Hospitality

In conversation with a post-9/11 America overcome with fear and increasingly wary of the stranger, Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt offer an alternative response rooted in Benedictine monasticism. Homan, a Benedictine monk of St. Benedict’s Monastery in Oxford, Michigan, and Collins Pratt, a friend of the monastery, propose that hospitality is ground zero in the struggle for our post-modern, post-9/11, post-post souls. Their invitation to undertake this way promises not the quick fixes of a “Chocolate Jesus” (p. 34) who satisfies our every craving, but a life rooted in the difficult and rewarding practice of greeting the strangers among us and embracing the foreign places residing in our own hearts.

Hospitality might seem a weak, even quirky recommendation for spiritual renewal in a world beset by uncertainty, tumult, and terror. After all, in American society hospitality has come to mean mints on pillows and instant customer satisfaction. As Homan and Collins Pratt comment, “the missing virtue of our era has been turned into a social grace that neither disturbs nor transforms” (p. 13). Far more than proper table manners or correct dining attire, Homan and Collins Pratt remind us that hospitality rests at the heart of Jesus’ command to love one another and his practice of table-fellowship. They offer not a new spirituality, a new practice, to assuage our consumer passions, but the same old challenge of the gospel to break every barrier down by choosing to relate to those God brings into our daily lives. “Here is the core of hospitality: May I know you better? Will you come closer, please? No it will not be easy, but make no mistake about it, your life depends on this saving stranger coming to you and stretching your tight little heart” (p. 36). Read more…

With the eight anniversary of 9/11 just more than a month away, President Obama’s speechwriters and other communists and near communists are working feverishly on the president’s 9/11 vital address to the world.

Although the speech is carefully guarded and considered “classified” at this point, a rough draft has been pieced together based on interviews and casual conversations with people in the know in Washington.

Shhhhhh! Do NOT repeat a word of this.

If word of these contents should leak, that might destroy the Obama presidency. Which would be a shame considering how well he is doing (guffaw!).

The rough draft of President Obama’s September 11, 2009 address to the world:

“Greetings and best wishes to all of my fellow world citizens from Mecca.

Have a Happy and Safe 11th!

Flag Display Will Honor 9/11 Victims

Honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Pepperdine University plans to once again stage a dramatic display of American flags on its expansive lawn beneath the Theme Tower – one flag for each of the nearly 3,000 lives lost on that tragic day. 

The installation of the flags, which will be on display September 10 to 18, was conceived and led by the University’s chapter of the College Republicans. Their initiative, enthusiasm, and hard work, partnering with several other students, volunteers, and Facilities Management and Planning staff, made last year’s inaugural 9/11 flag display a stunning tribute.

“We are pleased and once again welcome the University’s support and participation in the upcoming Waves of Flags: Commemorating 9/11 event,” noted Chris Garcia, president emeritus of the College Republicans. “Our efforts in honoring the 9/11 victims has inspired so many people on and off campus. It’s been gratifying and rewarding for all of us.” In addition to including U.S. flags in the 2009 memorial, multi-national flags will be on display honoring the different nationalities of those who died during the attacks.

As it has annually since September 2001, the University plans to stage a brief prayer service on 9/11 at the Heroes Garden, a 14,880-square-foot outdoor sanctuary that overlooks the Pacific Ocean on one of the highest bluffs on the Malibu campus. The garden serves as a public space to pause, reflect, and honor those who sacrificed their lives on 9/11 including Tom Burnett, alumnus of the Graziadio School of Business and Management. Burnett’s heroism as a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 has been well documented. As a result of the passengers’ attempt to take control of the hijacked airliner and divert it from reaching the terrorists’ target, United 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania rather than striking a building or landmark in the nation’s capital, causing more loss of human life.

Volunteers are sought to participate in the 2009 installation of the 9/11 flag display. All materials will be provided by the University. To learn more, visit

by Kevin Ryan
July 30, 2009
911blogger.com
The Journal of 9/11 Studies has published a new paper by Dr. Frank Legge, entitled
“What Hit the Pentagon?”, available here: http://journalof911studies.com/volume/2009/WhatHitPentagonDrLegge.pdf
Here are some excerpts:
“The most logical inference from the Pentagon attack evidence is that
the perpetrators of 9/11 knew that there would be many members of the public
who would become suspicious for one reason or another. The perpetrators realized
that a powerful technique for weakening the arguments of the skeptics would
be to have them arguing against one another.”

