This Land is Your Land – Songs of Protest

David Crowder joins U2, Green Day, Elvis Costello, Mumford and Sons, Bruce Springsteen and others who have partnered with the One Campaign to cover songs of protest.

The campaign is hoping to raise awareness about extreme poverty before this year’s G8 summit.

Check out the videos and songs at: http://www.one.org/protestsongs/ and then get involved.

“Is this the battle Jesus won?”

The Secret War – NSA Snooping is Only the Beginning

INSIDE FORT MEADE, Maryland, a top-secret city bustles. Tens of thousands of people move through more than 50 buildings—the city has its own post office, fire department, and police force. But as if designed by Kafka, it sits among a forest of trees, surrounded by electrified fences and heavily armed guards, protected by antitank barriers, monitored by sensitive motion detectors, and watched by rotating cameras. To block any telltale electromagnetic signals from escaping, the inner walls of the buildings are wrapped in protective copper shielding and the one-way windows are embedded with a fine copper mesh.

This is the undisputed domain of General Keith Alexander, a man few even in Washington would likely recognize. Never before has anyone in America’s intelligence sphere come close to his degree of power, the number of people under his command, the expanse of his rule, the length of his reign, or the depth of his secrecy. A four-star Army general, his authority extends across three domains: He is director of the world’s largest intelligence service, the National Security Agency; chief of the Central Security Service; and commander of the US Cyber Command. As such, he has his own secret military, presiding over the Navy’s 10th Fleet, the 24th Air Force, and the Second Army.

…Stuxnet is only the beginning. Alexander’s agency has recruited thousands of computer experts, hackers, and engineering PhDs to expand US offensive capabilities in the digital realm. The Pentagon has requested $4.7 billion for “cyberspace operations,” even as the budget of the CIA and other intelligence agencies could fall by $4.4 billion. It is pouring millions into cyberdefense contractors. And more attacks may be planned.

Jimmy Fallon and The Roots iPhone ringtone remix

Last week Jimmy Fallon and The Roots remixed the iPhone Xylophone ringer during the show.

I had some fun and used their remix to create a ringtone for my own phone from the audio.

Download and enjoy.

To use:

  • Download the file
  • Unzip it on your computer
  • Import the .m4r file into iTunes
  • The file should appear in the Tones section of iTunes
  • Sync your ringtones with your phone
  • Set it as your default or as a special ringer

HT to John Saddington for the original link.

‘Grace defies reason and logic’

You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff…

If only we could be a bit more like Jesus, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s— and everybody else’s. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that’s the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it. – Bono

Read more | HT