Category Archives: Freedom

August 23, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Joliet Slammers (Florence, KY) - The Florence Freedom (49-38) scored two runs in the first and never trailed as they knocked off the Joliet Slammers (35-52) by a final score of 5-2 Thursday night.

Tommy Mendoza (4-6) tossed eight innings, his longest outing as a Slammer, and struck out a personal best with Joliet nine batters but took the loss.

An Eddie Rodriguez home run, his fourth of the series, put Florence up 2-0 in the first inning. They tacked on an unearned run in the second when a run scored on a Kyle Zimmerman error.

Joliet rallied to cut the Florence lead to 3-2 in the top of the third. With one away Zimmerman singled. Matt Mirabal reached base as well and a passed ball moved both runners up 90 feet. Brad Netzel smacked a RBI grounder and Abel Nieves followed with a RBI single to drive in the second run of the game for Joliet.

But that was all the offense they'd get as the Freedom answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. With the bases loaded and nobody out Drew Rundle drew a walk and Jim Jacquot followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.

Neither team scored after that as Mendoza settled down and pitched really well after the third inning.

Brad Allen (2-1), in his first professional start, went seven innings, scattering eight hits and giving up two runs to pick up the win.

Joliet will try to break their nine-game losing streak Friday night as they welcome the River City Rascals to town. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. and it's the last home series of the year for Joliet. After the game fans will be treated to a spectacular fireworks show.

The Joliet Slammers are members of the Frontier League of Professional Baseball. The Frontier League is the oldest continuously operating independent professional league, in its 20th season in 2012. For more information about the Frontier League visit http://www.frontierleague.com.

Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

Here is the original post:
Freedom Jump out to Early Lead and Hold on to Sweep Joliet

August 23, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Florence, KY-The Florence Freedom(49-38) led from start to finish as they completed a three game sweep of the Joliet Slammers(35-52) with a 5-2 win Thursday night. It was the Freedom's fifth win in a row as they now trail Windy City, Schaumburg and Lake Erie by just .5 game for the final wild card spot with 9 games to play.

Eddie Rodriguez gave the Freedom a 2-0 lead after he belted a two run homer over the left field wall in the 1st inning. It was his 13th of the season and his fifth straight game with a homerun. The Freedom extended their lead in the 2nd inning with two outs. Stephen Cardullo doubled down the right field line. Pierre LePage then reached on a fielding error by third baseman Kyle Zimmerman which allowed Cardullo to score to make it 3-0.

Brad Allen(2-1) who got the spot start for Florence was outstanding in his first professional start. He went 7 innings giving up 8 hits while striking out five in the victory. The only runs he allowed were in the 3rd. Brad Netzel recorded an RBI groundout and Abel Nieves lined an RBI single to left to make it 3-2. The Freedom responded to Joliet's scoring as they posted two runs in their 3rd. A bases loaded walk to Drew Rundle forced home Junior Arrojo to make it 4-2. Jim Jacquot then contributed a SAC Fly for the final run of the game scored by either side.

Besides Allen's strong pitching, he also also got superb defense behind him. In the 4th inning Josh Lyon doubled to right, as Andrew Brauer was attempting to score from first base on the play. Right fielder Peter Fatse threw to the second baseman LePage who threw to the catcher Jacquot who held onto the ball on a straight collision between him and Brauer. In the 7th, LePage made a nice leaping catch to take away a hit from Matt Mirabal and in the same inning center fielder John Malloy made an amazing running sliding catch in right center to take away an extra base hit from Brad Netzel.

Jorge Marban pitched a scoreless 9th, recording his 12th save of the year, and his second in as many nights to preserve the Freedom win.

The Freedom remain in Florence to continue their nine game homestand as they host the Washington Wild Things Friday night. RHP Justin Hall(5-7,4.55) will go for Washington as the Freedom will counter with RHP Brandon Mathes(3-0, 3.34). The game can be heard starting at 6:50 with Steve Jarnicki on Real Talk 1160 AM and realtalk1160.com.

Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

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.

More:
Freedom Win 5th Straight, Sweep Joliet

The Freedom Area School District will start the new school year with a new superintendent, Jeffrey A. Fuller. He comes to the Beaver County district from the Seneca Valley School District, where he was assistant superintendent for elementary education.

After 19 years in Freedom Area, Ron Sofo resigned as superintendent, a position he filled for nearly 10 years. He is now CEO and principal of City Charter High School in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Other administrative changes are taking place in Freedom Area, which has about 1,500 students from Freedom, Conway and New Sewickley.

