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.

Q: North Korea: An 'act of war' over a movie? At his press conference on Friday, President Barack Obama said that Sony "made a mistake" by not releasing its film "The Interview" on schedule . He said:"We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States." The dictator in question is North Korea's Kim Jung-un . Sony acted following both a major hack of its computer files and, more ominously, a threat that any US showing of the comedy film that culminates in the assassination of Kim, could produce another 9/11 type attack . The threat was issued on December 16 by an outfit calling itself, the "Guardians of Peace" , which also claims to have been behind the hack attack on Sony . It promised a "Christmas gift" for the American people . Within 48 hours of the threat, and following pleas by companies owning most of the cinemas in the US, as well as by the shopping centres in which the cinemas are situated, Sony pulled the film , which is quite a coup for whoever orchestrated the assault on the company . The original hack cost Sony an estimated $170m while withdrawing the film will cost the company another $45m it cost to make plus whatever the film would have taken in at theatres and from home release . This is a big deal . It is worth noting that it is not 100 percent positive that Pyongyang is behind the Sony hack or the 9/11 warning . Yes, the FBI asserts (with its customary assurance) that North Korea is guilty on both counts but leading cyber security experts say (with equal certitude) that the evidence of North Korean responsibility is sketchy at best . As for the North Korean regime itself, it flatly denies any involvement while at the same time issuing threats against the US that are even more blood curdling than the one issued by the "Guardians of Peace" (who may or may not be the North Koreans themselves) . Whoever the culprits are, they did not inflict major damage on the US . Contrary to those who are screaming that by pulling the film, the US surrendered the concept of freedom of speech , it is not the US government that pulled the film . In fact ,  Obama said that if Sony had talked to him first, he would have told the company to show the film as planned . But Sony did not talk to Obama because its decision to withdraw the film had nothing to do with the US or its national interests but with the financial interests of the multinational corporation itself . Multinationals do not, for reasons implied in the very term multinational, act with an eye on any flag . These are businesses and profit, not patriotism, is their guide . It is, therefore, ridiculous to accuse the US of yielding to the threat of a foreign dictator . It didn't . Sony did and , from the point of view of its shareholders, it probably did the right thing . Losing $45m in production costs for "The Interview" is nothing compared to Sony's potential liability if some catastrophe occurred at a showing of the film in Los Angeles or Washington, DC . This is not to say that there are no foreign policy implications of this debacle . Sony's decision to make a comedy about the assassination of the North Korean head of state was a terrible idea that has only worsened the US' already terrible relations with this very unstable nuclear-armed nation . If reports that a State Department official read the script and approved of the assassination scenario are true , that is troubling . Driving an already unbalanced head of state off the deep end is clearly not something diplomats should sign off on . Of course ,  certain elements in the US government want to see an increase in tensions with North Korea, and maybe even an attempt at "regime change" . Although Obama was careful to say that North Korea's purported actions constituted "cyber vandalism" but "not an act of war" , Senator John McCain, who becomes chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee next month, said on Friday that it is indeed an act of war to which the US must respond . Former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich agrees , as do eager warriors in both political parties, those who promoted war with Iraq and now oppose a nuclear deal with Iran . Those two countries are, of course, charter members of former President George W Bush's original "Axis of Evil" regimes that he and his allies wanted eliminated . The third member was North Korea .

