US Supreme Court backs payments for student athletes

Yahoo – AFP, Paul HANDLEY, June 21, 2021 

US Universities sports governed by the NCAA ,including football, are ahugely lucrative
business but athletes themselves don't reap the financial benefits, the Supreme Court said. 

The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that America's top university athletics body cannot block student-athletes from getting extra benefits, eroding its power over the multi-billion-dollar college sports industry. 

The high court sided unanimously with student-athletes in a narrow case focused on whether they can receive limited cash or non-cash benefits from their schools related to their education, which the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) currently forbids. 

While it did not weigh in on whether student-athletes should be able to cash in completely on their performances, the Supreme Court made it clear it did not accept the NCAA's claim that its strict ban on their earning any money, to retain "amateur" status, was important to the business. 

The court called the NCAA an effective monopoly in its control over the lucrative industry of college sports. 

"Put simply, this suit involves admitted horizontal price fixing in a market where the defendants exercise monopoly control," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the opinion. 

"No one disputes that the NCAA's restrictions in fact decrease the compensation that student-athletes receive compared to what a competitive market would yield." 

The long-brewing case, NCAA v. Alston et al, did not address the hottest topic of college sports: whether athletes, like universities and the NCAA, should benefit from endorsements or monetization of their personal images, such as sales of shirts bearing their names. 

But the court said the NCAA could not prove that athletes keeping their amateur status was important to what Gorsuch called its "massive business." 

"Those who run this enterprise profit in a different way than the student-athletes whose activities they oversee," he said. 

"The president of the NCAA earns nearly $4 million per year. Commissioners of the top conferences take home between $2 to $5 million... And annual salaries for top Division I college football coaches approach $11 million." 

'Price-fixing labor' 

The ruling appeared to open the gate for a broader challenge to the NCAA's control on how student-athletes can earn money, or share in the profits the NCAA and universities rake in. 

"Price-fixing labor is price-fixing labor," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion. 

"The NCAA's business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America," he said. 

"All of the restaurants in a region cannot come together to cut cooks' wages on the theory that 'customers prefer' to eat food from low-paid cooks." 

The White House applauded the ruling, while the NCAA said the court had reaffirmed its authority to adopt "reasonable rules" and that it remained free to judge what constitutes "truly educational benefits." 

Individual states will implement new laws on July 1 that give student-athletes the right to profit from endorsements, so-called "name, image and likeness" (NIL) benefits. 

Currently the NCAA bans them from profiting from social media, sales of shirts bearing their names, video games using their likenesses and apparel deals arranged by their schools. 

But the much smaller National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, authorized NIL benefits last year. 

The NCAA has stalled on the issue, leading to Congress now debating legislation. 

The council for NCAA's powerful Division I, representing the largest and richest schools, will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and could discuss the issue. 

"The NCAA remains committed to supporting NIL benefits for student-athletes," NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. 

"Additionally, we remain committed to working with Congress to chart a path forward, which is a point the Supreme Court expressly stated in its ruling."

India court orders release of jailed journalist

Yahoo – AFP, June 11, 2019

India's supreme court said its order to release the freelance journalist did not
reflect approval of his social media posts (AFP Photo/Sajjad HUSSAIN)

A journalist jailed for making derogatory comments on social media against a chief minister with the ruling-right wing party was ordered released by India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Prashant Kanojia, a freelance journalist, was arrested Saturday after he uploaded and commented on a video of a woman claiming to be in love with Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu monk who is chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state.

"The judges have directed (the) immediate release of Prashant today," defence lawyer Shadan Farasat told reporters.

Local media reports said the judges had criticised the high-handed manner of Kanojia's arrest, calling it "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

The court however said its order should not be seen as approval of Kanojia's social media posts and that legal proceedings against him would continue according to law.

The head of a local news channel that broadcast the video shared by Kanojia has also been arrested along with one of the editors, for operating without a license.

A fourth person was arrested Monday for allegedly uploading altered images of Adityanath on Facebook.

The Editors Guild of India had slammed Kanojia's arrest, calling the police action "arbitrary" and "an authoritarian misuse of laws".

"The Guild sees it as an effort to intimidate the press, and stifle freedom of expression," it said in a statement on Sunday.

In recent years, laws have frequently been deployed by politicians from all parties seeking to stifle social media criticism.

Last month, a ruling party activist was arrested for posting a meme on opposition West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She was later released on bail by the Supreme Court.