Timothy J. Dadich is the new high school principal, replacing Robert "Rusty" Staub, who retired. Mr. Dadich had worked in the Mercer Area School District.

Darlene Corris is now the middle school principal. She had been assistant high school principal.

Richard Edder, who had been middle school principal, is now principal at Big Knob and Conway elementary schools. Deborah Baycura retired as principal at Conway Elementary School and director of elementary education.

Freedom Area will continue to move toward offering more cyber course options to students in grades 7-12, Mr. Fuller said.

At Seneca Valley, more than 1,000 students take some courses online, he said. In Freedom Area, the number has been small but growing.

"We are contracting with Seneca Valley" on cyber courses, he said.

Students can choose to take cyber courses so that they spend less time at the school building, Mr. Fuller said. They could want to do that because of extracurricular activities or because they have jobs.

Here is the original post:
Seneca Valley administrator heads to Freedom Area

August 22, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Joliet Slammers (Florence, KY) - The Florence Freedom (48-38) scored a run in the seventh and a run in the eighth to knock off the Joliet Slammers (35-51) by a final score of 6-4 Wednesday night. It's the Slammers' eighth straight loss as they fell to a season high 16 games under .500.

Once again Joliet got on the board first. Patrick Norris hit the first pitch of the game from Freedom starter Andy Clark over the right field fence for a home run.

The Freedom responded in the second inning when Eddie Rodriguez homered off Joliet starter Jacob Sanchez.

Joliet took their second lead of the game in the top of the third. Josh Lyon doubled and Matt Mirabal singled him to third. Norris chopped an RBI grounder to give Joliet a 2-1 edge.

Florence scored three times in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead. Pierre LePage singled to start the frame and David Harris doubled to right. The throw in from David Christensen bounced away from Netzel and LePage scored. Junior Arrojo bunted his way on base and Sanchez was ejected from the game for arguing the call by field umpire Brett Houseman.

Mike Barsotti entered the contest and Peter Fatse greeted him with a sacrifice fly to give Florence a 3-2 lead. Rodriguez followed with a single to drive in Arrojo and it was 4-2 Florence.

Neither team scored again until the top of the seventh. Christensen and Maunus drew back-to-back walks. They pulled off a double steal and rookie Andrew Brauer smacked a two-RBI single to tie the game at four.

Florence responded in the bottom of the seventh against Joliet reliever Rey Cotilla (0-2). With two outs Stephen Cardullo singled to right. He stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. LePage singled him home to put Florence up 5-4.

Rodriguez's second home run of the game gave the Freedom an insurance run in the eighth.

The Slammers will try to beat Florence for the first time in franchise history Thursday night as they send Tommy Mendoza (4-5, 4.40 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. and all the action can be heard on AM 1340 WJOL and online at http://www.wjol.com.

Continued here:
Slammers Edged by Freedom

August 22, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Florence, KY-Eddie Rodriguez launched two solo homeruns on Wednesday night leading the Florence Freedom(48-38) past the Joliet Slammers(35-51) 6-4. It was the Freedom's fourth straight win as they trail the wild card race by 1.5 games with ten games to play. Rodriguez led the Freedom going 3-4 with 3 RBI.

The Slammers jumped out quickly on Freedom starter Andy Clark. Patrick Norris drove the first pitch of the game over the right center field wall to give Joliet a 1-0 lead. The Freedom's Rodriguez came back in the 2nd inning and took Joliet starter Jacob Sanchez deep on just one pitch to tie the game. It was his 11th of the season. With the Freedom trailing 2-1 in the 3rd, Pierre LePage led off the inning with a single to right field. Then David Harris doubled to right field. The Slammers right fielder David Christensen was charged with a throwing error on his throw to second base which allowed LePage to score from third and tie the game at 2-2. Junior Arrojo then got down a perfectly executed bunt up the third base line advancing Harris to third. Peter Fatse then hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Harris to put the Freedom ahead 3-2. With Rodriguez at the plate, Arrojo stole his 27th base of the season to get into scoring position. Rodriguez then drove him in on an RBI single to give Florence a 4-2 lead.

The Slammers came back in the 7th. Brennan Flick walked back to back hitters to start the inning. After a double steal by Christensen and Kyle Maunus, Andrew Brauer singled back up the middle against Matt Kline(2-3) scoring both runners and tying the game at 4-4. Kline then retired the next three batters to end the inning.

