Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

It's the patriotism, stupid. What liberal critics don't get about "American Sniper". There' s no denying it . Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" has struck a chord with the American people, and did so by tapping into the deepest civic values we have as Americans - duty, honor, fidelity, courage, love for country...and a love for others . However , no war movie can live on the big screen without a spew of liberal backlash , and this film is no different . Criticism has come quickly from Michael Moore, Seth Rogen, former Vermont Gov  Howard Dean and other Hollywood leftists . Thankfully, some things speak louder than cowardly tweets -- like the more than $200 million in ticket sales the movie has raked in just one week . In fact ,  the new war film featuring Bradley Cooper as well-known Navy SEAL sniper, Chris Kyle, is on pace to become the top-grossing war film of all time . As much as the left would like you to believe it , Chris Kyle was not a bloodthirsty warmonger ; he was a noble warrior who fought to defend his fellow troops, watched over the lives of his brothers, and advanced the cause of (eventual) peace . This is where the true success of "American Sniper" comes to light . The film is not a movie about the Iraq war, or whether we won or lost; or even whether our motivations were justified . Instead ,  it's a story about a man and the many trials of war, including coming home from it . In the words of my good friend and former Army Ranger, Sean Parnell,"[American Sniper] isn't a pro-war film. It's a pro-warrior film." That's the key . The movie is a testament to the warrior - to the man in the arena . Everyone criticizing the film is on the sidelines hurling insults . Chris was in the arena, fighting for us in a dangerous and complicated war . Nonetheless ,  outspoken liberals will continue to cast judgment, saying that they support the warrior but not the war . But they contradict themselves even on that point . The left sees warriors--men like Chris Kyle--as bloodthirsty and ignorant Americans from fly-over country who cling to God and guns in blind support of our military . They dislike both the warandthe warrior . Nothing could be further from the truth . In reality, middle-America is full of hard working people of faith and fidelity who love their nation and believe in celebrating someone like Chris Kyle . These are people who feel like they're already taxed enough, that the government is over-bearing in their lives, that religion has been stripped from every aspect of civil society, and that the president is misguided in his gutting of their military . They are, in a word, patriots . Despite their frustrations with leftists, middle America is the beating heart of our nation and remains the first in line to selflessly strap on their boots and defend the very freedoms that people like Michael Moore use to criticize them . It's awfully easy for progressives to cast criticism down from their isolated ivory towers , but next time they consider demeaning the warriors protecting them afar, as Chris Kyle once did, they may want to consider who protects those towers and keeps them from tumbling . They're not only the folks who see this movie , but more often than not, they're the kind of people depicted in these movies . They're the kind of people who embody"citizenship," and the very idea of living and fighting for something bigger than oneself . Chris Kyle understood that . Today's servicemen and women understand that . And that's why millions of people are seeing this movie . They want to celebrate and believe in America again, if only for two short hours in a crowded dark theater .
Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" has struck a chord with the American people, and did so by tapping into the deepest civic values we have as Americans - duty, honor, fidelity, courage, love for country...and a love for others It's awfully easy for progressives to cast criticism down from their isolated ivory towers

The dawn of Kim Jong-un's rule. It has been a few years since the sudden death of the Sun of the Nation, Marshal Kim Jong-il which made his third son, Kim Jong-un, then in his late 20s, the supreme leader of North Korea . Three years is the length of the traditional mourning period that Koreans are supposed to observe after the death of their father or sovereign . Thus ,  now is the time to make some observations about Kim's North Korea . What has remained the same, and what has changed since December 2011? The dawn of Kim's rule was marked by intense purges of his father's top dignitaries . In December 2011, during his father's funeral, Kim walked next to his father's hearse in the company of three top generals and four top civilian officials . Three years on, none of these people have their jobs : At least one of them was executed , while all but one have disappeared without a trace . Kim's decision to arrest and execute Chang Song-taek, his aunt's husband, long the "grey eminence" of Pyongyang politics, was a dramatic signal to the elite . The sorry fate of Chang was meant to show that nobody is immune from the wrath of the supreme leader . These purges were obviously necessary to start changing the country , since Kim's policies will be very different from those of his father and grandfather . So far, the most important changes can be seen in the field of economic management . From late 2012, the North Korean government began to implement reforms which are remarkably similar to what China did in the early days of Deng Xiaoping, around 1980 . Farmers, who were hitherto government employees with a fixed salary, are now given a certain percentage of the harvest, and have predictably started to feel motivated . As a result, the food situation has improved markedly . In industry, a slow-motion switch from a Leninist, centrally planned economy to markets has been initiated as well . The unofficial private economy, far more advanced in North Korea than most imagine, is now quietly encouraged . There is no sign of relaxation in the political sphere, however . Kim has launched a massive crackdown on illegal border movements, effectively closing North Korea's border with China  - which had remained porous for decades . He has also done much to root out the penchant that many North Koreans have recently developed for smuggled foreign TV shows, especially South Korean soap operas and films . Such concerns are not merely motivated by paranoia, regardless of what the international media says . The supreme leader knows that his position is precarious, and that tightening the screws of social control and surveillance may help him prolong his rule . North Korea under Kim remains as stubborn in its nuclear ambitions as it was under his father . Having seen the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the popular rebellion against Libya's Gaddafi that was indirectly assisted by western might, North Korean decision-makers have every reason to want to continue to advance their nuclear weapons potential . At the same time ,  there has also been a truly unprecedented crisis in Sino- North Korean relations . In the last years of Kim Jong-il, China was North Korea's major sponsor and trade partner . Now things are different . The Chinese and North Korean media (strictly controlled by the government in both countries) have exchanged thinly veiled verbal attacks , while the Chinese government has frozen all Beijing-sponsored infrastructure projects in North Korea - including, for example, a new bridge over the Yalu River . The North Korean government under Kim has shown hitherto unprecedented interest in foreign investment, as long as this investment comes from sources other than China . At present, the young marshal has pinned his hopes on Russia - currently itself on a collision course with the West . North Korean leaders obviously believe that Russia under Vladimir Putin will behave like the Soviet Union once did and shower North Korea with aid grants as a reward for Pyongyang's militant anti-Americanism . Such hopes are misplaced , but it will take some time before Pyongyang's decision-makers realise the sad truth . There is little doubt that Kim wants to be popular and loved by his people, and perhaps sincerely cares about the wellbeing of the North Korean populace , though he might have rather eccentric ideas on what constitutes such wellbeing . Under his watch, the North Korean government has spent a significant part of its meagre resources on building all kinds of entertainment facilities, including an elite ski resort, a number of water parks and even a dolphinarium . Kim's North Korea is increasingly a place quite different from the North Korea of his father . It is moving towards a more efficient economy, but also towards more internal repression . It is more prone to erratic changes in domestic policy and more eccentric in many regards . But ,  of course , for the foreseeable future it is going to remain a nuclear and authoritarian regime, run by the Kim family and a small hereditary elite : This is not negotiable, irrespectively of what the outside world thinks and does .
