Sony Pictures in Culver City has pulled the release of its comedy "The Interview" a day after an online threat of violence against moviegoers and theaters where "The Interview" would be shown. Also, the Russian economy has been hit hard by falling oil prices and international sanctions related to Ukraine. Then, whatever your reason for hating Christmas music, we’re tackling the worst of the worst on AirTalk.
Sony pulls ‘The Interview’ after threats of violence at theaters
Sony Pictures in Culver City has pulled the release of its comedy "The Interview." The action came a day after an online threat of violence against moviegoers and theaters where "The Interview" would be shown. The movie satirizes North Korea's Kim Jong Un and American media.
The FBI has reportedly linked the massive Sony hack to people working on behalf of the North Korean government. Sony seemed to be in a real no-win position; if they had pulled the plug before deferring to theaters, they would have been criticized for bowing to an online threat.
On the other hand, theater owners were in an equally bad spot. They had to risk moviegoers not showing up to multiplexes out of safety concerns, not just audiences for “The Interview,” but audiences for any movie shown in the same multiplex. Furthermore, if an attack were to be carried out at a theater showing the movie, the exhibitor would’ve been sued for not providing enough security given the online threat.
What liability might theaters and Sony have if the threat had inspired an attack? What do you think was the studio's best option? What's the backlash against Sony's move?
Guest:
Dominic Patten, Legal Editor and chief TV critic at the entertainment news site, Deadline
Putin vows to lift Russian economy out of doldrums in two years
The Russian economy has been hit hard by falling oil prices and international sanctions related to Ukraine. The value of the ruble fell precipitously earlier this week, causing a stock market selloff.
In a three-hour news conference Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to calm fear and restore confidence."Rates of growth may be slowing down, but the economy will still grow and our economy will overcome the current situation," Putin said at the televised news conference. "I believe about two years is the worst-case scenario. After that, I believe growth is imminent."
Can Putin turn the Russian economy around in just two years? What would he need to do? What effects would the current economic crisis, the worse the country has seen in more than a decade, have on Putin's grip on power?
Guests:
Arkady Ostrovsky, Moscow Correspondent for The Economist magazine
Will Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C
Thawing out U.S.-Cuban relations and what led them to freeze in the first place
Since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, relations between the United States and Cuba have been tense, to say the least. The U.S. has maintained an embargo on Cuba, which prevents any U.S. corporations from doing business with Cuba, and does not have formal diplomatic relations with Cuba. The U.S. embassy in the Cuban capital of Havana has been closed since 1961, when Cuba began to get close with the Soviet Union.
However, with the announcement from both the Cuban and U.S. presidents that steps were being taken to normalize Cuban-American relations, it appears that more than 50 years of bad blood between the two countries may be starting to settle. The agreement would ease travel restrictions between the U.S. and
Guests:
Julia Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies and Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
Jose Moya, professor of history at Barnard College in New York City. He grew up in socialist Cuba and his work focuses on Latin American history, civilization, and world migration.
The future of U.S.-Pakistani relations
When the gunfire stopped and the smoke cleared on Tuesday, 141 people, including 132 children, were dead at a school in the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan. All seven of the militants involved in the attack also died, according to the Pakistani army. The Taliban in Pakistan were quick to take responsibility for the attack, saying that it was in response to Pakistani military operations. The Pakistan Taliban have been fighting the Pakistani government for some time, trying to oust the authorities and install Sharia law. The Pakistani government has said that it will not stop its war against the Taliban. Following the attack, President Obama reaffirmed the U.S.’s support for Pakistan’s government and their counterterrorism efforts.
While it does not appear that the U.S. or its military presence in the region had any direct link to the school attack, the Taliban have been vocal about their opposition to U.S. military being in the region. It’s also no secret that relations between U.S. and Pakistani governments have been fraught with distrust in years past.
How much intelligence do you think is exchanged between the U.S. and Pakistan? How have relations between the U.S. and Pakistan changed over the last several years? How important to U.S. foreign relations interests is maintaining good relations with Pakistan?
Guests:
C. Christine Fair, Ph.D., assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program within the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, author of Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War.
Kamal Hyder, correspondent for Al Jazeera English, currently in the city of Peshawar in the northwest part of Pakistan. He’s been covering the attack on the school.
Sony's former employees sue: The legal and practical fallout of suing your employer
Four former employees of Sony filed a class action lawsuit this week claiming the company failed to protect their confidential information from being hacked by outsiders. Plaintiffs' lawyer Gretchen Cappio said Sony must be held accountable to keep private information private - especially medical information as it's strictly protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In recent weeks, hackers dumped reams of Sony personnel data onto internet servers - including Social Security numbers, medical information and addresses.
This is not the first time the embattled entertainment giant has been hacked. In 2011, millions of Sony Playstation user accounts were stolen. Will the plaintiffs be able to prove they suffered actual injury from the data breach? Will more former or current employees join the lawsuit? Could industry folks who sue the entertainment giant risk being ostracized in Hollywood?
Guest:
Jonathan Handel, practices transactional entertainment and technology law; Contributing editor covering entertainment labor for The Hollywood Reporter; Lecturer in Law, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
Worst of Christmas music: Breaking down the most heinous holiday hymns
It’s a genre of music that is beloved by some and loathed by others. It makes some feel true holiday joy and makes others want to puncture their eardrums. Yes, the world’s love-hate relationship with Christmas music is well-documented and always a topic of discussion during the holiday season. But what makes some people hate Christmas music so much? Maybe it’s the yearly repetition, the sickening sweetness of some of the music, or maybe some people are just Scrooges.
Whatever your reason for hating Christmas music, we’re tackling the worst of the worst on AirTalk. We want to hear what you think the worst Christmas songs are. Be sure to vote in our poll below and add a song to our list if we missed one.
Ranker - Top 10 Lists and More
Guest:
Jim Harrington, music critic for the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune