In Victory for Freedom Technology, Young Man's MP3 Player Changes the Balance of Power in a Criminal Case

The police routinely lie to get confessions, to force defendants to accept plea bargains, and to thereby get convictions. But look what happened when a defendant secretly recorded a police interrogation and then sprung that recording on a police officer in court:

NEW YORK - A teenage suspect who secretly recorded his interrogation on an MP3 player has landed a veteran detective in the middle of perjury charges, authorities said Thursday.

Unaware of the recording, Detective Christopher Perino testified in April that the suspect "wasn't questioned" about a shooting in the Bronx, a criminal complaint said. But then the defense confronted the detective with a transcript it said proved he had spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to persuade Erik Crespo to confess — at times with vulgar tactics.

Once the transcript was revealed in court, prosecutors asked for a recess, defense attorney Mark DeMarco said. The detective was pulled from the witness stand and advised to get a lawyer.

( . . . )

Perino had arrested Crespo on New Year's Eve 2005 while investigating the shooting of a man in an elevator. While in an interrogation room at a station house, Crespo, then 17, stealthily pressed the record button on the MP3 player, a Christmas gift, DeMarco said.

After Crespo was charged with attempted murder, his family surprised DeMarco by playing him the recording.

"I couldn't believe my ears," said the lawyer, who decided to keep the recording under wraps until he cross-examined Perino at the trial.

Prosecutors then offered Crespo, who had faced as many as 25 years if convicted, seven years if he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge. He accepted Yahoo News

This shows the importance of the AfroSpear's Freedom Technology Christmas campaign, because if the defendant hadn't had an MP3 player to record the police interrogation, that officer's word might have been accepted as fact. Instead, the officer could be looking at some jail time.

Digital Cameras Promote Technological Literacy in Black Teenagers

One of the main reasons that I bought a digital camera for my daughters (12 and 14 years old) was to encourage them to experiment with photography, layout, and explore natural science as Leonardo Da Vinci did with his anatomical drawings.



So, I am pleased to discover that my 14 year daughter has an entire folder of photographs of our cats and dog, using various types of lighting, in various poses and natural states. I don't know if she will ultimately be a photographer or receive a color scholarship based on her work, but I know that neither of those things can happen if she doesn't know how to use a digital camera.


My daughter NEEDS a digital camera to explore and develop her creativity, and this exploration, in turn, is part of her intellectual, academic and professional preparation for life in a complex and technological society. Because of her interest in photography, she has learned how to use PhotoShop, which is the professional program used in the layout of print advertisements and commercial business signs. (Notice how my "Free The Jena Six" placard appears to be resting in my and my wife's arms, but was actually pasted in by my daughter, using PhotoShop.)

I bought my daughters a used Sony DSC-S40 camera from Amazon.Com that is so old that they don't sell them anymore. Other similar but updated models that take excellent photographs include the Sony Cybershot S650 and S700, available by next-fews-days mail from Amazon.Com for between $110.00 and $140.00, new and used. (Although the used ones work, you might as well get a new one, since the difference in price is so small.)


Also, get a memory stick, because a digital camera's internal memory tends to be frustratingly small, but a memory stick allows you to take hundreds or thousands of photographs.

Freedom Technology Christmas Free and Open Source Gift Ideas

Thank you, Francis, for extending an invitation to post on the Afrospear Freedom Technology Christmas blog. Now that the Christmas season has officially arrived, I will be posting more frequently on ideas that I have for making the most out of the gifts that Afrospear members and friends may be giving.

Here are a few ideas I have for Christmas gifts and gift complements of the Open Source variety. Expect more in the near future.

A laptop preloaded with Ubuntu Linux from Dell

Why a laptop with Linux installed rather than, say, Windows? There are several good reasons to consider Linux. The first is security and stability. Linux is less vulnerable to viruses. While it's true that virus writers don't attack Linux systems often due to it's small market share, Ubuntu is designed in a way that even if you do get a virus, the harm will be minimal. Of course, there are anti-virus and firewall programs for Linux as well, so you can always rest assured that your computer is at least more safe than a Windows machine.

Most Linux programs are open source and free. Installing programs is as easy as a mouse click, and to boot, you almost never have to restart your computer after installing a program, thus increasing your productivity. There is a Linux alternative to just about any Windows or Macintosh program you can imagine.

If you are buying for a child, there is a plethora of educational software available, all free of charge. Notably, there are the Edubuntu packages, which can be easily added to any Ubuntu installation.

Ok, so you're not ready to abandon Windows? That's cool.You can still compliment a new Windows computer or an existing one with all of the productivity software you need for a fraction of the cost.

For your Windows using relatives and friends - an OpenDisc CD.

It's loaded with productivity software. It's free. A great compliment to a new or existing computer.

A domain name.

