#MeToo moment for India? Bollywood singer blasts music director as ‘ugly pervert’ in viral tweets
Neha Bhasin © AFP / Sujit Jaiswal
Bollywood star Neha Bhasin has lashed out against top music composer Anu Malik, alleging that she found herself in a "sticky situation" with him as a young artist and branding him an "ugly pervert" in a series of angry tweets.
Bhasin was responding to tweets posted by fellow singer Sona Mohapatra, who was complaining that Malik had been rehired by Sony TV as a judge on Indian Idol – after being fired over accusations of sexual assault, including by her, only a year ago.
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| Sona Mohapatra |
@nehabhasin4u
I fleed lying my mums waiting below. He even msgd and called me after that to which i stopped responding. The point is i went to give him my cd and hope for a chance at a song. He was older and shouldnt have behaved the way he did. @The_AnuMalik is an ugly pervert and does not https://twitter.com/sonamohapatra/status/1189063817231093760 …
ShutUpSona✔
@sonamohapatra
It takes only a Nirbhaya level tragedy for #India to wake up? Few days after these👇🏾,I was asked to leave my judge seat. My co-judge told me,the publicity I provided to Anu Malik took up the trps of our ‘rival’ show. (?!) A year later, a sexual predator is back on the same seat.
The singer-songwriter blasted Malik as a "predator" and said she had "run away from his strange moves" when she was 21. "I didn't let myself get into a sticky situation beyond him lying on a sofa in front of me talking about my eyes in a studio," she said, adding that she had fled the uncomfortable situation with the “ugly pervert” by telling him that her mother was waiting for her.
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| Anu Malik |
Bhasin continued railing against “perverts” in the music industry, saying it was “not an easy place as a young girl alone away from family.”
Mohapatra accused Sony TV of counting on the "freebie PR" they would get from rehiring Malik. In an open letter to the company, posted online, she said that those who support and fight alongside Malik's accusers are on "the right side of history."
Actress Shweta Pandit has also accused Malik of misconduct, saying he'd promised to give her a song when she was 15, but only if she would give him a kiss. Recounting that story last year, the singer branded Malik a “pedophile.”
ShutUpSona✔
@sonamohapatra
Like they, Sony 👇🏾 care about you dear good Indians who have been speaking up all day & showing solidarity towards survivors of sexual abuse of Anu Malik. I have a feeling that that they are in fact counting on the freebie PR taking up their trps & snacking their lips with glee.
Malik denied the allegations last year through his lawyer, but has not yet responded to the latest accusations – and there’s no indication yet that he intends to step back from Indian Idol.
Penn State U Police investigate new sex abuse allegation
on Jerry Sandusky as he awaits resentencing
by: Bill Shannon
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) – Penn State police are investigating a new allegation of sexual abuse by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky nearly eight years after he was indicted on child sexual abuse charges, a university spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
According to our partners at Centre Daily Times, an individual who visited the Lasch Building told police Tuesday they were sexually assaulted by Sandusky between June 2000 and September 2010, according to police and spokesman Wyatt DuBois.
“This incident report is the result of the university’s internal and external reporting procedures upon receipt of a new allegation of abuse by Jerry Sandusky,” DuBois said Wednesday. “An investigation is ongoing and we have no further comment.”
Al Lindsay, Sandusky’s defense lawyer, said Thursday he has not yet spoken with Sandusky about the “vague” allegation, but “look(s) forward to finding out what all of this is about.”
Sandusky, 75, is scheduled to be resentenced Nov. 8 for his 45-count child sexual abuse conviction. He was found guilty and sentenced in 2012 to 30 to 60 years in state prison.
UPDATE: The resentencing has been delayed until Nov 22nd.
The state Superior Court in February rejected most aspects of Sandusky’s broad appeal, including his request for a new trial, but ruled that mandatory minimums were improperly applied and ordered a new sentencing.
Sandusky, Lindsay and defense lawyer Peter Goldberger asked a federal court earlier this month to grant him a new trial or release him from Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County. The petition repeated many of the claims he made in state court, including a violation of due process and legal mistakes by his previous legal team.
The U.S. Department of Education is hitting Penn State with a record $2.4 million fine for violating a law that requires colleges and universities to report campus crimes and warn people if their safety is threatened.
McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook pushed out over relationship with employee
The Associated Press
McDonald's chief executive officer has been pushed out of the company after violating company policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee, the corporation said Sunday.
The fast food giant said former president and CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrated poor judgment, and that McDonald's forbids managers from having romantic relationships with direct or indirect subordinates.