A journalist in northeastern Manipur state was jailed last year for allegedly criticising the state's BJP chief minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

'Sex strike' call over Georgia abortion law fuels Hollywood boycott debate

Yahoo – AFP, Javier TOVAR, with Brian Knowlton in Washington, May 12, 2019

Actress Alyssa Milano is leading a campaign for film production companies to boycott
Georgia over the state's new abortion law -- and has called for a sex strike as well
(AFP Photo/Rich Fury)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The recent love affair between Hollywood producers and the US state of Georgia, with its low taxes and affordable lifestyle, is suddenly in jeopardy.

Strict new abortion laws passed in the southern state have prompted calls not only for a boycott of filming there -- but for a sex strike.

A coterie of film stars led by actress-activist Alyssa Milano, including Alec Baldwin, Don Cheadle, Ben Stiller, Mia Farrow and Amy Schumer, had threatened in March to refuse to work in Georgia if it adopted the new abortion restrictions.

But the state's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, signed the bill into law last week.

Several independent film and television production companies have since pledged to boycott the state unless the legislation -- which bans abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally in the sixth week of pregnancy -- is rescinded.

"Killer Films will no longer consider Georgia as a viable shooting location until this ridiculous law is overturned," the company's CEO Christine Vachon wrote on Twitter.

Milano -- the onetime star of "Charmed" and "Who's the Boss?" -- had said she would fight "tooth and nail" for her Netflix series "Insatiable" to stop filming in Georgia.

Singer and actress Bette Midler has voiced support for Alyssa Milano's call for a 

sex strike over the Georgia abortion law (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

But then she took it one step farther, urging women to join her in a sex boycott until the law was repealed.

"JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back," she wrote on Twitter.

"Protect your vaginas, ladies. Men in positions of power are trying to legislate them. #SexStrike"

Somewhat inevitably, the call by Milano -- whose profile has risen as the #MeToo movement has taken hold -- has sparked controversy.

'Surprisingly effective'

Though her idea earned praise on social media, including from actress Bette Midler, and #Sexstrike trended on Twitter for a while, the idea also earned scorn -- from both sides of the political spectrum.

Liberals accused the actress of pushing the idea that women have sex to make men happy, which she denied, while conservatives mercilessly trolled her.

Milano did not waver, even noting: "History shows that a #sexstrike is surprisingly effective."

Georgia's Republican governor Brian Kemp defiantly signed a new abortion law 

that has angered some film companies and actors (AFP Photo/Kevin C. Cox)

Sex strikes -- usually in the cause of peace or an end to sexual mistreatment -- have been carried out in countries from Colombia to Kenya to the Philippines, with varying success.

Perhaps the earliest reference came from "Lysistrata," Aristophanes' comedy about women in ancient Greece withholding sex to pressure their men to end the Peloponnesian War.

The women prevailed.

What's at stake

Georgia offers filmmakers a number of enticements: a far lower cost of living than in Los Angeles, a variety of landscapes and tax credits of up to 30 percent.

Blockbuster movies like Marvel's "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War" were filmed in the state; television series including "Stranger Things" and "The Walking Dead" have been shot there.

Last year, more than 450 productions were set in Georgia, where they spent the non-negligible sum of $2.7 billion.

Kemp has stood firm, saying before he signed the legislation into law: "We protect the innocent, we champion the vulnerable, we stand up and speak for those unable to speak for themselves."

The new restrictions could mark a tipping point.

Several independent film and television production companies have pledged to
boycott Georgia state unless the legislation is rescinded (AFP Photo/ALEX WONG)

The Writers Guild of America, representing screenwriters, said the law would make Georgia "an inhospitable place" for industry people to work.

But the major studios -- with huge financial stakes at issue -- have remained largely quiet.

Chris Ortman, a spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America -- which represents Hollywood heavyweights including Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, Warner Bros. and Netflix -- said the group would "monitor developments" and wait for the courts to decide.

The film industry, he added, supports 92,000 jobs in Georgia -- a fact that did not go unnoticed by some lawmakers who are worried about employment.

"I appreciate the calls to action... but please do not #boycottgeorgia," tweeted Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who nearly defeated Kemp in November's election.

"The hard-working Georgians who serve on crews & make a living here are not to blame. I promise: We will fight - and we will win."

With a nod to Abrams' plea, directors Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter that they will proceed with filming their new show "Lovecraft Country" in the state -- but they will donate their "episodic fees" to groups fighting the abortion law.

Related Article:

Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion law

India's top judge faces sexual harassment storm

Yahoo – AFP, Abhaya SRIVASTAVA, April 20, 2019

Gogoi (C) is due to retire in November this year (AFP Photo/CHANDAN KHANNA)

New Delhi (AFP) - India's top judge fought off a sexual harassment storm Saturday after a former Supreme Court staff member accused him of making unwanted advances and hounding her.

