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FRIDAY, February 23, 2018
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Weinstein lawsuit: Streep callsU.S. net neutrality decision has former film mogul’s defence ‘pathetic’ profound impact on democracy ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Harvey Weinstein wants a judge to dismiss a federal sexual misconduct lawsuit against him and invoked the words and actions of Oscar-winning actresses including Meryl Streep in his defence. Lawyers for the disgraced film mogul said Tuesday in federal court in New York that the proposed classaction lawsuit filed by six women should be rejected because the alleged assaults took place too long ago and they failed to offer facts to support claims of racketeering. Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in the movie industry before alle-
she said misusing her statement “as evidence that he was not abusive with many other women is pathetic and exploitive. “The criminal actions he is accused of conducting on the bodies of these women are his responsibility,’’ Streep continued, “and if there is any justice left in the system he will pay for them.” The lawsuit, which could involve hundreds of other women, said Weinstein assaulted young women trying to break into Hollywood when they were alone with him and that his former film companies operated like an organized crime group to conceal widespread sexual harassment and assaults.
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Saying theof pron the fall posed class of affected 2017, the Federal women was “fatally Communications overbroad,’’ Commissionlawyers in the for Weinstein theto United States said voted suit would include remove net neutral-all women ever ity laws Weinstein put in place met, whether they even several years earlier by claimed to be harmed. Barack Obama. Attorney Elizabeth HARVEY WEINSTEIN In response, Justin Fegan, who filed the Trudeau said Canada gations that began lawsuit on behalf of six remained committed emerging in October actresses, said her team to maintaining net dethroned him and looks forward to showneutrality. unleashed a torrent ing that “Weinstein and But, what is net of sexual misconduct his enablers should be neutrality and why accusations that spread held responsible for does it matter? far beyond the enterdecades of assaults and Net neutrality is the tainment industry. coverups.’’ idea His lawyers cited Atthat leastall75internet women providers must treat all comments made have told the news data the same, no matby Streep in a statemedia that Weinstein ter the source. ment she released harassed, behaved So video, news, last October saying inappropriately toward downloads, games — Weinstein had always them or assaulted all dataAuthorities — is considbeen respectful in their them. in Los ered the same and is working relationship. Angeles, Beverly Hills, charged the same fees In a blistering New York and London for use. response Wednesday, are investigating. Under these ideas, an internet provider could not discriminate over what a user accesses, slow or speed up internet access or (Celluloid) World on acters in speaking roles, film industry.” charge additional Thursday. 79 per cent had 10 or However, black fees for content or access. It found females more male characters. female characters Simply from speaking, comprised 24 per cent “In an awards seaincreased 14 per without net neutrality, of protagonists last son when talk about cent to 16 per cent, an internet year, down from 29 per women and gender has and Latinas provider went from may charge fortofaster cent in 2016 despite been top of mind, we three per cent seven high-profile releases need to separate hyper- per cent.block Asianwebsites females speeds, like Star Wars: The Last bole from reality,’’ said increased fromlike, six cenper they may not Jedi and Beauty and the Martha Lauzen, execucent to seven per cent. sor ideas or prevent Beast — 2017’s top two tive director of the San The study analyzed individual users to films at the box office. Diego State centre. 2,361 characters communicate onfrom the Researchers deter“The numbers 2017’s web. top 100 films at mined that while 32 per do not yet reflect theTim box Berners-Lee, office. It has cent of films featured claims of a tectonic been conducted annucreator of the World 10 or more female char- or massive shift in the ally since 2002. Wide Web, has supported net neutrality, saying that the internet was founded on the free exchange of ideas, that repealing The kingdom has been relaxJiddah onarguing the kingdom’s westlaws would destroy the ing its decades-old restrictions ern coast. The city, a gateway
Study: Female protagonists decreased ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — While 2017 may have been the year of Wonder Woman, a new study finds female protagonists were down five per cent in the year’s 100 top-grossing films. The Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University released its annual It’s a Man’s
Saudi Arabia to build first opera house CANADIAN PRESS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia says construction will soon begin on the first opera house in the kingdom, where concerts have been banned for two decades, along with music in restaurants and stores.
on entertainment and fun as part of a wider effort spearheaded by young crown prince to boost the economy and increase household spending domestically. Thursday’s announcement says the opera house will be built in the Red Sea city of
SATURDAY MARCH 3
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The U.S. repeal of net “neutrality now sets it on similar
STEVE MARLOW Radio
EDIT spread of information. And that’s what really at the heart of this argument. It seems like a good idea, in a capitalist society, for internet providers to be able to profit off of providing the service and set whatever prices they would want to for access to the internet. But when we start talking about information being exchanged, we’re talking about democracy itself. For example, in 2005, Telus blocked access to a website formed by the Telecommunications Workers’ Union (TWU) that suggested TWU members should jam Telus phone lines over Telus posting pictures of workers crossing picket lines. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was set to step in on this, but Telus and TWU came to an agreement before that happened.
footing to China, that has a government which blocks material critical of its government and blocks foreign news from its own citizens.
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In 2016, the United Nations passed a resolution ensuring the world citizens’ right to access to the internet as a fundamental human right, due to their need to access information for freedom of expression and opinion. The U.S. decision has a profound impacts on their own citizens’ access to information, from news within their own country and news from overseas sources. It also threatens to grind out dissent and discussion of important issues to which internet providers (or even the government) may object. If you think about it, it also puts barriers in place for the poorest of citizens to access information. The more someone must pay for internet access, the fewer people who will be able to afford it. Like voter ID laws, it puts obstacles in the place of the poor. If a poor person needs to buy an official ID, go to a large city to get the ID, possibly
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taking the day off work to do so, then wait in line anyway to vote, there’s a lesser chance they will exercise that right to vote. Someone with sufficient income may not even blink at paying a fee for an ID or internet access or a faster speed. But for a poor, working-class family, those fees may represent several meals or a day of income from work. Net neutrality has been adopted by most of the first world, which puts the U.S., again, at the forefront of a regressive law. The U.S. repeal of net neutrality now sets it on similar footing to China, which has a government that blocks material critical of its government and blocks foreign news from its own citizens. Steve Marlow is program co-ordinator at CFBX, an independent radio station in Kamloops. Tune in at 92.5 FM on the dial or go online to thex.ca.
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