1. Nommo
One of my favourite albums is called Nommo by the group Slovo. It fuses Icelandic vocals, a New York rapper and a Kurdistani poet with sounds of Gaza City, traditional West African instrumentation and a speech by Charlie Chaplin. A truly excellent global manifesto of hope and justice – and the music is superb too.
2. Climate change and the young Evangelicals
For many outside America the anti-science take on climate change by many Republican Presidential candidates has been disturbing and bizarre. But there is hope in the shape of the Young Evangelicals for Climate Change. As this article explains: “If someone we love and respect gives us the greatest gift in the world … how we treat that gift reflects what we feel about the giver.”
3. The Newsroom – Sky Atlantic, Tuesdays, 10pm
Fans of White House drama series the West Wing will be happy to know its creator Aaron Sorkin has now turned his attention to the world of the media. Currently showing on Sky Atlantic here in the UK, the Newsroom, is an idealised portrait of what Sorkin believes American TV news shows should and could be.
4. Wealth doesn’t trickle down – it just floods offshore
Tax dodging is big news right now from Jimmy Carr and Gary Barlow to Amazon and Vodafone. This recent article in the Guardian shows how tax havens have been used to rob the world’s poorest countries of $21 trillion. “Enough money to put Africa back on its feet or solve the Euro crisis”. Powerful reading.
5. Christian Zionism’s own reality check
An interesting and thoughtful look at the Israel/Palestine conflict and the way some Christians engage with the narrative.