World important news by Justa

Hip Hop stars Kanye West, Jay-Z sued

The two hip hop moguls are being sued by musician Syl Johnson, who claims in a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Illinois Friday alleging that West and Jay-Z sampled his 1967 song “Different Strokes” for a tune on their recent collaboration “Watch the Throne.”According to Johnson’s suit, the pair had first solicited permission to sample “Different Strokes” on the song “The Joy” for West’s album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” but were shot down, and the song was left off the album. The tune ended up on “Watch the Throne,” which was released in August.According to the suit, the defendants claim they received permission to sample the song from an entity called the Numero Uno Group, which has never had any authorization to license the tune.”Different Strokes” has been sampled by a number of artists, including Michael Jackson, Kid Rock and Will Smith, the lawsuit states.Johnson, who also names Island Def Jam, Universal Music Group and Roc-a-Fella Records in the suit, is seeking actual and punitive damages to be determined at a jury trial.

Posted 7 months ago
#Hip #Hop #stars #Kanye #West #JayZ #sued

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Last of river-swimming Alaska whales found dead

Discovery of the dead juvenile means that all three of the whales discovered swimming in fresh water in southwestern Alaska’s Nushagak River have died.The young whale had been swimming with two adult females as many as 30 miles into the Nushagak River, according to NOAA. The whales spent at least three weeks in the river and all had a filmy coating on their skin, a sign of stress from being outside their saltwater habitat, NOAA said.While killer whales are known to linger near the mouth of that salmon-rich river, which flows into Bristol Bay, there had never before been a documented case in Alaska of killer whales spending prolonged periods in a river’s fresh water.The adults, one of them in the late stages of pregnancy, were found dead in the river last weekend. Initial results from necropsies have failed to pinpoint a specific cause of death.There had been some hope that the juvenile swam back to saltwater and escaped death, but experts never considered that a likely scenario, said Julie Speegle, a spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries in Juneau.”I would say, based on the photos that our biologists saw and the fact that the other two whales died, we felt that it was unlikely that the juvenile would survive,” she said.A local resident reported spotting the dead juvenile whale on Friday, but biologists had needed some time to confirm the sighting and that it was the same whale that had been upriver, Speegle said.Based on the location, by an island in tidal waters near the town of Dillingham, biologists believe the young whale swam to the site and did not drift there, she said. “It at least had the strength to swim that far,” she said.NOAA has not yet made plans for a necropsy on the juvenile whale.

Posted 7 months ago
#Last #of #riverswimming #Alaska #whales #found #dead

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Steven Seagal to go from Hollywood to border law enforcement

Those who try to slip across the Rio Grande from Mexico into west Texas may find themselves arrested by newly sworn-in Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Deputy and action film star Steven Seagal.Seagal, currently starring in an A&E Network reality show detailing his experiences as a reserve deputy in New Orleans, contacted County Sheriff Arvin West about his interest in “patrolling the border”, West said.He was sworn in this week for the position in Hudspeth County, which runs along the Rio Grande east of El Paso, West added. Seagal, 59, could not be reached for comment.”Mr. Seagal is not in this for the celebrity or publicity,” West told Reuters. “He has a sincere passion for his country and he wants to do more to help. I think he will make a significant contribution to this office and to our community.”Seagal starred in big-budget films in the 1980s and early 1990s, earning a reputation as an action star in movies like “Above the Law” and “Under Siege.”In the last decade, he has appeared mainly in direct-to-DVD, low-budget films while working in law enforcement. His last role was as a corrupt Mexican drug lord in the Robert Rodriguez grindhouse flick “Machete.”After Seagal expressed interest in joining the Hudspeth County department, two members of the department traveled to Los Angeles to talk to the actor about his proposal and to make sure he was serious, said Rusty Fleming, a spokesman for the sheriff and one of the two who made the trip.”We were very quick to find out that he was not doing this for publicity,” Fleming said. “He wants to come down to the border and work and try to do his part.”Hudspeth County, population 3,400, is on the front lines of border issues ranging from illegal immigration to drug gangs. West once made headlines when he urged people who live in the county to buy a gun and “learn how to use it.”It was also in Hudspeth County that singer Willie Nelson was arrested on marijuana charges last fall. Two reality TV shows focusing on the border are being filmed in the county, Fleming said.”He understands this issue that we have down here on the border,” Fleming said of Seagal. “His help with his training and what he can help show our deputies and what he can show us here, I think he’ll make a tremendous contribution.”West said he expected Seagal to report for duty in January and that the exact nature of his duties were still being worked out.

Posted 7 months ago
#Steven #Seagal #to #go #from #Hollywood #to #border #law #enforcement

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Rajaratnam prison term follows sentencing trends

By Andrew LongstrethNEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The 11-year prison term handed down on Thursday to Raj Rajaratnam is the latest example of an inside trader receiving a lighter sentence than suggested by federal guidelines.U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell said that under the federal guidelines, the Galleon Group hedge fund founder had faced a minimum of 19-1/2 years in prison. In opting for a substantially lighter sentence, Holwell took a number of factors into consideration.Among other things, he cited Rajaratnam’s charitable works and “impending kidney failure” due to advanced diabetes.The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which went into effect in 1987, were meant to bring more consistency to sentencing. After a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005, the guidelines became advisory, giving judges greater flexibility.Judges, in fact, often find reasons to depart downward, according to a Reuters analysis of sentences imposed in 2009 and 2010. That analysis looked at 15 insider-trading cases brought by the U.S. Attorney in New York.Of the 15 sentences handed down in that time period for insider trading, 13 were lighter than the terms prescribed by the guidelines.Compare that record to the sentences handed down for all cases considered by New York federal judges over roughly the same time period. Sentences in that period were lighter than suggested in 57 percent of cases, according to U.S. Sentencing Commission statistics.The trend has continued in 2011. Out of the 17 individuals sentenced this year in insider-trading cases brought by the U.S. Attorney in New York since August 2009, only four defendants received sentences within the guidelines.But while sentences are lighter than guidelines suggest for inside trading, defendants are still facing significant jail time. In 2011, 15 out of 17 defendants were sentenced to prison, and many of them received prison sentences very close to the guidelines. Zvi Goffer, a former Galleon employee, for example was sentenced to 120 months, or 10 years. The guidelines called for a minimum sentence of 121 months.Given the high-profile nature of the Rajaratnam case, some were expecting a sentence that would fall closer to the guidelines.”I think there clearly is a difference between the way judges are willing to sentence someone convicted of insider trading and what they’re willing to sentence people convicted of other kinds of securities fraud,” said Michael Perino, a professor at St. John’s University School of Law.Perino said Rajaratnam’s sentence was less than half the 25 years handed down to former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers and the 24 years for former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling for their roles in accounting frauds at those companies.”Maybe judges see far greater injuries arising from accounting fraud cases than they do from insider trading cases,” he said. “They can see all the investors who have lost so much money. That’s hard to see in an insider trading case.”

Posted 7 months ago
#Rajaratnam #prison #term #follows #sentencing #trends

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