A: At his press conference on Friday, President Barack Obama said that Sony "made a mistake" by not releasing its film "The Interview" on schedule
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Q: Fearmongering in Sydney. Australians turning on their televisions Monday morning to watch breakfast and cooking shows were instead greeted with news channels beaming minute-to-minute fearmongering of the ongoing siege at a chocolate shop in Sydney . When customers and employees were taken hostage by a lone gunman , and a flag with"There is only one God" inscription in Arabic was held in the window , it was enough to hold the rest of the country hostage to their fears and TV screens . Should it be that way and what should an appropriate response look like? First ,  consider what this violent thug had designed our reaction to be . The site of the siege was likely no afterthought - located in the heart of the Sydney CBD and directly opposite a major television station, the shop had made it ideal for the media to report on . Streets were cordoned off , public transport diverted , and a strong contingent of police sent to the Opera House . All made for good visuals of the incident and terror in an otherwise peaceful city . Even the most left-leaning and progressive members of parliament, like Greens MP Adam Bandt, who have repeatedly defended the Muslim community from unjust discrimination and generalisation, tweeted to their followers in the first hours of the siege that it was "terrifying" . Was it really? Was it at all terrifying for you personally, Adam? If it was , I'd hate to know what the hostages experienced, including the two who were murdered . A strike in the public's dark . For once, Prime Minister Tony Abbott had a more mature response than his colleagues on the opposite side . Such a situation can "scare people out of being themselves", he said in his first press briefing, before urging all Australians to go about their business as usual . Although he told the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the authorities , he said so with calm and caution . Vitally, he avoided using the t-word at this early stage, or any formulation thereof . No doubt we have since learnt a lot more about this deranged outsider and his motives , and it is clear he had terrorist intent . His website, which was shut down during the final hours of the siege, had a message dated December 14, which described why Muslims "fight against the oppression and terrorism" of the US and its allies, including the UK and Australia . The rampant speculation before this was unnecessary and unhelpful, however , and letting the siege sow fear, enough so to publicly describe it as "terrifying", was handing a victory to an extremist . With the hot Australian summer setting in, many people's minds turn to beer, barbeques, family, and Christmas presents, not the possibility of "politically motivated violence", as Abbott wisely phrased it . Intriguingly, Australians fear terrorism more than a foreign invasion, despite many believing we'd have no hope of fending off the latter and despite us never directly experiencing the former . Given the opportunity to attribute a complexly motivated act to terrorism , it's no wonder this all-too-easy escape mechanism which avoids rigorous thought or objective analysis was adopted en masse . The most noted incidents in Australia's experience of terrorism have been mostly foreign tragedies, like the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, or the 2004 Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta . Although the September raids and arrests of suspected domestic terrorists in Sydney and Brisbane set a new landscape and brought the thought of an attack to our own shores , they merely raised the thought, not the authentic actuality . The raids sparked limited local backlash against peaceful Muslims at the time , and this was both unwarranted and unwanted . Though it only goes to further support my thesis ; Australians just aren't used to this sort of thing and thus are unpractised in their response . That said , it hasn't stopped thousands on social media to show solidarity with minorities through the #IllRideWithYou campaign . When the Abbott government raised the domestic terrorism threat level to high before the September raids , many local commentators criticised what they branded as political theatre (both before and after the arrests) . To consider this is to suggest an even baser type of political animal than is presently expected by even the most cynical of observers . Would any rational actor toy with people's lives for short-term political ends in what was an unimportant political week? What end does that even achieve? Plainly, none, and it is sensationally conspiratorialist to suggest otherwise . To protest against such raids and continue looking at them through a political lens was just as unwarranted and unwanted as the racial-profiling and racial- hatred which events like these have sparked . Terrorism isn't something that we should let foster, anywhere , and the public reactions to the raids were unjustifiably sceptical in comparison to the response to the Sydney siege . Even so ,  the authorities' heed for caution may have come too late for some . Slipshod media reports that the flag held in the shop window was an ISIL flag - when it was not- may have already fuelled the imaginations of too many . Whatever the outcome of the full investigation, one thing remains clear : This was a tragic learning experience for the Australian media, public, and politicians . Keep calm and carry on, though pay a thought or two to how we ought to respond to events like these in the future .