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY
9/11 Family Members and Survivor File for Re-validation of Citizens’
Signatures with New York State Supreme Court, following rejection of NYC CAN
petition by the City Clerk and Board of Elections
New York City — On Wednesday, several 9/11 victim family members and a
survivor took the first step in challenging the City Clerk’s rejection
of the NYC CAN petition for a new investigation in New York City. The group
filed a Verified Petition/Order to Show Cause with the Supreme Court of the
State of New York requesting a review of Board of Election documentation and
a ‘special referee’ appointed to re-validate the over 52,000 signatures
filed by NYC CAN on June 24th.
The NYC CAN petition was rejected by the City Clerk on Friday, July 24th, a
week ago, certifying less than the minimum of 30,000 qualified signatures of
electors. This benchmark, according to the Clerk’s office, was not met.
A “qualified elector” is a registered New York City voter who was
eligible to vote in the last election. According to the letter sent by the Clerk
to the City Council, the NY Board of Elections validated 26,003 signatures and
invalidated 24,664, leaving 1,333 that were not certified.

By Luke Ryland
July 31, 2009
Against All Enemies blog
Former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds
dropped a bombshell on the Mike Malloy radio
show, guest-hosted by Brad Friedman
(audio, partial
transcript).

In the interview, Sibel says that the US maintained ‘intimate relations’ with
Bin Laden, and the Taliban, “all the way until that day of September 11.”

These ‘intimate relations’ included using Bin Laden for ‘operations’ in Central
Asia, including Xinjiang, China. These ‘operations’ involved using al Qaeda
and the Taliban in the same manner “as we did during the Afghan and Soviet conflict,”
that is, fighting ‘enemies’ via proxies.

As Sibel has previously
described, and as she reiterates in this latest interview, this process
involved using Turkey (with assistance from ‘actors from Pakistan, and Afghanistan
and Saudi Arabia’) as a proxy, which in turn used Bin Laden and the Taliban
and others as a proxy terrorist army.

[See Related Story below]July 31, 2009

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/07/former-fbi-translator-bin-laden-w…

Before you hear what she has to say, you should know a little about Sibel Edmonds’ background.
Edmonds is a former FBI translator, who the Department of Justice’s Inspector General and several senators have called extremely credible (free subscription required).

Some of Edmonds allegations’ have been confirmed in the British press.
Now, Edmonds is saying that Osama Bin Laden worked for the U.S. right up until 9/11, and that that fact is being covered up because the US outsourced terror operations to al Qaeda and the Taliban for many years.

Is there are confirmation of Edmonds’ claim?
Yes.

Militarization of public health in the case of emergency is now official
by Michel Chossudovsky
July 31, 2009
Global Research
According to CNN, the Pentagon is “to establish regional teams of military
personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak
of the H1N1 virus this fall, according to Defense Department officials.”

“The proposal is awaiting final approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The officials would not be identified because the proposal from U.S. Northern Command’s Gen. Victor Renuart has not been approved by the secretary.
The plan calls for military task forces to work in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There is no final decision on how the military effort would be manned, but one source said it would likely include personnel from all branches of the military.

It has yet to be determined how many troops would be needed and whether they would come from the active duty or the National Guard and Reserve forces.
Civilian authorities would lead any relief efforts in the event of a major outbreak, the official said. The military, as they would for a natural disaster or other significant emergency situation, could provide support and fulfill any tasks that civilian authorities could not, such as air transport or testing of large numbers of viral samples from infected patients.
As a first step, Gates is being asked to sign a so-called “execution order” that would authorize the military to begin to conduct the detailed planning to execute the proposed plan.
Orders to deploy actual forces would be reviewed later, depending on how much of a health threat the flu poses this fall, the officials said.” (CNN, Military planning for possible H1N1 outbreak, July 2009, emphasis added)