---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <s3raphita@...> wrote :
What interests FFLifers? (That's not a rhetorical question.) When I started this thread yesterday I smiled to myself thinking that I had lit the blue touch paper and now all I had to do was sit back and watch the fireworks fly! I imagined the angry exchanges between those who were appalled by the decision of Sony to pull the film The Interview and those who defended the corporation citing concerns about public safety as being paramount. But apart from a quip from Bhairitu no one rose to the bait. Yet we're talking freedom of expression here. The First Amendment. Go figure. I guess you've learned something. Not everyone reads every post and has the time to respond even if they are interested in the subject. The trick is not to take it personally. I'm always ranting about the loss of freedom - especially in the UK- that the threat of terrorism has caused. The bad guys have won and the laws introduced have been abused in all sorts of ways to control dissent and free speech even among mere environmental campaigners. Anyway, the plot thickens. From the newspapers: "Screenings of Team America: World Police have been cancelled in the wake of the Sony hacking scandal. After Sony decided not to release The Interview following threats from North Korean-linked hackers, three US cinemas had chosen to replace it with the Team America: World Police movie. While The Interview centred on a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un, in Team America puppets were used to mock his father Kim jong-il. It was first released in 2004. The three cinemas now report that Team America has been pulled by Paramount Pictures, the studio that released it. One of them, the Alamo Drafthouse cinema in Texas, had advertised a Dec 27th showing as a way of supporting freedom of speech. The cinema was to be decked out with American flags and tickets and had quickly sold out. Promoting the event, the cinema said: "That is how true American heroes will be celebrating this year, but if you want to let the terrorists win ... well, that's your prerogative." However, a spokesman for the cinema later said: "We can confirm that the screening of Team America in Dallas was cancelled as the film was pulled from release. We are issuing refunds to those that purchased tickets." A spokesman for Paramount Pictures declined to comment. Two other cinemas in Cleveland and Atlanta also said they had been prevented from showing Team America. When the film came out in 2004 North Korea called for it to be banned." Too much appeasement going on for my liking. Way too much. Team America is a classic movie and I'm sick of vested interests framing the debate because of their oversensitivity. There should be more light-hearted attacks on politics and religious belief otherwise they might get the idea they are special and beyond criticism. Remember when Blair tried to ban religious jokes in case someone got offended? God help us. Ironically.