In an email to employees, Easterbrook acknowledged he had a relationship with an employee and said it was a mistake. "Given the values of the company, I agree with the board that it is time for me to move on," Easterbrook said, in the email.
McDonald's board of directors voted on Easterbrook's departure Friday after conducting a thorough review. Details of Easterbrook's separation package will be released Monday in a federal filing, according to a company spokesperson. He will also be leaving the company's board. Easterbrook was CEO from 2015 to 2019.
McDonald's would not provide details about the employee with whom Easterbrook was involved, and an attorney for Easterbrook declined to answer questions.
The board of directors named Chris Kempczinski, who recently served as president of McDonald's USA, as its new president and CEO.
Two weeks ago, McDonald's reported a two per cent drop in net income for the third quarter as it spent heavily on store remodeling and expanded delivery service. The company's share price has dropped 7.5 per cent since, though it's still up 9.2 per cent for the year. The burger chain also has been plagued by declining restaurant traffic.
The leadership transition is unrelated to the company's operational or financial performance, the company said in a news release.
McDonald's decision to act may be a sign of progress on workplace issues that have come to light in the #MeToo era, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. "Other companies don't always act on that kind of information or fire their CEO for that, and so it seems like they trying to enforce a pretty strict policy in this situation," Tobias said.
Among other challenges at its restaurants, McDonald's has faced workplace harassment charges. In May, McDonald's said it was enhancing training and offering a new hotline for workers after a labour group filed dozens of sexual harassment charges against the company.
Fight for $15, the group which filed the charges, said McDonald's response to its sexual harassment complaints has been inadequate, and "the company needs to be completely transparent about Easterbrook's firing and any other executive departures related to these issues."
Kempczinski joined McDonald's in 2015. He was responsible for approximately 14,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States. He was instrumental in the development of the company's strategic plan and oversaw the most comprehensive transformation of the U.S. business in McDonald's history, said Enrique Hernandez, chair of McDonald's board, in a statement.
Kempczinski described Easterbrook as a mentor.
Let's hope that he wasn't mentored in morality.
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Welsh secretary of state quits amid criticisms
over failed rape trial
By Clyde Hughesover failed rape trial
Welsh Secretary of State Alun Cairns leaves the Cabinet Office in London on September 12.
File Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE
(UPI) -- Welsh Secretary of State Alun Cairns announced his resignation Wednesday amid claims he lied about his knowledge about a former staffer who's accused of sabotaging a rape trial last year.
Cairns has been criticized for saying he didn't know one of his advisers, Ross England, played a role in the failed trial until it was reported in the press last week. The report included what it said was a leaked email that indicated Cairns knew of England's efforts as early as last summer.
England gave inadmissible testimony at the April 2018 trial that remarked on the victim's sexual history, after he had been warned by the court not to speak on the issue. The defendant, England acquaintance James Hackett, was ultimately convicted in a second trial.
"This is a very sensitive matter, and in light of continued speculation, I write to tender my resignation as secretary of state for Wales," Cairns wrote Wednesday in a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"I will cooperate in full with the investigation under the Ministerial Code which now will take place and I am confident I will be cleared of any breach or wrong doing."
Conservative Party members had defended Cairns, insisting he had no prior knowledge of England's role in the case.
At trial, the judge had reacted strongly to England giving prohibited testimony. "Why did you say that? Are you completely stupid?" he said. "You have managed single-handed, and I have no doubt it was deliberate on your part, to sabotage this trial."
"I shall be writing personal letters to people who are politically close to you and I hope they take appropriate action," the judge added, before telling England, "Get out of my court."
The departure of Cairns, one of Johnson's cabinet ministers, comes about a month before Britain's Dec. 12 legislative elections. Parliament dissolved early Wednesday to formally begin the campaign. Conservatives are hoping for significant gains in the vote to strengthen their parliamentary ranks.
Labor Party Shadow Secretary Christina Rees criticized Cairns for his response to the scandal, saying England's behavior at trial was "appalling" and inflicted "unimaginable trauma" for the victim.
And all to save a friendship with a rapist! How pathetic.
Revenge porn remains on internet as Modi-hating Pakistani pop star struggles to have it taken down
© Instagram / rabi.fairy
Rabi Pirzada, who made headlines with several provocative social media posts attacking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently became the victim of an embarrassing privacy breach. The incident prompted her to quit the entertainment industry and file a petition with Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to have the X-rated photographs and videos removed from the internet. The hashtag #RabiPirzada became a top trend in Pakistan last week as the explicit materials spread across the country.
Pakeeza Khan
@Pakeezakhan_
Rabi Pirzada’s video spread by her ex boyfriend. He had her iCloud password.