Domain names are cheap. You can get one for ten dollars a year. You can give an aspiring blogger the domain name of their choice for two years for twenty bucks. For another ten a month, you can purchase a month of web hosting, and if you pay for a year in advance, you will end up paying significantly less. So, for under 100 dollars you can purchase a full year of blogging for someone. All they would have to do is install the Open Source Wordpress blogging software and they're ready to go.

While online services like Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, etc., are all great, there are many benefits to owning and controlling your own site. Most importantly is that you own and control your site. There are no restrictions to what you can do with your blog (barring illegal activities, of course). If, for instance, the recipient of your gift is interested in podcasting, it is much easier to do on a site that they own and control than on a Blogger site. Once you own and control your own site, the possibilities become infinite.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on commenting on some of the ideas offered by the widgets on the sidebar here. If any readers have any questions about a particular product or technology, or want to know more about how to incorporate open source technology into their lives, please leave a comment letting me know and I'll respond in comments or write a post addressing it.

Happy Afrospear Freedom Technology Christmas!

Give One Get One: One Laptop per Child

A friend has told me about a program that, they say, sells laptops computers for $200.00 in the developing world, and will send one to a friend of yours in the United States this Christmas if you pay for one for a child who lives somewhere else.

Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in North America. This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).

For all U.S. donors who participate in the Give One Get One program, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary HotSpot access. Find out more.

Please be aware that we will make every effort to deliver the XO laptops by the holidays, but quantities are limited. Early purchasers have the best chance of receiving their XO laptops in time for the holidays, but we cannot guarantee timing. Give One, Get One

I admit that I haven't read the small print about this program or considered it from a political perspective. Do any of our readers have any more information about this or any perspective to provide? Or even any personal experience with these laptops?

A Testimonial on Behalf of AfrosSpear Freedom Technology Initiative

Shawn Williams of the AfroSpear's Dallas South blog submitted the following encouraging and heart-warming testimonial from one of his readers, C. Morgan Perry:

Hey, Shawn, thank you and AfroSpear Freedom Technology Blog for keeping us up-to-date on whats out there for our use.

I have office 2003 on my desktop but not my laptop. I would often have to get up and sit at my computer desk in order to view word excel or power point attachments sent
to me because of this. While visiting your blog I came across AfroSpear Freedom Technology Blog and read about open office by sun system down loaded it and now can view all my microsoft office attachments. And the cost of the program was FREE.

Kudos good looking out.

C. Morgan Perry

AfroSpear Bloggers Call for a Freedom Technology Christmas

AfroSpear bloggers are encouraging Blacks to give "the gift of technology" to their children, parents and others, to empower them to communicate in the Internet Age, with recommended gifts of computers, digicams, broadband and open source software.

This Christmas, the same AfroSpear Black bloggers who organized the March on Jena are spear-heading the "AfroSpear Freedom Technology Christmas" (FTC) campaign.

Sixty-thousand Blacks Responded to the AfroSpear's Call.

One hundred AfroSpear bloggers in forty US states and five countries are mobilizing their readers to give Christmas presents that increase citizen journalism within the Black community.

The AfroSpear's Field Negro, courtesy LA Times.

"When you have a blog, what happens to you in a small town can become international news, said Field Negro, who won a Black Weblog Award this year. He cited the case of Shaquanda Cotton, a 14 year-old who was unfairly sentenced to 7 years in prison for pushing a high school hall monitor, but who was released when her Freedom Blog caught national attention.

The AfroSpear's Eddie G. Griffin (BASG) believes word will spread.

"We're going to teach our children to communicate with the world and give them the tools to do it," said Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), an ex-Black Panther who helps lead the group's outreach to Blacks in the criminal justice system.

Shawn Williams, AfroSpear's Dallas South Blog

Shawn Williams, of the AfroSpear's Dallas South blog, featured on MSNBC and in the Chicago Tribune for his Jena Six advocacy, says the success of the March on Jena has convinced Black bloggers that "Freedom Technology" is essential to their movement. He said, "This Christmas, our children and families need modern communication tools, like 24-hour broadband connections and digital cameras. These tools can be used to document injustices like the Jena nooses, while at the same time help to narrow the technology divide that continues to widen."

"The gift of communication technology like computers and webcams is the best gift that you can give your children and family, because it empowers them to educate and advocate for the Black community and for themselves," said the African American Political Pundit. "Black blogging encourages writing skills and critical thinking, which are precisely the skills our children need," said the African American Political Pundit.

“Black children are going to jail at a rate 6 times higher than that of white children in America”, said Eddie G. Griffin (BASG), a leader of the AfroSpear's Black Accused Support Groups movement.