Chief justice Ranjan Gogoi said the accusations made by a 35-year-old former court assistant were "unbelievable" and an attempt to stop him hearing important cases.

Saying judicial independence was at stake, Gogoi, 64, called a special session of the apex court after the woman wrote to 22 Supreme Court judges on Friday, alleging he twice made sexual advances in the office of his official residence in October last year.

"He hugged me around the waist, and touched me all over my body with his arms and by pressing his body against mine, and did not let go," she wrote in an affidavit seen by AFP.

"He told me 'hold me', he did not let go of me despite the fact that I froze and tried to get out of his embrace by stiffening and moving my body away," the document added.

The woman claimed she was dismissed from her job and her family had been harassed after she rebuffed Gogoi's advances.

She also said she was summoned by Gogoi's wife who asked her to prostrate herself and rub her nose at her feet to seek forgiveness.

Reputation at stake

"I have taken this unusual and extraordinary step of sitting in court today because things have gone too far," Gogoi said.

"This is unbelievable. I don't think I should stoop low even to deny these allegations... there has to be a bigger force behind this."

The chief justice, who is to retire in November after a year as chief justice, said he was scheduled to hear many sensitive cases in coming days and that he would continue his work "without any fear".

"Why do you think a person decides to become a judge? Reputation is all that matters for a judge. If that is also under attack, what is left?"

Gogoi said the woman had a criminal background and that the media must act responsibly on reporting the allegations.

A New Delhi court is to hear a police application on Wednesday to cancel bail for the woman in a separate criminal investigation.

The woman, a married mother of one, has called on the Supreme Court to set up a "special inquiry committee" to look into her accusations.

The #MeToo movement has touched several Bollywood directors, actors and media figures accused of sexual harassment.

A junior foreign minister was forced to resign last year after several women accused him of harassment.

The Supreme Court, one of India's most respected institutions, has 25 judges appointed by the president, including the chief justice.

The court often rules on key policy matters and orders measures taken in public interest.

The latest allegations set Twitter abuzz Saturday with a leading women's rights activist, Kavita Krishnan, saying the judiciary must come clean on the "extremely serious" charges.

Frenchman in Nobel rape scandal appeals to Supreme Court

Yahoo – AFP, December 27, 2018

Once an influential figure in Stockholm's cultural scene, Jean-Claude Arnault (C)
was in early December sentenced to two years and six months in prison
for raping a woman (AFP Photo/Jonathan NACKSTRAND)

Stockholm (AFP) - A Frenchman at the centre of a scandal that led to the postponement of the 2018 Nobel Literature Prize has appealed his rape conviction to Sweden's Supreme Court, the highest court said Thursday.

Once an influential figure in Stockholm's cultural scene, 72-year-old Jean-Claude Arnault was in early December found guilty by a Stockholm appeals court of two counts of rape against one woman and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

Arnault "has appealed the appeals court ruling and asked the Supreme Court to reject it in its entirety," the Supreme Court wrote in a statement.

The tribunal said it had given Arnault until January 28 to provide further argumentation for why the court should consider his case.

Sweden's Supreme Court only takes on cases that may set a legal precedent, or when there are exceptional reasons to reconsider a ruling.

Arnault, who has been locked up since his district court conviction in October, has made no public statement regarding his decision.

His was one of the first big trials to come out of the #MeToo movement.

The revelations also tore apart the venerable Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize.

Arnault is married to Katarina Frostenson, a Swedish Academy member who has rarely spoken out about the scandal that erupted in November 2017, one month after rape and sexual abuse accusations surfaced against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

At the time, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published the testimonies of 18 women claiming to have been raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by Arnault.

The Frenchman ran the Forum club, which he founded in 1989 as a meeting place for the cultural elite and was popular among aspiring young authors hoping to make contact with publishers and writers.

The Swedish Academy, which funded his club for years, has 18 members and Arnault often referred to himself as its "19th member". He reportedly occasionally leaked the names of Nobel winners to friends.

The scandal left the prestigious body deeply divided over how to manage its ties with Arnault and his wife, with some members quitting the Academy.

His accusers claim the Academy was aware of Arnault's behaviour but ensured that "a culture of silence" reigned in cultural circles.

Discredited and without a quorum to make key decisions, the Academy postponed for one year the announcement of the 2018 Nobel Literature Prize, for the first time in 70 years.

Several allegations against Arnault were dropped due to lack of evidence or because the statute of limitations had expired.