Setting the scene for the jury to begin deliberations next week in the week-long Weinstein sexual assault trial, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said Weinstein, 67, figured his victims never came forward.
“The defendant not only ran high over the dignity and lives of these witnesses, but also underestimated them,” he said.
The trial marks a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women have accused powerful men in business, entertainment, media and politics of sexual misconduct.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping ambitious actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
Justice James Burke is expected to give the jury legal instructions on Tuesday morning, after which they will begin deliberations.
Since 2017, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
The former producer, who was behind films including “The English Patient” and “Shakespeare in Love,” has denied any non-consensual sex.
On Thursday, Donna Rotunno, one of Weinstein’s lawyers, accused Weinstein’s accusers as unreliable and said that an “invasive” prosecution was trying to portray consensual sex as assault, and that women had to be “responsible” for their choices.
Attorney Gloria Allred sits in the front row of the gallery behind the defense during lockdown arguments in New York Criminal Court for the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault case in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US, February 14, 2020 in this courtroom sketch. . REUTERS
Illuzzi said Friday that all the women were credible and had no reason to lie.
“If they didn’t feel compelled to do this, would they put their families through this?” she asked. “Would they put themselves through the stress?”
She also pushed back against Rotunno’s argument about women’s responsibility.
“If you’ve been a victim of fraud, nobody’s going to say, well, you gave the accountant access to your money,” he said.
Haleyi testified during the case that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in his home in 2006. Mann testified that Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in Manhattan early on in what he called an “extremely degrading” relationship with him.
Illuzzi dismissed the defense’s assertion that Mann had a loving relationship with Weinstein, but also said it wouldn’t matter if she had been “head over heels in love with him.”
“He would not be raped on March 18 of 2013,” he said.
Jurors heard from four other women, including actress Annabella Sciorra, who testified that Weinstein came to her apartment one winter night in 1993 or 1994 and raped her. The charge is too old to be charged as a separate offense, but could act as an aggravating factor in support of the most serious charge in the case, predatory sexual assault, which carries a possible life sentence.
Prosecutors called the other three women to bolster their evidence of Weinstein’s intent, but they did not accuse him of any crimes involving them.
After the court wrapped up for the day, Rotunno told reporters that the evidence showed the accusers’ relationships with Weinstein were consensual.
“I think he’s confident. And this is a difficult situation for anyone to be in,” he said of Weinstein.
On Thursday, dozens of Hachette employees in New York held a noon walk in protest of the company’s decision to publish Allen’s book.
In a statement Friday, Hachette said he had had “extensive” conversations with staff and others and concluded that publishing the book “would not be feasible.”
“The decision to cancel Allen’s book was a difficult one,” the statement said. “At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously and do not lightly cancel books. We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books.”
Allen’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Dylan Farrow and his brother, journalist Ronan Farrow, had both criticized Hachette’s plan to release their father’s book. I was “deeply saddened by the decision,” Dylan Farrow wrote on Twitter earlier this month.
Allen has denied the allegation by Dylan Farrow, also made by her mother, Mia Farrow, who appeared in Allen’s films and was his longtime partner.
Allen has not been charged. He is the winner of four Oscars, including best director for 1977’s “Annie Hall,” which also won best picture.
Now, Ruiz works out at least four times a week, thanks to a video game.
In her bedroom, she sprints, squats, stretches and performs other exercises such as knee lifts and shoulder presses, all while battling a muscle-bound dragon and her toads in “Ring Fit Adventure,” a new game from Japanese tech giant Nintendo. .
“I’m so focused on beating the high score or defeating an enemy that 30 minutes have passed before I know it,” said Ruiz, 26, who is studying to become a nursing assistant in Bakersfield, California.
“Ring Fit Adventure,” created for the Nintendo Switch console, is the latest attempt by the video game industry to try to entice consumers to get off the couch and become more active. Developers are plugging fitness into games as part of a dual strategy: retaining players by offering a physical twist on traditional gameplay and attracting new ones like Ruiz looking to break the monotony of working out.
The campaign is appealing to parents and other caregivers who are worried about the amount of time children spend being carried on screens. And the games help counter the stereotype of the sedentary player, sitting in a chair for hours on end.
