A South Koran newsstand with a fairly awesome magazine about the dispute. Yahoo/AP
North Korea is furious over new U.S. sanctions in response to the Sony Pictures hack. Yahoo/AP. North Korea denies any involvement in the hack, thought to be provoked by the movie "The Interview" which depicts the assassination of Kim Jong Un. The sanctions target 10 North Korean officials and 3 organizations, including the North Korean run arms dealer and their intelligence agency. Barack Obama is also considering placing North Korea back on the state sponsor of terrorism list, which would have a massive impact on foreign aid to the country. This is the first time the United States has placed sanctions on a nation for a cyber attack. Some are questioning the evidence that North Korea was responsible for the attacks. North Korea also called Barack Obama a "monkey".
My Comment:
What a strange story this has been. I don't see these sanctions doing all that much to change North Korea's behavior, if indeed they were the ones responsible for this attack. I'm guessing that they were of course, but it kind of seems like drastic measures based on the available evidence. To put it into legal terms the United States is using the "preponderance of the evidence" standard instead of "beyond a reasonable doubt". At least that's what it appears they are doing to a layman like me. Even if North Korea is innocent, and I truly doubt they are, they are still a brutal dictatorship that kills and imprisons their own people for the slightest of reasons. I won't be shedding any tears for them.
As for "The Interview", I still haven't seen it. From what I understand it got torched by the critics and really wasn't that funny or politically important. I'm still glad it got released though. From what I understand South Korean activists are planning on smuggling the film into North Korea. The hope is that by watching the movie North Korean civilians will finally be able to see through the cult of personality surrounding the Kim family and, perhaps, cause the regime to fall. That's right, there is a possibility, however small, that a Seth Rogen movie could be what brings down the North Korean regime. Let that sink in. If that happens I will have to see the movie, if for no other reason because of what it accomplished.
The other, darker thought I have is that if people are caught with this movie in North Korea they will be punished. The thought of either being executed or sent to a concentration camp along with your family due to having seen a Seth Rogen movie... well... it just boggles my mind. Only in our messed up world could watching a Seth Rogen movie be a sign of rebellion.
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