Daily Archives: September 17, 2012

Soyuz brings three station fliers home to pinpoint landing

Posted: September 17, 2012 at 12:14 pm

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three station fliers returned to Earth from the International Space Station Sunday, dropping to a bullseye landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

Two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA flight engineer bid their three space station crewmates farewell Sunday, strapped into their Soyuz ferry craft, undocked from the lab complex and fell back to Earth, making a pinpoint landing in Kazakhstan to close out a 125-day voyage.

Descending through a clear blue sky under a large orange-and-white parachute, the charred Soyuz TMA-04M descent module settled to a rocket-assisted touchdown near the town of Arkalyk at 10:53 p.m. EDT (8:53 a.m. Monday local time).

NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba relaxes and pumps his fist after being helped out of the Soyuz TMA-04M descent module following a flawless landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan

The final stages of the descent were carried live on television relayed through the Russian mission control center and NASA's satellite network, showing the last-second firing of the crew's braking rockets and billowing clouds of dust and smoke as the module touched down and the parachute collapsed.

Russian recovery teams deployed near the landing site quickly rushed in, reporting the descent module had tipped over on its side, a relatively common occurrence.

They quickly got to work opening the main hatch to help Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Sergei Revin and Joseph Acaba out of the cramped module after four months in the weightlessness of space. Padalka, the first out, looked relaxed and in good spirits as he rested in a recliner and enjoyed a cup of tea. Revin and Acaba quickly followed suit and all three were given quick medical exams before a two-hour helicopter flight to Kustanai.

At that point, the crew planned to split up, with Padalka and Revin flying back to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City near Moscow while Acaba flies back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston aboard a NASA jet.

Touchdown on the steppe of Kazakhstan marked the conclusion of a 53-million-mile 2,000-orbit voyage that began with liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on May 15.

It also moved Padalka up to No. 4 on the list of most experienced space fliers, with 711 days in orbit over four space flights. Acaba has now logged 138 days aloft during two missions while Revin's mark will stand at 125 days for his first flight.

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Soyuz brings three station fliers home to pinpoint landing

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Federal appeals court to hear challenge to California DNA collection law

Posted: at 12:13 pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- On a March day three years ago in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, Elizabeth "Lily" Haskell was arrested during a rally against the Iraq War, cuffed on a felony allegation that she tried to spring another protester who had been taken into custody.

But once hauled off to jail, Haskell found herself in the legal cross hairs for more than just civic rabble-rousing. Sheriff's deputies ordered her to submit to DNA testing under a then-new provision of California law, giving her the choice of letting them swab the inside of her cheek or face an additional misdemeanor charge and sit in a jail cell for two days.

Haskell relented and took the DNA test. But now the Oakland woman is at the center of an American Civil Liberties Union legal challenge to a state law that allows law enforcement to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a felony, regardless of whether they are later charged or convicted. In Haskell's case, prosecutors never followed up the 2009 arrest with a criminal charge.

"My DNA was taken without any kind of due process," Haskell said last week. "I believe people should have the right to refuse to give their DNA."

On Wednesday, a special 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the latest round in the case, which has highlighted a legal issue that appears bound for the U.S. Supreme Court. In fact, in a brief order earlier this year, Chief Justice John Roberts said

At the request of civil liberties lawyers, the 9th Circuit agreed to take a second look at the Haskell case after a three-judge panel, in a 2-1 ruling, earlier this year upheld a voter-approved 2004 California law allowing DNA collection. The 9th Circuit rejected arguments that the law, which went into effect in 2009, tramples on the constitutional rights of those arrested for felonies, saying "government's compelling interests far outweigh arrestees' privacy concerns."

In court papers, lawyers for Haskell and others arrested but never charged with felonies argue that the California law "is an unprecedented expansion of the government's power to collect DNA evidence and to DNA profile individuals who have never been convicted of any crime."

To the ACLU, there is no reason someone's DNA should wind up in the state's DNA database if the person has never appeared in court, much less in front of a jury.

"People who haven't been convicted of anything shouldn't be treated like criminals," ACLU attorney Michael Risher said.