The Freedom went back to work in their 7th against Ray Cotillla(0-2). There were two outs in the inning when the Freedom started their rally. Stephen Cardullo singled, stole second base, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. LePage then ripped a single into left field to break the tie and give the Freedom a 5-4 lead. The Freedom extended the lead to 6-4 in the 8th on Rodriguez's second homer of the night and his 12th of the season. It was also his 5th homerun over the last four games.

Jorge Marban came on in the 9th and nailed down his 11th save of the season. Kline recorded his second straight win out of the bullpen in as many nights.

The Freedom can sweep Joliet Thursday night as their three game series concludes. Joliet will feature RHP Tommy Mendoza(4-5, 4.40) as the Freedom will counter with RHP Brad Allen(1-1, 1.54). The game can be heard starting at 6:50 with Steve Jarnicki on Real Talk 1160 AM and realtalk1160.com.

Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

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.

Go here to see the original:
Rodriguez's Two Homers Lead Freedom to Victory

Reckoning today from Porto, Portugal...

"Shall we drive up to Braga tomorrow?" asked our wanderlusting travel companion (and fianc), Anya.

Liberty cannot exist unless certain preconditions are present...and others absent. Freedom of movement is a rather obvious one...the opposite of captivity. Freedom demands an absence of bars and jail cells.

Indeed, it would be a strange brand of freedom where one had to ask permission to go (or to "be") here or there. Likewise, it would be a strange prison where inmates were free to "come and go as they please."

Along with freedom of association and freedom of speech, freedom of movement seems rather central to the idea of liberty.

But let's imagine for a second that, instead of driving to Braga, Anya had suggested flying to, say, Beirut...or Bucharest...or even Brasilia? (These are not infrequent suggestions, by the way.)

Your Australian-born editor needs a visa to visit these places...and many, many more locales besides. Our freedom of movement is, therefore, compromised. It is seen by The State as something "to be granted," as opposed to unalienable.

Even for Hong Kong, a destination which makes a habit of ranking among the "freest places on earth" on lists that monitor such things (here's one), individuals who happened to have been born on Terra Australis, through no fault of their own, are required to obtain a visa if they wish to "work, study, get trained, establish or join in any business or to take up residence." So say the agencies that oversee such things.

In fact, your antipodean editor would have considerable difficulty just leaving this tiny country were his papers not "in order." Likewise if he stayed too long. We need a valid passport to sit in a cafe in France or to sip a port in Porto...a permission book to move over imagined lines in the sand.

Odd, isn't it, what passes for freedom these days.

See the article here:
Freedom of Movement in a World of Invisible Borders

Amnesty International today announced the shortlist for its annual Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, now in its ninth year, is presented in association with FEST magazine. This year saw a record number of entries, with 112 productions nominated.

The award, given to an outstanding play carrying a human rights message, will be presented on Thursday 23 August at an afternoon reception (for invitees/media only, details below).

The short listed productions are:

Shabnum Mustapha, Amnesty International's Scotland Director, said:

This has been another record-breaking year for the Freedom of Expression Award and it is extremely heartening to see so many productions tackling so many different human rights themes at the Edinburgh Fringe.

"For the last nine years, the Freedom of Expression Award has recognised productions which are both outstanding in their own right - and have the power to communicate, inform, inspire and challenge our perceptions about human rights. This year is no exception and the fact that we have six productions on the short list acknowledges the incredibly high calibre of performances which we have seen during the judging process."

Neil Cooper, Writer and Critic for The Herald and one of the award's judges, said:

"The fact that there are six so very different works in the short list for this year's Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award speaks volumes about the range of concerns there are among artists taking part in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This isn't tokenism, however. Every production named on the short list isn't there because they tick the right boxes or are saying the right things.

Of course, what these productions are saying is important, but it is how they're doing it that is so vital, and makes for such a rich set of artistic experiences that may change the world yet."

Continue reading here:
Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - shortlist announced

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer

Whats the key to happiness? Apparently, press freedom contributes to happiness.

As the Philippine media push for the passage of the freedom of information (FOI) bill, a study by doctoral students in journalism has found that countries with a free press, especially those with FOI laws, have higher levels of happiness and living standards overall.

The happiness study by Fulbright scholar Edson Tandoc Jr. of Missouri School of Journalism and his research partner, Bruno Takahashi of Michigan State University, found that press freedom contributed to peoples life satisfaction as it was a vital component in assuring effective governance.

The study also underlined the importance of institutionalizing freedom of information in promoting greater levels of press freedom and improving quality of life, said Tandoc, a former Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter.

He said it was a correlation that indicated the need to urgently pass the Philippine FOI legislation.

