Empty now of blood and water
Empty now of fire and air
Descend again to she who formed you
To scent of earth, to breath of wind
Renew again our ground of being.

This short personal reflection is offered on Good Friday 2012 as a response to the crass commercialisation and diversionary spirit that has overtaken the time of Easter throughout much of the Western world. It offers an Ignatian remembrance - an act of conscious imagining and visualisation - of the events that took place in Palestine some 2,000 years ago when the rebel Jesus of Nazareth (to use Jackson Browne's term) suffered the fate of a common criminal in the act of execution by crucifixion ordered by the Roman governors at that time.

Yet the time of Easter bespeaks more than a Paschal sacrifice. It heralds the regeneration and renewal that emanates endlessly through the heart of love. [Full poem here]

The music that accompanies this piece was composed and performed by Nico Di Stefano. The Centurion's Prayer can be streamed using the media player [below]. A CD quality mp3 audio file is available for download here.

German Nobel literature laureate Gunter Grass has defended his remarks against Israel, saying Tel Aviv’s military strike on Iran could spark World War III. - “If Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites, presumably with conventional bombs and warheads, that could trigger a third world war,” the DPA quoted Grass as saying on Thursday. In a controversial poem titled, "What Must Be Said," which was published in Germany's daily Suddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday, Grass expressed concern over the consequences of Israel’s possible attack on Iran. “Why do I say only now ... that the nuclear power Israel endangers an already fragile world peace? Because that must be said which may already be too late to say tomorrow," Grass wrote. Grass said on Thursday that calling Israel a "nuclear power" is a taboo in Germany but he no longer wished to join in "the general silence."

Stephen Lendman: Günter Grass Addresses Israel's Nuclear Threat
Gilad Atzmon: Art of Resistance – a comment on Günter Grass

The United States has announced that it will deploy four littoral warships to Singapore for joint military exercises in a move to expand bilateral military cooperation with the Asian country. - The announcement was made by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Thursday, a day after his meeting with Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng at the Pentagon. "The Defense Department's move to deploy US combat ships to Singapore and raise the level of joint exercises will deepen the bilateral military relationship… The deployment signals US commitment to the (Asia-Pacific) region and enhances the ability to train and engage with regional partners," said a joint statement from the defense chiefs. The statement stressed that “a strong US presence in the Asia-Pacific region enhances regional stability and security.” It added that the combat ships would be deployed on a rotational basis rather than being based in Singapore. Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Leslie Hull-Ryde, described the plan as a “significant movement” in their military cooperation and said that "the specific details related to this unprecedented engagement are still being discussed.”

A rocket carrying a top-secret payload blasted off from the California coast yesterday.

The Delta IV rocket lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 130 miles north west of Los Angeles. The rocket contained some form of spy technology - thought to be a hi-tech replacement for America's ageing fleet of radar satellites. It's not clear what capabilities the new generation might be armed with. Observers think that the 'new generation' spy satellites would be capable of high-resolution scans even through cloud cover and at night.

Since the launch involved a classified cargo for the National Reconnaissance Office, no details were immediately available about whether it was boosted to its intended orbit. The reconnaissance office, which oversees the nation's constellation of spy satellites, has kept mum about the purpose of the mission and directed United Launch Alliance to cut off the live broadcast three minutes after lift-off.

A high profile CIA agent made famous by his public opposition to waterboarding has been indicted by a grand jury for leaking government secrets to reporters. - John C. Kiriakou is accused of telling journalists the name of another operative and his role in the capture of al-Qaida financier Abu Zybaydah shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The indictment of Kiriakou, returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, is part of an aggressive Justice Department crackdown on leakers and is one of a half-dozen such cases opened during the Obama administration. The five-count indictment charges Kiriakou, 47, who was arrested in January, with divulging to journalists - including a New York Times reporter - the role of an associate who participated in the capture of suspected al-Qaida financier Abu Zubaydah in the months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The officer's participation in that mission was classified. The indictment also accuses Kiriakou of separately disclosing a covert officer's name to an unidentified journalist.

John Glaser: CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Formally Indicted

The Pentagon formally charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba Wednesday in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. The presentation of the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of death, sets the stage for a military tribunal excluding elementary rights that exist in a civilian court, or even in a traditional court martial.

The international criminal court has told Libyan authorities to surrender former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is wanted in The Hague for "crimes against humanity". - Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was arrested in November by rebel fighters in Libya's remote southern desert while trying to flee to neighbouring Niger and has been held largely incommunicado since then. He was indicted in June along with his father and the Gaddafi regime's intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senoussi, for killing and persecuting civilians in the early days of the uprising that eventually brought down Gaddafi's four-decade-long dictatorship. Libyan authorities say they plan to put Saif on trial and despite requests from The Hague have so far taken no action to hand him over.

John Glaser: Libya Gov’t Battles ICC Over Prosecution of Gadhafi’s Son

Above is a 4 minute sample from the 12 minutes Sean Pamphilon recorded during this meeting. This was edited for time but you can listen to it in its entirety here. For Sean Pamphilon's take on the experience, read Tru Dat.

Sportsgrid: This Leaked Audio From A Saints Defensive Meeting Might Signal The End Of Gregg Williams’ Coaching Career - [T]hanks to an audio tape taken during a Saints defensive meeting before their playoff game against the 49ers in January and posted by the website for the documentary The United States of Football, we have a little more insight into Williams’ general attitude toward the game. And Williams comes off as pretty crazy. It’s not exactly a shock – Williams has long been known to be a fiery guy. But to hear him say it all so plainly… well, you can listen for yourself./a

Connecticut's Senate was set to vote on Wednesday on whether to repeal the death penalty, a measure that if approved could make it the fifth U.S. state in five years to abandon capital punishment. - A vote was expected in the afternoon in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where observers said it remained unclear how much support it had. If approved, the bill would go to the majority Democratic House of Representatives, where it is likely to pass, and Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy has promised to sign it into law. The measure would replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole. An amendment added on Tuesday provided that future felons, convicted of life sentences without parole, would be subject to the same harsh conditions as those inmates currently on Death Row. The proposal to repeal the death penalty is "prospective," meaning the 11 men currently on Connecticut's Death Row would still face execution.