Sydney judge referred to Judicial Commission over comments comparing homosexuality to incest
Sydney judge Garry Neilson has been referred to the NSW Judicial Commission after directly comparing homosexuality to incest and seeming to endorse incest while in court. The District Court judge was referred by Attorney-General Brad Hazzard yesterday.
The investigation has been sparked by Fairfax Media reports that Neilson directly compared incest to homosexuality in the case of a man accused of repeatedly raping his younger sister. Neilson reportedly said that, just as homosexuality was a social taboo in the 1950s and 1960s, “a jury might find nothing untoward in the advance of a brother towards his sister once she had sexually matured, had sexual relationships with other men and was now ‘available’, not having [a] sexual partner”.
Australian jihadist arrested overseas
An Australian religious extremist credited with recruiting men to fight in Iraq and Syria has been arrested abroad. 29-year-old Musa Cerantonio was arrested in The Philippines after Philippine police and immigration agents stormed the rural village in which he was staying. The arrest came after Cerantonio tweeted that he would be travelling to the Middle East to fight alongside ISIS.
Australian police have been investigating Cerantonion in relation to possible charges for fighting with foreign paramilitary organisations and recruitment.
Arrests after Indian village orders rape of girl for brother’s crime
Three men have been arrested after an Indian village council ordered the rape of a 14-year-old girl as punishment for her brother’s alleged sexual assault of another woman. According to the girl’s mother, the girl was “dragged” into a nearby forest and raped after the council determined her brother’s guilt. The village headman, the husband of the woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted and the girl’s brother have all been taken into custody.
Palestinian death toll reaches 100
The Israel Defence Force response to Hamas militants has claimed 101 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. An additional 700 Palestinians have been injured.
Hamas has vowed to continue its missile bombardment towards Israel. Three rockets were sent towards Tel Aviv yesterday, although all were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system. Hamas has warned airlines not to fly to Tel Aviv airport, flagging it is a hot spot for future attacks.
Female Yahoo executive sued for sexual harassment
A female Yahoo executive has been sued by a female former employee for sexual harassment, wrongful termination and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to the San Jose Mercury, Nan Shi is suing Maria Zhang, alleging that she forced her to have “oral and digital sex” against her will by promising her a “bright future at Yahoo”.
Shi alleges that when she started to refuse the requests, she was demoted and received a bad performance review. She also alleges that, after reporting the abuse internally, she was placed on unpaid leave and eventually had her employment terminated.
Megan Washington awarded Qantas payout
Megan Washington has been awarded an undisclosed payout from Qantas after she sued them over the unauthorised use of her performance of the song ‘I Still Call Australia Home’. The performance was recorded at a Qantas corporate event last year, although the singer maintained that she did not give permission for the performance to be syndicated via the company’s YouTube channel and website, as well as during in-flight entertainment.
Washington, 28, originally sued the airline for $500,000.
Miracle video shows baby being pulled alive from rubble in Syria
A two-month-old baby girl has been rescued alive and well from under rubble in Aleppo, Syria. The child was extracted after 16 hours of rescue effort. You can watch the miraculous moment when the baby is taken out and placed into her father’s arms below:
Cowaramup, WA, to break world record for largest number of people wearing cow onesies
The town of Cowaramup plans to break the world record for the largest number of people wearing cow onesies today. News Limited reports that the town expects to smash the current record of 470 people (held by the American city of Fairfax, Virginia) as they have already sold 600 regulation cow onesies, and also expect people to attend in their own costumes.
Here’s a look at the action:
The onesie herd is gathering for Cowaramup’s world record attempt at the largest gathering of people dressed as cows. pic.twitter.com/2vaM02Oc4p
— RoxanneTaylor (@Roxanne_Taylor) July 12, 2014
Top Comments
The footage of the baby being pulled from the rubble gives me goosebumps. The joy from the shouts of the men is just beautiful. A happy story amidst the horror.
I am really disappointed to hear that Megan Washington sued Qantas. What a petty thing to do. I thought she was cool...
Agreed!
I disagree, they paid her to perform at an event, not to use her performance in promotional material (which can cost significantly more)
Absolutely! Artists already miss out on so many royalties these days from illegal downloads, she doesn't have to give her performances away for free. She deserves to stand up for her musical property.
Your definition of petty differs from the rest of society, protecting your work is a critical aspect of being a performer or artist or academic.