Read more here:
Study links press freedom to happiness

The coming 2012 presidential election is not only about the choice of a president. From the media to the dinner table, debates rage over health care, the environment, entitlements, and education. They beg the question: What kind of society do we want to be? Should we put our trust in free markets, or Big Government?

Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media and former presidential candidate, and co-author Elizabeth Ames, give this debate a new and surprising twist. Today's bureaucratic and bloated Big Government, the authors argue, is the opposite of a moral force. Instead of assuring fairness, it promotes favoritism. Instead of furthering opportunity, it stifles economic growth. Instead of unleashing innovation and material abundance, its regulations and price controls create rigidity and scarcity.

The only way to a truly fair and moral society, the authors say, is through economic freedomfree people and free markets. Throughout history, open markets have helped the poor and everyone else by unleashing unprecedented creativity, generating wealth and raising living standards. Promoting trust, generosity and democracy, economic freedom has been a more powerful force for individual rights, self-determinationand humanitythan any government bureaucracy.

View original post here:
Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral And Big Government Isn't

Freedom of expression undersiege in parliament

As the civil society movement in Botswana we would like to express our unqualified disappointment at all members who have so far opposed the Freedom of Information Bill and those who voted in favour of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority Bill. Whilst we express our disappointment we call on MPs to redeem themselves and rise to the defence of the Constitution of Botswana which protects, amongst others freedom of expression and the right to privacy at the next opportunity. On the same breath we request the MPs in future to play an effective role as a governance structure in Botswana to ensure that approval of legislation is for the benefit of this nation, selfless and for restoring the dignity of our people.

The Freedom of Information Bill, a progressive piece of legislation geared towards giving Batswana the right to access information has being shot down. The government mounted a spirited campaign against the Bill, labelling it 'mischievous'.

Amongst reasons for the foregoing being that the phrase 'public interest' is not defined and could be open to any interpretation and further that the Bill requires sensitive documents such as minutes of Cabinet to be made public. Efforts to explain that the phrase is generally understood and is similar to "public good" or "public benefit" did not bear any fruit.

The fact that there are several exemptions to the disclosure or supply of information such as for, National security and defense, Legal professional privilege, Personal privilege, Trade secrets and business affairs, National economic issues was ignored by Parliament.

It is disappointing to note that instead of approaching the discussion on the Freedom of Information Bill with the view to improve on the current draft, the government resorted to searching for reasons why the bill should be trashed. Even when the mover of the motion noticed amendments to try and accommodate the views of government, the attack on the bill, whilst without substance was condescending and unrelenting.

As the civil society movement we are disappointed that Parliament failed to assert itself as the defender of democracy in this country by voting in favour of the Freedom of Information Bill. We expected our MPs to vote selflessly and in a manner that is consistent and considerate to the interests of their constituents and the public benefit first.

It was also our expectation that Parliament would amend the BOCRA bill to return to the three tier system of broadcasting which was adopted by the government as articulated in various official policy and legislation including the Broadcasting Act of 1998. This clear attempt to entrench government control of public media is undesirable and is a major regression to the gains made when Radio Botswana was licensed as a 'public service broadcaster'.

The BOCRA Bill at clause 53 states in relation to electronic communication; "The Authority may, during any emergency, require any service provider to give priority to the transmission of the messages of government or of any person and to intercept messages transmitted under such circumstances". The Bill does not define the word 'emergency'. This is an area of grave concern, as in the manner it is drafted, the Bill does not accord with current best practice and leaves a lot of room for abuse. As civil society we would like to echo the call for an oversight to this provision to safeguard it from possible abuse. The Intelligence and Security Act of 2007 provides a useful example as it requires the Director General under similar circumstances to approach "a senior magistrate or a judge of the High Court for a warrant". Unless such safeguards are put in place then the public has every reason to worry as to whether this is yet another attempt to infringe upon their freedom of expression and privacy. Our view is that BOCRA provisions are inconsistent with both Article 19 of the ICCPR; Article 9 of the African Charter and section 12 of our Constitution as well as UN's general comment NO 34 and the declaration of Principles on Freedom of Information in Africa. We are disappointed that MPs failed to be proactive and effect the desired changes to the BOCRA bill and pass the Freedom of Information Bill (with the necessary amendments) because we believe that those actions would have gone a long way in contributing to the realisation of Vision 2016 aspiration of an "open, democratic and accountable nation". The civil society movement reserves every right to explore all legal options to seek redress should this onslaught on freedom of expression and privacy not be halted. Botswana Civil Society Organisations Gaborone

See more here:
Freedom of expression undersiege in parliament