Persist (or skip) past the noise of the first 36 seconds.

I figured, since I introduced some of you to the music of Spirit last night, that I would expand your horizons with this beautiful compilation track, which mashes together “America the Beautiful” and “The Times They Are A’ Changin'” in a beautiful and, well, SPIRITual way.

(Around 5:30 there is a transition to yet a third song, titled Manunaloa. It’s not as compelling as the music between :36 and 5:30.)

The shooter at Santa Monica College yesterday who killed five people has been identified as John Zawahri:

The suspect in the shootings has been identified as John Zawahri, sources told CNN.

Authorities say he killed his father, Samir “Sam” Zawahri, and brother, Chris Zawahri, in a Santa Monica house before carjacking a woman and firing at a public bus on Friday.

An image of him entering the library:

So far they are portraying him as angry over family issues.

Washington Post:

Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old system administrator and former undercover CIA employee, unmasked himself Sunday as the principal source of recent Washington Post and Guardian disclosures about top-secret NSA programs, denouncing what he described as systematic surveillance of innocent citizens and saying in an interview, “it’s important to send a message to government that people will not be intimidated.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Fei[ns]tein (D-Calif.) said Sunday that the Obama Administration’s recently revealed surveillance programs have thwarted two major terrorist plots.

Snowden, whose full name is Edward Joseph Snowden, said he understands the risks of disclosing the information, but that he felt it was the right thing to do.

“I intend to ask for asylum from any countries that believe in free speech and oppose the victimization of global privacy,” Snowden told the Post. The Guardian was the first to publicly identify Snowden. Both media organizations made his name public with his consent.

Unless we don’t believe in classifying information any more, I think Snowden should be prosecuted.

In my opinion, people should be prosecuted for revealing classified information unless the clear purpose of the classification was an improper attempt to conceal embarrassing facts from the public. I’m not sure the phone metadata collection falls within such a category.

The collection and use of data such as DNA, phone records, and Internet traffic — information that could be useful to law enforcement and anti-terrorism officials, and could also invade your privacy — raises all kinds of interesting issues.

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