• SFPD cops from imaginary anti-dance-party squad steal laptops. Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing (2009-11-18). Autumn sez, “DJs at local underground parties have been losing their laptops to police raids – even when they’re not DJing. They’re being told that they’ll lose their laptops – and often their livelihood – for an indefinite period of time, with no information on when or how to get… (Linked Friday 2009-11-20.)
• Why The Innocent Flee From The Police. William N. Grigg, Pro Libertate (2009-11-05). “Why did he run?” This question thrusts itself upon us every time an unarmed or otherwise harmless person is gunned down while fleeing from police.Often that inquiry takes the form that assumes the guilt of the victim: “If he did nothing wrong, why did he run?” It’s also common for… (Linked Friday 2009-11-20.)
• 10 Year old tasered by Arkansas police. Don't Tase Me, Bro! (2009-11-20). Officer Dustin Bradshaw, a grown-ass man working for the Ozark government’s police force, decided to torture an “unruly” 10 year old with a 50,000-volt electric blast after she kicked him in the groin. Then he handcuffed her and arrested her for “disorderly conduct.” The charge is that she “screamed, kicked and resisted” when her mother tried to get her to take a shower before bed. Officer Dustin Bradshaw’s boss, Police Chief Jim Noggle, tells the press that he took no disciplinary action at all against Officer Dustin Bradshaw because “He had no other choice” than to torture, handcuff, and arrest her, because “he had to get the child under control.” No, he didn’t. (Linked Friday 2009-11-20.)
• RI Governor: Gay Couples can't be buried together. Don't Tase Me, Bro! (2009-11-20). Basher statism vs. bereaved families. In which hetero-politics goes beyond the usual meanness into utterly purposeless malice. (Linked Friday 2009-11-20.)

• The Way to Sesame Street Jesse Walker, Jesse Walker: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2009-10-23). It's hard to fathom just how unusual Sesame Street must have seemed when it debuted 40 years ago this month. The children's TV show didn't just mix entertainment with education: It was a full-blown collaboration between commercial showmen and social engineers. On one hand you had a team of educators,… (Linked Tuesday 2009-11-17.)
• Computer Class as Soulcraft. Jesse Walker: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2009-11-17). In which the Wall Street Journal discovers Make. (Linked Tuesday 2009-11-17.)
• Change. Hope. Jacob Lyles, (title unknown) (2009-11-03). Every generation must relearn the lesson: don’t trust politicians. A year later our candidate that valued technology, openness, and government transparency, the darling of Silicon Valley, is up to the same old bullshit. (Linked Tuesday 2009-11-17.)
• The underground Palestinian economy. (title unknown) (2009-11-17). Counter-economics in Gaza (Linked Tuesday 2009-11-17.)

I got this story by email from a private correspondent. Right now, most of the news stories on this terror-murder, and the homophobic victim-blaming by the government police’s investigator on the case, are printed in Spanish. So I’ve translated the story into English, below.

Jorge Steven L?@c3;b3;pez Mercado was an openly gay 19 year old, well known in the local gay community in Cayey, Puerto Rico. R.I.P.

Solicitan relevo de agente investigador en asesinato de joven homosexual en Cayey

Portavoces de Puerto Rico Para Tod@s y la Fundaci?@c3;b3;n de Derechos Humanos exigieron hoy una investigaci?@c3;b3;n libre de prejuicios por el asesinato de Jorge Steven L?@c3;b3;pez Mercado, un joven homosexual de 19 a?@c3;b1;os, que se presume fue víctima de un crimen de odio y cuyo cuerpo fue encontrado el viernes calcinado, decapitado y desmembrado de brazos y piernas en el área de Guavate, en Cayey.

El líder activista y portavoz de Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, Pedro Julio Serrano, denunci?@c3;b3; que el agente investigador del caso, Ángel Rodríguez Col?@c3;b3;n, realiz?@c3;b3; expresiones inconcebibles, inmorales y antiéticas, referentes al homicidio.

“Este tipo de personas cuando se meten a esto y salen a la calle saben que esto les puede pasar”, expres?@c3;b3; el agente Rodríguez a un noticiario televisivo (Univisi?@c3;b3;n).

“Es inconcebible que el agente investigador aduzca que la víctima bus?@c3;b3; ser asesinado. Es como el abusrdo y falaz argumento de que una mujer se busc?@c3;b3; ser violada por llevar falda corta. Exigimos la renuncia al caso de este agente investigador y que el Superintendente Figueroa Sancha ponga en su lugar a alguien capacitado que investigue este vil asesinato, por prejuicios de clase alguna”, manifest?@c3;b3; Serrano.

Por su parte, la licenciada Ada Conde, presidenta de la Fundaci?@c3;b3;n de Derechos Humanos, le solicit?@c3;b3; a Figueroa Sancha y al Secretario de Justicia, Antonio Sagardía, que cumplan con la ley y establezcan mecanismos para que se investiguen este tipo de casos y que se procesen como crímenes de odio.

— Bárbara J. Figueroa Rosa, Primera Hora (2009-11-15): Solicitan relevo de agente investigador en asesinato de joven homosexual en Cayey

Translated into English:

They call for relieving the agent investigating the murder of a homosexual youth in Cayey

Today, spokespeople from Puerto Rico Para Tod@s [Puerto Rico for Everyone] and Fundaci?@c3;b3;n de Derechos Humanos [the Foundation for Human Rights] demanded a prejudice-free investigation into the murder of Jorge Steven L?@c3;b3;pez Mercado, a homosexual youth of 19, who is presumed to have been the victim of a hate crime and whose body was discovered Friday burnt, decapitated, and dismembered of arms and legs in the area of Guavate, in Cayey.

The activist leader and spokesman for Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, Pedro Julio Serrano, denounced the fact that the investigating agent for the case, Ángel Rodríguez Col?@c3;b3;n, made unthinkable, immoral and unethical statements referring to the homicide.

When this type of people get involved in this and go out in the street they know this kind of thing can happen, Agent Rodriguez told a TV news program (Univisi?@c3;b3;n).

It’s unthinkable that the investigating agent would allege that the victim was looking to get murdered. It’s like the absurd and fallacious argument that a woman is looking to get raped by putting on a short skirt. We demand that this investigating agent get off the case and that Superintendent Figueroa Sancha replace him with someone capable of investigating this vile murder, without any kind of prejudice, said Serrano.

For her part, the lawyer Ada Conde, president of Fundaci?@c3;b3;n de Derechos Humanos, called on Figueroa Sancha and the Secretary of Justice, Antonio Sagardía, to comply with the law and establish mechanisms for investigating this type of case and processing them as hate crimes.

— Bárbara J. Figueroa Rosa, Primera Hora (2009-11-15): Solicitan relevo de agente investigador en asesinato de joven homosexual en Cayey

• Like maggots to carrion. John Markley, The Superfluous Man (2009-10-27). Ever find yourself in a position where you think most of the people who share your opinion on the proper course of action are utterly repulsive? Watching the response to the arrest of Roman Polanski, as his apologists rally to defend him against the unsophisticated flyover country types who think… (Linked Sunday 2009-11-15.)

Happy Sunday, everyone. Time to get Shameless.

What have you been up to this week? Write anything? Leave a link and a short description for your post in the comments. Or fire away about anything else you might want to talk about.