Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Jay Leno sued over Golden Temple remark

Posted:

US talk show host Jay Leno has been sued by an Indian-American in California for his "racist" comments on the Golden Temple and ridiculing the entire Sikh community by portraying the holy shrine as a vacation home.

According to court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Randeep Dhillon claims that Leno "hurt the sentiments of all Sikh people in addition to those of the plaintiff" with his joke that the Golden Temple could be a possible summer home of Mitt Romney, a leading Republican presidential hopeful.

The celebrity website TMZ said Dhillon has filed a libel suit and is seeking unspecified damages. The suit adds that Leno's joke "clearly exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy because it falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh.

"It said this is not the first time that Leno has ridiculed the Sikh community. Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs 'diaper heads.' Clearly, Jay Leno's racist comments need to be stopped right here," the suit added.

In more trouble for the TV host, a Sikh rights group here has lodged a complaint with a federal agency demanding action be taken against Leno and NBC channel for airing the "racist and derogatory" depiction of the Golden Temple.

Sikhs for Justice has filed its complaint with regulator Federal Communications Commission against Leno and NBC. FCC is tasked with regulating the broadcast of television programmes, analysing complaints and conducting investigations.

In a letter to Joel Gurin, Bureau Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at FCC, SFJ said "Jay Leno's depiction of Golden Temple as the home of the rich is racist, derogatory, defamatory, contrary to the reality, inimical to the principles of Sikhism, and thus hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community".

SFJ has demanded that sanctions be imposed against Leno and NBC for spreading racism and ridiculing a place of worship.

SFJ Legal Advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said while freedom of speech should be valued and protected, it should not be made a tool to ridicule a religion. Pannun also pointed out that Leno had previously shown disrespect to Sikhs in 2007 by calling them 'diaper heads'.

He added that Leno's wrongful depiction of the Golden Temple is "more hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community because any disrespectful or derogatory remark about Golden Temple brings back the tormenting memories of June 1984 Operation Blue Star."

SFJ will be holding a protest rally on February 2 in front of NBC Headquarters in New York demanding that the channel sack Leno.

India has strongly objected to Leno's remark, with NRI Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi directing Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao to take up the matter with the State Department. In turn, the US defended Leno's right to free speech and has termed his comments as "satirical".

Wikileaks boss to host TV talk show

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has announced he will host a global TV talk show where he will interview "key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries".

In a statement posted on the WikiLeaks site, Assange said the series was a new style of show that would examine his subjects "in a deeper and clearer way than has been done before".

The series would begin airing in mid-March, in 10 weekly half-hour episodes, the statement said.


Host with the most: WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange will interview key
political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world.
File pic

"I will explore the possibilities for our future in conversations with those who are shaping it. Are we heading towards utopia, or dystopia and how we can set our paths?" Assange said.

The statement claimed initial licencing commitments covered more than 600 million viewers across cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcast networks, however it was not clear whether the show would air on Australian television.

The release adds: "WikiLeaks, as the world's boldest publisher, has been at the front line of this global movement for understanding and change. Its founder, Julian Assange, as the subject of an ongoing Grand Jury investigation in the United States for over 500 days now, is one of the world's most recognizable revolutionary figures."

Assange, who runs the site as editor-in-chief, is wanted in Sweden for questioning over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women in Stockholm in August 2010.

He is currently involved in extradition proceedings in London over the alleged incident. Swedish officials met Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam last month about his rights, should he be extradited.

Assange play opens in London
A play about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange opened in London to mixed reviews. Man In The Middle, detailing the life of the silver-haired 40-year-old Australian, opened at a south London theatre last week. The script has been adapted since the production was staged in Sydney last year under the title Stainless Steel Rat, but Queenslander Darren Weller, who was in the original cast, continues in the lead role. The play is often imagined conversations, moments behind closed doors and encrypted channels of communication, coupled with the continual pressure that international governments have put upon Assange's head over rape allegations in Sweden and potential espionage in the USA.


'Best beach bum' radio competition called 'porn on training wheels'

Posted:

A radio station in Australia has come under much criticism from local activists for hosting a 'best beach bum' competition, which is believed to objectify women.

The station, called K-Rock, is offering adult store gift packs to the winners of the contest, which is heavily promoted on its website. The public is encouraged to select their favourite from the entries posted online, including women and men in bathers, lingerie and underwear. The contest has drawn the ire of grassroots activist group Collective Shout, which has recently taken on Geelong-based stationary chain Typo over its porn-themed products.

Collective spokesperson Melinda Liszewski said K-Rock's promotion drew comparisons to a New Zealand radio station's wet T-shirt competition. "It is basically pornography on training wheels," the Geelong Advertiser quoted her as saying.

"The problem here is the culture that promotes that women aren't complete human beings and are reduced to the sum of their body parts. "It is unfortunate the radio station is promoting these views," she said.

Liszewski said the group would encourage its 5000-plus members to lodge complaints with the station or the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Major Sally-Anne Allchin, from Salvation Army Women's Ministries, had concerns over age limits for the competition and the threat of photos of unwilling people being uploaded.

"With it all handled electronically, there is no way of vetting entries � Who's to say there is not a 13-year-old girl there? You don't see a face, only a butt," she said. Allchin said that once an image went online it was in the public domain and could be reproduced or resurface anywhere. Meanwhile, K-Rock program director Leigh Kuhlmann said the station was aimed at both male and female listeners.

"The competition in question, beach bums, was open to both sexes to enter and was not specifically aimed at women at any point as suggested by Collective Voice", he said. "We did however only receive one entry from a male entrant, which you will see on our website," he added.
Posted by Harshad at 7:28 AM

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