Download File

May 29 Court Date for Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3

Albert Woodfox

On Tuesday, May 29th, Albert Woodfox will begin a 3 day hearing that may result in his conviction being overturned for a third time. Proceedings will begin at 9am in Courtroom 1 at the US District Court in Baton Rouge and continue through Thursday, May 31st.

Albert will be present for the proceedings, and the hearing is open to the public. Please remember if attending that the Federal Court strictly enforces a more formal, conservative dress code (no short skirts or shorts of any kind, even with tights, no bare upper arms, sleeveless, or low cut shirts) and requires that observers dont react, either visibly or audibly, to anything the might see or hear in the courtroom. Also security is tight, so bring only your ID, car keys, and a pen and paper into the courthouse.

There is limited seating in the courtroom so if you arrive and are turned away, consider your show of support a success and try coming back the next day!



Unlike the first and second time that Albert’s conviction was overturned based on judges who cited racial discrimination, prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate defense, and suppression of exculpatory evidence during his first trials for the 1972 murder of Brent Miller, this proceeding will seek to overturn based on apparent discrimination in the selection of a grand jury foreperson during his 1998 retrial.

The well known facts of the A3 case will not be debated; all that will be examined is whether or not people of color were discriminated against during the grand jury selection process. This means instead of murder mystery theatre, witnesses will mostly discuss compositions of the pool of grand jury forepersons in the Parish where Albert was indicted. Expert witnesses will discuss statistical analysis and methodology, the demographics of the community, and the sociological mechanics of how discrimination can play out in the criminal justice system. If successful, this claim could serve to overturn Albert’s conviction for a third time.

Judge James A. Brady, the same judge who overturned Albert’s conviction the second time in 2008, will preside. That ruling was ultimately reinstated on appeal by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals who cited AEDPA-gutted habeas protections that limit federal power that allowed them to defer judgment to Louisiana.

Although there are no time limits officially imposed by law, Brady is expected to rule before the end of 2012.

For more on the case, read A Crim Case 5 & 6.

Available link for download

Mikoyan MiG 29 Fulcrum

• Algeria.
• Armenia.
• Azerbalgin.
• Bangladesh.
• Belarus.
• Bulgaria.
• Cuba.
• Czechoslovakia.
• Czech Republic.
• Eritrea.
• East Germany.
• Germany.
• Hungary.
• India.
• Iran.
• Iraq.
• Kazakhstan.
• Malaysia.
• Moldova.
• Myanmar.
• North Korea.
• Peru.
• Poland.
• Romania.
• Russia.
• Serbia.
• Slovakia.
• Soviet Union.
• Sudan.
• Syria.
• Turkmenistan.
• Ukraine.
• Uzbekistan.
• Yemen.
• Yugoslavia.

The History...

The MiG-29, and the similar, but larger Sukhoi Su-27, had a history that started in 1969, when the Soviet Union learnt about the United States Air Forces F-X program, which resulted to the McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle. They soon realised that this new American Fighter would outclass every fighter they had in their arsenal. What they needed was a better-balanced fighter with both good agility, and sophisticated systems. So, the Soviet General Staff issued a requirement for a Perspektivnyi Frontovoi Istrebitel (PFI, which translated into English is "Perspective Frontline Fighter"). The Specifications were almost impossible, which called for long range, good short-field performance (including the ability to use austere runways), Mach 2+ speed, excellent agility, and heavy armament. The end result is the Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum".

The MiG-29 "Fulcrum" participated in...

• The Gulf War with the Iraqis.
• One Cuban MiG-29 shot down 2 civilian Cessna 337s which belonged to the Brothers to the Rescue organization in 1996.
• Two Syrian MiG-29s were shot down by Israeli aircraft over the Mediterranean. Both pilots ejected, and were safely recovered by Syrian ships.
• The Kargil War under Indian hands. They provided fighter escort for Mirage 2000s dropping laser-guided bombs on enemy ground targets, and also played a major role in maintaining the air superiority over the skies of Kashmir during the Summer of 1999.

The Design...

The MiG-29 is aerodynamically similar to the Sukhoi Su-27, but there are a few notable differences between them. The MiG-29 is largely made up of aluminium, and some composite materials. It has a mid-mounted swept wing with blended leading-edge root extensions (LERXs) swept at approximately 40 degrees. On the trailing edge, there are maneuvering flaps, and ailerons. Two vertical fins, and swept tailplanes are mounted on booms that are outboard of the engine. On the leading edges of the wings, automatic slats are mounted; four-segment on early models, and five-segment on later variants.

The Armament...

A standard MiG-29 has a single GSh-30-1 30 mm cannon in the port wing root, which originally had a 150-round magazine, but was reduced to a 100-round magazine in later versions of this aircraft. Three pylons are provided under each wing (four for some variants), which totaled up is six for the aircraft (or 8, in some cases). Several Soviet aircraft could carry a single nuclear bomb on the port inboard side. Original MiG-29Bs can only carry unguided rocket pods, and general-purpose bombs, but upgraded models of the MiG-29 can carry laser-guided, electro-optical bombs, and air-to-surface bombs.

Specifications. Wikipedia.

General Characteristics...
Crew: One.
Length: 17.37 m (57 ft).
Wingspan: 11.4 m (37 ft 3 in).
Height: 4.73 m (15 ft 6 in).
Wing area: 38 m² (409 ft²).
Empty weight: 11,000 kg (24,250 lb).
Loaded weight: 16,800 kg (37,000 lb).
Max takeoff weight: 21,000 kg (46,300 lb).
Powerplant: 2× Klimov RD-33 afterburning turbofans, 8300 kgf (approximate 81.4 kN) each.

Performance...
Maximum speed: Mach 2.4 - 2,445 km/h (1,518 mph).
Range: 700 km combat, 2,900 km ferry (430 mi / 1,800 mi).
Service ceiling: 18,013 m / 59 060 ft (59,100 ft).
Rate of climb: 330 m/s (65,000 ft/min).
Wing loading: 442 kg/m² (90.5 lb/ft²).
Thrust/weight: 1.13.

Armament...
1x 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon with 150 rounds.
Up to 3,500 kg (7,720 lb) of weapons including 6 air-to-air missiles — a mix of semi-active radar homing (SARH) and AA-8 Aphid, AA-10 Alamo, AA-11 Archer, AA-12 Adder, FAB 500-M62, FAB-1000, TN-100, ECM Pods, S-24, AS-12, AS-14.

Avionics...

Phazotron N-019, N-109 radars.

Available link for download

MODERN ATTACK AIRCRAFT RESEMBLES WWII FIGHTERS A 29 Super Tucano a counter insurgency powerhouse

(link)

• Kevlar armour protection
• a .50 calibre machine gun mount
• 5 hard-points on the wings (giving it a capacity to carry ordnances from cannon pods to air-to-air missiles)
• a new Night Vision compatible cockpit
• HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) controls
• Numerous new avionics systems including missile approach warning receiver systems (MAWS) and radar warning receivers (RWR).

Available link for download