Law enforcement officials argue that the DNA collection law is a crucial tool in solving crimes. They liken taking a DNA swab at the time of arrest to fingerprinting.

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Federal appeals court to hear challenge to California DNA collection law

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Calif. DNA Collection From Arrestees Challenged

Posted: at 12:13 pm

An Alabama man was charged this month with the 1980 murder of an Oxnard teen. A Placerville man was arrested last month for a 1986 rape and murder of a San Mateo teen. A San Francisco man is currently on trial for the murder and robbery of a tourist two decades ago.

Technological advances in genetic research and computers in recent years have turned solving "cold cases" into near-routine police work. The California Attorney General reports that the state's DNA database of close to 2 million samples spits outs more than 425 "hits" a month, more than double the average monthly rate of 183 in 2008. More than 10,000 suspects have been identified in the last five years.

But on Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union will argue before a federal appellate court in San Francisco that California's DNA collection efforts have become unconstitutionally aggressive and that the spike in hits comes at the expense of civil liberties.

The ACLU is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down California's Proposition 69, which authorized police to obtain a genetic sample from every person arrested on felony charges, not just those convicted. Some 25 other states have enacted similar laws since 62 percent of the California electorate passed the measure in 2004.

The issue of the warrantless swabbing of the cheek with a Q-tip of everyone arrested for a felony has sparked one of the hottest "search and seizure" debates in state and federal courts in decades.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already signaled its willingness to review Maryland's DNA collection law after a federal appeals court there ruled it unconstitutional in April. The California Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court's overturning of the California law. Several other state and federal courts have already ruled or are weighing the issue throughout the country.

While the courts are sorting out the issue, California law enforcement officials are collecting more than 11,000 samples a month.

"Cold hit DNA is integral to bringing criminals to justice," said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, whose office is prosecuting William Payne for the 1983 strangulation murder of Nikolaus Crumbley. Crumbley's body was found in the city's McLaren Park along with DNA that was finally matched to Payne earlier this year. Payne denies killing Crumbley, saying his DNA was found at the scene because the two had had consensual sex. The match was made after Payne submitted a DNA sample after an unrelated assault conviction.

"Almost three decades later, we have charged the person responsible for this horrific murder," Gascon said.

The 9th Circuit itself has previously upheld the California law, which went into full effect in 2009. But underscoring the importance of the debate, a majority of the court's 24 judges voted to reconsider that divided ruling of three-judge panel. The matter now goes before a special "en banc" court of 11 judges.

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Freedom Hold off Miners and Live to Play Another Day

Posted: at 9:12 am

September 16, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Marion, IL-The Florence Freedom were on the brink of elimination Saturday night in the Frontier League Championship series but prevailed in game three with a 4-3 win over the Southern Illinois Miners.

The win extended the best of five series to game four Sunday night in Marion, Illinois. The Miners lead the Freedom two games to one.

The Freedom trailed 2-0 in the fourth when Drew Rundle recorded an RBI single and John Malloy produced a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.

With the Freedom trailing 3-2 in the fifth they rallied for two runs against Miner starter Cody Hall(1-1)to take the lead for good. David Harris drove an RBI double over center fielder Alvaro Ramirez's head and then Peter Fatse came through with a sacrifice fly to give the Freedom a 4-3 advantage.

Brad Allen(3-0) remained perfect as a starter for the Freedom this year. He worked six innings giving up eight hits on three earned runs while striking out three.

Andres Caceres pitched a scoreless seventh as Jorge Marban notched a two inning save. The Miners threatened in the ninth as they had runners on the corners with one out. Ramirez hit a grounder to shortstop Junior Arrojo who threw home to catcher Jim Jacquot. Jacquot applied the tag on Carlos Mendez trying to score the game tying run. Marban then got Jake Kaase to pop out to first baseman Drew Rundle to end the game.

Harris and Pierre LePage led the Freedom with two hits apiece.

The Freedom and Miners will play game four Sunday night at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois. The starters are TBA for both teams. The game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 5:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 AM and realtalk1160.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Freedom Hold off Miners and Live to Play Another Day

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Protecting freedom of expression

Posted: at 9:12 am

Freedom of speech is a vital democratic liberty that many of us take for granted, with most Australians firmly believing that they have, and that they should have the right to free speech.