“Developers are trying to reach people who want fun and fitness at the same time,” said Rik Eberhardt, program manager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Game Lab. “They know that fitness is good for them, but it can feel like a task in their busy lives.”
Fitness games make up only 1% of the market, but the industry is growing steadily. Sales of games across all platforms generated $ 35.4 billion in the United States last year, up 2% from 2018, according to NPD Group, a market research firm.
“Our latest data shows that 73% of US consumers play video games of one sort or another,” said Mat Piscatella, industry analyst for NPD. “Given the wide range of players, the industry has a” great opportunity “to provide a greater variety of gaming experience.”
Exergaming, an exercise and gaming portmanteau, has been around since the late 1980s, when Bandai introduced Power Pad, a gray mat with pressure sensors, for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Games now use motion sensors, smartwatches and even virtual reality to track player movement.
The gameplay has changed, too. Some games hide fitness habits in the form of role play, dancing or other activities like running from zombies. Others are fitness and health apps that guide users through work sessions with gamelike features like scoreboards, real-time feedback and multiplayer options.
The Nintendo’s Wii game console brought exergaming to the mainstream in 2006. Its “Wii Fit” game incorporated a balance board so players burn calories through calisthenic and yoga.
“The Wii had the fastest adoption rate in the United States of any console in the first three years,” said Piscatella. “Wii Fit” remains one of the best-selling games in the United States, according to NPD.
Nintendo’s two main competitors, Microsoft and Sony, followed it, adding motion-sensing cameras to their consoles. Games like “Just Dance” and “Zumba Fitness: Join the Party,” available on Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony consoles, were “breakthrough successes” during the bidding era, Piscatella said.
Since then, the industry has been overtaken by the rise of mobile devices, which allow games to be played on the go.
“Consumer expectations have changed dramatically,” said Piscatella. “People are no longer just playing on their TVs in their living room. They now want to be able to play games whenever and wherever. ”
“Zombies, Run!” trains runners to complete hundreds of missions, including one with author Margaret Atwood, to escape the zombie apocalypse while running a 5K. In “Pokémon Go,” players capture creatures in real-world locations using augmented reality and GPS on their phones.
Hoping to build on that trend, Nintendo in 2017 introduced the Switch, which acts as both a traditional console and a handheld device. The Switch was the fastest-selling console in the United States that year and has sold more than 52 million units.
“Part of the Switch is a recognition that Nintendo’s main rival is not just Microsoft and Sony but Apple and Google as well,” said Philip Tan, creative director of MIT’s Game Lab.
He added that Nintendo is drawing on its strength in creating games that bridge the digital and physical world. “Instead of trying to compete with other console makers with better cinematography, they have created an innovative new console,” says Tan.
The company has focused on games, such as “Ring Fit Adventure,” which are using consoles in new ways, said Bill Trinen, senior director of product marketing at Nintendo.
“Nintendo wants to create games that encourage people to be active and motivate them to stay active,” said Trinen. He added that the company hoped that the role-play adventure format would encourage people to play longer.
Tiffany Ruiz works out with a Nintendo game Ring Fit Adventure at home in Bakersfield, Calif on December 4, 2019. The New York Times
Part of the popularity of “Ring Fit is” comes from its unique controller, a flexible resistance ring that Nintendo calls Ring Con. When players press, pull or hold it above their movements, their movements are tracked in the game.
Other games incorporate new hardware as well. Beat Games’ Beat Saber, a music game, relies on virtual reality goggles; it sold more than 1 million copies in nine months after being introduced in 2018.
But “Ring Fit” is attracting an increasing number of fans to the gameplay. “I love this fun, goofy story that is much denser than ‘Wii Fit.’ It hides the exercise, and you can’t cheat, “said Tristan Scatliffe, a 33-year-old product manager who lives in Brooklyn, New York.” The first time I played it, I was dripping with sweat. ”
Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon posted on Twitter a video of himself playing one of the Ring Fit minigames, Spinal Erectors Challenge.
Many exergames promote movement, but there is debate about whether they increase physical fitness. Critics have said they feel the exercise routines are phenomenal, and a study at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that Wii games didn’t help children meet the demands of daily exercise.