What has remained the same, and what has changed since December 2011? It has been a few years since the sudden death of the Sun of the Nation, Marshal Kim Jong-il which made his third son, Kim Jong-un, then in his late 20s, the supreme leader of North Korea

If Greece turns left, will Europe follow? Greece is heading towards snap elections on January 25 after the conservative coalition government, currently in office, failed to reach a supermajority of 180 MPs in order to elect the new president of the republic as dictated by the Greek constitution . Stavros Demas, a former European Commissioner and candidate of choice of the two ruling parties, was never really proposed with the purpose to achieve and express the maximum consensus among the Greek population . Demas is coming from the heart of the ruling conservative New Democracy party and symbolises the party's loyalty to the current establishment in the EU . The main opposition party, SYRIZA, openly invested in the constitutional opportunity to overturn the government months ago claiming that its endurance in office for two more years would be abnormal as it would contradict the popular sentiment tracked in every opinion poll during the past year or so . By all odds , SYRIZA is leading the polls by 3 percent to 10 percent and is expected to form a government either based on a robust majority of the left in parliament, or, in coalition with minor parties who are willing to follow its agenda, renegotiate a bailout agreement that will not be catastrophic for Greek society and the Greek economy . Despite the fact that both the German and the Greek conservative governments present the current bailout programme as a "success story", most analysts around the globe agree that it has actually failed . Six years of continuing recession have resulted in a loss of 25 percent of GDP and a rise of unemployment to 27 percent . Greek debt is well over 170 percent of GDP now and according to Troika estimations it will be no less than 120 percent by 2020 . These facts translate to two things . Firstly , there can be no development under austerity policies for the majority of the population , even if the Eurozone fixes its competitiveness problem and exits deflation and the Greek economy starts developing at a growth rate of over 4 percent  - which is highly unlikely . Secondly, there can be no functioning democracy so long as Greece is not given choices other than poverty, degrowth and exclusion . Greece is in the state of protectorate at the moment, bound in a bailout agreement that strips its ability to produce and reject different solutions . But it's not just Greece . Spain follows the same path both in regards to the social crisis and the political management of that crisis . Poverty and unemployment figures look much like the Greek ones and the Spanish conservative government resorts to authoritarian measures in order to keep the Spanish society tight . For example ,  the public security law voted a few days ago is a clear attempt of the government to muzzle protests over its handling of the financial crisis . Deflation hits Europe and the prospects of its biggest economies like France's, Italy's and Germany's, are not looking good to pull the Eurozone back to the track of growth . As a result, political forces that question austerity are gaining momentum whether they are nationalist Euroskeptic and even fascist, or progressive, democratic and pro-European like the Spanish ally party of SYRIZA, Podemos . What is striking about SYRIZA is that its critique and analysis since 2009 have been proven to be correct despite the continuing fear campaign against him both inside and out of the country . Recently Prime Minister Antonis Samaras accused the party of the radical left that it will lead Greece to default and bankruptcy if it tries to negotiate lighter terms for the repayment of the Greek debt . Jean Claude Juncker's Commission has been issuing exhortations to the Greek electorate not to vote for SYRIZA and German finance minister is openly saying that there is no alternative for Greece, no matter which government comes in office . But economic analysts who have defended the reforms are starting to agree with SYRIZA on several issues, including the need to stop austerity and move faster to a process of debt forgiveness . FT's Wolfgang Munchau writes that "the radical left is right about Europe's debt" . Bloomberg argues that the end of austerity may boost the global economy and even Morgan Stanley asks bond holders not to be afraid of the coming elections . Despite the fear-mongering campaign, economic analysts reject now a possible "grexit" due to markets' belief that some kind of deal is preferable both for Greece and the EU . In this environment, a SYRIZA victory would mean two very important things; the return of the power to decide to a democratically elected government and the restoration of inclusiveness and national sovereignty and the opening of a new chapter in European politics , where the parties and the organisations who challenge austerity will have the momentum . The Greek people have patiently given the opportunity to the neoliberal technocrats of the IMF and the EU along with their local counterparts in the conservative coalition government to experiment and find a way out of the mess for more than five years only to receive back pain and failure . Now they're being given the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to choose which way the country will turn . SYRIZA is asking for debt forgiveness and a New Deal for Europe, both rather moderate demands coming from a radical left party . If SYRIZA actually wins the elections , the Greek people will be the first to send a clear message against austerity, one that can spark change, much needed on the continent right now . And if SYRIZA succeeds then Europe may start a new page in its economic and political history .

Greece is heading towards snap elections on January 25 after the conservative coalition government, currently in office, failed to reach a supermajority of 180 MPs in order to elect the new president of the republic as dictated by the Greek constitution