Associate Professor Katharine Gelber from UQ's School of Political Science and International Studies has made it her mission to explore these rights and protect freedom of expression by establishing herself as a leading researcher and commentator on speech regulation in Australia.

Dr Gelber has secured a total of over $1.4 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) funding (as well as other research funds) to publish extensively on this topic, and is using her ARC Future Fellowship to work on her current project, Free Speech after 9/11.

This comparative, four-country study of the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia focuses on the often overlooked phenomenon of speech-restricting measures that have been ushered in to support counter-terrorism policy.

I will use this four-year research position to investigate how some anti-terrorism measures introduced after 9/11 infringed on one of the key civil liberties that is the reason for our being targeted by terrorists in the first place, Dr Gelber said.

Dr Gelber's broader research surrounding human rights and freedom of speech focuses on the interface between political culture and legal frameworks in the arena of speech regulation.

My work looks at understanding how freedom of speech is protected, philosophical debates about why it ought to be protected, and when it might justifiably be limited, such as in the regulation of hate speech and how it has changed over time in response to legal restrictions, she said.

Dr Gelber believes that freedom of speech ought not to be considered in absolutist terms, and that there are some appropriate limits to freedom of expression one of the most obvious of these being vilification a speech or expression which is capable of instilling or inciting hatred of, or prejudice towards, a person or group of people on a specified ground.'

If it can be established that vilification is able to prevent individuals from developing their capacities to participate as full members of our community, and by doing so to prevent their equal participation as citizens and community members, then there is an argument for its regulation, she said.

In Australia, finding the right balance between freedom of speech on the one hand and appropriate limits on the other is not easy, but what Dr Gelber is trying to do is outline a framework within which we might be able to make sensible decisions about where that balance might lie.

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Protecting freedom of expression

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Liberty High School's Devin Street and Jarrod West catch touchdown passes

Posted: at 9:12 am

Compiled by Josh Blake

WR Devin Street of Liberty High School had 4 receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown for Pitt in a 35-17 win over Virginia Tech. DB Jarred Holley (Easton) had 6 tackles and an interception for the Panthers.

WR Jarrod West (Liberty) caught 3 passes for 58 yards and a go-ahead touchdown for Syracuse in a 28-17 win over Stony Brook. RB Andre Williams (Parkland) rushed 4 times for 7 yards for Boston College in a 22-13 loss to Northwestern.

TE Kevin Haplea (North Hunterdon) played but had no stats for Florida State in a 52-0 win over Wake Forest.

TE Matt Furstenberg (Hunterdon Central) made a tackle for Maryland in a 24-21 loss to UConn. LB Brendan Beal (Liberty) played but recorded no stats for Minnesota in a 28-23 win over Western Michigan.

LB Erik Wachter (Hunterdon Central) had 3 tackles for Holy Cross in a 24-21 loss to Brown.

LB Billy Boyko (Northampton) made 4 tackles for Lehigh in a 17-14 win over Princeton. WR Josh Parris (Palisades) had a 31-yard reception. LS Kyle Lechner (Delaware Valley) made a tackle. LB Matt Laub (Parkland) played but had no stats for the Mountain Hawks.

Garrett Williamson (Hunterdon Central) started at center for Maine in a 51-7 win over Bryant.

WR Joey Orlando (Liberty) caught 5 passes for 36 yards for New Hampshire in a 43-10 win over Central Connecticut State. Mike Coccia (Freedom) started at center, DE Danny Riley (Northampton) had 2 tackles and LB Shane McNeely (Central Catholic) made a tackle for the Wildcats.

Chaz Houston (Wyoming Seminary) started on the offensive line for Saint Francis (Pa.) in a 57-23 win over Morehead State.

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Liberty High School's Devin Street and Jarrod West catch touchdown passes

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Liberty rally for 75-68 win over Mystics

Posted: at 9:12 am

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trailing by nine points with about nine minutes remaining, a loss to last place Washington could have dealt a serious blow to the New York Liberty's playoff chances.

