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