Drawing: the message

By Jack Brummet

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The U.S. switchover to metric

By Jack Brummet, Measures Ed. 

This is a map of countries not using the metric system (it's puzzling, yes, but I'm OK with it).

I was in that generation of 60's kids who were completely indoctrinated in the metric system in Elementary School--our teachers were trained, and schools were given all sorts of metric teaching tools, and metric trash and trinkets.  We were ready for the big switchover.  Ever since, I can convert back and forth in my head pretty seamlessly.  But along the way we faltered, and ended up really only converting wine and whiskey to the new system (and, as someone noted when I posted a version of this on Facebook, the packaging of street drugs taught entire generations about  people about micrograms, grams, and kilograms).  

Liberia, Myanmar, and the U.S.A.--keep rocking your system!

The Seattle Seahawks 13th man approves

The 13s approve. We're 82.7% back in the fold.#GoHawks #LOB

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Drawing: Faces #968 - "I Can't Breathe"

By Jack Brummet

click to enlarge

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Drawing: Faces No. 967 - I can breathe

By Jack Brummet

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Dancing With Carrots

You have to wait until about a minute in before the carrots make their appearance.  The video has over 2 million views on YouTube.  

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"Hang The President," proclaims the Tea-Republican Party once again

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Ed.

I'm sure demonstrations--and words--like this damage the Tea-Republican party far more than they engender support for their "cause." And yet, it's just depressing to still be hearing this so many years later. 

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Douglas "yaW gnorW" Corrigan

By Jack Brummet, Avionics Ed.

Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan (1907– 1995) was an American pilot nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938 after a flight from Long Beach, California, to New York. to Ireland. After leaving Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, he landed in Ireland, although he had filed a flight plan for Long Beach. He claimed this was due to a "navigational error," caused by heavy cloud cover and a misread compass. Corrigan was a trained aircraft mechanic and pilot, (he helped build Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis) He had also made modifications to his own plane for transatlantic flight. He was denied permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland, and the "navigational error" was seen as intentional. Wrong Way never publicly admitted to intentionally flying to Ireland.

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Frank Sinatra performs the tablecloth trick

Found by Jack Brummet, Images Ed.

[photographer: John Dominis, Life Magazine; context unknown]

Frank Sinatra performs the old tablecloth trick; it looks like he mostly succeeds.

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