Please don’t share this video. We should not spread private things of anyone just for few RTs And Likes. #RabiPirzada
It’s still unclear how the images made it onto the internet. One theory is that the ‘revenge porn’ was leaked by an angry ex-boyfriend. Others have speculated that Pirzada was targeted for her controversial political statements. She reportedly handed her phone over to authorities, suggesting that the leak may have been the result of a hack.
There's a good chance it was both.
Pirzada caused mass uproar on social media after posting several unorthodox attacks aimed at India’s prime minister. Last month, she shared a photograph of herself wearing a suicide vest, along with the hashtag “#ModiHitler.” Before that, Pirzada posted a video of herself posing with large snakes and a crocodile, promising that the reptiles would “feast” on Modi.
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MSM execs part of ‘network of people’ that covered for Epstein – Project Veritas founder
ABC and other mainstream media outlets refused to cover accusations against sex predator Jeffrey Epstein because “a network of people” that includes their executives were implicated, James O’Keefe of Project Veritas told RT.
The Disney-owned network has doubled down on its insistence that anchor Amy Robach’s story on Epstein three years ago lacked “enough corroboration” and thus wasn’t aired. This was after Project Veritas released a “hot mic” video of Robach slamming the decision to quash the story.
Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Roberts Giuffre
The conservative filmmaker said on Tuesday that he believes ABC’s refusal to budge from that explanation backs up Robach’s claim that “a network of people” – including the executives running her channel – are “covering up for this” because they are somehow “implicated.”
Robach had interviewed Epstein's alleged sex slave Virginia Roberts Giuffre and other victims and claimed to have pictures and other proof to back up her story. The never-aired exposé was such a bombshell that it provoked intimidating calls from “the [UK royal] palace, which threatened [ABC] a million different ways,” and Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz – and the media establishment, O’Keeffe said, is very susceptible to such threats.
Mainstream media’s decisions to suppress major stories like Epstein or the allegations of sexual assault against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have contributed to a wholesale abandonment of trust in the media by the American people, O’Keeffe continued.
A lot of these people are not trusting the media anymore in this country because the media does not cover the news. “It’s quite telling that this insider leaked this tape to Project Veritas and not the Washington Post, New York Times, CBS or CNN, because they seem to want to protect the people that were working with Jeffrey Epstein,” he added.
“They’re fine airing the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, or [President Donald] Trump, or anybody else, but when it comes to Bill Clinton and some of these folks who are mentioned by Amy in this hot mic tape, they say they just didn’t have enough corroboration,” O'Keefe said, recalling that Robach had specifically mentioned that “we had [Bill] Clinton.”
I’m not sure how ABC News defines corroboration when it comes to credible witnesses talking about sexual assault.
Project Veritas, which specializes in undercover videos from inside liberally-minded organizations, has recently turned its eye on the media establishment, including CNN and now ABC.
Epstein, a financier with a reputation for having many famous and powerful friends – and a Caribbean island or two where he entertained them with underage girls – was found dead in his jail cell in August. His death was officially ruled a suicide, but a subsequent forensic examination cast doubt on the story that he killed himself.
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Retired Air Force general charged with possession of child pornography in Pennsylvania
By Janelle Griffith, NBCA retired brigadier general living in Pennsylvania was charged with 15 counts of child pornography, authorities announced Wednesday.
Sullivan was arrested Wednesday in Cumberland County and charged with 15 felony counts of sexual abuse of children and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment and his bail was set at $100,000 unsecured bond.
Sullivan is the former executive director of the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission and completed tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, the statement said.
“General Sullivan’s alleged actions disgrace his work and besmirch the Pennsylvania National Guard, an organization that has bravely and dutifully come to the aid of Pennsylvanians whenever they have been called,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.
Shapiro said agents from his office discovered Sullivan’s penchant for viewing images of preteen children during an investigation on a file sharing network.
An October search of Sullivan’s home revealed a desktop and a laptop that were filled with searches and images of preteen children, according to the state attorney general's office.
A computer forensic analysis also identified 37 search terms commonly used by people looking for child pornography on Sullivan's laptop.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit also arrested one of Sullivan's tenants in October, Bobby Glenn Williams Jr., and charged him with 14 felony counts of disseminating photos of child sex acts, 11 felony counts of child pornography, and one felony count of criminal use of a communication facility. Williams was renting a room in Sullivan’s home, according to authorities.
His attorney, Patrick Lauer, told NBC News the charges were waived to a higher court during a preliminary hearing that was also on Wednesday.
"There were four people living in that house, one person whose room was searched," Lauer said Wednesday. "That person had child porn all over that computer."
Lauer said he did not know how much access Sullivan's tenants had to the other computers in the house.
A formal arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2020.
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