It is called Super Saturday today. The last big shopping day at malls. Macy’s is offering 50% off and an additional 30% off today. They must really want to get all their crap out of their stores if all of a sudden they are willing to take an 80% loss on their merchandise. At that price all of a sudden you can see buying stuff for people in your life that are only worth 20% to you. Who you will probably only see once again at next Christmas dinner. People who you really don’t know any more but will maybe talk to you during dinner.

There is an entire population of people who do not celebrate Christmas and gift sharing and even dinner together. On Christmas for them when finally most businesses close for half a day, they go to a new released movie. They are Jewish people and Catholic Priests who are exhausted from their busiest donation day of the year. It is unreal all the hoopla going on over just another offensive Seth Rogan movie that was to be released on Christmas Day. Corporations are folding, the President is responding, another President is going through a Cyber war  and now there are class action suits being filed on behalf of people who have had their personal information leaked.

Yes we are talking about a stupid movie made from a guy who made millions being himself on film as a unshaven, out of work, out of shape pot head. A role model I guess for American young men. He has succeeded in that department. In this movie he is out to kill the also hot headed way too young leader of North Korea. No one realizes that although a cheap fictional movie, there is a threat to a current world leader being discussed in this trashy comedy. Do we think comedies should be made trashing America’s President and killing him off? There is no humor in any of this nonsense.  Now real life events sound like a bad movie taking place.

Sony Pictures recently pulled off viewing the upcoming parody movie called The Interview in response to threats of another attack to leaking confidential information from the movie producer. Now with North Korea officially to blame for the Cyber attack, the President got involved and spoke recently on the subject. President Obama believes that Sony made a mistake and Hollywood stars agree. Sony should not respond to the criminal attack they made to release confidential information. The FBI confirmed that North Korea did the crippling attack against Sony Pictures. Obama rightly said, “We can not have a society where a dictator somewhere can oppose censorship here in the United States.” Yes , no matter how insensitive and offensive Seth Rogan’s movies are, we do not impose free speech in this country. I am going to miss the polite sensibility of President Obama.

Then Sony CEO Michael Winton fired back by saying on CNN, “We have not caved, we have not given in “We plan to release the film at another date. It is only a $44 Million dollar comedy starring Seth Rogan and James Franco set on an assignation plot to kill North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.  Seth admits that it is a silly movie that was not meant to be controversial. Really? There is one thing to make movies about Hitler who is dead vs. making assignation movies involving   current world powerful leaders of parts of the earth we all share. There is no common sense   in any of this from anyone. The movie was set for wide release on December 25 but on November 24 Sony’s computer systems were hacked in what is being called the biggest corporate Cyber Attack in history.

Yes, infantile world dictators in their twenties will retaliate with even fictional movie death threats with big guns at their real disposal. All this dick waving is ridiculous. Matthew Olsen the former director of the National Counter terrorism Center says that this attack has the purpose of destroying the computers of Sony Pictures. Personal e-mails were published online embarrassing stars like George Cloony, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith. The hackers have also threatened to attack movie theaters who will show the film.  Issues of freedom and now safety are involved. Sony pulled the movie back in part because theaters said they would not show the movie because of those threats.

So much damage has already been done because of bad decisions coming from many people. This is not just those favorite First Amendment rights we all love to fall back on, this is watching an industry cave to threats and a Dictator that will not tolerate any bad publicity against him. George Cloony is circulating a petition among other Hollywood power players asking them to encourage Sony to release the film. Is this some kind of war now over a stupid fictional film? He couldn’t get one person to sign on. Yes people do not want to be bothered with the liability and do not want to be caught in the fire.

We are currently teaching college students the art of Cyber Attacking in order to protect ourselves but who can do computer stuff better than a Korean? There are currently 4 Class Action suits up against Sony  Pictures. There have been 44 thousand people who had experienced data breaches. The reputation damage to Sony may be the costliest of all. I think I will go out and buy a sweater I don’t need just because it is 80% off today.