Los Angeles Archives - Lokmarg

Harvey Sentenced To 16 Additional Years In Prison For Rape Case

By LokMarg 24th February 2023

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years on Thursday morning nearly two months after his Los Angeles trial concluded with a jury convicting him on three counts of rape and sexual assault.

Weinstein’s sentencing was held in downtown Los Angeles.
Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence in New York, after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in that jurisdiction in his 2020 criminal trial, reported Variety.

All three charges on which Weinstein were convicted were based on the counts relating to Jane Doe, a European model who testified she was raped by Weinstein at Mr. C Hotel after the L.A. Italia Film Festival in 2013, reported Variety.

Thursday’s sentencing signals that Weinstein, who will turn 71 years old next month, will spend the remainder of his life in prison, marking a downfall for the Oscar winner who reigned over Hollywood and was once one of the most powerful individuals in the entertainment industry.

His team, however, is still fighting for Weinstein’s life. In Los Angeles, his lawyers, Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson, filed a motion in January to request a new trial with a new jury, which the judge shot down on Thursday, ahead of the sentencing. In New York, the Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in the state, agreed to hear Weinstein’s appeal to possibly overturn his 2020 sex crimes conviction, reported Variety.

Weinstein has been accused by more than 100 women who have publicly come forward with allegations of sexual assault, abuse and harassment that have spanned decades. His monumental fall triggered by #MeToo in 2017, and the story of his survivors coming forward even inspired a major studio film, “She Said,” which was released in theatres last year.

Weinstein has consistently maintained his innocence, denying any accusations of rape or assault, and his legal team has repeatedly stated that their client has unfairly been painted as the poster boy of the #MeToo movement. (ANI)

There Is A Lot To Learn From Modi’s Leadership: PT Usha

By LokMarg 16th December 2022

Newly-elected Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president India’s legendary athlete PT Usha on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.

Usha on Friday took to her Twitter handle to share two pictures featuring Prime Minister and said that there is a lot that people can learn from PM Modi’s leadership.

“It was a pleasure to meet and interact with Hon. PM @narendramodi ji at his esteemed office today. Lots to learn from his leadership and service to the nation,” PT Usha tweeted.

Earlier on Saturday, Usha was elected unopposed as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

The 58-year-old is also the first Olympian and the first international medallist to hold the top post in the 95-year-old history of IOA.

PT Usha’s election brings an end to a long-drawn crisis in the faction-ridden IOA which was warned of a possible suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if elections were not held this month.

The star sprinter Usha is one of the greatest athletes to have ever come out of India and brags four gold medals and seven silvers at the Asian Games. She missed out on a podium finish in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics by 1/100th of a second. Her timing of 55.42s in LA still holds as a national record. (ANI)

Dangerous Nations: Biden’s Candid Comment On Pakistan

By LokMarg 15th October 2022

In perhaps the most candid statement made against it, US President Joe Biden described Pakistan as “one of the most dangerous nations” in the world which holds “nuclear weapons without any cohesion.”

The US President made these remarks at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Reception in Los Angeles (California), during which he berated both China and Russia.
The remarks on Pakistan were made while Biden was talking about US foreign policy with regard to China and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Biden concluded by saying he considered Pakistan to be the most dangerous country in the world.

“This is a guy (Xi Jinping) who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems. How do we handle that? How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” said Biden, as quoted in a White House press release of his remarks at the Democratic party event.

Biden’s remarks could be seen as a setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government’s bid to improve ties with the US.

At the event, Biden said there were enormous opportunities for the US to change the dynamic in the second quarter of the 21st century.

“So, folks, there’s a lot going on. A lot going on. But there are also enormous opportunities for the United States to change the dynamic in the second quarter of the 21st century,” the US president said.

These comments come two days after the release of the US National Security Strategy. The 48-page document makes no reference to Pakistan.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration released the Congress-mandated key policy document, underlining the threat posed to the US by both China and Russia.

The National Security Strategy states that China and Russia who earlier this year announced a “no-limits partnership” are increasingly aligned with each other but the challenges they pose are distinct.

“We will prioritize maintaining an enduring competitive edge over the PRC while constraining a still profoundly dangerous Russia,” it adds.

The policy document contends that competition with China is most pronounced in the Indo-Pacific, but it is also increasingly global.

The US Security Strategy highlighted that the next ten years will be a decisive decade of competition with China.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the document says Moscow’s “imperialist foreign policy” culminated “in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an attempt to topple its government and bring it under Russian control.” (ANI)