However, thanks to Cappie Pondexter, Nicole Powell and some stifling defense, the Liberty remain in control of their future.

Pondexter had 30 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and 11 rebounds as the Liberty rallied to beat the Mystics 75-68.

''Defense is our key,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ''And Cappie. She's been awesome. She's our MVP and the most important player to her team of anybody in the league.''

Powell scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter as well and Essence Carson added 15 points as New York (14-17) won its third straight.

The Liberty retained a one game lead over Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sky beat Phoenix 86-55.

Jasmine Thomas scored 16 points (on 7-of-11 shooting) and Monique Currie had 12 to lead the Washington (5-27), which has lost 11 straight.

''I think we played a tough game. We fought through until the end,'' Currie said. ''They executed better than we did. They made some tough shots, some big shots.''

After Washington scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take a 56-49 lead, Pondexter scored the first six of an 8-0 run by the Liberty. The Mystics pushed the lead to 63-58 with 4:36 left and New York called timeout.

''When it looked like they could take over the game with about four minutes left, we had a time out, talked about it, and regrouped,'' Pondexter said.

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Liberty rally for 75-68 win over Mystics

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Liberty Global Named to Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes

Posted: at 9:12 am

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Global, Inc. (Liberty Global or LGI,) (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) today announced its inclusion on both the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes. Liberty Globals addition to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) is a result of its ongoing progress on corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives and participation in the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an in-depth analysis of a corporation's economic, environmental, governance and social performance. The DJSI World index tracks the performance of the worlds top ten percent in terms of sustainability for each market sector.

"We are proud to be included in these well-respected indices because they recognize our achievements in the area of corporate responsibility. Strong, sustainable business practices reduce our impact on the environment and strengthen the communities in which we operate, said Liberty Global President and CEO Mike Fries.

Liberty Globals CR strategy is grouped into four main areas: (1) promoting a digital society; (2) building trust with our customers; (3) managing our environmental impact; and (4) being a responsible business. Our CR framework, resulting from transparent engagement with our stakeholders, integrates this strategy into our operations through a range of programs.

Please visit http://www.lgi.com/corporate-responsibility.html to learn more about corporate responsibility at Liberty Global.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global is the leading international cable company, with operations in 13 countries. We connect people to the digital world and enable them to discover and experience its endless possibilities. Our market-leading television, broadband internet, and telephony services are provided through next-generation networks and innovative technology platforms that connect 20 million customers who subscribe to 34 million services as of June 30, 2012.

Liberty Globals consumer brands include UPC, Unitymedia, Kabel BW, Telenet and VTR. Our operations also include Chellomedia, our content division, UPC Business, a commercial services division and Liberty Global Ventures, our investment fund. For more information, please visit http://www.lgi.com.

About the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (www.sustainability-indexes.com) are the first global stock indexes tracking financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies. Updated annually, companies are reviewed based on a thorough analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, branding, climate change mitigation, supply chain standards and labor practices. The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index recognizes the top 10 percent of the biggest 2,500 companies worldwide based on long-term economic, environmental and social criteria. The Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index captures the leading 20 percent of the largest 600 North American companies of the Dow Jones Global Index in terms of sustainability. http://www.sustainability-index.com/

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Frank Ocean – "Pyramids" [VIDEO]

Posted: at 9:11 am

by Alvin aqua Blanco (@aqua174) September 16, 2012, 11:30am

Shortly after his performance onSaturday Night Live,Frank Ocean let loose the official video for "Pyramids" off of his channel ORANGE album. Clocking in at about eight minutes, it's more like a short film that sees Ocean riding a motorcycle through the desert and stopping into a strip club where he gets trippy and dancers start looking almost demonic.

What, you thoughtall strippers looked fine?John Mayer cameo getting his Carlos Santana on, too. Watch the whole thing if you're an Illuminati conspiracy theorist.

Also, always wear your helmet, folks. Check out the Nabil directed video for "Pyramids" after the break.

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Frank Ocean - "Pyramids" [VIDEO]

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