Some researchers create their own energy. Eefje Battel, project manager at the Sports Innovation Campus at Howest University of Applied Sciences in Bruges, Belgium, uses Makey Makey in many of the centre’s children’s exergame projects. Developed by JoyLabz, Makey Makey is an “invention package” that allows users to connect everyday objects to the internet through alligator clips and a simple keyboard.
Battel created a version of “Tetris,” an 80s puzzle game where falling blocks are manipulated to fit in a straight line. In its version, conductors are attached to bananas and other fruits, and children have to run from fruit to fruit to move the tiles in the game.
Regardless of the fun factor, exergames are not without risks, Battel said. One missing element of “Ring Fit,” he says, is a trainer to make sure players perform exercises correctly and safely.
“If you squat, the system will measure up and down movement, but it doesn’t track posture,” he said.
Nintendo hopes that “Ring Fit” will become a best-selling game as “Wii Fit” did in its heyday. Game analysts like Piscatella haven’t decided yet.
“What makes Nintendo unique is their willingness to push boundaries, and when Nintendo is really weird, they’re at their best,” he said. “Ring Fit Adventure could be the biggest thing or not. It’s still hard to predict. ”
Young Bangla, the youth group of the Research and Information Center or CRI of the Awami League research wing, is organizing the concert at the Army Stadium in Dhaka for the sixth year on March 7.
The organization holds the concert every year on the day marking the historic direction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to rally on the Racecourse, now the Suhrawardy Udyan, calling for the Liberation War in 1971.
It also comes 10 days before Bangabandhu’s birth anniversary, which is the centenary this year.
This year’s performers will include F Minor, Vikings, AvoidRafa, Cryptic Fate, Lalon, Shunyo, Arbovirus, Chirkut, Nemesis, Fuad and Friends, and Minar Rahman.
Besides their own numbers, they will also sing songs broadcast by Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra during the Liberation War. Holographic shows on Bangabandhu will also be held.
THE REGISTRATION PROCESS
The CRI said in a statement on Tuesday that participants must mention their Mujib Year resolutions when registering online.
After registering at – http://ticket.youngbangla.org/ – they will receive e-tickets.
In order to register, participants will need their passport size pictures and images of their photo ID cards. Apart from NIDs, their educational institution IDs, passports and driving licenses are also accepted. Names and other details must accompany their NIDs.
After completing the forms correctly, participants will receive the e-tickets by clicking “Submit and Receive a Free Ticket”.
Registration will automatically end once the limited seats have been booked.
Participants will need to show color and printed copies of the e-tickets with bar code, QR Code and pictures. They will also need to bring their identity cards used for the registration.
Smoking or drinking alcohol or other prohibited products are prohibited inside the venue. Visitors will be able to go out and have the option of re-entry. Large bags are not allowed.
No outside food and water is allowed. There will be free drinking water on the ground. Soft drinks and food will be available in a food court.
His death, late Sunday, sparked widespread grief among fans.
Shimura, 70, one of Japan’s best-known comedians with a career dating back to the early 1970s, reportedly underwent lung cancer surgery in 2016. He developed fever and respiratory problems on March 19 and was hospitalized, said the media.
Dominating the television comedy scene in the 1970s and 1980s, one of his best known acts was a colorless feudal lord with a face painted white with thick black eyebrows.
Fans took to social media to mourn his death, and some said they should highlight the real threat of the coronavirus.
“So sad. It’s probably bad to say this, but I hope his death helps Japanese, who still can’t seem to take this virus seriously, to start changing their attitude, “one Twitter user wrote.
Chief government spokesman Cabinet Chief Yoshihide Suga echoed that.
“I am praying to repose his soul but want to say on top of that we are at a very critical time and need to make every effort to stop the spread of this disease,” he told a regular news conference.
Japan on Sunday confirmed 68 new cases in Tokyo alone, a record daily increase for the capital, taking the country’s overall count to more than 1,800 infections, with 55 deaths Sunday afternoon, excluding 712 cases and 10 death from a cruise ship that was moored near Tokyo last month, NHK said.
