While the U.S. media is currently slathered with tributes to Ronald Reagan, the father of worldwide economic ruin, modern right-wing conservatism, and the anti-intellectual fear-mongering demagogue, there is no mention of a far more heroic 20th century figure whose birthday is also today, February 6th. How many times, from the dawn of the Reagan era, did Bob Marley provide comfort to us through his unique capturing of the Caribbean spirit, the Afro-Antillean soul of resistance, the poetry of trench-town barrio? We may have not succeeded in chasing those crazy baldheads out of town, but there may yet be redemption at hand.

A few notes about recent happenings; here is video of a Puerto Rican policeman groping the breasts of a UPR protester while she was being arrested a couple of weeks ago during acts of civil disobedience against the imposition of the $800 fee increase:

This on the heels of recent revelations that the San Juan police commissioner has been accused of sexually molesting his own daughter.

And while it sure was upsetting to see Anderson Cooper getting pushed around by Mubarak thugs, the Puerto Rican Journalists’ Association (ASPPRO) has been denouncing the acts of violence and physical intimidation of the Puerto Rican police against journalists for several weeks now.

Finally, for a nice discussion about how claims that the Egyptian uprising is largely fueled by social media are overblown, if not absurd, the always reliable Frank Rich. The former theater critic (who better to comment on world affairs?) asserts that only 20 per cent of Egyptians have internet access, and that the rallies only got bigger after the internet was shut down. It surely didn’t take Facebook or Twitter to galvanize the idea that they would “like” Mubarak to leave.