The AfroSpear's Atty. Francis L. Holland

"We are expanding the national Black media that focuses on the needs of black people in the context of America and the world. And AfroSpear bloggers will announce the ways in which Freedom Technology Christmas presents have dramatically improved communication among AfroSpear bloggers in five countries and four continents," said Atty. Holland.

Freedom Technology Christmas recommended gifts are laptop or home computers, headphones with microphones and webcams (for computer- to-computer conversations), digital cameras and camera "memory sticks," "pen drives" for saving documents, photographs and music, foreign language software, music production software and writing skills software.

Many excellent Christmas computer software presents are available for free. Open Source alternatives are abundant. For example, the cost of Microsoft Vista Home Premium at Amazon: $219.99, Cost of Ubuntu Linux: $0; Cost of Adobe Photoshop CS3 at Amazon: $619.99, Cost of Gimp: $0; Cost of Microsoft Office Standard 2007 at Amazon: $324.99, Cost of Open Office: $0, and Cost of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 at Amazon: 398.99, Cost of Nvu: $0.

Many communication programs are available for free download and include Skype (free computer telephone), ooVoo (free televideo communication) Yahoo and MSN (e-mail and instant messages), all available at Download.Com.

“I wholeheartedly support the Freedom Technology Christmas as a way not only to give a gift with meaning, but also to encourage black youth to hone their computer, writing, analysis, critical thinking, photography and other skills. New talents will be unearthed and encouraged to grow”, says Adrianne from the Black Women in Europe blog.
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Contact: Francis L. Holland francisholland@yahoo.com
AfroSpear Freedom Technology Blog http://afrospear-ftc.blogspot.com
AfroSpear Bloggers in the News http://afrospear-news.blogspot.com
AfroSpear Think Tank Blog http://afrospear.wordpress.com

Freedom Technology Christmas and Open Source/Free Software

I love the idea of Freedom Technology Christmas, and so in the spirit of FTC, I want to promote and encourage the use of open source software as a means for black folks to further empower themselves technologically, intellectually, and creatively. When I first began dabbling in the open source world, almost ten years ago, you had to be fairly tech savvy to be able to get anything done. If you tried to run the Linux operating system on your computer, chances were you wouldn't even be able to get the modem to work. This is no longer the case. The open source movement has grown up, and the offerings and opportunities are now immense. Now that major computer manufactures such as Dell are offering computers with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed, it is clear that open source software is a viable option for folks that aren't tech specialists.

So, what is open source software? Open source software is software that is built around a community model, rather than the proprietary model of companies like Microsoft or Apple. Communities build up around certain projects and work together to create the best software possible. The software is usually free, not only cost-wise, but also in what you can do with it. Unlike, say, your version of Windows XP, you can modify Linux to suit your needs and then give it away to anyone you want without ever facing legal penalties. For us bloggers, the most well-known open source software is most definitely Wordpress. In general, Firefox is probably the most popular open source application out there.

I won't get too deep into why I believe that open source software is a superior model to proprietary software and instead get down to the nitty gritty of why I believe that promoting and encouraging the use of open source software goes hand in hand with Freedom Technology Christmas.
It's all about cost. Looking to upgrade your computer to Vista?
Interested in purchasing Photoshop so you can flex those creative muscles? Think you need Microsoft Office for your database or spreadsheet needs? Well, let's break it down with a few comparisons between proprietary software and their open source equivalents .

Cost of Microsoft Vista Home Premium at Amazon: $219.99 Cost of Ubuntu Linux: $0

Cost of Adobe Photoshop CS3 at Amazon: $619.99 Cost of Gimp: $0

Cost of Microsoft Office Standard 2007 at Amazon: $324.99 Cost of Open Office: $0

Cost of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 at Amazon: 398.99 Cost of Nvu: $0

With the exception of Nvu, these are all programs that I use on a regular basis and I can assure you that they are top notch. They are also designed to be compatible with the Windows world. So, for instance, you can open .doc files with Open Office and even save files as .doc, so you can still work with people using Windows software.

Now, I understand how some may be hesitant to switch to a new operating system such as Linux, but I see no reason why the open source productivity and creativity based software shouldn't be embraced by Afrospear members. Everything we need to further our intellectual, creative, and activist lives is out there, and folks like myself are working hard to ensure that it will always be available to anyone that wants it, without having to pay out the ass to have it.

So, I encourage all Afrospear folk to consider looking into open source/free software as a means to further empower ourselves. This is an instance where we can take Francis' idea a step further. Rather than spending our money *after* the holiday season, in this area, we can not spend our money at all!

Peace,

Kevin

The "Sims2" Computer Game

Kids (particularly girls) love games in which they act out their lives with others on the computer like Habbo, and now Sims2. (Habbo is free on the Internet, but children need a computer and a broadband connection to play.)

This morning, my daugher (12) told me about a computer game that some of her friends are playing, called Sims2. In this game, children go to school, make friends, go to work, buy furniture for their homes and use their imaginations.