A: Even the most left-leaning and progressive members of parliament, like Greens MP Adam Bandt, who have repeatedly defended the Muslim community from unjust discrimination and generalisation, tweeted to their followers in the first hours of the siege that it was "terrifying"
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Q: Zero suicides is an admirable aim but it requires all-out change. On Monday, Nick Clegg pledged to sign up the NHS to a national "zero suicide" campaign . This comes in a week when I have spent a lot of time talking to the media about depression in an attempt to get people to support Calm and the other charities that are doing incredible work to help people coping with mental illness . I have appeared on national radio, in the press and on television to talk about my story , but the more coverage I get, the more I ask: why me? Let me make this clear . I am not famous , I am not trying to be famous . I am a normal lad who made mistakes, lived a lie, and eventually attempted to take my own life . I am just another statistic . Someone who suffered from an illness that took over my life and made me a person I didn't recognise . There is absolutely nothing special or unique about me . Yet I am getting calls from people asking me to share my story . The fact that I am newsworthy, simply because I have spoken openly about the demons I was facing, makes me think that we are being greatly let down by society . Suicide is the biggest single killer of men aged 20-49 in the UK . It's a statistic that, no matter how many times I say it, continues to shock me to the core . Yet it's something that few people seem to be talking about openly, if at all . I get it, we're British . Sometimes we don't like talking about things that make us uncomfortable . Sometimes we'd rather not ask the question because we can't handle the answer . But that simply cannot continue . It's time that people are made to stand up and face the harsh reality . The fear of being judged is preventing people from talking about their secret turmoil . There is very little being done by the people who have the biggest influence to remove those fears, remove the stigmas, to get people talking about mental health, and make people comfortable with the subject . The media doesn't just have influence, it has a responsibility to help communicate a message and set an agenda . Yes, things are changing , but it can't be right that the furthest we've come is having someone receive live therapy on air with Phillip Schofield or a soap character crashing a minibus . There is too much box-ticking going on . A petition signed, a campaign joined, an empty promise in an election year . All very good but what do they actually do? Do they help save enough lives? The system needs changing from top to bottom . There is no consistency or urgency, despite the high rate of men dying from suicide . What bigger wake-up call do you need? I would ask David Cameron to speak up and tell us what he is going to do . To meet me, to let me introduce him to the small team at Calm, the volunteers, the campaigners, the people on the end of phones with someone's life in their hands . Let me show him people who feel as if they have nowhere to turn . Let me show him the lack of knowledge of some people working in GP surgeries, and the pressure that those who make a positive difference are working under, as rates of mental illness increase continually . Let me show how so little can make such a big difference . If Nick Clegg is serious about mental health then he needs to show it . It's great that he has decided that we need to aim for zero suicides but I wonder, what was the aim before this? Just a few suicides? A hundred? Shouldn't the aim always have been zero? The likes of Calm, Mind, The Samaritans and everyone else, are doing incredible work but it shouldn't be left to them to do it all alone . They can only work with the limited resources they have . They need supporting and backing . We need to put faces and voices to genuine experiences . Speaking out about dealing with depression shouldn't be considered a "brave" act ; it shouldn't be an extraordinary or unusual story to read . It should be common . It should be accepted . It should be normal . But while we live in a society that doesn't know how to deal with it, and perhaps does not want to deal with it, we cannot expect people to talk openly about such private matters . Much focus is placed on those who are suffering , and rightly so , but in order to truly help them, we need to make everyone else comfortable and knowledgeable enough to know what to do, how to act, and know how to signpost people to the help that is out there . We need to be talking about mental illness in schools . We need to make in-depth training compulsory in the workplace . We need to be training taxi drivers, bar staff, hairdressers - people who will find out more about a person through a casual conversation than their friends will ever know . We need to normalise talking about the realities of depression, to normalise conversations about the very real prospect of suicide - it is the only way we can move forward together . We need a radical change from top to bottom . Therapy isn't just about lying on a couch while someone writes down your childhood memories . It's about feeling comfortable enough to say you're not OK .

A:
On Monday, Nick Clegg pledged to sign up the NHS to a national "zero suicide" campaign
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