I see my daughter's interest in this game as a perfect opportunity to encourage her to start blogging. So, I immediately helped her to start a blog, (in which she and her older sister are both administrators), where she can look for a way to get a CD to play this game, and where she can talk with her friends about this game. Below is the first entry in my daughter's Sims2 blog, which is called Club Sims2:

Of course, my daughters are not convinced that starting this blog will help them to actually obtain the game CD which costs about sixty dollars in Brazil (because of importation taxes, probably.) I might eventually buy the game for them as part of Freedom Technology Christmas, but first I want them to explore the most economical way to obtain the game, and the best version to buy, through blogging and communicating with others about their desires and potential solutions.

I am translating her blog posts to English and she is helping me to learn better Portuguese grammar as I help her type in her first blog posts. Working together with children on blogs is a really great educational experience, both for them and for us! But, they can only engage in this experience if they have computers and broadband connections.

I have encouraged them to share the URL of their new blog with their friends at school, so that they can explore together the best way to get the game CD and begin playing. Here's her first post at her blog:

* * * * * *

Ai, que tanto gostaria de jogar o Sims2, (site oficial) pois acho que a eu aprenderia muito e brincaria com meus amigos também. Só que não tenho o CD de instalação. Mas eu tenho tanta fé que vou conseguir jogar Sims2 que eu comecei este blog Sims2 onde eu e os meus amigos vamos falar todo de Sims2.

In English: Oh, how I want to play Sims2 (official site) because I think I would learn a lot and play with my friends, too. But, I don't have the game CD! Still, I have so much faith that somehow I will be able to Play Sims2 that I have started this blog where my friends and I are going to talk about Sims2 and all of the fun we are having playing the game!

Fiquei sabendo que dá para comprar o CD Sims2 no Amazon.Com por 23.99 dolares nos estados unidos, recebendo o CD por correio. (Aqui no Brasil o jogo custa até mais de cem Reais.)

In English: I found out that you can buy the Sims2 CD for $23.99 in the United States, at Amazon.Com, receiving the CD in Brazil by international mail. (Here in Brazil, the game costs twice as much!)

It is so easy to justify having a Freedom Technology Christmas

Take this latest example discussed by AfroSphere bloggers:

A young woman of color in Los Angeles had her wrist broken by a school security officer after not cleaning up a piece of dropped birthday cake to his satisfaction. During the attack he said, "hold still nappy head."

The girl, 16 year-old Pleajhai Mervin, was subsequently expelled and arrested for littering and battery.

But it gets worse. When the girl's mother went to the school to complain and rightfully demand that this guard be arrested--she was arrested and suspended from her job with the school district.

Students at the scene captured the assault on their cell phones; one such student was also beaten.
Source

Adrianne wrote:
This is exactly why the Freedom Technology Christmas is such a crucial idea to promote. Thanks to technology our black kids are able to document their experiences.

Francis responded:
Absolutely! Freedom Technology Christmas is about the technological empowerment of Black young people to fight police brutality and other injustices.

AfroSpear's Black Women in Europe Blog Gives First Freedom Technology Christmas (FTC) Present !

When I first talked about the AfroSpear's Freedom Technology Christmas, I had no idea that I would be the first recipient of a Freedom Technology Christmas present. But Adrianne R. George of the Black Women in Europe Blog became aware that my lack of a webcam was preventing me from participating fully in AfroSpear meetings and dialogue, so she decided to have a webcam shipped to me, from a United States mail order company and all the way to Brazil!

Today, that webcam has arrived in Brazil and Adrianne R. George is officially and, for the sake of history, the first person in the world to give an AfroSpear Freedom Technology Christmas (FTC) present!

But, Adrianne R. George won't be the last, because we all recognize the role technology has played in the AfroSpear -- linking, coordinating and mobilizing Blacks in the 50 states, five countries and four continents -- to free Shaquanda Cotton, stop the execution of Kenneth Foster in Texas, and free Mychal D. Bell from prison in Jena, Louisiana.

The work of the AfroSpear has only started and Freedom Technology Christmas has only just gotten underway as well. We still have three months left to make this the best AfroSpear Freedom Technology Christmas that we've ever had, with more AfroSpear brothers and sisters linked together technologically in more ways than was ever dreamed possible just as few short decades ago.

So, celebrate Christmas, my kinfolk, and give the gift of AfroSpear Freedom Technology, including webcams, celular telephones with 7 Megapixel cameras, digital cameras, computers and audio headsets, and all sorts of Black communication tools to your brothers and sisters, to your children and parents!

The AfroSpear's Freedom Technology Christmas started today, with the gift of a webcam from Adrianne George of the Black Women in Europe blog. Thank you Adrianne and Merry AfroSpear Freedom Technology Christmas!